Stephen Colbert’s canceled “The Late Show” won the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series Monday night in Los Angeles, months after CBS pulled the plug on the program in May. But when reporters pressed Colbert about whether President Trump had a hand in the cancellation, the host repeatedly declined to answer.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony about free speech and the future of late night, Colbert struck an optimistic tone. “If you can’t say something because you go to jail, that is a violation of free speech,” he said. “I think that late night is just as funny and just as vital as it ever has been, and I love watching Jimmy and Jimmy and John and John and Seth and everybody else. And I think I hope it goes on for a long time because you get to work with people like this, and that’s the greatest gift.”
But when CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister asked him directly whether he believed Trump was behind the cancellation, according to Variety, Colbert deflected. “What… Gayle, that’s a beautiful dress,” he said. When the question was repeated, he continued the bit: “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m deaf on this ear. What did you… what did you say?” Asked again, he pivoted once more: “You wanted to know who the most important member of my staff was? It’s me.”
The White House rejected any suggestion of involvement. Spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital in a statement Tuesday, “Neither President Trump nor anyone else in the Administration had anything to do with this. The reality is Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck with no talent, which is exactly why CBS canceled his show and is booting him off the airwaves.”
Media Research Center President David Bozell also weighed in, telling Fox News Digital that Colbert’s silence on the topic was notable. “Colbert suddenly does not want to talk about Trump? That’s rich. Obviously, Trump did not cancel his show,” Bozell said. “CBS looked at the audience, looked at the bill, and decided the joke had run long enough.”
Background on the cancellation
CBS announced in July 2025 that it would end “The Late Show” franchise after Colbert’s 25-26 season, describing the move as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and unrelated to the show’s content or performance. The program had reportedly been losing about $40 million a year.
The announcement came three days after Colbert criticized then-parent company Paramount over its $16 million settlement with Trump tied to a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Colbert had called the settlement a “big fat bribe,” linking it to Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance Media.
Fox News Digital has reported that Colbert’s manager, James Dixon, was told on June 27 that CBS planned to end the show — before Paramount’s Trump settlement was announced and more than two weeks before Colbert publicly criticized it. The FCC approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance a week after the cancellation was announced, and the deal closed in August 2025.
Trump has continued to criticize Colbert since the show’s May finale, calling him talentless and celebrating his exit from late-night television.
CBS-Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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