LOS ANGELES — Stephen Colbert shared a pointed message for President Donald Trump days after the latter rejoiced on social media that "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired."

"Go f— yourself," the late-night veteran said Monday during his opening monologue. Monday's episode was Colbert's first time behind the desk after he announced last week that CBS had decided to cancel "The Late Show," bringing the franchise to an end after more than 30 years.

The network's stunning decision — apparently "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night" — was met with disappointment and shock from Colbert's loyal viewers, concern from his late-night cohorts and delight from his critics, notably President Trump. On his Truth Social app, Trump wrote that Colbert's "talent was even less than his ratings" and took an additional swipe at Jimmy Kimmel, who he claimed "has even less talent than Colbert."

Earlier in his monologue, Colbert, 61, told his in-studio audience and viewers that until the "Late Show" goes dark in May, the gloves are officially off and "he can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump." Colbert, who took over the "Late Show" from original host David Letterman in 2015, has long been critical of Trump, even before the former reality TV star and businessman took office. Since becoming president, Trump has given Colbert and his late-night cohorts plenty of material to work with.

In recent weeks, Colbert chided his own bosses for their decision to cave to Trump by settling the president's lawsuit over "60 Minutes" edits, a case that most First Amendment experts called frivolous. Paramount agreed to pay $16 million, with most of that going to Trump's future presidential library.

Though Colbert kept things mostly light in his monologue, he questioned CBS' justification for canceling his show. "How could it be a 'purely financial decision' if 'The Late Show' is number one in ratings? It's confusing," he said, echoing concerns that fans have also voiced on social media. He continued his segment, citing reports that specified the alleged losses were somewhere between $40 million and $50 million.

"$40 million's a big number. I could see us losing $24 million, but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million — oh yeah," he said, alluding to the settlement.

Mulling on Trump's diss on Truth Social, Colbert joked about the president's desire to see Kimmel's program go dark: "I'm the martyr. There's only room for one on this cross and I gotta tell you the view is fantastic up here."

Amid the cancellation news, Colbert has found support in his fellow late-night peers including "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart ("The Daily Show" airs on Comedy Central, also owned by Paramount) and "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver, among others. On Monday, the late-night personalities took their support to the Ed Sullivan Theater, which Colbert has called home for the majority of the past decade.

In a segment spoofing that viral kiss-cam fiasco at a recent Coldplay concert, guests Lin Manuel-Miranda and "Weird Al" Yankovic perform a version of "Viva La Vida," and the camera pans to the audience where Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Stewart and Oliver are spotted in the crowd. The hush-hush pair exposed by the kiss-cam? An animated Trump lovingly cuddling the Paramount logo.

Though Letterman didn't return to his old stomping grounds to join the other late-night stars on Monday, his YouTube account shared a 20-minute compilation of him throwing shade at CBS throughout his "Late Show" tenure. "You can't spell CBS without BS," says the description for the video.

Over on Comedy Central on Monday, Stewart dedicated a portion of his latest episode to discuss the "Late Show" cancellation. Stewart reminded audiences that he and Colbert were both "Daily Show" alumni, recalled watching his colleague "exceed all expectations in the role" over the years and skewered CBS for "killing a show you know wrinkled a fragile and vengeful president." Stewart ended his opening segment dancing and singing along with a choir to a familiar phrase.

"If you're afraid and you protect your bottom line, I've got but one thing to say. Just one little phrase: 'Go f— yourself.'"

Amid the uncertainty at Paramount, Stewart contemplated the future of the "Daily Show" in a podcast interview published before the "Late Show" cancellation. Speaking to the "Weekly Show" podcast, Stewart said he had not gotten any word about his series getting the ax.

"They haven't called me and said like, 'Don't get too comfortable in that office, Stewart!'" he said, adding, "I've been kicked out of [more] s— establishments than that. We'll land on our feet."

This week "The Daily Show" will push forward with former writer and current on-air correspondent Josh Johnson set to make his anchoring debut, starting Tuesday through Thursday. He joins a host rotation that also includes "Daily Show" personalities Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic.

———

(Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.)

———

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.