Stephen Colbert says his old network stopped him from using his ‘Colbert Report’ character
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”/CBS/YouTube
Comedy Central and its parent company, Viacaom, stopped Stephen Colbert from using the alter-ego he used for a decade on “The Colbert Report,” according to the “Late Show” host.
Last week, Colbert brought back “The Colbert Report” character with the help of another Comedy Central alum, Jon Stewart. And while his fans were overjoyed about the comeback, Colbert (the real one) said his old bosses weren’t.
“You know who didn’t enjoy it so much? Corporate lawyers,” he said on Wednesday’s episode of his show. “Because, and this is true, immediately after that show, CBS’s top lawyer was contacted by the top lawyer from another company to say that the character ‘Stephen Colbert’ is their intellectual property, which is surprising, because I never considered that guy much of an intellectual.”
Colbert appeared to acquiesce to the ban.
“So it is with a heavy heart that I announce, thanks to corporate lawyers, the character of ‘Stephen Colbert,’ host of ‘The Colbert Report,’ will never be seen again,” he said, as the audience booed. “What can I do? The lawyers have spoken. I cannot reasonably argue I own my face or name.”
We did say “appeared to acquiesce,” right? At this point in the show, Colbert introduced the character Stephen Colbert’s identical cousin, “Stephen Colbert,” via satellite from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
The new “Stephen Colbert” explained how the feat of genetics is possible.
“Our moms were identical twins who married identical twin husbands, who had sex at exactly the same moment, and gave us the same name,” he said.
And as if that wasn’t daring enough, Colbert introduced a new segment, “The Werd,” a play off his “Colbert Report” bit “The Word.”
It’s unclear if this is just a joke or if Comedy Central and Viacom really did claim the “Stephen Colbert” character as their intellectual property. Representatives from Comedy Central and CBS didn’t immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Until that’s resolved, meet the newest “Stephen Colbert” in the video below:
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