What began as a tempest in a teapot has morphed into a PR disaster for the celebrities who capitalized on the public frenzy surrounding the "disappearance" of Catherine, Princess of Wales, from public life following major abdominal surgery.
From hysterical conspiracy theories, to celebrities like actress Blake Lively and professional useless person Kim Kardashian making tasteless jokes about the royal's absence from public life, many internet denizens gleefully roasted a woman who we now know was undergoing cancer treatments.
Among the most shameless was liberal shill and alleged late-night "comedian" Stephen Colbert who, before the release of Catherine's video message that shocked the world, decided to spotlight one of the more disgusting rumors floating around at the time.
Namely, that Catherine's supposed disappearance was related to Prince William, Catherine's husband and heir to the British throne, allegedly having an affair with family friend the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, Rose Hanbury.
In response, the news and entertainment publication In Touch reported, Hanbury and her legal team have sent a legal notice to Colbert over the tasteless "joke."
In a statement, according to In Touch, Hanbury's lawyers said the "rumor appears to have entered into the mainstream media recently as a result of another joke made about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. We have written on our client’s behalf to CBS and various other reputable media organisations to confirm that the allegation is false."
Now, while these rumors have been floating around the internet for years, there has never been any evidence that William engaged in the same home-wrecking behavior that doomed the marriage of his parents, now-King Charles and the now-deceased Princess Diana, in the ’90s.
That, unfortunately, didn't stop Colbert from spotlighting the rumor.
As reported by Vanity Fair, Colbert took a shot at Prince William, Catherine, and Hanbury in his opening monologue on March 12, broaching the topic by saying "the kingdom has been all aflutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton."
Colbert then continued with his unseemly speculations, saying "internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband and the future king of England, William, having an affair,” Colbert said. “So I think we all know who the alleged other woman is. Say it with me: the Marchioness of Cholmondeley—what a beautiful name."
The U.K. Guardian reported on how Colbert continued ridiculing a sick woman, her husband, and her friend.
Mocking Hanbury's title by calling her the "Marching Band of Chicanery" and "Marcus Mumford of Chumbawumba," Colbert noted that these tabloid rumors originated in 2019, and those tabloids claimed at the time that, when Catherine confronted William about the alleged infidelity, he merely laughed it off.
Hanbury, who has been married since 2009 and given birth to three children since then, did not find Colbert's jokes nearly as funny as he seemed to.
Hanbury's legal team began pushing back by publishing a statement, reported by Business Insider, that said "the rumors are completely false."
And now, she and her legal team have singled out Colbert specifically for dredging up these rumors.
From the beginning, theinternet speculation around Catherine's absence was completely unfounded, considering that Buckingham Palace had clearly said back in January, when it announced that she had had surgery, that Catherine would not return to public duties until after Easter.
However, considering Catherine's visibility and worldwide profile, that wasn't enough to quell the online rumor mill, especially the cruel rumors of an alleged affair.
But someone like Colbert should've recognized what a disgusting thing it was to dredge up a painful rumor like that, during such a painful time for the royal family.
Even though few people knew at that time how life-threatening Catherine's health issues really were, most still understood that she had undergone a significant surgery requiring a lengthy recovery period.
Colbert, knowing that and using his show to platform an affair rumor anyway, was absolutely shameless.
If Colbert had any shred of dignity, he would absolutely walk it back, and publicly apologize to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Of course, Colbert has used his position as a "comedian" for years to attack those he doesn't like and shill for the establishment.
Why would he stop at spreading vicious rumors about a woman -- a wife and mother \-- suffering from cancer?
