After a three-week hiatus, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert finally returned with new episodes, and there wasn't anything of note for him to talk about at all. Nothing pertaining to his show, the president, pop culture... nothing happened! Of course, we're being totally facetious. Colbert returned right on time to cut up with his pal and fellow late-night host John Oliver.
Naturally, the biggest celebrity news of the year quickly came up in their chat: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement! In case you somehow haven't heard, on Aug. 26, the Grammy-winning music icon and the future Hall of Fame football player announced that they're getting married. Colbert wasn't on the air during the world-shattering news that broke social media records.
When Colbert brought the topic up with Oliver, he referred to Swift and Kelce as "the prince and princess" and cited People magazine as calling their impending nuptials "America's royal wedding." Obviously, Colbert inquired about his friend's thoughts on that comparison, given that Oliver's from England and very openly shares his dislike for the royals. In fact, he called Swift and Kelce, who ironically met Prince William and his kids last summer, "better than the royal family."
John Oliver prefers Taylor Swift over the royal family
"Well, this is better than the royal family," Oliver said of Swift and Kelce's engagement compared to an actual royal wedding. "But your bar for comparison is simply too low. Anything is better than a royal wedding. Also, America's royal weddings are royal weddings. Americans are really the only ones who care about those."
Oliver then went on to do a humorous impression of an American spectator gushing over the "pomp and circumstance" of royal weddings, underscoring the American fascination with the grand festivities. He also tossed in a joke that America could have had royal weddings "if you didn't throw your little tantrum a few hundred years ago." A little history joke for us!
It's unclear whether Oliver actually cares about Swift and Kelce getting married, but perhaps he will elaborate on that at a later date. But it's clear than many, many people actually do. Since the couple revealed their future plans, the joint Instagram post has garnered over 36 million likes and became the most shared post in the social media platform's history. Breaking records isn't something new to Swift or Kelce in their respective careers. They have big reputations, after all.
For a lot of their fans, the excitement surrounding their wedding certainly exceeds that of a royal wedding. But there's one major difference between Swift and Kelce's big day and that of a royal: We're not going to be watching it unfold live on television. We'll have savor their appearances on award shows, Kansas City Chiefs games, and other events that aren't their wedding.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.