Stephen Colbert comes under fire for not apologising about Princess of Wales jokes

The comedian said he does not like to ‘make light of somebody else’s tragedy’
Jordan King27 March 2024

Stephen Colbert has faced a backlash after failing to say sorry for previous jokes about the Princess of Wales stepping back from public life, following her revelation that she is receiving treatment for cancer.

The US talk show host addressed his audience at The Late Show on CBS on Tuesday night, saying he does not like to “make light of somebody else’s tragedy”.

The 59-year-old comedian expressed sympathy but stopped short of saying the word “sorry”.

Mr Colbert said: “You know, folks, I don’t know if you have noticed, but we do a lot of shows and I tell a lot of jokes, and I tell jokes about a lot of different things, mostly what everybody’s talking about.

“And for the last six weeks to two months, everybody has been talking about the mystery of Kate Middleton’s disappearance from public life.

“And two weeks ago, we did some jokes about that mystery and all of the reporting about that.”

He went on: “And when I made those jokes, that upset some people and — even before her diagnosis was revealed, and I can understand that.

The comedian stopped short of apologising for the jokes
CBS

“I mean, 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.

“But there is a standard that I try to hold myself to. And that is, I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy.”

He finished his monologue with: “I know and I’m sure many of you, far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family.”

A number of people on social media criticised what they believed should have been an apology, including Queen Elizabeth II's former press secretary Dickie Arbiter.

He said: “(Mr Colbert) might be full of regret for himself but he didn't apologise.

“American chat show hosts have a cruel capacity to make 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.”

Many people have backtracked on their jokes and conspiracy theories since Kate revealed to the world that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy.

There has since been an outpouring of support for the princess, including from Rishi Sunak, Prince Harry and members of the public across the world.

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