MTV Learns Hard Way Not to Mess With Stephen Colbert

Just because Viacom owns the network that Stephen Colbert’s program is on doesn’t mean the media conglomerate and its multitude of broadcast and cable channels are safe from his satirical touch. Case in point: “The Colbert Report” host eviscerated MTV–which like Comedy Central is owned by Viacom–after it yanked Daft Punk from Colbert’s 2013 StePhest Colbchella because the group was set to make a (spoiler alert) surprise appearance at the channel’s Video Music Awards on Aug. 25.

A little background: Daft Punk was supposed to play “Get Lucky,” its hit song that Colbert dubbed “the song of the summer of the century,” on his program Tuesday night. But according to the Comedy Central host, Van Toffler, the president of MTV Networks Music & Logo Group at Viacom Inc., stepped in and put a stop to the group’s scheduled appearance on Colbert’s program, citing an exclusivity agreement.

That didn’t go over well with Colbert, who went on to spoil the surprise of Daft Punk’s awards show appearance, read part of a ridiculous email from Van Toffler on the air (admitting beforehand that he didn’t exactly have permission to) and repeatedly mock the MTV executive’s last name (calling him “Van Wilder” among other things).

To make up for it, Colbert danced to “Get Lucky” with a bevy of celebrities and well-known political figures, including Bryan Cranston, Jon Stewart and Henry Kissinger. He then had Robin Thicke on to sing his popular–and somewhat controversial–summer song “Blurred Lines.”

— Posted by Tracy Bloom.