BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TOLD Stephen Colbert he was the “first guy in America who lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke”, as the Late Show host prepares to present his final episode. 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was cancelled by CBS in July after Colbert mocked the broadcaster for a $16 million (€13.79 million) settlement with US president Donald Trump for allegedly “maliciously” editing an interview with Democratic election rival Kamala Harris.

Appearing on Colbert’s show Wednesday, Springsteen called out Trump, and Larry and David Ellison, owners of Paramount Global, which took control of CBS.

“I’m here in support tonight for Stephen, because you are the first guy in America who lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke,” Springsteen said.

“And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his ass to get what they want. Stephen, these are small-minded people. They got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about.”

Springsteen performed his 2026 protest song The Streets of Minneapolis, which he wrote in response to the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.

The final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs tonight. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Ahead of the final show, Colbert brought back former Late Show host David Letterman who steered the ship from 1993 until 2015.

The pair ascended to the roof of the show’s Ed Sullivan Theater to throw furniture at a giant logo of CBS, describing it as “wanton destruction of CBS property.”

“You can take a man’s show,” said Letterman. “You can’t take a man’s voice.”

CBS has been widely accused of seeking to curry favour with Trump for business reasons, and Colbert called the settlement a “big fat bribe”.

However, the network insisted the decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the ratings’ leader in the time slot, was purely financial – and that it was a coincidence the move came as CBS parent company Paramount lobbied for government approval of its $8.4 billion (€7.24 billion) merger with Skydance Media.

Trump revelled in the firing of one of his most prolific detractors at the time, posting on his Truth Social platform that “I absolutely love that Colbert was fired.”