Stephen Colbert was Hollywood’s partisan – Latest News
Jon Stewart helped crush CNN’s “Crossfire” in 2004, telling the hosts that their offended rhetoric was “hurting America.”
Two a long time later, Stewart’s protégé, Stephen Colbert, did simply that with a mixture of “fake news,” divisive monologues, and comedian jabs at political enemies.
Colbert’s “Late Show” indicators off for good on CBS on May 21, to get replaced by a cheaper various — “Comics Unleashed.”
The legacy media could also be mourning Colbert’s exit, however many viewers see by means of the 62-year-old former Comedy Central star.
Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” indicators off for good on CBS on May 21, to get replaced by a cheaper various. Scott Kowalchyk /CBS
Colbert fumbled his 2015 handoff from CBS celebrity David Letterman, a host who put leisure first, all the time, regardless that he had his own partisan views.
Colbert was coming off his Comedy Central showcase, “The Colbert Report,” a sly satire of Bill O’Reilly-style pundits, and needed time to regulate to a staid late-night format.
That’s cheap. Even Conan O’Brien wasn’t a late-night standout from the bounce.
Colbert discovered his footing by doing what many of his late-night friends would ultimately do: Savaging President Donald Trump.
That model labored wonders, to a level. It pushed him previous longtime NBC rival “The Tonight Show” within the rankings, and cemented his model as “Resistance Theater.”
That was a blessing and a sizable curse. His monologues turned “clapter” affairs — gags supposed to elicit applause, not peals of laughter. He additionally started ignoring Democrats behaving badly, a sample that might quickly set like cement.
Colbert discovered his footing by doing what many of his late-night friends would ultimately do: Savaging Donald Trump. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
He hit his hack stride during the Russia collusion hoax. He known as President Trump Putin’s [bleep] holster — a line each offensive and, more importantly, inaccurate.
That line of assault dragged on for months, piggybacking on specious headlines trying to tie Trump’s 2016 electoral win to Mother Russia.
Few comics leaned more durable into the collusion lie than Colbert. And when wave after wave of revelations disproved the connection, Colbert didn’t apologize. He simply discovered different doubtful tales to hold across the president’s neck.
Later, because the US authorities handed draconian guidelines concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, Colbert proved a helpful fool in two dramatic methods. He mocked on a regular basis Americans pummeled by the lockdowns, all whereas cashing million-dollar checks from the luxurious of his home.
He additionally cranked out one of probably the most embarrassing sketches ever aired on late-night TV — The Vax Scene, an attempt to encourage coronavirus vaccination. “Dancing Vaccine Needles,” anybody?
Colbert’s defenders declare he spoke reality to energy, making presidents pay for his or her errors. Except Colbert did little of that when Democrats held the White House.
Over the years, Colbert ignored Rep. Eric Swalwell’s fall from grace; the Hunter Biden laptop computer scandal (and coverup); the “Twitter Files” censorship scandal; the stunning rise in antisemitism on school campuses (and elsewhere); and lots of, many more tales that made the left look unhealthy.
Instead, Colbert parroted the broadly debunked “very fine people” hoax in opposition to President Trump and turned “The Late Show” into a discussion board to advertise progressive politicians. When the woke mob focused Dr. Seuss, Colbert even chuckled over the icon’s cancellation.
Trump seems on “The Late Show” in 2015 to speak about his first presidential marketing campaign with Colbert. CBS through Getty Images
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You’d suppose a late-night comic would stand up totally free speech. He would — for the Jimmy Kimmels of the world. Not for people on the opposite facet.
His greatest mistake got here with not letting the world find out about President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. Colbert even noticed Biden up close at a mid-2024 marketing campaign rally and stated nothing.
His post-debate assault on President Biden in 2024 (“Biden debated as well as Abraham Lincoln — if you dug him up right now”) marked the second Colbert couldn’t conceal the reality any longer.
He’s no George Carlin, Richard Pryor or Lenny Bruce.
The liberal media hangs on Colbert’s each syllable, repeating his gags as in the event that they weren’t prefab speaking factors.
And the subsequent time a reporter labels Colbert as a “progressive,” it could very effectively be the primary time.
Colbert deserves credit for surviving within the late-night panorama, a terrain that has rejected more than a few A-list stars (Chevy Chase, Joan Rivers and more). The greatest shock is why CBS clung to Colbert whereas dropping $40 million a yr.
Wouldn’t an annual examine to the DNC have been simpler?
Christian Toto is the founder of HollywoodInToto.com and host of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast.
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