Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert shared their late-night experiences, with Colbert giving his first interview since the announcement of the Late Show’s cancellation in July.
Colbert disclosed that he learned of his show’s cancellation a day prior to its Emmy nomination. Their shared manager, James “Baby Doll” Dixon, delivered the news after requesting a brief 15-minute meeting. Colbert mentioned that Dixon’s meetings typically last an hour, so this unusual request indicated something was amiss.
“I returned home two and a half hours later,” Colbert recalled. “And I entered the apartment and [Colbert’s wife] Evie asked, ‘What’s going on? Did you get cancelled?'”
Colbert detailed how he communicated with his crew, initially thinking about keeping the cancellation under wraps so they could enjoy their summer break. Ultimately, he chose to wait until after filming the following day to inform his team, ensuring they wouldn’t have to shoot while grappling with the news. Colbert’s public announcement of the cancellation was captured right after, with the host urging the audience to remain.
“I felt so anxious about getting it right — since nothing was on the prompter, I was just speaking spontaneously — that I stumbled twice and had to start over,” Colbert described. “The audience assumed it was a joke. They began cheering, ‘You can do it! Come on, Steve! You can do it!’ But when I reached the sentence that really conveyed what was happening, there was no laughter.”
Kimmel mentioned that he was at a No Kings protest when he discovered Colbert’s cancellation and was “completely taken aback because it’s unfair.”
“I mean, it’s their ball, and they can take it away if they choose,” Colbert remarked.
“They don’t have any balls, Stephen,” Kimmel replied. “Let’s face it.”
The two hosts then chatted about Kimmel’s recent suspension, with Colbert presenting a clip of the moment he learned the news while filming the Late Show.
“The first people I texted after getting the news that we were pulled off the air included coming into my office to inform some folks, then I texted you, Jimmy [Fallon], Seth [Meyers], and the two Johns [Oliver and Jon Stewart] to let you know what transpired,” Kimmel shared.
“A bit of collateral damage from that situation was it coincidentally happened to be Jimmy Fallon’s birthday the following day…. But you sent a message to the group wishing Jimmy a happy birthday, saying, ‘Fallon, I find it quite selfish of you to be celebrating a birthday right now considering how divided this country is. If anyone deserves a birthday it’s Kimmel. But you just do whatever makes you happy, I suppose.'”