Late-night host Stephen Colbert isn’t backing down from public dispute with CBS bosses

Associated Press (AP)CenterEN 3 min read 100% complete by By DAVID BAUDERFebruary 18, 2026 at 01:53 PM

AI Summary

medium article 3 min

Stephen Colbert is publicly disputing CBS executives over their decision to pull an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico from "The Late Show." Colbert claims CBS lawyers cited concerns about violating FCC "equal time" rules, requiring broadcasters to offer equal airtime to opposing candidates. Colbert argues that this rule has not been enforced for talk show interviews in decades. He aired the Talarico interview on YouTube instead and criticized CBS's decision on his show, even discarding a copy of the network's statement denying his claim. Colbert believes CBS preemptively enforced a potential rule change that the FCC hasn't actually implemented.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Chicago 30% Los Angeles 30% Texas ×240% Brendan Carr ×250% Federal Communications Commission ×260% James Talarico ×470% CBS ×680% Stephen Colbert ×790%

Keywords

stephen colbert 100% cbs 90% late-night talk show 90% equal time rule 80% public dispute 80% james talarico 70% federal communications commission 70% interview pulled 60% brendan carr 50% censorship 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.20

Source Transparency

Source

Associated Press (AP)

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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stephen colbert cbs late-night talk show equal time rule public dispute james talarico federal communications commission interview pulled brendan carr censorship

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