A group chanting “Colbert stays, Trump must go” assembled outside The Ed Sullivan Theater Monday afternoon, rallying against CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Organized by a group called Refuse Fascism, the demonstration drew dozens of protesters holding signs and calling on CBS to reverse its decision. “We are trying to wake up the people,” one protester told WCBS News, “Too many people are accepting this and saying, you know, ‘Colbert, we’ll miss you.’ Actually, we can’t accept this. This is illegitimate.”
Another attendee said, “I haven’t really protested much in my life. But this is so important. I don’t like losing our democracy.”
The protest comes four days after Colbert revealed during a taping that CBS would be ending his tenure at the network in May 2026. The news stunned viewers and the industry—especially as The Late Show remains the top-rated network late night show.
CBS has claimed the decision was a business one. “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night, read a joint statement issued by CBS and Paramount executives. “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
In a flyer circulated ahead of the demonstration, organizers argued that the timing of Colbert’s cancellation—just 72 hours after the host criticized Paramount’s $16 million legal settlement with Donald Trump—suggests a darker motive. “This has the pungent odor of appeasement to fascism,” they wrote, calling CBS’s explanation “unconscionable.”
The group’s statement tied Colbert’s cancellation to broader attacks on the press and artistic freedom under the Trump-aligned political movement. “It comes on the heels of the Trump regime and their MAGA Congress drastically defunding PBS and NPR,” they wrote, “and Trump openly threatening to revoke the citizenship of public critics like Rosie O’Donnell and Zohran Mamdani.”
Refuse Fascism is urging artists, writers, and others in the media to stand up for dissenting voices. “Appeasement is collaboration,” the group wrote. “We must refuse to be silenced and intimidated.”
Despite CBS’s insistence that the move was strictly about finances—reportedly a $40 million shortfall annually—the political fallout continues. Trump himself has celebrated the cancellation online, writing on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired… I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
