Stephen Colbert made a plea to Hollywood to hire his staff after his late night talk show was cancelled two months earlier.
The 61-year-old comedian Stephen Colbert presented the first award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series during the 2025 Emmys on Sunday.
Once the star was introduced, Colbert began to strut onto the stage inside the Peacock Theater and was met with loud cheers of applause from the audience as they rose to their feet
After expressing his gratitude for the warm reception, the talk show host then referenced to CBS canceling his show during a surprise monologue.
‘While I have your attention, is anyone hiring?’ he asked, followed by laughter. ‘Because I’ve got 200 very qualified candidates with me here tonight. Who will be available in June.’
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will come to an end next year in May 2026
Stephen Colbert then jokingly revealed that he also brought along his resume to the star-studded event with an old head shot of himself on the back.
‘I haven’t had a chance to update my head shot in a bit, but I think it still works,’ he said, showing a black and white throwback photo. ‘I am in there somewhere.’
The comedian then asked actor Harrison Ford – who was also in the crowd – to pass along his resume to filmmaker Stephen Spielberg.
Stephen Colbert quickly ran off the stage and onto the main floor of the theater to shake hands with the Indiana Jones star – who retrieved the resume.
After returning to the microphone, the talk show host presented the award for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, which went to Seth Rogen for his role in The Studio.
Back in July, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after 10 years of being on the air.
It came just days after his furious rant live on air over the network’s parent company Paramount settling a $16 million lawsuit with President Trump.
In a statement, the network said: ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire the Late Show franchise at that time.
‘We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and his broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.’
The network also emphasized that the decision to end the show is ‘purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.
‘It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,’ the statement further read.
Paramount recently reached a $16 million settlement after Trump accused the company for falsely editing a 60 Minute interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Along with the settlement, the company also agreed to release unedited transcripts of 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates.
Stephen Colbert blasted Paramount’s settlement with Trump live on air and claimed the company could have ‘easily fought it.’
He also read out a fake statement from Paramount: ‘You may take our money, but you will never take our dignity. You may, however, purchase our dignity for the low, low, price of $16 million. We need the cash.’
He further slammed the settlement, calling it a ‘big, fat, bribe’ amid Paramount’s potential merger with Skydance – which needs the Trump administration’s approval.
However, it has since been claimed that CBS canceled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert because it was losing $40 million a year.
The late night talk show first premiered with Colbert as host back in 2015 – and notably won its first Emmy earlier this month on September 7 during the Creative Arts Emmys.
The award went to Jim Hoskinson for Outstanding Directing in a Variety Series.
Before the big win, the show had previously garnered a total of 33 Emmy nominations.
After the announcement of the show’s cancellation, other stars defended Colbert such as Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman.
Before taking to the stage during the 2025 Emmy Awards on Sunday, the star notably walked the red carpet alongside wife Evelyn McGee-Colbert.
The comedian was dapper in a classic black suit which was paired with a white dress shirt and black bowtie.
His wife was also glammed up wearing a black dress with shiny gold details that shone underneath the bright lights.