Stephen Colbert takes his #CancelColbert victory lap
Comedy Central
Last week, in what can only be described as a Twitter uproar, The Colbert Report came under fire for an out-of-context Stephen Colbert gag posted to the show's Twitter account by somebody at Comedy Central. On Thursday night, after Colbert was done taping for the week, the hashtag #CancelColbert lit up Twitter — and, hours later, the broader world of journalism (via a Twitter-obsessed news media).
On Monday night, Colbert did everything you'd want Stephen Colbert to do with the mini-scandal. He made fun of Twitter, the news media, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, himself, and the absurdity of having Twitter outrages at all. Mostly, Colbert enjoyed his ultimate victory in the kerfuffle, going so far as to remind viewers of some of the other off-color comments he has made over the years as a halfhearted way to drum up more #outrage and publicity.
It was probably nice having the weekend to put this instant Colbert classic together. Since he couldn't respond over the weekend, "in a sense, I was canceled for three days," Colbert said. "Just like Jesus." --Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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