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.

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

Even CNN’s Brian Stelter, no fan of Trump, said as much, writing: “The bottom has indeed been falling out of the late-night TV business model for several years now. Audience fragmentation and digital competition have led to a decline in ad revenue across the board. One insider described it as ‘cratering’ at CBS.”

The CBS late night host breaks his silence on his parent company's deal that was announced during his vacation.

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,

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.

CBS parent Paramount insists that this week's decision to cancel Steven Colbert's “Late Show” was strictly financial, and had nothing to do with politics