Stephen Colbert opened The Late Show Wednesday night not with his usual monologue, but with an impassioned plea from behind his desk after the death of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, 31, a leading ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot in the neck in front of a large crowd while hosting an event at a Utah college campus yesterday.
As of Thursday morning, the manhunt for the killer is still underway.
“Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones,” Colbert began his show, sitting at his desk instead of his usual place standing before his audience.
“I’m old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s, and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences,” he said.
“Political violence only leads to more political violence, and I pray with all my heart that this is the aberrant action of a madman and not a sign of things to come.”
The host’s regular monologue, which he stipulated was recorded before Kirk’s shooting, then followed his opening message.
Meanwhile, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel did not address Kirk’s death in his opening monologue on Wednesday, but shared a message about the shooting on social media.
“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” Kimmel wrote on Bluesky and Instagram.
“On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence,” he wrote.
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Since Kirk’s death, high-profile figures from both sides of the political aisle have paid tribute and shared messages of condolence.
“Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country,” Jurassic World star Chris Pratt — who is believed to be among a minority of conservative actors in Hollywood — wrote on X. “We need God’s grace. God help us.”
Comedian and TV host Rosie O’Donnell — a longtime enemy of Trump’s — shared a photo of Kirk speaking at an event on her Instagram page alongside the caption: “No just no—do not become the murderer—this is wrong on every level.”
Trump honoured Kirk as a “great” and “legendary” individual, and ordered flags to be raised at half-mast across the country. He called Kirk’s killing a “dark moment for America.”
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and two children.
