Stephen Colbert to Win an Award for Yelling at His Boss

Stephen Colbert is living the dream: getting an award for yelling at your boss. It is also a nightmare: losing your dream job of over a decade because an increasingly authoritarian government makes an example of you. So … kind of an up-and-downer. The Writers Guild of America East is presenting Colbert with the Walter Bernstein Award at its New York ceremony this year. Named after blacklisted writer Walter Bernstein, the award “is presented to a Guild member who has demonstrated with creativity, grace and bravery a willingness to confront social injustice in the face of adversity,” the Guild said in a press release. With Colbert calling out his CBS (and Paramount, and Skydance, and U.S. government) overlords, even after The Late Show was canceled, it’s a fitting tribute.

“It’s a great honor to receive the Walter Bernstein award from our Guild,” Colbert said in a statement. “I assume this is mostly for my work on The Dana Carvey Show (possibly available on Blu-Ray!).” In actuality, it’s for saying that CBS settling a lawsuit with Donald Trump for $16 million is a “big fat bribe,” continuing to speak out against the Trump administration and CBS after getting canceled, decrying the FCC’s attempt to rewrite its own equal-time rules related to political candidates appearing on talk shows, and even sassing George W. Bush to his face at the 2006 White House Correspondents” Dinner. Though working on The Dana Carvey Show probably didn’t hurt. Colbert will receive the Wally (we assume it’s called that) on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at New York’s Edison Ballroom.