Entertainment

No punishment for Stephen Colbert's Trump joke, says FCC

There will be no fine for Stephen Colbert's risque joke about U.S. President Donald Trump, says the Federal Communications Commission, despite receiving 'thousands' of complaints about the late-night host's May 1 show.

Crude Trump joke does not warrant fine, says federal communications watchdog

Stephen Colbert has been cleared by the U.S. communications watchdog after the FCC received 'thousands' of complaints about his May 1 episode of The Late Show. (Richard Boeth/CBS/Associated Press)

There will be no fine for Stephen Colbert's risqué joke about U.S. 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.