Jon Stewart Fires Back at Paramount Over Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Cancellation Amid $8 Billion Merger Controversy

Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, did not hold back in his fierce response to the sudden cancellation of his longtime friend and former colleague Stephen Colbert’s top-rated The Late Show.

The unexpected decision came from their shared parent company, Paramount Global, which is navigating financial challenges as it attempts to finalize an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The cancellation followed shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount for settling a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump against 60 Minutes over an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, a settlement Colbert called a “big fat bribe.”

Stewart praised Colbert’s work, calling him the “number-one late-night show on network television” and expressed dismay that CBS did not attempt to save the show despite late night’s struggling financial model.

He likened the late-night TV industry to “operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records,” underscoring the challenges but criticized the lack of effort to preserve a flagship franchise.

Stewart highlighted the possibility that the cancellation was less about finances and more about avoiding conflict with President Trump, who he described as “fragile and vengeful,” using sharp humor to underscore his point.

He condemned Paramount’s decision to settle the lawsuit, accusing CBS of “selling out their flagship news program” and emphasized that much of the company’s $8 billion value comes from “shows that say something, shows that take a stand, shows that are unafraid.”

Stewart also pointed to the irony of Trump suing Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, a major Trump supporter, illustrating the convoluted relationship between media and politics.

Concluding his remarks, Stewart dismissed theories blaming a smoking gun email or financial woes and instead attributed the cancellation to a culture of fear and preemptive compliance gripping American institutions, reluctant to oppose the “vengeful and vindictive” actions of the current administration.

He finished with a powerful message urging corporations and institutions to stand firm, using an emphatic chant telling those who “bend the knee to Trump” to “go fuck yourselves.”

Earlier, on his podcast The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, he speculated on the future of The Daily Show amid the ongoing Skydance-Paramount merger, acknowledging uncertainty but expressing confidence in the show’s resilience.