Quote Originally Posted by shriekingviolet View Post
I don't wouldn't take it as any disrespect to Gary or Oklahoma in general. Colbert interviews in-character and since his character is self-obsessed, opinionated and ill-informed, the focus of the interviews is often as much on Colbert himself as it is the guest. So when he says things that sound rude or ignorant, it's generally meant to be a statement about Stephen Colbert the character and not the guest. The show's shtick is that it's a parody of shows of big media blowhards, and Stephen apes their worst habits (such as interrupting, talking over, and patronizing guests plus using the interview as an opportunity for self-aggrandizement) in his interviews. And the guests do know this. At least in the early days of the show (and maybe still now), Colbert always talked to the guests off-camera and let them know what to expect so that there weren't any hard feelings. While Gary's interview wasn't the best one Colbert's ever given, I don't think he was treated any differently than most guests.
If it's all part of the shtick and he gives them a heads up that's cool. Gary has keep his cool through a lot of stuff. Colbert was only about an EF-1.