CBS Denies Forcing Stephen Colbert to Not Air Interview With Democratic Candidate, Says It Provided 'Legal Guidance' [View all]

Source: Variety

Feb 17, 2026 11:51am PT


CBS said it did not force “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to pull an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico from its TV broadcast Monday, contrary to the way the late-night host had framed it. Rather, according to CBS, its legal team provided “guidance” to “The Late Show” that Talarico’s appearance could “trigger the FCC’s equal-time rule.”

In a statement Tuesday, 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. ‘The Late Show’ decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options.”

On Monday’s episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert said CBS lawyers had blocked him from airing an interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who is running for U.S. Senate, over the FCC’s recent warning that it would consider enforcing the agency’s “equal time” political rules for late-night and daytime talks shows. Colbert also claimed the network’s legal team told the host specifically to not to discuss the matter on air.

Talerico “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,” Colbert said on the show. “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 doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”

Read more: https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/cbs-denies-stephen-colbert-forced-not-air-talarico-interview-fcc-equal-time-1236665701/