Fact Check

Was Stephen Colbert Fired After One Phone Call from President Trump?

Although the FCC is looking into obscenity complaints against the late night host, Colbert was not fired because President Trump called and complained.

Published May 8, 2017

 (Wikimedia Commons)
Image Via Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
Stephen Colbert was fired by CBS after President Trump called and ordered his termination.

On 5 May 2017 the web site The Last Line of Defense published an article claiming late-night television host Stephen Colbert had been fired from his CBS show after President Trump called to complain about its content.

President Trump made a single phone call this morning to the CEO of CBS and voila ... Stephen Colbert was fired as host of the Late Show.

According to Jeff Derpinger of the White House Office of Information and Propaganda, President Trump talked to J.L. Meshner for about five minutes and told him he can either find a new host for the Late Show or kiss his network’s White House press credentials goodbye. ... Colbert’s lawyer says the comedian will be filing suit against CBS and President Trump. He claims that not only is CBS in breach of contract but that Trump violated federal law when he used the Office of the President to carry out an act of “revenge.” What he doesn’t [seem] to get is that Trump is the chief executive and can pretty much do whatever he wants if it’s in the best interest of the country, which this is.

In his 1 May 2017, Colbert insulted Trump repeatedly and made a joke about him performing fellatio on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Last Line of Defense claim appeared as news broke that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is investigating Colbert over the monologue. But the claim, like all other information published on that site, is fabricated. A disclaimer clarifies that all of its articles are fake news:

The Resistance may include information from sources that may or may not be reliable and facts that don’t necessarily exist. All articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney. Pictures that represent actual people should be considered altered and not in any way real.

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.