Rachel Maddow Calls on CBS to Uncancel Stephen Colbert’s ‘The Late Show’
What To Know
- Rachel Maddow publicly urged CBS and Paramount Skydance to reverse their decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, criticizing the move as unjustified given the show’s high ratings.
- Maddow accused the companies of capitulating to President Trump and questioned the appointment of Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief.
- She argued that the cancellation was a hasty attempt to appease Trump, whose public support has since declined, and insisted there is still time to keep Colbert on the air.
MS NOW anchor Rachel Maddow had lent her support to Stephen Colbert, saying CBS and its parent company, Paramount Skydance, should reverse its decision to cancel The Late Show.
Appearing on the latest episode of Nicolle Wallace‘s The Best People podcast, Maddow was asked about the recent media company mergers, including Paramount’s merger with Skydance earlier this year, and what it means for CBS and CBS News moving forward.
Maddow said these companies still have a “chance to try to alter” their recent decision-making and “try to get right.” The long-time news host specifically touched on the corporate “capitulation” to President Donald Trump, directly referencing Colbert’s axing in July.
“It was absolutely transparent what CBS and Paramount were doing with getting rid of Stephen Colbert. ‘Oh, it’s a financial decision.’ Right, because having the highest-rated late-night show in America for years is somehow financially unsustainable now when it wasn’t before?” Maddow stated, per Variety, referring to how CBS cited ‘financial reasons’ for the show’s cancelation.
She then made a dig at the newly appointed CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, saying, “At the same time that you’ve got Trump-connected oligarchs taking over this company and putting a right-wing blogger in charge of CBS News.”
Maddow called the “CBS News takeover” a “huge embarrassment to everybody involved in it.”
The Rachel Maddow Show host urged CBS and Paramount to “reverse the decision about Colbert,” adding, “He’s still on the air now, he’s still got a few months on the horizon left before they plan on taking him off the air. They should change that.”
The final episode of The Late Show is scheduled to air in May 2026.
Maddow pointed out how Paramount made a hasty decision to appease Trump when they axed The Late Show back in July, and now, months later, the President’s public support is waning. She noted that Trump is at “-24 in terms of his approval rating,” according to the latest Gallup poll, as his rhetoric has only gotten worse.
“So that’s what’s happened, CBS — that’s what’s happened, Paramount, since you decided that you would try to please Donald Trump by taking Stephen Colbert off the air. Like, maybe don’t do that,” she concluded.
Should CBS and Paramount reverse their decision to cancel The Late Show? Let us know your thoughts below.
The Rachel Maddow Show, Mondays, 9/8c, MSNBC
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS
Conversation10 Comments
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F
They absolutely should reverse their decision. But I won't hold my breath.
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Z
I was a big DavidLetterman fan and used to watch and attended many taping of The Late Show. I don’t watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as much, but I was disappointed and sadden that CBS cancelled the show especially since it seemed to be politically motivated. I support CBS to uncancel the show.
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B
Stephen Colbert, tells it like it is. There was NO reason to cancel him!! Trump just can’t handle the truth, since he lies so much!! Keep the Late Show on!!
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J
Stop Uncanceling Colbert!
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L
I think CBS pulled a fast one by making Colbert's cancellation happen so slowly. It just didn't stir viewers & 1st-Amendment Rights advocates to the massive within-24-hours reaction that ABC got for suspending Kimmel the very next day. Maybe advocates with big public platforms can come together to get the public to react in concert & make a big chosen-date splash that rocks CBS the way ABC was rocked ('cuz in the final analysis, viewer/advertizing income -- or loss thereof -- rules). If only I had such a platform....
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D
With Kimmel there was the entire fiasco about Charlie Kirk stirred up in social media, podcasts and Fox News, so the heated debates were coming from all sides and created a megaphone 📢 of noise across the country. CBS didn’t suspend Colbert for 1st Amendment rights, as you said, they slyly canceled the show in advance for “financial reasons.” Only people who are really paying attention to the actual events and facts in the news 📰 will understand how it all came about.
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D
Unfortunately I don’t see that happening, at least not right away, as the hostile takeover attempt of WB/HBO Max by Paramount Skydance will take many months to fully complete. We know that Netflix taking over would create a huge monopoly by owning the 1st & 3rd largest streaming platforms, however if Paramount Skydance wins the bid, they have already made a verbal deal with Trump to transform CNN into a shell of what it is today. Of course the POTUS is not supposed to be involved in these matters, but he does get the final sign off and is in business with the Ellison family. Jared Kushner and multiple Middle Eastern countries are involved in the financial dealings of the purchase.
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M
Keep Colbert and his brilliant show!!
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S
I believe that Trump is going after Venezuela is to offset his failure to stand up to Putin.
He is afraid or he is making to much money to anger Putin, but he has to be seen as tough.
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T
He could have just taken a pay cut to stay on the air like Jimmy Fallon did
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