NEWSBruce Springsteen Cooks Donald Trump as He Defends Stephen Colbert Ahead of 'Late Show' Finale
Bruce Springsteen bashed President Donald Trump and Paramount for the cancelation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' on Wednesday, May 20.
May 21 2026, Published 3:17 p.m. ET
Bruce Springsteen took aim at President Donald Trump for the cancelation of Late Show With Stephen Colbert during his performance on the show Wednesday, May 20. The final show airs Thursday night, May 21.
"I’m here in support of Stephen because you’re the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we’ve got a president who can’t take a joke," the "Born in the U.S.A." singer, 76, began as the crowd hooted and hollered. "And because [Paramount owners] Larry and David Ellison feel that they need to kiss his a-- to get what they want."
He continued, "Anyway, Steve, these are small-minded people and they’ve got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about. This is for you.”
Springsteen then launched into his anti-ICE anthem "Streets of Minneapolis."
Donald Trump Remained Quiet — This Time
Bruce Springsteen called Stephen Colbert 'the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we’ve got a president who can’t take a joke.'
Trump has not yet weighed in on the performance.
His ire for Colbert is well-documented.
"Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success," Trump, 79, wrote on Truth Social in a midnight rant in December 2025. "Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes ~ A dead man walking! CBS should, 'put him to sleep,' NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!"
The Backstory Behind Why 'Late Show' Was Canceled
Both Bruce Springsteen and David Letterman have been critical of the decision to cancel 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.'
In August 2025, CBS owner Paramount was sold to Skydance for $8.4 billion after a tough negotiation process. Ellison was named CEO of Paramount Skydance after the merger.
In July 2025, CBS announced its plan to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, saying it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night."
The cancelation happened soon after Colbert decried CBS News for agreeing to pay Trump $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit related to a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris before the 2024 election.
Colbert said the settlement was a "big fat bribe" on his show soon before the cancelation was announced.
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Stephen Colbert Understood Why Critics Think Cancellation Seemed 'Fishy'
Donald Trump called Stephen Colbert 'a pathetic trainwreck' on Truth Social in December 2025.
During interviews leading up to the final show, he didn't directly address whether he thinks Trump was involved in the show's cancelation.
"But I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn't make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me, because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit," he told The New York Times in April 2026.
Past and present late-night hosts David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel are on Stephen Colbert's side.
Former host David Letterman and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel are among critics who have questioned the reasoning, given Paramount's efforts to score regulatory approval for the Skydance deal.
Colbert took over The Late Show after Letterman's retirement in 2015.
Previously, he was a correspondent on The Daily Show from 1997-2015 and hosted The Colbert Report from 2005-2014.
