Summary
- Colbert faces challenges in managing his interviews and handling his audience, as seen in a past interview with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
- Angry cab drivers interrupted Kalanick's interview with Colbert, causing the interview to take a contentious turn.
- Colbert had to navigate the interruptions and address concerns about Uber's impact on the cab industry, showcasing his ability to handle unexpected situations.
He's among the elite late night hosts. However, things aren't always simple for Stephen Colbert. A fan revealed the interview moments Colbert cuts out of his Late Show, and we have an example of that in the following. Not only is Colbert managing the interview, but he also has to be very careful with his audience. In the past, he surprisingly stuck up for his controversial guest Ted Cruz when the boos started accumulating.
The host does his best to keep things civil during his interview, even with the audience intervening.
We'll take a look at an example from the past featuring Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Things went off the rails when angry cab drivers decided to chime in. Let's take a look at what went down, and how Colbert handled the moment.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Was Interrupted By Angry Taxi Drivers During His Interview With Stephen Colbert
On the surface, Travis Kalanick's interview with Stephen Colbert seemed completely amicable. However, this was due to massive edits that were made behind the scenes. Protesters interrupted Stephen Colbert's interview with the Uber CEO. It was reported that multiple times during their interview, angry taxi drivers chimed in to blast Kalanick over Uber.
In one instance, Colbert actually listened to the fan, and insured he was going to ask the question about Kalanick harming the cab industry.
USA Today wrote about the off-screen moment, "Colbert listened as the heckler yelled his questions at Kalanick, before informing the heckler that he would be asking a similar question."
Colbert asked during the interview, "What is your response to, 'Uber kills professional, good paying jobs and it's unfair to the drivers and it's destroying the cab industry?"
Kalanick was clearly rattled at this point, not expecting the interview to take such a twist. Though he was still able to give a response. "In the Uber world, you can use your own car. You don't pay $40,000 to rent a vehicle. You make more dollars per hour and it's flexible. You don't have a shift. You can turn on your work when you want to and you can turn it off."
The interview answer can be seen below. However, the parts of the audience getting involved were edited out.
It was a tricky moment for Colbert, who was still fresh into his stint as a late night host. Credit to the host who apologized to his guest, while he also gave the audience a chance to speak.
A Second Heckler Later Accused Travis Kalanick Of Lying, But Stephen Colbert Changed Topics
The heckling didn't stop there, and it continued after Kalanick issued his response on how Uber is different to taxis. Another taxi driver in the audience wasn't pleased and continued the rant.
Colbert was once again willing to listen, but he stopped his guest from responding this time. The footage was once again edited and didn't make it on-air. Colbert would also move on from the top, likely sensing that the interview was going off the rails, and that his guest was growing uncomfortable.
USA Today writes, "This is when the second man reportedly interrupted the interview, accusing Kalanick of lying. Colbert again politely listened to the audience member and stopped Kalanick from addressing him. The protesters' interruptions and all references to them were edited from the final broadcast."
As expected, the Uber co-founder did not return to the Late Show after such a tough experience.
Stephen Colbert Admitted His Late Show Run Started Off On Tough Terms
Not only was it a tough interview, but Stephen Colbert spoke candidly about the early struggles with his late night show. Colbert revealed that it took months to finally adapt and be himself on the show.
"My biggest fear was that people wouldn’t come back and notice, they wouldn’t see that I had finally found what I wanted the show to be. Those first six months felt terrible because you’re having to reinvent a new way to do the show, I had never my entire life done anything as myself, I had always done something in character, I was an actor."
Colbert admitted that things finally changed when he kept things simple, and just discussed what had happened on that very day. This changed things completely.
"It was the first time I had to be me, I didn’t know if I could do that, so I had to learn to do something I’d never done before with a camera in front of me, on live television, in front of a massive audience."
Clearly, despite the early struggles, Colbert was able to adapt and create a tremendous atmosphere on the Late Show with some of the top guests in all of late night television.
