"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert said Monday night that his bosses at CBS ordered him not to air an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate this November.
“We were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said. “Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
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Colbert cited the Federal Communications Commission’s “equal time” rule, which requires that if a candidate is given time on a broadcast, the candidate’s opponent must be granted equal time. A bona fide news interview is generally exempt from the rule. The FCC has previously granted exemptions to late-night shows, including when Jay Leno interviewed California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during his 2006 reelection campaign.
When President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, however, the FCC released a letter saying it was considering eliminating this exemption for talk shows, arguing such programs are not bona fide news broadcasts and could be driven by “partisan purposes.”
“There’s long been an exemption for this rule — an exception for news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians. Now, that’s crucial. How else were voters supposed to know back in ’92 that Bill Clinton sucked at saxophone?” Colbert said.
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Colbert ultimately posted the interview with Talarico on The Late Show’s YouTube page.
Colbert’s tenure with CBS will end in May, as the network faces criticism from progressives for hiring Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of its news division.
Also Monday, longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper announced he will leave the program, citing a desire to spend more time with family.
Talarico is in a competitive primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett. The Republican incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn, is also in a competitive primary against Trump-backed candidate Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general.
