Newscaster Rachel Maddow didn’t mince words when it comes to CBS Paramount cancelling Colbert. On “The Best People with Nicole Wallace” podcast, the MS NOW anchor took aim at CBS for its “capitulation” to President Donald Trump and questioned its decision to cancel “The Late Show” in July. She equally criticized the reorganization of CBS News over the last few months in the midst of the merger between its parent company, Paramount, and Skydance Media.
Maddow rips CBS Paramount for cancelling Stephen Colbert
“It was absolutely transparent what CBS and Paramount where doing with getting rid of Stephen Colbert. ‘Oh, it’s a financial decision,'” Maddow said on the podcast, referring to the network’s explanation for cancelling Colbert’s late-night show that is set to air its final episode in May 2026.
She continued, “Right, because having the highest-rated late-night show in America for years is somehow financially unsustainable now when it wasn’t before?”
Maddow shared her concerns on what she sees as a takeover at CBS. “At the same time that you’ve got Trump-connected oligarchs taking over this company,” she said, “and putting a right-wing blogger in charge of CBS News.”
This refers to the newly appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, who is replacing Maurice DuBois from CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil and is rumored to be firing Gayle King from CBS Mornings.
“They’re trying to sort of live down their shame already,” she explained, “and I think in terms of the way they are capitulating, the CBS News takeover has been a huge embarrassment to everybody involved in it.”
Maddow believes that CBS should “reverse the decision about Colbert” too, saying that the network has plenty of time to reverse their decision.
“Maybe you can now see where in history you’re going to end up, and now’s your chance to try to alter that and try to get right,” she said of CBS. “And I think that a lot of institutions are in that same boat.”
Earlier this month, a report said Maddow allegedly has “friction” with her fellow MS Now hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezezinksi.
