Stephen Colbert Reveals CBS Blocked His Interview with James Talarico

During his opening monologue on Monday night, Stephen Colbert revealed that CBS prevented him from airing an interview with Texas Democratic representative James Talarico. Colbert stated that the network’s legal team made it clear he could not feature Talarico on the show, leading him to upload the interview to YouTube instead, shortly after news broke about Anderson Cooper stepping down from his role as a correspondent for 60 Minutes.

“He [Talarico] was supposed to be here, but 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 explained. “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.”

Colbert, whose late-night show is set to conclude in May, referenced the Federal Communications Commission’s equal time rule, which mandates that radio and broadcast television must provide equal airtime to competing political candidates during elections. Talarico is currently running for a Senate seat.

While news interviews have traditionally been exempt from this rule, talk shows have generally been included in that exemption. However, in January, FCC Chair Brendan Carr issued new guidance indicating that late-night and daytime talk shows should also adhere to the rule. “If you’re fake news, you’re not going to qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” Carr remarked at the time.

Colbert noted that while Carr “hasn’t done away” with the exemption, CBS is “unilaterally enforcing it as if he had.” He also pointed out that last year, Paramount appointed Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News. “Let’s just call this what it is. Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV.”