Comedian Stephen Colbert said top lawyers from Comedy Central — his former employer — told him he could not appear on his current show as the character he once played on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."
Colbert, host of the
"Late Show," made the announcement during one of his segments.
The comedian formerly hosted the political-comedy show "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central, where he played a parody of Republicans — who was also named Stephen Colbert.
During his "Late Show" coverage of the Republican National Convention, Colbert appeared in a comedy sketch as the "Colbert Report" character, and said he enjoyed it.
"But you know who didn't enjoy it? Corporate lawyers," Colbert said, announcing the character would no longer appear. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Stephen Colbert, host of "The Colbert Report," will never be seen again."
Colbert joked, "The lawyers have spoken. I cannot reasonably argue that I own my own face or name."
The host then introduced "Stephen Colbert's identical twin cousin, Stephen Colbert," and conducted an interview with the character — played by himself, in a pre-taped segment.
During an interview on CBS News'
"Face the Nation" in December 2015, Colbert said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is similar to the character he played.
"He's doing it better than I ever could," he said.
Colbert has poked fun at both the Republican and Democrat conventions, where he dressed as a character from the movie
"Hunger Games" and ran onto the stage at both conventions.
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