The Cancellation of Stephen Colbert

By axing his show, CBS is reminding us that trust in corporate media is dead for a reason—but there's something even more sinister afoot we cannot ignore

Stephen Colbert is the highest rated late night host on television. His career has spanned nearly four decades of brilliant comedy, satire, and hard hitting truths. One such truth is, despite working for CBS, he called out CBS’s parent company Paramount for agreeing to a $16M settlement with Trump. An effective bribe given to (apparently) grease the deals of a merger. Three days later, Colbert’s show is cancelled and we’re left wondering how much longer we’re going to tolerate the total collapse of corporate media? Let’s Address This.

The Backstory

Donald Trump sued CBS and Paramount Global for $20 billion because he claims a “60 Minutes” segment caused him “mental anguish” and damaged his reputation as a content creator. I wish I were making this up.

Rather than fighting this lawsuit and obvious abuse of power—that Paramount admitted was without merit—Paramount agreed to pay Trump a cool $16 million. The Trump regime ultimately decides if Paramount can merge with Skydance Media. And what better way to build a media monopoly than by capitulating to an aspiring dictator? Because that’s what Paramount is doing—trying to save their bottom line at the expense of American democracy. In the aftermath, CBS News President Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” EP Bill Owens both resigned.

Then, four days ago, Stephen Colbert publicly criticized Paramount for their absurd decision to effectively bribe Trump to push through the merger with SkyDance. You can watch that clip below at the 3:30 mark.

And just like that, Colbert is out. Of all the political takes Colbert expressed over the years, the one that was a bridge too far was criticizing the President of the United States and criticizing a media monopoly. So much for free speech and free expression. Paramount’s response exemplifies why trust in corporate media is dead.

What This Means For Democracy

And this is the sinister fact I alluded to in this article’s title. If the nation’s most powerful media organizations are not willing to stand up to government tyranny, then they’ve failed in their responsibility as the Fourth Estate. They have left us vulnerable to government tyranny, both by silently standing by, and by actively enabling it. Such media ceases to be the fourth estate, and embraces the role of State Media. Such propaganda should be discarded altogether, and replaced with actual voices to speak up for justice, fight for working people, and hold government accountable. Otherwise, our dying Republic is all but dead.

Indeed, this isn’t a series of unfortunate lapses in judgment. It’s a pattern. It’s collusion. It’s a soft coup through compliant media executives and billionaire owners who are terrified of upsetting Trump—and more terrified of losing market share.

Paramount is serving power, not truth. And we’re paying the price. Cowardice in journalism is not a neutral act. It is betrayal. And we don’t have time left for soft takes and polite critiques. Not when fascism is knocking on every door.

How We Fight Back

1. Support Independent Media

I launched Let’s Address This to loudly and clearly confront injustice while demanding accountability. More than 500 articles and 25 million readers later, we’ve built something powerful. We’ve exposed corruption, elevated marginalized voices, and challenged fascism at every step. But I can’t do this alone.

If you’re a subscriber, thank you. If you’re not yet, please join us. No paywalls. No billionaire backers. Just people-powered media. Every subscription, every share, every read chips away at the disinformation machine.

2. Use Ground News to Cut Through the Noise

How do we recognize the bias behind major media corporations? How do we know the article we’re reading is grounded in fact, not government talking points? I invite you to look at what Ground News has to offer, because it is more than a news website and app—it’s a critical tool in a disinformation age. I use it every day. If you care about combatting misinformation and disinformation—and I know you do—you need Ground News.

In addition to gathering related articles globally in one place, revealing source bias and factuality, they cut through partisanship and sensationalism to focus on the facts—Ground News reports on who funds a media outlet.

So even if you didn’t know that Paramount and SkyDance might be trying to form a monopoly of sorts, Ground News would show you where their funding comes from. That matters. Ground News doesn’t tell you what to think. It shows you who’s funding the narratives, so you can decide for yourself.

An example of how Ground News shows left leaning vs right wing media and how they report on the same story.

It’s also worth mentioning that Ground News itself is subscriber supported, not billionaire funded. So by subscribing, you directly support my newsletter and you contribute to keeping the media transparent. And right now if you subscribe to Ground News at my exclusive link below, you’ll conveniently get 40% off their Vantage Plan, the same one I use. That's $5/month to stop letting other people's agendas control how you think.

Conclusion

Stephen Colbert told the truth—and he was silenced. Not by the government directly, but by the corporate media executives who’d rather appease power than challenge it. Paramount paid $16 million to a man they admit is lying, then quietly removed one of the last remaining truth-tellers on primetime television for calling it out. This isn’t just media cowardice—it’s media capture.

When the Fourth Estate kneels to autocracy, we no longer have journalism. We have propaganda. And that propaganda is already shaping elections, burying corruption, and normalizing fascism.

So we’re left with a choice: accept this collapse, or build something better.

That’s why I created Let’s Address This. Because justice needs a megaphone, not a muzzle. Because the truth deserves more than 30 seconds of airtime before being buried under ad revenue and shareholder appeasement.

If you believe in that mission—if you believe in independent media that doesn’t flinch when power roars—then now is the time to act.

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We can’t outspend billionaires. But we can outnumber them. And if we want to Protect the Republic, we have to start by protecting the truth.