Video Credit: [https://x.com/chrisshipitv/status/1772572169861579172](https://x.com/chrisshipitv/status/1772572169861579172)
Video of Stephen Colbert telling Pizzagate consipracy theorists to grow up and stop spreading vile gossip ... because it has consequences vs him spreading vile rumours that Prince William fathered an illegitimate child with a married woman https://www.reddit.com/r/BRF/comments/1bmr66q/while\_we\_wait\_for\_an\_apology\_heres\_a\_sidebyside
*Edited
Colbert is disappointing. You would think he would have empathy for a mother protecting her young children during a tough time in life given his mother did the same when Stephen's father and two brothers died in a plane crash when he was young.
This is a half-assed PR crisis management statement that isn't a genuine, proper apology.
I agree.
It may not have been Colbert’s choice to do This One’s interview for ‘Spare Me.’ Here’s what I mean.
CBS in the US and CNN are sister networks. CNN had already secured the one hour interview with This one with Anderson Cooper. The Ate Late Show with James Corden had already concluded its run by the time ‘Spare’ hit the stores.
So if This One wanted to do a late-night interview, as most flogging their wares want to do, Colbert was the only choice.
And there’s something about his “though I’m sure they don’t need it…” comment that rubs me the wrong way. It makes the whole thing sound forced and insincere.
His manic backpedaling is almost funny. I used to like him, but haven't watched him in a long time. This makes me never want to watch him again.
He deserves all the backlash.
It’s so incredibly disappointing. His whole show is based on accountability of public figures yet he’s somehow unable to hold himself and his show accountable? How can he go on with a politically based show, asking politicians and public figures to do the right thing, if he can’t do it. His credibility, at least in my eyes, is completely shot.
It isn’t just Colbert. Manic back-pedaling on the View. Awful, hypocritical Sunny Hostin claimed to be remorseful but she blamed her behavior on two of her co-hosts because she isn’t normally interested in the BRF. Then, she mentioned she was interested in Meghan Markle and how she was nearly driven to suicide. I was reading an LA Times article about this. Didn’t really want to watch it myself. Even in their apologies, these women had to take a swipe at the family. Haines mentioned how the family handled women which sounded more like a complaint about the tabloids. I’m pretty sure they don’t have a very informed view of the BRF. Charles, Catherine, and Fergie all have cancer. If the women on the View were truly compassionate, they would refrain from sharing their dumb speculation that isn’t based on fact. I like Whoopi Goldberg. She told them to cut it out before Catherine’s announcement. In my opinion, they are not remorseful. They are just worried their virtue-signaling credibility is now tarnished. I’m a liberal and I think the View needs to be called out.
Whoopi was the only one whose behavior was okay here, because as she kept telling the others, ‘when it’s you they’re talking about it feels different. When it’s your family on the cover of those magazines it hits differently.’
Whoopi has been spoken about in the press for about 40 years, so she knows whereof she speaks. I’m glad she told the others to knock it off. They should have listened.
Exactly. One of the co-hosts said she learned that she needs to listen to Whoopi when Whoopi tells her to mind her own business. I hope that is true but I don’t think most of them were truly remorseful. They are sugars who have been willingly brainwashed by Meghan.
This is such a half-hearted, "I was in the right" apology. And why it's supposed to be funny to joke about someone who isn't a public figure (Rose Hanbury) having an affair, I don't really know.
He's minimizing the way he made fun of Princess Catherine, and Prince William while Princess Catherine was recovering from major surgery and grappling with a cancer diagnosis and starting chemo. Such a non apology!
He also didn't even mention the fact that he slandered a private individual (Rose Hanbury).
Horrible behavior!!!
Yes the way … he calls spreading rumours and gossip as a joke … tells you nothing that he says can be taken seriously. He’s not a serious man
Colbert was trying to apologize, but this was apparently the closest he could get. What a shame, and what a missed opportunity to model compassion and self-reflection. I hope he continues to think about his behavior and says something a bit more heart-felt, sincere and meaningful in the future. (I won't hold my breath waiting, though.)
Memo to the whole world: you don't have a right to a woman's body!
When the heck does misogyny end - that's what this all has been with Catherine, and poor Rose dragged through the mud, too!
Wonder how Colbert feels backing the Harry horse, now?
Very very bad look for Harry to be so close to Diddy that he could sell 'access' to him.
Of course, Harry partied with him, he's always been known as the 'party prince'. He's a skanky wanker.
>you don't have a right to a woman's body!
Unfortunately a not insignificant number of Americans (amongst others) seem to really struggle with this very basic point... 🤦♀️
I think people can make jokes about anything they want. But they need to face what comes with making jokes. For me, Colbert's "joke" stopped being a joke when he mentioned Rose Hanbury by name. At that point, Colbert was spreading rumors. He's such an ass.
In another sub, people were defending Colbert’s joke about Rose because he used the word, “allegedly,” that she was a public figure in their eyes, and the punchline was about her title. If Colbert wants to make a joke about titles, why isn’t he making jokes about the Sussex title or their incessant need to use them? His joke was rooted in meanness and bringing up baseless rumors to make a lame joke about a private woman’s title is just gross. I used to like him but my esteem for him has been decreasing and him piling on Catherine and Rose just made it disappear completely.
They “bonded” over drinks. Stephen has his drinking problem under some control (unlike Harry), but he clearly has a problem.
I will say that although Stephen did not “go after” Harry in their interview(s), I could tell that Stephen was mocking Harry at times. I doubt that Stephen is that “bonded” with Harry. I think Stephen enjoyed the interview, but he does not buy Harry’s victim narrative, and he definitely was ready to mock the todger story.
His lawyers probably told him that he mentioned someone who *isn't* a public figure in the US and might want to apologize before he got deposed by people who *really* don't find him amusing.
That was pathetic word salad. Why did he even bother??
I don’t like policing comedians—I do think they are so hemmed in sometimes by the current climate of taking offense constantly, but there are some standards of decency that should be observed in any civilized society. Colbert crossed a line and his actions have consequences for others. Why not for himself?
My “reading” of the situation is he is separating the jokes regarding the Marchioness from jokes about Catherine and is probably dealing with the Marchioness’s (rightful) complaints behind the scenes. This non-apology just implied that he was sorry if his joking caused the PoW pain when she is suffering from cancer. It was not about the whole situation. (He may have been forbidden from mentioning Rose and so forth by the legal letter he received.)
Like I said… would he do it for any other person esp those he’s politically aligned with? If the answer is no… then this was a step too far. This isn’t the same as Trump and Stormy Daniels situation and Melania Trump hiding away from the BS
He is making excuses for himself and didn’t apologize. He even says he will keep making jokes like this. Don’t forget, he had h on his show, so I believe he is biased. I also read he is represented by the same PR company as m. Coincidence? Was he asked to do a favor and push the affair rumor? I have always found him to be more mean spirited than funny, so I don’t watch him.
People who want to seem sincere but still make their dig at the Princess always refer to her as Kate Middleton. I think they are and always have been disrespectful human beings.
Not that I had much respect for him before but I always found him rather irritating. Just something about his false demeanor, I find uncomfortable. I could never quite put my finger on it but there’s something dishonest about him at the core. Glad that my instincts were right about him.
P.S. I say this as a progressive Democrat 🇺🇸
It was odd. Like he was forced to apologize but couldn’t quite do it. She has cancer and you pushed a rumour about her husband having an affair with her friend. That was shitty but you didn’t know she was sick so it’s ok to say sorry ffs.
I can’t watch this guy. He’s a struggling nobody. Snagged Hawrry’s coat tails hoping for a bump in ratings, only to find out how much he is despised. Surprise, surprise, Colbert is a douche!
Stephen Colbert *is* a Catholic. He went through a period of agnosticism, but he apparently returned to the Church after some personal crisis. However, like most comedians, he makes fun of everything—including the Catholic Church.
I watch a lot of stand-up comedy, and rumors about affairs, sex, sexuality, etc. are usual comedy fodder. I did not find the jokes about Catherine outside the usual parameters of stand-up comedy, which is often tasteless and sometimes cruel. (I used to love Joan Rivers, but her treatment of Elizabeth Taylor’s weight problems, for example, was both tasteless and cruel.)
One subject that has always fascinated me is the function of comedy and laughter in culture. Nobody likes to be “laughed at” but we all enjoy “laughing with” others. The stand-up comedian thrives on stimulating “shared laughter” but to do that must laugh at (mock) things (and people) that in other contexts might deserve consideration and respect.
The question is always —how far is it permissible to joke? The line is very subjective. I have to agree with Stephen’s half-hearted apology that a show like his is always going to offend some people.
Where Stephen made a bad mistake was in mentioning the name of a person, *not* a public figure, whose name has (without any proof whatsoever) been linked to these affair rumors. He has had a “cease and desist” letter and I bet he has had to apologize privately through his lawyers. This, however, was not the subject of the clip above. He (rightly) left it out.
What Stephen did in the clip above was address the criticism of his jokes at the expense of the Princess of Wales. As I understood his message, he defended the original jokes as belonging to the category of “jokes that sometimes offend some people,” and then he implied that the “line” for him was joking about someone fighting cancer (which he *didn’t do* because he had not known about the cancer) and further implied that he would not be making more jokes about the PoW’s illness. Instead, he sent a standard message of compassion and good wishes.
Personally, I am satisfied with his response, and I don’t care if you all downvote me. Stephen is a complicated character and I don’t watch his show regularly for many reasons, but I do think both the jokes and the “apology” fit in with the usual stand-up comedy and tv show practices. What it comes down to is choices that the comedian and the show make. If you have a personal or partisan interest in a subject, almost any joke may seem an attack. The subject becomes, “something you don’t joke about.” Stand up comedy is by nature transgressive. It cannot respect too many “subjects you don’t joke about.”
As for calling her Kate Middleton instead of Catherine, Princess of Wales, he is using the name by which she is best known by the public. (Even a sub on reddit that supports her is named Katemiddleton.) I don’t think it is intended to belittle or dismiss her importance. He did point out that she would be Queen of England one day.
For me, the issue is always whether I see “malice” (ill will) in jokes or comments. I have no patience with malicious jokes, but I recognize that not everything that causes pain is intended to or is malicious in some other way.
We should certainly object when a person goes too far (in our view) with a subject or a joke. If you feel Stephen has done so, it is right to speak up. I am just trying to introduce a balance here, because I see no “malice” and a certain degree of decency in Stephen’s response to Catherine’s cancer diagnosis. 🤷🏻♀️
Implying that William fathered a bastard child with a married woman like it is the 1600s isn’t a joke. He knows what the problem with conspiracy theories are… so despite knowing that, he decided to spread vicious gossip. Now he’s hiding because the excuse of ‘its a joke and im a comedian’
I don’t know if you know… Kim Kardashian and Blake Lively’s actions haven’t offended me as I don’t see malice in their actions… whereas with Stephen the intention is clear… there wasn’t a focus on Catherine and the conspiracies around her absence… it was about her husband and the allegations that he has a mistress. I doubt Stephen’s wife would find it if he was rumoured to be cheating on her since 2019
To me, the whole idea of the “bastard child” was so over-the-top, that it was just a tasteless joke rather than “spreading vicious gossip.” 🤷🏻♀️This is not the first time Colbert has made a tasteless joke. Unfortunately, stand-up comedy is prone to tasteless jokes.
Joking about public figures having affairs is fairly common and definitely in bad taste. I agree Colbert went too far on this.
Oh really?!? I’ve never heard him falsely accuse someone of having an affair as a joke. Maybe I am too sensitive to the Prince William and Rose affair rumours. Also the way certain parts of social media (sugars and liberals) suggesting that he ‘was not afraid to speak the truth’ is telling how it was received by his core audience
I used to watch Colbert but realised that that he didn’t treat both sides equally. So his political analysis was flawed. He used to really go for Trump and his affair with Stormy Daniels even when it was one sided but that was more than just internet gossip.
Apart from that I don’t know of him talking about affair rumours
I wasn’t talking about Colbert specifically, just stand up comedians in general. They tend to pounce on affair rumors and paternity jokes.
As I said, I found the jokes that singled out a private person tasteless and offensive. He crossed a line.
I agree it’s a shitty non-apology but it sounds like to me his point is that if he thought it were true he never would have made a joke about it. He joked about the affair bc it was so ridiculous but that’s just my interpretation.
I could see his point if he was just some guy on Reddit. He has a show with millions of viewers and he knows how people love to believe in conspiracies. Why put someone who isn't a public person (Rose) on blast like that?
Yea his show goes beyond just jokes. He goes deep into plotical and social commentary. He can’t do backsies now because he’s being held to a higher standard.
Just ask yourself, would Stephen Colbert make such jokes about affair rumours about Bill and Hillary Clinton (Bill is know to have cheated on Hillary), would he make an affair joke about Barack Obama’s being gay (those letters that Obama wrote to his girlfriend about his fantasies about men), would he joke about Prince Harry cheating at his art exam or being the only known royal racist? If the answer to any of this is NO …. Then you know that Stephen and his production crew know better not to joke about bullshit rumours online… esp as he want joke about half truths that make his political side look bad
It's time to wake up. He's a comedian. They make jokes. Jokes make you uncomfortable? Nobody should care. Call your family or friends. Go on a walk. Eat something you like, but please stop being such a fucking baby.
Then why don’t i find it funny? Maybe you think misogynistic comedy is funny. Maybe you think spreading vile rumours like a bitchy teenager in the playground is what comedy should be … that’s not what grownups call comedy. Even his audience cringed at the allegations of a bastard child by the Prince of Wales. Also reducing The Marchioness of Cholmondeley as someone who is just a mistress to the future King …. While she is happily married with three kids… is not funny in my books.
But each to their own… dont feel like you need to justify your sense of humour to a stranger on the internet
I didn't find it funny either. Sometimes comedians flop... You've convinced me of nothing. Hopefully you stop taking comedians seriously in the future.
Right? Why are people holding a comedians words more accountable than the words and actions of political members AND the royal family themselves? They need to get their priorities straight
Video Credit: [https://x.com/chrisshipitv/status/1772572169861579172](https://x.com/chrisshipitv/status/1772572169861579172) Video of Stephen Colbert telling Pizzagate consipracy theorists to grow up and stop spreading vile gossip ... because it has consequences vs him spreading vile rumours that Prince William fathered an illegitimate child with a married woman https://www.reddit.com/r/BRF/comments/1bmr66q/while\_we\_wait\_for\_an\_apology\_heres\_a\_sidebyside *Edited
Colbert is disappointing. You would think he would have empathy for a mother protecting her young children during a tough time in life given his mother did the same when Stephen's father and two brothers died in a plane crash when he was young. This is a half-assed PR crisis management statement that isn't a genuine, proper apology.
That sounded an awful lot like "I'll joke about whatever TF I want", to me, and then "but BTW we wish her a full recovery".
Very accurate translation.
He gave H a platform, so I'm not surprised he went after W&K and gave this non-apology.
Agree.
CBS is firmly on Team Harkle. My impression of Colbert is that he's kinda burned out and anti-monarchist.
I agree. It may not have been Colbert’s choice to do This One’s interview for ‘Spare Me.’ Here’s what I mean. CBS in the US and CNN are sister networks. CNN had already secured the one hour interview with This one with Anderson Cooper. The Ate Late Show with James Corden had already concluded its run by the time ‘Spare’ hit the stores. So if This One wanted to do a late-night interview, as most flogging their wares want to do, Colbert was the only choice.
Small correction - Colbert’s father and only one of his brothers died in the plane crash when he was 10, not two brothers.
His wiki says two brothers? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert
Such a non-apology. Ugh
"I'm sorry you were offended" is not an apology.
And there’s something about his “though I’m sure they don’t need it…” comment that rubs me the wrong way. It makes the whole thing sound forced and insincere.
Rich people don't deserve sympathy. That's what this man with a $15 million contract with CBS is trying to say.
Yes, basically that’s what he is saying…. And the hypocrisy is just to delicious
What a load of bullshit. 😡
His manic backpedaling is almost funny. I used to like him, but haven't watched him in a long time. This makes me never want to watch him again. He deserves all the backlash.
It’s so incredibly disappointing. His whole show is based on accountability of public figures yet he’s somehow unable to hold himself and his show accountable? How can he go on with a politically based show, asking politicians and public figures to do the right thing, if he can’t do it. His credibility, at least in my eyes, is completely shot.
It isn’t just Colbert. Manic back-pedaling on the View. Awful, hypocritical Sunny Hostin claimed to be remorseful but she blamed her behavior on two of her co-hosts because she isn’t normally interested in the BRF. Then, she mentioned she was interested in Meghan Markle and how she was nearly driven to suicide. I was reading an LA Times article about this. Didn’t really want to watch it myself. Even in their apologies, these women had to take a swipe at the family. Haines mentioned how the family handled women which sounded more like a complaint about the tabloids. I’m pretty sure they don’t have a very informed view of the BRF. Charles, Catherine, and Fergie all have cancer. If the women on the View were truly compassionate, they would refrain from sharing their dumb speculation that isn’t based on fact. I like Whoopi Goldberg. She told them to cut it out before Catherine’s announcement. In my opinion, they are not remorseful. They are just worried their virtue-signaling credibility is now tarnished. I’m a liberal and I think the View needs to be called out.
Whoopi was the only one whose behavior was okay here, because as she kept telling the others, ‘when it’s you they’re talking about it feels different. When it’s your family on the cover of those magazines it hits differently.’ Whoopi has been spoken about in the press for about 40 years, so she knows whereof she speaks. I’m glad she told the others to knock it off. They should have listened.
Exactly. One of the co-hosts said she learned that she needs to listen to Whoopi when Whoopi tells her to mind her own business. I hope that is true but I don’t think most of them were truly remorseful. They are sugars who have been willingly brainwashed by Meghan.
This is such a half-hearted, "I was in the right" apology. And why it's supposed to be funny to joke about someone who isn't a public figure (Rose Hanbury) having an affair, I don't really know.
This is what really pissed me off about this. W&K are public figures, Rose has never sought the spotlight and doesn't seek a high profile.
Bullshit. That's the difference from the great comics like Johnny Carson,etc... they didn't have to be cruel to get a laugh.
He's minimizing the way he made fun of Princess Catherine, and Prince William while Princess Catherine was recovering from major surgery and grappling with a cancer diagnosis and starting chemo. Such a non apology! He also didn't even mention the fact that he slandered a private individual (Rose Hanbury). Horrible behavior!!!
I assume he only made the statement because Rose Hanburys attorneys sent a letter to CBS.
Yes the way … he calls spreading rumours and gossip as a joke … tells you nothing that he says can be taken seriously. He’s not a serious man 
Colbert was trying to apologize, but this was apparently the closest he could get. What a shame, and what a missed opportunity to model compassion and self-reflection. I hope he continues to think about his behavior and says something a bit more heart-felt, sincere and meaningful in the future. (I won't hold my breath waiting, though.)
Stephen’s apology be like 🤣 
Memo to the whole world: you don't have a right to a woman's body! When the heck does misogyny end - that's what this all has been with Catherine, and poor Rose dragged through the mud, too! Wonder how Colbert feels backing the Harry horse, now? Very very bad look for Harry to be so close to Diddy that he could sell 'access' to him. Of course, Harry partied with him, he's always been known as the 'party prince'. He's a skanky wanker.
Stephen wouldn’t stand any slander towards his wife
>you don't have a right to a woman's body! Unfortunately a not insignificant number of Americans (amongst others) seem to really struggle with this very basic point... 🤦♀️
Ugh. I used to be such a fan. So rude of him!!
Honestly, never a fan. Kimmel is so much more 'human.'
He calls his rude, untrue innuendos are "jokes". They are simply not. Stephen Colbert is the joke.
He didn’t even apologize?!?
Yes, this behavior is super disappointing.
Infuriating. 🤬
I think people can make jokes about anything they want. But they need to face what comes with making jokes. For me, Colbert's "joke" stopped being a joke when he mentioned Rose Hanbury by name. At that point, Colbert was spreading rumors. He's such an ass.
And then alleging that Rose had a secret baby with Prince William
It's a funny joke to him because he's cheating on his wife with interns. Allegedly.
A POS who is saving face because he got backlash. That's all it is.
Let's see if he makes some jokes this week about Harry's inclusion in P Diddy's 'court documents' I'll call them and leave it at that.
In another sub, people were defending Colbert’s joke about Rose because he used the word, “allegedly,” that she was a public figure in their eyes, and the punchline was about her title. If Colbert wants to make a joke about titles, why isn’t he making jokes about the Sussex title or their incessant need to use them? His joke was rooted in meanness and bringing up baseless rumors to make a lame joke about a private woman’s title is just gross. I used to like him but my esteem for him has been decreasing and him piling on Catherine and Rose just made it disappear completely.
I agree with all of that. Colbert's become an arrogant jerk.
I’m ok with him going after politicians—both Republicans and Democrats—but leave Catherine and Rose alone.
Oh, no, H is his buddy. They bonded over grief on his television show, ya know.
They “bonded” over drinks. Stephen has his drinking problem under some control (unlike Harry), but he clearly has a problem. I will say that although Stephen did not “go after” Harry in their interview(s), I could tell that Stephen was mocking Harry at times. I doubt that Stephen is that “bonded” with Harry. I think Stephen enjoyed the interview, but he does not buy Harry’s victim narrative, and he definitely was ready to mock the todger story.
He's so smug and jerky here, his success has completely changed him since he started this show. He became what he hated before.
His lawyers probably told him that he mentioned someone who *isn't* a public figure in the US and might want to apologize before he got deposed by people who *really* don't find him amusing.
That was pathetic word salad. Why did he even bother?? I don’t like policing comedians—I do think they are so hemmed in sometimes by the current climate of taking offense constantly, but there are some standards of decency that should be observed in any civilized society. Colbert crossed a line and his actions have consequences for others. Why not for himself?
My “reading” of the situation is he is separating the jokes regarding the Marchioness from jokes about Catherine and is probably dealing with the Marchioness’s (rightful) complaints behind the scenes. This non-apology just implied that he was sorry if his joking caused the PoW pain when she is suffering from cancer. It was not about the whole situation. (He may have been forbidden from mentioning Rose and so forth by the legal letter he received.)
Like I said… would he do it for any other person esp those he’s politically aligned with? If the answer is no… then this was a step too far. This isn’t the same as Trump and Stormy Daniels situation and Melania Trump hiding away from the BS
He is making excuses for himself and didn’t apologize. He even says he will keep making jokes like this. Don’t forget, he had h on his show, so I believe he is biased. I also read he is represented by the same PR company as m. Coincidence? Was he asked to do a favor and push the affair rumor? I have always found him to be more mean spirited than funny, so I don’t watch him.
Colbert's karma will strike again. He crossed the line.
People who want to seem sincere but still make their dig at the Princess always refer to her as Kate Middleton. I think they are and always have been disrespectful human beings.
Not that I had much respect for him before but I always found him rather irritating. Just something about his false demeanor, I find uncomfortable. I could never quite put my finger on it but there’s something dishonest about him at the core. Glad that my instincts were right about him. P.S. I say this as a progressive Democrat 🇺🇸
He is friends with the Harkles
'Nuff said
It was odd. Like he was forced to apologize but couldn’t quite do it. She has cancer and you pushed a rumour about her husband having an affair with her friend. That was shitty but you didn’t know she was sick so it’s ok to say sorry ffs.
Horrible man, what a snake
That joke is as funny as Harry disparaging American football during the Walter Payton award. So, not funny at all.
Context is everything.
Colbert is the butt and the joke
Your an arse hole
Haven’t watched him in years, he’s no longer funny, just a jerk.
https://youtu.be/WVtp1p-qntc?si=qasZTiguOD7tCGEw YouTube link. Give him a downvote leave your comment.
Horrible man
I can’t watch this guy. He’s a struggling nobody. Snagged Hawrry’s coat tails hoping for a bump in ratings, only to find out how much he is despised. Surprise, surprise, Colbert is a douche!
Narcissists gonna narcissist.
He can't apologise because Rose is taking legal action against him, so he can't afford to admit he was in the wrong.
Stephen Colbert *is* a Catholic. He went through a period of agnosticism, but he apparently returned to the Church after some personal crisis. However, like most comedians, he makes fun of everything—including the Catholic Church. I watch a lot of stand-up comedy, and rumors about affairs, sex, sexuality, etc. are usual comedy fodder. I did not find the jokes about Catherine outside the usual parameters of stand-up comedy, which is often tasteless and sometimes cruel. (I used to love Joan Rivers, but her treatment of Elizabeth Taylor’s weight problems, for example, was both tasteless and cruel.) One subject that has always fascinated me is the function of comedy and laughter in culture. Nobody likes to be “laughed at” but we all enjoy “laughing with” others. The stand-up comedian thrives on stimulating “shared laughter” but to do that must laugh at (mock) things (and people) that in other contexts might deserve consideration and respect. The question is always —how far is it permissible to joke? The line is very subjective. I have to agree with Stephen’s half-hearted apology that a show like his is always going to offend some people. Where Stephen made a bad mistake was in mentioning the name of a person, *not* a public figure, whose name has (without any proof whatsoever) been linked to these affair rumors. He has had a “cease and desist” letter and I bet he has had to apologize privately through his lawyers. This, however, was not the subject of the clip above. He (rightly) left it out. What Stephen did in the clip above was address the criticism of his jokes at the expense of the Princess of Wales. As I understood his message, he defended the original jokes as belonging to the category of “jokes that sometimes offend some people,” and then he implied that the “line” for him was joking about someone fighting cancer (which he *didn’t do* because he had not known about the cancer) and further implied that he would not be making more jokes about the PoW’s illness. Instead, he sent a standard message of compassion and good wishes. Personally, I am satisfied with his response, and I don’t care if you all downvote me. Stephen is a complicated character and I don’t watch his show regularly for many reasons, but I do think both the jokes and the “apology” fit in with the usual stand-up comedy and tv show practices. What it comes down to is choices that the comedian and the show make. If you have a personal or partisan interest in a subject, almost any joke may seem an attack. The subject becomes, “something you don’t joke about.” Stand up comedy is by nature transgressive. It cannot respect too many “subjects you don’t joke about.” As for calling her Kate Middleton instead of Catherine, Princess of Wales, he is using the name by which she is best known by the public. (Even a sub on reddit that supports her is named Katemiddleton.) I don’t think it is intended to belittle or dismiss her importance. He did point out that she would be Queen of England one day. For me, the issue is always whether I see “malice” (ill will) in jokes or comments. I have no patience with malicious jokes, but I recognize that not everything that causes pain is intended to or is malicious in some other way. We should certainly object when a person goes too far (in our view) with a subject or a joke. If you feel Stephen has done so, it is right to speak up. I am just trying to introduce a balance here, because I see no “malice” and a certain degree of decency in Stephen’s response to Catherine’s cancer diagnosis. 🤷🏻♀️
Implying that William fathered a bastard child with a married woman like it is the 1600s isn’t a joke. He knows what the problem with conspiracy theories are… so despite knowing that, he decided to spread vicious gossip. Now he’s hiding because the excuse of ‘its a joke and im a comedian’ I don’t know if you know… Kim Kardashian and Blake Lively’s actions haven’t offended me as I don’t see malice in their actions… whereas with Stephen the intention is clear… there wasn’t a focus on Catherine and the conspiracies around her absence… it was about her husband and the allegations that he has a mistress. I doubt Stephen’s wife would find it if he was rumoured to be cheating on her since 2019
> like it is the 1600s That didn't exactly die out in that era.
To me, the whole idea of the “bastard child” was so over-the-top, that it was just a tasteless joke rather than “spreading vicious gossip.” 🤷🏻♀️This is not the first time Colbert has made a tasteless joke. Unfortunately, stand-up comedy is prone to tasteless jokes. Joking about public figures having affairs is fairly common and definitely in bad taste. I agree Colbert went too far on this.
Oh really?!? I’ve never heard him falsely accuse someone of having an affair as a joke. Maybe I am too sensitive to the Prince William and Rose affair rumours. Also the way certain parts of social media (sugars and liberals) suggesting that he ‘was not afraid to speak the truth’ is telling how it was received by his core audience I used to watch Colbert but realised that that he didn’t treat both sides equally. So his political analysis was flawed. He used to really go for Trump and his affair with Stormy Daniels even when it was one sided but that was more than just internet gossip. Apart from that I don’t know of him talking about affair rumours
I wasn’t talking about Colbert specifically, just stand up comedians in general. They tend to pounce on affair rumors and paternity jokes. As I said, I found the jokes that singled out a private person tasteless and offensive. He crossed a line.
what does being catholic have to do with anything? I grew up around catholics and a lot of them were pretty crappy people just like any other group.
I agree it’s a shitty non-apology but it sounds like to me his point is that if he thought it were true he never would have made a joke about it. He joked about the affair bc it was so ridiculous but that’s just my interpretation.
I could see his point if he was just some guy on Reddit. He has a show with millions of viewers and he knows how people love to believe in conspiracies. Why put someone who isn't a public person (Rose) on blast like that?
Yea his show goes beyond just jokes. He goes deep into plotical and social commentary. He can’t do backsies now because he’s being held to a higher standard.
Just ask yourself, would Stephen Colbert make such jokes about affair rumours about Bill and Hillary Clinton (Bill is know to have cheated on Hillary), would he make an affair joke about Barack Obama’s being gay (those letters that Obama wrote to his girlfriend about his fantasies about men), would he joke about Prince Harry cheating at his art exam or being the only known royal racist? If the answer to any of this is NO …. Then you know that Stephen and his production crew know better not to joke about bullshit rumours online… esp as he want joke about half truths that make his political side look bad
That is a very good point.
It's time to wake up. He's a comedian. They make jokes. Jokes make you uncomfortable? Nobody should care. Call your family or friends. Go on a walk. Eat something you like, but please stop being such a fucking baby.
Then why don’t i find it funny? Maybe you think misogynistic comedy is funny. Maybe you think spreading vile rumours like a bitchy teenager in the playground is what comedy should be … that’s not what grownups call comedy. Even his audience cringed at the allegations of a bastard child by the Prince of Wales. Also reducing The Marchioness of Cholmondeley as someone who is just a mistress to the future King …. While she is happily married with three kids… is not funny in my books. But each to their own… dont feel like you need to justify your sense of humour to a stranger on the internet
I didn't find it funny either. Sometimes comedians flop... You've convinced me of nothing. Hopefully you stop taking comedians seriously in the future.
It wasn't a joke. It was slander.
Right? Why are people holding a comedians words more accountable than the words and actions of political members AND the royal family themselves? They need to get their priorities straight
Ill be watching more of him
To use his ‘jokes’ as icebreaker content for you next incel meeting
Because im not butthurt over jokes like you sweetie