People are still reeling from CBS’s sudden cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. While Colbert had early stumbles in his late-night tenure, The Late Show had vastly improved their viewership numbers in recent years, and it was still almost always the #1 show in that time slot for the past seven years or so. I just read that Colbert was bringing in the coveted 18-49 demographic too. All of which to say, the cancellation doesn’t make sense from a financial standpoint, which is the excuse given by CBS, that they based their decision on “financial reasons.” Well, the Writers Guild of America is not buying CBS’s excuses either. The WGA has called for CBS/Paramount to be investigated for bribery, and saying outright that Colbert was fired (and Late Show was canceled) because Colbert called out Paramount/CBS’s $16 million payout to Donald Trump. The payout, or “settlement,” was seen by many as a way for Paramount to facilitate their merger with Skydance. This is the open letter issued by the WGA:
On July 2nd, Paramount agreed to settle a baseless lawsuit brought against 60 Minutes and CBS News by President Trump for $16 million. On July 15, during a regular show of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colbert went on-air and called the settlement a “big fat bribe” in exchange for a favorable decision on the proposed merger between Paramount and Skydance, a charge currently under investigation in California.
Less than 48 hours later, on July 17, Paramount canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a show currently performing first in its timeslot, giving vague references to the program’s “financial performance” as the only explanation. For ten years, the show has been one of the most successful, beloved and profitable programs on CBS, entertaining an audience of millions on late night television, on streaming services and across social media.
Given Paramount’s recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show’s cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval.
Cancelations are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society. Paramount’s decision comes against a backdrop of relentless attacks on a free press by President Trump, through lawsuits against CBS and ABC, threatened litigation of media organizations with critical coverage, and the unconscionable defunding of PBS and NPR.
The Writers Guild of America calls on New York State Attorney General Letitia James, no stranger to prosecuting Trump for illegal business practices, to join California and launch an investigation into potential wrongdoing at Paramount. We call on our elected leaders to hold those responsible to account, to demand answers about why this beloved program was canceled and to assure the public that Colbert and his writers were not censored due to their views or the whims of the President.
In the meantime, the Writers Guild of America will support our members at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and across the late-night industry as they speak truth to power and we will explore all potential legal and political avenues to fight for our members in the aftermath of this decision.
Post-cancellation, there was a general sentiment of “Colbert will be fine,” and I agree, he’ll be fine, he has money and privilege and awards. He’ll land on his feet somewhere. But I’m glad the WGA is standing up for The Late Show writers and the production team. They make an interesting point about The Late Show cancellation too – that it’s possible that the cancellation was itself part of the “bribery.” The original theory was that Colbert pissed off executives by calling out the settlement to Trump, and he was punished for speaking truth to corporate power. But what if the show was cancelled as part of the larger bribery scheme between Paramount and Trump? What if Trump demanded it? Or what if Paramount was trying to anticipate Trump’s needs and desires? Yiiikes.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, CBS.
