Jimmy Kimmel wasn't happy with CBS' surprise decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert—and he let the network have it on his Instagram story.
"Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS," Kimmel wrote on a video of Colbert. According to the New York Post, Kimmel's comment appears to be a reference to CBS’s hit show, Young Sheldon.
In the clip, Colbert begins, "Before we start the show, I want to let you know something I found out.” He then continues, “Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May,” sparking boos from the audience.
CBS News confirmed that the network was cancelling the Colbert show, saying the decision was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night."
But it has sparked a frenzy online.
"I'm extremely sad. I love you Stephen," a fan wrote on his Instagram comment thread.
"The greatest to ever do it," wrote another.
The network's parent company called Colbert "irreplaceable" and said the show's ending was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," CBS News reported.
"We are proud that Stephen called CBS home," the company said in a statement printed by CBS News. "He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late late-night television."
The decision, which came as a surprise, marks a major change for CBS, which will not have a late-night host for the first time since 1993.
Colbert started the show in 2015, and it has "been a consistent ratings leader among the network's 11:35 p.m. shows for much of that time," The Hollywood Reporter noted. According to THR, CBS denies that Colbert's recent criticism of its 60 Minutes settlement was a factor.
