Stephen Colbert says CBS didn’t air an interview with Rep. James Talarico for fear of the FCC
“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said CBS did not air his Monday interview with Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas, for fear of the Federal Communications Commission.
Colbert started Monday night’s show almost immediately to mention Talarico’s absence.
“He should have been here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we would not be able to get him on the radio,” said Colbert. “Then I was told in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t just live with him, I couldn’t say I didn’t have him. And because my network doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”
CBS and the FCC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The Late Show” published an unaired interview with Talarico on YouTube. In the interview, Colbert and Talarico discuss the FCC’s crackdown, including opening an investigation into ABC’s “The View,” after Talarico appeared on the show.
“I think Donald Trump is worried that we’re going to turn Texas over,” Talarico said, to applause. “This is a group that opposes the culture of cancellation, and now they are trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancellation, the kind that comes from the top.”
Talarico accused the Trump administration of “selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians.”
“A threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights.”
CBS’s move to not air the segment comes as the FCC, the federal media regulator, and especially its chairman, Brendan Carr, have been particularly vocal against the networks that have drawn the president’s ire.
Trump has been suggesting for months that the FCC could revoke the licenses of television broadcasters. Recently, Carr, Trump’s nominee to lead the FCC, said daytime and nighttime TV shows should comply with the equal-time rule regarding political candidates.
The FCC’s equal time rule prohibits radio and broadcast stations from carrying political candidates during elections without giving air time to their opponents. During his Monday show, Colbert emphasized that news interviews and talk show interviews with politicians are different.
On Jan. 21, Carr issued a letter warning networks about the rule, saying he was considering eliminating the exception for reasons the networks might be biased against.
Colbert lashed out at Carr on Monday, accusing the chairman of being motivated by partisan interests.
“Let’s call it what it is: Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on television because all Trump does is watch television,” Colbert joked.
This comes months after ABC aired “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on air “forever” after Carr criticized the host’s comments about murdered activist Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel accused the “MAGA Gang” of trying to “score political points” by portraying the suspect as “anything but one of them.”
Kimmel’s show was pulled a few days later and returned to the air a week later.
