Too Soon? Emmys Host Host Nate Bargatze Awkwardly Mocks Late-Night Legend Stephen Colbert's Firing From 'Caucasian Broadcast System'
Nate Bargatze threw shade at Stephen Colbert's exit from CBS in his opening monologue at the 2025 Emmy Awards.
Sept. 14 2025, Published 9:21 p.m. ET
Host Nate Bargatze kicked off the 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards by poking fun at late-night host Stephen Colbert's recent firing from CBS, which hosted the award show, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Bargatze dubbed the network the "Caucasian Broadcast System" after the CBS' parent company Paramount settled a controversial multimillion dollar lawsuit with Donald Trump prior to Colbert's firing ahead of the Skydance Media merger.
Nate Bargatze Mocks CBS in Opening Monologue
Bargatze mocked CBS during his Emmy Awards 2025 opening sketch.
Bargatze was joined by Saturday Night Live cast members Mikey Day, James Austin Johnson and Bowen Yang to revive his hit George Washington skit for the opening monologue at the Emmy Awards.
The comedian acted as Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the television, explaining what the technology would be like. He noted there would be, "Networks like Telemundo, for Spanish speakers. And BET: Black Entertainment Television."
After laying out his vision for television's future, Bargatze was asked, "Will there be a network for white people, sir?"
He fired back: "Why CBS of course. The Caucasian broadcast system."
Stephen Colbert's Controversial CBS Firing
Colbert announced his late-night show would conclude at the end of its current season.
The audience laughed as Bargatze poked fun at CBS' controversial decision to cancel Colbert.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Colbert announced his hit late-night show would not return after the end of the current season in 2026.
Colbert's cancellation came days after the late-night host called out his parent network for accepting a "big fat bribe" from Trump ahead of the Skydance merger.
After the sketch, Colbert received a standing ovation from the crowd as he walked out to present the first award of the evening – and poke fun at his own career.
Stephen Colbert Receives Standing Ovation From Crowd
Colbert took his time on stage to jokingly ask if anyone was hiring.
Following Bargatze's opening sketch, the crowd jumped to their feet and chanted, "Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!" as the late-night host walked out on stage to start the award show.
Colbert took the opportunity to poke fun at his recent career woes and shared an old headshot on stage.
He told the crowd: "While I have your attention: is anyone hiring because I have 200 very qualified candidates who will be available in June.
"I also brought my resume but I haven’t had the chance to update my headshot."
The crowd laughed as Colbert handed off his resume to Harrison Ford to give to Stephen Spielberg.
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Paramount blamed Colbert's cancellation on 'financial' reasons.
After Colbert shocked his audience by announcing his show would be coming to an end in a few short months, CBS claimed the decision to cancel the late-night veteran's show was purely "financial" and had nothing to do with his criticism of Trump and the Paramount merger.
The network said in a statement: "This 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."
