Dave Letterman slams CBS as “gutless” & “cowardly” for canceling Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show”, accusing the network of dodging sharp political satire.
Dave Letterman didn’t hold back when he blasted CBS for yanking Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” calling the network’s move “gutless” and “pure cowardice.”
Speaking with longtime collaborator and “Late Show” EP Barbara Gaines—and joined by “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” EP Mary Barclay—Letterman offered a scathing take on what he views as an unnecessarily drastic decision.
Letterman argued that CBS’s claim of financial pressure doesn’t add up. He quipped that telling Colbert to wrap up a money-losing show “happened yesterday” strains credulity, since budget cuts can be achieved in far less dramatic ways.
“There are plenty of ways to tighten belts before going nuclear,” he insisted, sharing a knowing grin with Gaines. In his view, the sudden cancellation had more to do with politics than budgets.
At the heart of Letterman’s theory is the newly approved Skydance Media–Paramount merger, which only needs a final nod to close. He joked—half in jest, half in mock conspiracy—that Skydance must have feared another public smash-up with Donald Trump, like the one that followed Trump’s CBS News lawsuit.
“They didn’t want Colbert’s precise, quick, witty satire lining up against Trump again,” Letterman posited, suggesting the network pre-emptively sidelined its sharpest late-night satirist.
True to his trademark humor, Letterman even admitted a twinge of envy: Colbert, he said, is now a martyr, “permanently enshrined” in the TV Hall of Fame—a fate he confessed he wouldn’t have minded for himself.
“I only wish this had happened to me,” Letterman laughed, “This would have been so great for me.” With that, he mocked Skydance as “bottom feeders,” quipping, “What the fuck is Skydance? Is it a discount airline?”
Overall, Letterman’s remarks painted CBS’s decision as cowardly and short-sighted. He urged networks to explore all other avenues before dumping a hit talk show, especially one as culturally relevant as Colbert’s.
Whether audiences and advertisers will rally behind Colbert’s “martyr” status remains to be seen, but if Letterman’s any guide, the uproar is just getting started.
