Colbert Wins Emmy After CBS Cancels Late Show — SkimNews
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- Stephen Colbert won the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series for the final season of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" at Monday night's Emmy Awards, after CBS pulled the program.
- The show's final season ended in May following CBS's cancellation announcement, and it beat The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, and Saturday Night Live for the prize.
- Colbert defined free speech narrowly — 'if you can't say something because you go to jail, that is a violation of free speech' — and said late night is 'just as funny and just as vital as it ever has been,' singling out Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, "John," and Seth Meyers.
- Asked whether Donald Trump was behind the show's cancellation, Colbert deflected: "That's a beautiful dress. It's amazing. What? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm deaf in that ear."
- Asked about Bari Weiss, Colbert said he's "never heard of her. Do you know her? I hear great things."
- Before Monday's main ceremony, "The Late Show" had already won four Emmys during the first weekend — Outstanding Writing, Directing, Technical Direction and Camerawork, Lighting Design, and Picture Editing for Variety Programming — bringing its total to five.
Why it matters: Colbert's final-season Emmy caps a canceled show's run with five total wins, giving his writers, directors, and crew a closing recognition — and his legal-only definition of free speech anchors the public framing of the CBS cancellation on his terms rather than the network's.
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