Comic David Letterman on Friday joined the chorus of late-night hosts to bash CBS Information after it announced it would sunset “The Late Present” after greater than three a long time on air, whereas praising host Stephen Colbert as a “martyr.”
Letterman — the present’s first host — alluded to the current $16 million settlement between CBS’s mum or dad firm Paramount World and the Trump administration, and its expected merger with leisure large Skydance, when he known as the choice to nix this system “gutless.”
“I believe sooner or later, if not at the moment, the individuals at CBS who’ve manipulated and dealt with this are going to be embarrassed as a result of that is gutless,” he said during a recorded chat along with his former “Late Present” producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. “I solely want this might occur to me. This might have been so nice for me.”
Paramount known as the transfer “purely a monetary determination” and never associated to the present’s efficiency or content material. Letterman, like different press advocates and some Democrats, didn’t appear happy with that reply.
As a substitute, the “Late Present” veteran forged the blame on who he known as the “Oracle twins,” referring to billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison, who is about to steer the “New Paramount” after the Federal Communications Fee gave the greenlight for Skydance to acquire the corporate. The merger is expected to be completed by Aug. 7.
“There’s no equity to those goons,” Letterman stated, including “These guys are backside feeders. That is precisely what that is.”
“In fact, they know that broadcast tv is withering, so now they need, simply need to be sure that on high of shopping for one thing that does not have the identical worth because it had 30 years in the past. They do not need to be hassled by the USA authorities,” he continued. “So, they need CBS to deal with all of that mess.”
The comic additionally blasted CBS’s decision to settle with Trump after he sued “60 Minutes” over an interview with former Vice President Harris through the 2024 presidential marketing campaign as “pure cowardice.”
Top names in late-night tv — equivalent to Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers — have defended Colbert, who has openly raised concerns over Paramount’s current choices. Letterman was no totally different.
“Now, for Stephen, I really like this. He is a martyr. Good for him, proper?” he informed his former producers.
“Now we have all acquired to kiss Stephen Colbert’s ring now,” he quipped later. “And if you happen to hear rigorously, you may hear them unfolding chairs on the Corridor of Fame for his induction, proper?”
Colbert, who took the reins from Letterman in 2015, has gone back-and-forth with Trump in current days.
“I completely love that Colbert acquired fired. His expertise was even lower than his scores,” the president wrote in a publish on Truth Social earlier this week after the corporate revealed it will finish the present in Might 2026.
The comic replied, “How dare you, sir. Would an untalented man be capable of compose the next satirical witticism: ‘Go f‑‑‑ your self.’”