() CBS’ decision to cancel “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in May 2026 is being met with mixed reactions from other late-night show hosts in the industry.
Colbert announced the news during Thursday’s taping of the show. “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,” Colbert said.
Taking to Instagram, Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” shared a clip of Colbert’s announcement on the show, writing, “Love you Stephen. F— you and all your Sheldons CBS.”
Jimmy Fallon over at NBC’s “The Tonight Show” also took to Instagram, writing that he was “just as shocked as everyone” by the news.
“Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come,” Fallon wrote, adding, “I’m sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.”
There has been speculation that the decision to end the show was in response to Colbert’s criticism of CBS parent company Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement with President Trump over a lawsuit involving a “60 Minutes” story. Paramount has maintained that the cancellation is “purely a financial decision” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
President Trump responded to Colbert’s departure in a Truth Social post on Friday, writing, “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
The president had a friendly relationship with the conservative host Gutfeld for years.
