Stephen Colbert Being Investigated By The FCC After Off-Color Joke About Donald Trump

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating Stephen Colbert after his off-color joke about Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on last week’s Late Show.

STEPHEN COLBERT UNDER FCC INVESTIGATION FOR TRUMP JOKE

Colbert, an outspoken liberal and Trump critic, took down the president in a series of jokes during his opening monologue. This was in response to Trump’s shut-down of fellow CBS host John Dickerson.

One joke in particular got many right-wingers and Trump supporters amped up and angry. “The only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c–k holster,” he said.

Colbert came under fire for the joke, with opponents starting the hashtag #FireColbert. Following this, Colbert came out to say he did not regret what he said, though perhaps he would have chosen different words. As such, many wrote in complaints about the host to the FCC who now must give action.

“I have had a chance to see the clip now and so, as we get complaints, and we’ve gotten a number of them, we are going to take the facts that we find and we are going to apply the law as it’s been set out by the supreme court and other courts and we’ll take the appropriate action,” explained FCC chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday. “We’ll follow the standard operating procedures, as we always do, and make sure we evaluate what the facts are and apply the law fairly and fully.”

Even then, the FCC came under fire for considering an investigation. “We review all consumer complaints as a matter of standard practice and rely on the law to determine whether action is warranted,” said Pai in response. “The fact that a complaint is reviewed doesn’t speak one way or another as to whether it has any merit.”

The Writers Guilds of America chimed in on the situation, saying the FCC should not have grounds to investigate. “As presidents of the Writers Guilds of America, East and West, we were appalled to read recent remarks by Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai,” WGA-East head Michael Winship and WGA-West chief Howard Rodman said. “Pai’s remarks are just the latest in a series of statements by the current administration indicating a willful disregard of the First Amendment. Colbert was poking fun at authority, a time-honored American tradition and an essential principle of democracy. What is obscene is not what Colbert said but any attempt by the government to stifle dissent and creativity.”