“Treated like a national tragedy” — Matt Walsh calls Stephen Colbert the most “overtly political” late-night host after show’s cancellation

Matt Walsh recently called out Stephen Colbert for being the most "overtly political" and "left-wing" of all the late-night hosts, following CBS's announcement of the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

For those unfamiliar, during the taping of The Late Show on July 18, Colbert announced that CBS would be ending his show in 2026 after 10 seasons.

"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.

Reacting to the announcement, Matt Walsh, in the July 22 episode of the Matt Walsh Show, claimed that the cancellation of Colbert's show was treated like a national tragedy by the media and Democratic politicians.

"Now, naturally that the cancellation of Stephen Colbert was treated like a national tragedy by the media and Democrat politicians. Colbert was the most overtly political and left-wing of all the late-night hosts, which is saying a lot," Walsh stated.

Walsh also seemingly pointed to a narrative circulating among the "right wing" that the show's cancellation may have stemmed from Colbert's criticism of the recent settlement between President Trump and CBS.

For the unversed, in October 2024, President Donald Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit against CBS News for deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that aired on 60 Minutes, per the BBC.

After months of legal back-and-forth, CBS's parent company, Paramount, settled the lawsuit for $16 million on July 3, with the funds reportedly directed to Trump's presidential library.

However, during his July 14 monologue on The Late Show, Stephen referred to the settlement as a "big, fat bribe," prompting speculation among viewers about whether his public criticism of both President Trump and the network played a role in the cancellation.

"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.

Also read: 10 best ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ episodes that are a must-watch

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Matt Walsh suggests the reason behind the public outrage over Stephen Colbert's show ending

Elsewhere in his podcast, Matt Walsh claimed that the intense outrage from the "left wing" and "democrats" over the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show is driven by their connection to him.

He explained that Colbert gave a platform to these Democratic politicians, journalists, and news anchors on his show and treated them like "celebrities." This, he claimed, fueled their frustration, as without the show, they would lose a platform to speak.

"Look at any of them. Every single one of them has been on Stephen Colbert's show. He would have them on his show. He treated them like celebrities, and that's why they're really so upset about it. This was their one opportunity to sit, you know, to go on a late-night show and be treated like a celebrity," Walsh stated.

Supporting his argument, Matt Walsh pointed out that American Democratic politician Elizabeth Warren, one of the first prominent figures to tie Colbert's show cancellation to his remarks on the $16M Paramount-Trump settlement, had been a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert "multiple times."

"Elizabeth Warren had been on The Late Show interviewed by Colbert like 14 times or something crazy. I don't know. A bunch of times. Elizabeth Warren has been on this late-night comedy show, not just once, but multiple times," Walsh stated.

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Meanwhile, in a statement to Variety published on July 17, CBS executives clarified that the cancellation of the show was purely a financial decision, made "against a challenging backdrop in late night."

Edited by Shubham Soni