CBS wouldn't broadcast his interview, but Stephen Colbert's grievances are still on the show.
Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert is in a war of words with the corporation that broadcasts his show over an interview he was not allowed to air.
The comedian was prohibited from airing an interview with Democratic politician James Talarico.
Talarico is running for the Senate seat in Texas, a race that polling has shown is unusually competitive for the state.
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But CBS stepped in to stop the show from broadcasting the interview.
Under the Federal Communications Commission policy, US television stations are required to provide a balance of political viewpoints.
CBS told Colbert he could only interview Talarico if he also interviewed every other candidate in the race.
But Colbert said the FCC had never previously enforced the policy on talk shows.
"We can't find one example of this rule being enforced for any talk show interview not only for my entire late-night career but for anybody's late-night career going back to the '60s," he said.
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FCC chair Brendan Carr previously said he was considering axing the talk show exemption on the policy.
"He had not gotten rid of it yet, but CBS generously did it for him," Colbert said.
"(CBS) told me unilaterally that I had to abide by the equal time rules."
CBS for issuing a statement disputing Colbert's version of events.
"The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico," the statement read.
"The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled."
Colbert pushed back on the statement, taking particular umbrage that it was issued without his knowledge.
"I am well aware that we can book other guests," he said.
"I didn't need to be presented with that option."
Colbert pointed out that he had previously interviewed Talarico's primary opponent Jasmine Crockett twice.
But Colbert said in order to comply with CBS's new reading of the equal time rules, he was unable to show a photo of Crockett without also showing a photo of her opponents.
Instead he showed a photo of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
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Colbert had uploaded his interview with Talarico to YouTube, where it has drawn 6.6 million views in little more than 24 hours.
That makes it Colbert's most-watched YouTube interview in several years.
By contrast, his interview with actress Jennifer Garner also uploaded that night attracted just 250,000 views.
Carr denied the Trump administration tried to censor Colbert's interview with Talarico.
"There was no censorship here at all," he said.
"Every single broadcaster in this country has an obligation to be responsible for the programming that they choose to air, and they're responsible whether it complies with FCC rules or not, and it doesn't, and those individual broadcasters are also going to have a potential liability."
CBS announced it would cancel Stephen Colbert's show in May, citing the high costs of the broadcast.
The axing stunned the television industry given his show is typically the highest-rating show in its timeslow.
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