In the first episode of “The Late Show” following CBS’ announcement last week that it was cancelling the long-running late night series, Stephen Colbert returned Monday night to parody the recent, viral Coldplay kiss cam moment with a little help from a lot of his friends.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Colbert brought in “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Weird Al Yankovic to perform a rendition of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” But rather than let the show’s cameras focus solely on them, the musical duo turned the focus back on the night’s audience members for a kiss cam montage. Monday night’s guests turned out to be even more star-studded, though, than anyone at home could have ever expected.
First up were Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, the latter of whom planted a surprise kiss on the flabbergasted former. They were followed by Colbert’s late night colleagues, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. Also in attendance were “Happy Gilmore 2” co-stars Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald and longtime Colbert friends and former “Daily Show” colleagues John Oliver and Jon Stewart.
Stewart, Fallon, Oliver and Meyers have all, notably, made public statements in support of Colbert and the “Late Show” team in the days since the series’ cancellation.
You can watch the full segment yourself in the video below.
In its closing moments, the “Late Show” kiss cam parody cut away from Oliver and Stewart’s celebrating faces to a cartoon version of President Trump cuddling with the Paramount logo. “Uh oh, either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” the segment’s announcer remarked as Trump ducked out of sight in a direct spoof of the real-life affair that was caught on camera at a recent Coldplay concert in Boston.
“The Late Show” then took shots at the statement CBS released last week explaining its cancellation of the late night series, with Colbert being handed a piece of paper that forced him to tell Miranda and Yankovic that their song had been “canceled.” When they asked why, Colbert told them, “It says here, ‘This is purely a financial decision.’”
“Since you started playing that song, the network has lost — and I don’t know how this is possible — $40 to $50 million,” Colbert joked, referencing the widely reported financial losses that Paramount has suffered producing “The Late Show.” “That’s impossible. That song was a number one song!” an incredulous Miranda remarked. “Tell me this has nothing to do with who we just put a spotlight on!”
After pausing to read the paper again, Colbert simply responded, “… There’s nothing in here that mentions that.”
