Stephen Colbert unexpectedly canceled five episodes of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after the host underwent surgery for a ruptured appendix.
“Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week,” Colbert, 59, wrote in a statement shared via Threads on Monday, November 27. “I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?’ Actually, I’m recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix.”
Colbert expressed his gratitude to his doctors and family for helping take care of him. He gave a shout-out to his wife, Evelyn “Evie” McGee-Colbert, and their three children, Madeline, 28, Peter, 26, and John, 21, for “putting up” with him.
The comedian ended his statement with a joke.
“Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas,” he quipped.
A ruptured appendix, which is a severe form of appendicitis, spreads infection throughout the abdomen, per the Mayo Clinic. The condition requires immediate surgery to remove the organ and clean the abdominal cavity. Recovery can take up to two weeks.
The Late Show was scheduled to return on Tuesday, November 28, following Thanksgiving hiatus. The new episode was set to have Jennifer Garner, Baz Luhrmann and John Scofield appear. Guests for the rest of the week included Sir Patrick Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Kelsey Grammer, Jon Batiste and others.
Colbert and the other late-night TV hosts recently returned to television in October after going dark in May due to the Writers Guild of America strike, which lasted for more than one hundred days. Following his initial return, Colbert had to shut down production for one week while he recuperated from COVID-19.
“Sorry to say, per doctor’s orders, I’m going to be out for the rest of the week,” he wrote via X (formerly Twitter) last month. “Resting up so that I can deliver the hand crafted, artisanal talk show that we so enjoy serving you. In the meantime, a heady blend of Paxlovid and onions in my socks (thank you, [Jimmy] Fallon) will be rebuilding my immune system.”
The onions were part of a bit from the “Strike Force Five” podcast, which he hosted alongside, Fallon, 49, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. In the episode, Fallon claimed his friends told him that wearing a bag of onions on a person’s feet could help treat a cough.
The comedians launched the limited audio series in August to support the writers who were striking at the time.
