'The Late Show' host makes his return to late-night after canceling several shows to recover from surgery for a ruptured appendix.
Stephen Colbert is back at his desk on The Late Show after canceling several shows to recover from a ruptured appendix.
The late-night talk show host made his return on Monday, explaining that he didn't know "the heap of trouble I was in," when he last hosted his show on Nov. 20.
"The last time I was doing The Late Show, almost three weeks ago, I had to get emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. Here's what happened. We'd had a great show the night before with David Letterman. Wonderful time with Dave. What a joy to have a meter. I was feeling high. But then I got home, and I was not feeling great. I thought I might have caught something from Dave's beard. I woke up the next morning just in abdominal agony. I figured the pain would go away, it would pass. So, I decided to do the show that night. 'How bad could it be?' Turns out: extremely."
Joking that the pain was "manageable," Colbert recalled holding it together as production shot two episodes, which included two monologues, two second acts, and an interview with Bradley Cooper -- "Because there is no pain when you're lost in those baby blues."
"But the moment I was not prepared for, my insides had become what the Spanish call 'Paella,'" Colbert quipped. He shared that he managed to finish the show, but by then, he had a "raging fever" and was eventually forced by his wife and driver to go to the hospital.
"They said when they opened it up, it was like they shot John Wick 5 down there," Colbert joked of his arrival at the hospital, where it was revealed that his appendix had already burst. "They gotta take out the appendix, and then they gotta clean everything out. I don't want to get into too much detail here, but basically, they go in there with a power washer and a shop vac... They yanked it out. I've been home recovering ever since."
Colbert went on to thank the doctors and nurses at St. Barnabas Hospital for their care, as well as all those who wished him well during his recovery. He gave a special shoutout to his Late Show crew, "who truly went beyond the call of duty to get me through that taping and propped me up."
"I want to thank Evie and the kids, who have been amazing during my recovery and filled the hole where my appendix used to be with love," he said of his wife and family. "And you might be surprised that I'd like to thank my appendix. Because you giving me blood poisoning helped me lose 14 pounds. Ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first. Appendicitis is the new Ozempic."
Colbert took to Instagram's Threads on Nov. 27 to share the news of his health setback.
"Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week," Colbert's statement began. "I’m sure you’re thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?' Actually, I’m recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix. I’m grateful to my doctors for their care and to Evie and the kids for putting up with me. Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."
This marks the second time in two months that health issues have disrupted the show's regular schedule. In October, The Late Show canceled a week of programs as Colbert recovered from a bout of COVID-19.
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