Ahead of his Late Show debut next month, Stephen Colbert wrote a guest column for Glamour called “Stephen Colbert Shares Why He Thinks Women Should Be in Charge of Everything,” and at the end of the piece Colbert makes a promise to celebrate women on his late night show:
Point is, I’m here for you, and that means I’m going to do my best to create a Late Show that not only appeals to women but also celebrates their voices. These days TV would have you believe that being a woman means sensually eating yogurt, looking for ways to feel confident on heavy days, and hunting for houses. But I’m going to make a show that truly respects women, because I know that there’s more than one way to be one. Maybe you’re a woman who likes women. Maybe you like women and men. Maybe you’re a woman who’s recently transitioned. Maybe you’re a guy who’s reading this magazine because your girlfriend bought a copy and it looked interesting. Whoever you are, I promise: I’m going to lean in on this. It really accentuates my muffin top.
Colbert also says he’s surprised there are no women late night hosts on television these days – “unlike sitcoms, which are packed with smoking-hot wives who teach their doughy husband a valuable lesson when he slips on a pizza and falls headfirst into a porta-potty full of beer.” Former late night host Jay Leno chimed in during his TCA panel today with a similar statement when asked about Colbert’s hiring: “The idea of a white guy in late night — it’s revolutionary! I’d like to see more diversity — there should be a female host, another African-American host in late-night.” Hopefully if enough white dude late night hosts complain about the lack of women hosts on TV, we’ll finally start seeing some progress. Considering Fallon just extended his NBC contract through 2021 and Colbert hasn’t even begun his Late Show reign, it looks like the ladies won’t have a turn anytime soon.
