Monday night on "The Late Show," host Stephen Colbert took a moment to remember the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia after he passed away at the age of 79 over the weekend, according to The New York Times. Colbert and Scalia disagreed on many things over the years, but the comedian paid a warm tribute to the judge's sense of humor and his intelligence.
"He was universally acknowledged to be an intellectual giant who left his mark not only on the court but on how to interpret the Constitution," Colbert said in his speech. "And whether or not you agreed with him - or made a lot of jokes about him like I did - one thing you have to admit is that he had a great sense of humor."
Colbert then shared a memory about the only time he had ever met Scalia. It was in 2006, and Colbert was the host of the White House Correspondents Dinner in which he famously skewered the Bush administration. Colbert's time as the host of the event did not go down well with the Republicans sitting in the first row not laughing much, with the exception of Scalia.
"Some people laughed in the back of the room, but the important people in the front row and on the dais - it was mostly silent while I was giving the speech. And while I had a good time giving the speech, when it was over, no one was even making eye contact with me."
After Colbert's speech at the Correspondents Dinner was over, Scalia was the one person who went up to the comedian and said he thought he did "great."
"I will forever be grateful for that moment of human contact that he gave me," Colbert ended his heartfelt tribute.
Check out the entire thing below:
