Colbert says CBS blocked Talarico interview from air ahead of early voting

State Rep. James Talarico’s interview with Stephen Colbert was allegedly blocked from airing the night before early voting kicked off in Texas. 

The Austin Democrat, currently in the running for U.S. Senate in one of the most heated races in the nation, is the first guest to ever have their interview debut on YouTube. That video amassed over 3.3 million views within a day of being posted — nearly a million more than the show gets on an average week. 

Talarico’s Late Show interview pulled

According to Colbert on Monday’s episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” CBS attorneys told him in “no uncertain terms” that Talarico’s interview could not appear on broadcast, fearing it might violate an FCC regulation requiring equal time be given to political candidates. 

What they’re saying:

“Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on. I could not mention me not having him on,” Colbert said. “And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.”

Colbert went on to interview Talarico, posting the nearly 15-minute video to YouTube, where FCC regulations do not apply.

Talarico commented on the alleged oversight during his online appearance:

“This is the party that ran against cancel culture, and now they are trying to control what we watch, what we say, and what we read,” the state lawmaker said. “This is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture — the kind that comes from the top. Corporate media executives are selling out the First Amendment to curry favor with corrupt politicians. A threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights.”

The other side:

CBS said in a statement their legal team merely “provided legal guidance” that the interview could violate the regulation, denying that they prohibited Talarico’s appearance. 

What is the equal-time rule?

The backstory:

The equal time rule ensures that all “legally qualified candidates who submit a request” get equal opportunity for airtime, according to The Federal Communications Law Journal.

The FCC has been regulating election-related airtime since 1927. In 1959, exemptions were made to the rule so that news programs could better report on candidates. In 2006, the FCC decided “bona fide news interviews,” including late night talk shows, were included in those exemptions. 

New FCC guidance, released late in January, reversed that exemption. Brendan Carr, President Donald Trump’s FCC chairman pick, decided that “use of broadcast airtime by a legally qualified candidate would require the broadcaster to place a record” in an online political file so other legally qualified candidates can submit an equal opportunity request.

That new guidance recently triggered an investigation into another Talarico appearance, where the commission claimed Republicans weren’t given equal opportunity to appear on The View. 

Texas Democratic Senate primary

Why you should care:

The Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas is heating up between Talarico’s camp and that of progressive firebrand Jasmine Crockett, a U.S. representative from Dallas. The Democrats have both garnered public attention for viral clips on social media, though they take different approaches to their political appearances. 

Crockett has been in office for fewer terms, though she’s better known across the state and the nation for her sharp retorts and sometimes controversial remarks about opponents. Recent polls have placed her ahead of Talarico. 

Talarico has been in the state House since 2018, though he’s a relatively new face to most of the U.S. In the past year, his clips condemning “the billionaire class” and Christian nationalism have taken social media by storm — compounded by his status as a Presbyterian seminarian. 

The ground between the pair has grown shaky, with Crockett backing former primary opponent Colin Allred in a recent online controversy and implying that Talarico had signaled for a super PAC to run an attack ad against her. Talarico denied both accusations. 

Whichever of the two wins the primary will face a Republican candidate in November: either 24-year GOP Senate veteran John Cornyn; controversy-plagued Texas AG Ken Paxton; or U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, who entered the House in 2023. Recent polling shows their primary is likely to end in a runoff.

Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate.