David Letterman delivered a fiery rant against CBS and parent company Paramount for cancelling Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” calling the decision “gutless” and “pure cowardice” as he labeled his successor a martyr of the network.

Late-night television legend and original Late Show host David Letterman has finally spoken out about CBS’ decision to axe the show he created in 1993, describing the move as “pure cowardice.” Letterman spoke to his former producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay about the decision in a video posted to his YouTube channel on Friday,