Stephen Colbert has never been shy about going after sexual predators, including his own former bosses like Louis C.K. and Les Moonves. So it was no surprise that he opened his Late Show monologue Wednesday night with the biggest news of the day: Bill Cosby’s unexpected release from prison.
“Folks, I’m going to shoot you straight. I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news,” Colbert began. “The bad news is I lied about the good news and both bads combine to be the worst news: Bill Cosby’s been released from prison after his sexual assault conviction was overturned.” As his live audience booed, the host added, “Yeah, I agree with you. Or to put that another way, me too.”
From there, Colbert joked that Cosby would be joining Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump on the “Monsters of Being Monsters Tour.”
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“Now, I want to be clear, this isn’t an exoneration,” he continued. “Cosby is getting off on a technicality. The ruling stems from a 2005 agreement Cosby struck with then-prosecutor Bruce Castor, who declined to prosecute Cosby in exchange for his testimony during a civil trial.”
After reminding viewers that that is the same Bruce Castor who represented Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, he joked, “His business card just says, ‘Bruce Castor: Actual Devil’s Advocate.’”
Then, just when it seemed that Colbert was ready to move on, he pivoted to his next topic by saying, “In other news, the country is hot as hell, so at least Cosby has a preview of the afterlife.”
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