Stephen Colbert fans are still not happy that his popular late-night talk show has been cancelled — and they're taking to the streets to show it.
On Thursday (May 21), before the last episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, graffiti taking aim at Donald Trump and CBS was chalked on the street outside the Ed Sullivan Theater.
"Thank you Stephen," it read. "And fuck you CBS and Donald Trump." It’s unknown who wrote the message.
On early Friday morning (May 22), Trump celebrated the show's end on Truth Social, writing: "Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life."
Not done with the insults, he added: "He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!"
However, according to Forbes, Colbert has been ranked No. 1 among total viewers for years, with excitement over the series finale boosting ratings even further.
During Colbert’s final broadcast, he avoided naming Trump outright and slipped in just one understated presidential joke, delivering it during a conversation with Paul McCartney.
At one point, according to Daily Beast, McCartney looked back on The Beatles' U.S. television debut at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City in 1964.
McCartney recalled to Colbert: "We'd gotten used to a little bit of makeup in England. But we went down there, and the girls put makeup on us, and it was like bright orange."
"That’s very popular in certain circles these days," Colbert responded, prompting McCartney to say: "We set a trend."
"Now we know where it started!" Colbert joked. "Thanks a lot, Paul McCartney!"
CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show in July 2025, calling it "purely a financial decision."
However, critics suggested that the show was canceled for two reasons: Trump was often the butt of Colbert's jokes, and CBS wanted to placate the White House so the FCC would approve the multibillion-dollar merger of the parent company, Paramount, with Skydance. The deal later went through.
