Lawmakers Question Whether CBS Canceled Colbert’s Show for Political Reasons

The New York Times ^ | July 18, 2025, 2:12 p.m. ET | Ashley Ahn

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Paramount, the network’s parent, recently agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes.”

Democratic lawmakers are questioning the timing of CBS’s announcement to cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which came days after Mr. Colbert criticized the network’s parent company for paying President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit.

Hours after CBS executives characterized the move as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” lawmakers began suggesting that the cancellation was linked to Paramount’s recent settlement with Mr. Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on social media that the settlement with Mr. Trump “looks like bribery,” and Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington said, “People deserve to know if this is a politically motivated attack on free speech.”

Paramount recently agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News program “60 Minutes.” Mr. Colbert, a longtime critic of Mr. Trump, panned the settlement on Monday night as a “big fat bribe,” a reference to Paramount’s multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance that still requires approval from the Trump administration.

CBS executives said in a statement Thursday night that the decision was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” The show’s cancellation comes during a period of upheaval in the world of late-night television, as viewers migrate away from traditional broadcast and cable television and as advertising revenue for late-night programs plummets. Mr. Colbert’s show will end in May, when his contract expires.

Still, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also cited the pending merger...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I remember when Rosanne Barr got canceled and the New York Times and "lawmakers" were asking the same question. 🤡

[coloradan]

Who cares if they canceled the show “for political reasons”? They can cancel it for any reason, or for no reason. Is there an alleged crime or scandal if they cancel for political reasons?

(Oh, and did Biden have a former president’s dwelling raided for political reasons? This would of course be much worse than a network canceling one of its own shows, if so.)

[blackdog]

Tonight's episode is brought to you by, "Dewey, Cheetem, and Howe", civil litigation attorneys specializing in slander, libel, and damages.

When CBS has greased the deck for the cannons and it cost them sixteen million, the grease is hard to clean up, but getting rid of the cannons is easy.

[SamuraiScot]

Democratic lawmakers are questioning the timing of CBS’s announcement to cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which came days after Mr. Colbert criticized the network’s parent company for paying President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit

I, like, totally agree with them. It's indeed a strange coincidence.

In fact, it's like Christmas in July!

[DIRTYSECRET]

They can bring it up.

My response: What difference at this point does it make?

[GSWarrior]

Colbert hasn’t been funny since Strangers With Candy.

[BipolarBob]

They question and can’t agree amongst themselves how many genders there are. They are a questionable bunch alright.

[CatOwner]

Much more likely the show was propped up for political reasons.

[BenLurkin]

I forgot this guy was still on the air.

[Flaming Conservative]

A politically motivated attack on free speech? Oh, for crying out loud! Since when does a network not have the right to cancel a program they own? The show is obviously losing money because nobody watches it. Gutfeld is eating up all the viewers because it’s funnier. (though it’s been getting too raunchy lately).

[God luvs America]

you mean the way these same politicians questioned if DirecTV pulled the plug on Newsmax and One America News for political reasons back in 2020?? Oh, my bad...

[SkyDancer]

Nope. Lack of viewership plus he’s an anti-Trump and conservative hater.

[wally_bert]

I gave up on late night shows near the end of Johnny Carson.

Mostly I watched the comedy bits and turned off.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Like CNN, the production crew doesn’t even watch the show. Doubt that the cancellation is political.

[DesertRhino]

Extremely doubtful. It is always about one thing, and one thing only.... money. Nothing else is even slightly a consideration.

And not just the money of his show, but how it effects the entire network’s bottom line.

[GMMC0987]

The whole idea of stopping something because it’s not profitable is alien to them.

[Sacajaweau]

These dummies are confirming that this show was politically oriented.

[csn vinnie]

Is it political to cancel the show because Colbert’s an unfunny idiot and few people watch?

[plain talk]

Google AI’s summation seems reasonable —

“Business Decision:
CBS is citing financial reasons for the cancellation, as the network sees a decline in ad revenue and audience for late-night shows.

Colbert’s Performance:
Even though Colbert’s “Late Show” has been performing well, the broader financial pressures within the late-night television landscape are impacting CBS’s decision.

End Date:
The show is scheduled to end in May 2026. “

[Steely Tom]

The Democrats’ popularity is below 20%, and this is what they come up with to talk about.