Stephen Colbert threw a tantrum Monday night after CBS lawyers pulled the plug on his planned interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico,citing concernsabout the FCC's equal time mandate. The late-night host, who has built his late-night career on partisan snark, was not happy about it.

Colbert told his audience thatTalarico was "supposed to be here,” but CBS lawyers informed the production team "in no uncertain terms…that we could not have him on the broadcast."The network also instructed Colbert not to mention the situation on air, an instruction he promptly ignored with theatrical defiance.

"Because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this," Colbert announced before launching into his grievance session.

The FCC's equal time rule requires broadcast networks to provide equal airtime to opposing political candidates. According to the Philadelphia Enquirer, the FCC hasn’t applied the rule to late-night televisionsince 2006, when it determined that then–California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno counted as a “bona fide news interview.”

But FCC chair Brendan Carr sent a notice last month suggesting talk shows should no longer qualify for this exemption. Carr argued some programs were "motivated by partisan purposes"—a claim that seems difficult to dispute given Colbert's nightly content.

Colbert fired back at the Trump-appointed FCC chair with predictable venom. "FCC you…because I think you are motivated by partisan purposes yourself," he said, before pivoting to his standard Trump material.

COLBERT on Thin-Skinned Trump’s fascist@jamestalaricoban: “Because my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this… They're trying to control what we watch, say, read — The most dangerous kind of cancel culture is the kind that comes from the top."pic.twitter.com/R2RxNJtXO8

"Let's just call this what it is. Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV, because all Trump does is watch TV.He's like a toddler with too much screen time…So it's no surprise…that two of the people most affected by this threat are me and my friend Jimmy Kimmel," Colbert declared.

This accusation falls apart under scrutiny. Colbert has continued to have elected Democrats and far-left celebrities on his show without issue. In fact, he had Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro onThe Late Showlast month. During the interview, he blasted President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis as “pure evil” while calling Vice President JD Vance a “sycophant” and a “suck-up.”

Shapiro’s interview didn’t trigger equal time requirements because the equal time rule applies only to a “legally qualified candidate for any public office.”

Source: ZeroHedge News