Stephen Colbert recently got candid about the end of his talk show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” CBS decided to cancel the show for financial reasons, with the last episode airing on May 21. In his recent interview, Colbert shared how the network might have saved by cancelling his show. Now, according to a source, the host’s comments have not gone over well with critics.
Insiders believe Stephen Colbert is ‘trying to convince himself this was a blessing,’ per source
According to RadarOnline.com, critics are calling out Stephen Colbert for appearing positive about the cancellation of his talk show. “A lot of people in the business were surprised by how philosophical Stephen suddenly became about losing the show,” a television industry source told the outlet. “Some insiders think he’s trying to convince himself this was a blessing rather than a devastating professional blow,” they continued.
Another media insider shared, “There’s sympathy for him because The Late Show became a huge part of his identity.” However, “some critics see his comments on what was a firing as oddly detached from reality.” The insider continued, “They think he’s putting a positive spin on something that clearly hurt him and acting totally pathetically and delusional about the fact he is no longer wanted.” The person added, “The truth is, he is very, very sad by the end of the show.”
In his interview with PEOPLE, Stephen Colbert revealed that he received the cancellation news while resting before the show. The 62-year-old said, “I sat up, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m awake. Could you say that one more time?” The host stated that now he wonders if the network “saved” him. This is because “it takes a lot of bone marrow to do the show every day, and now I’ll be stepping down with enough time, enough energy to do other things that I want to do.”
The father of three also expressed gratitude for his journey. “I tried never to take for granted filming in the Ed Sullivan Broadway theater, having that tremendous audience, or having the ability to work with the funniest people I know every day and make jokes about the things that make me most anxious.”
