On this week’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart attacked CBS for abruptly canceling the “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in a rare uncensored episode.
Stewart began by recounting his history with Stephen Colbert, which included six years together on “The Daily Show” before Colbert went on to “The Colbert Report” in 2005 and the “Late Show” in 2015. He then went on the attack.
“The fact that CBS didn’t try to save their number one-rated network late-night franchise that’s been on the air for over three decades is part of what’s making everybody wonder, was this purely financial?” Stewart said. “Or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger was killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president, so insecure, suffering terribly from a case of chronic penis insufficiency.”
He continued, “Look, I understand the corporate fear. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake. But understand this, truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor and control, a not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those fucking shows.”
Stewart went on to say he believes this won’t be the last time CBS finds itself in trouble with the president. He used Donald Trump‘s recent lawsuit against the New York Times and its owner Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox News, over a story about an alleged birthday card from the president to Jeffrey Epstein as an example.
“Donald Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox News. The man other than Biden, maybe most responsible for getting Trump elected,” Stewart joked, “Fox spends 24 hours a day blowing Trump, and it’s not enough. Imagine suing someone mid-blow.”
The late-night pundit also joked about his own future in television, quipping, “This is not the moment to give in. I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere…..I think.”
Stewart ended his monologue by serenading all media companies who think “bending the knee to Trump” will save them. After rousing the crowd with the help of a gospel choir, Stewart sang, “But if you’re afraid and you protect your bottom line, I got but one thing to say! Go fuck yourself!”
It was unveiled Thursday that CBS planned to end Colbert’s “Late Show” after the next TV season, citing the cancellation as a “financial decision.” Late-night programming has long been on shaky ground due to declining viewership and difficulties maintaining relevance with young viewers, making the high production costs hard to justify. The news marks the end of the “Late Show’s” historic run, which started with David Letterman in 1993.
“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise,” CBS executives said in a statement. “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. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Colbert was informed of the news Wednesday evening, according to a person familiar with the matter. He told his audience during the taping of his Thursday night show, “It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it.” When the audience booed in response, he added, “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.”
Watch the entire segment below.