“He cancelled himself with poor ratings”: Piers Morgan pins the blame for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s cancellation on the host himself

British media figure Piers Morgan didn’t hold back when reacting to the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Taking to X, Morgan wrote,

“He cancelled himself with poor ratings, huge costs, and boring viewers with anti-Trump bias.”

The blunt statement came days after CBS confirmed that The Late Show would end after the upcoming season, citing financial reasons. But Morgan, like many others, isn’t buying that explanation entirely.

He shared a New York Post front page that called Colbert’s version “The Left Show” and claimed that Colbert and other late-night hosts had become “hyper-partisan activist hacks for the Democrats.”

Morgan also pointed to Jay Leno’s recent remarks criticizing late-night hosts for pushing away half the country’s audience by picking political sides. Colbert recently called a $16 million Paramount settlement with Trump a “big fat bribe.”

According to Morgan, that tone was the real reason behind Colbert’s cancellation from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, not the budget. People's reaction to the news has been divided. Trump supporters cheered the decision, while many in the entertainment industry defended Colbert.

Morgan’s take comes at a time when the entire late-night format is under pressure. Ratings have dropped across the board, and shows are getting more expensive to produce. While CBS has maintained that Colbert’s departure from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is not related to content or political pressure, figures like Morgan are pushing a different narrative, one that claims viewers were simply tuning out.

Whether or not Morgan's argument holds weight, it’s added fuel to the fire surrounding Colbert’s exit.

The timeline that ended The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s run at CBS

The decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert didn’t come out of nowhere. It followed a complicated buildup involving corporate changes, financial pressure, and political controversy. On July 17, 2025, CBS confirmed that The Late Show would end after the upcoming season. The network called it a financial decision, pointing to rising production costs and falling ad revenue.

But the announcement came just days after Colbert called out Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, for paying a $16 million settlement to Donald Trump. Colbert called the payment a “big fat bribe” meant to help Paramount win regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Skydance Media.

The timing raised eyebrows. While CBS nsisted the decision had nothing to do with Colbert’s comments, many questioned whether his public criticism of his own network would go unpunished. Around the same time, the New York Post published a front page accusing Colbert of stacking his guest list with left-leaning figures, sparking renewed claims that the show had become overly political.

Some conservative commentators argued that Colbert’s focus on Trump and the Democratic Party had turned off viewers. Others, including the Writers Guild of America and several Senate Democrats, asked New York’s attorney general to investigate whether the cancellation was politically motivated.

Jay Leno also weighed in, saying The Late Show with Stephen Colbert host should avoid alienating half the country. Colbert, however, stayed defiant. He told his audience that CBS “left me alive,” and said he would use his remaining months on air to speak even more openly about Trump.

Ratings for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had dipped, but it still led late-night in viewership. The problem, according to CBS, was cost. According to reports, the show was losing tens of millions a year. But with everything that happened, not everyone believes the cancellation was just about money.

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