Actor James Franco turned the tables on comedian Stephen Colbert at the end of his segment on “The Colbert Report” Wednesday by asking the funnyman if he will “go Democrat” when he assumes David Letterman’s position on “The Late Show” next year.
After grilling Franco on his upcoming film “Child of God” and his Yale Ph.D. candidacy, Colbert announced that it was time to wrap up and send the actor home. Franco, however, had another idea.
“No, you’re not done,” Franco said. “We’ll see you on the new show. Are you going to go Democrat when you go to this new show?”
Colbert offered the actor the most eloquent of responses.
“Now, here’s the interesting thing,” replied the comedian. “I don’t know what the f–k you’re talking about.”
Franco and the audience had a good laugh, and Colbert leaned over to shake the actor’s hand while whispering something inaudible in his ear. Perhaps he was chastising Franco for bringing the subject up, considering Colbert has only referred to Letterman’s replacement (himself, of course) in the third person on “The Colbert Report.”
“I gotta tell you, I do not envy whoever they try to put in that chair,” Colbert as his conservative persona said of the next “Late Show” host during an episode of “The Colbert Report” back in April.
Of course, CEO of CBS Leslie Moonves gave some insight into Colbert’s role on “The Late Show” shortly after the network named the comedian as Letterman’s replacement.
“What you’re going to get is the real Stephen Colbert,” Moonves said, according to USA TODAY. “He said it’s time to do something different. If he’s going to be on our air for 20 years, as we all hope, it’s not humanly possible to keep that character going.”
Perhaps Franco with his question, then, was trying to get at who exactly is “the real Stephen Colbert.”
Letterman himself has confessed his guilt of appearing biased to the left, though he insists that such preference does not stem from his personal views. In time, America will discover whether or not Colbert will follow directly in Letterman’s footsteps or bring a more politically-charged persona to CBS’ “The Late Show.”
Watch Franco’s segment on “The Colbert Report” below.
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