Late-night hosts respond to Orlando shooting with grief, outrage and calls to action

By Meredith Blake

June 14, 2016 11:27 AM PT

As has become routine in moments of national tragedy, the mass shooting in Orlando dominated the late-night conversation on Sunday and Monday nights.

The attack left 50 people dead, including the perpetrator, and stands as the worst mass shooting in American history. Late night comedians including Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon reacted to this grim milestone with grief, outrage, pleas for tolerance and, in some cases, calls to action.

Here’s a look at the range of responses.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”

Stephen Colbert opened Monday’s episode of “The Late Show” by solemnly reflecting on the mass shooting.

He began by observing that responses to these acts of violence have become numbingly predictable. “It’s as if there’s a national script that we have learned,” he said. “And I think by accepting the script we tacitly accept that the script will end the same way every time.”

Colbert continued with a gentle, if general, call to action.

“Now these people in Orlando were apparently targeted for who they love. And there have been outpourings of love throughout the country and around the world. Love in response to hate. Love does not despair. Love makes you strong. Love gives us the courage to act. Love gives up hope that change is possible. Love allows us to change the script.

“So love your country, love your family, love the families and the victims and the people of Orlando. But let’s remember love is a verb. And to love means to do something.”

Colbert then tussled with Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly over the limits of the 2nd Amendment, the fight against terrorism and Donald Trump’s response to the Orlando massacre.

While the two weren’t able to find much common ground on guns, O’Reilly conceded that Trump was “using this terrorism issue to bolster his popularity.”

“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee”

Samantha Bee took a slightly different tack, opting for profanity-laden righteous indignation over solemnity. (Note: Video above contains strong language.) Like Colbert, she noted that expressions of grief and condolences don’t mean much without action. But she was much more specific about what needs to be done to remedy the epidemic of gun violence.

She began by questioning why the shooter in Orlando was able to purchase an assault weapon with ease, despite a documented history of violent, extremist leanings.

“He beat his ex-wife, he’d been reported multiple times to his employer as homophobic and unhinged, and the FBI had twice questioned him for ties to terrorism, but none of these things disqualified him from legally buying a gun that shoots 45 rounds a minute,” Bee said, noting that he also had a pattern of taking “terrible mirror selfies.”

FULL COVERAGE: Orlando nightclub shooting »

“I think we can all agree that if you don’t have one friend to hold the phone for you, your lone-wolf a-- doesn’t get a gun,” she joked.

She noted that the AR-15, one of the weapons used by the Orlando shooter, was also used in Aurora, Colo.; Newtown, Conn.; San Bernardino and Roseburg, Ore. While not a great choice for hunting or home protection, it’s “perfect for portable mayhem,” Bee said, noting that in Florida it can be bought without a waiting period.

“We can’t constitutionally get rid of all guns, but can’t we get semi-automatic assault rifles out of the hands of civilians? ‘Sam Bee wants to take your guns away.’ Yes! The ones that mow down a room full of people in seconds? Yes, I do want to take those guns away!”

She also countered Sen. Marco Rubio’s claim that the shooting could have happened “anywhere in the world” by contrasting the United States with Australia, and was harshly critical of Florida Gov. Rick Scott for evading questions about policies that might have prevented the massacre.

“If only shooting victims could dodge bullets as you dodged that question,” she said.

“Conan”

On his TBS show Monday night, host Conan O’Brien broke with his long-held policy of not sharing his political opinions on the air.

“I have really tried very hard over the years not to bore you with what I think,” he said. “However, I am a father of two, I like to believe I have a shred of common sense and I simply do not understand why anybody in this country is able to purchase and own a semi-automatic assault rifle.

“These are weapons of war and they have no place in civilian life,” he continued. “I have tried to understand this issue from every side, and it all comes down to this: Nobody I know or have ever met in my entire life should have access to a weapon that can kill so many people so quickly.”

The host also pointed his viewers to the GoFundMe account for victims of the shooting at Pulse nightclub.

“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

Late night’s get-along guy Jimmy Fallon shied away from talk of gun control or political action and instead made a general plea for tolerance.

“This country was built on the idea that we do not all agree on everything. That we are a tolerant, free nation that encourages debate, free thinking, believing – or not – in what you choose,” he said. “I, as a new father, am thinking: What do I tell my kids? What do I tell them about this? What can we learn from this? What if my kids are gay? What do I tell them?”

He suggested the shooting should serve as a lesson in tolerance.

“We need to support each other’s differences and worry less about our own opinions,” he said. “Get back to debate and away from believing or supporting the idea that if someone doesn’t live the way you want them to live, you just buy a gun and kill them. Bomb them up. That is not OK.”

And he concluded with words of encouragement for the people of Orlando, a place that he equates with “nothing but fun and joy and families.”

“So keep loving each other, keep respecting each other and keep on dancing,” he said.

“Late Night With Seth Meyers”

Fallon’s NBC colleague Seth Meyers took a more political stance.

Meyers opened the show not with a monologue but with his signature segment, “A Closer Look.” Meyers noted the “tremendous outpouring of compassion and good will, but moved onto a conversation about guns.

“We’re going to talk about guns because whether the shooter was a homophobe, mentally ill, a terrorist inspired by ISIS or all three, what allowed him to kill so many people on Sunday was his gun,” he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Meyers moved on to criticizing lawmakers for “consistently choos[ing] nothing as a course of action,” pointing to Senate Republicans who rejected a bill that would have prevented people on the terrorism watch list from purchasing firearms.

He also cited a Harvard review that showed a correlation between gun availability and gun deaths. “That’s like saying, where there are more white people, there’s more brunch,” he joked.

The host was also sharply critical of Donald Trump, who on Twitter said he “appreciated the congrats for being right on radical Islamic Terrorism.”

“You may want to redirect your congrats to the first responders or those waiting in line to give blood, and they’re not asking for it,” Meyers said.

“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”

John Oliver, the first late-night host on the air following Sunday’s attack, briefly addressed the tragedy on “Last Week Tonight.”

Oliver noted that the shooter had attacked “Latin night at a gay club in the theme-park capital of the world,” something that stands as “the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”

He also shared a clip of people standing in line to donate blood as evidence that “terrorist [jerks]” are “vastly outnumbered” by good people.

ALSO

Thousands gather in Orlando in vigil for mass shooting victims

Orlando shooting investigation broadens to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia

Pictures: Newspaper front pages after Orlando mass shooting

Victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre: Who they were

Late-night hosts respond to Orlando shooting with grief, outrage and calls to action

More From the Los Angeles Times