Colbert Show Pulls Talarico Interview Over FCC Rules

Late-night host Stephen Colbert revealed on Monday that his network pulled a planned interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico from the broadcast of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" due to concerns over complying with Federal Communications Commission regulations on equal time for political candidates.

The decision came hours before early voting began Tuesday in Texas' primary elections, which are set for March 3. Talarico, a state representative, is one of several Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, vying for the U.S. Senate seat held by four-term Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Colbert told his audience that network lawyers had directly instructed the show not to air the segment, and initially advised against even discussing the matter on air. "He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers... that we could not have him on the broadcast," Colbert said. Despite the directive, he proceeded to address the issue, noting the full nearly 15-minute interview was later posted exclusively to the show's YouTube channel, as the equal time rule applies to broadcast television but not streaming platforms.