David Letterman slams CBS as lying weasels for canceling the Late Show

Late-night legend David Letterman is once again coming to the defense of Stephen Colbert, whose “Late Show” is coming to an end later this month after CBS announced in July 2025 that the historic program was ending for good. Though the network insists the maneuver was a “financial decision,” Letterman shared The New York Times that he does not believe that reasoning.

“He was dumped because the people who sold the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there won’t be any problems with that guy. We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink be dry on the check?'” Letterman told NYT journalist Jason Zinoman. “I’m just going to go on the record: They’re lying. Let me add one more thing, Jason. They’re lying weasels.”

When CBS announced that Colbert would be taken off the air, Paramount, CBS’s parent company, was on the verge of being acquired by David Ellison’s Skydance. At the time, the deal was awaiting final approval from the FCC, and by proxy from President Donald Trump, a vocal hater of Colbert and the late-night genre. The timing of the cancellation led some, like Letterman, to speculate that Paramount and CBS canceled “The Late Show” to appease the Trump administration and ensure the Skydance merger would face legal scrutiny.

Letterman joined “The Late Show” as host in 1993 and stepped aside so Colbert could take his place in 2015.

This isn’t the first time Letterman has spoken out in support of his successor. Shortly after news broke of the cancellation of “The Late Show,” Letterman said in an interview on his YouTube channel that he thought the decision was “pure cowardice.”

“They didn’t do the right thing,” he added. “They haven’t treated Stephen Colbert – the face of that network – the way he deserves to be treated.”