I thought it couldn’t get any better than having a piece on me. I was wrong.
Some context:
I got in line for the show with Nikki (my now Favorite Blog Reader for giving me a ticket) at 4:30. We were assigned tickets, and I was number 42. Yes, I think it was fate:
We were let into the lobby at 5:30, where we waited until they were ready to seat us. Thankfully they had old Colbert clips playing so it wasn’t totally boring. Around 6:30 they seated us, and I had a great seat. You can see me when they pan to the audience – I’m in the middle section five rows back wearing a bright blue shirt. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any photos or have him autograph anything.
Before the show they had a stand up comedian as a warm up act, letting us know when to go extra crazy and to warm us up. Colbert then ran out, and we were able to do a Q&A session with him out of character, which was amazing. We were told to ask him anything random, or even comment on something if we didn’t have a question. Or as he said, “Now’s your chance to ask me something so I can redeem myself.”
After he called on a couple people, he called on me. I usually hate people who do self serving comments instead of asking a question, but I thought, fuck it. How often do I get to speak to Stephen Colbert? This is how it went (though I probably stammered through it):
Me: I just wanted to thank you for the piece you did on boobquake in April –
Colbert: I’m afraid I don’t quite remember what that was. …Wait, was that you?
Me: Yes, that was me! And having you talk about me on your show was about the most awesome thing ever.
Colbert: Remind me what it was about.
Me: An Iranian cleric said immodestly dressed women cause earthquakes, and I said we should test that scientifically. And it kind of took off like crazy, well, I guess which is why it was on your show.
Colbert: And what did you wear that day?
Me: Uh, oh, something similar to this I guess.
Colbert: Now, now, young lady, I think it was a little less than that. You do look smoking hot though.
Me: …*die*
Colbert: And wasn’t there an earthquake that day?
Me: Yes, in Taiwan. But it wasn’t statistically significant!
Colbert: *pauses and smiles* Don’t underestimate yourself, you look good.
And then he moved on. And the gal sitting next to me said she loved boobquake.
The show itself was absolutely hilarious. I’m sure you can look on their website, but it included the “Ground Zero Mosque,” Iranian politics, social media, religious jokes, and people riding dinosaurs. It was like it was tailor made for me.
On the way out another young woman came up to me and said she loved boobquake. What she said pretty much summarizes how I feel:
Her: That’s so awesome having Stephen Colbert do a piece on you. Can it get any better than that?
Me: I used to think not, but yes, it can. Stephen Colbert just called me smoking hot.
Her: …Very true.
I can think of no better end to this New York vacation. I just can’t make stuff like this up (Nikki can confirm). Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go die of glee.
I’ll be happy to bring you back to life after a gleeful death!
Yep, that was exactly how it happened–except there was no stammering, and it was completely awesome! So glad you decided to mention it. It was great having you join us this evening, happy I was able to offer you the extra ticket.
Hot damn, congratulations. I seriously giggled out loud with vicarious glee.
So, you DID cause the earthquake in Taiwan! I knew it!
Very cool. I’m sure that made your day, week, month.
Why yes, you are my hero, why do you ask?
You are now the most eligible bachelorette! <pokemon joke=””></pokemon>
Magnificent, Jen. Out of character, does he identify as kol’-bert or kol-bear’ ?
Well colour me foaming-at-the-mouth-rolling-on-the-floor-twitching-uncontrollably-jealous!
42! That is so friggin’ sweet! And your exchange with him is awesome too! Maybe they’ll have it on the DVD extras!
Aw c’mon Jen, cut the false modesty…How could anyone, even Stephen Colbert, deny the smoking hotness of a woman who’s boobs not only cause earthquakes, but actually alter the fabric of the space- time continuum?
See? Immodesty and self-promotion DOES pay off! Seriously, though, that’s kind of the coolest thing ever.
Awe-some! Never saw his show when I lived in NYC… now I regret it; he might have called me smoking hot =(
Sometimes life throws good things at ya Jen. Glad you enjoyed it! What is next for ya girl! I hope life’s good fortune continue to shine upon you.
Keep having fun in New York! :)
I can’t think of something more enjoyable than what you experienced. Hot damn!
Wow. That’s great!I think we all should celebrate Boobquake Day as a national holiday. Perhaps we need to come out with a top ten list of reasons to celebrate Boobquake Day.
Yay Boobquake!And smokin’ hot person :-)(Now what day would be best for InterNational Boobquake Day..?It’ll have to be a weekday, I guess)Woohoo!
Very cool!
I’m shocked—shocked, I say! How could he be so shallow? It’s obvious that what you’re packing between your ears is far more potent than what’s beside your cleavage.Tremble in fear, mullahs! The BrainQuake is coming.;-)
I am so happy for you.
That is the most awesome thing ever! I’m so jealous!!
OMG that’s awesome. Colbert and Stewart are my heroes.
It must have been your smile, which is gold. All shallowness aside, glad you enjoyed your trip!
Way to go Jen, congrats! What a thrill!
Is this you?http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rOqE…
“Her: That’s so awesome having Stephen Colbert do a piece on you. Can it get any better than that?Me: I used to think not, but yes, it can. Stephen Colbert just called me smoking hot.Her: …Very true.”Please tell me you are joking. It might be cool for a celebrity journalist that you like to call you hot, but is it really better than him doing a piece on you and your awesome event that was (among other things) about bucking against patriarchal bullshit? I’ve been lurking for a while, and I hate that my first comment is to express my disappointment, but this really jars with me. I’m a Brit and don’t really know much about Stephen Colbert, but I can’t believe him acknowledging your physical appearance is better in any way than him acknowledging you as person of genuine interest.Sorry to be a de-lurking buzzkill, I’m glad you had a great time in New York.
Absolutely correct. I’ve noticed this hypocrisy before. That seemed like the perfect moment to be a real feminist instead of being a dumb cheerleader who just got picked by the football captain. I would have liked to have seen Jen step up to the mark and give an edgy, yet friendly response.
Pretty sure you just became my official hero.
Not necessarily – nothing wrong with appreciating a compliment from someone you respect.Another lurking Brit, who had to look up this Stephen Colbert to see who he was…
Give it a break.When he featured her story, she already had the fame, so getting featured on his show was not nearly the rise in celebrity value that it would be for most of us. And besides, this is not just anyone, it’s >>>STEPHEN COLBERT<<<. Receiving a compliment from HIM would be even better than receiving a compliment from God, if he existed, and even HE would agree that this is true. -Nor is it a feminist issue. I (a male) have not even acheived Jen’s level of fame, yet while I’d be very flattered if Jen favorably featured my writings in one of her articles, my state of happiness would be on a much higher level if she told me to my face that I was “smoking hot”… It’s quite normal to enjoy having one’s sexual ego stroked more one enjoys personal acheivement. Evolution probably has something to do with it, given that the desire for sex has been around for a much longer time than the concept of personal acheivement.Besides, it’s >>>STEPHEN COLBERT<<
I disagree. It would be a little sad if “real feminism” has to be humorless and angry. I think Jen’s response was genuine and gracious. Besides, Colbert is a comedian, and it sounds like his comments were meant to be a good-natured closing as he kept things moving.
Simon Webber said ‘edgy yet friendly’ not ‘humourless and angry’. And Jen isn’t being genuine and gracious, she is squeeing like a fangirl. Which, fair enough. I can see why. I’m also not saying he wasn’t trying to be good-natured, even if I find it a bit annoying most of his comments are on Jen’s hotness rather than anything else.My point is that she’s saying him complimenting her appearance is better than him doing a report on her and Boobquake is unfeminist and shallow, and I’m disappointed that she doesn’t even address this in her post.
You said that you don’t really know much about Stephen Colbert, and I think that that’s the problem. Being “edgy yet friendly” would just come off as awkward. Besides, there’s no reason for Jen to always be “on” and snarky.
Oops, I didn’t mean to like the comment. Sorry, Thea. But I really disagree with you.Being a feminist and having a blog doesn’t mean that she has to wave the feminist stick everywhere. We can, on occassion, squee when a hilarious comedian/satirist takes the time out to compliment us.My take, personally, was that it was the fact that he’d covered boobquake AND said she was smoking hot was what made it even better. But that was just how I read it. Honestly, when I’ve met someone who knew who I was by reputation and comments that I’m attractive- I tend to get giggly about that as well. It’s just human nature- we like being admired.
I still don’t know much about the Colbert Report – the linked videos don’t work in the UK. I’ve seen The Daily Show, which is shown here, and I’m assuming it’s the same sort of thing?
I understand Jen’s squeeing that a comedian she admires complimented her, and I suppose she could have meant that his compliment on top of the report on Boobquake made it even better, but I didn’t read it like that. I might have been mistaken, and if so I’m sorry to Jen for accusing her of being unfeminist, but the idea of anyone appreciating a compliment on their appearance more than their awesome actions makes me feel like they need to recheck their priorities.
It is indeed that he complimented my appearance on top of the report on Boobquake. He’d already complimented my intelligence by devoting a whole skit to what I did. I thought nothing could make the situation even better, but him calling me “smoking hot” was definitely the cherry on top.I mean, if I had to choose between one or the other, I would choose the skit, by far. But he’s a celebrity I fangirl about, so it’s awesome because it feels so surreal and absurd for him to be complimenting me.That and you have to remember he’s a comedian. The way he said it wasn’t in a leering or creepy fashion. It was funny and oddly relevant to the topic.That and I’m human. I do like being complimented on my looks every once in a while. Especially since it’s far more common for people to compliment me on my smarts.
I have renewed respect for Stephen’s taste. You are smoken!!! I say that as a Mom type person.
You know what, I’ve known you personally for around 3 years now, and am just now getting around to finally checking out your world-famous blog! New computer, new Thunderbird, and this RSS is going straight at the top. I wonder how long it’ll take to make my way through all your old posts between class and work… :)
Would have made *my* year.
That it is.Colbert got his start on The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report plays immediately following it.The biggest difference is unlike Stewart’s obviously liberal persona, Colbert’s persona is conservative – he basically makes fun of the right wing pundits from Fox News by acting like them in an extreme fashion (yay! Satire!).
Awesome. You should be very proud. Just keep those boobs out of sight for a while now.
Okay then, I’m sorry for calling you out on something you weren’t doing. I don’t know anything about Colbert, and the way I read the dialogue you write down was that he was complimenting your appearance rather than your awesome work, which bugged me anyway. But again, nothing wrong with fangirling, it was the way it seemed that you preferred the compliment to the piece that was my problem. But since you don’t, I’ll just continue to lurk and try and find something to comment with that isn’t so negative and mistaken ><.
Thea, the problem is you don’t know that much about Stephen Colbert. He kept us alive when the voices we heard were so scary, creepy, lying, hyprocracy. Many folks love this dude.
“I thought it couldn’t get any better than having a piece on me.”Sorry, Jen. I can tell I’ve been away from home. I parsed the above as”I thought it couldn’t get any better than having a piece of me.”
Go go, you Catholic Sunday School teacher! ;D
Hey Jenny. It sounds like a great story, and i’m sure many 16 year old girls would probably respond the same way. I just have to ask something of you.
Why is it that this comment by Colbert is not considered sexualization, but if the average Joe voiced the exact same line, he’d be tossed in as a rape apologist, misogynist etc?
You just can’t have it both ways missy.
Oh by the way, what happened to your flounce?
Say hi to daddy too. Another attention baby.
Oh, and it’s screen capped for your twitter fans too.
I forgot Steven Colbert is a comedian. He calls Jen McCreight “smoking hot”
Ummmm, probably just jokes honey. Yep, just jokes. At least that’s how i understood it.
Anyhow. Sorry to disappoint you honey bunch pumpkin.