Stephen Colbert Ends 'Late Show' Finale With One Last Brutal Dig at CBS Bosses

Stephen Colbert closed his final episode of The Late Show by executing a deliberate, costly jab at CBS executives by intentionally triggering a music copyright violation on air.

During his last broadcast, Colbert detailed a lawsuit involving the iconic music from Charlie Brown and other Peanuts television specials.

As the show’s house band intentionally began playing the copyrighted theme song, Colbert smirked directly into the camera and deadpanned, “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money.”

The targeted prank served as a parting shot following the abrupt cancellation of the top-rated late-night franchise.

“Now, Peanuts is a powerful brand and corporation in and of itself,” Colbert said. “Anyone illegally using that music is going to have to pay through the nose ...”

At that moment, the show’s band, Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine, started playing theme music from Peanuts.

“Louis?” Colbert said, feigning surprise and asking the band leader if he was really “playing the same Peanuts music that I just said people were being sued for using without permission?“

A smirking Colbert quipped, “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money.”

CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, insisted that terminating the 11-season run was “purely a financial decision” driven by a tough late-night advertising market.

Viewers, critics, and fellow late-night hosts heavily questioned that narrative, with The Late Show's original host, icon David Letterman, calling CBS "lying weasels."

The cancelation came directly after Colbert publicly mocked Paramount for paying a $16 million settlement to President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview dispute, a move Colbert openly labeled a "big fat bribe" while Paramount was seeking federal approval for a major corporate merger.

When the cancellation was announced, Trump celebrated on his Truth Social account.

“Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night,” Trump posted.

The post continued, “That is not true! The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS 50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!”

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was indisputably the highest-rated show in late-night television, finishing as the number-one host in late-night and holding the top spot in total viewers for nine consecutive seasons.

Despite the underlying network tension, the historic 77-minute sendoff at the Ed Sullivan Theater focused heavily on celebration and late-night solidarity.

The star-studded broadcast featured appearances by Ryan Reynolds, Bryan Cranston, Tig Notaro, Tim Meadows and Paul Rudd.

Rock legend Paul McCartney, who made his debut at the Ed Sullivan Theater with The Beatles in 1964, served as the final couch guest, performing the Beatles classic “Hello, Goodbye” alongside Jon Batiste and Elvis Costello before helping Colbert pull a giant power lever to turn off The Late Show stage permanently.

The petulant POTUS wasn't feeling the feels, blasting Colbert on Truth Social less than an hour after the final episode concluded, calling him a "total jerk" with "no talent, no ratings, no life."