ACTION ALERT:
CBS Taking Colbert Off the Air
Common Cause Action Network
(July 18, 2025) — Just days after late night host Stephen Colbert publicly criticized his employers for their disgraceful $16 million payout to Trump, CBS abruptly canceled his show. [1]
CBS says cancelling the highest-rated late night show in the country is “purely a financial decision” [2] – but I bet you can see what’s really going on.
And regardless of their actual motive, corporate news outlets like CBS are sending everyone who works for them – journalists, researchers, even late night comedians – a clear message: speak out against Trump or the company bosses, and you’re out.
Here are the details they want you to forget: CBS and its parent company Paramount recently handed Trump a massive, $16 million payout to settle a baseless lawsuit – one that legal experts called “ridiculous junk” and “frivolous” from the start [3] – seemingly because they need Trump’s approval for a multi-billion dollar merger deal.
Right now, CBS and Paramount are making it clear that they care more about building a media monopoly than protecting their own journalists and upholding the freedom of the press. It’s on all of us to speak out now and hold them accountable.
This is more than just one lawsuit or television show.
Trump is waging a war on the free press – tearing down public media like PBS and NPR, suing independent outlets into silence, and trying to coerce corporate media giants into submission.
These attacks are straight out of the authoritarian playbook. [4] A free, independent media is a First Amendment guarantee that’s essential to democracy – helping expose corruption, hold leaders accountable, and inform the public.
But Trump is flipping this guarantee on its head and setting a dangerous precedent – one where the wealthy can weaponize lawsuits to silence dissent, and big media companies won’t stand up for the truth.
Sources:
[1] https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/stephen-colbert-cancelled-cbs-trump-paramount/
[2] https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5407636-cbs-ending-colbert-the-late-show/
[3] https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1738331816231c97237d18a36/raw
[4] https://rsf.org/en/six-months-trump-s-war-press-importing-and-exporting-authoritarian-tendencies
