“CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil defended his bosses at the Tiffany Network for axing Stephen Colbert’s show — while also taking intention at Jon Stewart for alleging there was a political motive in making the cost-cutting transfer.
Dokoupil, who was famously upbraided by management for a tense on-air debate with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates over his e-book important of Israel, broke with his co‑hosts on Tuesday to blame Colbert’s “one-sided” commentary for his own cancellation.
Dokoupil said on Tuesday that “no one seems to acknowledge” that “the politics has also changed” in current years and that Colbert “got way more one-sided than anything Johnny Carson was ever doing.”
“CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil defended his bosses at the Tiffany Network for wielding the axe against Stephen Colbert’s show. CBS
Dokoupil engaged in a tense on-air dialogue on Tuesday with fellow co-hosts Gayle King and Vladimir Duthiers. CBS
“I think we should reflect on those changes as well. It’s been a big shift culturally in that regard, also for sure,” he said during a tense dialogue on the morning show on Tuesday.
Dokoupil also torched “Daily Show” host Stewart’s claims that Paramount’s determination to drop “The Late Show” was influenced by “corporate fear.” Stewart’s long-running show airs on Comedy Central, which like CBS is a subsidiary of Paramount.
On Tuesday’s version of “CBS Mornings,” co‑host Vladimir Duthiers spotlighted factors made in Stewart’s monologue in which he defended “The Late Show,”accusing company mother or father Paramount of feeling its merger with Skydance Media was threatened by Colbert’s work.
CBS announced that Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” will stop manufacturing next yr. AP
After the clips of Stewart rolled, Duthiers lamented that despite the “financials” and “reality of where linear television is” he was a fan and hated to see the exhibits go.
“I know they’re costly to produce, but they are half of the cultural zeitgeist and they have been half of tv since that since the starting of tv, he said.
“So that’s why people are reacting the way that they are.”
After an audible sigh, Dokoupil cut in to reject Stewart’s notion that The Late Show represented a important half of the merger valuation: “No, I understand the emotional views. I don’t have an MBA but he’s not right that the merger, the $8 billion, is based on reruns of a comedy show, no.”
Colbert “got way more one-sided than anything Johnny Carson was ever doing,” according to Dokoupil. REUTERS
“People are buying the movies and the sitcoms and the sports,” Dokoupil said. “They’re not based on reruns of us either, so I think it’s wrong.”
Co‑host Gayle King interjected, defending Stewart’s claim that Colbert’s show “contributed to” the merger valuation.
“He’s saying it’s all encompassing, the whole package,” Duthiers agreed.
Dokoupil, however, doubled down.
“Oh, that already happened in the past and he also acknowledged that these late-night shows are what he called like a Blockbuster kiosk inside a Tower Record — so the business is broken,” Dokoupil said.
The cancellation of “The Late Show” came just a week after the community made headlines for its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris that he alleged was deceptively edited.
Colbert slammed his bosses at Paramount for what he called a “big fat bribe” that was paid to Trump.
Dokoupil also took problem with criticism from “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart. Getty Images for Comedy Central
The Post has sought remark from CBS News, Paramount, Stewart and Colbert.
CBS said last week that it will finish “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and retire the complete franchise in May 2026, calling the transfer “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks reiterated the financial rationale as industry knowledge show the economics have soured.
Broadcast late‑night time advert income fell to about $220 million in 2024 from $439 million in 2018, and advert spend on “The Late Show” slid from roughly $121 million in 2018 to about $70 million in 2024 amid shrinking audiences.