Stephen Colbert’s final episode airs Thursday night, and Greg Gutfeld had some thoughts.
A lot of thoughts. And if you know Gutfeld, you know they were good.
Taking over Colbert’s late-night time slot is Byron Allen, whose long-running syndicated show Comics Unleashed features Allen alongside four comedians pulling from their stand-up sets.
Gutfeld played a clip from CNN, in which Allen told Michael Smerconish exactly what he’s going for.
“What I’m doing with Comics Unleashed, we don’t talk about politics. We don’t talk about anything that’s topical. We don’t talk about anything. We don’t do anything that’s racist or sexist or anti-Semitic or homophobic. Just be funny and don’t offend. I don’t care who you vote for. I don’t care. I’m here to make people laugh. You’re going to vote who you’re going to vote for no matter what I say. It doesn’t matter. It’s not my business. Do what you do. So I’m here to make you laugh.”
Gutfeld appreciated the spirit of it, but wasn’t entirely buying the pitch. “That sounds like someone saying take up boxing, but don’t try to hit anyone,” he said. “Or a hooker saying she just wants to hold hands.”
On the surface, the setup makes sense from a business perspective. Colbert inherited a genuine late-night institution and proceeded to torch it with partisan politics, and that drove away viewers.
So, steering clear of politics just makes logistical sense. But Gutfeld pushed back on the “don’t offend” part of Allen’s philosophy. Every joke offends someone, he argued — that’s kind of the point. “It’s not like a child telling her father, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a Democrat.’ Sorry, kid, you can’t be both.”
“See, every joke is going to offend someone. If there’s no risk, why bother?” Gutfeld asked. He even took a shot at roasts, calling them too comfortable because the offensive premise is already baked in. “It’s more fun to roast someone in a non-roast setting,” he said. “It’s why I always share my best zingers during my charity work at St. Jude’s Hospital.”
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The deeper critique, though, was aimed squarely at what Colbert represented. Smart audiences know when a comic is playing it safe, and Colbert played it safe for years — just against the right targets. He spent four years ignoring what Gutfeld described as an almost bottomless well of material: “Mr. Magoo’s stumbling around the Oval Office, backed by a wine-soaked babbler,” with a son “filming himself with crack whores, loose bags of cocaine, and dogs biting Secret Service agents.” As Gutfeld noted, “the Bidens were an embarrassment of riches,” and yet, to Colbert and the rest of the left-wing late-night hosts, they were untouchable.
“He did nothing but safe comedy, ridiculing the approved targets his team hated, and then stuck his tongue firmly up the asses of politicians he supported,” Gutfeld said.
Which brings it all back to the central irony. Colbert is being celebrated in some corners as a brave, truth-telling comedian willing to take risks. Gutfeld rejected that. “How was he able to last this long and lose millions every year?” he asked. “Because he did what he was told, which makes the idea that he’s leaving the job as some sort of risk-taking comic the biggest joke of all.”
Colbert’s Crutch: Why “Safe” Isn’t Funny pic.twitter.com/224AJbuhlw
— Gutfeld! (@Gutfeldfox) May 20, 2026
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