Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter echoed Palmer, noting that the TV host had fallen short of offering a proper apology to the Princess of Wales.
Arbiter wrote: “‘Regret’ is even a stretch. It smacks of ‘I’m sorry you chose to be upset by my jokes’.
“He had to throw in a line about her getting the best care because of who she is. An actual apology to the parties involved would have been far more convincing.”
Author Valentine Low questioned Colbert’s wording, noting that Kensington Palace had announced Kate would not attend official events until at least Easter after she underwent extensive abdominal surgery in January.
Low said: “Colbert acts as if the cancer diagnosis came completely out of the blue. In a sense it did.
“But the palace said she had had surgery and would be away for several weeks. So she hadn’t ‘disappeared’. She was doing what they said she would. And clearly was not in a great place.”
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Addressing the backlash he has faced since joking about Kate’s alleged “disappearance” from the public, Colbert insisted he had not intended to offend her.
He said: “I do not make light of somebody else’s tragedy… Far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for the family.
“Though I’m sure they don’t need it from me, I, and everyone else here at The Late Show, would like to extend our well wishes and heartfelt hope that her recovery is swift and thorough.”
Members of the public also appeared unimpressed with Colbert’s statement, noting he failed to mention the word “sorry” as he expressed his regret.
X user @Lara_Flyingminx wrote: “I’ve read the entire transcript. He doesn’t say ‘sorry’ at all. No contrition there.” Another user, @DemetraAutumn, commented: “No apologies whatever…”
And @MelWes5 said: “Seems like just about all the celebs that said hurtful things towards Kate over the past month are now backtracking. They put themselves in that position and now they are backed in to a corner with no way out. The old saying ‘You’ve made your bed, now lie in it’ springs to mind.”
