CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert, who will be out of a job next May, poked fun at his network’s new boss, David Ellison, on Thursday.
During his opening monologue, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” host made a sarcastic dig at David Ellison, marking National Boss’s Day with a jab at the Paramount Skydance CEO.
“I want to take a moment to celebrate my new boss, Paramount CEO David Ellison: Mr. Ellison, I love you,” Colbert said while looking into his “David Ellison Appreciation Cam.”
Ellison, previously CEO of Skydance Media, was named CEO of new joint company Paramount Skydance when his company merged with Paramount in August.
The merger between Skydance and CBS’s parent company came one month after CBS announced it would end Colbert’s show at the end of the current season in May 2026, citing financial reasons.
During Thursday’s episode, the host joked that flattering Ellison might help him keep his show on the air a little longer.
He began, “I join you tonight in a celebratory mood because, as you know, today is National Boss’s Day. I hope you all treated your boss to their favorite gift — two minutes of awkward chitchat until the elevator arrives. Remember to say your kids’ names so they don’t have to.”
After telling Ellison, “I love you,” Colbert winked and said, “That oughta buy us a couple more months.”
The announcement that Colbert’s show would end next year followed the network’s $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump in July, stemming from his lawsuit over an edited 2024 interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris on “60 Minutes.”
At the time, Colbert called out his own employer on his show, alleging that CBS and Paramount gave in to Trump to secure regulatory approval for their merger with Skydance.
He said, “I believe this kind of complicated financial sentiment with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It’s ‘big fat bribe,’ because it all comes as Paramount’s owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance!”
Prominent liberals have also criticized Ellison and his new joint company for purchasing independent outlet “The Free Press” earlier this month and naming its founder, Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News.