FCC Won’t Fine Colbert Over Trump-Putin Joke

Stephen Colbert arriving on the red carpet at the Costume Institute Benefit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrating the opening of Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between in New York City, NY, USA... Stephen Colbert arriving on the red carpet at the Costume Institute Benefit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrating the opening of Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between in New York City, NY, USA, on May 1, 2017. Photo by Dennis Van Tine/Sipa USA(Sipa via AP Images) MORE LESS
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NEW YORK (AP) — There will be no fine for Stephen Colbert’s risque joke about President Donald Trump.

A Federal Communications Commission spokesman said Tuesday that the agency received “thousands” of complaints about the late-night host’s May 1 show, so it reviewed the material as “standard operating procedure.” It’s the FCC’s job to police obscene or indecent material on TV when it receives complaints.

The agency found that the joke, which involved Trump, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and a crude word for penis, did not warrant punishment.

Colbert’s politically-tinged “Late Show,” rife with Trump jokes, has become the most popular of the late-night circuit.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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