Kicking off Monday’s show with a joke about Trump wanting to change the name of the Washington Commanders NFL team (the “Washington Epsteins,” Colbert suggested), he walked into the Ed Sullivan Theater to loud cheers and said “This is going to be fun.” It certainly was.

Stephen Colbert accused CBS and Paramount of 'bribing' Donald Trump with a $16m payout three days before his show was cancelled

It’s a line of criticism we’ve now heard a few times from various Paramount employees. In April, months before the final settlement amount was reached, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley laid bare the stakes of the deal,

Stephen Colbert riffed Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement of Donald Trump ‘s lawsuit, calling the payment a “big fat bribe” and joking about the prospects that new owner Skydance will try pressure him to back off from humor directed at the president.

Stephen Colbert returned from vacation loaded for bear. The CBS late-night comic referred to the settlement between his parent company, Paramount Global, and President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview as a “big,

Whatever happened, fellow late-night comedian John Oliver finds the whole thing “incredibly sad.” Oliver commented on the cancellation while promoting the Erie Moon Mammoths, his rebrand for the minor league baseball team, the Erie SeaWolves.

Show' host's comments came shortly before it was announced that CBS has canceled 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.'

The WGA has issued a statement calling for a bribery investigation following CBS' cancellation of 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.'