At the top of his March monologue, Stephen Colbert told viewers that Texas state representative James Talarico was meant to appear on The Late Show but was barred by CBS lawyers. Colbert said the network not only prohibited the booking but also told staff they could not disclose the ban on air, prompting Colbert to publicly address the restriction. He framed the dispute around new Federal Communications Commission guidance on the so-called “equal time” rule, which the FCC chair, Brendan Carr, recently clarified could apply to late-night and daytime talk programs. After the network decision, Colbert posted the full Talarico interview to YouTube and Talarico shared it on X, saying the administration’s FCC had prevented the segment from airing.
Key Takeaways
- Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers informed him he could not air an interview with Texas state representative James Talarico and that he could not mention the prohibition (statement made on The Late Show).
- The dispute centers on updated FCC guidance from Chair Brendan Carr interpreting the “equal time” rule to potentially include late-night and daytime talk shows, removing assumptions about a broad “bona fide news” exemption.
- Colbert posted the full Talarico interview on YouTube after CBS declined to air it; Talarico reposted the segment on X and publicly criticized the FCC action.
- The FCC is reported to be reviewing ABC’s The View for featuring Talarico earlier the same month; the show also had Talarico’s primary rival, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, as a guest.
- Paramount, CBS’s parent, made regulatory concessions in its Skydance merger, including appointing an ombudsman, Kenneth Weinstein, as part of merger conditions cited by industry observers.
- Anna Gomez, the FCC’s sole Democratic commissioner, sharply criticized Carr’s guidance as an attempt to intimidate broadcasters and chill speech.
- Historical precedent: a 2006 dispute over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Tonight Show appearance led the FCC to treat late-night as eligible for the bona fide news exemption in that instance.
Background
The equal time rule requires broadcast stations that give time to qualified political candidates to offer comparable opportunities to their opponents upon request. For decades, broadcasters have generally treated news programming as exempt; many assumed that exemption extended to late-night and daytime talk shows that regularly host politicians and public figures. That assumption was reinforced by prior FCC decisions, including a 2006 matter involving Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where the late-night program was deemed exempt in the circumstances then under review.
In recent weeks FCC Chair Brendan Carr issued guidance indicating that such exemptions are not automatic and that regulators will consider factors like partisan motivation when judging whether a program qualifies as bona fide news. Carr explicitly identified entertainers such as Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel when discussing distribution alternatives — noting broadcast-only rules do not apply to cable, streaming or podcasts. The guidance has unsettled networks and talent who long relied on an informal practice that talk shows fell outside routine equal time enforcement.
Main Event
On the night Colbert raised the issue, he introduced The Late Show band and announced guest Jennifer Garner before telling the audience James Talarico was not able to appear. Colbert said CBS lawyers called directly and told the show the representative could not be booked; he added the lawyers also instructed staff not to say the interview was blocked. Colbert then explained the FCC’s equal time guidance and played a clip of Brendan Carr referencing late-night hosts.
Colbert said he was following Carr’s suggestion to move the content off broadcast by posting the complete Talarico interview to YouTube. Talarico reposted the interview on X with a message criticizing the FCC decision and framing it as a strike against Democrats’ chances in Texas. The segment and the posts immediately spurred social media discussion and coverage by several outlets, including Deadline and Fox News, which reported on the FCC’s review of The View’s recent booking of Talarico.
The booking context is politically crowded: Talarico faces primary rivals such as Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Ahmad Hassan in the Democratic contest, while Republicans including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt are campaigning in GOP Senate primaries that also include Sen. John Cornyn. The equal time rule potentially implicates broadcasters that put any one candidate on air if rivals request matching time under the statute, though the practical scope of such requests and the FCC’s willingness to enforce them remain open questions.
Analysis & Implications
The immediate effect is a chilling choice for broadcast hosts: either avoid booking active candidates to minimize regulatory exposure or accept the administrative burden of offering equal opportunities to opponents. For network executives, the new guidance raises litigation and compliance risks that could alter booking practices for political cycles, particularly in 2024–2026 races where high-profile appearances are strategic. CBS’s lawyers appear to have prioritized risk aversion, likely to limit regulatory scrutiny or potential challenges tied to the company’s recent merger-related concessions.
Politically, Carr’s guidance shifts leverage toward the FCC in disputes about mainstream media access. Anna Gomez’s public rebuke frames the move as partisan pressure that threatens to chill protected speech; Carr’s supporters argue the guidance merely clarifies long-standing statutory obligations. Either way, the policy change forces broadcasters to reassess a tacit norm: that entertainment programs could host candidates without triggering equal time obligations.
Commercially, the guidance may push more political interviews to non-broadcast platforms — cable, streaming, podcasts, and social video — where FCC equal time rules do not apply. Colbert’s decision to post the interview on YouTube illustrates one immediate workaround, but it also underscores a potential fragmentation of high-impact political appearances away from free, over-the-air broadcast audiences, with implications for voter reach and campaign strategies.
Comparison & Data
| Year | Show | Candidate | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Tonight Show (Jay Leno) | Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger | FCC treated the show as exempt in that instance |
| 2024 (recent) | The View | James Talarico | Reported FCC review after new guidance |
Historically, enforcement of the equal time statute against entertainment programming has been rare; the 2006 Schwarzenegger episode is often cited as a precedent where regulators declined to impose equal time remedies. The recent string of public statements and administrative guidance, however, represents an unusual, proactive stance by the current FCC leadership that could change enforcement patterns if formal investigations increase.
Reactions & Quotes
Officials at the FCC and its commissioners have publicly disagreed over the guidance and its intent. The following short excerpts capture contrasting positions and were highlighted by Colbert on air.
If Kimmel or Colbert want to continue to do their programming and they don’t want to have to comply with this requirement, then they can go to a cable channel or a podcast or a streaming service and that’s fine.
Brendan Carr, FCC Chair
This quote was presented by Colbert as an illustration of Carr’s point that broadcast-only rules do not apply to non-broadcast distribution.
The real purpose is to weaponize the FCC’s regulatory authority to intimidate perceived critics of this Administration and chill protected speech.
Anna Gomez, FCC Commissioner (Democrat)
Gomez characterized the guidance as political pressure rather than legitimate regulatory action; her comments were cited by networks and public-interest observers who fear overreach. Industry sources also note that Paramount’s merger concessions, including installing an ombudsman, add a separate layer of internal review that may have influenced CBS’s risk calculus.
Unconfirmed
- Whether Paramount’s merger concessions directly caused CBS lawyers to block the Talarico interview has not been confirmed by an official CBS statement.
- It is not yet verified whether every primary opponent named would formally request “equal time” remedies if a rival appears on a broadcast talk show.
- The extent to which the FCC will open formal enforcement actions beyond public guidance — and how many cases will result — remains unsettled pending agency decisions.
Bottom Line
The episode illustrates a turning point in how political appearances are managed on broadcast entertainment programs. The FCC’s recent guidance has already prompted networks to exercise greater caution, and Colbert’s public response — posting the interview online — signals a rapid migration of contentious political content to platforms outside broadcast oversight.
For audiences and campaigns, the shift matters: over-the-air viewers may see fewer candidate appearances on mainstream late-night shows, and political operatives will need to weigh the trade-offs between broadcast reach and regulatory exposure. The short-term resolution favored risk avoidance; the longer-term outcomes will depend on whether courts, Congress, or the FCC itself further define or constrain the new guidance.
Sources
- Yahoo News UK (news outlet; original report summarizing Colbert’s monologue and developments)
- Deadline (entertainment industry reporting; cited for additional context and follow-up)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (regulatory agency; source of Brendan Carr’s guidance and agency materials)
- Fox News (news outlet; reported on FCC review of The View)