Stephen Colbert became the latest late-night host to discover that he’s in the Epstein files—in his case, because he was receiving an unlikely compliment.
“I got a little curious and did a little searching to see if I was in the files,” Colbert said during his Wednesday Late Show monologue.
“And unfortunately, I am because one of Epstein’s associates was a fan of my old show, The Colbert Report, particularly of my explanation of massive anonymous campaign coffers known as Super PACs,” he explained.
The host, 61, played a conservative alter-ego on his Comedy Central show The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014, before taking over CBS’s The Late Show in September 2015.
Colbert’s 2014 report on super PACs apparently caught the attention of an Epstein associate, who sent a clip to the late, disgraced financier.
In the email, the person, whose name is redacted, asked Epstein to donate to a candidate. The person added, “No one explains it better than Stephen Colbert - its really funny - think Jeffery will enjoy watching!”
The Late Show’s audience cackled at the screenshot of this email, to which Colbert responded, “Well, there’s no such thing as bad publicity!” He then displayed a fake Times Square billboard advertising his show, embellished with the words, “It’s really funny. Think Jeffrey will enjoy watching.”
Colbert continued torching Epstein and his emails, saying, “But these files contain the names of folks even more important to me than me because Epstein also name-dropped Bilbo Baggins.”
“And at one point, he compared himself to Gandalf,” he told the audience, who gasped in response. “All right, that is disgusting. In the immortal words of Gandalf the Gray, “Eat s--- you dead pervert.”
Colbert’s frequent collaborator Jon Stewart also found himself included in an email exchange between Epstein and Hollywood producer Barry Josephson. The two were plotting to create a Woody Allen stand-up special and allegedly considered “somebody like Jon Stewart” to narrate the segment.
“Excuse me? I am offended,” the host joked. “Somebody like Jon Stewart, or Jon Stewart? My point is, do I have the offer, or is this an audition?”
