On March 12th, Stephen Colbert did a three-minute segment in his opening monologue where he made some jokes about Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. The rumors about William and Rose have been out there for five years, and when Colbert made the jokes, there was already a conversation about whether the palace was soft-launching Rose as the next Princess of Wales. In any case, Colbert’s jokes/comments were not received well in the UK as the palace furiously tried to force British outlets to edit any mention of the transcript and the specific jokes about William’s alleged affair. Someone complained to the Telegraph that Colbert and the Late Show did not “warn” the palace as well. Then, last week, Rose Hanbury apparently sent some kind of legal threat to CBS/Colbert. I assumed that she probably just wanted some kind of on-air apology, as opposed to Rose actually suing Colbert.
Well, Colbert sort of responded last night. He didn’t say anything about the royals during his opening monologue, but in the second segment, as he was seated at his desk, he made a statement about the Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnosis:
I mean, notice that he doesn’t mention Rose or William, nor did he apologize specifically for making jokes about any alleged affair. Colbert didn’t actually say “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” at any time – he just acknowledges that people took issue with the jokes and offered his sincere wishes that the Princess of Wales makes a full recovery. It was masterfully done, actually – he didn’t backtrack or disavow what he said previously, he’s just like (I’m paraphrasing) “I acknowledge that some of y’all didn’t like those jokes but I hope Kate is doing okay!” Well played.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Palace. Screencap courtesy of CBS.
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- KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – JUNE 22: HRH Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are greeted by Rose Cholmondeley, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley as they attend a gala dinner in support of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016 in King’s Lynn, England.
Colbert’s good people, but he’s not a pushover.
All comedians and talk show hosts make jokes about current news stories. The BM made Rose a current news story. That’s all.
Well, that’s it. Was it the Telegraph who did the big story recently? I mean, c’mon. Colbert’s statement was perfect.
This was actually the perfect response – he noted that his jokes upset people, but that other jokes have upset people in the past and he’ll upset people in the future (i.e. he’s not going to change) and that people were upset about his jokes BEFORE the cancer diagnosis was known – i.e. people weren’t mad because she is sick and he’s poking fun, people were mad because he was poking fun in general. And then wishing her a full recovery.
He’s not apologizing, he’s not taking it back, he’s just saying that he doesn’t want to come across like an ahole to someone going through chemo.
He also didn’t really say much about Kate in the original segment. It was more about how chumley is said in a dumb way and William may be a cheater. That stuff remains true even after Kate confirmed her diagnosis.
British media really needs to stop looking so pathetic. Americans don’t give a shit about the royals nor do they place them on pedestals. There was a whole revolution for that to stop happening.
Apart from the rabid royalists nobody gives a crap in the UK either and I wish British media stopped talking about them over more important news.
Colbert’s speech was perfection 🙂
💯 agree with Becks and Nic but also want to add that I doubt Rose was expecting an apology or any real legal action. The Rocksavages are aristos who play small parts in the current monarchy and they keep their confidences to themself. Rose isn’t currently involved with Will so it’s the perfect time to clear the air. It may be a fib to say “never was involved” but people fib all the time.
Truthiness, then she did the worse thing possible. It was all over EVERYWHERE that she had sent a legal letter to CBS. Everywhere. How many people in the US do you think are left who don’t know about the (alleged) affair?
She’s not suing, she’s posturing. Has no case and would NEVER get near a witness stand. She is giving plausible deniability, mostly for the UK audience. Professionally and for the 6 kids between those 2 families it’s a good idea to have a polished happy veneer.
Absolutely classy and not giving any air time to the Chumly nonsense. Also his message was more about cancer than Kate and whether or not he intended a statement about unequal access to healthcare, it was a subtext.
I dont think he even needed to do that much. Still I’m glad he didn’t apologize because there was no reason to.
He did this well.
I feel like there are two different ways of measuring acceptable behavior sometimes. I understand why Rose was upset, but to get a lawyer involved? That went way too far. She should have been more vocal when the rumors started.
I totally agree @ML. Infact I’ll go one further and ask why did she have to be the one to come out and “deny” the affair? Surely this was the time for William to step up and quash the rumours once and for all? It’s his wife who is undergoing cancer treatment and needs the reassurance and love of her husband. William’s silence on the matter is serving as confirmation that there is/was something going on.
As for Stephen Colbert. I’d have lost all respect for him if he had apologised. He told no lies and was only repeating what has been reported on many news sites around the world.
I think she helped get the story killed five years ago, although she definitely had an ally.
Colbert comes across to me as a fundamentally decent guy and I’m glad he expressed sympathy … without walking it all back.
Perfect response with zero groveling. Well done, Stephen.
@Harper, exactly right! Good job Stephen 👏
The British and the palace in general, need to stop being such whiny bullies.
They are just getting a FRACTION of a taste of the treatment they are dishing out on a daily basis for the ast several decades via the media– people now speculating and conspiring about Kate rather than Diana or Meghan– and already they are wetting their pants from the stress and pressure.
Oh, sucks doesnt it? Well maybe dont do that to other people.
I’m not saying that any mocking or frenzied spcualtion is ever ok– what I am saying is, they would be better to be less hypocritical.
Well done👏. Wishing her good health is the way to go.
Good for you, Stephen, and that’s how you do it.
Stephen is a good man. Any other comedian would make more jokes just to poke the bear. I am glad his message’s focus was good wishes to a woman with cancer. He also made sure the applauses went to the band. Very classy response.
Colbert is a class act. And hilarious! As an Irish American, he has zero interest in bowing/scraping to the Crown or any royalist.
When William finally proceeds with his divorce, we’ll hear from Colbert again.
Yep, ain’t no stopping our American comedians and late night talk shows.
If Rose or her lawyers were banking on a live apology they didn’t get it. Colbert kept it classy. Also, he didn’t call Kate by her title nor there was no appaulase for her but for Colbert.
Even classier, he threw the applause to the band before the audience had a chance to applaud him.
There’s a growing list of American celebs who will literally dance when the dam breaks.
Using intimidation tactics on famous people for making jokes will not endear you to anyone William and Kate, you’re just gaining more enemies
Can you imagine how this would have gone down 10-20 years ago?
Colbert is not a mean person. This was the most mild “roast” imaginable in the first place. The history of celebrity gossip (and I refuse to think of the royal family as anything but celebrities, because the idea that they’re “statesmen” is laughable) is full of speculation and cruelty. People mocked Britney for having a public mental health crisis in the aught 2000s and mocked Amanda Bynes for having psychotic episodes. But Kate and the artisos are so thin skinned, they can’t even handle jokes about an affair that is so boring, no one even cared about it for the last five years.
Kate is dealing with a tiny shred of what Diana dealt with on a regular basis and still has all the goodwill they refuse to give to Meghan. Of course I want her to be healthy, I’m not a monster. But it doesn’t change how whiny everyone in the RF, the media, and now the aristos are being about how MEAN! everyone is for doing the same stuff that was completely common just a few years ago, and still common if your name is Meghan Markle.
God, I shudder to think what Leno or Letterman would have said.
She’s lucky she wasn’t the butt of Don Rickles’ jokes. I’m old enough to remember him back in the day when he was the master of insult comedy and no one was spared. he was nicknamed.the Merchant of Venom and Mr. Warmth in his heyday.
No apologies needed, Kate and William haven’t hit pause on the sanction abuse of Harry and Meghan so why should Stephen apologize when they don’t ?
Stephen Colbert is really a class act. He’s a really caring person so his comments are genuine when he wished Bone Idle well.
Okay, Rose, you wanted a response, and you got one. He’s going to keep telling jokes which will upset people–that’s just the rules of the game. He sidelined her!
He’s Irish-American so the brf shouldn’t be surprised when his monologue includes them in future. I have no doubt that John Oliver is watching all of this and taking notes.
Am I the only one who thinks that not using her title was deliberate?
It was 100% deliberate.
Colbert isn’t impressed by monarchy. He’s the best.
Nice spine SC
I will never not find that photo Him smirking at his wife’s crotch while she chats with his side piece not weird
I can’t “they’re” making such a huge fuss over a harmless skit. If they’ve seen how he effortlessly shreds Trump then they will know Stephen Colbert let them off VERY lightly. As per modus operandis for that family, William is getting someone-else to do his dirty work for him. Be under no illusions whatsoever that Rose decided to send the lawyers in without first consulting with KP. All “they” have to do is say there was no affair; it really is that simple. That sketch was the ideal opportunity to put all rumours to bed and have the added bonus of supporting the narrative of William being a supportive and loving husband. I’m sure Colbert’s lawyers went through that script with a fine tooth comb before it aired. As a result we’ve had lots of gnashing and snarling yet (surprise, surprise) no law suit.
I thought Stephen’s response was only to be expected. I’m sure he has a lot of sympathy for Kate’s illness and his words were heartfelt. Stephen has always struck me as a good honest family man with strong Christian values who also adores his wife. I doubt he’s losing much sleep from the empty threats coming from an alleged adulteress and/or her lover.
10 out of 10, delivered with gravitas and sincerity. We knew this was coming from him.
He may have a problem with the Brit Monarchy but when he introduced Harry to his show he used a flowery list of his accomplishments and then a jubilant “Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry!” which was met w a standing ovation and the crowd chanted HAR-RY, HAR-RY. I think we know which royals Colbert respects and happily uses their titles.
Apologize for what. As American citizens we do not answer to the British aristocracy or the BRF – they are just as narcissistic as Trump where they think they’re so superior. Late night shows makes fun of everyone.
They’re lucky SNL was on break and didn’t have a skit on Rose.
Say Rose did sue Colbert for slander (or whatever it would be) Would the case have to be tried in the US or the UK? Does anyone know the answer?
Colbert did the speech in USA, so she has to sue him in American courts. Otherwise, all the dictators Colbert or John Oliver are making fun of would be able to sue them in their own country where they control the courts. As a note, some episodes of John Oliver’s show are shown in UK after getting censored due to UK laws. I don’t know if Late Night gets televised there, but it would be censored first probably if it does.
She won’t sue him, there is no case. Colbert repeated the info on magazines / newspapers, even the related news item was shown on the screen. She has to sue those who first wrote about it.
Oh, that’s great! LOL. Yay for discovery if she (or any other fool) tries to go through with it. Thanks for replying.