CBS’ New Owners Give Their Version of Who Fired Stephen Colbert

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Skydance Media has denied playing a role in CBS’ decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert amid backlash and scrutiny over the company’s merger with Paramount Global.

Three progressive U.S. senators sent a letter to Skydance CEO David Ellison last week, questioning whether the media business participated in a “secret side deal” with Donald Trump to secure federal approval for its merger. They noted that Paramount recently settled a lawsuit with Trump—which CBS had previously called “completely without merit”—agreeing to pay $16 million to his future presidential library.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden argued that the settlement could be “construed as bribery,” and raised additional questions about the decision to cancel Colbert’s show, just days after the late-night comic suggested on air that the deal resembled bribery.

A Skydance executive responded in a letter dated Thursday that was first obtained by Deadline.

Stephen Colbert suggested on the air that Paramount’s settlement with Trump was a

“Throughout its history and during the review of the proposed acquisition of Paramount, Skydance has fully complied with all applicable laws, including our nation’s anti-bribery laws,” Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, Skydance’s general counsel and co-president of business operations, said in the letter.

She did not address the “side deal” question, according to Deadline, but said Skydance was “not involved” with the decision to cancel The Late Show.

The letter said Paramount provided notice, “but only after Paramount reached its own independent decision, and shortly before Paramount publicly acknowledged the cancellation.”

Skydance “was neither a party to the lawsuit nor to Paramount’s settlement of its litigation with the president,” it said.

CBS executives have said that canceling the popular late night show was “purely a financial decision,” but many have questioned the motivations for the move in light of Trump’s yearslong feud with Colbert and the settlement of the lawsuit, which Trump filed over complaints about the way a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was edited during the 2024 presidential campaign.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Skydance for comment.

Donald Trump has not helped the optics of the situation with his comments about the settlement and criticisms of Colbert. / Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

Trump has added fuel to the fire with comments he’s made about the situation. Last week, he suggested that he anticipates receiving $20 million “more” from CBS’ new owners in advertising and programming commitments. He also celebrated Colbert’s ouster, and wrote on Truth Social that other late-night comedians might also be axed.

“It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!” he wrote last week. On Tuesday, however, he insisted that he was not “solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert,” adding that “the reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT.”