David Letterman’s brutal six-word swipe at CBS over Stephen Colbert’s Late Show cancellation

David Letterman used his YouTube page to make a statement in support of Stephen Colbert Monday, following Colbert’s CBS cancellation.

The late night legend, 78, posted a video more than 20 minutes long of him trashing the network, which he worked for from 1993 to 2015.

He captioned the curated clip, ‘You can’t spell CBS without BS’ – amid widespread speculation the move was politically-motivated. The montage showcased various jokes Letterman told about the network, with eight clips spanning two decades, from 1994-2013. 

Colbert on Monday returned for his first full program after last week’s announcement that CBS was canceling his Late Show with some supportive late-night guests, a joke about cancel culture and an extremely pointed remark directed at President Donald Trump.

‘I’m going to go ahead and say it: Cancel culture’s gone way too far,’ Colbert said to a rambunctious audience that loudly chanted his name.

CBS and parent Paramount Global said the decision to end the Late Show next May was was ‘purely a financial’ one amid ‘a challenging backdrop in late night.’

David Letterman used his YouTube page to make a statement in support of Stephen Colbert on Monday following his CBS cancelation. Pictured in NYC on March 12, 2020

The decision was ‘not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount, the network said. 

CBS said its ‘admiration, affection, and respect’ for Colbert ‘made this agonizing decision even more difficult.’

It hadn’t gone unnoticed – and was mentioned by Colbert Monday night –  that the announcement came days after the comic had sharply criticized Paramount’s $16 million settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview.

Colbert, known for his sharp comic takedowns of the Republican president, said that ‘over the weekend, it sunk in that they killed off our show. But they made one mistake. They left me alive.’

Now, he said, ‘I can say what I really think of Donald Trump, starting right now.’ 

As his audience cheered him on, Colbert said, ‘I don’t care for him. Doesn’t seem to have the skill set to be president.’

He read a passage from a Trump social media message saying that he loved that the ‘untalented’ Colbert had been fired.

‘How dare you, sir,’ Colbert said. ‘Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?’ 

Colbert on Monday returned for his first full program after last week’s announcement that CBS was canceling his Late Show

The late night hosts posed for a selfie in November of 2023 

The show switched to a close-up camera where Colbert appeared to say, ‘F*** you,’ the word bleeped out and his mouth blurred. Noting CBS’ explanation for his firing, Colbert said, ‘how can it purely be a financial decision if the show is number one in the ratings? 

‘It’s confusing. A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff’s parents and spouses.’

With some apparent irritation, he said some news stories over the weekend reported the apparently leaked information that Late Show was losing between $40 million and $50 million a year. 

Ad revenue for late-night entertainment broadcasts has shrunk sharply as the audience, particularly young men, turn to streaming or other priorities.

‘I could see us losing $24 million,’ Colbert said. ‘But where would Paramount have ever spent the other $16 million? Oh, yeah.’

Colbert introduced the odd duo of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda to sing Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. 

In a sly reference to the couple caught on camera last week at a Coldplay concert,  Late Show cameras panned the audience to find some supportive friends – fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and John Oliver, as well as Adam Sandler, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

On Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, also owned by Paramount, Stewart delivered an impassioned defense of his friend and former co-worker and suggested it was futile to try to satisfy Trump, certainly not by taking away programs that have helped build the company’s value over the years.

Colbert, known for his sharp comic takedowns of the Republican president, said that ‘over the weekend, it sunk in that they killed off our show. But they made one mistake. They left me alive’

Letterman was pictured in New York City last September 

‘This is not the moment to give in,’ Stewart said. ‘I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere. I think.’

On his own show, Colbert turned serious – briefly – to address people who had expressed support for him since the announcement was made.

‘Some people see this show going away as the sign of something truly dire. And while I’m a big fan of me, I don’t necessarily agree with that statement,’ he said, ‘because we here at the ‘Late Show’ never saw our job as changing anything other than how you felt at the end of the day, which I think is a worthy goal.

‘Or,’ he continued, ‘changing how you felt the next morning when you watched on your phone, which is why broadcast TV is dying.’