Stephen Colbert picked up some support from his fellow late night comedians to kick off The Late Show’s first full week since being canceled.
The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon, Late Night’s Seth Meyers, The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart and Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver all made unannounced cameos on the show.
At the start of the episode, Colbert read President Donald Trump’s July 18 Truth Social post celebrating his cancelation. He then noted that Trump predicted Jimmy Kimmel would be next.
“Absolutely not, Kimmel. I am the martyr, OK?” Colbert joked. “There’s only room for one on this cross, and I got to tell you, the view is fantastic from up here! I can see your house!”
“For the next 10 months, the gloves are off,” Colbert later said. “I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump, starting right now. I don’t care for him.”
Later, Colbert brought out Lin-Manuel Miranda and Weird Al Yankovic to perform a song to cheer up the audience. They chose a Coldplay song, and the camera picked out couples in the crowd, a reference to the viral kiss-cam drama from over the weekend.
Colbert’s camera spotted Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen (who gave Cooper a big smooch), then Meyers and Fallon, before spotting Happy Gilmore 2 stars Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald. Oliver and Stewart were also in the crowd. Next, the cameras spotted the cartoon Trump from Our Cartoon President holding a Paramount logo. At that point, Colbert told Miranda and Yankovic that their performance was canceled due to a “purely financial decision.”
The show of unity from Colbert’s colleagues and competitors came after CBS’ stunning decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after 10 seasons on July 17. The network said the decision was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.”
However, the cancellation came three days after Colbert, 61, criticized CBS’ parent company, Paramount, over its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump, who alleged that CBS News’ 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount is seeking a merger with Skydance, which requires approval from Trump’s administration.
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Kimmel, who, like Colbert, has been a vocal critic of Trump’s administration, was quick to respond. “Love you Stephen. F— you and all your Sheldons CBS,” Kimmel wrote on Instagram. The comedian was mentioned in Trump’s July 18 Truth Social post, in which he celebrated the Late Show’s cancellation and called for Jimmy Kimmel Live to be next. Kimmel responded to that message by posting a photo of himself and his family protesting Trump while on vacation.
“I’m just as shocked as everyone. Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it,” Fallon, whom Trump referred to as “the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show,” wrote on Instagram on July 17. “I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come. I’m sad that my family and friends will need a new show to watch every night at 11:30. But honestly, he’s really been a gentleman and a true friend over the years — going back to The Colbert Report, and I’m sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant.”
“For as great a comedian and host he is, Stephen Colbert is an even better person,” Meyers wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories. “I’m going to miss having him on TV every night but I’m excited he can no longer use the excuse that he’s ‘too busy to hang out’ with me.”
Fallon later mentioned Colbert’s cancelation in his Tonight Show monologue, joking that CBS could lose “millions of viewers plus tens of hundreds watching on Paramount+” if viewers boycott.
Colbert’s tenure on The Late Show will end its 10-year run in May 2026. The Late Show debuted with David Letterman as host in 1993.
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