Justice Antonin Scalia was "universally acknowledged to be an intellectual giant," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show, and "whether or not you agreed with him, or made a lot of jokes about him, like I did, one thing you've got to admit is that he had a great sense of humor." Colbert said that he was "lucky enough to have one conversation with Antonin Scalia that explained his appeal to me." It happened after Colbert hosted the White House Correspondents' Dinner a decade ago, to stony faces in the front tables and on the stage.
After he'd finished mocking then-President George W. Bush in Colbert Report character in a room full of people who didn't watch his show, nobody spoke to him or made eye contact with him — except Scalia, whom Colbert had insulted in his speech, too. Scalia laughed it off and told him his material was great, even after Colbert repeated a rude gesture at him. "And I watched him go, and I thought, 'Don't make me love you, old man,'" Colbert said on Monday night, before saying he "will forever be grateful for that moment of human contact" and sending off Scalia with one final salute. Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louderTHE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a weekSpeed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
