Stephen Colbert’s feud with Daft Punk has escalated after MTV denied “banning” the French pop-stars from appearing on The Colbert Report last week.
Jesse Ignjatovic, the executive producer of the VMAs, has dismissed the notion that MTV told Daft Punk they couldn’t be on the show.
He told The Hollywood Reporter , “We don’t put restrictions on anyone. I just think that we’re talking to them about a moment and then things sort of change. I would not describe that as MTV putting restrictions of people – it was up to that artist and their management what they wanted to do.”
Previously, Colbert alleged that MTV were the orchestrators of Daft Punk’s cancellation, remarking on the episode that they were supposed to appear on, “Here’s the story: it’s a true story. We booked click and clack over here about a month ago. This network is owned by Viacom, which is also the owner of MTV.”
He then added, “Apparently, Daft Punk are going to make a surprise appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards. Don’t tell anyone, because fun fact: no one told me until two hours ago.”
Colbert appeared on Paul Mecurio’s podcast on August 12, confirming his version of the events. He stated, “Ultimately, I would say, I understand that the VMAs have got their own rules, and Daft Punk, that’s a big important thing to have done. But I’m the guy who’s completely screwed here. I don’t have a show tonight.”
Colbert also stated that he had to work around various challenges when Daft Punk was scheduled to perform, as the duo weren’t going to talk or perform on the show.
However, the comedian was intrigued by the obstacle, stating, “They said, ‘Do you want to cancel?’ I said, ‘No, this is an interesting challenge’.”
Colbert then added that he wanted to perform a six-minute monologue that only saw Daft Punk nod along to his questions, whilst he was also going to ask their manager Paul Hahn to answer for them. But, they pulled out, and Colbert created his hit video instead.
