Stephen Colbert interviews Eminem on Michigan public-access TV show
MONROE, Mich. -- Stephen Colbert has temporarily taken over a public-access TV show in southeastern Michigan in an episode that featured rapper Eminem.
Colbert hosted the latest episode of Only in Monroe, which airs in the community of about 21,000 people. He talked with Detroit native Eminem in a lengthy segment, calling the famous rapper "a local Michigander who is making a name for himself in the competitive world of music."
Colbert began the interview quizzing Eminem, who he called by his real name Marshall Mathers the entire time, about his knowledge in Michigan artists. He even got the rapper to sing along to some Bob Seger songs.
That then turned into a discussion over rap lyrics.
"Do you worry about the kids listening to rap? Because some of it gets pretty rough," Colbert asked.
"Oh I don't do any of that," Eminem responded. "I keep it clean".
"So, where do you hope this goes," Colbert then asked Eminem about his job. "Is it a career? A hobby?... Do you have a fallback position? Carpentry? You just have to make plans for when the dreams die."
"I'm so confused right now," Eminem later said.
Eminem was clearly in on the gag, even reading events from the Monroe Community calendar before doing Miss America wave that lasted several minutes while the credits rolled. How he kept a straight face the entire time is still a mystery.
Colbert also chatted with the show's regular hosts, challenging one to a nail-painting race, and tried to settle a nearly 20-year-old Yelp feud between a restaurant owner and a mysterious Mark M.
The Detroit Free Press reports the 41-minute episode was filmed Tuesday. It premiered at midnight Wednesday on local TV and was later posted on YouTube, where it surpassed 1 million views in a matter of hours.
Program director Lance Sottile tells the newspaper they were "really happy" Colbert could fill in for the regular hosts.
Colbert used to host The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. He's stepping into CBS' late-night slot long occupied by David Letterman.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
