There’s nothing funnier than comparing a Supreme Court Justice to an alleged serial rapist, right? Well that’s what Late Show host Stephen Colbert thought, comparing the unhinged interview rapper R. Kelly gave to CBS’s Gayle King Wednesday morning to conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate hearing last Fall.
Colbert began by explaining the newest charges brought against R. Kelly, before playing clips of the wild interview:
If you've been living under a beautiful, comforting, noise-cancelling rock, R. Kelly is accused of multiple counts of physical and sexual abuse, including holding victims, some under age, against their will. And this was a chance for Kelly to try to reassure the world that he is normal. But instead, he went with... not that.
In that interview, Kelly repeatedly lashed out at King, blamed others, and even menacingly stood up at one point, towering over her and threw what amounted to a temper tantrum. That’s when Colbert crudely compared Kelly’s overwrought performance to Kavanaugh’s emotional opening statement before the Senate last September, after he was accused of attempted rape by Christine Blasey Ford:
“Wow. Wow. He shouted and he cried, but it was completely unconvincing. For Pete's sake. He forget to say he liked beer,” Colbert gushed, as producers put up an unflattering side by side picture of Kelly yelling and an emotional Brett Kavanaugh at his Senate hearing.
As the audience laughed and cheered, Colbert mocked, “You’ve got to!” adding “It’s ‘humanizing,’” with a smirk.
It goes without saying that comparing a Supreme Court Justice with a previously impeccable reputation to a musician who has pursued relationships with several underage girls, has been accused of rape, sexual misconduct and even child pornography dozens of times, is a vastly unfair comparison to make.
The late night host wasn’t the only one to make the crude argument. Online writers from The Atlantic and and InStyle also gushed that both men displayed “toxic masculinity” and “explosive rage” in their “interviews,” if that’s what you could call Kavanaugh’s Senate hearing.
