Stephen Colbert as Robin Hood?
The Late Show host’s latest big-ticket charity auction item is a rug he stole from Capitol Hill.
As with Colbert’s previous auctions in The Late Show‘s going-out-of-business sale, the proceeds will benefit Chef José Andrés’ nonprofit World Central Kitchen. Colbert began auctioning off Late Show memorabilia back in December with the help of Paul Rudd. After the first round brought in nearly $170,000 for World Central Kitchen, Colbert put a second lot of items up for bid.
Colbert announced the latest, ill-gotten offering during his interview on Tuesday’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, recounting how he wound up with the circular area rug—and bringing the loot with him.
Colbert acquired the rug in 2018, when he visited Washington, D.C. to tackle the Trump-Russia investigation for a Late Show pre-tape. Interviewing Sen. Jeff Flake in his office, Colbert noted the rug that boasted the seal of the United States Senate.
“Why’d they give you such a small rug?” Colbert asked Flake. “There’s not even room for the ‘unum’ on the ‘E pluribus.’”
“That’s what you get when you’re a freshman, I guess,” Flake replied. Flake went on to admit that he would not get to take the rug with him when he left office.
“So if I took it with me today, that would be a problem…?” Colbert asked.
Though Flake confirmed it would be a “big problem,” the Late Show piece cut to Colbert riding a Segway away from Capitol Hill with the rug tucked under his arm.
After showing a clip from that segment on Seth Meyers’ show, Colbert produced and unrolled said rug for the audience to see.
“This is stolen,” he confirmed. “If you’d like to aid-and-abet me, if you want to become an accomplice in a federal crime… you can bid on this.”
The rug currently as of Wednesday morning sat at $5,100, with over six days left to go before the auction closes.
In addition to the rug, Colbert is also auctioning off something else that wasn’t his to begin with: a set of cue cards used by Meyers to introduce the Late Show host on his program. The lot has already generated nearly 50 bids that are currently creeping toward $400. The cards include Meyers’ intro and outro lines for Colbert’s interview segment, as well as his guest lineup announcement from the top of the show.
