Julia Louis-Dreyfus revived Selina Meyer, her beloved character from Veep, to help say farewell to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. The actress, appearing in support of her new film The Sheep Detectives, read a series of lines as Selina, much to the surprise of Colbert.
“People have been coming on this show recently to sing your praises and give you gifts,” Louis-Dreyfus explained. “And you know how much I love you. I really do. I wanted to sort of add to the chorus to boost you along to whatever brilliant thing you do next. And since I know you’re a huge fan of Veep I got some of the Veep writers together to write a Veep-style tribute to you. And I’m going to read them to you as Selina Meyer.”
The tribute began: “I’ve been on this show multiple times and I always thought you were Rachel Maddow. Are you not?”
The actress as Selina continued, “So you’re Irish but you decided to pronounce your name to sound French? That’s like putting lipstick on a pig, which I understand is what Irish people do before they fuck it.”
She added, “Your cancellation gave Donald Trump so much pleasure I always think of you as the Stormy Daniels of late night.”
Louis-Dreyfus also tried to comfort Colbert, noting, “I don’t want you to worry. The only reason everyone rallied around Jimmy Kimmel is because he’s more popular.”
Elsewhere during the appearance Colbert asked Louis-Dreyfus for advice on how to handle the end of a long-running show. “Do you drink?” she asked. “You’ll be fine.” The duo also shared memories of their friendship, including how they met, and took the opportunity to kiss on camera.
The Late Show will come to an end of May 21. Colbert has hosted The Late Show for 11 years, taking over the show from David Letterman in 2015. While the show has long been one of the most-watched programs in late-night, and earned numerous accolades, including an Emmy and a Peabody Award, CBS decided to cancel the show last July.
At the time, the network said it was a “purely financial decision,” adding, “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Those “other matters” likely referred to the then-ongoing efforts at Paramount (CBS’ parent company) to complete a merger with David Ellison’s Skydance. Considering Colbert was a frequent critic of Trump, many alleged that CBS’ decision to cancel The Late Show was part of a wider effort to appease the Trump administration, which still had to approve the merger.
Louis-Dreyfus played Selina Meyer for seven season of Veep, which concluded on HBO in 2019. Her character was the fictional vice president of the United States who eventually decided to run for president.
