Television host Stephen Colbert took a jibe at United States President Donald Trump by recreating the infamous Coldplay kiss cam moment in the latest episode of The Late Show. An animated version of Trump was seen hugging the Paramount logo, only to abruptly let it go, similar to the viral video showing former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron's intimate moment with HR head Kristin Cabot at a Coldplay concert.
Watch the episode here:
CBS recently announced that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert would end its broadcast run in May 2026, citing a "purely financial decision".
The audience is bummed out, and so is Colbert. He, alongside Jon Stewart, another Paramount's most prominent host, slammed the network for its decision to axe the show amid an ongoing rift with Trump.
In the episode, Lin-Manuel Miranda and "Weird Al" Yankovic performed Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" live on set, with the camera panning to show various celebrities in the audience, including Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, Andy Cohen and John Oliver.
The cartoon version of Trump then appeared, hugging the Paramount logo, mimicking Coldplay's recent concert controversy.
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Colbert's anger allegedly stems from Paramount's recent decision to settle a lawsuit with Trump, which Colbert described as a "big, fat bribe". The comment referred to a $16 million payment Paramount will reportedly make to Trump to settle the lawsuit over an interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election.
"If you're trying to figure out why Stephen's show is ending, I don't think the answer can be found in some smoking-gun email or phone call from Trump to CBS executives, or in CBS's QuickBooks spreadsheets on the financial health of late night," Stewart said during "The Daily Show" on Monday.
"I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America's institutions at this very moment."
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Trump had weighed in on the firing of Colbert, one of his most prolific critics. On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "I absolutely love that Colbert was fired."
On Monday, Colbert told Trump to "go f**k yourself" and also joked that it had always been his dream to have a sitting president celebrate the end of his career.
"They're pointing out that last Monday, just two days before my cancellation, I delivered a blistering monologue in which I showed the courage to have a moustache," he joked.
"I mean, obviously, CBS saw my upper lip and boom, cancelled. Coincidence? Oh, I think not. This is worse than fascism. This is stachism."
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