Late-night television legend and original Late Show host David Letterman has finally spoken out about CBS’ decision to axe the show he created in 1993, describing the move as “pure cowardice.”
Letterman spoke to his former producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay about the decision in a video posted to his YouTube channel on Friday, telling them, “I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this, they’re going to be embarrassed, because this is gutless.”
The news that CBS was canceling Colbert’s iteration of The Late Show, which he has hosted since 2015, came as a shock earlier this month, with many wondering if the move was politically motivated, given Colbert’s regular attacks on President Donald Trump. The network, for its part, has insisted that the move was purely financial.
In his analysis of the situation, Letterman made his own thoughts clear. Looking to avoid a repeat of what happened with 60 Minutes in an effort to appeal to Skydance CEO David Ellison, Letterman theorizes that CBS told Ellison, ”Hey boys, here’s what we’re gonna do: not only are we gonna get rid of that guy, we’re gonna get rid of the entire franchise so you don’t have to worry about another guy. It’s gone!” Ellison is set to become chairman and CEO of CBS’ parent company Paramount now that the FCC has approved Skydance’s acquisition of the company.
“They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled,” Letterman argued, asking why the financial concerns only became apparent now.
“You’re telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago, six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money… They’re giving him another 10 months, that’s another huge chunk of money they’re gonna lose according to them. I don’t think it was money, I think it was all to make sure the Ellisons were solid spending Dad’s money.” David Ellison is the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Letterman also called Ellison a “bottom feeder,” telling him, “Go buy Dairy Queen or something—stay out of this business.”
Letterman had not commented publicly on the news, which broke late last week, until now, although a 20-minute supercut of Letterman taking aim CBS during his time as Late Show host was uploaded to his YouTube channel earlier this week. The video’s description read, “You can’t spell CBS without BS.”
There is a slight silver lining in Letterman’s view. Letterman told Gaines and Barclay, “For Stephen, I love this: he’s a martyr, good for him. If you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction.”
“I only wish this could’ve happened to me. This would’ve been so great for me. Now we’ve all gotta kiss Stephen Colbert’s ring now,” he joked.
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