Julia Louis-Dreyfus explains why kissing Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” was 'so awkward': 'We were all just dying'
Julia Louis-Dreyfus explains why kissing Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” was 'so awkward': 'We were all just dying'
Wesley StenzelWed, May 13, 2026 at 10:11 PM UTC
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Stephen Colbert on 'The Late Show' Tuesday
Credit: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YoutubeKey points
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus said kissing Stephen Colbert on The Late Show was "so awkward."
The Veep star said that their spouses were both backstage: "We were all just dying."
The actress also reflected on The Late Show ending: "This is right out of the authoritarian playbook, so I’m deeply concerned as an artist."
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is kissing and telling.
The Seinfeld actress reflected on giving Stephen Colbert a big fat kiss on the lips on Tuesday's episode of The Late Show during a new interview with THR.
"It was so awkward," Louis-Dreyfus said of the segment. "As we started to do this bit, I thought, 'Oh no. Is this gonna work?' I get very cold feet."
The segment came a day after Colbert recalled all of the A-list guests whom he'd kissed on air over the years. Louis-Dreyfus asked the show's producers to play a clip of the episode before she proposed kissing Colbert herself.
Louis-Dreyfus and Colbert on 'The Late Show'
Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
"No one's watching. It's just between us," she told the host.
"What harm is there?" Colbert asked.
"None! What could possibly go wrong?" Louis-Dreyfus responded.
Before they locked lips, the two entertainers joked about their anxieties about facing the wraths of each other's scorned spouses.
"Brad is larger than I am," Colbert said of Louis-Dreyfus' husband, Brad Hall.
"Evie's stronger than I am," the actress said of Colbert's wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert.
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Colbert and Louis-Dreyfus in Newark in 2019
Credit: Bennett Raglin/Getty
The duo then shared an extended smooch as the audience went wild.
In her interview with THR, Louis-Dreyfus said that she and Colbert discussed their spouses prior to performing the segment.
"He goes to me, 'Your husband’s backstage,'" she said of Colbert. "And of course, Evie [Colbert] is backstage too. We were all just dying. It was AWKWARD."
The Late Show is coming to an end on May 21 after CBS announced it was pulling the plug on the talk show last July. Louis-Dreyfus said she got emotional during her final time backstage after guesting on the show numerous times over its 10-year run with Colbert as host.
"I went downstairs and I was with the writers beforehand, as we were going over the bit where he asks stars questions under the stars," she remembered. "We were going over the material. I came in early to rehearse it, and some jokes worked and some didn’t. So I came down to the writers room and we were trying new material, and Stephen introduced me to each person in the room."
Colbert on 'The Late Show'
Credit: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
She continued, "I was struck by the heaviness of this moment and I told them how much I appreciated what they were doing and the value that I believe this show brings to our culture, and of course they’re a part of that."
Louis-Dreyfus reflected on the conclusion of The Late Show. "It’s definitely a great loss, and I felt it when I was in the innards of the show with those guys," she said. "He holds a very powerful mirror up to our democracy. I believe that it’s the comedians who we rely on in these trying times. This is right out of the authoritarian playbook, so I’m deeply concerned as an artist. Period."
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The Veep star also said she'd consider working with Colbert on whatever he does next.
"His bright future is so bright. I can’t wait to see what he does," she said. "This man is so intelligent and has so much to offer, he’s just going to move onto bigger and better things. This I know for sure in my heart, and I can’t wait to witness it — and who knows, maybe even be a part of it. I just love him to death."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
