Late night reacts to the celebrity college admissions scandal

Late-night responded to news that celebrities bribed colleges and universities on behalf of their children

There are few things beyond a celebrity scandal that can draw the attention of late night. Sure, politics seem to dominate shows these days but there remains nothing quite like celebrities getting in trouble to bring late-night together.

We certainly saw this prove true following the R. Kelly interview. The severity of the charges against Kelly needed to be taken seriously. But the late night was able to have fun with Kelly’s outburst and the poise of Gayle King.

Following that, late-night was ready to turn the focus back to President Donald Trump and the steady stream of content he provides. That is, until news broke about a new celebrity scandal that rightfully got many people upset.

A number of individuals were charged with bribing universities and colleges to get their children accepted into top schools. Those arrested included actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Here’s a look at how late-night shows covered the story:

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Jimmy Kimmel does a nice job of laying out the story and explaining how the scam worked. As if college athletics weren’t corrupt enough, we now see how sports were being used to get non-athletes into schools. Kimmel also uses the story as an opportunity to take another shot at his mortal enemy Matt Damon.

Kimmel also hits the nail on the head as far as why this story led to such outrage. It was already understood that wealthy families had an advantage in getting their children into prestigious schools. Now we learn that some took it a step further through bribes.

Still, Kimmel couldn’t help but bring the story back to Team Trump. In fairness, Donald Trump Jr. did react to the story and some conservative outlets have made this about “liberals.”  It just shows that everything still revolves around Trump in late-night television.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

It is rare that Stephen Colbert’s monologues don’t take aim at President Trump. While the Late Show did get in an early shot at the president, he also decided to focus on the admissions scam that rocked the education and entertainment worlds.

Colbert gives us even more details about the story, including the schools involved, the “Varsity Blues” name for the operation, and the man behind the scam. The reactions from his audience also show how well-liked Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were prior to this news breaking. Maybe…celebrities aren’t really who we think they are???

The Late Late Show with James Corden

James Corden opened his monologue Tuesday night by covering the story with a few jokes. Surprisingly, he started it off with a jab at President Trump. Perhaps it was the revelation that Trump demanded his SAT scores and grades never be released that made Corden immediately think of the president.

Corden goes on to take the position of not being all that surprised by the story. In his mind, there is too much money in higher education and elite institutions for there not to be corruption. Add in the Hollywood angle and it makes sense that Corden thinks we could have seen this coming.

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The monologue on Late Night with Seth Meyers also opened with the story. Meyers was the only host who started off with the celebrity angle by dropping Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin’s names right off the bat. It makes sense, considering the story wouldn’t have received the same amount of coverage without the celebrities involved.

Meyers didn’t spend too much time on the scandal. But he covered it just long enough to cut down Loughlin’s Netflix series Fuller House. It looks like Meyers’ prefer reboots be reserved for Saturday Night Live sketches and not sitcoms from the 90s.

Hopefully the arrests of Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin bring more attention to these types of crimes and can start the process of cleaning up college admissions. In the meantime, late-night will move on and turn their attention to the next big scandal, be it from Washington or Hollywood. Keep checking in with Last Night On for all the coverage.