Comic-Con Attendees May Have A Way To Show Support For Stephen Colbert

Yesterday’s news that CBS has decided to cancel the highly-rated “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” just days after Colbert publicly called CBS’s settlement with the Trump administration “a big fat bribe,” came as a shock and disappointment to the comedian’s legion of fans, as well as to broader proponents of free speech.

CBS, in a statement released yesterday, characterized the move to retire “The Late Show” as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

But the 160,000+ attendees of San Diego Comic-Con, which kicks off next week, may have a unique opportunity to display their own thoughts on the matter.

The Paramount+ streaming service, also owned by the parent company of CBS, is the sponsor of this year’s Comic-Con badge. That business agreement with San Diego Comic Convention (Comic-Con), the public benefit nonprofit organization that puts on the event, has been in place for at least two years and predates any of the recent controversies. It is one of many deals Comic-Con has with sponsors and studios who want to put their brand in front of the event’s attendees and fans worldwide, and the organization does not tell studios what they can bring or promote, said a spokesman for SDCC earlier this month.

This year, Paramount, the owners of Star Trek and other popular properties, are using the badge to promote the return of their serial killer thriller, Dexter. Paramount’s logo is also featured, albeit more subtly than in 2024, when the entire badge was devoted to it.

The Comic-Con badge is required for admission to the event and must be worn at all times on the premises. Comic-Con has very strict terms and conditions regarding the badge, enumerated on its website.

The terms include the following:

“Small decorations on badges and lanyards that do not impede visual credential checks by security are allowed.”

There are few places on planet Earth more devoted to swag and flair than San Diego Comic-Con, and nowhere that fans are more vocal and opinionated.

For fans who are not interested in wearing Paramount’s policies around their necks, and especially for members of the creative professions attending Comic-Con who have strong views on censorship, media consolidation (Paramount is pending acquisition by Skydance, which critics see as one of the motivations for making nice with the Trump administration), or the value of political satire, this poses an unusually visible opportunity for public comment, if it is done within the rules allowed by the event. It would not be surprising if some enterprising fans or vendors came up with some creative ways to use Paramount’s presence on the event badge as an opportunity for to comment, tastefully and discretely, of course, on the sponsor’s recent moves, including support for Colbert, a popular figure at Comic-Con.

“It comes down to personal values and choices,” said Jeff Trexler, interim executive director of The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a free speech advocate and longtime exhibitor at Comic-Con. “Do people see wearing the badge as an endorsement of Paramount’s policies? Maybe not. It’s a complex challenge. But if people have an opinion about this, they should feel free to express it.”

A Comic-Con spokesman did not have the exact number that Paramount paid for its badge sponsorship immediately at hand, but offered that “it is one of the more expensive items at Kuhn [the badge vendor] to produce, so I think it is one of the more expensive sponsorships as well.”

It is encouraging that even against this backdrop of cost-cutting and tough choices, Paramount has still made a financial commitment to free speech, though perhaps not in the fashion it intended.