CBS Tells Colbert Not To Air Talarico Interview, So He Posts It On YouTube

When late night talk-show host Stephen Colbert was told he couldn’t air an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, Colbert not only mocked the decision, but posted the full clip to his YouTube channel.

“James Talarico 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. 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. And because my network clearly does not want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.

“Now, as I said, at this point, [FCC chair Brendan] Carr’s just released a letter that says he’s thinking about doing away with the [equal time] exception for late night. He hasn’t done away with it yet, but my network is unilaterally enforcing it as if he had, but I want to assure you, ladies and gentlemen, please, I want to assure you, this decision is for ‘purely financial reasons.’

“That’s right. I am absolutely not allowed to show a photo of Texas State Representative James Talarico. That’s not him. That’s a stock photo we found when we Googled ‘not James Talarico.’ I can’t show any pictures of James Talarico. I’m not even sure I can say the words James Talarico. But what I can show you is what we always show when we have to pull material at the last minute. This tasteful nude of Brendan Carr.” 

Here’s the full interview clip.