Stephen Colbert made headlines on Monday night by accusing CBS of preventing him from airing an interview with Texas state Representative James Talarico, who is campaigning for the U.S. Senate. This decision comes amid pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its “equal time” rule for political candidates on late-night shows.
Colbert stated that CBS’s legal team explicitly instructed “The Late Show” staff that the interview could not be broadcast. He was also told not to mention this issue on air, yet he openly discussed it with his audience. Colbert explained that the FCC’s “equal time” rule mandates that broadcasters must give equal airtime to opposing political candidates, although late-night shows historically enjoyed an exemption for such interviews.
The host expressed particular disdain for FCC Chair Brendan Carr, whom he labelled a “smug bowling pin,” after Carr suggested that the exemption should be removed for programmes he deemed to have partisan motives. Colbert pointed out a contradiction; while the FCC was targeting late-night shows, it allowed right-wing talk radio to remain exempt from these regulations.
He noted that Carr had not officially eliminated the exemption, which made CBS’s precautionary measures seem premature. Colbert highlighted the financial motivations behind CBS’s actions, echoing the reasoning given when the network previously cancelled “The Late Show.”
He framed the FCC’s actions as part of a larger effort to silence dissenting voices, particularly those critical of Donald Trump. Finally, Colbert announced that he would still conduct the Talarico interview, opting to post it on “The Late Show” YouTube channel, although he could not promote it directly due to CBS restrictions. He also revealed that he was not allowed to show any pictures of Talarico, demonstrating the absurdity of the rules by using unrelated images instead.
