US lawmakers question whether CBS cancelled Colbert’s show for political reasons

WASHINGTON - Democratic lawmakers are questioning the timing of CBS’ announcement to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which came days after Colbert criticised the network’s parent company for paying US President Donald Trump US$16 million (S$20.5 million) to settle a lawsuit.

Hours after CBS executives characterised the move as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night”, lawmakers began suggesting that the cancellation was linked to Paramount’s recent settlement with Mr Trump.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on social media that the settlement with Mr Trump “looks like bribery”, and Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington said: “People deserve to know if this is a politically motivated attack on free speech.”

The Late Show was racking up losses of tens of millions of dollars a year, and the gap was growing fast, The New York Times reported.

Paramount recently agreed to pay Mr Trump US$16 million to settle his lawsuit over the editing of an interview on the CBS News programme 60 Minutes.

Colbert, a long-time critic of Mr Trump’s, panned on July 14 that the settlement was a “big fat bribe”, a reference to Paramount’s multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance that still requires approval from the Trump administration.

CBS executives said in a statement on July 17 night that the decision was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount”.

The show’s cancellation comes during a period of upheaval in the world of late-night television, as viewers migrate away from traditional broadcast and cable television and as advertising revenue for late-night programmes plummets. Colbert’s show will end in May, when his contract expires.

Still, independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, also cited the pending merger in a social media post on the morning of July 18.

“Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late night host, slams the deal. Days later, he’s fired,” Mr Sanders said. “Do I think this is a coincidence? NO.”

Colbert said during the July 17 taping of the show that he was informed of the cancellation on the night of July 16. For his part, Colbert had joked on July 14 that his moustache would protect him from any pressure that comes from “the new owner’s desire to please Trump”, asking: “How are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert if they can’t find him?”

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California, who was a guest on Colbert’s show on July 17 night, demanded more answers as to whether the show was cancelled for political reasons.

“If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know,” Mr Schiff wrote on social media platform X.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the decision to cancel the show.

“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,” Mr Trump said in his own social media post. “His talent was even less than his ratings.” NYTIMES