The Writers Guild of America is calling on New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate CBS' cancellation of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," accusing the network's parent company of attempting to bribe President Donald Trump amid a high-stakes corporate merger, The Hill reported.
The Writers Guild of America East and West represents writers on the Colbert program and others in the television industry. In a statement, the Guild questioned whether the cancellation was designed to benefit Paramount Global, CBS' parent company, which recently settled a lawsuit filed by Trump and is pursuing a $28 billion merger with Skydance that requires regulatory approval.
"Given Paramount's recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show's cancelation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval," the Guild said.
Colbert announced Thursday that "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" will end in May. Paramount cited "financial reasons" for the decision, pointing to declining revenue and viewership in the late-night television landscape. The company said media habits are shifting as more viewers abandon traditional cable.
However, the timing has fueled speculation that politics, not profits, influenced the move. Two days before the cancellation was announced, Colbert criticized Paramount's settlement with Trump over a "60 Minutes" interview featuring former Vice President Kamala Harris. On air, he called it a "big, fat bribe."
Tensions have surrounded Trump's lawsuit against CBS News, which claimed the network defamed him in its Harris interview. Paramount settled the suit for $16 million. Around the same time, CBS News President Wendy McMahon resigned, and Trump threatened to revoke CBS' broadcast license.
"Cancelations are part of the business, but a corporation terminating a show in bad faith due to explicit or implicit political pressure is dangerous and unacceptable in a democratic society," the Guild stated.
"Paramount's decision comes against a backdrop of relentless attacks on a free press by President Trump, through lawsuits against CBS and ABC, threatened litigation of media organizations with critical coverage, and the unconscionable defunding of PBS and NPR," the statement read.
Trump celebrated the cancellation on Truth Social.
"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings," he posted.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also raised concerns.
"CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons," she posted on X on Thursday.
James has yet to comment on whether she will pursue an investigation.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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