EXCLUSIVE: Stephen Colbert Blocked Guest Hosts During Sick Leave Over Fears They Would 'Overshadow Him' — Years Before CBS Axed Late-Night Talk Show
Stephen Colbert reportedly decided against having guest hosts during a health emergency.
May 12 2026, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Years before Stephen Colbert's hit show was sent to come to an end, the late-night host worried about guests taking over for him during sick leave.
The television personality, 61, was forced to skip filming several episodes when his appendix ruptured in late 2023, and according to a source, he feared stand-ins might "overshadow" him on The Late Show – and maybe even cause him to lose his highly-coveted gig, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Not a 'Pass the Baton' Type of Guy
A source claimed Stephen Colbert had 'insecurity' surrounding 'The Late Show'.
"Colbert’s decision to stick with reruns highlights a deep level of insecurity," an insider shared, noting that his concerns highlighted a deep "underlying fear and paranoia
Although CBS encouraged Colbert to consider a several temporary hosts to take over, the source said he just wasn't having it.
"Stephen is not exactly a ‘pass the baton’ type of person," a separate source close to the show revealed. "There’s no chance of him handing over the reins to someone who might want to push him out of the way too!"
Stephen Colbert's Return
Stephen Colbert suffered a ruptured appendix in late 2023.
When Colbert returned to the show on December 11, 2023, he detailed the harrowing experience of working in agony before he realized that something was seriously wrong.
"The pain was manageable," he joked. "It only hurt when I moved. And when I didn’t."
His band leader, Louis Cato, quipped back, "I knew something was wrong when, for the first time in almost nine years, you had to rehearse the monologue sitting at the desk with a barf bucket next to you."
Colbert eventually underwent surgery to fix his ruptured organ, a sight for the doctors that he playfully compared to an action movie.
"When they opened me up it was like they shot John Wick 5 down there," he teased.
'The Late Show' Gets the Ax
CBS canceled 'The Late Show' in 2025.
This comes nearly one year after CBS officially announced The Late Show was ending.
"This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," CBS executives said in a statement at the time. "It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late-night television."
However, Colbert hit back at the decision, calling it a "big fat bribe" to Donald Trump as the 61-year-old repeatedly criticized him and his administration on the chat-fest.
Stephen Colbert Facing 'Grim Realities' Amid Career Shift
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Stephen Colbert will have to 'reinvent himself' after 'The Late Show' gig.
As the end to the final season approaches on May 21, Colbert and the crew have been struggling, according to a network insider.
"The grim realities of winding down a major production like The Late Show are playing out in a pretty dark way," the insider noted. "These network-backed writing and producing jobs are hard to come by in New York City – people stay in them for decades if they can."
The insider added, "Now Stephen needs to face the reality that he's going to have to completely reinvent himself if he wants to avoid the fate that his fellow late-night outcast James Corden suffered, which is a total loss of relevance among American audiences when his show went off the air."
