Stephen Colbert Receives Standing Ovation at Emmys 2025, Two Months After CBS Ouster
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Stephen Colbert took the stage as a presenter at Sunday night’s 77th Emmy Awards and was met with a standing ovation. CBS, which broadcast the ceremony, had canceled The Late Show two months earlier after Colbert criticized parent company Paramount Global’s settlement with Donald Trump—and the network has not yet named a replacement.
As soon as Colbert appeared, the audience rose to its feet, chanting “Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!” Before announcing the winner for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, he joked: “Now that I have your attention, is anybody hiring?” He then pulled out a résumé with an old photo of himself and handed it to Harrison Ford, asking him to pass it along to Steven Spielberg.
Moments later, Colbert’s Late Show won the Emmy for Best Talk Series, bringing him back to the stage for an emotional acceptance speech. He began by thanking CBS and expressing hope for the continuation of late-night programming. The final episode of his show is scheduled to air in May 2026.
In his speech, Colbert recalled: “Ten years ago, in September 2015, Spike Jonze came into my office and asked, ‘What do you want this show to be about?’ I said, ‘I don’t know how to make it, but I’d like it to be a late-night comedy show about love.’ I don’t know if I achieved that, but at some point—you can probably guess when—I realized we were actually making a show about loss. And loss relates to love, because sometimes you only realize you love something when you feel you might lose it.”
He continued: “My friends, ten years later, in September 2025, I have never loved my country more fervently. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to take you down, go crazy and press the button for the higher floor!”
Colbert then raised his fist in the air and let out a cheer as he accepted his first Primetime Emmy.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had already won a Creative Arts Emmy the previous weekend for Best Directing in a Variety Series. The show, launched in 1993 with David Letterman, was passed to Colbert in 2015.
To date, Colbert has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy 44 times, winning 10 for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
