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<\/p>\nDavid Letterman, who hosted “The Late Show” from 1993 to 2015, joked that his predecessor, Stephen Colbert, is a “martyr” and questioned the motivations for canceling the CBS show.<\/p>\n
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Stephen Colbert fires back at Paramount, Trump over ‘Late Show’ axing<\/p>\n
Stephen Colbert blasted Paramount and President Donald Trump after “Late Show” cancellation.<\/p>\n
David Letterman<\/a> is questioning the motivations behind the shock cancellation of his former CBS home, “The Late Show<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Speaking with former “Late Night with David Letterman<\/a>” colleagues Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay in a July 25 clip<\/a> from “The Barbara Gaines Show” on Letterman’s YouTube channel, the 78-year-old comedian did not hold back. He threw barbs at CBS parent company Paramount Global and David Ellison, who’s slated to become CEO after Paramount merges with his Skydance Media<\/a> in an $8.4 billion deal.<\/p>\n “It’s all very strange. It’s very complicated, but it was a bit of a surprise, wasn’t it?” Letterman said. As the 14-minute Zoom conversation continued, he eventually called Paramount pulling the plug on Stephen Colbert’s show<\/a> “pure cowardice” and “gutless.”<\/p>\n Letterman hosted the show from 1993 until 2015, at which point Colbert took over post-“Colbert Report.”<\/a> After Colbert announced on July 17<\/a> that “The Late Show” would be ending in May after more than 30 years, Paramount released a statement that called the move “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”<\/p>\n The media company also maintained: “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”<\/p>\n While Colbert’s show is the top rated<\/a> at 11:30 p.m. ET\/PT, it was losing a reported $40 million a year.<\/p>\n David Letterman blasts explanation that ‘Late Show’ was canceled for financial reasons<\/p>\n Letterman speculated that Paramount is capitulating to Ellison, who might not “want any trouble from that guy,” referring to Colbert, long known for his political satire and criticism of President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Not only are we going to get rid of that guy, we’re going to get rid of the whole franchise so you don’t have to worry about another guy,” Letterman said in an impersonation of Paramount executives. “It’s gone, buddy!”<\/p>\n “I think it’s sad, but what this indicates also is (Ellison doesn’t) want any trouble along the lines of freedom of the press or free speech or freedom of expression,” Letterman surmised. “They don’t want to get their hands dirty; they don’t want the government going after them.”<\/p>\n He also cast doubt on the explanation that the “Late Show” cancellation was “purely a financial decision.”<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t think it was money. I think it was all to make sure (Ellison was) solid spending dad\u2019s (Larry Ellison’s) money,” he said.<\/p>\n “You’re telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday?” he said. “I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago. I’ll bet they were losing this kind of money six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money.<\/p>\n “Take a look at the CBS News. It’s still in business, and I’m not certain that that’s a profit center,” he continued.<\/p>\n