As he’s often done in recent days, Stephen Colbert had a lot of fun mocking the ongoing troubles at Fox News, thanks to the damning and embarrassing revelations about the network that have come out as part of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.
But this time, Colbert didn’t mock Fox News heavyweights like Tucker Carlson or Rupert Murdoch; instead, he poked fun at self-described “straight news” journalists who still work there – and at the idea that Fox has ever even done anything close to “straight news.”
The “Late Show” host had some simple advice for these people: “You can quit. It’s legal.”
Colbert got into it by bringing up the documents, released as part of the lawsuit, that prove that the Fox News stars who keep promoting the lie that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from Donald Trump didn’t actually believe it themselves. But these documents also showed these same stars’ disdain for their colleagues in the news division.
“They even mocked the network’s own reporters for correctly calling the election for Joe Biden. Turns out, these reporters are incredibly angry that the revelations ‘further sully the reputation of the network’s “straight news” journalists,’” Colbert said, quoting from a recent Daily Beast article.
Colbert seemed to find the idea that Fox News even has “straight news” journalists particularly hilarious.
“Really?” he said with heavy sarcasm. “That’s like the people at Taco Bell worrying that the cool ranch in fiery Doritos Locos tacos is going to further sully the reputation of their ass-blasting salt pockets.”
Colbert noted how, according to news reports, a current Fox News employee described these revelations as “soul crushing.”
“Aw. It’s nice to know someone there still has a soul,” he joked, adding, “because we know so few of them have a brain.”
Then Colbert noted the account of one employee who told The Daily Beast that “it’s just a really bad time to be working” at Fox News.
“Yes. Unlike the golden age of their journalism: Warning us about woke Legos and longing for Mr. Potatohead’s lost penis,” Colbert joked. And that brought him to his advice.
“Also, you know what you can do if it’s a really bad time to be working at Fox News. You can quit,” he said. “It’s legal. You’re not handcuffed to a radiator in a basement.”
You can watch the whole “Late Show” monologue at the top of the page.
