Stephen Colbert has opened up about The Late Show‘s cancelation and whether he believes the theories that Paramount/CBS dropped the show to appease President Donald Trump.

The longtime late-night host spoke on the issue in an expansive interview with GQ, published Monday (November 3), where he expressed surprise that The Late Show was axed despite being the “number one show” in late-night.

“Listen, every show’s got to end at some time. And I’ve been on a bunch of shows that have ended sometimes by our lights and sometimes by the decision of other people. And that’s just the nature of show business. You can’t worry about that. You got to be a big boy about that,” Colbert said. “But I think we’re the first number one show to ever get canceled.”

In July, CBS announced that The Late Show would end in May 2026. While the network cited financial reasons for the decision, some critics called the cancelation politically motivated after Colbert called out Paramount for settling a lawsuit with Trump.

“I believe that there is a name for that. And it would be: big fat bribe,” Colbert said on The Late Show days after the $16 million settlement. Two days later, CBS canceled his show.

Addressing the situation in his GQ interview, Colbert stated, “My reaction as a professional in show business is to go: That is the network’s decision.” However, he said he could “understand why people would have that reaction [that the cancelation was politically motivated].”

“Because CBS or the parent corporation—I’m not going to say who made that decision, because I don’t know; no one’s ever going to tell us—decided to cut a check for $16 million to the president of the United States over a lawsuit that their own lawyers, Paramount’s own lawyers, said is completely without merit,” he added.

He continued, “And it is self-evident that that is damaging to the reputation of the network, the corporation, and the news division. So it is unclear to me why anyone would do that other than to curry favor with a single individual. If people have theories that associate me with that, it’s a reasonable thing to think, because CBS or the corporation clearly did it once.”

Colbert noted that his “side of the street is clean” and he has “no interest in picking up a broom or adding to refuse on the other side of the street.”

“I have my feelings about not doing the show anymore, but you’d have to show me why that’s a fruitful relationship for me to have with my network for the next nine months, for me to engage in that speculation,” he said, adding, “I have had a great relationship with CBS.”

Right now, Colbert said he is focused on ending the show on a high. “People have asked me, ‘Well, what do you think you’re going to do next?’ And the cleanest and really fullest answer I can give you… the honest answer is, I just want to land this plane gracefully in a way that I find satisfying, given how much effort we’ve put into it for the last 10 years.”

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS