Stewart acknowledged that late night TV as a whole may be a relic from a bygone era, likening it to “operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records.”

But he raised a skeptical eyebrow to the idea that Late Show’s cancellation was a “purely financial” decision by CBS, instead labeling it “the path of least resistance” to securing CBS parent company Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance Media with the approval of Donald Trump, aka “a fragile and vengeful President so insecure” and “suffering terribly from a case of chronic penis insufficiency.”

But as Stewart pointed out to Paramount executives: “The shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and control? A not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those f–king shows. That’s what made you that money.” He ultimately blamed Late Show’s cancellation on “the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment,”

before defiantly declaring: “I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere.” (For the record, he did add a bashful: “… I think?”) He wrapped things up by enlisting the backup of a gospel choir as he led the audience in a raucous sing-along of “Go f–k yourself!”

Colbert broke the news to his distraught audience on July 17, announcing that CBS had decided to cancel The Late Show. And this isn’t merely the end of his tenure as host — it’s the end of the franchise overall, which began in 1993 with David Letterman as host. The announcement was met with loud boos from the crowd, to which Colbert responded, “Yeah, I share your feelings.”

In a statement, CBS said, “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

That said, CBS’ parent company just paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit that President Donald Trump filed over an interview with his 2024 opponent, Kamala Harris, with POTUS accusing the venerable news program of deceptive editing.

Three days prior to the cancellation, Colbert referred to Paramount’s settlement as a “big fat bribe” — and on Friday, Trump celebrated CBS’ decision to cut the Late Show host loose.

Meanwhile, Stewart, whose current Daily Show contract is up in December, previously called the Paramount settlement “shameful.” He recently addressed his own uncertain future at Paramount-owned Comedy Central — specifically if the proposed merger with David Ellison’s Skydance is approved — which you can read more about here.

What did you think of Stewart’s response to the Colbert cancellation? Leave a comment below.