Stephen Colbert made CBS pay for ‘Linus and Lucy’ music. The funds are now going to charity

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CBS has reached a licensing agreement with the music company that owns the famed “Peanuts” song used by late-night host Stephen Colbert during his final show last month, with the funds set to go to charity.

During his last “Late Show” on CBS, Colbert made a joke about the music company, which he said had been suing over unauthorized uses of the song.

The host, who had been ousted by his network from the late-night perch, then had his band play the song and exclaimed, “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money.”

Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP), the company that owns the television and film song catalog of jazz artist and composer Vince Guaraldi, announced a licensing agreement with CBS for the use of Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy.”

“The proceeds from the CBS agreement will be donated by LMFP to World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit organization that provides meals during crises,” the company said. “On the previous night’s episode, a $2.5 million donation to WCK was presented on behalf of The Late Show to the charity’s founder, Chef José Andrés.“

Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The string of litigation, LMFP said, is “intended to halt a pattern of infringement that threatens to diminish the integrity of these protected works, the Guaraldi music legacy, and other cherished creative content vulnerable to misuse in the modern media landscape.”

Colbert’s show was canceled by CBS last year after parent company Paramount was purchased by Larry and David Ellison, the father-son media duo who are allied with President Trump.

Paramount said at the time of Colbert’s cancellation the decision was a financial one, but critics of the company accused it of censoring a comic who has been sharply critical of Trump and Republicans for years.

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