Colbert Defies CBS, Reveals Network Pulled Interview Over FCC Fears

Posted in: CBS, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: colbert, fcc, opinion

Colbert Defies CBS, Reveals Network Pulled Interview Over FCC Fears

Stephen Colbert revealed that CBS pulled his interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico over fears of retaliation from the FCC.

Published Tue, 17 Feb 2026 01:37:07 -0600
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• Stephen Colbert reveals CBS pulled his interview with Rep. James Talarico over FCC retaliation fears.
• Colbert defies network lawyers by discussing the network's censorship efforts live on his show.
• FCC chairman Brendan Carr is considering ending the "equal time" talk show exemption, sparking backlash.
• Colbert criticizes the FCC for targeting late-night TV but excluding right-wing talk radio from scrutiny.

David Ellison's Paramount Skydance-owned CBS isn't exactly helping with the perception that the company is a little too BFFs with Donald Trump than a multimedia company should be. Adding to the growing number of question marks surrounding Paramount Skydance's hostile bid offer for Warner Bros. Discovery and the controversial calls being made over at CBS News by Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, late-night host Stephen Colbert shared with his audience on Monday night that his interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico would not air due to network concerns over retaliation from FCC chair Brendan Carr. What makes Colbert's on-air admission even hotter is that the late-night host claims CBS's lawyers didn't want him discussing it on the show.

"You know you know who is not one of my guests tonight? That's Texas State Representative James Talarico. He 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. 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," Colbert shared.

The late-night host continued, calling out Carr's previous threats to re-evaluate daytime and late-night shows regarding the "equal time" rule. "So, you've you might have heard of this thing called the equal time rule. It's an old FCC rule that applies only to radio and broadcast television, not cable or streaming, that says if a show has a candidate on during an election, they have to have all that candidates' opponents on as well. It's the FCC's most time-honored rule, right after no nipples at the Super Bowl," he added, noting that there has "long been an exception for this rule" when it came to politicians appearing on talk shows.

"But on January 21st of this year, a letter was released by FCC chairman and smug bowling pin Brendan Carr. In this letter, Carr said he was thinking about dropping the exception for talk shows because he said some of them were motivated by partisan purposes. Well, sir, you're chairman of the FCC. So, FCCU, because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself, sir. Hey, you smelt it cuz you dealt it." Colbert continued, making the case that the White House "wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV. He's like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diapers. So, it's no surprise that two of the people most affected by this threat are me and my friend Jimmy Kimmel."

Before bringing his update on the show to a close, Colbert put the word out that the video would be available on the show's YouTube channel (which we have waiting for you below). From there, Colbert noted that Carr's concern about "equal time" and partisanship doesn't seem to apply to conservative broadcasters. "Carr here claims he's just getting partisanship off the airwaves, but the FCC, as I said, is also in charge of regulating radio broadcasts. And what would you know? Brendan Carr says right-wing talk radio isn't a target of the FCC's equal time notice." Colbert then showed an excerpt from a report noting that Carr wasn't looking into applying the "equal time" rule to right-wing radio stations. After a wave of boos from the audience, the late-night host added, "No, no, I get this part. It makes sense. You can't get rid of talk radio. What else would your angriest uncle do in traffic? Talk to your saddest aunt?" In addition, Colbert called out his bosses for pulling the interview, even though Carr hasn't made an official decision on the exemption from talk shows.

Here's a look at Colbert's interview with Talarico, originally planned for tonight's show. In the video below, the two discuss a number of issues raised during Talarico's campaign for the Democratic nomination for Senate – including the separation of church and state, fighting back against  Christian Nationalism, the dangers of consolidated corporate-owned media, and the "trumped up" culture wars being pushed by Republicans in states like Talarico's:

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