“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night called CBS’ denial of his claim that it blocked the broadcast of his interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico “crap” — and urged the network and its parent, Paramount Skydance, to stand up to the “bullies” in the Trump administration.
Colbert’s broadside came hours after CBS issued a statement on the controversy.
The host, whose show will end in May as it was canceled by CBS, held up a printed copy of the network’s statement about Talarico’s interview during his show Tuesday night and said, “I don’t even know what to do with this crap.”
He then pulled a plastic doggy bag from behind his desk, picked up the statement, tied a knot and mimed throwing it away before cutting to commercial.
The controversy is the latest flap to spark speculation that CBS is currying favor with the Trump administration as Paramount makes a hostile tender bid for Warner Bros Discovery. If WBD’s shareholders accept Paramount’s bid, federal government regulators would need to sign off on the deal.
Colbert had invited Talarico, who is running in the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas, to appear on Monday night’s broadcast of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
But early in that night’s show, Colbert said to his studio audience that CBS’ lawyers had told him “in no uncertain terms … that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
Colbert said the lawyers wanted to avoid running afoul of new guidance by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr that suggests broadcast talk shows could be required to abide by the so-called equal time provision requiring broadcasters to give political candidates equal coverage if their opponents appear on air.
Colbert noted that he had put Talarico’s interview on the “Late Show” YouTube channel — the video has been seen more than 4.4 million times.
CBS, in its statement on Tuesday afternoon, denied Colbert’s main allegation that it had barred the interview from being aired.
“The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico,” the network said.
“The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett [D-Texas], and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled,” CBS said.
Colbert scoffed at the statement during Tuesday’s show.
“They know damn well that every word of my script last night was approved by CBS lawyers who, for the record, approved every script that goes on the air,” Colbert said.
“In fact, between the monologue I did last night, and before I did the second act talking about this issue, I had to go backstage,” he said.
“I got called backstage to get more notes from these lawyers. Something that had never, ever happened before, and they told us the language they wanted me to use to describe that equal time exception, and I used that language,” Colbert said. “So I don’t know what this is about.”
Colbert went on to say he wasn’t “mad” at the network and does not want an “adversarial relationship.”
“I’m just so surprised that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these bullies,” he said.
“Come on. You’re Paramount. No, no, no, you’re more than that. You’re Paramount+,” Colbert cracked. “And for the lawyers to release this [statement] without even talking to me is really surprising.”
The host also noted that there has long been “a very famous exception to” the equal time rule, “and that exception included talk shows, interviews with politicians.”
“We looked, and we can’t find one example of this rule being enforced for any talk show interview, not only for my entire late-night career, but for anyone’s late-night career, going back to the 1960s,” he said.
Colbert said that Carr has “not gotten rid of” that exception for talk show hosts “yet.”
“But CBS generously did it for him and told me, unilaterally, that I had to abide by the equal time rules, something I have never been asked to do for an interview in the 20 years of this job,” he added.
“Now, that decision, I want to be clear, is their right, just like I have the right to talk about their decision on air last night,” Colbert said.
Paramount did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Early voting in the Texas Democratic primary began Tuesday. Talarico is in a close contest against U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. The winner will face the victor of the Republican primary between Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.
