Stephen Colbert is not proud of some jokes he made about Kate Middleton‘s whereabouts before her cancer diagnosis was revealed.
On The Late Show Monday, the comedian spoke for two minutes about the Princess of Wales and how he does “not make light of somebody else’s tragedy” as he acknowledged that some of his jokes about Middleton “upset some people.” (He did not apologize.)
“I tell jokes about a lot of different things, mostly what everybody’s talking about,” Colbert started in his 2-minute speech. “And for the last six weeks to two months, everybody has been talking about the mystery of Kate Middleton’s disappearance from public life.”
“When I made those jokes that upset some people even before her diagnosis was revealed. I can understand that… But there’s a standard that I try to hold myself to, and that is I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy,” Colbert continued, later adding, “Far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family.”
During a previous episode, Colbert had joked that Prince William was having an affair and seemed to receive a mixed reaction from the audience.
“Though 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 heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough,” he said Monday.
Middleton shared a video Friday revealing that she had been diagnosed with cancer, putting an end to rampant gossip and conspiracy theories — spurred by obvious Photoshopping — about her well-being in the face of her public absence.
Middleton said that following her January 16 “planned” abdominal procedure, “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation on cancer had been present.”
“This, of course, came as a huge shock,” she continued. “And William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to [our children] George, Charlotte, and Louis in a way that’s appropriate for them and to reassure them that I’m going to be OK.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
