“The Show Was Provided Legal Guidance” – CBS Fires Back At Colbert
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Stephen Colbert alleged that CBS barred him from airing an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico.
Colbert claimed, “He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
Stephen Colbert ripped CBS for barring him from airing on his late-night TV show an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate.
“You know who’s not one of my guests tonight? That’s Texas Representative James Talarico,” Colbert told his show’s studio audience for Monday night’s broadcast of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
“He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast,” said Colbert, drawing boos from the crowd.
“Then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on,” Colbert said.
“And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this,” Colbert said to laughs and applause.
CBS denied this.
CBS said, “The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico…The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.”
CBS is denying an accusation from Stephen Colbert, the network’s top comic and host of “The Late Show,” that it prevented him from airing an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico.
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“The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico,” a spokesperson for the network said. “The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.”
It was “The Late Show” itself, CBS said, that “decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”
