CNN
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\n Jon Stewart pulled no punches Monday over CBS\u2019s cancellation of Stephen Colbert\u2019s late-night show.\n <\/p>\n
\n During Monday night\u2019s broadcast of \u201cThe Daily Show,\u201d Stewart\u2019s first since Colbert on Thursday shared that \u201cThe Late Show\u201d would not return<\/a> beyond May 2026, the late-night veteran lambasted CBS for canceling the program.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe fact that CBS didn\u2019t try to save their No. 1 rated late-night franchise that\u2019s been on the air for over three decades is part of what\u2019s making everybody wonder \u2026 was this purely financial or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger,\u201d Stewart said on his Comedy Central program.\n <\/p>\n \n Paramount Global \u2014 the parent of both CBS and Comedy Central \u2014 has been angling for regulatory approval for a merger with Skydance Media. Some critics last week connected the cancellation of Colbert\u2019s show<\/a>, in which he\u2019s frequently taken aim at President Donald Trump, with the merger. CBS, for its part, cited financial reasons for discontinuing the show, stating that it was losing money in a challenging environment for late-night programming.\n <\/p>\n \n Stewart had harsh words for CBS and Paramount, using several expletives to punctuate his sentiments.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf you believe as corporations or as networks (that) you can make yourselves so innocuous, that you can serve gruel so flavorless that you will never again\u201d risk Trump\u2019s ire, \u201cyou are f**king wrong.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Stewart is the latest late-night host to denounce the network\u2019s cancellation of the 33-year-old show, just months ahead of his contract\u2019s December 2025 expiration. Just last week, Stewart said his team hasn\u2019t \u201cheard anything<\/a>\u201d from executives about whether his show will be renewed. Soon after Colbert broke the news of his show\u2019s conclusion, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel slammed the move on Instagram.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cLove you Stephen,\u201d Kimmel wrote<\/a> on his Instagram story. \u201cF**k you (\u2026) CBS.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers<\/a> also offered Colbert support. Taking to their respective Instagram Stories, Fallon wrote, \u201cI\u2019m just as shocked as everyone,\u201d while Meyers wrote, \u201cI\u2019m going to miss having him on TV every night.\u201d John Oliver, often viewed as the firebrand of late-night, told reporters on Saturday<\/a> that the program\u2019s cancellation was \u201cterrible, terrible news for the world of comedy.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Colbert, who has helmed \u201cThe Late Show\u201d since 2015, first announced his cancellation of during the show\u2019s taping last Thursday. CBS has chalked the show\u2019s demise to financial pressures. Late-night talk shows across the board are facing the harsh reality<\/a> that declines in ad revenue can\u2019t make up for burgeoning production costs.\n <\/p>\n \n But Stewart on Monday waved off the idea that late-night comedy is a financial black hole.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cLook, I understand the corporate fear, I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake,\u201d he said on Monday. \u201cBut understand this: The shows that you now seek to cancel, censor and control, a not-insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those \u2026 shows. That\u2019s what made that money.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Critics have also noted<\/a> that the program\u2019s cancellation comes after Paramount Global\u2019s settlement with President Trump<\/a>. The CBS parent in early July agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit<\/a> over a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris \u2014 despite many legal experts<\/a> considering it to be a legally dubious case.\n <\/p>\n \n The settlement raised concerns that the company was trying to gain the favor of the Federal Communications Commission, whose approval Paramount needs to merge with Skydance Media<\/a>. Trump has also boasted of an additional $16-plus-million \u201cside deal<\/a>\u201d with Skydance\u2019s David Ellison, which will see CBS broadcast PSAs for causes important to Trump following the Paramount-Skydance merger.\n <\/p>\n \n Colbert has been critical of the settlement<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n