The two CBS late-night talk show hosts opened their shows with somber monologues.
Late-night television shows -- which typically begin with laughter -- started with somber messages from the hosts on Tuesday. Stephen Colbert began The Late Show with a heartfelt message of reflection, after news broke of a gunman walking into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and killing 19 students and two adults.
Colbert shared that the show was taped earlier in the day, and that the news broke shortly before he took the stage. “We learned about the unspeakable shooting in Uvalde, Texas, today. And while we can add our prayers for the dead, there is nothing that could ever be said that could approach the immeasurable grief of those families. But while we’re at it, let's pray our leaders show a modicum of courage in trying to prevent this from ever happening again,” Colbert said.
“But prayers won’t end this. Voting might,” he added. “So, when you vote, ask yourself this question, 'Who running for office has publicly stated that they’re willing to do anything and everything in their power to protect your children from the criminally insane number of guns in America?'”
Before shifting his monologue, Colbert praised his guest for the evening, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and her country for the way they handled a singular mass shooting event in 2019.
“I’ll tell you who did something about it, the New Zealanders,” Colbert noted. “And my guest tonight, the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. And I will ask her how they achieved that and what the results have been.”
Colbert then encouraged Americans to vote, before shifting his monologue to the primary elections that took place in five states and rounding out his introduction with quips about the candidates.
On the same network, James Corden began the Late Late Show with a somber monologue that focused solely on the shooting. Corden stood on the stage with the audience in their seats behind him and got emotional as he spoke about the shooting.
“Good evening, we just finished taping our show, here where we try to have fun and be joyful, but ultimately it was a night of underlying sadness, as more news of events from Texas came into us,” the 43-year-old host said.
“As you know, a gunman entered a school in Texas and killed at least 18 children and two adults. It's unfathomable. As a father I can’t imagine the horror of that phone call. When I dropped my kids off at school this morning, and kissed them goodbye, it doesn’t cross your mind that that could ever be the last goodbye. The thought of that phone call, that your child is the victim in a mass shooting, is beyond comprehension as a human being.”
Corden added, “So deeply sad for the families of these children. The trauma of the survivors, and for the future these kids will never see. And I don’t know what has to happen to change things here. I am constantly shocked by the number of people who must think that this is an OK by-product to never make meaningful changes to gun laws.”
Corden became emotional as he shared that when it comes to the mass shooting incidents, it "doesn't reflect the country that I think America is,” as he noted the technology, medicine and innovation that the country is known for. Corden added that America is “one of the most backwards places in the world” when it comes to the issue of gun violence.
“This year, there have been no school shootings in England. This year, there have been no school shootings in Japan. This year, there have been no school shootings in Australia. This year, there have been 27 school shootings in America and 212 mass shootings, and we are just five months into the year,” he said.
“Nothing will change, gun money will continue to get in the way of morality. So just as I stood here in this studio last week and I talked about a mass shooting in a grocery store in Buffalo, today, heartbreakingly, it’s in an elementary school in Texas. And I’ll probably be standing here talking again in another week or two about another place.”
After almost two minutes, Corden ended his emotional message by saying, “Words and thoughts and prayers will come from our leaders, but I feel change never will,” he said. “I hold out hope that this country will eventually wake up and change this senseless gun culture. My heart simply goes out to every single person in Texas.”
On Wednesday, the confirmed count of those who died during the mass shooting was 19 children and two adults.
On Tuesday, when the news broke, celebrities and public figures took to social media to react. Matthew McConaughey, who is a native of Uvalde, Texas, took to social media to make a statement. President Joe Biden also addressed the nation the same evening with a plea to politicians.
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