“Pretty weird, but harmless fun, right?” asks Stephen Colbert on The Late Show of Pizzagate, the bizarre conspiracy theory baselessly accusing Democratic elites of operating a pedophilic sex ring out out a popular Chevy Chase pizzeria. “Wrong.”
Days after a North Carolina man was arrested for walking into Comet Ping Pong with an AR-15 to “self-investigate” the theory and rescue the non-existent children from non-existent tunnels, Colbert takes a look at Pizzagate.
The host says he’s also been accused by “these Da Vinci chodes” of being in on the conspiracy, and on Hillary Clinton’s payroll more generally. “For the record—she can’t afford me,” says Colbert.
Most of the accusations against Colbert—he discusses scheduling with guests before they appear on the show, his team pre-interviews them—are common practice for TV interviews, and he notes he did the same for President-elect Donald Trump.
It’s similar to self-termed investigators being convinced that Comet advertising “all age shows” must be a sign of something untoward, even though anyone who’s ever been out of the house knows it refers to a venue that doesn’t require you to be of drinking age to enjoy a show.
“Here’s what these conspiracy theorists don’t get: there’s a difference between a conspiracy and an agreement,” he said. “A conspiracy is what villains do. An agreement is what adults do. Look around the country. Wouldn’t you agree we need some more adults?”
More than 1,800 have pledged to eat at Comet Ping Pong on Friday as part of a “Stand With Comet” event.
Rachel Kurzius