Sometimes comedy is the best medicine and a great coping mechanism. That seemed to be in play as some of Stephen Colbert’s fellow hosts reached out to him in the immediate aftermath of The Late Show’s cancellation. I write that because the host revealed the texts Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Stewart sent him right after he learned that his show would be ending, and the conversations are surprisingly funny.
In the months since Colbert’s cancellation, the other late-night hosts have been advocates and allies for him. Right after it was announced that his show would end on the 2026 TV schedule, Jon Stewart went on a heated rant on The Daily Show, and in the weeks following the news, Jimmy Kimmel called out claims about why The Late Show was canceled.
It turns out, those two also personally texted Colbert right after they learned about his program’s fate. After being asked about talking with “Seth Meyers and the Jimmys” about what happened during an interview with THR, Colbert recalled the text he got from Kimmel:
When I got canceled, the only other people I spoke to for days were those guys. I came up to my office [after making the announcement on-air] and flipped open my phone and we did a quick exchange. My favorite was Kimmel, who just said, ‘That’s a hell of an Emmy campaign.’ I said, ‘Busted.’
Well, that’s hilarious, and it turned out to be true. Stephen Colbert won his first Emmy in the wake of his cancellation, and Jimmy Kimmel wanted that to happen. In fact, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host had a billboard made that said: “I’m voting for Stephen.” After that happened, Colbert promised to “pay him back next year” and do the same thing for Kimmel.
So, while the text Kimmel sent Colbert right when the cancellation happened could feel a bit morbid, it’s also funny, and it turned out to be accurate in a way.
Now, on to Jon Stewart. When Colbert announced that The Late Show would be ending, The Daily Show host texted a one-word question to his friend and former colleague. Here’s how that conversation went:
And then I think they might have laid bets on who was next. The other text I got was from Jon Stewart, like, ‘Whaaaaat?’ I’m like, ‘Right back at you, buddy.’ And then I closed my phone and gave it to my wife, Evie, and said, ‘Please don’t let me have this for several days.’
It’s not funny-funny, it’s more like sad-funny. However, overall, it was nice to hear how Colbert’s fellow hosts were reaching out right after this shocking news broke. I would assume that other hosts, as well as notable celebrities, reached out to him as well. However, as Colbert noted, after those two texts came through, he handed his phone over to his wife and didn’t look at it for a while.
This all happened in the immediate aftermath of the cancellation news, and now, sadly, we are approaching the final episode of The Late Show. The show is ending this month, but have no fear, Colbert has a stacked lineup of guests for his last episodes, including Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver, Seth Meyers and David Letterman (and I wouldn’t be shocked if Stewart showed up at some point too).
The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air on Thursday, May 21, at 11:35 p.m. on CBS, and I can only imagine the texts (both funny and heartfelt) the host will receive after he says his last goodbye to late-night.
