Stephen Colbert, host of CBS's The Late Show, directly addressed the sexual harassment allegations levied against his boss, Les Moonves, on Monday night, as an example of what the #MeToo movement at large is about.
Moonves, the CEO of CBS Corporation, was accused of sexually harassing six women in a New Yorker piece by Ronan Farrow published on Friday.
In it, Farrow interviewed women who alleged that Moonves harassed them in the early '80s until the early '00s.
Some of Moonves' purported transgressions include putting his hand up a woman's skirt and using intimidation as a means of getting back at women who refused his advances.
Colbert approached the topic in his opening monologue with his usual flair, making jokes about the issue before noting that he would address it further when he sat down at his desk. "We're coming up on one year of general awareness of the #MeToo movement and I think that milestone is worth celebrating," he said.
Colbert then expressed his naïveté regarding the tidal wave of accusations against many men since the movement began last year, which he said "shocked" him. But the host said that for many women in his life, "it has brought a welcome sense of relief that something's finally happening."
Colbert used a quote from former president John F. Kennedy, who once said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
Colbert said, referring to the movement, that "we shouldn't be surprised that when the change comes, it comes radically."
"This roar is just a natural backlash to all that silence," he said.