A string of US TV hosts have been forced to issue apologies for their unfortunate jokes about Princess Kate before she revealed her battle with cancer.
Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show, previously made fun of the Princess of Wales and her possible whereabouts while she was missing from royal duties.
He said: “The kingdom has been all aflutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton” before commenting on one of the unfounded conspiracy theories that began swirling around social media.
Since his comments, Princess Kate released a video statement revealing her cancer diagnosis, for which she is in the early stages of treatment.
On the latest episode of his show, Colbert apologised for his previous comments after being urged by royal fans to do so.
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He said: “I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy… Far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for the family.”
“Though I’m sure they don’t need it from me, I, and everyone else here at The Late Show, would like to extend our well wishes and heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough.”
Colbert was not the only US TV host left in an awkward position after making jokes about Princess Kate’s whereabouts. The hosts of ABC’s The View also landed themselves in hot water for their comments.
The very same morning of the announcement, March 19, hosts Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin discussed the conspiracy theories on why she had not been seen in public since December.
Once they learned the truth about why she could not be in the spotlight, they were quick to issue apologies for the unfortunate jokes.
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Griffin said: “I’m guilty of having gotten into the fun of ‘Where’s Kate?’ and thinking it’s funny and sharing the memes and playing into that.
“I forgot something fundamental that we all know: every person, whether they’re a Princess, somebody in a high-privileged position, or just the person next to you, is dealing with personal struggles that we don’t know about. I send my love to her and strength to her.”
Princess Kate said in her video announcement that she had experienced an “incredibly tough couple of months” following the “huge shock” of her cancer diagnosis.
She is now in the early stages of receiving preventative chemotherapy after she was diagnosed following her unrelated abdominal surgery in January.
