Stephen Colbert appeared remorseful during the March 25 episode of “The Late Show” while speaking about Kate Middleton's recent announcement that she has been diagnosed with cancer and is scheduled to undergo preventive chemotherapy. The late-night host addressed the backlash he received for joking about Middleton's whereabouts earlier in the month, just weeks before the Princess of Wales confirmed her diagnosis to the world.
“We do a lot of shows. I tell a lot of jokes. I tell jokes about a lot of different things, mostly about what everyone is talking about,” Colbert said. “For the past six weeks or two months, everyone has been talking about the mystery of Kate Middleton's disappearance from… General Life. A couple of weeks ago, we made some jokes about this puzzle. When she made those jokes, it upset some people… even before her diagnosis was revealed. I can understand that a lot of my jokes have upset people in the past and that some of my jokes will upset people in the future, but there is a standard I try to adhere to, which is that I do not take someone else's gaze lightly. Tragedy.”
“I don't know if her diagnosis was tragic…no matter what it is, many of us know that a cancer diagnosis of any kind is horrific for the patient and her family,” Colbert continued. “While I'm sure they don't need it from me, I and everyone here at The Late Show would like to extend our well wishes and sincere hopes that her recovery will be quick and comprehensive.”
Colbert appeared to be addressing jokes he made on the March 13 episode of “The Late Show,” when he joked about Middleton's disappearance from public life being linked to her husband's alleged infidelity.
“The kingdom was reeling over the apparent disappearance of Kate Middleton,” Colbert said at the time. “Well, now, internet sleuths believe that Kate's absence may be linked to her husband, and that the future King of England, William, is having an affair… According to the tabloid, when Kate confronted him about it, he laughed and said there was nothing to it. Always Reply What's good is when your wife accuses you of cheating.
Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis in a video posted on March 22. Since then, several celebrities have come forward to express their regret for theorizing and/or joking about her whereabouts over the previous weeks. Blake Lively recently posted an apology on Instagram for mocking Middleton's “Photoshop fail” before announcing her cancer diagnosis.
“I'm sure no one cares today but I feel like I have to admit it,” Lively said in a message. “I wrote a ridiculous post about the craziness of 'Photoshop fails', and oh my god, that post shamed me today. I'm sorry. Sending love and well wishes to everyone always.”
Shortly before Middleton announced her diagnosis, celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel and Jamie Lee Curtis took to social media to denounce conspiracy theories about Middleton's whereabouts.
“She had abdominal surgery. Maybe she has a colostomy bag and doesn't want everyone to see it,” Kimmel said. “I mean really. People are asking her to dress up and walk across London so we can catch a glimpse of her. Leave this woman alone!”
“Can we please stop with this bullshit conspiracy theory?” Curtis wrote on her Instagram. “This is a human being with young children, who clearly presents a health issue of some kind. This is a private matter. Don't we have better things to do and more important things to think about and care about than this? It's a really low point in our society when there are so many critical issues that You need our attention.
Middleton said in her video that while her condition was originally thought to be non-cancerous, cancer was discovered in her system after abdominal surgery, and she is now in the “early stages” of preventative chemotherapy. She did not confirm the type of cancer.
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