Stephen Colbert sharply criticized CBS on Tuesday night's The Late Show after the network issued a statement disputing his claim that CBS lawyers blocked his interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico from broadcast due to fears of triggering the FCC's Equal Time rule.
Colbert, holding up the CBS statement on air, called it "a surprisingly small piece of paper considering how many butts it’s trying to cover" and expressed surprise that the network released it "without ever talking to me."
He described the statement as "crap" in some reports, emphasizing he had no adversarial intent toward CBS but was stunned the "giant, global corporation" refused to challenge what he called FCC overreach under Chairman Brendan Carr.
CBS's Tuesday afternoon statement clarified: "The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC Equal Time rule for two other candidates…and presented options for how [that] could be fulfilled." The network added that The Late Show opted to post the interview on YouTube instead of risking equal-time obligations.
Colbert pushed back by noting that CBS lawyers had approved every word of his Monday night script, including the segment discussing the issue, and that he was unusually pulled backstage mid-show for additional notes from lawyers, a first in his experience. He insisted the lawyers were dictating his content while now denying the prohibition's severity.
The controversy stems from Monday, when Colbert revealed CBS lawyers told the show "in no uncertain terms" that airing the Talarico interview could violate the Equal Time rule—recently emphasized by FCC guidance questioning exemptions for talk shows—and barred it from broadcast.
The full interview was instead released exclusively on YouTube.
According to latenighter.com, Colbert highlighted that no similar enforcement of the rule has occurred for talk show interviews in decades, dating back to the 1960s, questioning why CBS suddenly feared a fight against "bullies" in this instance. He stressed he wasn't angry at the network but disappointed it wouldn't stand up for free expression.