The Late Show viewers might have thought they were watching a pandemic-era rerun on Monday night, but nope, that’s host Stephen Colbert broadcasting from his home in 2023.
“Keen-eyed viewers may notice tonight’s show looks just a little different. I am not presently in the Ed Sullivan Theater. I’m in Ed Sulli-my house because this morning, I woke up feeling, uh, not great. Flaming throat. A little sweaty. Cough-y. I took one of those at-home tests and it said I am not pregnant,” he said. “Then I took a COVID test and it told me I am pregnant with COVID.”
Colbert, who joked that he has “COVID-19… again, even though it’s 2023,” is pretty sure he knows where he caught it from. “I saw [Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour]. It was great. I sang, I laughed, I screamed along with my fellow Swifties who were so excited that they came to the theater despite their high fevers, loss of taste and smell, and… OK, that’s where I got COVID. I got COVID (Taylor’s Version),” he said.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour made over $130 million worldwide during its opening weekend. That’s a lot of full theaters. It could qualify as a supersreader event, but that’s the orbs are for. They’re warding off illness.
You can watch Colbert’s Late Show monologue above.