CBS Hits Back At Colbert Over His Claim Network Pulled Plug On Talarico Interview

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CBS released a statement on Tuesday, hitting back at Stephen Colbert, who hosts The Late Show on the network.

Colbert claimed on Monday night that CBS lawyers “directly” told him he could not air his interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico (D) – who is running in Texas’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).

“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 during his show, adding, “Then, I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly does not want us to talk about this… Let’s talk about this.”

CBS hit back at Colbert’s claim in a statement obtained by Mediaite:

THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.

Colbert explained on his show that the FCC’s “equal time rule” was the given reason for the Talarico interview being yanked off the air. He instead ran the interview on the show’s YouTube channel, which is not under the jurisdiction of the FCC. CBS’s statement suggests that the network would have allowed the interview on air had Colbert also invited Crockett on his show for an equal amount of time and promotion.

“Well, sir, you’re chairman of the FCC. So, FCC you, because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself,” Colbert continued, to applause from the studio audience.

“Let’s just call this what it is. Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV. Okay? He’s like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diapers,” Colbert fumed.

The late-night comic went on to joke about how Brendan Carr’s FCC wouldn’t even let him show a photo of Talarico under the “equal time rule.” “I can’t show any pictures of James Talarico. I’m not even sure I can say the words James Talarico. But what I can show you is what we always show when we have to pull material at the last minute. This tasteful nude of Brendan Carr,” he quipped.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

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