Colbert Claps Back at Trump’s Gloating About ‘Late Show’ Cancellation: ‘Go F— Yourself’
Stephen Colbert had succinct message to President Trump, one involving anatomy and begins with the letter F.
In his monologue on Monday’s “Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” he referred to Trump’s celebrating CBS‘s sudden decision to axe the show. The U.S. president, in a post on Truth Social wrote, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”
With mock outrage, Colbert said, “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?”
Colbert then appeared in on-screen frame that said “Eloquence Cam.” Staring directly into the camera, he affected clipped New York accent: “Go fuck yourself.” (The f-bomb bleeped out.) The line drew massive roar of approval from the audience, followed by cheers of “Stephen!
Colbert noted that Trump also said in his online post, “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next” to be fired. To which Colbert said, “Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There’s only room for one on this cross. The view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!”
“Folks, I’m gonna go ahead and say it: Cancel culture has gone to far,” Colbert quipped. “Over the weekend, it sunk in that they’re killing off our show. But they made one mistake: They left me alive,” he said. “And now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off. I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Trump, starting right now.” He then offered this comically milquetoast critique of Trump: “I don’t care for him. Doesn’t have the skillset to be president. Not a good fit, that’s all.”
Colbert reiterated his praise for CBS, saying they have “always been great partners.” But he also asked rhetorically, “how could it be purely be a financial decision if ‘The Late Show’ is No. 1 in ratings?”
Colbert said “somebody at CBS” followed up their “gracious press release” announcing “The Late Show” cancellation with a “gracious anonymous leak” to the New York Post, which reported the program loses $40 million-$50 million per year.
Said Colbert, “I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million.” CBS parent Paramount Global said it will pay Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit alleging a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris was deceptively edited.
“The Late Show” posted a preview of Colbert’s June 21 monologue on Instagram ahead of the program’s broadcast on CBS with the caption: “Sticks and stones may break our bones but presidential turds can never hurt us.”
A crowd of about 100 protestors gathered outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan shouting, “Trump must go, Colbert must stay,” according to a post on X by James Martin, editor for America Magazine. That’s in addition to hundred more waiting to see the show.
Colbert had announced the show’s termination to the audience during taping on Thursday, July 17, and that video was shared online; he had found out about the decision on Wednesday night. He expressed gratitude to fans, staff and CBS execs, but also regretted the network was exiting late night: “It is fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it.”
Colbert’s guests included actor Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy” “Killing Eve”). On stage, she said, “Can I just start by saying something that I feel like probably everyone here and what everyone outside who’s so supportive wants to say, I’m so sorry, and saddened, and properly outraged for the cancellation of late night here.”
She took Colbert’s hand and said: “To CBS and Paramount: a plague on both of your houses. And also pox on all those that they serve.”
CBS, in announcing the cancellation said it was “purely a financial decision,” and the axing follows years-long slide in the economics of late-night TV. The next season will be the 11th and final season of Colbert’s show, ending its run in May 2026.
But the news also came 2 weeks after the Paramount-Trump settlement. On July 14, Colbert said that the settlement by CBS’s parent company was “a big, fat bribe,” alleging Paramount made the payment because the company is seeking to secure Trump administration’s approval to merge with Skydance Media.
The timing definitely looked bad. CBS really had to announce the “Late Show” cancellation because late-night writers and producers sign one-year deals that run from August to the next. The contracts for “Late Show” staffers for the 2025-26 TV season are ending in May 2026, so CBS execs knew that the news to end Colbert after one more season would get out anyway.
Critics of Trump including Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggested that CBS’s cancelation of Colbert’s show were related to Paramount settlement with the president. Warren has characterized the Paramount/CBS settlement as “bribery.” “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons,” Warren said.
The Writers Guild of America called for NY State attorney general to investigate the circumstances around the cancellation, The union had “significant concerns that the cancelation is bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval.”
On Monday, Warren and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden sent letter to Skydance CEO David Ellison, asking whether Skydance and Trump had “secret side deal” apart from the Paramount settlement.m Trump has claimed the settlement is actually worth as much as $35 million when factoring in “advertising.”
In the letter, they also asked Ellison whether he or other Skydance execs were involved in discussions about canceling Late Show With Colbert. According to CBS, Skydance played no part in the decision.
Colbert, in the July 17 video, told the audience, “Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending ‘The Late Show’ in May.”
After the audience reacted with dismay and boos, Colbert continued: “I share your feelings. It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away. And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I’m so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home.
“I’m grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night in here, out there, all around the world, Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea. I’m grateful to share the stage with this band, these artists over here every night. I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show for each other every day, all day. I’ve had the pleasure and responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you for the last 10 years. And let me tell you, it is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it. It’s a job I’m looking forward to doing with this gang of idiots for another 10 months, it’s going to be fun.”
