Stephen Colbert is finally addressing the elephant in the newsroom: did CBS cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to appease President Donald Trump?

His answer? We’ll probably never know because “no one’s ever going to tell us.”

Of course, that’s the short version of the lengthy response Colbert gave GQ in the all-expansive “exit interview” published on Monday that delves into Colbert’s reaction since Late Show’s cancellation kicked off a verbal tug-of-war between late-night hosts and Trump.

The interview was conducted before ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live from air for six days amid pressure from the affiliate groups for comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s killer.

In July, CBS announced that The Late Show would be coming to an end in May 2026. While the network noted at the time that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision,” critics have questioned the timing of events given that Colbert had recently criticized CBS’ corporate parent, Paramount Global, for settling a suit filed by Trump that some legal observers think should have been dismissed on First Amendment grounds.

People questioned if ending the show came part and parcel with the then-pending merger of Paramount Global to Skydance Media — which required the approval of the Trump administration. The FCC approved the merger on July 24, eight days after Colbert announced the show’s cancellation on air.

Trump also celebrated news of The Late Show’s cancellation on social media, writing that he “absolutely love that Colbert got fired” and that the comedian’s “talent was even less than his ratings.”

“My reaction as a professional in show business is to go: That is the network’s decision,” Colbert told GQ, noting that he can’t confirm or deny those theories because he doesn’t know who ultimately made the decision to cancel the show. ”

However, he understands how others would draw the conclusion that the cancellation was politically motivated.

“I can understand why people would have that reaction because CBS or the parent corporation decided to cut a check for $16 million to the president of the United States over a lawsuit that their own lawyers, Paramount’s own lawyers, said is completely without merit,” he said. “And it is self-evident that that is damaging to the reputation of the network, the corporation, and the news division. So it is unclear to me why anyone would do that other than to curry favor with a single individual.”

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US President Donald Trump speaks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit at the Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju on October 29, 2025. LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS — Episode 1715 — Pictured: Host Seth Meyers during the monologue on October 10, 2025.

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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert during Monday’s January 6, 2025 show

Colbert said it’s “reasonable” for people to theorize that his show’s cancellation is associated with that, but quipped that he isn’t interested in “picking up a broom or adding to refuse on the other side of the street.”

“My side of the street is clean. [It’s] not my problem,” he continued. “So people can have their theories. I have my feelings about not doing the show anymore, but you’d have to show me why that’s a fruitful relationship for me to have with my network for the next nine months, for me to engage in that speculation.”

While the host shared that he had a “great relationship” with CBS, he admitted that’s why the news of his cancellation — which was delivered to him via his manager and not the network — was so “surprising and so shocking.”

“I was surprised. Listen, every show’s got to end at some time. And I’ve been on a bunch of shows that have ended,” Colbert said. “And that’s just the nature of show business. You can’t worry about that. You got to be a big boy about that. But I think we’re the first number one show to ever get canceled.”

It’s that success that still leaves Colbert confused, despite his affirmation that the network heads “have been great partners… They’ve been very supportive.”

Ultimately, that relationship with the network and the duty he feels toward the viewers of the show drive Colbert to his ultimate goal: to land the plane.

“People have asked me, ‘Well, what do you think you’re going to do next?’ And the cleanest and really fullest answer I can give you, not that I don’t have thoughts, is, the honest answer is, I just want to land this plane gracefully in a way that I find satisfying, given how much effort we’ve put into it for the last 10 years,” he concluded.

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