{"id":232885,"date":"2025-07-22T10:52:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T10:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/gloves-are-off-cancelled-late-show-host-comes-out-swinging-for-trump\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T10:52:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T10:52:56","slug":"gloves-are-off-cancelled-late-show-host-comes-out-swinging-for-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/gloves-are-off-cancelled-late-show-host-comes-out-swinging-for-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Gloves Are Off\u2019: Cancelled Late Show Host Comes Out Swinging For Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Gloves Are Off\u2019: Cancelled Late Show Host Comes Out Swinging For Trump<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephen Colbert had an unflinching message for US President Donald Trump in his first broadcast since his \u201cLate Show\u201d was cancelled amid a political firestorm \u2014 \u201cthe gloves are off.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Colbert, who addressed the cancellation of his show by a broadcaster that has been widely accused of seeking to curry favor with Trump for business reasons, came out swinging \u2014 telling Trump to \u201cgo f**k yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Late Show,\u201d a storied US TV franchise dating back to 1993 when it was hosted by David Letterman, will go off the air in May 2026 following a surprise announcement by broadcaster CBS last week.<\/p>\n<p>The channel is part of Paramount, which is in the throes of an $8 billion takeover that requires approval by the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission. It pulled the plug three days after Colbert skewered CBS for settling a lawsuit with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>He accused it of paying what he termed a \u201ca big fat bribe\u201d of $16 million to the president for what he called \u201cdeceptive\u201d editing of an interview with his 2024 election opponent, former vice president Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_944712\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-944712\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-944712\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-participate-in-a-protest-titled-Colbert-stays-Trump-must-go-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-participate-in-a-protest-titled-Colbert-stays-Trump-must-go-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-participate-in-a-protest-titled-Colbert-stays-Trump-must-go-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-participate-in-a-protest-titled-Colbert-stays-Trump-must-go-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-participate-in-a-protest-titled-Colbert-stays-Trump-must-go-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-944712\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">People participate in a protest titled \u2018Colbert stays! Trump must go!\u2019 outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City on July 21, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU \/ AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Trump reveled in the firing of one of his most prolific detractors, posting on his Truth Social platform that \u201cI absolutely love that Colbert was fired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Colbert joked Monday that it had always been his dream starting out as an improv comic in Chicago in the 1980s to have a sitting president celebrate the end of his career.<\/p>\n<p>He also disputed the logic of CBS who insisted the cancellation was \u201cpurely a financial decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that in an anonymous leak over the weekend, CBS had appeared to suggest his show lost $40 million last year.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert joked that he could account for losing $24 million annually \u2014 but wasn\u2019t to blame for the other $16 million, a reference to CBS News\u2019s settlement with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Monday\u2019s cold open was an unsparing riff on Trump demanding that the Washington Commanders change its name back to its former name which was widely considered a slur against Native Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The segment suggested Trump sought to rename the franchise the \u201cWashington Epsteins\u201d, in reference to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein whom it has been widely reported was close to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert returned to this topic after addressing his show\u2019s cancellation, proclaiming that they had killed his show but not him, and doing a deep dive on reporting about just how close Trump and Epstein were.<\/p>\n<p>It was a formula that would have been familiar to fans of the show: the deadly serious leavened with humor and quick wit.<\/p>\n<p>Outside the taping at Midtown Manhattan\u2019s Ed Sullivan theater, protesters held placards that said \u201cColbert Stays! Trump Must Go!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Audience member Elizabeth Kott, a 48-year-old high school teacher, called Colbert\u2019s firing \u201cterrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really awful that it\u2019s come to that in this country, where companies feel the need to obey in advance. It\u2019s really awful,\u201d she told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A plague on CBS\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Colbert\u2019s lead guest Monday, acclaimed actress Sandra Oh, did not hold back, proclaiming a \u201cplague on CBS and Paramount\u201d \u2014 the network on which Colbert\u2019s channel is broadcast and its media giant proprietor.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert\u2019s lip trembled as Oh paid tribute to his work speaking truth to power while staying funny.<\/p>\n<p>His other guest, actor Dave Franco, said he had loved Colbert\u2019s work in everything from \u201cThe Daily Show\u201d to \u201cThe Colbert Report\u201d and then \u201cThe Late Show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was on \u201cThe Daily Show,\u201d under the supervision of comic \u201canchor\u201d Jon Stewart, that Colbert perfected his alter-ego \u2014 a blowhard conservative reporter whose studied ignorance parodied actual right-wing broadcasters night after night.<\/p>\n<p>He moved up to a show of his own on the same network, Comedy Central, which was then part of Viacom and today is part of Paramount.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_944713\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-944713\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-944713\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-768x512.jpg 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-944713\" src=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/People-line-up-outside-the-Ed-Sullivan-Theater-where-The-Late-Show-with-Stephen-Colbert-is-produced-in-New-York-City-on-July-21-2025-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-944713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">People line up outside the Ed Sullivan Theater where \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert,\u201d is produced in New York City on July 21, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU \/ AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before long he took one of the most coveted chairs in US television \u2014 host of the CBS late-night slot.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert dropped his arrogant conservative persona and cultivated a reputation as one of the most trusted yet funniest figures on US television.<\/p>\n<p>Through the coronavirus pandemic he became a reassuring presence for millions, broadcasting from a spare room in his house and narrating the challenges he faced alongside his wife Evelyn.<\/p>\n<p>He also became an arch-critic of Trump, skewering the president for everything from his policies to his fondness for Hannibal Lecter.<\/p>\n<p>Skipping a promised question and answer session following the taping of Monday\u2019s show, Colbert told his studio audience that \u201cI was nervous coming out here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Stephen Colbert,The Late Show,Trump,US TV franchise<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/2025\/07\/22\/gloves-are-off-cancelled-late-show-host-comes-out-swinging-for-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Gloves Are Off\u2019: Cancelled Late Show Host Comes Out Swinging For Trump \u00a0 Stephen Colbert had an unflinching message for US President Donald Trump in his first broadcast since his \u201cLate Show\u201d was cancelled amid a political firestorm \u2014 \u201cthe gloves are off.\u201d Colbert, who addressed the cancellation of his show by a broadcaster that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[861,862,604,863],"class_list":["post-232885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-stephen-colbert","tag-the-late-show","tag-trump","tag-us-tv-franchise"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}