James Talarico Says Trump's FCC 'Colluded' With CBS To Keep Colbert Interview Off Air

“I think it's safe to say that their plan backfired,” the Texas Democratic Senate candidate told supporters amid widespread outrage over the decision.

AUSTIN, Texas ― U.S. Senate candidate and Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D) said the Federal Communications Commission “colluded” with CBS executives to keep his interview with “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert off the air this week.

“I think it’s safe to say that their plan backfired,” Talarico told hundreds of supporters at a rally in Austin on Tuesday. “These are the same people who ran against cancel culture, and now they’re trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top.”

“They went after Jimmy Kimmel for telling a joke they didn’t like,” he added. “They went after Stephen Colbert for telling the truth about Paramount’s bribe to Donald Trump. Corporate media executives are selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians.”

Colbert tore into his employer on Monday night, accusing the network of caving to threats from the Federal Communications Commission by spiking his interview with Talarico.

“He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers ― who called us directly ― that we could not have him on the broadcast,” Colbert said on Monday.