A rally in New York on Sunday to protest the cancellation of late-night host Stephen Colbert’s show on CBS drew 20 people, according to the New York Post. That’s 0.000236% of the city’s population of over 8.4 million.
Colbert last week had a cold message for President Donald Trump in what was his return broadcast since CBS announced his “Late Show” would be canceled amid political turmoil with Trump. Colbert promised, “The gloves are off.”
He raised questions about the apparent logic of the CBS verdict, which said the cancellation was “purely a financial decision.”
The cancellation notice was delivered within a couple of days after CBS announced it had settled a lawsuit with Trump over questionable editing of an interview with 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris. It was a decision for which Colbert offered strong disagreement. He will reportedly remain at the helm of his show through the closing date in May.
The Post reported that the organizers of the rally, dubbed “We’re With Colbert,” decided to stage the event outside the CBS studios and offices on Manhattan’s West Side and claimed it was intended to be part of a call for “integrity” nationwide.
But most of the people who showed up for the New York rally left within a few minutes when it was apparent not much was going to happen.
One of those who identified as an organizer would only reveal his name was “Matt” to the Post and claimed the First Amendment was under attack by Trump.
Paramount, the parent company of CBS, wrapped up an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance not long after Colbert was told his show would end. It was a merger that needed approval from the federal government.
Colbert had been under fire from conservative media and political figures for his continued attacks on Trump and conservatives. NewsBusters reported that for the last half of 2024, 99% of guests on the five top late-night entertainment shows, including Colbert’s, were liberals.