The comment will likely stir an already heated debate and raise new questions about prospects for late night satire.

CBS parent Paramount insists that this week's decision to cancel Steven Colbert's “Late Show” was strictly financial, and had nothing to do with politics.

Kelly said on her show Friday that Colbert took “The Late Show” ― which was started by David Letterman ― and “completely drove it into the ground.” “He desperately wanted to be Keith Olbermann,” she said.

More than a dozen high-profile news anchors and hosts have left their roles or had their shows canceled. See who's been impacted in recent months.

CBS’ decision to cut ties with Stephen Colbert and its decades-old “Late Show” franchise come next May will leave a major hole in the format — but one that has been widening. TV networks have been cutting costs at their late-night mainstays for the past few years.

In a move commenters described as having "Craig Ferguson vibes," Stephen Colbert and Joaquin Phoenix spent the last moments of their Late Show interview in awkward silence.

Comedian Jon Stewart ripped CBS over its decision to cancel Stephen Colbert ’s late-night show in a profanity-laced rant on Monday night. Paramount, CBS’s parent company, announced last week that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" will be ending in May 2026.