Stephen Colbert received the help of some surprise guests during a Coldplay-inspired segment that trashed CBS’s cancelation of his show.
“People out there are bummed about the show ending,” Colbert began.
To cheer the audience up, Colbert invited musicians “Weird Al” Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda on stage, where they played “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay.
Referencing the viral meme about the CEO who was caught having an affair at a Coldplay concert, the camera zoomed in on audience members. It showed Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen sitting together, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and John Oliver, Christopher McDonald and Adam Sandler. Even Triumph the Insult Comic Dog got a cameo.
Finally, the camera zoomed in on an animated Donald Trump hugging the Paramount logo. Trump and the logo looked surprised and embarrassed to be spotted.
The joke feels especially pointed considering that Paramount is CBS’s parent company. It’s been widely speculated that Colbert was fired as a result of his criticisms of Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump, which Colbert dubbed a “big fat bribe.”
Immediately after showing Trump with the Paramount logo, Colbert received a mysterious letter from a stranger who’d walked on stage.
“Guys, stop,” Colbert told Yankovic and Miranda. “I just got this note from corporate… Your song has been cancelled.”
When the musicians asked why, Colbert replied, “It says here this is a ‘purely financial decision.’ … It says here that since you started playing that song, the network has lost—and I don’t know how this is possible—$40 to $50 million.”
The joke was referencing the recent reports that Colbert’s show was apparently losing CBS “$40M a year” due to its high production costs and low ratings.
Miranda didn’t buy that explanation, however: “Tell me this has nothing to do with who we just put a spotlight on,” he replied.
Colbert looked through the letter again and said, “There’s nothing in here that mentions that.”
In perhaps Colbert’s most blatant dig at Paramount, he told the two musicians, “It says some very nice things about you guys. ‘Performance, quality, stature, irreplaceable…’”
These were all qualities CBS praised Colbert for in their statement about his show’s cancellation.
Colbert continued reading off the fake letter: “‘Signed, yours truly, the Paramount family of global entertainment properties and A.I. weapons systems.’ What? That’s new.”
In a reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, Colbert continued reading from the letter, “‘P.S., we have always been at war with Oceania.’”
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