Jon Stewart Shows Stephen Colbert With Gifts on ‘The Late Show’
On Tuesday night’s episode of “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert reunited with Jon Stewart, who showered his former “Daily Show” correspondent with gifts in honor of his final week at CBS.
In the opening moments of the interview, Colbert quickly reminisced about his early days on Comedy Central, presenting Stewart with a photo from 27 years ago of them together behind the “Daily Show” desk.
“One of us hasn’t lived as long as the other,” Stewart joked, referring to himself. “This looks like a double-blind study where they gave one of these people age-delaying peptides and the other one a placebo.”
In light of Colbert’s impending cancellation, Stewart then shared some advice he received from David Letterman at the end of his short-lived late-night show, “The Jon Stewart Show,” which ran on MTV from 1993 to 1995.
“He said, ‘Don’t confuse cancellation with failure.’ I thought that was profound,” Stewart recalled before delivering the punch line. “But then he said, ‘But in this case it’s also a failure.’”
As their conversation ended, Stewart began rolling out his two-piece gift. Before the first big reveal, he told Colbert, “Everyone came up with something. They sang you a song, they wrote you a poem. I’m not talented, so I don’t do that. And also, why would you do that? A momentary wind of nothingness that blows away like bullshit. You deserve something tangible. Something that you’ve earned. You deserve a gift that will reflect the sacrifice and work you put into this show, and show you the life you can do.” lead and the life you’ve earned. I’m leading now that I’m not really in show business. So guys, get it out there.”
At Stewart’s command, stage technicians rolled out two luxurious armchairs. As Colbert and Stewart plopped down, Stewart exclaimed, “You’re going to enjoy watching ‘Matlock’ in this motherfucker! Let me tell you something.”
Stewart then revealed the icing on the cake: “This tribute is not complete. Stephen, this tribute does not represent the joy you have brought to me as my friend and the joy you have brought to this country as one of its most important entertainers. What this moment needs is so much more. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Andra Day.”
Grammy-winning R&B singer Andra Day then stepped out backstage and treated Colbert to a personal performance of her 2015 hit “Rise Up,” closing out Stewart’s appearance on “The Late Show.”
The final episode of “The Late Show” airs Thursday at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Bruce Springsteen will be the musical guest for Wednesday’s show, but all other guests have remained under wraps.
Watch the entire interview below.
