On Tuesday afternoon’s CNN News Central, host Brianna Keilar brought on liberal comedian Pete Dominick to dissect the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Dominick confidently suggested political motives were to blame, not CBS’s claim that the decision was “purely financial.”
Keilar asked Dominick what “the larger picture” might be, seemingly side‑stepping CBS’s official line.
Dominick, who once served as the warm‑up comedian for Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, made no bones about his disbelief that anything besides political pressure was at work.
“It’s scary to think that government could have any interference on what we say or what jokes that we make… This is fascism,” he whined.
Keilar nodded approvingly as she introduced the segment, noting critics blame the cancellation on Paramount’s pending Skydance Media merger. Yet her framing only scratched the surface of the conspiracy theories swirling on the left.
Liberals, eager to pin yet another authoritarian label on Trump, fall in line with those like Senator Adam Schiff (D‑CA) among others, who have argued that Colbert’s relentless criticism of Trump must have alarmed Paramount’s merger ambitions. That theory, however, remains unverified and speculative at best.
Dominick, however, continued to claim political motives were at play, “When the government puts its finger on the scale because it doesn't like a comedian in this case, when they come for comedy, who is next? And so I think when they come for the most influential and most popular, which is Stephen Colbert, of course, all of the rest of the comedians, even if they didn't like Colbert– and believe me, everybody likes and respects Stephen Colbert in the entire community– comedy community. Even if they didn't like him or like what he said, they know it means they could be next. And when the government comes for comedians, that's a very bad sign. And we're not going to stop. I promise you that.”
Those claims also fall flat once you look at CBS's long‑documented history of liberal bias, of which NewsBusters has researched and reported on for years. If CBS removed Colbert’s show for political reasons, why not others within their left‑pleasing late‑night lineup? Paramount already owns numerous liberal‑leaning outlets, including Comedy Central, so singling out Colbert hardly bolsters the merger‑suppression story.
It’s absurd to suggest in 2025 that government officials– let alone the President– could outright order a private network to cancel a show. Dominick’s hyperbolic “fascism” claim serves more as alarmist shorthand than substantive reasoning.
Even if the suits at Paramount grew weary of Colbert’s liberal monologues and jokes where conservatism was the evergreen punchline, as a private company, Paramount has every right to cancel any show. Colbert’s program reportedly cost tens of millions annually, and maybe Colbert’s anti-Trumpism disguised as comedy alienated viewers, sending them to the more conservative option, Fox News’ Gutfeld, whose ratings and viewership have been skyrocketing.
It’s interesting to note that public figures such as Savannah Chrisley and Gina Carano lost deals and roles over their conservative views, but nobody called them victims of fascism. Chrisley openly supported Trump and lost some deals as a result, yet the media didn’t frame her as being targeted by government oppression. Likewise, in 2021, Carano was dropped from The Mandalorian after posting her conservative opinions; she has since called it political discrimination and sued Disney, but again, no “fascism” label attached, and leftists did not rally around her as they have done with Colbert.
The melodrama from left‑wing circles, equating cancellation with authoritarian suppression, overshoots the mark.
The entire transcript is below. Click ‘expand’ to read.
CNN News Central
July 22, 2025
2:25:18 PM ET(...)
BRIANNA KEILAR: And you're seeing in that– to what you're saying. The late night TV community has really rallied around him. Can you speak to the message they're sending? And not just, right, all kinds of folks, and certainly those in comedy. Can you talk– can you sort of talk about the larger picture to me, because there is a lot of money in comedy. And I wonder, as you see, allies of Colbert sending this message to the networks, how comedians are feeling. Pressure as they feel, certainly, that this may not have just been a financial decision.
PETE DOMINICK: I mean, it's the most important question. I'm glad you asked it, because the broader community– the comedy community, matters so much here. And entertainment community and journalism community and you well know it's the same rule that journalists have that comedians have. And I, as you know, straddle both of those, I think, titles. And it's scary to think that government could have any interference on what we say or what jokes that we make. This is the least American idea. And conservatives and liberals in this country have always agreed on this. But this is– this is fascism. We know exactly what this is. When the government puts its finger on the scale because it doesn't like a comedian in this case, when they come for comedy, who is next? And so I think when they come for the most influential and most popular, which is Stephen Colbert, of course, all of the rest of the comedians, even if they didn't like Colbert– and believe me, everybody likes and respects Stephen Colbert in the entire community– comedy community. Even if they didn't like him or like what he said, they know it means they could be next. And when the government comes for comedians, that's a very bad sign. And we're not going to stop. I promise you that.
KEILAR: Well, comedians, certainly known for being outspoken. Pete Dominick, thank you so much. It's so great to see you and it's great to have you on. Thanks for being with us.