“Stephen Colbert” Returns To ‘Colbert’ To Wish Bill O’Reilly Goodbye [VIDEO]

While Stephen Colbert‘s fictional right-wing pundit character, “Stephen Colbert” came to end well over a year ago, the character’s inspiration, Bill O’Reilly, was still very much around. That is, until Wednesday when O’Reilly’s show, The O’Reilly Factor, was cancelled by Fox News after a 20 year run. O’Reilly lost support for his show amidst multiple reports of sexual harassment.

Last night, Colbert invited the fictional Colbert onto The Late Show to wish his mentor a proper adieu.

“I owe a lot to Bill O’Reilly,” the real Colbert said. “I spent over nine years playing a character based largely on him and then 12 months in therapy to de-bloviate myself.”

Then, in a pre-recorded segment, the fictional Colbert appeared. Donning his frameless glasses, coiffed hair, and his “C” lapel pin, Colbert began to shame the viewers.

“All [O’Reilly] ever did was have your back. And if you’re a woman…you know, have a go at your front too,” the conservative Colbert said straight-faced.

“Stay strong papa bear,” he said faking tears. “Oh god, is this really happening?

The real Colbert, who has hosted The Late Show since September 2015, was a little harder on O’Reilly and his hard-lined views.

“By moral standards, he was a self-righteous landfill of angry garbage,” Colbert said responding to Fox’s comment that O’Reilly was successful by rating’s standards.

O’Reilly appeared on both of Colbert’s shows multiple times in the past and Colbert was once a guest on The Factor.

In character on The Factor, Colbert mocked O’Reilly directly as O’Reilly attempted to both rattle the comedian and joke with him.

After O’Reilly began to raise his voice in jest, Colbert paused and gave O’Reilly a compliment. “You know what I hate about people who criticize you? They criticize what you say but they never give you credit for how loud you say it.”

You can watch last night’s Late Show segment below.