Jon Stewart sent shockwaves across Hollywood Monday night when on his Comedy Central program, “The Daily Show,” he issued a foul-mouthed denunciation of his bosses at Paramount, who are canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on sister network CBS. Meanwhile, on his late-night program on Thursday, Mr. Colbert had only praise for CBS, while hurling an f-bomb at President Trump (the two men despise each other). 

CBS announced last week that it is canceling Mr. Colbert’s show in May due to, it claimed, financial reasons. The program was reportedly losing $40 million a year, and was not translating well to streaming or performing well online. However, many of his fans, Democrats, and media reporters attribute the decision at least partly to Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media, which requires the Trump administration’s approval.

In his “Daily Show” monologue on Monday night, Mr.  Stewart, who regularly attacks Mr. Trump, noted his friendship with Mr. Colbert. He then harshly criticized CBS for deciding to cancel one of its most recognized shows after the Paramount settlement. 

“The fact that CBS didn’t try to save their no. 1-rated network late-night franchise that’s been on the air for over three decades, is part of what’s making everyone wonder, ‘Was this purely financial, or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger'” with Skydance? Mr. Stewart said.

He said CBS “lost the benefit of the doubt two weeks prior when they sold out their flagship news program to pay an extortion fee” to Mr. Trump.

Mr. Stewart acknowledged that CBS executives are facing pressure to ensure the lucrative Skydance deal goes through. However, he criticized the network for trying to “cancel, censor, and control” programs that helped shape CBS’s brand.

“That’s what made you that money. Shows that say something. Shows that take a stand,” Mr. Stewart said. “This is not a ‘we speak truth to power.’ We don’t; we speak opinions to television cameras. But we try, we f—ing try every night. And if you believe as corporations or as networks, you can make yourself so innocuous that you can serve a gruel so flavorless that you will never again be on the boy king’s radar: A) Why will anyone watch you? And you are f—ing wrong!”

Mr. Stewart encouraged corporations to stand up to Mr. Trump as he said, “I’m not giving in! I’m not going anywhere … I think.” 

(After the decision to fire Mr. Colbert, there has been widespread speculation that Mr. Stewart’s show on Comedy Central may also be on the chopping block.) 

Mr. Stewart ended the segment with a small gospel choir, singing the rousing words to corporations who do not stand up to the president, singing, “Go f— yourself.”

Jumping around the stage, he said, “F—, f—, f— yourself. Just go f— yourself.”

A veteran media reporter, Matthew Belloni, noted that Monday’s episode of Mr. Stewart’s show marked one of a “handful of times in the history of the show” that the program was aired without censoring his profanity.

(The biggest hit by far on Comedy Central, “South Park,” which in the 1990s broke barriers by including dirty words on basic cable, now routinely airs extremely foul language and sexually explicit content.) 

Unlike Mr. Stewart, Mr. Colbert, on his Monday program, did not criticize CBS or Paramount (which last week, prior to his cancellation, he accused of paying “a big fat bribe” to President Trump). It was also notable on Monday that, unlike Mr. Stewart, who seemed to be challenging Paramount to fire him, Mr. Colbert noted reports that said his show was losing as much as $50 million a year and thanked CBS for the kind words it said about him when it announced the end of his show. He said the network had been a good partner, then turned his attention to Mr. Trump’s post celebrating his firing. 

“‘I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,’” Mr. Colbert read, impersonating Mr. Trump. 

The comedian made it clear that he likely will not shy away from insulting Mr. Trump during the final 10 months of his show. He looked straight into the camera and said, “How dare you, sir. Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f— yourself.”

(This was the same imprecation sung by a gospel choir on Mr. Stewart’s program, which had just aired over on Comedy Central.) 

Mr. Colbert declared himself “the martyr” as he read Mr. Trump’s comments suggesting another late-night antagonist of the president, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, will be fired. 

“There’s only room for one on this cross. And I gotta tell you, the view is fantastic from up here,” he said. 

The Trump-appointed chairman, Brendan Carr, of the agency tasked with reviewing the Skydance deal, the Federal Communications Commission, commented on Mr. Colbert’s rant, writing sarcastically on X, “I’m shocked that CBS didn’t find it profitable to keep running this type of stuff.”

“The partisan left’s ritualist wailing and gnashing of teeth over Colbert is quite revealing. They’re acting like they’re losing a loyal DNC spokesperson that was entitled to an exemption from the laws of economics,” Mr. Carr said. 

Another user suggested Mr. Colbert’s comments were “just more evidence for why his show got cancelled.”

A media columnist at Fox News, Joe Concha, wrote, “Here’s what Monday through Friday on CBS at 11:30pm will be for the next ten months.”

Mr. Colbert’s show on Monday night seemed to offer some kind of a hint about whether he would continue with his regular — perhaps even toned down — criticism of Mr. Trump, or if he would take the gloves off and go after the president, Paramount, and Skydance for the next 10 months, believing he had nothing to lose. 

A celebrity news columnist who has covered the TV industry for 15 years, Rob Shuter, wrote in his Substack newsletter that CBS executives warned Mr. Colbert that his show could be taken off the air with no notice if he makes a joke or comment that they felt went too far.

“They dragged him into a meeting,” Mr. Schuter quoted an unnamed source as saying. “They told him: ‘You pull another stunt like that, and we cancel the show immediately. No farewell, no wrap-up, just done.’”

Mr. Schuter said that his segments are now being screened by network executives for pre-approval to ensure he does not step out of line.

CBS could, if it chose to, air reruns of Mr. Colbert’s show and stop filming new episodes.  The network could pay out his contract and lay off his more than 200-person staff. 

However, it is unclear if it will take that step after Monday’s outburst. The chief executive of CBS, George Cheeks, has reportedly previously given talent leeway to criticize the network and the Trump administration.

In April, Mr. Cheeks was reportedly aware that one of the correspondents at CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Scott Pelley, planned to address the forced ouster of the then-executive producer of the show, Bill Owens, and did not intervene to stop what turned out to be a stunning, on-air rebuke of Paramount. 

CBS did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.