Stephen Colbert Barred From Using His Character

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Stephen Colbert Cracks Over Paris Attacks

While Stephen Colbert may have left The Colbert Report and his “Colbert” persona back at Comedy Central after leaving for CBS’s Late Show, he never officially retired the character . . . until this week.

This past Monday, Colbert brought in two of the big guns to help him with a bit focused on Donald Trump: former Daily Show host Jon Stewart and Colbert’s old faux-conservative character, “Stephen Colbert.” In the bit, Late Show Colbert seeks out Stewart and Colbert Report Colbert, who are living together in a cabin in the woods preparing for the apocalypse, to fill them in on the election so far. After learning that Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, Colbert Report Colbert springs into action, heading to the Late Show studios to revive his classic bit, The Word, in which he highlights one particular word (in this case, “Trumpiness”) and breaks it down to its base parts.

The bit was hilarious, but there were some folks who weren’t laughing: the corporate lawyers over at Comedy Central. The day after the bit aired, they reached out to CBS’ legal representatives to let them know that the “Stephen Colbert” character is the intellectual property of Comedy Central and therefore cannot be performed by Colbert on any other network. Sadly, this means that we will never see “Stephen Colbert” as we once knew him again, barring a deal with Comedy Central.

Colbert had this to say of the issue: “Immediately after that show, CBS’ top lawyer was contacted by the top lawyer from another company to say that the character Stephen Colbert is their intellectual property,” said the Late Show host. “So, it is with a heavy heart, that I announce that — thanks to corporate lawyers — the character of Stephen Colbert, host of ‘The Colbert Report,’ will never be seen again.”

With the political stage looking the way it does now, Stephen Colbert (that is, The Colbert Report’s Colbert) is exactly the hero we need, so here’s hoping that Colbert can find a way to reprise the legendary character again someday.

[H/T] The Wrap

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler

Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.