The Comedy Central host explains how his joke was taken out of context, insisting, 'I'm not a racist - I don't even see race.'
- Apr 1, 2014
AceShowbiz - Stephen Colbert addressed the backlash he received for a joke posted on "The Colbert Report" Twitter account run by Comedy Central. On Monday, March 31, the comedian opened his show with a hilarious sketch in which he dreamed that his show was canceled following public outcry. Wearing Washington Redskins garb, he was awoken by actor B.D. Wong but it turned out that he was still dreaming.
Later on the show, he explained how his joke was taken out of context when it was posted on Twitter. On Wednesday, Colbert jokingly announced he founded the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever as he satirized Dan Snyder's the Washington Redskins Original American Foundation.
The "Colbert Report" posted the joke without any context or video, "I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever." This led to people allege him of being racist and call for a boycott on his show, making the #CancelColbert hashtag one of the trending topics on Twitter at the time.
"Who would have thought a means of communication limited to 140 characters would ever create misunderstandings?" he asked. Saying that it was a close call, he jokingly said, "Folks, I'm not gonna lie, we almost lost me. I'm never going to take me for granted ever again."
He stressed that it wasn't him who tweeted the joke, but rather "the brain trust over at my network" Comedy Central. Insisting that he's "not a racist," he said, "I don't even see race, not even my own. People tell me I'm white and I believe them because I just devoted six minutes to explain how I'm not a racist."
He went on telling people to stop attacking the activist who created the #CancelColbert hashtag. "If anyone is doing that for me, I want you to stop right now," he pled. "She's just speaking her mind. That's what Twitter's for, as well as ruining the ending of every show I haven't watched yet."
