A protest aimed at defending comedian Stephen Colbert — who is set to lose his gig hosting “The Late Show” on CBS in May of 2026 — drew a crowd of tens on Sunday afternoon.
According to a report published by The New York Post, just about 20 people showed up to voice their support for the soon-to-be ousted host — and even those who did show up didn’t stay long. The New York City cops — who were on the scene just in case the protest got out of hand — took off as well when it became apparent that nothing was happening.
The event organizer told The New York Post that his name was Matt and his nickname was “Slim” (but he would not give the outlet any other identification). He explained that he’d attempted to bring a group together outside the CBS Broadcast Center — on the West Side of Manhattan — to say “We’re with Colbert.”
“Our country is not perfect, never has been,” he said. “But we’ve always had the First Amendment, and now Mango Mussolini is trying to take that from us.”
Another protester, who refused to give her name, told the outlet, “This is a First Amendment attack. We can’t stand for that.”
CBS has stated the Colbert’s exit — in May of 2026 — was “purely a financial decision” and recent reports have indicated that Colbert’s show may have taken a loss of $40 million in the last year.
Others have suggested that politics — specifically the one-sided tone of Colbert’s show — had caused him to lose popularity.
Longtime “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno addressed the changing tone in late night comedy during a recent interview with Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation CEO David Trulio.
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“I don’t understand why you would alienate one particular group, you know, or just don’t do it at all. I’m not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just do what’s funny,” Leno said, later adding, “It was fun to me when I got hate letters, ‘Dear Mr. Leno, you and your Republican friends’ and, ‘Well, Mr. Leno, I hope you and your Democratic buddies are happy’ — over the same joke.”
