Kristen Stewart's interview with Stephen Colbert had one moment CBS couldn't censor — and fans loved it
Stephen Colbert once welcomed Kristen Stewart on 'The Late Show' and spared no punches. He showed Stewart her Rolling Stone cover despite CBS discouraging him from doing so. Colbert explained, "Now before I show this cover, I just want you...and the audience to know that I think it’s a perfectly lovely cover. We were asked by CBS not to show it. They thought that would be not a good idea for us to show this, and I don’t understand why." The cover was considered controversial, though Colbert didn’t agree. He joked, "I want to say that you look better in a jockstrap than I ever did," as per Variety.
Stewart addressed the backlash she received and had a blunt message for her critics. CBS as expected, censored her when she said, "F*** you." Stewart also shared her thoughts on why the cover caused such a reaction. She opined, "Well, it’s a little ironic because I feel like I’ve seen a lot of male pubic hair on the cover of things. I’ve seen a lot of hands in pants and unbuttoned…I think there’s a certain overt acknowledgment of a female sexuality that has its own volition in a way that is annoying for people who are sexist and homophobic," Deadline reported.
Colbert agreed, adding, "I’ve certainly seen more revealing covers on Rolling Stone or Sports Illustrated for that matter. I think it also violates public expectations of female sexuality as opposed to how you’re presenting it here." Stewart continued, "Yes because female sexuality isn’t supposed to actually want anything but to be had. " Fans reacted strongly to the interview, with most supporting Stewart for her stance. They agreed that CBS’s response to the cover was unfair. A netizen reasoned, "It seems so odd that in America everyone and everything gets so oversexualized but at the same time people are so afraid of other people's sexuality."
Others praised Stewart’s personal growth and confidence, with one writing, "Man, she's come a long way from the 'Twilight' days. She's comfortable in her own skin and it shows!" Colbert also received praise for his approach to interviewing Stewart. Fans appreciated how he made her feel at ease. A fan penned, "Gotta respect how Stephen knows or understands that she is an enormous introvert and full of social anxiety in these shows and tries to calm her by opening with ‘let's drop this and interact with each other’ and asks her how everything goes with a natural conversational tone and not a talk show style hyped up tone. That is very thoughtful and clever and you can see it eases her more." Overall, the interview made an impact, and fans hoped Stewart would return to 'The Late Show' in the future.
