“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert slammed his soon-to-be-former network CBS for pulling an interview with Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas, a frequent critic of President Trump.
Colbert lambasted CBS after its lawyers advised “The Late Show” it could not air the Monday sitdown with the pol, one of many Dems running to unseat Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
In a segment that did air Monday night, the host laid out the exchange with the lawyers, saying: “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.”
Colbert, who is set to leave the network when “The Late Show” ends in May, added: “And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
The host, who appears to have done the interview but did not air it on Monday’s show, suggested that the reason given for the killed interview was the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time rule,” which requires broadcast networks and radio stations to give equal time to all candidates in an election.
“It’s the FCC’s most time-honored rule, right after ‘No nipples at the Super Bowl,’” Colbert joked, before adding that talk shows have typically been given an exception.
But he noted that in January, Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued new guidance dropping the blanket exception because some are allegedly “motivated by purely partisan political purposes.”
“Well sir, you’re chairman of the FCC, so FCC you,” the funnyman said. “Because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself. Sir, you smelt it ’cause you dealt it.”
He concluded: “Let’s just call this what it is: Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV, OK? He’s like a toddler with too much screentime. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diaper.”
The interview with Talarico, whose Democratic primary rivals include Rep. Jasmine Crockett, ended up being posted on Colbert’s YouTube channel.
The show “was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico,” a CBS spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.
“The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including … Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. [‘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.”
Colbert previously called out his employer, alleging that the cancellation of his show was motivated by CBS parent Paramount Global’s quest to finalize its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media last summer, which required regulatory approval from the federal government.
The merger was approved two months after “The Late Show” was canceled. The network claimed it was a “purely financial decision” at the time.
Now, the newly merged Paramount Skydance is restarting talks to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, potentially heating up a bidding war with Netflix once again.
