FCC Chair Brendan Carr Denies Censoring Colbert Interview, Calls It A 'Hoax'

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Wednesday denied the government censored CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert after the network forbid him from airing an interview with a U.S. Senate candidate earlier this week.

“There was no censorship here at all,” Carr told reporters.

Instead of censorship, Carr blamed Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) of committing a “hoax” related to CBS not airing his interview.

“You had a Democrat candidate who understood the way the news media works and he took advantage of all of your, sort of, prior conceptions, to run a hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks,” Carr claimed. “And the news media played right into it.”

The “hoax” claim doesn’t appear to be factually supported, however: Colbert first brought up the censorship to his audience Monday, not Talarico.