Bruce Springsteen Torches President and Ellisons Before Performing Anti-Trump Anthem on Colbert’s Penultimate Show

Bruce Springsteen used Stephen Colbert’s second-to-last Late Show episode to launch a blistering jab at President Donald Trump, who he said “can’t take a joke,” as well as Paramount owner David Ellison for choosing to “kiss” the president’s “ass” on Wednesday.

Appearing on The Late Show’s penultimate episode, the rock icon began his act by trashing the cancellation of the long-running late-night program as part of a broader climate of political pressure surrounding media companies and Trump critics.

“I am here in support tonight for Stephen because you’re the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke,” Springsteen said to loud applause inside the Ed Sullivan Theater, laughing to himself.

The singer then directly called out billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison, owner of Paramount, CBS’s parent company.

“And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his ass to get what they want,” Springsteen continued. “Anyway, Stephen, these are small-minded people. They got no idea what the freedoms of this country are supposed to be about. This is for you.”

Springsteen then performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” his anti-Trump anthem about the administration’s immigration crackdowns, protests in the city, and the killing of Alex Pretti and Renée Good by “federal thugs.” The song’s lyrics lambast “King Trump” and, what it calls, the “dirty lies” of the policy’s architect Stephen Miller.

Different slogans were projected onto an American flag backdrop throughout the performance, including “RESISTANCE” and “TRUTH.”

The final episode of The Late Show is set to air on May 21 after CBS announced its cancellation last year.

The network said that it would be ending the show’s multi-decade run for financial reasons, although critics have pointed out that the cancellation came after Colbert criticized parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump, which it finalized while seeking federal approval for a merger.

Watch above via CBS.

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