Speaking with his former executive producer, Barbara Gaines, in a YouTube video Friday, Letterman called the axing of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert “pure cowardice” and said he doesn’t believe the official line from CBS that the decision was purely about economics (the show has reportedly become a money-loser for the network).

Supporters of Stephen Colbert took to the streets of New York City following the cancellation of The Late Show. The demonstrators gathered outside the Ed Sullivan Theater and marched to Paramount’s Times Square headquarters.