Apparently, Stephen Colbert just isn't the mea culpa kind of guy. Are you surprised?
The Comedy Central host has been under fire over the past week after taking on the Washington Redskins' PC name change and joking on Twitter that, "I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or whatever." Oof. Joke or not, the tweet soon sparked ire on Twitter, prompting the hashtag #CancelColbert. You can read about the whole drama here.
This sort of fallout might cause others to phone in some Olivia Pope type, but not Colbert. Rather than apologize or issue any sort of damage control, the comedian devoted last night's opening segment of The Colbert Report to imagining just what would happen if the #CancelColbert movement actually succeeded. And, as you can see from the below video, it's pretty hilarious and definitely ballsy.
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Watch as the show's set is shut down, while Asian-American actor B.D. Wong was on hand to help the "fired" host come to grips with his cancellation. And, then there's that crying Native American...
“This was close!” Colbert told his cheering audience. “We almost lost me. I’m never going to take me for granted ever again…the Interweb tried to swallow me whole, but I am proud to say that I got lodged in its throat, and it hacked me back up like a hastily chewed chicken wing. I’m still here. The dark force's attempt to silence my message of core conservative principles mixed with youth friendly product placement have been thwarted.”
On a more serious note, Colbert added that his joke had been taken out of context and was obvious satire. "To recap, a web editor I've never met posted a tweet in my name on an account I don't control, outrages a hashtag activist, and the news media gets 72 hours of content," he said. That pretty much sums it up.
What are your thoughts? Did Colbert's skit strike a victory for satire and parody, or do you think he's making light of an offensive and racist joke?