Jon Stewart Thunders Against Paramount & CBS After Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Cancellation – “We Try, Every Night”

Jon Stewart turned Monday night’s Daily Show into a blistering prime-time editorial, unleashing a profanity-laden takedown of Paramount Global and CBS for their decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The comedian didn’t hold back, accusing the companies of bowing to political pressure from former President Donald Trump at a moment when the media should be standing firm.

CBS had announced just days earlier that The Late Show — a late-night mainstay hosted by Colbert since 2015 — would be ending its run. The network claimed the decision was purely financial and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

But Stewart wasn’t buying it.

Stewart’s Fury at Paramount: “You Are F—— Wrong”

From the start of Monday’s episode, Stewart zeroed in on Paramount’s $8 billion merger deal with Skydance Media, which is awaiting government approval. He argued that Colbert’s show — and others like it — were responsible for generating the very value Paramount is now trying to cash in on.

“Shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid,” Stewart said, looking straight at the camera. “This is not a ‘We speak truth to power.’ We don’t. We speak opinions to television cameras. But we try. We f—— try, every night.

“And if you believe — as corporations or as networks — that you can make yourself so innocuous that you can serve a gruel so flavorless that you will never again be on the boy king’s radar? A.) Why will anyone watch you? And B.) you are f—— wrong.”

The segment escalated from there, culminating in Stewart bringing out a full church choir to belt out a musical refrain telling corporate executives to either “sack the f— up” or “go f— yourself.” Because The Daily Show airs on cable, none of the profanity was censored — making the moment even more shocking.

Neither Paramount nor Comedy Central offered an immediate comment in response to Stewart’s on-air tirade.

Colbert Fires Back – “The Gloves Are Off”

Just minutes later, Stephen Colbert himself took the stage on The Late Show and echoed Stewart’s outrage, turning his monologue into a rallying cry.

Colbert said that CBS’ $16 million settlement of Donald Trump’s lawsuit — over a 60 Minutes interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris — sent the wrong message and emboldened political pressure on news outlets.

He called the payout a “big fat bribe” and channeled the energy of an action-movie hero: “CBS made one mistake: they left me alive. And now for the next 10 months, the gloves are off.”

The episode mixed anger with comedy, featuring cameos from Weird Al Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda performing a Coldplay cover to cheer up the audience. The “kiss cam” panned to Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, and even Jon Stewart and John Oliver — turning the moment into a show of late-night solidarity.

A cartoon Donald Trump was shown slow-dancing with the Paramount logo — a jab at both the merger and a viral Coldplay concert incident that recently forced a data company CEO to resign.

Trump Celebrates, Targets Other Hosts

On Tuesday morning, Trump appeared triumphant on Truth Social, celebrating Colbert’s cancellation and predicting that Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon would soon follow.

“The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone. These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television,” Trump wrote.

“It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!” he added.

Fallout Inside CBS and Paramount

The backlash over the settlement with Trump has not been limited to comedians. Several prominent figures within CBS News have publicly criticized the deal, arguing it compromises the editorial independence of the network.

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley warned in June that the agreement would be “very damaging” to the integrity of the program. In April, longtime editor Bill Owens stepped down, citing concerns about editorial freedom, and CBS News president Wendy McMahon resigned a month later.

The $8 billion Paramount–Skydance merger, first announced a year ago, has faced repeated delays. Under the Biden administration, the deal was subject to standard antitrust review. Under Trump, however, the regulatory process has taken on an overtly political dimension, with FCC chairman Brendan Carr meeting with Skydance CEO David Ellison last week to secure assurances of “diverse viewpoints” on the network’s platforms.

Ellison, son of Oracle billionaire and Trump ally Larry Ellison, has nevertheless donated to candidates in both parties. In February 2024, he gave to President Biden’s re-election fund shortly before Biden exited the race.

Stewart & Colbert’s Shared History

Stewart and Colbert have been close friends for decades. Colbert first joined The Daily Show in 1997, eventually spinning off into The Colbert Report in 2005 and becoming one of the most influential late-night hosts of his generation.

On Monday, Stewart praised Colbert’s tenure as nothing short of transformative:

“Watching Stephen exceed all expectations in the role and become the No. 1 late-night show on network television has been an undeniable great pleasure for me — as a viewer and as his friend,” Stewart said.

Stewart admitted that late-night television is an increasingly difficult business model — “We’re all basically operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records” — but argued that networks should adapt, not retreat.

“When CDs stopped selling, they didn’t just go, ‘Oh well, music, it’s been a good run,’” Stewart quipped.

He closed his monologue with a defiant note, joking about his own uncertain future under the Paramount–Skydance merger but insisting he would not back down:

“This is not the moment to give in,” Stewart said. “I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere — I think.”

A Defining Moment for Late-Night

The combined force of Stewart and Colbert’s responses has turned what might have been a quiet programming decision into a full-blown cultural flashpoint. Industry analysts say the cancellation of The Late Show — and the wider implications for media independence during a politically sensitive merger — could reshape late-night television as we know it.

For Stewart, Monday’s episode was more than just television. It was a battle cry — a reminder that even in an era of shrinking audiences and corporate consolidation, satire still has the power to fight back.