Stephen Colbert returned for his first full program after last week’s announcement that CBS was canceling his “Late Show” with some supportive late-night guests, a joke about cancel culture and an extremely pointed remark directed at President Donald Trump.
“I’m going to go ahead and say it: Cancel culture’s gone way too far,” Colbert said to a rambunctious audience that loudly chanted his name.
CBS and parent Paramount Global said the decision to end the “Late Show” next May was purely financial. It hasn’t gone unnoticed – and was mentioned by Colbert Monday night – that the announcement came days after the comic had sharply criticized Paramount’s $16 million settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview.
Colbert, known for his sharp comic takedowns of the Republican president, said that “over the weekend, it sunk in that they killed off our show. But they made one mistake. They left