“Probably unrelated” — Perez Hilton claims Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” was cancelled after criticising CBS for “kowtowing” to Trump

CBS confirmed the upcoming cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday, July 17, 2025. In response to the cancellation, American blogger and columnist Perez Hilton speculated that the decision stemmed from Colbert's criticism of the network's settlement with President Donald Trump.

Hilton took to X on July 18, 2025, highlighting Colbert's recent criticism of CBS's parent company, Paramount, over its $16 million settlement with President Trump. Suggesting that the show's cancellation could be connected to this, he wrote:

"Stephen Colbert didn't shy away from bashing CBS for kowtowing to Trump... Now #TheLateShow is canceled. Probably unrelated..."

For the unversed, in October 2024, President Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, accusing the network of deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris during her appearance on 60 Minutes last fall, per Reuters.

After months of legal back-and-forth, on July 3, Paramount agreed to settle the lawsuit for $16 million, with the money directed toward Trump's presidential funds.

A few days after the settlement was announced, Stephen Colbert called the deal a "big fat bribe" in his July 14 monologue on The Late Show.

"I am offended. I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help," Colbert stated.

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"This is all just going away" — Stephen Colbert reacts to The Late Show cancellation

During the taping of The Late Show on Thursday, July 17, Stephen Colbert announced that CBS would be ending the show in May 2026.

"Before we start the show, I want you to 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," Colbert stated.

As the audience booed in response to the announcement, Colbert said he shared their disappointment, adding that the entire Late Show franchise, which began in 1993, was coming to a close.

"Yeah, 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," Stephen Colbert added.

He also expressed gratitude to his partners at CBS, the show's audience, the house band, and the Tiffany network for being given a chair and a theater to call "home."

He continued thanking The Late Show's entire team, stating:

"I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here. We get to do this show. We get to do this show for each other every day, all day, and I've had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years."

Subsequently, in a statement to Variety published on July 17, CBS executives described Stephen Colbert as "irreplaceable." They emphasized that the cancellation of the show was a purely financial decision.

They also confirmed that the cancellation was not related to "the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."

"We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," the CBS executives said.

Also read: What happened to Stephen Colbert’s dad? Anderson Cooper recalls conversation about grief with ‘The Late Show’ host amid cancellation

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After stepping in as host of The Late Show following David Letterman's departure in September 2015, Stephen Colbert will wrap up his 10-season run with episodes airing in the 2025-2026 season, per People Magazine.

Edited by Riya Peter