Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Colbert Swap Seats in Heartfelt Farewell Interview
In a notably warm and reflective segment on Tuesday's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Oprah Winfrey turned the tables on the host, leading to a de facto tribute to his career. The interview quickly devolved from conventional questioning into a poignant exchange as the two temporarily swapped seats and roles, with Colbert's show set to go off the air in May.
A Pointed Question and a Role Reversal
Winfrey, 72, opened with a pointed inquiry, asking Colbert, "How are you feeling about the whole thing, though? How are you feeling?" Colbert, 61, responded with a playful, "Don’t go Oprah on me now…," before promptly asking her to switch seats. Once situated, Winfrey expressed excitement and posed a deeper question: "So I am wondering, as you stand here at the threshold of what’s about to be done and what you’re stepping into, what do you feel like, in this moment? [What do] you most want to release?"
Rather than taking a political shot, Colbert joked that he did not want to "release anything just yet," interpreting the question more literally. He reflected on his connections, stating, "I still have a white-knuckle grip on all these people who I love, who I’ve worked with all these years, including those people over there," pointing to his crew and band, and adding, "And the audience, obviously," which drew raucous applause.
A Bittersweet Farewell and Industry Backdrop
Winfrey earlier described her visit as a "bittersweet" farewell, to which Colbert quipped, "We're still having a really good time doing it." This friendly spot included praise not only from Winfrey but also from his house band, and the pair held hands for much of the conversation. However, the segment contrasted with recent criticism, such as a Variety op-ed that cast Colbert's recent interviews as "an ego trip" rather than a tasteful goodbye.
Colbert has hosted The Late Show since 2015, succeeding late-night legend David Letterman. CBS announced over the summer that the show would be cancelled this spring due to a "challenging backdrop in late night," with a Puck report suggesting it was losing $40 million annually. The final episode is scheduled for May 22, to be replaced by the syndicated comedy panel show Comics Unleashed.
Colbert's Criticisms of Paramount and Trump
In the lead-up to the cancellation announcement, Colbert openly criticized Paramount, CBS's parent company. He took issue with a $16 million settlement with Donald Trump over a deceptively edited October 2024 60 Minutes interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, calling it "a big fat bribe." Days later, a long-in-limbo merger between Paramount and Skydance was approved by the FCC, fueling Colbert's attacks on both Trump and CBS's executives.
Last month, while accepting the Walter Bernstein award—named for a Hollywood producer known for resisting McCarthy-era censorship—Colbert took a shot at Paramount over purported censorship. He sarcastically quoted a famed 1970 poem, saying, "As we know, the revolution will not be televised. It was going to be televised, but then Paramount bought it. Evidently, the revolution was losing, like, $40 million a year - it had to go," casting doubt on the financial figures reported by Puck.
The interview culminated in a standing ovation from the audience, underscoring the emotional weight of Colbert's impending departure from the late-night landscape.



