CBS has fired back at Stephen Colbert, claiming it did not keep his show from airing an interview with Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico.
The statement comes more than 13 hours after Colbert slammed his own network’s MAGA-coded executives for supposedly telling him that his interview with Talarico could not air due to new guidance from the FCC on its equal time rule.
Colbert kicked off Monday’s The Late Show with the bombshell claim, saying, “[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
He continued, “Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
Colbert shared his interview with Talarico on his show’s YouTube page, where it had received over 2 million views by 4 p.m. Tuesday. That is about 600,000 fewer viewers than his January broadcasts averaged.
A Tuesday afternoon statement from CBS disputes Colbert’s version of what occurred.
“The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico,” the network wrote in an emailed statement. “The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.”
It added, “The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”
Despite having higher ratings than its late-night and weeknight peers, The Late Show is being canceled after this season, meaning Colbert has less to lose by speaking out against its executives. His final show is scheduled for May 21.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and has done his bidding by going after anti-MAGA voices in media, ordered legacy TV networks to fulfill their “obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities” last month.
Carr said late-night TV would be subject to the FCC’s equal time rule moving forward, requiring hosts to offer equal time on the air to political candidates running for office—a requirement critics say is not supported by law. Earlier this month, the FCC launched a probe into ABC’s The View for having Talarico on the show because of the new emphasis on equal time.
The FCC’s only Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, slammed CBS on Tuesday, saying its alleged decision to ditch the Talarico interview was “another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech.”
Networks have been hesitant to pick a fight with the FCC and the White House in Trump‘s second term. ABC infamously suspended Jimmy Kimmel in September over remarks he made about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk—a kneejerk reaction that was widely condemned and viewed as being done out of fear that Carr would retaliate against affiliates.
The public rift between CBS and Colbert is the latest headache among many at the network, which is set to lose star 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper and another one of the show’s star journalists at the end of the current season.
A report by Status revealed that Anderson was not aligned with the “rightward direction” under CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and Paramount CEO David Ellison.
