“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” got the last laugh Tuesday night on Tucker Carlson — or at least the latest one — after the uber Fox News host falsely lauded colleague Greg Gutfeld for beating out Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel in TV ratings.
The geniuses behind “The Late Show” fake news alerts delivered the comedic blow, mocking the news from Monday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had handed over all the available surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 insurrection to Carlson, for him to do with what he pleases.
A mash-up of two anchors breaking down the news kicks the segment off, calling Carlson “one of the most prominent promoters of conspiracy theories about the January 6th insurrection” with MSNBC’s Joy Reid getting to the heart of the matter and what the leading Fox News host will likely do — “he’s gonna use this footage, comb through it and create this sort of alternate narrative to January 6th.”
The bit then takes a turn for laughs, with a narrator saying Colbert’s show had acquired Carlson’s “alternate narrative” before rolling it out, which in the fine form of “Late Show” fake news alerts featured a theme song voiced over Jan. 6 video and a caption that highlighted the lyrics — with a bouncing Tucker Carlson head.
“What a super day — January 6th,” the song begins, tipping off the sarcasm from the jump.
“Lots of friendly words, chirping birds, afterwards all the windows were fixed,” it continues, before references to QAnon, a jogging Josh Hawley and the hangman’s noose meant for then-VP Mike Pence, here called “a swing set built for one.”
The fake news alert comes less than a week after Carlson took a dig at Colbert, saying the late-night host was scared to tell authentic jokes while congratulating the Fox News late-night show “Gutfeld!” for overtaking Colbert and other shows in ratings.
Watch the full “Late Show” segment in the video above or Colbert’s tweet below.