On tonight’s Daily Show, Jon Stewart didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts on the cancellation of his longtime friend’s late-night talk show.
The cancellation of Late Show with Stephen Colbert has rocked the media world, but Stewart has particular proximity — not only have the two been longtime collaborators, but both The Daily Show and Late Show are owned by parent company Paramount. Similarly, in recent weeks both have used their shows as platforms to criticize Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump, which preceded a merger with the tech-billionaire owned Skydance. And for weeks, rumors have circulated that both of their continued criticism of Trump is putting their jobs at risk — something that’s already partially come to fruition.
Colbert announced on Friday that The Late Show would be permanently ending in 2026 — not only would he lose his job, but the entire show would be shuttered. While CBS cited financial reasons for ending the show (late night, as a business, hemorrhages money), Stewart called bullshit.
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In fact, he called bullshit for nearly eight minutes straight on tonight’s show before he said this: “If you’re trying to figure out why Stephen’s show is ending, I don’t think the answer can be found in some smoking gun email or a phone call to CBS executives, or in CBS Quickbook spreadsheets on the financial health of late night. I think the answer is in the fear and precompliance that’s gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment.”
“Institutions that have chosen not to fight our pubic-hair-doodling commander-in-chief,” he continued. “This is not the moment to give in. I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere… I think!”
At this point, Stewart did his signature break, giving a knowing pause and smirking before continuing his rant: “To those institutions, to those corporations, advertisers, universities and law firms, all of them — if you still think bending the knee to Trump will save you, I have one thing to say…”
Then, Stewart jumped into a gospel number (complete with a choir) where he told everyone to “sack the fuck up,” before getting to a chorus that was just “go fuck yourself’ in perpetuity until the song’s finale.
It was the kind of stunt that will grab headlines, piss off TV executives and quite possibly grab the notice of Trump himself. It makes that “I’m not going anywhere… I think” comment all the more significant. His head might not be on the chopping block now, but it very well could be.
Will Stewart make it through another season of The Daily Show? Will The Daily Show exist next year? It’s too soon to say if he will get the Colbert treatment. But what seems guaranteed is that Stewart will be making Trump jokes until the very end.
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