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\n\tMuch has been said about Stephen Colbert\u2018s May 21 curtain call on The Late Show<\/em>. In fact, Colbert often jokes about it on air. But with less than a month to go, the late-night host sat down with the New York Times<\/em> for a more serious assessment of the show\u2019s finale.<\/p>\n \n\tCBS\u00a0said the cancellation was \u201cpurely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night\u201d but Colbert has frequently pointed out that the verdict came two days after he called Paramount Global\u2019s\u00a0$16 million settlement\u00a0of Donald Trump\u2019s lawsuit\u00a0a \u201cbig fat bribe\u201d on the air.<\/p>\n \n\tStill, he told the NYT, he does not want to argue.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI do not dispute their rationale. I do make jokes about it. But I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn\u2019t make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me, because the network did it to themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe comedian stressed that not arguing about one point does not mean another is invalid.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s possible that two things can be true. Broadcast can be in trouble. They cannot monetize because of things like YouTube, because of the competition of streaming. They\u2019ve got the books, and I do not have any desire to debate them over what they say their business model is and how it does not work for them anymore. But less than two years before they called to say, \u2018It\u2019s over,\u2019 they were very eager for me to be signed for a long time. So, something changed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAnd while that argument may be good fodder for comedy, Colbert said he\u2019s not holding onto it as the show ends.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel so much better to be \u2018grateful for\u2019 than to be \u2018mad about’\u201d the past 11 years on CBS.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n