“The Tonight Show” star Jimmy Fallon quipped he would be the subsequent late-night host to get canned as he blasted CBS for pulling the plug on Stephen Colbert.
“I am your host. Well, at least for tonight,” Fallon mentioned throughout Monday’s monologue.
Fallon, who made a cameo look on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Monday in a present of assist for his longtime rival, additionally took goal at CBS and its mother or father firm, Paramount World.
“Everybody is talking about CBS’ decision to end ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’” Fallon mentioned, earlier than organising his subsequent joke by claiming many viewers are “now threatening to boycott the network.”
“CBS could lose millions of viewers, plus tens of hundreds watching on Paramount+.”
The previous “SNL” star additionally quipped: “These are crazy times. This morning my dad called me and said he’s officially a Kimmel guy,” referring to the third member of the late-night fraternity, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.
Fallon went on to reward Colbert’s contributions to late-night tv whereas taking a shot at President Trump.
“Stephen has done years of incredibly smart and hilarious television, and he’s won 10 Emmys,” Fallon mentioned.
“Trump heard and was like, ‘Big deal, last week I just won a FIFA World Cup trophy.’”
The joke was a reference to Trump’s look alongside members of the Chelsea soccer workforce after it captured the FIFA World Cup championship at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey final week.
Fallon — whose contract with NBC runs by way of 2028 — had beforehand launched a written assertion on the cancellation of Colbert’s present, saying: “I’m just as shocked as everyone. Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I’d ride this out with him for years to come.”
His remarks Monday got here on the heels of scathing commentary from Jon Stewart and Colbert himself, each of whom criticized CBS and Paramount for the choice to finish the top-rated late-night present.
Whereas CBS has maintained that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision” unrelated to the present’s efficiency, others have voiced skepticism.
Lawmakers, media observers, union leaders and fellow late-night hosts questioned the timing and motivations behind the transfer — notably in gentle of Paramount World’s latest $16 million settlement with Trump and its pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media.
Three days earlier than getting axed, Colbert had criticized the Trump settlement on air, calling it a “big fat bribe.”
Critics have accused Paramount and CBS of yielding to political strain from Trump in an try and safe favorable regulatory therapy from the Federal Communications Fee, which is reviewing its long-stalled merger.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was amongst those that voiced concern, posting on X: “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS owner Paramount for its $16 M settlement with Trump… America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”
Skydance CEO David Ellison — whose firm is in search of to merge with Paramount — just lately met with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and promised that the mixed media entity would mirror “the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers.”
The assembly has solely fueled hypothesis that Colbert’s ouster was supposed to neutralize a high-profile Trump critic forward of the FCC’s ruling.
CBS has not publicly responded to Fallon’s feedback. Paramount World additionally has not issued an announcement in response to Stewart or Colbert’s criticisms.
Colbert took over internet hosting duties of “The Late Show” from David Letterman in 2015
