David Letterman has made his first public feedback in regards to the firing of Stephen Colbert and the cancellation of the Late Present franchise, calling the choice “gutless” and an act of “pure cowardice” by Skydance’s David Ellison, the incoming proprietor of CBS.
Showing on a YouTube present hosted by his former Late Present government producer Barbara Gaines, Letterman repeatedly criticized Ellison, who he mockingly known as “the Ellison twins” and “the Oracle boys.” Letterman additionally rejected the concept that Colbert’s cancellation was solely the results of economics, as CBS had attributed it. As an alternative, Letterman believes — similar to The Daily Show host Jon Stewart — that Colbert was a sacrificial lamb, supplied to placate the Trump administration to assist push the Skydance/Paramount merger over the end line.
“In the event that they have been dropping this sort of cash, you’re telling me dropping this sort of cash occurred yesterday? Yeah proper. I guess they have been dropping this sort of cash six weeks in the past, or they’ve by no means been dropping cash,” Letterman said. “They didn’t do the proper factor, they didn’t deal with Stephen Colbert, the face of the community, the way in which he deserved to be dealt with.”
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“The concept that they’re hiding behind cash — they’ve given [Colbert] one other 10 months, that’s one other large chunk of cash they’re gonna lose, in response to them. I don’t suppose it was cash. I feel it was all to ensure that the Ellison twins / Oracle boys have been strong spending dad’s cash. I feel it’s unhappy. However what this means is also that Ellison twins / Oracle boys don’t need any bother alongside the traces of freedom of the press or free speech or freedom of expression. They don’t need to get their arms soiled. They don’t need the federal government going after them as a result of you realize that idea of freedom of the press and freedom of that’s so old style.
“That is pure cowardice,” Letterman continued, pointing to Paramount’s choice to settle Trump’s 60 Minutes lawsuit as additional proof . “I imply you’re telling me 60 Minutes, the top of journalistic excellence and integrity for many years, and plenty of of these many years the primary considered present in America — they’ve determined, ‘Ah, we’re sorry. Allow us to provide you with $20 million and we’ll be extra cautious.’ I consider that is within the wake of that and the Oracle Twins. Why don’t they simply go purchase the Dairy Queen or one thing? Keep out of this enterprise.”
“I feel someday, if not as we speak, the individuals at CBS who’ve manipulated and dealt with this, they’re going to be embarrassed as a result of that is gutless,” Letterman added. “I solely want this might occur to me. This could have been so nice for me. Now all of us get to kiss Stephen Colbert’s ring.”
Colbert took over as host of the Late Present from David Letterman starting in 2015, and has held the No. 1 spot within the 11:35 p.m. time slot since 2017. He’ll host the present till its ultimate episode in Could 2026.
