Stephen Colbert finds himself at the center of an unusual clash with CBS executives, challenging their restrictions on what he can broadcast on his late-night show.
During Tuesday’s episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert expressed astonishment at CBS’s denial of his claim that their legal team had prohibited him from airing an interview with James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the Texas Senate, which he said transpired the previous evening.
In a bold move, Colbert humorously placed the network’s statement in a dog poop bag and discarded it, making his disapproval clear.
Opting to share the Talarico interview on YouTube, Colbert explained to his audience that CBS’s reservation stemmed from concerns over FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s potential enforcement of a rule requiring broadcasters to provide “equal time” to rival candidates following an interview with one.
Colbert noted the absence of precedent for this rule’s application on talk show interviews, stating, “In my entire late-night career, and even dating back to the 1960s, there’s no record of this rule being enforced.”
Although Carr mentioned in January the possibility of revoking the talk show exemption, no action had been taken. Colbert wryly commented, “But CBS kindly took care of it for him.”
Not only had CBS been aware Monday night that Colbert was going to talk about this issue publicly, its lawyers had even approved it in his script, he said. That’s why he was surprised by the statement, which said that Colbert had been provided “legal guidance” that broadcasting the interview could trigger the equal time rule.
“I don’t know what this is about,” Colbert said. “For the record, I’m not even mad. I really don’t want an adversarial relationship with the network. I’ve never had one.”
He said he was “just so surprised that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these bullies.” CBS is owned by Paramount Global.
Colbert is a short-timer now at CBS. The network announced last summer that Colbert’s show, where President Donald Trump is a frequent target of biting jokes, would end in May. The network said it was for economic reasons but others — including Colbert — have expressed skepticism that Trump’s repeated criticism of the show had nothing to do with it.
This week’s dispute with Colbert also recalls last fall, when ABC took late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a remark made about the killing of conservative activist founder Charlie Kirk, only to reinstate him following a backlash by viewers.
As of Wednesday morning, Colbert’s YouTube interview with Talarico had been viewed more than five million times, or roughly double what the comic’s CBS program draws each night.
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
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