David Letterman slams CBS for canceling Stephen Colbert's show
What's the story
David Letterman, the former host of CBS's The Late Show, has slammed the network for recently canceling Stephen Colbert's version of the show. In a recent interview with his former executive producer Barbara Gaines, he called the decision "pure cowardice." He also questioned CBS's claim that economics was behind the cancellation. "The idea that they're hiding behind money... I don't think it was money," he said.
Financial dispute
'They've given [Colbert] another 10 months...'
Letterman further disputed CBS's financial reasoning, saying, "They've given [Colbert] another 10 months, that's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose." "If they were losing that kind of money - you're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday?" He added, "They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves."
Legal connection
Letterman connects show's cancellation to Trump's lawsuit settlement
Letterman also connected the cancellation of The Late Show to CBS's recent settlement of Donald Trump's lawsuit against 60 Minutes. He said, "This is pure cowardice...they decided, 'Aw, we're sorry, let us give you $20 million.' I believe this is in the wake of that." He added that he thinks CBS and Paramount management will one day be "embarrassed" by their handling of this situation.
Cancellation announcement
Colbert announced 'The Late Show's cancellation on July 17
Colbert had announced the cancellation of The Late Show on his July 17 show. However, the show will continue to air until the end of the 2025-26 season. To note, in October last year, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, alleging the network deceptively edited an interview of Kamala Harris to benefit the Democratic Party. He later bumped up the damages to $20 billion. Eventually, the network settled the lawsuit with Trump a few weeks ago.