Host Stephen Colbert denounces the censorship of an interview with a Democratic candidate on CBS and posts it on YouTube

BarcelonaThe host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert, has accused the CBS network of preventing the broadcast of an interview with the Democratic candidate for Senate for Texas, James Talarico, in the midst of the primary campaign. According to Colbert himself on his program, the network's lawyers informed him that he could not broadcast the interview on television due to possible legal implications related to the federal regulation known as the “equal time” rule. This rule, overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), requires over-the-air television networks to offer equivalent time to other candidates if one of them appears on air.

Traditionally, entertainment and interview programs have been considered exempt from this rule. However, according to various American media outlets, a stricter interpretation of the rule has recently generated caution among networks.

Faced with CBS's decision, Colbert has chosen to publish the full interview on the program's official YouTube channel, which is not subject to the same regulation as television. The host criticizes the situation and calls it worrying from the perspective of freedom of expression. Colbert explains to the audience that the network's legal team had "clearly" informed him that he could not broadcast the interview. According to the comedian, CBS also advised him not to mention the guest's absence, an instruction he decided to ignore. “Since my network clearly doesn't want us to talk about this, let's talk about this”, he says on the program, aired on Monday.

For its part, CBS assures that it did not censor the interview but rather gave "legal advice" to the program. The controversy has arisen at the time early voting has begun in Texas and has opened a debate on media regulation, editorial freedom, and the impact of federal rules on political entertainment programs.

In July, Colbert, considered an icon of American political satire in the late night shows, let his viewers know that CBS was canceling his show. But it wasn't abrupt, rather The late show

will end, if nothing changes, in May of this year.