Everyone loves a good Hollywood feud. And, let's face it, the industry is filled with them. Half of the time, fans don't even know that two major celebrities are at war. This was the case with what went down between George Clooney and Russell Crowe for 15 years. Of course, many of the most famous feuds are the ones that everyone and their dog are aware of. Then there are the playful feuds. These are the ones that blur the lines between the serious and the comedic. The "feud" between Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon is a good example of this. And so is the one between a multi-billionaire and another late-night talk show host, Stephen Colbert.Stephen Colbert has never been afraid of making enemies, least of all one out of one of the most powerful men in the world. No, we're not talking about the feud he has with former President Donald Trump after all the shots he's taken at him. We're talking about the owner of The Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson. While Stephen has almost certainly taken some shots at the exceedingly wealthy businessman, much of it is just teasing. But just because the two have a somewhat playful dynamic between them doesn't mean that Stephen hasn't rubbed him the wrong way from time to time. Here's the truth about their feud and what Stephen did that irked the $3.9 billion tycoon.
Richard Branson Threw Water At Stephen On The Colbert Report
Before Stephen Colbert took over for David Letterman on The Late Show, his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, was his avenue into the world of stardom. On the show, Stephen played a very obnoxious conservative pundit and this didn't always rub his guests in the right way.
In 2007, fans got their first taste of the quasi-feud that still exists between Stephen and Richard. Prior to Richard's first appearance on the show, Stephen made several jokes about the Brit, saying that he looked like "a cross between David Bowie and Pan the goat god" as well as described him as "Sir Big Baby". Upon Richard's first appearance on The Cobert Report in 2007, the Virgin owner claimed that he wasn't getting enough time to plug his airline. The interview was awkward, a tad, contentious, and ended in a water fight between the two of them after Richard dumped a mug of water on Stephen during the broadcast.
While all of this looks like the makings of a legitimate celebrity feud, it appeared to have also been laced with comedy. In 2011, Richard returned to The Colbert Show and was doused with white foam at the end of the otherwise normal interview. While this definitely irritated Richard and caused him to throw a fire extinguisher in Stephen's way, it didn't seem to get him to hate the comedian. While you can't say the two are friends, you also couldn't say they hate each other.
Richard Is Happier With The Type Of Comedian Stephen Colbert Is Today
In 2017, Richard made his first appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When he walked onto the stage, the two greeted each other with a somewhat awkward hug and immediately got into the antics they got into on The Colbert Report, back when Stephen was playing a conservative and slightly obnoxious late show host.
"No fire extinguishers around?" Sir Richard Branson immediately asked Stephen.
"The last time we were together, he hit me in the face with a fire extinguisher, and before that, you threw water in my face," Stephen said to the audience.
"You were a different personality in those days. I prefer you now," Richard admitted.
"You're the same," Stephen shot back.
In the interview, Stephen took some shots at Richard's space race with Jeff Bezos. This was something that came up again when Richard returned to The Late Show in 2021. By then, both he and Jeff had built their space crafts and been up to space. After Stephen had poked fun at the typical billionaire's desire to go to space, he reminded the audience that he once told Richard that he too would like to go to space. And in both a touching and insulting moment, Richard revealed that he cut up a picture of Stephen and took it to space with him. He then gave Stephen the photo and signed it.
"That's fantastic Thank you, Richard," Stephen said.
So, while Stephen certainly has rubbed this billionaire the wrong way, it seems that there is a decent amount of admiration that exists between the two.
