Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Trevor Noah can't agree about that Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad
Stephen Colbert kicked off Wednesday's Late Show with Bill O'Reilly's $13 million sexual harassment "pickle." Advertisers are bailing, but "today Donald Trump got his back," saying in an interview, "I don't think Bill did anything wrong,'" Colbert noted. "Mr. President, I want to remind you, you just declared April sexual assault awareness month. And there's two accusations of sexual assault I'm aware of: Bill O'Reilly's, and yours."
"Maybe you're not the perfect person to weigh in on this one," Colbert said, but Ivanka Trump, with her "enlightened approach to these issues," might do. Or not. He played the clip of Ivanka defining-down "complicit" on CBS This Morning. "Nope, that's not what complicit means," he said, breaking out a dictionary. "You can't just reverse the definition to make yourself sound better. That's like saying, 'If being a Nazi means fighting for civil rights, then yeah, I'm a huge Nazi.'"
Colbert finally got to the big news of the day. "We have a deeply divided nation," he said, "but today it seems like everyone has come together to join the protest against the new protest ad from Pepsi." He walked everyone through the defunct ad, which starts with a generic protest march. "So far, we don't know what has caused all of America's hot extras to take to the streets — but I'm guessing it's a protest for Attractive Lives Matter," Colbert said. Then one of the Kardashians leaves a photo shoot to join in. "Once Kendall Jenner has made the ultimate sacrifice of wiping off her lipstick, it's super fun — until the march meets the world's least-intimidating police force," he narrated. "They're also extremely attractive — watch out, Kendall, those unarmed cops might start stripping." He ended with a riff on the ad's tagline: "'Live — for now,' especially if you're Pepsi's marketing department, because I don't think you guys are going to be there for long."
Subscribe to 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.
At Late Night, Seth Meyers also panned the Pepsi ad, showing a much darker alternative ending.
But at The Daily Show, Trevor Noah is more understanding. "To be honest with you guys, I don't understand why Pepsi got hammered so hard," he said. "In fact, I think all brands need to become more woke." He provides some suggestions. You can watch below. Peter Weber
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Instagram rolls out teen accounts with new limits
Speed Read After facing pushback over child safety, Meta announced that all users under 18 will have their Instagram accounts modified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona official sues to bar 100K from local voting
Speed Read A large number of residents who have not submitted citizenship documents might be prevented from voting in the battleground state's elections
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why is Laura Loomer making Republicans worried?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump says the MAGA influencer is a 'free spirit'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published