The shocking cancellation of Late Show With Stephen Colbert raises questions about the Paramount merger and Trump's influence.

Stephen Colbert returned from vacation loaded for bear. The CBS late-night comic referred to the settlement between his parent company, Paramount Global, and President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview as a “big,

CBS has canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert just a few days after Colbert criticised the network’s parent company, Paramount, for its high-profile settlement with President Trump.

"Next year will be our last season,” the late-night talk show host announced Thursday, July 17. "The network will be ending 'The Late Show’ next May."

Stephen Colbert announced at the Thursday evening taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that his show would be canceled at the end of the season.

It’s a line of criticism we’ve now heard a few times from various Paramount employees. In April, months before the final settlement amount was reached, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley laid bare the stakes of the deal,

Senator Adam Schiff, a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, suggested that the show's cancellation might be politically motivated.

Stephen Colbert riffed Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement of Donald Trump ‘s lawsuit, calling the payment a “big fat bribe” and joking about the prospects that new owner Skydance will try pressure him to back off from humor directed at the president.

The Writers Guild of America wants Paramount investigated for bribery after news of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” being canceled. Variety reports said it has “significant concerns” that the move may have been a way to bribe president Donald Trump into sanctioning Paramount’s pending acquisition by Skydance.