CBS host pours cold water on liberal outrage to Colbert cancellation, says late-night industry is ‘broken’

‘CBS Mornings’ co-host Tony Dokoupil points to ‘one-sided’ politics of liberal late-night hosts like Colbert

“CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil is pushing back at the liberal outrage towards his network’s cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

“The business is broken,” Dokoupil said of the late-night industry on Tuesday. “And what no one seems to acknowledge is that the politics also changed. The business changed and so did the politics, and it got way more one-sided than anything Johnny Carson was ever doing. I think we should reflect on those changes as well. It’s been a big shift culturally in that regard also.”

Dokoupil and his morning colleagues reacted to the scathing monologue from “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, who didn’t buy CBS’ explanation that its decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s late-night show was purely a financial one.

“CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil pushed back at the liberal outrage over CBS’ decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s late-night program.

Stewart linked the cancellation to parent company Paramount’s forthcoming $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which is seeking approval from the Trump administration’s FCC, touting to his corporate bosses, “The shows that you now seek to cancel, censor and control, a not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those f—ing shows.”

Dokoupil suggested Stewart, whose Comedy Central show is also under the Paramount umbrella, oversold late-night contributions to the company’s bottom line.

“I don’t have an MBA, but he’s not right that the merger, the $8 billion, is based on reruns of a comedy show,” the CBS host said. “People are buying the movies and the sitcoms and the sports. They’re not based on reruns of us, either. So I think he’s wrong about that.”

“Daily Show” host Jon Stewart took CBS to task for its cancellation of “The Late Show,” hosted by his friend Stephen Colbert.

His co-host Gayle King, a frequent guest on ‘The Late Show,’ remained defensive of Colbert, telling Dokoupil, “I think many people feel there’s another way to do it.”

“It’s a very difficult position, in the end, to disagree with something that the company is doing, but also still loving your job and loving what you do,” King said before urging viewers to watch Stewart’s full monologue.

CBS announced it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which will officially end its run at the Ed Sullivan Theater in May 2026.

Liberals have been outraged over Colbert’s shocking cancellation, which will take effect in May 2026. Many of them, including Stewart, believe the move was meant to kowtow to President Donald Trump.

But a report from Puck’s Matt Belloni showed that Colbert’s show was costing the network $40 million a year and that it had been running on a whopping $100 million budget per season.

While the liberal late-night hosts are struggling, Fox News Channel’s “Gutfeld!” has surged to become late-night’s highest-rated program. In the second quarter of 2025, the show notched 3 million viewers and 365,000 in the 25-54 age demographic at the 10 p.m. ET hour, putting it ahead of “The Late Show,” “The Daily Show,” and late-night programs on ABC and NBC.