Rachel Maddow Pressures CBS, Skydance Paramount to Reverse Stephen Colbert Cancellation [WATCH]

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow is calling on CBS and its parent company, Skydance Paramount, to overturn the decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s late-night program, as reported by Breitbart.

Maddow made the remarks during an interview with Nicolle Wallace on The Best People podcast, where she criticized the companies following their merger.

Maddow described the Paramount-Skydance merger as a “huge embarrassment,” arguing that network leadership should reconsider the direction they are taking.

Rachel Maddow is calling on Paramount to reverse Stephen Colbert’s firing.

“They announced the cancellation of Colbert — everybody knows what it’s about. They’re trying to sort of live down their shame already, and I think in terms of the way they are capitulating, the CBS News… pic.twitter.com/jvi0SMfSUW

— Variety (@Variety) December 9, 2025

“Maybe you can now see where in history you’re going to end up, and now’s your chance to try to alter that and try to get right,” Maddow said. “And I think that a lot of institutions are in that same boat.”

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CBS has stated that the move to cancel Colbert’s show was “purely financial,” citing the program’s high overhead costs and declining ratings.

Maddow disputed that explanation and alleged political motivations behind the move. “It was absolutely transparent what CBS and Paramount were doing with getting rid of Stephen Colbert.

‘Oh, it’s a financial decision.’ Right, because having the highest-rated late-night show in America for years is somehow financially unsustainable now when it wasn’t before?” she said.

Maddow further claimed that the network’s leadership changes influenced the decision.

“At the same time that you’ve got Trump-connected oligarchs taking over this company and putting a right-wing blogger in charge of CBS News,” she added.

The MSNBC anchor said the companies should reverse course and keep Colbert on the air. “They announced the cancellation of Colbert – everybody knows what it’s about,” Maddow said.

“They’re trying to sort of live down their shame already, and I think in terms of the way they are capitulating, the CBS News takeover has been a huge embarrassment to everybody involved in it. And, you know, they should reverse the decision about Colbert. He’s still on the air now, he’s still got a few months on the horizon left before they plan on taking him off the air. They should change that.”

The remarks add to ongoing industry debate about network mergers, late-night programming, and shifting media audiences as CBS prepares to wind down Colbert’s show in the coming months.

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