Jimmy Kimmel slammed CBS hours before Stephen Colbert will air his final episode of The Late Show.
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"Don't ever watch it again," Kimmel told viewers of the network.
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Colbert's show is ending over what many suspect was political pressure.
Jimmy Kimmelhas urged viewers to boycott Paramount-owned CBS afterStephen Colbert's finalLate Showbroadcast later Thursday evening.
Hours before the longtime Donald Trump critic's last episode — following what many speculated was CBS' politically motivated cancellation of the show — Colbert's fellow late-night host came to his defense.
"I think you know how I feel about the fact that they're being pushed out," Kimmel told his audience in his monologue for Wednesday night's episode of his own talk show,Jimmy Kimmel Live. "I hope the people who did the pushing feel ashamed of themselves tonight, although I know they probably won't."
He continued, "But, that being said, I think it's most important to congratulate Stephen and the team at theLate Showfor all the great work. It has been a pleasure to work alongside you. I will be watching tomorrow night."
Kimmel then told his audience to turn CBS off for good after Colbert's final episode. "Don't ever watch it again, but watch tomorrow night to wish Stephen and our friends at theLate Showa fond farewell," he said.
"Now let's talk about the a--hole that forced them off the air," he continued, referring to Trump.
Earlier in the monologue, Kimmel praised Colbert and his team for their professionalism over the years.
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"Everyone at that show has always been very gracious to us. We never felt like we were competing against them," Kimmel said. "It was nothing like the old days of late night."
CBS announced in July 2025 that it was canceling theLate Showafter it spent 33 years on the air, and after Colbert regularly criticized Trump and his administration.
Though the network maintained that the cancellation was a "financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," a slew of celebrities spoke out against the move, which came amid Paramount's merger with David Ellison's Skydance media group. Many speculated that the end of Colbert's show was the result of political tensions — an effort to minimize complications with the Federal Communications Commission amid the merger deal.
David Letterman, who recently visitedThe Late Showto help Colbert say goodbye, slammed CBS in a series of remarks onThe Barbara Gaines Showin 2025, referring to those in charge at the network as the "goons at CBS."
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"They did not do the correct thing," he said. "They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled. That's what I think."
Entertainment Weeklyhas reached out to a representative for CBS for comment.
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