Reports claiming that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" was losing approximately $40 million annually before its cancellation have been strongly refuted by several figures in the entertainment industry. Jimmy Kimmel dismissed these claims as "nonsensical" and stated there was "not a snowball's chance in hell" that the show was losing such an amount. An ex-Colbert staffer also rejected allegations that the host refused to invite conservative guests, calling the statistic "bulls**t." Meanwhile, some commentary suggested that the show's financial struggles were linked to a shrinking advertiser base, particularly due to the economic profile of the Democratic audience and changes in funding such as cuts to USAID under former President Trump. Conan O’Brien praised Stephen Colbert amid concerns about the state of late-night television. Overall, insiders and supporters of Colbert have dismissed the reported $40 million loss figure as inaccurate.