The worst and most cringe-worthy moments from Stephen Colbert’s now-canceled ‘Late Show’

Stephen Colbert’s tenure as host of CBS’s “The Late Show” has come to an end, and I responded with a “Good Morning!” I say. Colbert took over a gold mine. A golden ticket. He squandered a wealth of platforms on late-night television because of his obsession with dividing the audience politically and eventually alienating most of America from tuning in to his show.

As Fox News writer Joe Concha noted, CBS reportedly operated “The Late Show” at a $40 million loss under Colbert. The program also enlisted 22 writers to create Colbert’s liberal-leaning monologues and has featured only one Republican guest in the past six years — and even that appearance came from former Rep. Liz Cheney.

The Media Research Center examined every “Late Show” joke since the beginning of 2023 and found that 87% were aimed at conservatives, while nearly every guest leaned liberal. According to the study, Colbert made 3,639 jokes about President Donald Trump from Jan. 3, 2023, to the eve of his final episode. By comparison, former President Joe Biden was the butt of 339 jokes, according to the study, while former Vice President Kamala Harris was mentioned in only 21 jokes during the same period.

If there’s any question about whether Colbert is a run-of-the-mill left-wing political news channel, just look at the farewell messages from Democrats and many liberal politicians following his final night of airing on Thursday night.

According to research, 87% of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ jokes were aimed at conservatives in recent years.

As Joseph Wulfson notes in his piece, Colbert’s time as host of “The Late Show” was undoubtedly filled with political activism, left-wing propaganda and plenty of cringe-worthy, eye-rolling moments.

Here are some of the worst:

Rude Trump and Putin Gay Lover Joke

In May 2017, Colbert’s opening monologue focused on President Trump. I know, shocking. “Day 102 of the Trump presidency, 1,358 days left. But who’s counting?” He also joked about lotioning Miss USA Pageant participants, claimed he “attracted more skinheads than loose Rogaine,” and made a suggestive joke about Trump having gay oral sex with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If you can afford to watch this 12-minute scathing critique disguised as “comedy,” you’ll probably think of this quote from Billy Madison:

“What you just said is one of the most insanely stupid things I’ve ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response did you even come close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is dumber now for listening to it. I’m giving you no points, and God have mercy on your soul.”

Stephen Colbert hosts The Late Show with guests Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, John Oliver and Seth Meyers during the May 11, 2026 episode in New York. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

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Vax-Stage

For many, this clip completely ruined “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” After previously trying to hilariously tell his viewers to be wary of Big Pharma potentially taking advantage of American citizens during a global pandemic, Colbert changed his mind (pun intended) and delivered the most disgusting late-night television propaganda most of us will ever see.

During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Colbert introduced a recurring segment called “The Vax-Scene,” a Broadway musical-like dance number that featured dancers dressed as syringes while parodying The Champs’ 1958 hit “Tequila.” “Tequila!” instead of saying “Vaccine!” they shouted

As Joe Rogan once said about this track, “Where’s the joke?” An unfunny piece of political propaganda with no laughs whatsoever.

If you can get through this 80-second video, good luck. Unfortunately, the time has come when you can never come back.

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The Kiss of Pedro Pascal

Colbert frequently kissed male and female guests on his show. It was awkward and at times seemed more like a humiliation ritual than some kind of comedy bit. One of those awkward kisses was back in May, when Pedro Pascal stopped by the show to promote the currently poorly rated Star Wars movie “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

COLBERT’S FINAL YEAR WAS MARKED BY ATTACKS ON TRUMP, LIBERAL TALKING POINTS, AND CELEBRITIES KISSING HIS RING

After Colbert introduced Pascal, the actress pointed to her lips, signaling that she wanted Colbert to kiss her. Colbert hesitated and then leaned in to kiss Pascal. Colbert then walked around unable to look at Pascal, and Pascal said, “I’m jealous” as the crowd cheered. Colbert responded, “No need. All the time.” he replied.

Another wildly cringeworthy moment that didn’t really get any laughs.

Hunter Biden’s Laptop

In an October 2020 cold open titled “Rudy, the Russians, and Hunter’s Lappy Top,” Colbert satirizes the Hunter Biden laptop story as a “laptop conspiracy” with a parody of the Brothers Osborne’s “Rocky Top.” The song mocked Trump’s “cute dog” Rudy Giuliani and musically claimed that the entire story “fabricated kompromat claims have been debunked.”

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Colbert once again alleged a Russia connection between Trump and the Russian government, calling it disinformation and consistent with narratives from numerous liberal media outlets ahead of the 2020 election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

And of course, as revealed in the Twitter Files, Twitter blocked users from sharing links to the New York Post article about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Meta, which includes Facebook, also restricted the story’s reach on its platforms, leading many conservatives to rightly call it election interference.

I’m sorry to waste your time with another unfunny video, but if I have to relive these awful moments from Colbert’s tenure, I need people to suffer with me.

Colbert’s tenure was not only disappointing in terms of ratings and revenue, it was a disaster. It’s a liberal dumpster fire where insults replace laughter. Comedy of compromise. Satire for political mockery. Rather than late-night comedy, this was merely left-wing political theater and a liberal vent session.

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Johnny Carson was truly missed when he left. It was actually an emotional final show, unlike Colbert’s debut. Johnny Carson has repeatedly stated that he believes late-night hosts should primarily entertain people, not preach politics to them. “Why do they think you have to deal with serious issues just because you have a ‘Tonight Show’? That’s a danger. Once you start doing that, it’s a real danger… You can influence people, and I don’t think you should do that as an entertainer,” Carson said in a 1979 “60 Minutes” interview with Mike Wallace.

Stephen Colbert and Robert De Niro on “The Late Show” Wednesday. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

Carson also deliberately avoided expressing many of his own political views publicly because he felt that would alienate half the audience. Seems prophetic, right? According to his longtime friend Howard Smith, “He thought his job was to entertain people… So he never started talking about politics.”

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If Colbert had gone the Carson route, he’d probably still be on the air, and the vast majority of America wouldn’t view him with the disdain he does now.

Farewell, Colbert, and don’t you dare insert your political propaganda into the script writing of the new “Lord of the Rings” movie. If you’re not going to respect Tolkien, at least respect JRR Tolkien and his source material.