Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, revealed Friday she’s still not been asked to appear on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” days after the host claimed pressure from the Federal Communications Commission effectively censored an interview with her Senate primary political opponent, James Talarico.

Earlier this week, Colbert said CBS prevented the broadcast of Talarico’s appearance due to guidance from the FCC requiring shows to provide “equal time” to opposing candidates.

In response, the late-night host criticized the FCC and his own network. The Talarico interview was posted online, where it has garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube alone. The tumult and extra attention to the interview helped raise more than $2.5 million for Talarico’s campaign.

“No, I’ve not been invited on Colbert prior to his interview nor post his interview,” Crockett said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” Friday.

Crockett explained that while she has appeared on Colbert’s show twice before, she has not been invited since she launched her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

“The only information that I got was after this debacle took place, I did receive a phone call from the parent company,” Crockett said.

She said that CBS representatives told her they did not tell Colbert he couldn’t air the Talarico segment. Instead, they said that if he had Talarico on, he had to offer the same time to Crockett.

COLBERT FUMES AT CBS, SAYS IT BARRED HIM FROM INTERVIEWING TEXAS DEM AMID FCC CRACKDOWN

“They just said, if you air it, just make sure that you offer the representative equal time. Now, obviously, I wasn’t engaged in that conversation, so I cannot confirm the veracity of any statements,” she said. 

“But I can confirm that I had never been asked to go on as it relates to kind of talking about the Senate race,” Crockett added.

CBS released a statement denying it censored Colbert, insisting the show chose to share the interview on YouTube instead to avoid the equal-time requirement.

‘THE VIEW’ PANEL ERUPTS AS GUEST DEFENDS TRUMP AGAINST RACISM CLAIMS

However, during Monday night’s broadcast, Colbert insisted he and his guest were being censored, telling his audience, “[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”

The media attention and Colbert’s multiple segments this week about the controversy provided a boon to Talarico’s campaign. On Tuesday, Colbert crumpled up the CBS statement denying it had forced the comedian not to air the interview and put it into a dog waste bag before throwing it away.

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr dismissed the controversy as a “hoax,” stating that Talarico “took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run the hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A spokesperson for Colbert’s show didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Related Article

A progressive House Democrat claims that attacks from her left were racially motivated in what’s become an explosive Texas Senate race.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told supporters that she’s used to attacks from Republicans and the right, but racially tinged shots from her left flank weren’t something she expected.

“The thing that is not normal is for me to be attacked from the left,” Crockett said. “That is the new wild card in this scenario. But it’s just interesting.”

“And you know, I’ve been asked a couple of times about it,” she continued. “And you know, I look at this specifically as a civil rights lawyer, and I see when they’re sending out ads and they’re darkening my skin. And I’m just like, I know what this is, right?”

Crockett did not get into specifics about which ads she was referencing or who was behind them.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Crockett’s Senate campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.

It’s another instance in the Democratic primary for Texas’ Senate seat between Crockett and Texas state Rep. James Talarico in which race has again been jolted into the conversation.

JASMINE CROCKETT HITS BACK AT LIBERAL CRITICS OF HER SENATE BID, SUGGESTS THEY MIGHT BE GETTING PAID

Before the latest drama over Talarico’s appearance on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” which Crockett said she has not received an invitation to since launching her Senate campaign, the state lawmaker was embroiled in another back-and-forth with his former opponent.

Before Crockett entered the contest, Talarico was running against former Rep. Collin Allred, D-Texas, who was again vying for the Senate after losing to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2024.

Allred exited the race in December 2025 but earlier in February alleged that Talarico had referred to him as a “mediocre Black man” in reference to his campaign against the former lawmaker.

CORNYN WARNS PAXTON WOULD BE ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GOP AS BLOODY PRIMARY RACE RAMPS UP

Talarico pushed back against the allegation in a statement to the Texas Tribune at the time and said that he would “never attack him on the basis of race.”

“As a Black man in America, Congressman Allred has had to work twice as hard to get where he is,” Talarico said. “I understand how my critique of the congressman’s campaign could be interpreted given this country’s painful legacy of racism, and I care deeply about the impact my words have on others. Despite our disagreements, I deeply respect Congressman Allred. We’re all on the same team.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Early voting already is underway in Texas, with primary election day right around the corner on March 3. 

Who either Crockett or Talarico will face in November remains in the air, given the three-way Republican primary battle among Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.

Related Article

Former UConn football standout and Texas laboratory owner Keith J. Gray was convicted Thursday for his role in a wide-ranging genetic testing fraud scheme, the Justice Department announced Friday.

According to investigators, the cardiovascular testing scheme generated up to $328 million in fraudulent claims. Gray, who never appeared in a regular season NFL game, owns Axis Professional Labs and Kingdom Health Laboratory.

He was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks, five counts of violating the anti-kickback statute. Gray also faces three counts of money laundering, a news release from the DOJ confirmed.

Prosecutors said Gray knowingly billed Medicare for “medically unnecessary genetic tests designed to evaluate the risk of various cardiovascular diseases and conditions.” According to officials, Gray provided kickbacks in return for referrals of DNA samples and executed test orders authorizing the procedures.

Marketers would seek out Medicare beneficiaries and “doctor chase” to uncover the identity of the beneficiaries’ primary care physicians. Prosecutors said that once an individual’s identity was obtained, a doctor was believed to have been pressured into approving the tests.

Fabricated documents and invoices were used to try and conceal payments that listed charges for “marketing” hours. Another aspect of the operation involved Gray allegedly mischaracterizing the payments as “software” expenses or labeling them as non-existent loans.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence including text messages between Gray and a co-conspirator. The messages appeared to be enthusiastic exchanges between the two over the anticipation of the money they were gaining from Medicare.

“$ent, you should have it any minute if you don’t already. Get it?” Gray then replied by saying, “Sorry I was filling my bathtub with ones. Yes lol.”

Axis and Kingdom billed Medicare an estimated $328 million for false claims, while Medicare paid claims totaling approximately $54 million. A sentencing date for Gray was not immediately announced. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.

Gray was a key contributor to the Huskies, starting every game in 2007. He signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent after college.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Related Article