The Toxic-Left's Hypocritical Meltdown Over Stephen Colbert
In a move that has the toxic-Left clutching their pearls and screaming about the death of democracy, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, set to end in May 2026. The network cited financial losses of $40-50 million annually as the reason, a "purely financial decision" amid shrinking late-night ad revenues and a broader industry slump.
But leave it to the outrage machine of progressives to spin this into a fascist conspiracy. Democrats, like far-Left Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, are demanding investigations, insinuating that Colbert's firing was political payback for his on-air jab at Paramount (CBS's parent company) settling a $16 million lawsuit with President Trump over a 60 Minutes interview.
Warren tweeted, "CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount," implying foul play tied to Paramount's pending merger with Skydance, which needs Trump administration approval. Sanders echoed, "Do I think this is a coincidence? NO." Even protesters gathered outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, chanting against "fascism" as if a corporate pink slip equates to gulags.
This hysterical reaction perfectly illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding—or deliberate distortion—of the First Amendment. The toxic-Left, ever eager to weaponize government against their enemies, suddenly feigns horror when a private company exercises its own speech rights
The First Amendment to the US Constitution states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
It protects citizens from government censorship, not from the consequences of speaking in private spheres like workplaces or social platforms. Private entities—be they CBS, Facebook, or your local bakery—can hire, fire, or moderate content as they see fit, without violating the Constitution. This principle has been repeatedly upheld by courts, including in cases such as Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck (2019), where the Supreme Court ruled that private operators aren't bound by First Amendment constraints.
Colbert's ouster is a textbook example. As a CBS employee, he wasn't entitled to unlimited airtime to bash his bosses. Just days before the axe fell, he mocked Paramount's settlement as a "big fat bribe" to Trump, potentially embarrassing the company amid sensitive merger talks. Trump, predictably, gloated on Truth Social: "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings."
But no government official ordered the cancellation; it was a boardroom call driven by red ink. Yet the Left, including The View's Sunny Hostin, wailed that this signals "the dismantling of our democracy, the dismantling of our Constitution." Hostin absurdly claimed, "If the comedians are being attacked, then that means our Constitution is being dismantled." Spare us the theatrics—Colbert isn't a martyr; he's a multimillionaire whose schtick failed to turn a profit in a dying format.
The irony here is thicker than Colbert's humorless smug grin. The toxic-Left's calls for federal probes into CBS's decision smack of the very government overreach the First Amendment prohibits. They want Uncle Sam to investigate a private firing, potentially pressuring a company to reinstate a host—that's actual censorship. This isn't new; toxic-Left progressives only champion free speech when it suits their narrative. Remember when conservatives like Roseanne Barr or Gina Carano were canned for "offensive" tweets? The Left cheered, dismissing it as private accountability. But when one of their own gets the boot, it's suddenly a constitutional emergency warranting Senate scrutiny.
This hypocrisy reaches peak absurdity when we revisit the Left's open collusion with mainstream and social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Biden administration, officials relentlessly pressured tech giants to censor "misinformation" about the virus and vaccines—content that often turned out to be truthful or debatable. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a 2024 letter to Congress that the White House "repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire." He regretted not pushing back harder, noting that posts questioning vaccine efficacy or lab-leak theories were suppressed at the government's behest. Emails uncovered by the House Judiciary Committee revealed Biden aides demanding Facebook remove posts, even those from critics like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., labeling them as "disinformation."
A federal judge in 2023 ruled this constituted a First Amendment violation, finding the administration "coerced" platforms into silencing dissent on COVID origins, mask efficacy, and vaccine side effects. The Supreme Court later allowed such communications to continue in Murthy v. Missouri (2024), but the case exposed the Left's playbook: Use government muscle to bully private companies into censoring inconvenient truths.
Mainstream outlets like CNN and MSNBC amplified this, demonizing skeptics as "anti-vaxxers" while burying stories on vaccine injuries or alternative treatments. Scientists and doctors who challenged the narrative—on ivermectin, natural immunity, or lockdowns—faced deplatforming, shadow-bans, and professional ruin. This wasn't organic moderation; it was state-orchestrated suppression, violating the spirit of free inquiry.
Contrast that with Colbert's case: No government coercion, just capitalism at work. Yet the toxic-Left, who cheered Biden's censorship regime, now demands probes into a network's HR decision. It's selective outrage at its finest—free speech for me, but not for thee. Warren and Sanders, who backed vaccine mandates and lockdowns, have no moral high ground. Their push for "investigations" into CBS risks chilling corporate speech, proving they're fine with government intrusion when it targets opponents.
In the end, the First Amendment endures not despite private decisions like Colbert's firing, but because of them. It shields us from tyrannical overreach, like the Biden-era COVID censorship blitz. The toxic-Left's meltdown reveals their true colors: They don't want freedom; they want control.
As Colbert nurses his ego with a $20 million golden parachute, perhaps he can reflect on that. Democracy isn't dying—it's just that bad comedy and hypocrisy are finally getting “86ed.”
screw all those cry babies,,,,