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The worlds of politics and entertainment are reacting with shock over the surprise announcement that CBS' 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' will come to an end. On Thursday, CBS and host Colbert said the show will end its run in May 2026. In a statement, CBS said the cancellation was, quote, "purely a financial decision" made in a declining linear TV landscape.

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00:00The worlds of politics and entertainment are reacting with shock over the surprise
00:04announcement that CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will come to an end.
00:10On Thursday, CBS and host Colbert said the show will end its run in May 2026.
00:16The network will be ending The Late Show in May.
00:24And...
00:25Yeah, I share your feelings.
00:30In a statement, CBS said the cancellation was, quote,
00:32"...purely a financial decision made in a declining linear TV landscape."
00:37But some entertainment industry figures and politicians are claiming that CBS's move is
00:42linked to parent company Paramount Global's merger with Skydance Media, with the deal
00:46seeking regulatory approval from the Trump administration.
00:50Colbert has been amongst the most prominent critics of Donald Trump on television and has
00:54arguably built his commanding lead in the late-night ratings for more effectively skewering
00:58the president than some of his rivals.
01:00The likes of Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Stiller, as well as prominent Democratic politicians such
01:05as Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff, have taken to social media to decry CBS's decision.
01:10Kimmel, the host of ABC's late-night staple Jimmy Kimmel Live, wrote on Instagram,
01:14"...love you, Steven."
01:15"...you and all your Sheldons, CBS."
01:18Fellow late-night host Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show wrote on Instagram, in part,
01:22"...I'm just as shocked as everyone.
01:24Steven is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it.
01:27I really thought I'd ride this out with him for years to come."
01:30And Stiller said on X,
01:31Meanwhile, Senator Warren, who in May opened an investigation into whether Paramount Global
01:43was engaging in bribery with Trump for the approval of the Skydance merger, bluntly wrote on X,
01:48CBS canceled Cobert's show just three days after Cobert called out CBS parent company Paramount
01:54for its $16 million settlement with Trump, a deal that looks like bribery.
01:59America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.
02:03Senator Schiff shared similar sentiments, writing,
02:05"...just finished taping with Stephen Cobert, who announced his show was canceled.
02:09If Paramount and CBS ended the late show for political reasons,
02:13the public deserves to know, and deserves better."
02:16And President Trump has also reacted to the news.
02:19He wrote on Truth Social Friday morning,
02:21"...I absolutely love that Cobert got fired.
02:24His talent was even less than his ratings.
02:26I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.
02:28Has even less talent than Cobert.
02:30Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined,
02:32including the moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show."
02:36For much more on this story and all the latest updates, go to THR.com.
02:40This is The Hollywood Reporter News.

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