There was a lot of Chicago talk on “The Colbert Report” Thursday night.
Stephen Colbert's first mention of the Windy City started with his reference to the naked bike ride in Chicago.
The Comedy Central talk show host was discussing feminism, in honor of Women’s History Month, when he brought up the bike ride slated for June 14.
“As a feminist, I understand Chicago has a naked bike ride every summer,” Colbert said.
And the audience responded with a roaring applause.
Could the talk show host be hinting at participating in the event? Looks like we’ll have to wait and see.
If so, it would mark the second Chicago event this year attended by a popular comedian after Jimmy Fallon traveled to Chicago to take the Polar Plunge last weekend.
Local
In another Chicago mention on the show, famed city artist Theaster Gates made a guest appearance.
The artist, known for revitalizing urban spaces in the city, spoke on the show about his work in Chicago.
“My art is interested in transforming ugly things into beautiful things, the perception of ugly spaces into beautiful spaces,” he told Colbert.
In the interview, Colbert asked Gates why he chooses to do his work on the city’s South Side and not on the North Side.
“I’ve thought about that, but my vocation isn’t a developer. My vocation, my belief, my calling, is to be an artist,” said Gates. “I think that, to have a building like this on the North Side, and to transform it would be business as usual.”
Gates said he wants his art to “show how, with a little bit of resource and a little bit of imagination, a neighborhood could have the possibility of being like every good neighborhood in the city.”
Colbert told Gates he almost got a “contact high” from all of his positive energy and even asked if he could buy an “original Theaster Gates.”
“Do you have something in a pale pink? Because I already have the towels,” he said.
