Noted Tolkien expert Stephen Colbert was a little bummed during his monologue Monday with the news that Italy’s new Prime Minister is apparently really, really into “The Lord of the Rings.” And in explaining why it doesn’t make sense for extreme right wingers to love Tolkien’s legendarium, he nerded out so much even his own camera started to drift off.
“The part that hurts the most for me, personally,” Colbert said after explaining the situation, “is that Meloni, who leads a party that has often been described as neo-fascist, claims to be a big Tolkien fan who used to dress up as a hobbit.”