Bruce Springsteen launched a blistering attack against his old nemesis Donald Trump and Stephen Colbert’s soon-to-be former bosses during the penultimate episode of The Late Show.
Ahead of a live performance on Wednesday’s show, Springsteen weighed in on the controversy surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show franchise after Colbert openly mocked CBS News for buckling to the president and settling an easily winnable lawsuit.
“I am here tonight in support of Stephen, because you’re the first guy in America who’s lost his show because we’ve got a president who can’t take a joke,” Springsteen said.
“And because Larry and David Ellison feel the need to kiss his a-- to get what they want. Stephen, these are small-minded people who’ve got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about. This is for you.”
Springsteen then performed an acoustic version of his protest song “Streets of Minneapolis,” which was written in the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
CBS News announced in July 2025 that the long-running and iconic Late Show franchise would be canceled after 33 years on air.
The decision came soon after Colbert blasted CBS News for agreeing to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over the editing of 60 Minutes’ interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.
The settlement was announced just as CBS’ parent company, Paramount, was seeking approval for its merger with Skydance, whose owner is David Ellison, the son of billionaire and top Trump donor Larry Ellison.
In a blistering monologue, Colbert suggested the $16 million payout was “a big fat bribe,” arguing that Paramount’s owners needed the Trump administration to approve the sale of CBS to Skydance. The Paramount-Skydance merger was eventually approved and finalized in August 2025.
Springsteen has made a habit of attacking the 79-year-old president. This included blasting the “corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous” Trump administration on stage in Minneapolis during the opening night of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour last month.
In response, Trump suggested the 76-year-old rock star looks like a “dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon” and suffers from a “horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Days later, Trump continued his bizarre fixation on Springsteen’s appearance by posting a doctored image on Truth Social showing the singer with crooked teeth and looking far older than he actually is, alongside the caption: “Bruce Springsteen prior to plastic surgery???”
The final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air on Thursday night.
