Stephen Colbert opened The Late Show this week with one of his sharpest and most unrestrained monologues to date, following the bombshell announcement that CBS will cancel the program in May. Colbert, who has hosted the show since 2015, made it clear that the remaining months would be anything but business as usual.

“Over the weekend it sunk in — they’re killing off our show,” Colbert told his audience. “But they made one mistake: they left me alive. And now, for the next 10 months, the gloves are off.”

Colbert on Cancellation: “Stashism” Not Fascism

CBS attributed the decision to financial losses reportedly ranging from $40 to $50 million annually, despite The Late Show maintaining its position as the top-rated late-night program. Colbert mocked the explanation, joking that Paramount must have blown the extra $16 million on “unlimited shrimp” for the studio audience.

He also teased that his temporary mustache may have been the real reason. “Obviously CBS saw my upper lip and boom — cancelled. This is worse than fascism. This is stashism,” Colbert quipped.

Trump Celebrates Colbert’s Firing

Former President Donald Trump wasted no time reveling in Colbert’s misfortune. In a post on Friday, Trump wrote: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”

Colbert fired back with biting sarcasm. “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witicism? Go [expletive] yourself.”

Trump went further, suggesting that Jimmy Kimmel might be “next.” Colbert dismissed the claim, declaring himself the sole “martyr” of late-night television: “There’s only room for one on this cross — and the view is fantastic from up here.”

The Epstein Connection Resurfaces

In a twist that deepened the controversy, Colbert also highlighted a Wall Street Journal report detailing a previously undisclosed letter Trump allegedly sent Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 for his 50th birthday.

The letter, described as both sexually suggestive and bizarre, featured typewritten text framed by a crude drawing of a naked woman, with Trump’s squiggled signature placed to resemble pubic hair.

The typed portion read like a short, surreal dialogue between Trump and Epstein:

“There must be more to life than having everything.”
“Yes, there is. But I won’t tell you what it is.”
“Nor will I since I also know what it is.”
“We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.”
“Yes, we do… A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday, and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Colbert did not hold back: “That is not only weird and creepy — that is pure absurdist dialogue. It reminds me of the end of Waiting for Godot… if Godot snuck into a teen beauty pageant dressing room.”

Trump, furious about the revelation, reportedly denied authorship, claiming: “This is not me. I never wrote a picture in my life. I never painted a novel. I never baked a song.”

Colbert responded: “For the record, he has wrote a picture — many pictures. Here’s one of the Empire State Building. And yes, his signature also seems to suggest pubic hair.”

The Show Must Go On

Despite the looming end, Colbert vowed to keep his edge sharp until the last curtain call. “For the next 10 months, I can finally say what I really think,” he told viewers. “And it starts with this: I don’t care for Donald Trump.”

He ended the segment teasing his celebrity guests Sandra Oh and Dave Franco, but the message was clear — with cancellation looming, Colbert has nothing left to lose.