"The people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed,” the former 'Late Show' host says. “This is gutless”

Adam Sandler, Anderson Cooper, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and Andy Cohen were among those who made surprise appearances on Monday's episode after CBS announced that the late night show would be ending in May 2026.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on CBS, whose parent company, Global, is in the midst of a merger with Skydance. The reported $8 billion deal was delayed by a la

Paramount announced last week that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would be ending in May 2026. While the company claimed the move was a purely “financial decision,” speculation has swirled over whether Colbert’s sharp criticism of Trump had anything to do with his ouster as Paramount looked to get its merger approved.

Gov. Josh Shapiro and Stephen Colbert, both critics of President Donald Trump, spoke about a variety of topics on the show, which is slated to end next year.

The union says of the Colbert cancellation, "Now, more urgently than ever, is a time for courage, not cowardice."

Supporters of Stephen Colbert took to the streets of New York City following the cancellation of The Late Show. The demonstrators gathered outside the Ed Sullivan Theater and marched to Paramount’s Times Square headquarters.

The senator criticized the president and raised pointed questions about CBS’s decision to end "The Late Show."