Late Night Roundup: Fallon, Colbert, Meyers, O’Brien, Corden Address Protests, Racism, and Police Brutality: ‘Silence is The Biggest Crime’

Late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Conan O’Brien, and James Corden returned from a week off on Monday and offered “a different kind of show,” during which they each addressed police brutality, racism, and the protests sweeping through the United States.

Fallon began by apologizing for wearing blackface while impersonating Chris Rock during a Saturday Night Life sketch, promising viewers that he is not racist and vowing to be a better ally in the future.

“I’m going to start this personally,” he began. “And the expand out because that’s where we all need to start. With ourselves and looking at ourselves in the mirror.”

Fallon went on to say that he was “horrified” when the story came out because of his love and respect for Rock, adding that he asked him for advice before addressing his mistake.

“I realized that the silence is the biggest crime that white guys like me and the rest of us are doing — staying silent,” he added. “We need to say something. We need to keep saying something. And we need to stop saying ‘that’s not OK’ more than just one day on Twitter.”

The host, who had Lady Gaga scheduled to be his guest, instead welcomed NAACP President Derrick Johnson, and CNN host Don Lemon to help him continue the conversation on race in America.

Johnson applauded the late-night host’s “courage,” and urged him to continue to use his platform to push the discussion forward. Lemon addressed the history of protests, and later pointed out that those concerned with law and order should be angrier about the loss of life than the loss of property.

Colbert invited rapper and activist Killer Mike and MSNBC host Chris Hayes to help discuss the protests over the death of George Floyd and the current leadership in America.

“Not only is addressing systemic racial and economic injustice the right thing to do, it is the safest, most conservative, most self-protecting, most self-serving thing to do. Contents under pressure will eventually explode, and that’s not a threat — that’s a law of nature,” he said.

“So it’s time to ask ourselves, as it is always time to ask ourselves, what kind of nation do we want to live in? That answer requires moral leadership. So take it upon yourself to be a leader and set an example of the kind of country you want to live in. That might mean going to a protest or making a donation or having a tense conversation about race. But you’re not going to get that from the White House, so we need to step up and provide it ourselves. America is now officially B.Y.O.P.: Be Your Own President.”

Colbert also compared President Donald Trump hiding in a bunker amid the protests on Friday to Adolf Hitler descending into his bunker during the last siege of World War II.

“If history has taught us anything it’s that things always work well for strongmen who retreat to underground bunkers,” Colbert joked, alluding to Hitler’s eventual death by suicide.

Meyers directly addressed police brutality and noted that America’s problem is not simply a few bad officers, but that there is a systemic issue present in the police force.

“Stop saying the problem is just a few bad apples. It’s not an apple problem — it’s an orchard problem,” he said. “If you went apple picking and the guy who ran the orchard said, ‘There are a few bad apples out there,’ and you asked, ‘How bad?’ and they said, ‘Kill you bad,’ you’d say, ‘This is a bad orchard.’”

The host later invited SNL’s Michael Che to address the Black Lives Matter protests, reflect on what it’s like being in New York City during this time, and how he thinks young Americans will create change.

“We’re just asking to matter,” Che said of the Black Lives Matter movement. “And somehow that becomes a challenge and somehow that becomes unreasonable to some people, and the absurdity of not being able to give us that much is really all it is.”

O’Brien made a short statement explaining that he does not believe it’s his place to discuss his current pain, and instead will listen to CNN host Van Jones, who later discussed the protests following Floyd’s killing and policy changes that are needed to fight systemic racism.

“Just admit you live in a country with a terrible history,” Jones said addressing white Americans. “Nobody likes that reality, it’s uncomfortable, but the fact that you can run away from it 365 days a year, doesn’t mean you should.”

Corden did not do his typical “Three Things to Cheer You Up” segment, and instead asked viewers to understand and feel the anger of those protesting, and urged people to use their platforms to amplify the voices of others.

“These protests, they have to result in change. Because when athletes took a knee peacefully at a football game, the vice president stood up and walked out of that stadium rather than see that protest,” he added. “Now a policeman takes a knee to a man’s neck and our leadership hide in a bunker rather than see this protest.”

Watch above, via Youtube.

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