Jimmy Fallon is “shocked” by the cancelation of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, just days after the late-night host called Paramount Global’s settlement with Donald Trump a “big fat bribe.”
Fallon wrote in a note posted to Instagram Stories on Friday that he was “as shocked as everyone” to hear the news. “Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come,” he continued. “I’m sad that my family and friends will need a new show to watch every night at 11:30. But honestly, he’s really been a gentleman and a true friend over the years—going back to The Colbert Report.”
Colbert told viewers Thursday night that The Late Show, which he took over from David Letterman in 2015, would end in May 2026. CBS will end the franchise entirely after Colbert’s exit, per a statement from the network, which called him “irreplaceable” as it cited “purely financial” reasons for the cancelation “against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
Critics have been quick to point out, however, that days prior, Colbert criticized CBS parent company Paramount Global on air for caving to Trump by settling with the president for $16 million.
“As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I’m offended, and I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company,” Colbert said on the show Monday night. “I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles: it’s Big Fat Bribe,” he added.
The timing of Colbert’s comments and his show’s subsequent cancelation prompted Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren to call for a bribery investigation into the decision to axe the host, positing that the getting rid of the Trump critic could be a penance of sorts to the president for the 60 Minutes interview he claimed was edited to favor his opponent Kamala Harris.
Warren is just one of many who are calling foul amid the news. The Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God called out Paramount for “lying about why you got rid of Colbert,” and said the firing is complete “foolishness and nonsense.” Jimmy Kimmel lashed out at the network with his own social media post when he reacted on Thursday, writing “F--- you and all your Sheldons CBS.”
Fallon kept his reaction above the fray on Friday, opting to ignore the potential political implications of the moment and focus on his friendship with the host instead. He concluded his statement, “I’m sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.”
