Stephen Colbert responds to Les Moonves' allegations of sexual misconduct.



[ad_1]

People, before the break, I was there. I've made some jokes about my boss in trouble, and are we still broadcasting? You know what, do not tell me, I like a surprise. And here is the thing. We are entering a year of general awareness of the #MeToo movement. And I think this step deserves to be celebrated. But it's hard to think of a proper birthday present when all the wish list of the Amazon is just "Stop!" By the way, women who wanted to "Stop that!" Also looking for "Justice!"

Last year, I felt empowered to tell their stories in a way that they had not before, which is objectively a good thing. Because – and it's strange, to say it – powerful men who profit sexually from relatively powerless employees are wrong. We know it's wrong now, and we knew it was wrong then. And how do we know that we knew that was wrong then? Because we know that these men tried to keep the stories out at the time. I do not remember any ad in Variety saying, "Congratulations to me for everything I'm groping for!"

That said, and it is obviously naïve on some level, the revelations and accusations of the past year, only in the entertainment industry, have been shocking. For me. For many women I know, it has brought a welcome sense of relief that something is finally happening.

Now, as a middle-aged man with some power in the entertainment industry, I may not be the ideal person-kind of systemic abuse. Who am I to judge? I am catholic. Again. And when I go to confession, I have things to confess. First, I do not go to confession. And that just happened to me, for a little bit.

But this weekend, some people have asked me, probably because I'm working here, "What do you think it's going to happen?" I do not know. I do not know who knows . In a situation like this, I normally call them. But over the past year, there has been a lot of discussion about whether the accused's disappearance from public life is the right thing to do. And I understand that there should be levels of response. But I understand why this disappearance occurs. Because there is a quote from JFK that I like and I quote a good part of this show, and that "those who make the peaceful revolution make the violent revolution inevitable." And for so long, for women at work, there was no change. No justice for the abused. So, we should not be surprised that when change comes, it comes drastically. This roar is just a natural backlash to all this silence.

So I do not know. I do not know. I do not know what will happen, but I believe in responsibility. And not just for the politicians with whom you do not agree. Everyone believes in the responsibility until it is their type. And do not get me wrong, Les Moonves is my guy. He hired me to sit on this chair. He was standing behind this show as we struggled to find our voice. He gave us the time and resources to succeed, and he supported us when people were angry with me. And I like working for him. But accountability does not make sense unless it's for everyone, be it the leader of a network or the leader of the free world. We will come back.

[ad_2]
Source link