Stephen Colbert’s Cancellation Is Exactly What It Looks Like

Stephen Colbert announced on Thursday night that next May would mark not just the end of his run as host, but the death of The Late Show itself, a CBS institution that has existed since 1993.

“I found out just last night,” Colbert told his audience. “Yeah, I share your feelings,” he continued as they booed. “It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of The Late Show on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

What Colbert didn’t say was why CBS would suddenly kill off one of television’s most storied franchises. The network’s press release insisted this was “purely a financial decision” while defensively adding it was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” That second part reads like someone protesting way too much.

If you’re thinking that sounds like complete bullshit, you’re right.

Just days earlier, Colbert had openly mocked Paramount for paying Trump $16 million to settle what the company itself called a meritless lawsuit. “I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles,” Colbert joked on Monday. “It’s Big Fat Bribe.” He even acknowledged reports that Skydance’s new ownership might “put pressure on late night host and frequent Trump critic Stephen Colbert.”

The real story starts with an $8 billion merger, a right-wing billionaire, and a president who just successfully shook down CBS for $16 million. The Late Show isn’t dying because people stopped watching late-night TV. It’s being murdered because Stephen Colbert spent the last decade being one of Trump’s most persistent critics on network television, and the billionaires about to take over CBS need Trump’s approval for their merger.