See Stephen Colbert Give The Middle Finger After Hugging A CBS News Anchor On His Last Day

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Stephen Colbert’s soon-to-end Late Show has been making headlines, but he isn’t the only CBS personality impacted. The recent merger between Paramount and Skydance is also leading to the departures of anchors like John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. In fact, December 18th was Dickerson and DuBois’ last day hosting the CBS Evening News, and Colbert visibly expressed his feelings about it with a hug for Dickerson followed by an emphatic gesture.

As a big fan of political talk, I was really moved by the recent live Political Gabfest show. It was especially poignant knowing both John Dickerson and Stephen Colbert were about to leave CBS. Colbert’s been handling everything with such class – you could see it even when accepting their Emmy for The Late Show – but he didn’t hold back when talking about Dickerson and CBS. There was a really emotional moment, and I wanted to share it with you all.

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When Slate podcast host introduced John Dickerson—formerly with CBS News—Dickerson immediately loosened up by taking off his tie, which the audience and Stephen Colbert loved. Colbert enthusiastically greeted Dickerson with a hug, then playfully flipped off the crowd, appearing to be directed at the leaders of Paramount Skydance.

John Dickerson started at CBS News in 2009 and hosted various programs. In 2024, he began co-anchoring the CBS Evening News with Maurice DuBois. DuBois had been with WCBS-TV in New York since 2004 before joining Dickerson on the national broadcast last year. Tony Dokoupil will become the new anchor of the evening news on January 5. Here’s Dickerson and DuBois’ final farewell message as co-anchors.

Along with changes to the CBS Evening News, the daytime TV lineup is also seeing significant adjustments. Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson are leaving CBS Saturday Morning, and the show’s executive producer, Brian Applegate, is also departing. The streaming programs CBS Mornings Plus and CBS Evening News Plus have been canceled as well.

CBS News is shutting down its Johannesburg bureau, resulting in the loss of veteran foreign correspondent Debora Patta’s position after a decade of service. Joelle Martinez, who led the Los Angeles bureau, is also leaving, and the Race and Culture Unit has been significantly downsized, losing eight out of nine staff members under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. While unconfirmed, there’s been ongoing speculation that Gayle King may depart when her contract expires in May 2026.

Stephen Colbert has announced he’ll be leaving ‘The Late Show’ in May 2026, and he’s been open about his departure. Knowing his time on the show is limited has led to some funny, slightly awkward situations, like when Emma Stone and Taylor Swift tried to schedule future appearances with him.

Despite a playful joke by Stephen Colbert about telling his boss, David Ellison, “I love you” to potentially extend his show’s run, it’s clear there’s no animosity between the two.

Some say The Late Show was canceled due to financial issues, but Jimmy Kimmel and others believe the real reason is political.

Though John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois are no longer on the evening news, you can continue to watch Stephen Colbert on CBS weekdays at 11:35 p.m. Eastern Time for the time being.

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2025-12-21 23:08