David Letterman Calls CBS ‘Lying Weasels’ Over ‘Late Show’ Cancellation

David Letterman didn’t mince words when it came to his opinion on CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. In a new interview with The New York Times, Letterman, who was Colbert’s predecessor and hosted The Late Show With David Letterman from 1993 until 2015, weighed in on the decision with biting words for his old network.

Letterman was asked if he buys CBS’s official explanation that the show was canceled for financial reasons, and he explained why he does not.

“They don’t share the books with me. All of television seems to have been nicked by digital communication and streaming platforms and on and on. TV may be not the money machine it once was. On the other hand, 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 said. “He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there’s not going to be any trouble with that guy. We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry?; I’m just going to go on record as saying: They’re lying. Let me just add one other thing, Jason. They’re lying weasels.”

Then, when discussing the star of Colbert’s timeslot replacement, Byron Allen, Letterman indicated he has no hard feelings for him — “God bless him,” Letterman said — but he does have a grudge against the network.

“To hell with CBS. To hell with Skydance. To hell with the Winslow twins or whoever the hell these guys are. But Byron, he’ll still be providing comedy in that time period. I think that’s a valuable bit of resolution here,” Letterman said.

Letterman also weighed in on the status of late-night television after The Late Show‘s cancellation and had a grim prediction: “We still have Jimmy [Kimmel and/or Fallon]. We still have Seth [Meyers]. It’s not completely dead on arrival, but I would be surprised if it lasts more than a year or so,” he said.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is coming to an end this month, on May 21, after 11 years with Colbert as host. Colbert himself has previously weighed in on the company’s claims that its cancellation was motivated solely by financial concerns, saying in November, “I think we’re the first number-one show to ever get canceled.” He also told the Times in April, “I do not dispute their rationale. I do make jokes about it…. But I also completely understand why people would say (a) ‘that doesn’t make sense to me’ and (b) ‘that seems fishy to me.’ Because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit.”

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