“This is gutless”: David Letterman slams CBS for cancelling The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

David Letterman isn’t holding back. In a new YouTube conversation with longtime Late Show producer Barbara Gaines, the former CBS host blasted his old network over its decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after the 2025–26 season.

David Letterman, who created the CBS version of the show in 1993 and ran it until his retirement in 2015, called the move “pure cowardice” and said CBS management has shown “no backbone.” The quote that’s now making headlines came near the end of the conversation:

“This is gutless.”

The clip, posted on Letterman’s official YouTube channel, shows him visibly frustrated. He questioned CBS’ explanation that the cancellation was due to financial losses, saying if money was indeed the issue, they wouldn’t be extending Colbert’s run for another 10 months.

David Letterman believes the decision is less about numbers and more about pleasing incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison, whom he mockingly refers to as “the Oracle boys” and “the Ellison twins.” Gaines, along with co-host Mary Barclay, tries to clarify that Ellison isn’t a twin, but Letterman stays on the bit, highlighting what he sees as misplaced priorities inside the merged CBS-Paramount machine.

He also tied the cancellation to CBS’ recent controversial settlement with Donald Trump, where the network reportedly paid $16 million over a lawsuit tied to 60 Minutes. For Letterman, this isn’t just about one show.

“You’re telling me 60 Minutes, the pinnacle of journalistic excellence and integrity for decades… they decided, ‘Aw, we’re sorry, let us give you $20 million,’” he said. “This is pure cowardice.”

The video also includes clips of David Letterman mocking the CBS leadership, making clear that he thinks Colbert deserved far better.

“They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves.”

David Letterman questions CBS’ financial justification for cancelling Colbert

At one point, David Letterman suggests the executives who greenlit the cancellation either didn’t think it through or deliberately wanted Colbert gone.

“If they were really bleeding money,” Letterman says, “it didn’t start this week. You don’t just wake up losing millions. Either you were losing that kind of money for months, or you were never losing it at all.”

He implies the announcement’s timing was strategic, aimed at smoothing the upcoming Paramount-Skydance merger and appeasing David Ellison, who’s set to become CEO.

Throughout the video, Letterman riffs on Ellison’s family wealth, mocking the idea that CBS and Paramount leadership are pretending to make hard financial calls while burning through Larry Ellison’s money behind the scenes. The jabs are pointed, not random. He isn’t just throwing out jokes, he’s targeting the system that he believes failed one of its biggest stars.

“You’re dealing with a guy [Colbert] who has been the face of that network,” Letterman says. “You don’t toss him out like this.”

He also addresses the atmosphere around CBS lately, referencing the Trump settlement and calling it another example of how the network has lost its edge. For him, canceling The Late Show and paying off Trump both represent the same thing: bad judgment.

Letterman even says Colbert could benefit long-term by becoming “a martyr” to corporate politics. But behind the humor, there’s real disappointment.

“I think one day,” he says near the end, “the people at CBS who made these decisions are going to be embarrassed.”

The video ends with Gaines silent, nodding, and David Letterman shaking his head.

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