COLBERT: “You’ve been known for having, like, uncomfortable conversations. ‘United Shades of America’ had a lot of those.”
BELL: “Yeah.”
COLBERT: “Uncomfortable conversations are always good. What do you think the uncomfortable conversation America should be having that it isn’t right now?”
BELL: “Okay. What is America and who gets to decide? Because right now, I think we all might have different ideas of what America is, but I don’t get to decide. You don’t get to decide. Right now, the billionaires are going to decide what America is, and that’s not good for anybody in this room. So until we understand that we all get a voice and we all get to help, then we — you know, we talk about the Roman Empire, but when you go to Italy and look at the Roman Empire, you are looking at ruins. You know what I mean? Right around the corner, Studio 54, this used to be this hot nightclub. Now it’s an office building. So is America about to be an office building? Are we going to survive this or are we going to be the place that used to be cool and now isn’t anymore?”
COLBERT: “So presently we are still Studio 54?”
BELL: “We’re like Studio 54 in the mid-’80s when it was like, you know, it was staring to get a little sad. Like, the C-level celebrities were hanging out there. Emmanuel Lewis. ‘Is that all baking powder?’ We are at that level.”
COLBERT: “Thanks for being here.”
BELL: “Thank you for having me.”
