David Letterman Slams 'Gutless' CBS For Cancelling Colbert's Late Show: 'This Is Pure Cowardice'

Stephen Colbert's Late Show predecessor has weighed in on CBS' decision to cancel the late night program — and no, he's not happy about it.

Original Late Show host David Letterman, who helmed the CBS show from 1993 to 2015 before Colbert took over, pulled no punches while sounding off on last week's news that CBS is cancelling The Late Show, with Colbert slated to sign off next May.

"This is pure cowardice," Letterman told his former executive producer Barbara Gaines in a YouTube video posted on Friday. He also doesn't believe that the decision was "purely financial," as CBS emphasized in a statement, and that The Late Show was losing money: "They've given [Colbert] another 10 months, that's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose, according to them."

Letterman then asked: "If they were losing that kind of money — you're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this money a month ago or six weeks ago. Or they were never losing that kind of money. They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves."

He also criticized CBS for agreeing to pay President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit connected to its venerable news program 60 Minutes: "You're telling me 60 Minutes, the pinnacle of journalistic excellence and integrity for decades... they decided, 'Aw, we're sorry, let us give you $20 million.' I believe this is in the wake of that."

Letterman did see a bright side in this for Colbert: "For Stephen, I love this, because he gets to be a martyr." But he predicted a rough road ahead for the CBS suits who made the call to axe The Late Show: "I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed. This is gutless."

Watch the full interview below: