Colbert to Gingrich: ‘Assault is a matter of public policy, because it’s illegal’

Stephen Colbert ridiculed Newt Gingrich on “The Late Show” Wednesday night, a day after the former House speaker accused Fox News host Megyn Kelly of being more “fascinated with sex” than public policy.

“First off, everybody is more fascinated with sex than public policy,” Colbert said in a direct message to Gingrich during the monologue of his CBS late night show. “If you’re not, there’s a pill for that now.”

On Tuesday night, Gingrich, a leading Donald Trump surrogate, erupted when Kelly brought up the multiple accusations by women who recently said they were forcibly touched years ago by the Republican nominee.

In the tense confrontation, Gingrich defended the Republican nominee from the allegations, which he said Kelly could not confirm. He also accused Kelly of ignoring Hillary Clinton’s scandals in order to focus on salacious gossip.

But Kelly wasn’t talking about “fun-time bedroom whoopee-making,” Colbert said Wednesday. “She’s talking about assault. Wait, unless Newt doesn’t know the difference.”

Colbert then decided to give Gingrich “the talk.”

“Newt, sweetheart, you’re growing up so fast,” he said. “In fact, you’re 73. Your body’s changing. You’ve probably noticed some strange new hair growing on your earlobes. It’s perfectly natural. You’re old enough to finally learn about the birds and the bees and the consent.”

Colbert continued: “You see, when a man has special feelings for a woman and he wants to give her a special hug, he asks her a special question: You up? But grabbing a lady because you’re a TV star is not sex, it’s assault. And fun fact: Assault is a matter of public policy because it’s illegal. Even if you use Tic Tacs.”

Colbert wasn’t the only late-night host to tear into Gingrich. On “The Daily Show,” host Trevor Noah noted hypocrisy of the former House speaker lecturing Kelly on sex considering his past infidelity.

“Newt Gingrich should not be complaining that anyone is fascinated with sex,” Noah said. “This is the same dude who cheated on two different wives.”

On NBC’s “Late Night,” host Seth Meyers delivered a message to Gingrich, too.

“Newt, there’s a difference between being fascinated by sex and being horrified by sexual assault,” Meyers said. “It’s kind of like Beyoncé and Rihanna. Everyone knows the difference except old white men.”

Meyers added that even if Kelly was a sex addict, he’s “pretty sure New Gingrich is the cure.”