Stephen Reacts To #CancelColbert: 'I'm Still Here!'

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Comedy Central

Is The Colbert Report canceled? After finding itself in some hot water after a tweet was posted that many deemed racially offensive, Monday night's show opened with the employees walking out of the studio carrying boxes and host Stephen Colbert asleep on a couch wearing Washington Redskins pajamas.

This all started after last Wednesday night's show when Colbert poked fun at the owner of the Redskins, who recently opened a foundation to support Native Americans. In the segment, Colbert aired a clip from a 2005 episode where he played the over-the-top "Chinese" character named Ching-Chong Ding-Dong. In character, Colbert says he's opening the "Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever."


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The joke, which relied on the context of the setup to make sense, was later tweeted by The Colbert Report's official Twitter handle. The tweet, which has since been deleted, read: "I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever."

The backlash and outrage was immediate and heated, and the hashtag #CancelColbert quickly become a trending topic. "We almost lost me. I'm never gonna take me for granted," Colbert said, reacting to the controversy on his Comedy Central show. "Who'd have thought a form of communications limited to 140 characters could lead to misunderstanding?"

He continued, "I am not a racist. I don't even see race -- not even my own. People tell me I'm white. I believe them because I just spent six minutes telling people I'm not a racist -- and that is about the whitest thing you can do."

The promo to the show's humorous episode reads: "After a rough weekend, Colbert humbly compares himself to Jesus." WATCH:


What do you think of the show's reaction to this controversy?

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