Stephen Colbert’s former Late Show colleague gives

Jon Batiste, the longtime bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, broke his silence on the present’s cancellation during the ASCAP Grammy Brunch on January 30, calling the network’s resolution “sad.”

“I think he’s going to be all right because he’s a genius, a scholar and a gentleman,” Batiste, who has backed Colbert in the past, completely told Daily Express U.S. “He’s going to figure it out. I have the utmost confidence in him.”

Batiste, who labored with Colbert for practically a decade before departing in 2022, said the present‘s end comes at the price of one thing bigger.

“It’s sad because of what he provides and what we did together and what the team there gives to the world and gives to culture. That’s now going to be missing. It’s going to be a void in that space,” he said.

CBS confirmed this week that The Late Show will air its final episode on May 21.

The network claimed the present’s losses have been as much as $40 million a yr, however Batiste admitted he was still unsure about what was occurring behind the scenes.

“I’m still unclear about what’s going on,” he said. “But for him, Stephen is good.”

Batiste also addressed the current Jimmy Kimmel shake-up.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! has also been rumored to be ending when Kimmel’s contract expires, after the comic confronted a short suspension for commenting on Charlie Kirk’s dying.

Asked whether or not or not there was a connection, Batiste responded, saying, “We’re in a season where free speech and things that are about opinion or things that are subjective are treated as objective. We’re in a time with strong polarity.”

“That’s going to change. We’re going to look back at this time, and we’re going to know who was standing on the right side and who wasn’t. All you gotta do is stay in your values,” he said.

“When you watch these things happen, don’t fear. That’s my belief in all of it.”

Batiste joined the late-night present in 2017, and left in mid 2022, citing that he wished to “pursue personal and professional interests.”