Stephen Colbert, who received a boost in his career in the '90s when working on the Dana Carvey Show under head writer Louis C.K., addressed the sexual misconduct allegations against the comedian on Thursday's Late Show. C.K. was originally scheduled to appear as a guest on Thursday's show in promotion of I Love You, Daddy, the new film he wrote and directed. Hours before the publication of the New York Timesstory featuring interviews with five women, however, C.K. called off the film's premiere and canceled his Late Show appearance.
"For those of you tuning in to see my interview with Louis C.K, I have some bad news," Colbert said during his opening monologue. "Then I have some really bad news. Louis canceled his appearance tonight because the New York Times broke this story today. Five women are accusing Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct."
Colbert then repurposed a previous Jesus bit from earlier in his monologue about the molestation allegation against Republican Roy Moore, joking that Jesus wouldn't want to hear about the C.K. allegations as he's a fan of the comedian's work. "When reached for comment, Jesus said ''La la la la la, I don't wanna hear about it, I was a big fan,'" he said.
Colbert also called the allegations against C.K. "disturbing" and "just the latest in an avalanche of allegations against powerful, prominent men" including Bill O'Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and more.
In a statement to Deadline Thursday night, FX Networks—the home of Louie and multiple C.K.-produced projects—said they were "troubled" by the allegations and would be reviewing them. "The network has received no allegations of misconduct by Louis C.K. related to any of our 5 shows produced together over the past 8 years," a rep said. "FX Networks and FXP take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review." As of now, "there are no plans" to remove C.K.'s series from digital platforms or otherwise halt production.
