Late-night host Stephen Colbert isn't backing down from public dispute
with CBS bosses
[February 19, 2026]
By DAVID BAUDER
Stephen Colbert isn't backing down in an extraordinary public dispute
with his bosses at CBS over what he can air on his late-night talk show.
On “The Late Show” Tuesday, Colbert said he was surprised by a statement
from CBS denying that its lawyers told him he couldn't show an interview
with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico — which the host
said had happened the night before.
He then took a copy of the network statement, wrapped it in a dog poop
bag, and tossed it away.
Colbert had instead shown his Talarico interview on YouTube, but told
viewers why he couldn't show it on CBS. The network was concerned about
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr trying to enforce a rule that required
broadcasters to give “equal time” to opposing candidates when an
interview was broadcast with one of them.
“We looked and we can't find one example of this rule being enforced for
any talk show interview, not only for my entire late-night career, but
for anyone's late-night career going back to the 1960s,” Colbert said.
Although Carr said in January he was thinking about getting rid of the
exemption for late-night talk shows, he hadn't done it yet. “But CBS
generously did it for him,” Colbert said.
Not only had CBS been aware Monday night that Colbert was going to talk
about this issue publicly, its lawyers had even approved it in his
script, he said. That's why he was surprised by the statement, which
said that Colbert had been provided “legal guidance” that broadcasting
the interview could trigger the equal time rule.
“I don't know what this is about,” Colbert said. “For the record, I'm
not even mad. I really don't want an adversarial relationship with the
network. I've never had one.”
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This photo combination shows Stephen Colbert, left, in Los Angeles,
Sept. 12, 2022 and Texas Rep. James Talarico, Aug. 16, 2025, in
Chicago. (AP Photo/Talia Sprague, Jae C. Hong, file)
 He said he was “just so surprised
that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these
bullies.” CBS is owned by Paramount Global.
Colbert is a short-timer now at CBS. The network announced last
summer that Colbert's show, where President Donald Trump is a
frequent target of biting jokes, would end in May. The network said
it was for economic reasons but others — including Colbert — have
expressed skepticism that Trump's repeated criticism of the show had
nothing to do with it.
This week's dispute with Colbert also recalls last fall, when ABC
took late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a remark made
about the killing of conservative activist founder Charlie Kirk,
only to reinstate him following a backlash by viewers.
As of Wednesday morning, Colbert's YouTube interview with Talarico
had been viewed more than five million times, or roughly double what
the comic's CBS program draws each night. The Texas Democrat also
reported that he had raised $2.5 million in campaign donations in
the 24 hours after the interview.
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