--- title: Stephen Colbert Is Not Having Al Franken’s Apology description: “I guess there are no good people left," said Colbert. "Just tell us whatever you did, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Tom Hanks — Malala.” canonical: https://time.com/5029186/stephen-colbert-on-al-franken/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-17T16:00:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:48:52.392Z og:title: Stephen Colbert Is Not Having Al Franken’s Apology og:description: “I guess there are no good people left," said Colbert. og:url: https://time.com/5029186/stephen-colbert-on-al-franken/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03060c1cda338048/6988e6498fd2eec4b4359b03/colbert1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1454 og:image:height: 818 og:image:alt: Colbert og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stephen Colbert Is Not Having Al Franken’s Apology twitter:description: “I guess there are no good people left," said Colbert. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt03060c1cda338048/6988e6498fd2eec4b4359b03/colbert1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stephen Colbert Is Having Absolutely None of Al Franken’s Apology > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ea40a22b-69e3-4ac2-8824-b9d7ac165f31&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 17, 2017 4:00 PM UTC  by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 17, 2017 4:00 PM UTC Stephen Colbert is not impressed with Minnesota [Sen. Al Franken](http://time.com/5028287/elizabeth-warren-al-franken/?iid=sr-link8)’s apology to Leeanne Tweeden after she accused Franken of sexually harassing her during a USO Tour in 2006, and taking a photo showing [Franken groping](http://time.com/5027406/al-franken-groping-allegations-congress/?iid=sr-link9) her while she slept. Franken apologized, stating that the photo was meant to be funny. “O.K., ‘intended to be funny but wasn’t?’’ said Colbert on Thursday’s _The Late Show_. “No. Your movie _Stuart Saves His Family_ was intended to be funny but wasn’t. That photo was intended to embarrass her — that’s why he did it while she was asleep. Nobody goes up to their buddy when he’s awake and says, ‘Hey, can I draw a penis on your forehead?’” While Franken later issued a [more comprehensive apology](http://time.com/5028391/al-franken-statement/?iid=sr-link6), it still wasn’t enough for Colbert. “Franken later released a more complete apology, in which he said, ‘I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate,’” said Colbert. “Well, that’s nice. It would be wrong if [an ethics investigation](http://time.com/5028164/al-franken-groping-ethics-committee-investigation-leann-tweeden/?iid=sr-link4) was done without his consent.” For Colbert, the charges against Franken – a former comedy writer – seemed to hit hard. “I guess there are no good people left,” said Colbert. “So let’s just get it over with. 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