Jon Stewart Issues Three-Word Response to ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Cancellation originally appeared on Parade.
Jon Stewart isn’t mincing words regarding the CBS cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
He already addressed what he thought might happen with his Comedy Central show, The Daily Show, and now he’s speaking out again. This time, Stewart called out CBS and questioned the reason behind the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s top-ranked show.
It all went down on Monday night’s episode of The Daily Show while Stewart delivered the opening monologue.
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“Last week, as you may have heard, CBS, which happens to have the same parent company as the network this program currently airs on, unceremoniously canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Stewart began as his audience booed.
“Now, obviously, I am certainly not the most objective to comment on this matter,” Stewart continued, pointing out that he and Colbert worked together on The Daily Show for six years. Then, he blew a kiss at a photo of a much younger version of himself sitting beside a much younger Colbert.
“Haven’t changed a bit,” he quipped. Then Stewart went on to recount the history of Colbert’s Comedy Central spinoff, The Colbert Report, before he ultimately “chose to challenge himself” and took over The Late Show after David Letterman‘s retirement.
“Now, Stephen has been canceled for purely financial reasons,” Stewart said before turning to the side and gritting his teeth for the camera and shrugging.
After admitting that late night TV is a “struggling financial model” that he likened to “operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records,” Stewart ranted, “The fact that CBS didn’t try to save their number-one rated network late night franchise that’s been on the air for over three decades is part of what’s making everybody wonder ‘Was this purely financial or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger?'”
He continued with the scathing review, touching on 60 Minutes and even making a joke about Andy Rooney (who is still alive, Stewart confirmed), he said, “I understand the corporate fear. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake, but understand this, truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor and control, a not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those f—–g shows. That’s what made you that money.”
Stewart continued his tirade against the network, saying, “Shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid. Believe me, this is not a ‘We speak truth to power’. We don’t; we speak opinions to television cameras, but we try. We f—–g try every night. If you believe as corporations or as networks, you can make yourselves so innocuous that you can serve a gruel so flavorless that you will never again be on the boy king’s radar, why will anyone watch you, and you are f——g wrong.”
Related: Jon Stewart Addresses Future of ‘Daily Show’ After ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ Cancelled
Then, after several more minutes of scathing criticism for CBS and President Donald Trump, Stewart declared that he’s “not giving in.” He said, “I’m not going anywhere, I think.”
Then, he mirrored something Colbert has also said regarding the cancellation of his show. Stewart sang, “If you’re afraid and you protect your bottom line, I’ve got but one thing to say: Go f–k yourself!”
Jon Stewart Issues Three-Word Response to ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Cancellation first appeared on Parade on Jul 22, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
