In a week marked by heated political battles and late-night television drama, the intersection of media, politics, and regulatory oversight has taken center stage. The latest controversy erupted when Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show, alleged that CBS prevented him from airing an interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. The dispute, which unfolded as early voting began for Texas’s pivotal Democratic Senate primary, has sparked a wider debate about free speech, media regulation, and the ever-blurring lines between entertainment and politics.
It all began on February 16, 2026, when Colbert told his television audience that CBS lawyers had instructed him not to air his scheduled interview with Talarico. According to Colbert, he was told in "no uncertain terms" that Talarico could not appear on the broadcast, nor could Colbert mention the absence of the interview. "Donald Trump’s administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV," Colbert quipped on air, adding, "He’s like a toddler with too much screen time. He gets cranky and then drops a load in his diapers." (as reported by Variety and Al Jazeera).
Colbert’s remarks referenced recent guidance from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee. In January, Carr announced that the long-standing exemption to the FCC’s equal-time rule for talk shows would no longer apply to programming considered "partisan." The equal-time rule requires networks to give equal airtime to all qualified political candidates, but talk shows had historically been exempt since a 2006 ruling covering The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Carr’s directive, however, put late-night and daytime talk shows on notice, warning that the exemption would not shield them from enforcement if they aired interviews with political candidates.
The timing of the controversy was particularly sensitive. Early voting had just begun in Texas for the Democratic Senate primary, a race featuring both Talarico and U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett. Crockett, who announced her candidacy in December 2025, has been at the forefront of a closely watched contest that could reshape the political landscape in Texas. With incumbent Senator John Cornyn facing a tough primary and Attorney General Ken Paxton’s divisive reputation looming large, the stakes are high. Trump’s approval numbers in Texas, meanwhile, remain in the mid-40s, reflecting a state in political flux (as noted by Texas Monthly).
After CBS lawyers raised concerns that airing the Talarico interview could trigger the equal-time rule for other candidates, including Crockett, The Late Show opted for a workaround. Instead of broadcasting the interview on CBS, Colbert’s team posted the full segment on YouTube, accompanied by on-air promotion during the televised show. The move proved a resounding success: within 18 hours, the interview had garnered 3 million views on YouTube alone, with millions more across platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram (according to TheWrap and Variety).
Colbert did not mince words about the situation, suggesting that CBS was unilaterally enforcing the FCC’s directive for "purely financial reasons." This echoed CBS’s parent company Paramount’s earlier explanation for ending The Late Show in May 2026, as it sought regulatory approval for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. Colbert’s on-air candor—"I want to assure you, ladies and gentlemen, please, I want to assure you, this decision is for purely financial reasons"—underscored his frustration with what he saw as corporate capitulation to government pressure.
CBS, for its part, disputed Colbert’s account. In a statement released February 16, the network said, "The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico. The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. The Late Show decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options." (Variety, Al Jazeera)
Jasmine Crockett, appearing on MS NOW’s "The Briefing With Jen Psaki" on February 17, weighed in on the controversy. She expressed support for Colbert’s strategy, stating, "No. We didn’t have an issue. We’ve never run into an issue with Colbert." Crockett explained that the FCC complaint stemmed from her previous appearance on The View, which allegedly gave her more airtime than Talarico after she declared her candidacy. "I will tell you, I have no love for Bari Weiss. I have no love for Brendan Carr, whatsoever. But I do think that … it’s important that we resist in this moment. So, there were a number of options that could’ve been put on the table. And, frankly, the ‘Late Show’ decided that this was the option and I think that it was a good strategy." She also acknowledged that the drama gave her opponent "the boost he was looking for," but maintained that she was focused on early voting in Texas and was unbothered by not being invited to appear on The Late Show this time around (as reported by TheWrap).
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s only Democratic commissioner, entered the fray by criticizing CBS’s decision not to air the interview. On February 17, she called the move "another troubling example of corporate capitulation in the face of this administration’s broader campaign to censor and control speech." Gomez argued that the FCC has no lawful authority to pressure broadcasters for political purposes and insisted that CBS retains free speech rights to air newsworthy content. "Corporate interests cannot justify retreating from airing newsworthy content," she asserted (Al Jazeera).
The equal-time rule’s sudden application to talk shows has sent ripples through the television industry. Earlier this year, the FCC opened an investigation into ABC’s The View over potential violations of the rule following candidate interviews. Meanwhile, the FCC’s Carr has faced bipartisan criticism for pressuring broadcasters to remove hosts like Jimmy Kimmel from the air, with Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin accusing Carr of chilling free speech.
As for Talarico, he embraced the viral moment, posting a clip of his interview on X and calling it "the interview Donald Trump didn’t want you to see." During his conversation with Colbert, Talarico declared, "I think Donald Trump is worried we’re about to flip Texas. This is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture, the kind that comes from the top."
With both Talarico and Crockett having previously appeared on The View, and with Texas’s Democratic Senate primary heating up, the episode highlights the growing complexities—and high stakes—of political coverage in the age of digital media and regulatory uncertainty. The lines between news, entertainment, and campaign advocacy have never been blurrier, nor have the consequences for those who walk them.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the battle over who gets to speak—and who gets to decide—on America’s airwaves is far from over.