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Stephen Colbert happens to be the latest celebrity to take back his words after Kate Middleton revealed that she was diagnosed with cancer and is set to undergo preemptive chemotherapy. The Late Show host received a lot of backlash following the reveal and is finally addressing the issue.
The talk show host said:
"There's a standard that I try to hold myself to, and that is I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy.”
On the March 14 episode of the talk show, Stephen Colbert made several jokes addressing the Princess of Wales’ then unexplained disappearance from public life. He linked it to Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury.
He said:
“The Kingdom has been all a flutter about the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton. Well now, internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband, and the future King of England, William, having an affair…According to tabloid, when Kate supposedly confronted him about it, he laughed it off, saying there was nothing to it. Always a good response when your wife accuses you of cheating.”
On March 22, 2024, Kate Middleton released a video stating that the real reason behind her absence was her cancer diagnosis and the need to protect her young children from the news. The video released by Kate Middleton made his jokes overwhelmingly negative, with many calling it insensitive.
Stephen Colbert wishes Kate Middleton a swift recovery
On the March 25 episode of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert addressed this fiasco, insisting that his intentions were not malicious and that he would never make jokes about someone’s tragedy.
The talk show host said:
“We do a lot of shows. I tell a lot of jokes. I tell jokes about a lot of different things, mostly about what everybody is talking about. For the last six weeks to two months, everybody has been talking about the mystery of Kate Middleton’s disappearance from public life."
He continued:
"Two weeks ago, we did some jokes about that mystery. When I made those jokes, that upset some people…even before her diagnosis was revealed. I can understand that a lot of my jokes have upset people in the past and some of my jokes will upset people in the future, but there's a standard that I try to hold myself to, and that is I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy.”
Stephen Colbert ended the segment by wishing Kate Middleton a swift recovery.
Colbert said:
“I don’t know if her prognosis is a tragic one…regardless of what it is, far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family. Though I’m sure they don’t need it from me, I and everyone here at ‘The Late Show’ would like to extend our well-wishes and heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough.”
Stephen Colbert is one of many celebrities who have expressed regret over their choice of words at the time of Kate’s absence.
Blake Lively recently posted an apology on Instagram regarding her joke on “Photoshop fails.”
She revealed:
“I’m sure no one cares today but I feel like I have to acknowledge this. I made a silly post around the ‘photoshop fails’ frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today. I’m sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always.”
Meanwhile, in the video released by Kensington Palace, the Princess of Wales said that while her initial surgery was for non-cancer reasons, cancer was found in her system following the surgery, and she is currently in the “early stages” of preventive chemotherapy. She did not confirm the type of cancer.
