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ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel criticized CBS on Tuesday for its decision to end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” suggesting the network canceled the show to appease President Donald Trump and secure Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media.
“CBS, all of a sudden out of the blue, claimed ‘The Late Show’ was losing $40 million a year and then miraculously got FCC approval to sell their company, which is what they wanted,” he said during his monologue.
In its July 18 statement announcing Colbert’s show would end, CBS said the decision was “purely” financial and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” the network’s parent company.
Paramount’s settlement with Trump over his CBS News “60 Minutes” lawsuit was also criticized by Colbert and others as a way to appease the administration ahead of the $8 billion Skydance merger. The merger was approved on July 24 and completed on Aug. 7.
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There has been rampant speculation about the future of other Paramount-owned late-night programs, including “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, which has a progressive bent like Colbert’s show.
Following CBS’s announcement that it would end “The Late Show,” Trump fired off a celebratory Truth Social post praising the show’s cancellation and warning that other late-night hosts may be next on the chopping block, including Kimmel.
“The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is NEXT to go in the untalented Late Night Sweepstakes and, shortly thereafter, Fallon will be gone,” Trump posted. “These are people with absolutely NO TALENT, who were paid Millions of Dollars for, in all cases, destroying what used to be GREAT Television. It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”
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Kimmel, who returned to television on Tuesday after a brief summer break, responded to Trump’s July Truth Social post by saying he is “next to go.”
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“Oh, you delicate, chubby little teacup, did we hurt your feelings? You want us to be canceled because we make jokes about you. I thought you were against cancel culture. I thought that was like their whole thing,” he said. “When did you become so woke?”
Kimmel, dubbing Trump “Frosty the Snowflake,” assured viewers that he had no plans to leave late night. He also revealed Colbert would be an upcoming guest on his show when he takes it on the road to New York.
CBS declined comment to Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
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