Stephen Colbert continues to make waves nearly two weeks after ending The Late Show. The former host used his old CBS program's eBay store to raise thousands of dollars for Monroe Community Media, the nonprofit behind the Michigan-based public access show Only In Monroe.
In 2015, Colbert guest-hosted the show and interviewed Eminem just before launching his 11-year run on The Late Show. Last month, he returned to Only in Monroe less than 24 hours after his final episode in the Ed Sullivan Theater.
During his latest appearance, Colbert interviewed permanent hosts Kaye Lani Wilson and Michelle Baumann, taking a parting jab at Paramount, CBS's parent company, for ending his show for purely financial reasons. He also recruited Jack White and Jeff Daniels to destroy the set with sledgehammers before burning parts in a dumpster.
The destruction is paying off. Colbert auctioned autographed items on eBay, including destroyed set pieces, his mug from the 2026 episode, and scripts from his 2026 and 2015 appearances. The auctions netted over $15,000 for Monroe Community Media, according to creative director Genevieve Benson.
That is a major game changer, Benson told WXYZ-TV, noting the station made operations manager Jerry Gysin a full-time employee as a result. Colbert also donated equipment from The Late Show to the Monroe studio.
Benson revealed the Only In Monroe set was literally the same as the one Colbert used in 2015. Gysin said the destruction offers a chance to build a new set from old pieces: It was kind of an exciting thing; it was one era ending and a new one beginning.
Benson stressed that public-access centers nationwide are suffering from financial loss. I was so grateful that they did destroy [the set] for us because we couldn't afford a dumpster for ourselves, and to see it burst into flames was so beautiful.
