David Letterman Bashes ‘Gutless’ CBS Over Its Firing of Stephen Colbert in Brutal Takedown

The legendary former late night host had some tough words for his former employer, and even questioned the narrative for why Colbert was canned.

David Letterman isn’t mincing words when it comes to CBS’s abrupt decision to pull the plug on The Late Show — the very program he helmed for over two decades. In a July 25 segment from The Barbara Gaines Show, Letterman joined former Late Night with David Letterman staffers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay for a candid chat that quickly turned into a scathing condemnation of the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show.

At 78, the comedy icon remains sharp-tongued and visibly frustrated. He took direct aim at CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, and David Ellison — who’s poised to take over as CEO once Paramount finalizes its $8.4 billion merger with his Skydance Media.

"It's all very strange. It's very complicated, but it was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it?" Letterman said, clearly baffled by the decision. During the segment, he escalated his critique, branding the network’s move to axe Colbert “pure cowardice” and “gutless.”

Colbert has hosted The Late Show since taking the reins from Letterman in 2015. On July 17, he confirmed the show would wrap in May, marking the end of an era that spanned over 30 years. Paramount, in its official statement, chalked up the move to finances: “…purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” the company claimed — a line Letterman clearly wasn’t buying.

The network insisted that Colbert’s exit had “nothing to do with the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.” But Letterman wasn’t convinced, floating the idea that the decision was more about appeasing Ellison — and silencing Colbert’s politically charged voice.

“Not only are we going to get rid of that guy, we’re going to get rid of the whole franchise so you don’t have to worry about another guy,” Letterman said, mocking what he imagined were the executives’ private conversations. “It’s gone, buddy!”

To him, the writing is on the wall: Ellison, whose political leanings remain opaque, might prefer a quieter, less risky late-night slate. “I think it’s sad, but what this indicates also is [Ellison doesn’t] want any trouble along the lines of freedom of the press or free speech or freedom of expression,” Letterman added. “They don’t want to get their hands dirty; they don’t want the government going after them.”

As for Paramount’s “strictly business” rationale? Letterman was skeptical.

“I don’t think it was money. I think it was all to make sure [Ellison was] solid spending dad’s money,” he quipped.

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“You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday?” he continued. “I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago. I’ll bet they were losing this kind of money six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money.

“Take a look at the CBS News. It’s still in business, and I’m not certain that that’s a profit center.”

Letterman praised Colbert’s work since inheriting the show, but he didn’t hold back when calling out the network for what he sees as a mishandling of one of their biggest stars.

“They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled,” he said bluntly.

He predicted those involved in the decision would eventually come to regret it.

“One day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed because this is gutless,” he said.

“Now we’ve all got to kiss Stephen Colbert’s ring now,” he joked, calling the late-night host a “martyr” for getting canned.

Days before his public comments in what appeared to be a subtle but unmistakable response to the news of Colbert’s cancellation, Letterman posted a video montage to his YouTube channel showing the many times he publicly skewered CBS while still under its roof. A reminder, perhaps, that his jabs at the network aren’t just a post-retirement hobby.

The caption accompanying the montage was classic Dave: “You can’t spell CBS without BS.”

Watch the full video below: