Stephen Colbert gave ousted CNN chief Chris Licht a hilarious on-air tribute a year before CNN fired him

• Before Chris Licht became CEO of CNN, he was the showrunner for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on CBS.
• Licht lost his job this week after a disastrous profile in The Atlantic made him seem clueless and aloof.
• But when he left Colbert's show, the late-night host gave Licht a heartfelt and emotional send-off.

Chris Licht will always have his Colbert send-off.

It was just over a year ago that Licht was treated to a hilarious and heartfelt goodbye from "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Then the show's executive producer and showrunner, Licht had just gotten his big break as CNN's chief executive — a job he abruptly lost this week after a disastrous Atlantic magazine profile detonated a wave of resentment among the network's staff and leadership.

But in happier times, Colbert teased his departing producer for his "strange loyalty to the folks at unTucked" and "your air maraca white boy frat shuffle" in an eight-minute segment that was both silly and poignant. 

"There are bosses, and then there are leaders," Colbert said, as Licht listened from the wings. "Bosses tell you what to do. Leaders work as hard as you do to do what needs to be done. And that is why he earned the respect of all of us here who live in the clown car."

"And I'm happy that CNN will now benefit from all of his wisdom."

Licht had been credited with nudging the CBS show into first place — blowing Colbert past Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" to take the late-night crown. That success, along with Licht's previous work launching "Morning Joe" and relaunching "CBS This Morning," ended up being the credential that convinced David Zaslav, the head of CNN's new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, to choose him as Jeff Zucker's replacement in February 2022. 

Colbert's sendoff presented a much more sympathetic portrait of Licht than The Atlantic did.

"I wasn't sure whether I would like him, if we would become friends," Colbert said of their first meeting, over drinks, six years earlier. But Licht had approached the new partnership without arrogance, he said. 

"He arrived knowing what he didn't know, which is anything about comedy or show business. He approached the job with a level of humility that is rare in executives," Colbert said. 

"Six years later, I love you," Colbert said. The camera then pans to Licht, who puts his hand over his heart in thanks. 

The segment ends with Licht being serenaded by a character named "Shriekin' Joe, American dumbass." Colbert and Licht then embrace to the music from Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath my Wings."

The Atlantic profile, by reporter Tim Alberta, portrayed Licht as arrogant and aloof, bragging about shedding pounds by pumping iron (without mentioning his reported use of the weight-loss drug Ozempic) and ignoring staffers at the CNN holiday party while reading news stories about himself on his phone.

"The Late Show" has been off the air since the Writers Guild of America began a strike in May and Colbert hasn't commented publicly about Licht's firing. 

For a profile of Licht that appeared late last year, Colbert told The New York Times Magazine that the two spoke every Friday and that Colbert always began the conversation by saying: "I told you so."

You can watch the segment here: