Colbert slams CBS for canning interview, Kimmel hosts Dem fundraiser

When it comes down to it, Stephen Colbert’s job is to make people laugh.

And find new ways to attack Donald Trump every night.

Now he’s at war with his own network over an interview he was ordered not to do.

The #1 late night host criticizing his corporate bosses is pretty entertaining, but it also raises important issues regarding free speech and government oppression.

CBS DENIES BLOCKING COLBERT’S TALARICO INTERVIEW FROM BROADCAST AFTER HOST ALLEGED NETWORK LAWYERS STOPPED THE BROADCAST

Anyway, what will CBS do, fire him? The new owners of Skydance billionaires, who bought Paramount, decided to end “The Late Show” in May. Thus, in a sense, he liberated the network’s biggest star.

The backdrop is that the FCC has been making noises about ending the exemption of late-night and daytime talk shows from the equal-time rule.

Under a plan put forward by President Trump appointee Brendan Carr, competitors would be required to be given equal time if these programs interview a candidate.

COLBERT HAS SO MUCH FAITH IN CBS, SAYS IT BLOCKED HIM FROM INTERVIEWING TEXAS DEM AFTER FCC CRAWL

But when Colbert recorded a largely sympathetic conversation with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who is now running for the Senate in Texas, the FCC didn’t need to lift a finger. CBS looked into the matter. Network lawyers even called Colbert in for a consultation while taping Monday’s show.

Colbert told viewers that those lawyers directly ordered him not to air the interview. This, meanwhile, turned out to be a political gift for Talarico, who billed the encounter as the interview Trump doesn’t want you to see. It raised $2.5 million in the next 24 hours. He is running against another Democrat, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, in the primary.

Carr’s argument is that shows like “Late Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The View” don’t deserve to be treated like news programs, automatically exempt from equal time if they’re overly partisan.

Colbert found himself at war with CBS over an interview with Democrat James Talarico, who is now running for the seat of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)

The problem for conservatives, who are understandably tired of all the attacks on Trump, is that a Democratic administration could use precedent to crack down on programming from the right.

Colbert told viewers he was even ordered not to talk about the canceled interview, which he proceeded to do.

On Tuesday, CBS responded with a statement saying no no no, we never ordered our man Stephen to end the interview, we just advised him on legal options including the equal time rule. Colbert cut to the chase Tuesday night, announcing that every script had been approved in advance by legal beagles.

“The company issued this press release, this statement, without ever speaking to me,” Colbert said, holding the document out to the audience. “This is a surprisingly small piece of paper, considering how much it tries to cover up.

“They know that every word of my script last night was approved by CBS lawyers who approve every script that goes on the air.”

“It’s really surprising that the lawyers published this without even talking to me. I don’t even know what to do with this nonsense,” he said, before throwing it away like a week-old fish.

Colbert wasn’t done: “I’m so shocked that this giant global corporation couldn’t stand up to these bullies.”

Regardless, you can watch the interview posted on YouTube, which is currently beyond the FCC’s reach. It has already been viewed more than 5 million times, garnering much more attention than if the episode aired on CBS as planned.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros., which owns CNN and other cable outlets. After making a deal with Netflix to sell itself, Discovery decided to continue negotiations with Trump’s preferred Skydance/CBS. The implied threat of an antitrust investigation if Skydance wins approval casts a shadow over the process.

Carr spoke to reporters at a press conference yesterday and said it was “a hoax” that her agency had anything to do with CBS’ decision. He called it “an excellent summary of why the American public trusts gas station sushi more than the national news media.”

Moreover, the president said: “I think you should be a little embarrassed that you’ve been lied to and then you have to continue those lies. I think it’s a shame for the media.”

JIMMY KIMMEL TO HOST LOS ANGELES FUNDRAISER FOR HOUSE DEMOCRATS: REPORT

Whatever Carr’s influence, or lack thereof, played a role in ABC parent company Disney’s decision to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air last year.

Kimmel made the mistake of claiming after Charlie Kirk’s assassination that the killer was part of the MAGA movement. Carr said it was biased reporting and raised questions about the ABC’s broadcast licence.

This created the impression, fair or not, that Disney was bowing to government pressure.

As you may recall, this move turned out to be a big mistake. The backlash was so great that Kimmel was put back on the air a week later.

But now Kimmel has crossed another line.

Kimmel, meanwhile, will host a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee next month. (Michael Le Brecht/Disney via Getty Images)

He will host a fundraiser in Los Angeles for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee next month.

Tickets for the event, which will feature Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi, will be sold for a minimum of $25,000. For those willing to pay more, tickets range from $44,000 for “Leader’s Circle” to $310,100 for “Jeffries 300,” according to the invitation.

I don’t think ABC, which played a minor role by interviewing Trump about his feud with Jimmy, which escalated his rhetoric, should allow this. Anyone who watches Kimmel’s show for five minutes knows that he is vociferously anti-Trump.

But helping a political party raise large amounts of money should be prohibited. It eliminates any defense against extreme partisanship.

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Fifteen years ago, MSNBC suspended popular host Keith Olbermann without pay after he agreed to donate a maximum of $2,400 to three Democrats running for office, one of whom was a guest on his show.

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But apparently times have changed and more zeros have been added, ABC really needs to address this issue. So should Jimmy Kimmel, by the way.