“Stay strong, be brave”: Colbert claims a very “in your face” win at Emmys

Stephen Colbert encouraged Americans to “stay strong” after his win at the 2025 Emmys.

The late-night host was told earlier this year that his run behind “The Late Show” desk would come to an end in 2026. Though the network stressed the move was purely a financial decision, many commentators believed that Colbert was being targeted for his regular critiques of President Donald Trump.

Speaking on the same network that gave him his slow-moving pink slip, Colbert took another shot at Trump. His ambiguous acceptance speech pulled double-duty as a eulogy for his show and a statement about living through Trump’s second term.

“Sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it,” he said. “Ten years later, in September of 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave.”

Colbert closed his speech with a quote from Prince.

“If de-elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor!” he said.

Stephen Colbert's Emmys speech was so good

"I have never loved my country more desperately. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor!" pic.twitter.com/uYTTCXZhS2

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) September 15, 2025

Colbert wasn’t alone in using his time in the spotlight to shine a light on important causes. “Hacks” stars Meg Stalter and Hannah Einbinder both took a moment to call for peace in Gaza. Stalter wore a piece of tape on her purse with the words “Cease fire!” scrawled on it as she walked the red carpet. Einbinder closed her acceptance speech by saying, “Go Birds, f**k ICE and free Palestine.”

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