Jon Stewart has praised Stephen Colbert following the end of The Late Show, urging fans not to “confuse cancellation with failure” in a heartfelt message about the program’s legacy.
On Tuesday night’s episode of The Late Show, Colbert reunited with Comedy Central's The Daily Show alum who showered his former Daily Show correspondent with gifts in honor of his final week on CBS.
At the start of the conversation, Colbert looked back on his early Comedy Central days, sharing an old photo of himself and Stewart at The Daily Show desk from 27 years ago.
“One of us has not aged as well as the other,” Stewart joked, referring to himself.
He added, “This looks like a double-blind study where they gave one of these people is getting age-defying peptides and the other one is getting a placebo.”
Addressing Colbert’s looming exit, Stewart recalled advice from David Letterman after his short-lived late-night run on MTV came to an end.
“He said, ‘Don’t confuse cancellation with failure.’ I thought that was profound,” Stewart recalled, before delivering the punchline, “But then he said, ‘But in this case it is also a failure.’”
As the interview wrapped up, Jon Stewart teased a special two-part gift for Stephen Colbert, joking that unlike others, he wanted to give him something more meaningful and lasting.
Stewart then unveiled the cherry on top, “This tribute isn’t complete. Stephen, this tribute doesn’t represent the joy that you brought to me as my friend and the joy that you brought to this country as one of its leading entertainers. What this moment needs is something so much more. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Andra Day.”
R&B singer Andra Day then surprised Stephen Colbert with a performance of her hit song Rise Up, closing out Jon Stewart’s appearance on The Late Show.
The show’s final episode will air Thursday on CBS, with Bruce Springsteen set as Wednesday’s musical guest.
