Stephen Colbert bans Kanye West from ‘The Late Show’ after rapper’s antisemitic comments
NEW YORK — Stephen Colbert has something to tell Kanye West: He’s banned from another place.
The “Late Show” host made “a big announcement” Thursday that the “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” rapper will never be a guest on his CBS program after West espoused antisemitic sentiments on social media and in interviews.
“After much thought and soul-searching, I, Stephen Colbert, am banning Kanye West from the Ed Sullivan Theater,” Colbert, 58, said to audience applause.
“I have to,” Colbert said. “Line in the sand. ... I have no excuses for why I didn’t do this before, except, perhaps, that he has never been on the show, had no plans to be on the show. We had never asked him to be on the show and I am not sure he is aware that I have a show. But I had to do it now because I was afraid he would just show up at any moment, ‘cause that’s what he did yesterday.”
The 45-year-old West, who now goes by Ye, on Wednesday was escorted out of a Skechers office in Los Angeles following an “unannounced” visit, the shoe company said.
That incident occurred a day after Adidas ended its partnership with West, who had a popular “Yeezy” shoe and clothing collaboration with the brand. West claims he lost $2 billion in a day after Adidas and other partners cut ties over his antisemitic comments, which included a tweet in which he threatened to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Colbert joked that his “jurisdiction extends into the northern half of Times Square” and told West to “stay out.”
He also quipped that the “courageous” part of the ban was “ending all of our high-profile collabs” and has “decided not to release our duets album, ‘Ye & Phen sing Fiddler on the Roof.’”
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