Stephen Colbert’s voice, laced with uncharacteristic fury, cut through The Late Show studio like a blade: “If you haven’t read it, you’re not ready to talk about truth.”h

On December 11, 2025, Stephen Colbert’s voice—usually laced with razor-sharp wit—cut through The Late Show studio like a blade: “If you haven’t read it, you’re not ready to talk about truth.”

The episode, titled “The Reckoning,” plunged the audience into stunned silence as Colbert held up Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice. “This woman was trafficked at 16, abused by Epstein, Maxwell, Prince Andrew—88 times he’s named here,” he said, voice trembling with uncharacteristic fury. “She fought until April 25, when the world broke her. And now files are coming December 19—photos, emails, names. But if you haven’t read this book, you’re not ready to talk about truth.”

Colbert read Giuffre’s line—“They’ll never take the truth from me—not while I’m alive, and not even after I’m gone”—as the band remained silent. “Pam Bondi, you’re delaying redactions? Survivors waited decades. Virginia’s gone. Read it.” The monologue, raw and unrelenting, trended #ColbertForVirginia with 4.2 million posts (82% supportive).

The fury stemmed from December 12’s photo release—Trump, Clinton, Gates, Bannon, Allen, Branson in Epstein’s orbit—and Bondi’s “old news” dismissals. Colbert closed: “Truth isn’t partisan. It’s Virginia’s.” The blade of his words—unscripted, unyielding—ensured her silenced thunder roared through late-night, demanding America face the light she ignited.