TV presenter Stephen Colbert has declined to say sorry for his jokes about Kate Middleton, despite facing a backlash.
The 59-year-old comedian, who is known for his anti-monarchy views, addressed the controversy on The Late Show on CBS.
He admitted to making several jokes about Kate’s absence from public view but did not apologise after it was announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
While he didn’t directly apologise, Stephen expressed his sympathy for Kate and her family.
He made it clear that he does “not make light of somebody else’s tragedy” and acknowledged that his jokes about Kate “upset some people”.
He added that he understands that “any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family”. The show wishes them well.
He also said that while he doesn’t know the specifics of Kate’s cancer prognosis, he assumes that as the future Queen of England, she will be receiving “going to be getting the best possible medical care”.
Stephen shared his remorse, but explained that as a TV show host, his job is to make jokes about what people are talking about. Before Kate’s announcement on the BBC, the internet was in a frenzy of speculation about her whereabouts, and the chat show host joined in.
He knows that even before we knew she was sick, some folks didn’t like his jokes.
On the show, Stephen said: “A lot of my jokes have upset people in the past – and I’m sure some of my jokes will upset people in the future,” and he added: “And, though I’m sure they don’t need it from me, I and everyone here at The Late Show would like to extend our well wishes and heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough.”
But when Stephen talked about the fuss and sent good thoughts, many weren’t happy he didn’t say sorry properly.
The Queen’s former press officer Dickie Arbiter has since used X (formerly Twitter) to slam Stephen.
Arbiter posted: “He might be full of regret for himself but he didn’t apologise,” and angrily added: “American chat show hosts have a cruel capacity of making jokes at others expense and Colbert is no exception.
“Buckingham Palace said she’d had surgery, and would be away for several weeks.
“The Princess of Wales didn’t disappear, she was recuperating.
“This was not good enough for chat show hosts or the twitterati – SHAME on you all. There’s a clear message – engage brain before mouth if at all the former exists.”
An AI tool was used to bring an extra layer to this story.
