Schiff, Warren say public needs to know if Colbert cancellation was political

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the public “deserves to know” whether CBS’s decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Thursday was politically motivated.

“Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better,” Schiff wrote.

Warren added, “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons. Watch and share his message.”

CBS PARENT COMPANY SPARKS MASSIVE OUTRAGE WITH TRUMP LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT

CBS said in a statement that the long-running late-night show will end in May 2026, but it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” adding, “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

There had been speculation about the future of the Paramount-owned late-night programs, which also includes “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, as its planned corporate merger with Skydance Media is expected to take place later this year.

Colbert was outspoken against the settlement, calling it a “big fat bribe.” He joked about being pressured by studio heads earlier this week.

“Some of the TV typers out there are blogging that once Skydance gets CBS, the new owners’ desire to please Trump will ‘put pressure on late-night host and frequent Trump critic Stephen Colbert,’” Colbert joked. “OK, but how are they going to put pressure on Stephen Colbert… if they can’t find him?”

Several journalists and commentators have also speculated that CBS and Paramount’s recent lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump earlier this month could create a “slippery slope” for news broadcasters. 

Trump sued for “election interference” over a “60 Minutes” interview edit of his 2024 opponent Kamala Harris, and Paramount was lambasted for settling the suit that its lawyers had called baseless.

CBS STAFFERS REVOLT OVER PARAMOUNT’S ‘SHAMEFUL’ TRUMP SETTLEMENT, ‘BETRAYAL’ TO THE NETWORK’S JOURNALISTS

“The Late Show,” which Colbert took over from David Letterman in 2015, leaned into liberal politics in the Trump era and had became a major platform for Democratic politicians. Last month, Colbert welcomed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani before the socialist hopeful clinched the Democratic nomination.

“The Late Show” first began airing with Letterman in 1993.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff and Warren for comment.

Fox News’ Brian Flood and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.