Springsteen says Colbert was canceled because Trump 'can't take a joke'

Bruce Springsteen has some strong feelings about the end of Stephen Colbert's "Late Show."

The "Born in the U.S.A." rocker, 76, stopped by "The Late Show" on May 20 to perform "Streets of Minneapolis," the protest song he released in January in response to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

Before launching into the song, Springsteen slammed the decision to cancel "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which will air its series finale on Thursday, May 21.

"I am here in support tonight for Stephen because you're the first guy in America who lost his show because we've got a president who can't take a joke," Springsteen said. "And because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his a-- to get what they want."

He continued, "Stephen, these are small-minded people who got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about."

When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told USA TODAY, "Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck with no talent and terrible ratings, which is exactly why CBS canceled his show and is booting him off the airwaves." The White House also pointed to a prior Truth Social post from Trump, who called Springsteen a "total loser."

Paramount previously described the cancellation of "The Late Show" as "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," which was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."

But critics questioned whether the move was intended to appease the Trump administration amid a merger between CBS' parent company Paramount Global and Skydance Media, which required Trump administration approval. David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, is the founder of Skydance. The merger has since been completed, and David Ellison now serves as CEO of Paramount Skydance.

"The Late Show" cancellation also came not long after Colbert criticized Paramount for a $16 million settlement with Trump over a defamation lawsuit tied to a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Colbert called his parent company's settlement a "big fat bribe" on his show just days before the cancellation was announced.

In interviews leading up to his final "Late Show," Colbert has tried to go out on good terms with CBS and declined to directly say if he believes his show was canceled for reasons beyond finances.

"But I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn't make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me, because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit," he told The New York Times.

Colbert also told The Hollywood Reporter, "I would also say — and this is what feels most true to me — that two things can be true. It can be that the broadcast model is collapsing, and, while we're at it, as long as we're collapsing here, what if we shove this one out a window first? I mean, this lamb's got a very cuttable throat.

Colbert has been a vocal critic of Trump on his show for more than a decade, and the president has celebrated the "Late Show" cancellation.

"I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired," Trump posted on Truth Social in July. "His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!"

Robert De Niro, Aubrey Plaza more surprise Stephen Colbert before final show

In addition to the Springsteen performance, much of Colbert's penultimate episode was devoted to him taking his own "Colbert Questionert," a series of questions that he has asked guests.

A cavalcade of stars stopped by one after the other to administer the questionnaire, with each asking Colbert a single question: Billy Crystal, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Josh Brolin, Martha Stewart, Mark Hamill, Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Daniels, Tiffany Haddish, Amy Sedaris, Ben Stiller, Aubrey Plaza, James Taylor, Robert De Niro, John Dickerson and Colbert's wife, Evie.

The final question was to "describe the rest of your life in five words." Colbert's answer was "my family, my friends, fun."

The series finale of "The Late Show" will air on May 21 on CBS. No guests for the final episode have been announced.

Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY