NEWSJimmy Kimmel Calls Out Ridiculous 'Lies' Surrounding Stephen Colbert's Cancelation
Jimmy Kimmel slammed CBS for the 'lies' behind Stephen Colbert’s 'Late Show' cancellation
Oct. 23 2025, Published 7:37 a.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel isn’t holding back.
The late-night host slammed CBS for the “ridiculous lies” surrounding Stephen Colbert’s Late Show cancelation, calling out the network’s claims as pure nonsense.
Jimmy Kimmel defended Stephen Colbert after his show got canceled.
During his appearance on Ted Danson’s podcast "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" on Tuesday, October 21, Kimmel made it clear that viewers may never know the real reason behind the decision — but he’s convinced there’s more to the story.
Danson asked if Paramount, which owns CBS, might have pulled the plug as a political move — essentially a “quid pro quo” — by firing a prominent Donald Trump critic to get the administration’s approval for its merger plans.
Jimmy Kimmel said CBS’ financial explanation doesn't make sense.
“We don’t know for sure,” Kimmel admitted. “What I do know for sure is that some of the information that has been released by the people who let him go can’t possibly be true. There’s no way he’s losing $40 million a year.”
“There’s no way it’s even close to that,” Kimmel added. “I know how finances of late-night television shows work, and it’s just ridiculous. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Kimmel made it clear he’s not buying CBS’ spin.
“So, when you hear things that are obviously lies, you have to assume that there are more lies behind it. And that’s what I think,” he said.
Paramount reportedly canceled The Late Show after Colbert called them out for paying a $16 million settlement to Trump while seeking the administration’s approval to merge with Skydance Media. The company insisted the decision, which was announced in July and will take effect in 2026, was purely financial, calling it a “challenging backdrop in late night.”
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'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' will end in May 2026.
This isn’t the first time Kimmel’s name has been tied to controversy lately. Weeks earlier, he addressed the backlash over his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s murder — comments that temporarily got his show suspended.
At a Bloomberg Screentime event on October 8, Kimmel said his words had been “maliciously mischaracterized” by “right-wing media networks.”
“I didn’t think there was a big problem,” Kimmel said. “I just saw it as distortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks and I was — I aimed to correct it.”
When asked at what point he knew it had become serious, Kimmel quipped, “I think when they pulled the show off the air,” drawing laughter from the crowd.
Jimmy Kimmel faced his own controversy after making remarks about Charlie Kirk’s death.
The controversy stemmed from Kimmel’s September 15 monologue, days after Kirk, 31, was shot dead while speaking at Utah Valley University.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time.
He appeared to be pointing fingers at Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and others for blaming the “radical left” for Kirk’s assassination.
