Stephen Colbert used his late-night show to clap back at the new F.C.C. “crackdown rules” that his lawyers warned him “not to talk about.”
“A new crackdown on late-night TV? That has enormous implications for me for four more months,” Colbert, 61, whose Late Show is ending in May, joked on Thursday night. “Good luck, Jimmy! See ya! See ya, suckers!” the Emmy-winning host added, waving goodbye to his fellow hosts.
On Wednesday, F.C.C. Chairman Brendan Carr—who Colbert described as a “disappointed testicle”—dredged up an archaic regulation in his prolonged attack on late-night talk show hosts.
Carr, 47, announced that late-night shows, which were long thought to be exempt from F.C.C. obligations because of their “bona fide news” status, are required to provide equal appearance opportunities to opposing candidates in election years.
“For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as “bona fide news” programs - even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes,“ Carr wrote. ”Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities."
The previously dormant rules require talk shows broadcast on local TV networks—Colbert on CBS, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, and Seth Meyers on NBC—to offer equal airtime to candidates on both sides of the fence. The regulations will also affect daytime shows like The View, which airs on ABC.
“Oh, no! They’ve awakened the long-dormant rules, not seen since the mind-bending horrors of the pre-euclidean variety show Cthulu Tonight," Colbert said, feigning shock. “This is clearly an attempt to silence me, Jimmy, and Seth.”
A “flattered” Colbert said he only had one thing to say to Carr about his show’s “power to affect politics.”
“I’ve been doing this job, and let me tell you something, buddy, if our government had turned out the way I had chosen, you would not have the power to make this announcement,” Colbert declared as his audience began cheering his name.
In September, after urging from President Donald Trump, Carr threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcasting license following a monologue joke about Charlie Kirk’s assassination by Jimmy Kimmel. ABC pulled Kimmel off the air before public backlash prompted the network to shorten the suspension to three days.
In his own monologue, Kimmel asked his viewers for their support one more time.
“We are once again getting threatened by the FCC,” Kimmel said on Thursday. “I might need your help again.”
Unlike Kimmel, who recently renewed his contract, Colbert has little left to lose in a fight against the FCC. In July, CBS announced that Colbert’s show would be ending after its current season, which finishes in May. His show has aired on the network since 2015, when Colbert succeeded longtime late-night host David Letterman for the coveted time slot.
To close his monologue, Colbert suggested his show may have more political influence than he previously let on.
“We don’t have the leaders that I want, but hopefully that’s all gonna change after my interview with tonight’s guest, Chance the Next President of the United States!” Colbert said, altering the name of musician Chance the Rapper.
