Stephen Colbert kicked off his final week of The Late Show with a salute to his graphics team, revealing a 'dark' Hillary Clinton joke that never made it to air.
During Monday's episode, Colbert welcomed the head of his arts department, Andro Buneta, to revisit some of the best graphics that were cut. In a segment called 'Graphics Graveyard', named after the team's group chat, Colbert pointed to an image prepared for Hillary Clinton winning the 2016 election to become the 45th president. Instead, Donald Trump defeated Clinton.
'This was the darkest version of the graphics graveyard,' Colbert said, as the audience groaned. He quipped: 'Oh, grow up! It all worked out fine.'
Other never-aired graphics included an edited Martha Stewart Living cover with the headline 'Donner or Dinner Party' and a spoof pornographic magazine titled Gibblets featuring a turkey in a bra. Buneta explained that cut graphics were printed and later shared in a Slack channel.
CBS's long-running Late Show franchise will end Thursday. The network announced cancellation last July, days after Colbert criticized parent company Paramount for settling a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump over a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris. CBS maintains the decision was financial, but many suspect political motives.
Colbert told The New York Times he was caught off guard by the cancellation, noting CBS had encouraged him to sign a five-year contract in 2023. 'I do not dispute their rationale. I do make jokes about it,' he said. 'But I also completely understand why people would say that doesn't make sense to me and that seems fishy to me.'
