If you’re in the U.S. or follow U.S. media, you’ve probably heard that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was recently cancelled by CBS. That alone would’ve made headlines, but things exploded after South Park fired back in response. Here’s the rundown.
CBS abruptly axed The Late Show, stating that the program wasn’t performing well and that, in today’s political climate, they were looking to “move in a different direction.” But it wasn’t just Colbert they fired — they shut down the entire Late Show franchise, which has been a late-night staple since David Letterman took it to CBS in 1993.
The explanation didn’t sit well with fans who quickly dug into the numbers and shared that Colbert had the highest ratings among all current late-night hosts. So what gives?
Well, just three days before the cancellation, Colbert had gone after CBS’s parent company, Paramount, criticizing their $16 million settlement with Trump and accusing them of “kissing the ring” to win Trump’s approval for a proposed merger with Skydance. Then just like that — bam — he’s gone.
Coincidence? Maybe. But the timing raised eyebrows. Trump, of course, gloated and even claimed credit for Colbert’s firing. Classic Trump, or something more?
Whatever your view, a lot of people are pissed. Enter South Park.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker, long-standing Libertarians, are known for taking shots at both sides of the political aisle, and they held nothing back this time; they went scorched earth in the new season premiere.
Unfortunately, Hive doesn’t allow video embeds, but you can watch a clip (involving Trump, Satan, and Trump’s tiny member) here.
The entire episode is brutal, not just toward Trump, but also toward Paramount and others they suggest have caved to political pressure. It even includes a jab at the Colbert cancellation, with Jesus himself weighing in. Epstein is mentioned. Nobody is spared.
Trump, unsurprisingly, is livid. Paramount hasn’t commented, though one assumes they’re not thrilled, especially considering they just paid $1.5 million for more South Park episodes. It’d be ironic if they now cancel South Park too, claiming “low ratings.”
We’ll see how it plays out, but the tension is escalating.
Is all this warranted? Maybe. Maybe not. But historically, when corporations start canceling voices to appease political power, it doesn’t bode well.
There’s an old saying that you can judge a nation’s freedom by how freely its comedians mock its leaders. Comedy erodes fear, and fear is what keeps autocrats in power.
That, more than anything, seems to be what’s fueling Stone and Parker’s ferocious attack. It’s not just about Trump. It’s about who gets to speak, and who gets shut down.
We’ll see what happens next. Stay tuned.
❦
 |
David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Mastodon. |