Stephen Colbert Says Participants In His Celebrity Pickleball Event Are ‘Out For Blood’

Pickleball, a sport with absolutely no real food involved despite its name, is getting a major celebrity push in a big way thanks to Stephen Colbert. The hybrid sport is gaining in popularity across the country, and later this month CBS viewers will get the chance to see celebrities take the court and play a bit of pickleball themselves.

The full list of pickleball rules is here if you want to get specific, but essentially it’s a combination of tennis and table tennis, played on a modified version of the former’s court. There’s a net, there’s a line you can’t cross without penalty in front of said net. And, importantly, there’s surprisingly expensive and specialized equipment necessary if you want to give it a try.

If that’s too much work, however, you can just watch celebrities play for charity in a two-hour special hosted by Stephen Colbert. Airing on November 17,

As Variety detailed, the two-hour special event will Colbert hosting along with basketball broadcasting legend Bill Raftery and Cari Champion. A pretty impressive list of celebrities are slated to participate as well, including Emma Watson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Will Ferrell among the participants. The latter’s Funny or Die is helping CBS and Colbert make the show a reality, of course, so that makes a lot of sense. And Colbert seems pretty excited to showcase a sport he fell in love with earlier in the year.

“You don’t get to be fully employed in Hollywood unless you are competitive,” Colbert said. “And these people are out for blood at all times.”