Jimmy Kimmel has become the first late-night host to react to CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and he did not mince words.
On the heels of CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel has become the first fellow late-night host to react to the network’s unexpected decision. And let’s just say he did not hold back in showing his displeasure with CBS.
Taking to Instagram, Kimmel reshared The Late Show‘s clip in which Colbert announced CBS’s decision to end the show and he offered the network a few choice words in the process.
“Love you Stephen. F–k you and all your Sheldons, CBS,” Kimmel wrote, making it more than clear that he is among the millions of fans disappointed with CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show.
While The Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live might be in competition with one another, Kimmel and Colbert have a long-standing friendship, and the pair have always had one another’s backs, so it’s no surprise Kimmel was first to come to Colbert’s defense. After all, Colbert was among the first to come to Kimmel’s defense in 2024 when Donald Trump publicly called Kimmel out, telling Trump to keep his friend’s name out of his “weird little wet mouth.”
Kimmel and Colbert have always had a shared respect, and have even appeared as guests on one another’s shows over the years. As the longest-tenured late-night host at the moment, it’s no surprise that Kimmel was quick to release a statement on the cancellation, and we imagine Kimmel will have more to say about CBS’s decision in the days to come.
The decision by CBS to cancel The Late Show marks a major shift in the late-night landscape. With The Late Show coming to an end, only three late-night talk shows will remain in the mix with Kimmel’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, and NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers. It also means CBS is getting out of the late-night game after 30+ years of coverage that began back in 1993 when David Letterman first launched The Late Show.
In announcing the decision, CBS was adamant that it was “purely a financial decision,” and cited the change being the result of the challenging backdrop of the late-night landscape. CBS went on to add that the cancellation was “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Blaming the cancellation on money is definitely very on brand for CBS. The network has blamed many recent primetime cancellations as being financial decisions, and the ratings for The Late Show and critical acclaim for the show have certainly not wavered.
Just this week, it was revealed that The Late Show had ended the second quarter as late-night’s most-watched program, with the show pulling in more viewers than Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show. The show was also just nominated for an Emmy, landing one of only three spots in this year’s Outstanding Talk Series category, where Colbert will face off against Kimmel and his former Daily Show colleague, Jon Stewart.
