'Looks Like Bribery!': Critics Say This 1 Colbert Joke May Have Gotten 'Late Show' Canceled

CBS' shock announcement sparked speculation over whether there was a political motive for the program's cancellation.

CBS stunned fans of “The Late Show” on Thursday after it announced that it would cancel the Stephen Colbert-led program, a move that renewed attention to a recent jab that the host made toward the network’s parent company over its heavily panned $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) shared a clip from Colbert’s Monday monologue on social media where he slammed Paramount Global for settling a lawsuit with Trump, who claimed that a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to aid her chances of winning the election.

That settlement notably arrived as Paramount looks to merge with Skydance Media in a multibillion-dollar deal, one that requires approval from the Trump administration to proceed.

“As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended. I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company,” Colbert quipped. “But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”

The host proceeded to point out that Paramount once described the lawsuit as “completely without merit” before joking that the company put a price tag on its “dignity” and referred to the settlement as a “big fat bribe.”