Having labored with Stephen Colbert for a few years on CBS’s The Late Present With Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste is aware of the host received’t let the sequence’ cancellation deliver him down.
“I believe the place he goes subsequent, his voice received’t be silenced,” Batiste shared in an interview with Rolling Stone AU/NZ posted on Sunday, August 10. “The voice of free speech is challenged, however the soul of a person can’t be canceled. And he’s going to seek out one other megaphone, one other outlet, I’m positive of it, and I’m rooting for him.”
Batiste joined The Late Present household in 2015 when Colbert took over for the sequence’ former host, David Letterman. He acted because the present’s bandleader and musical director till he left in 2022 to additional pursue his private music profession. Louis Cato took over Batiste’s function later that 12 months and continues to function The Late Present‘s bandleader.
CBS stunned viewers final month by asserting that the late-night present had been canceled and can be coming to an finish in Might 2026. The community acknowledged that the choice was a monetary one and “not associated in any option to the present’s efficiency, content material, or different issues occurring at Paramount.”
Earlier within the interview, Batiste claimed, “What occurred to my buddy Stephen is a symptom of huge cash. We’re in a time the place cash, the correct worth, can silence the voice of free speech, and that’s one thing that we must be very, very acutely aware of. As artists, we’ve to continuously battle free of charge speech and battle for the flexibility for us to have the ability to share the genuine fact of our being.”
The musician additionally identified that the present bought the axe shortly earlier than his eleventh friendship anniversary with Colbert. “It meant a lot to be in my 20s on nationwide tv and studying the ropes of being, you realize, on a nightly present with a band and actually being on digicam and doing that for seven years,” he gushed. “And to only actually, form of, evolve as an artist in partnership with him. So I’m very grateful to him.”
The Late Present‘s cancellation got here on the heels of Paramount (CBS’s mum or dad firm) settling a $16 million lawsuit with Donald Trump, who beforehand accused 60 Minutes of closely enhancing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Some have speculated that the present was canceled because of Trump, as Paramount was additionally within the means of finalizing its merger with the media firm Skydance. (Colbert is understood for incessantly criticizing the president on the present.)
Trump has publicly denied enjoying any half within the cancellation, writing through Reality Social on July 29, “All people is saying that I used to be solely liable for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Evening. That isn’t true! The rationale he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the truth that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million {Dollars} a 12 months in losses — And it was solely going to get WORSE!”
CBS
Final month, Colbert clapped again at Trump on-air for celebrating information of the present’s cancellation. “How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be capable of compose the next satirical witticism? Go f*** your self!” he quipped on The Late Present‘s July 21 episode.
The Late Present With Stephen Colbert, Returns September 2, 11:35/10:35c, CBS