‘Colbert Report’ Canceled? #CancelColbert Takes Aim At Washington Redskins Name Controversy

Those wanting the Colbert Report canceled were responding to a racial joke that made light of the Washington Redskins name controversy. While Stephen Colbert is unlikely to hang up his bald eagle any time soon, that does not mean the famous comedian won’t mock the world by featuring a show where his show is “canceled.”

In a related report by The Inquisitr, it’s claimed that a Washington Redskins name change is supported by only 10 percent of Native Americans themselves. When the NFL banned the N-word, Richard Sherman compared the situation to the Redskins issue.

The Colbert Report‘s Twitter feed started the controversy by tweeting a joke that did not explain the context:

“I am willing to show the Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.”

This joke only made sense if you knew they were attempting to mock the Redskins’ owner’s attempts to reach out to the Native American community by creating the “Original Americans Foundation.” In response, the #CancelColbert hash tag began trending on Twitter, apparently because many did not realize this was a joke.

Responding to the controversy, Stephen tweeted that he “shared” their “rage” and then showed the Colbert Report canceled in a new segment, which had the studio shutting down, sad writers walking out, and Manhattan freezing over. The segment then had Stephen dressed up in Washington Redskins merchandise talking to an Asian therapist about the horrible dream he’d had. Still, he did touch on the subject, although (as might be expected) not in a very serious manner:

“We almost lost me… The dark forces trying to silence my message of core conservative principles mixed with youth-friendly product placement have been thwarted. When I saw the tweet with no context, I understood how people were offended…. I don’t even see race, not even my own. People tell me I’m white and I believe them because I just devoted six minutes to explain how I’m not a racist…. In a sense, I was canceled for three days… just like Jesus.”

He also made light of the #CancelColbert movement by tweeting:

“Who would have thought a means of communication limited to 140 characters would ever create misunderstanding?… To recap, a web editor I’ve never met posts a Tweet in my name on an account I don’t control, outrages a hashtag activist and the news media gets 72 hours of content. The system worked!”

Stephen also pointed out that many on Twitter seem to not have even noticed the existence of the “Original Americans Foundation” nor have they connected the dots to the Washington Redskins name controversy.

What do you think about people demanding to have the Colbert Report canceled over an out-of-context joke?