"Late Show" host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday addressed the controversy surrounding his jokes Monday about President Donald Trump, saying he would do it again — though slightly less crudely.
"Welcome to 'The Late Show.' I'm your host, Stephen Colbert. Still? I am still the host? I'm still the host!" Colbert said in the show's opening, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which had a transcript of the pre-recorded show before it aired.
"Now, if you saw my monologue Monday, you know that I was a little upset at Donald Trump for insulting a friend of mine," Colbert said. "So, at the end of that monologue, I had a few choice insults for the president in return. I don't regret that. He, I believe, can take care of himself. I have jokes, he has the launch codes. So, it's a fair fight."
Colbert unleashed a string of insults at Trump on Monday's show in defense of "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson, who did not respond to an insult from Trump on Sunday's show.
Colbert said Dickerson had too much class to respond, but he — a fellow CBS employee — had not such constriction.
The monologue inspired at #FireColbert hashtag on Twitter, which most people angry at Colbert's final insult which was partially bleeped and seen as a gay slur.
Colbert noted he should have toned down that part of his invective speech.
"So, while I would do it again, I would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be," he said. "I'm not going to repeat the phrase, but I just want to say for the record, life is short, and anyone who expresses their love for another person, in their own way, is to me, an American hero. I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that. Nothing else. But, that."
Colbert did not address the issue on Tuesday's show, even though the backlash already had begun. By Wednesday, angry opponents were calling for a boycott of his sponsors.
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