Acclaimed musician Jon Batiste has addressed the axing of Stephen Colbert’s talk show—and hinted at his friend’s next move. Batiste, a Grammy and Oscar winner himself, was bandleader and musical director of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from its beginning in 2015 until 2022. Last month, CBS announced the show will wind up in May 2026. The news came just days after Colbert had called out CBS’ parent company, Paramount, for a “big fat bribe” after it paid Donald Trump $16 million to facilitate an $8 billion merger with Skydance.
“What happened to my friend Stephen is a symptom of big money,” Batiste told Rolling Stone Australia. “I’m very grateful to him and I think where he goes next, his voice won’t be silenced. The voice of free speech is challenge, but the soul of an individual cannot be cancelled.
He’s gonna find another megaphone, another outlet, I’m sure of it. I’m rooting for him,” Batiste added of Colbert’s next move. “We’re in a time where the right price can silence the voice of free speech, which we should be very, very conscious of. As artists, we have to constantly fight for free speech and fight for the ability to be able to share the authentic truth of our being.” Batiste, who won a Grammy Album of the Year award for We Are in 2021 and an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for his score of the Disney-Pixar film Soul in 2020, said spending his twenties on national TV “meant so much.”
The 38-year-old said he was able to “evolve as an artist in partnership” with Colbert.
Batiste releases a new album, Big Money, later this month.
Donald Trump has rejoiced in Colbert losing his talk show, with multiple posts on his Truth Social account gloating over the news.
Trump wrote last month, “Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true! The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!“ Far from being silenced, Colbert has not shied away from criticizing the Trump administration since the show’s cancellation. Last week he launched a new “spoiled baby emperor” character based on the vice president called “Widdle Pwince Vance.”
The host also had Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his sights after the health secretary cancelled $500 million in mRNA research, calling it “bad news for fans of living.”
During an episode last week, Colbert added, “We have 10 more months of this show and I want to give a measured, nonpartisan response here… F— you, you ’roid-addled nepo-carnie!”
