[jwplayer E3M2zbQb]
(Warning: This video contains content that some may find objectionable.)
WASHINGTON – The CBS television network is ignoring calls for an apology after it aired a sexually charged diatribe against President Trump Monday night, with “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert suggesting the president could use his mouth to perform sexual favors for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Daily Variety, which reported the comments had put the talk-show host in “hot water,” was one of many publications that did not receive a response to a request for comment from CBS.
Even the left-leaning Vox slammed Colbert for what it perceived as a homophobic slur.
Colbert’s 12-minute tirade was relentless in its scathing criticism of Trump. But it was his use of blatant obscenity on the public airwaves that caused such shock and condemnation, landing the CBS star at the top of the Drudge Report.
The comedian warmed up by ripping President Trump’s criticism of CBS News anchor John Dickerson, saying, “Mr. President, I love your presidency, I call it ‘Disgrace The Nation.'”
And then the obscenities began.
Colbert said, “You’re the ‘presi-dunce,’ but you’re turning into a real ‘pri–tator.'”
“Sir, you attract more skinheads than free Rogaine,” he continued. “You have more people marching against you than cancer. You talk like a sign-language gorilla that got hit in the head.”
And then came the line that caused even Colbert’s fans in the studio audience to gasp.
“In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c— holster.”
Vox critiqued the comedian’s crudeness: “Colbert lined up what he surely thought was a great, hilarious diss. Instead, he blurted out some homophobia.”
But the crassness of Colbert’s obscenities was not enough to unite both left and right in condemnation.
The Huffington Post didn’t mention even the obscenities in a piece with the approving headline “Stephen Colbert Unloads On ‘BLOTUS’ Trump In Epic Smackdown.” It merely advised readers, “Just make sure the kids aren’t around,” before viewing the video.
The Mother Jones story headlined “Stephen Colbert Tears Into Trump Over John Dickerson Interview” also did not mention the obscenities and provided no warning at all for the video.
It did, however, call a Colbert sketch a recreation of “Dickerson’s interview to create the satisfying scenario of insulting Trump to his face.”
CNN posted edited clips of Colbert’s monologue under the headline “Trump’s insult ignites Colbert’s smackdown” without a warning that it contained potentially offensive material. The video did not have the reference to Putin, but did contain an obscene slang for genitalia.
Vanity Fair called the monologue “a playfully incensed tirade.”
Time Magazine went with the headline “Stephen Colbert Lashes Out at President Trump for Insulting ‘Fair-Minded’ CBS Journalist.”
The Daily Beast: “Stephen Colbert Demolishes Trump for Insulting ‘Face the Nation’ Host John Dickerson.”
Even Fox News, without critical comment, posted a clip from the Colbert show that contained obscenities, with one bleep but without a warning to viewers. Fox also printed the obscene slang for genitalia, uncensored, in its online story.
However, the San Diego Union-Tribune ran a story headlined “Did Stephen Colbert’s Trump slur go too far or way too far?”
The article noted, “The monologue quickly drew backlash from conservatives such as former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who called it ‘crude’ and ‘awful,’ and Trump supporters such as Mike Cernovich, who cried hypocrisy because liberals who have blasted conservative voices for going too far did not object to Colbert’s reference to fellatio, a reference Cernovich called homophobic.”
Union-Tribune reporter Luis Gomez observed, “The outrage also comes at a time when conservatives feel political correctness has run amok and feel the language liberals use is measured in a different standard.”
