logo
Comedians support CBS 'Late Show' host Colbert, Jon Stewart rips Paramount

Comedians support CBS 'Late Show' host Colbert, Jon Stewart rips Paramount

Reuters2 days ago
LOS ANGELES, July 22 (Reuters) - Late-night rivals and other celebrities rallied to support CBS "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert after the network canceled his show, and comedian Jon Stewart lashed out at Paramount Global (PARA.O), opens new tab for the decision to end the long-running TV program.
On "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Monday, several comedians and talk-show hosts appeared in a sketch that also featured an animated Trump hugging the Paramount logo. The bit spoofed the viral moment in which a tech CEO was caught on camera embracing his company's chief people officer during a Coldplay concert.
"The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon and NBC colleague and "Late Night" host Seth Meyers were spotted sharing beers together in the audience. HBO's "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver was seated with Stewart, both former colleagues of Colbert's on "The Daily Show."
Colbert joked about his show's demise in his opening remarks, quipping that "cancel culture has gone too far." He suggested the show's venue, The Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan, might be converted to "self-storage" after the show ends.
CBS executives said last week they would end "The Late Show" in May 2026 in what they called "purely a financial decision."
U.S. lawmakers and others have called the timing suspicious, noting that Paramount is seeking government approval for an $8 billion merger. Colbert is a frequent critic of President Trump and had called that payment a bribe.
Stewart addressed the cancellation on Monday's episode of "The Daily Show," which runs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central.
"If you're trying to figure out why Stephen's show is ending, I don't think the answer can be found in some smoking gun email or phone call from Trump to CBS executives or in CBS QuickBooks spreadsheets on the financial health of late night," Stewart said.
"I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America's institutions at this very moment, institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our ... commander in chief."
Paramount representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social last Friday, applauded the cancellation, writing, "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired."
Colbert responded Monday night with what he called a "satirical witticism" that included a vulgarity.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

FCC chair pleased with Skydance vow to make changes at CBS
FCC chair pleased with Skydance vow to make changes at CBS

Reuters

time12 minutes ago

  • Reuters

FCC chair pleased with Skydance vow to make changes at CBS

July 24 (Reuters) - The chair of the Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday he is pleased with commitments that Skydance has made to make serious changes at CBS under a proposed merger with Paramount (PARA.O), opens new tab, but said the agency has not made a decision on the tie-up. CBS parent Paramount needs approval from the FCC for an $8.4-billion merger with Skydance Media. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said after a commission meeting the agency continues to review the deal and praised commitments to end diversity programs. Skydance has agreed to have an ombudsman in place for at least two years to evaluate complaints about bias in CBS News' programming if the deal is approved. "I was very pleased to see Skydance put in a filing that says if this deal goes through they are committing to serious changes at CBS. I think that would be a good thing," Carr said. "They have committed to addressing bias issues. They've committed to embracing fact-based journalism." Paramount declined to comment. Carr cited polls that Americans' trust in national programs has fallen to historic lows. This month, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump, claiming the CBS News program "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that the network broadcast in October. Paramount did not admit to any wrongdoing. The FCC has required other companies like T-Mobile and Verizon to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs before approving deals. In January, Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle U.S. government DEI programs, and pressured the private sector to join the initiative. The FCC did not make a decision by the 180-day informal deadline in mid-May and Carr previously denied Trump's lawsuit was a factor. Trump and CBS formally agreed on Tuesday to the dismissal of his lawsuit, according to a court filing. Skydance and its investors plan to acquire National Amusements, which holds the family's controlling stake in Paramount. Skydance will subsequently be merged into Paramount, with its CEO David Ellison becoming Paramount's next chief executive.

Shia LaBeouf FINALLY settles explosive sexual battery lawsuit with ex FKA Twigs
Shia LaBeouf FINALLY settles explosive sexual battery lawsuit with ex FKA Twigs

Daily Mail​

time44 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Shia LaBeouf FINALLY settles explosive sexual battery lawsuit with ex FKA Twigs

FKA Twigs has officially ended her legal battle with ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf, nearly four years after filing a high-profile lawsuit accusing the actor of abuse. According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, on Monday, the 37-year-old British musician (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett) has requested to dismiss all claims against LaBeouf, 39, with prejudice, meaning she cannot bring the case back to court in the future. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, sought $10 million in damages and alleged sexual battery, assault, and emotional distress during the couple's relationship. The two began dating after meeting on the set of LaBeouf's 2019 semi-autobiographical film Honey Boy, in which Twigs was cast. In a statement provided to attorneys for both parties confirmed the matter had been resolved privately. 'Committed to forging a constructive path forward, we have agreed to settle our case out of court. While the details of the settlement will remain private, we wish each other personal happiness, professional success and peace in the future,' the pair's respective attorneys said. LaBeouf was represented by Shawn Holley while Twigs hired Los Angeles-based lawyer, Bryan Freedman, who is currently defending actor Justin Baldoni in his legal battle against Blake Lively. Twigs' original complaint included several disturbing allegations, including claims that LaBeouf knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease and once threatened to crash a car with her inside. She also alleged he physically assaulted her at a gas station following that incident. LaBeouf has denied many of the allegations but issued a public statement at the time of the filing, acknowledging his history of harmful behavior. 'I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations,' he told The New York Times. 'I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt.' In March 2024, Twigs detailed the aftermath of her relationship with LaBeouf in a vulnerable Vogue interview. 'I think naively I thought it would be like any other break-up, that I'd be sad for six months to a year, and then one day I'd wake up and everything would be fine,' she told the outlet. The performer continued: 'But the fact is being abused changes the whole of your nervous system. Because my window of tolerance is now much smaller than it used to be, my body manifests stress in quite extreme ways – it really shows me when it's upset.' Twigs filed her lawsuit against the star with a slew of explosive allegations, which the actor finally addressed in 2022, although the singer slammed his 'gaslighting'. In response to her explosive allegations, LaBeouf branded his ex a 'saint' and recalled how she 'saved' his life and inspired him to wake up and take responsibility for his actions. Meanwhile, Twigs called their relationship 'the worst thing I've ever been through in my life.' During his appearance on Jon Bernthal's podcast, Real Ones in 2022, he said: 'I hurt that woman. And in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman. 'I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being ... When I think about what my life has become, and what it is now, like what my purpose is now ... I need to be useful.' Among her allegations, Twigs accused Shia of violently attacking and strangling her, knowingly infecting her with an STD, and physical and verbal violence. But LaBeouf, who has been diagnosed with PTSD and alcoholism, insisted in 2022 that he is in a better place now. He explained; 'I'm in the tribe of the f***-ups. I'm a very public sinner, a very fallible person in the public sphere. What I think now my purpose is, is to not do… 'The other examples that we've had of how to navigate something like this — which is to go after the woman, or try to win a court case, or get back into a f****** movie or like get back on at all... 'My purpose, and I mean this with every fibre of my being, is to be instructive with my life, so that I can be an advertisement, like a billboard, for a principled way of living.' In her Vogue spread, FKA elaborated on the depths of her pain, writing: 'I've had to be very compassionate with myself and really listen to myself to get better... 'Now I want to challenge myself to know more about the simple, most pure and important things: love, nature, food, a nontoxic lifestyle, my body. The path I'm on is not the pastel pink yoga leggings aesthetic.' Since then, she has found love with Jordan Hemingway, with whom she went public with in March 2023. While speaking about her new romance, she gushed: 'I've kissed a few frogs to get there but I feel that Jordan listens to me and opens me up in a way that no one really has ever been able to.' 'When I'm with somebody who's not in the public eye in the way I am, I'm conscious of everything I can do to make that situation as comfortable as possible because I've been on the other side of it,' she explained. 'And it's really not nice. Right now I feel so ready to stand up for things that I believe in, to protect people who I love.' Meanwhile, LaBeouf is married to actress Mia Goth, whom he shares a daughter named Isabel. Over the years, the pair's relationship has weathered a few storms, including a separation and a divorce filing in 2018.

‘South Park's most furious episode ever': the jaw-dropping Satanic takedown of Donald Trump
‘South Park's most furious episode ever': the jaw-dropping Satanic takedown of Donald Trump

The Guardian

time44 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

‘South Park's most furious episode ever': the jaw-dropping Satanic takedown of Donald Trump

It hasn't been a particularly great few weeks for Paramount. Thanks to its decision to pay Donald Trump $16m rather than fight a lawsuit that many predicted it would win – a move that happened just as they needed federal approval of an $8bn merger – all hell has broken loose. Stephen Colbert (whose Late Show airs on Paramount-owned CBS) called the settlement a 'big fat bribe', precipitating the cancellation of his show. In response, Jon Stewart (whose Daily Show airs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central) aired a segment in which he and a gospel choir led the studio audience through a repeated chant of 'fuck you' directed at his paymasters. And now, in what might just be the worst possible timing for both Paramount and Trump, South Park is back. Considering that South Park has always been known for its unvarnished satire, and for an extraordinarily responsive production process that allows it to comment on events almost until the moment of broadcast, the first episode of its 27th season always had the potential to sting. And since that first episode – entitled Sermon on the 'Mount – is a scorching critique of both Paramount's cowardice and Trump's eagerness to ride roughshod over his own voters, sting it does. Trump himself is a character, as is his talking micropenis. Even for a show like South Park, which has often been defined by its anger, this may well go down as its most furious ever. The episode's plot, such as it is, involves Cartman becoming distraught at Trump's cancellation of funding for public broadcaster NPR, which he only listens to because he finds its wokeness hilarious. 'The government can't cancel a show,' he rails early on. 'I mean, what show are they going to cancel next?' Very quickly answering its own question, we then meet South Park's version of Donald Trump. Presented – in terms of voice, behaviour and animation style – identically to Saddam Hussein in the South Park movie, the show's Trump brashly parrots the phrase 'Relax, guy' to anyone who takes issue with him, and is regularly seen in bed with Satan. He also keeps suing everybody, and removing his trousers to show off his tiny penis. In total, we see Trump's penis five times throughout the episode. Once is photorealistic, but we'll get to that. Trump is there to try to placate the residents of South Park, who are angry that the person they voted for has become a self-interested dictator who probably appeared in the Epstein files. In perhaps the best joke of the episode, the town's protests are covered by 60 Minutes (the show that caused Trump to sue Paramount), by hosts nervous that anything they say will spark more presidential lawsuits. 'Oh boy, oh shit, oh God,' they keep mumbling, over an image of a ticking timebomb. Then Jesus (last meaningfully seen on the show doing cocaine with Santa back in 2019) speaks to the residents. Having returned to fulfil the president's wishes to bring Christianity back to education, Jesus urges everyone not to upset Trump further. 'You guys saw what happened to CBS,' he whispered. 'You really want to end up like Colbert? Just shut up or we're going to be cancelled. If someone has the power of the presidency, and also has the power to sue and take bribes, then he can do anything to anyone.' Spooked by the sermon, the South Park residents decide that the only way to survive is to pump out a stream of pro-Trump messaging. Thus, the final moments of the show are given over to a short film of a realistic deepfake Trump staggering through the desert as he removes his clothes. Collapsing on to the sand naked, Trump looks down at his penis, which (since it has eyes and a mouth) says, 'I'm Donald J Trump and I approve this message.' A voiceover intones: 'His penis is teeny tiny, but his love for us is large.' End of episode. In other words, Sermon on the 'Mount is a grand dare. If Trump could get $16m by suing Paramount over an editorially acceptable edit on a news programme, then it stands to reason that he will try to go after a cartoon that depicts him trying to insert his microscopic penis into Satan. And if he does sue, will Paramount risk destroying its already damaged reputation by capitulating yet again? There's plenty of nuance to this battle, not least the fact that the programme's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have just signed a $1.5bn contract with Paramount+, ensuring that it will exclusively stream South Park for the next five years, but the battle lines have been drawn. Paramount finds itself caught in yet another bind. If push comes to shove, who will it side with: a president who might block its $8bn merger out of spite, or its most aggressively provocative show? The way things are shaping up, this could be a hell of a season.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store