David Letterman sharply criticizes CBS and Paramount leaders after the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, dismissing their financial rationale and branding them “lying weasels.”
The former host, who led the 11:30 p.m. program for over 20 years before handing it to Colbert in 2015, rejects the network’s stated reasons. “They’re lying. Let me just add one other thing,” Letterman states. “They’re lying weasels.”
Recent Network Shifts
CBS, under Paramount ownership, revealed the cancellation in July 2025. Paramount then sold to Skydance Media’s David Ellison in August 2025, supported by his father, Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chief technology officer.
A spokesperson insists the choice represents “unequivocally a financial decision.” Letterman fires back: “To hell with CBS. To hell with Skydance. To hell with the [Ellison] twins or whoever the hell these guys are.”
Shared Frustration and Human Cost
Though distanced from the show for over a decade, Letterman aligns with Colbert’s dismay toward the parent company. “If there’s outrage to be directed at management, either real or imagined, I’m all in,” he declares. “Let’s go.”
Letterman labels the abrupt end a “botched holdup,” decrying the disregard for Colbert, devoted fans, and audiences who valued the nightly escape. “What about the humanity for Stephen and the humanity of people who love him and the humanity for people who still enjoyed that 11:30 respite?” he questions.
Replacement Programming
The Late Show concludes its run on May 21, paving the way for billionaire producer Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed. Letterman, who co-wrote jokes with Allen for Jimmie Walker in the 1970s, marvels at his colleague’s achievements. “He’s been wildly more successful than any hundred of us,” Letterman notes. “I periodically talk to him, and neither he nor I understand how he became a billionaire.”
Late-Night TV’s Uncertain Future
The move sparks fears that late-night network television nears its demise. As a genre veteran, Letterman doubts longevity for peers like Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon. “It’s not completely dead on arrival, but I would be surprised if it lasts more than a year or so,” he predicts. “But it’s such an easy soothing format that it’s got to stay on.”
Colbert’s On-Air Jab
Colbert highlighted the irony in December 2025, after Skydance’s $108 billion all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. “Just yesterday morning, my beloved parent company, Paramount, reportedly launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Brothers valued at $108 billion. Wow,” he quipped. “I got to say, if my company’s got that kind of green, I’m sure they can afford to un-cancel one of their best shows.”
