The announcement of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's impending cancellation has drawn surprise and frustration from many, including Colbert's fellow late night hosts.
Colbert himself dropped the shocking news on Thursday, clarifying that he wasn't being replaced as host, but rather, that CBS was simply axing the show entirely.
"This is all just going away," he said.
Other late night hosts react
Jimmy Kimmel was the first of the other late-night hosts to publicly react to the news, taking to his Instagram Stories to write, "Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS."
Jimmy Fallon also used Instagram Stories to share his thoughts on the cancellation, admitting he was "just as shocked as everyone."
"Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it," he wrote. "I really thought I'd ride this out with him for years to come. 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, and I'm sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant."
Seth Meyers also weighed in on his Instagram stories, calling Stephen a "great host" and "an even better person."
Trump's commentary adds to growing concern
CBS insisted that The Late Show's demise is a financial decision, and while that may be true, the timing is deeply suspicious.
Just days before the announcement, Colbert had made a point to criticize the network's parent company, Paramount, for settling a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Colbert referred to the $16 million settlement as a "big, fat bribe" from Paramount in hopes that the Trump administration would allow their proposed merger with Skydance to go through.
The timing is so suspicious, in fact, that the Writers Guild of America subsequently put out a scathing statement calling on the New York State Attorney General to conduct a full investigation into the cancellation.
Trump himself didn't assuage any of these concerns when he made a point to celebrate The Late Show's cancelation on Truth Social, writing, "I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired" and suggesting Jimmy Kimmel should be next.
Social media remains skeptical
The optics here clearly aren't great. The whole situation has a lot of people antsy about what this might signify for the future of free speech in the United States, as well as just how eager companies may be to throw people and principles under the bus to get in bed with the Trump administration.
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