The Late Show host Stephen Colbert sparked outrage this week as he fell short of apologising for the jokes he made about Kate Middleton’s disappearance after her cancer announcement

Talk show host Stephen Colbert fails to apologise for Kate Middleton disappearance jokes

Famous talk show host Stephen Colbert has been met with a string of backlash online as he refused to apologise for his jokes surrounding Kate Middleton’s disappearance.

The 59-year-old comedian – a self-proclaimed anti-monarchist – addressed the ongoing controversy following the remarks he made about the Princess of Wales on the The Late Show on CBS. While admitting that he cracked more than a few jokes surrounding Kate’s vanishing from the public eye, he didn’t issue an apology after Kate announced she had been diagnosed with cancer.

While he didn’t outright apologize, Stephen did share his sympathy for Kate and her family and made clear that he does “not make light of somebody else’s tragedy” and realised that the jokes he made about Kate “upset some people”.

Stephen Colbert fails to apologise for Kate Middleton jokes(Image: CBS via Getty Images)

He added that he is aware that “any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for their family” and that the programme wishes them the best. He went on to say that he doesn’t know the inner details of Kate’s cancer prognosis but assumed that because she’s the future Queen of England she’s “going to be getting the best possible medical care”.

And while he shared this remorse, he went on to say that his job as a TV show host is to tell jokes that are relevant to what everyone is talking about and for the past six weeks to two months that has been Kate’s mysterious disappearance. He admitted that even before her diagnosis was revealed people expressed their anger over the jokes.

During the episode, Stephen said: “A lot of my jokes have upset people in the past – and I’m sure some of my jokes will upset people in the future,” and concluded by saying: “And, though I’m sure they don’t need it from me, I and everyone here at ‘The Late Show’ would like to extend our well wishes and heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough.”

Kate Middleton recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with cancer(Image: BBC Studios)

And while Stephen addressed the controversy and shared his well-wishes, it did not sit well with many viewers that he did not formally apologise. Queen Elizabeth II’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter took to X, formerly Twitter, bashing Stephen for his statement with many rallying in agreement.

Arbiter posted: “He might be full of regret for himself but he didn’t apologise,” and furiously added: “American chat show hosts have a cruel capacity of making jokes at others expense and Colbert is no exception. Buckingham Palace said she’d had surgery, and would be away for several weeks. The Princess of Wales didn’t disappear, she was recuperating. This was not good enough for chat show hosts or the twitterati – SHAME on you all. There’s a clear message – engage brain before mouth if at all the former exists.”