Stephen Colbert Doesn't Regret the Joke That Caused the #FireColbert Backlash

Late Show host Stephen Colbert tore into President Trump in a monologue Monday night, but some critics say he went way too far. Colbert has now responded to the tirade, saying he doesn't regret it but would do it differently next time.

Trump had abruptly ended an interview with his CBS colleague, John Dickerson, and he wasn't going to let that go. "You're not the POTUS, you're the BLOATUS. You're the glutton with the button," Colbert said. And then he told a joke that was surprisingly okayed by censors: "In fact, the only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c-ck holster."

Many viewers took issue with that joke, and #FireColbert started trending on Twitter. Critics found the joke vulgar homophobic, while other people found conservatives complaining about homophobia to be hypocritical, especially since they defend people's rights to make controversial comments. Either way, people called for Colbert to be fired and also want a boycott of his advertisers.

Colbert started his monologue Wednesday night addressing the controversy, joking, "Am I still the host? I'm still the host!" And he said he doesn't want to take back his litany of insults against President Trump. "I don't regret that. I believe he can take care of himself," Colbert said. "I have jokes, he has the launch codes, so it's a fair fight."

However, Colbert said he wishes he didn't use the insult people found homophobic, and clarified that he considers himself an ally to the LGBT community. Here's what he said:

"So while I would do it again, I would change a few words that were cruder than they needed to be. Now I'm not going to repeat the phrase, but I just want to say for the record, life is short. And anyone who expresses their love for another person in their own way is, to me, an American hero. And I think we can all agree on that. I hope even the president and I can agree on that. Nothing else, but that."

Watch his full monologue below:

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