Late-night television icon David Letterman has never hidden his disdain for CBS's decision to cancel "The Late Show," the program he hosted from 1993 until his retirement in 2015. During one of the final episodes of Stephen Colbert's tenure, which concludes on May 21, Letterman delivered an expletive-laden message to the network.
Colbert and Letterman revived a classic bit from Letterman's era, where he would throw objects off the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the show is taped. The duo aimed at the CBS logo on the street below, hurling guests' chairs, Colbert's own seat, and eventually a series of watermelons.
At the end of the segment, Colbert asked Letterman if he had a message. "Well, not necessarily to the audience but to the folks at CBS, in the words of the great Ed Murrow, good night and good luck motherfuckers," Letterman said.
Earlier in the show, Letterman took multiple swipes at CBS, which announced last July it was shelving "The Late Show" for financial reasons. The cancellation came as parent company Paramount Global sought — and ultimately received — approval from the Trump administration to merge with Skydance, prompting some commentators to suggest that Colbert had been sacrificed to help push the deal through.
"Boy, you know what happened backstage? I'm standing backstage. A guy comes over, and he says he's from CBS, and then he fired me," Letterman joked. "You can take a man's show. You can't take a man's voice. So, that's the good news."
