Well, folks, if you thought late-night television couldn’t get any more dramatic, a feeble protest for Stephen Colbert outside CBS headquarters just proved otherwise.
Breitbart reported that a small gathering dubbed “We’re With Colbert” assembled outside the CBS Broadcast Center on Manhattan’s West Side to rally behind the late-night host after Paramount and CBS pulled the plug on his show, only to fizzle out faster than a bad sitcom with fewer than two dozen attendees.
The event, which organizers billed as a nationwide push for “integrity,” barely made a ripple, dissolving within minutes as reported by the New York Post.
Talk about a punchline—calling this a movement is like calling a kiddie pool the Pacific Ocean. One wonders if the progressive agenda behind such stunts overestimates its cultural clout.
Before the protest even had a chance to flop, CBS had already dropped the bombshell that “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert was getting the axe, with plans to retire the franchise entirely by May 2026. The network insisted this was a purely financial move, citing a tough landscape for late-night TV.
Financial, indeed—Colbert’s show was bleeding the network to the tune of $40 million annually while supporting a crew of 200.
That’s a lot of cash for jokes that, let’s be honest, often leaned more into political preaching than punchy humor.
CBS executives doubled down in a statement, saying, “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable.” They added praise for his legacy in late-night television, claiming the decision had nothing to do with performance or content. Sounds noble, but when a show’s losing that kind of money, “irreplaceable” starts to feel like a polite goodbye.
The timing of the cancellation raised eyebrows, coming just days after Colbert publicly criticized a $16 million settlement between his parent company and President Donald Trump, calling it a “big, fat bribe” tied to the Skydance merger. Critics quickly cried foul, alleging political retaliation for his outspokenness.
President Trump, never one to shy away from the spotlight, chimed in with glee, saying, “I love that Colbert got fired.”
He didn’t stop there, taking jabs at other late-night hosts while praising Greg Gutfeld as the superior talent. While Trump’s enthusiasm is understandable given the bad blood, it’s hard to ignore that $40 million loss as the real culprit here.
Colbert, for his part, didn’t mince words, reportedly telling Trump to “go fuck yourself.” That’s a classy exit if I’ve ever seen one—nothing says late-night sophistication like a parting shot that’s more bitter than funny.
Back at the protest, organizers tried to frame the cancellation as an attack on free speech, with one declaring, “Our country is not perfect.”
They went on to lament that “Mango Mussolini” was stripping away First Amendment rights. Hyperbole much? Disagreeing with a network’s business decision hardly equates to censorship.
Another protester echoed the sentiment, calling Colbert’s firing a “First Amendment attack.” While passion for free expression is commendable, it’s a stretch to paint a corporate cost-cutting move as a constitutional crisis.
Let’s be clear: CBS has every right to pull a show that’s hemorrhaging money, regardless of its host’s political barbs. The late-night landscape has been struggling for years, and networks aren’t charities. If anything, this feels less like retaliation and more like a long-overdue reality check.
As CBS prepares to sunset “The Late Show” franchise, it’s worth noting their statement that this isn’t about content or performance but a broader challenge in the industry. Late-night TV has been losing ground to streaming and podcasts, where audiences crave authenticity over polished monologues.
For conservatives tired of the left-leaning tilt of shows like Colbert’s, this cancellation might feel like a small victory, but it’s not a cultural reset.
The progressive agenda still dominates much of entertainment; one show’s exit won’t change that overnight. Still, it’s a reminder that even the loudest voices can’t outrun the bottom line.