Rob Ford saga delights U.S. late-night hosts
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's jaw dropping use of explicit language on live television to deny another allegation against him was once again a heaven-sent gift to late night comics who can't seem to get enough of the ongoing saga.
"God bless Canada, what a gift the Canadians have given us," Tonight Show host Jay Leno gleefully said Thursday night in his monologue as he joked that Ford's desire to run for re-election despite his admission of drug use and drinking could just be a "pipe dream."
"It's official, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is the best," quipped Late Night host Jimmy Fallon.
"This guy is unbelievable."
The latest trigger for the late shows was Ford's crude comment Thursday in response to court documents that contained allegations from former staff that he once told a female aide he was going to have oral sex with her. The Daily Show's Jon Stewart devoted about six-and-a-half minutes, replaying Ford's video tirade in its entirety.
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Late Show host David Letterman's iconic top 10 list was devoted to Rob Ford's eight-second pause in answering a question from a
member of city council on whether the Toronto mayor ever purchased illegal drugs. It was the top 10 things purportedly going through
Ford's mind when he was considering his answer.
10: "Is he talking to me?"
9: "Oops."
8: "Yes and I'd like some now."
7: "What would a crack smoking Winston Churchill say?"
6: "No questions about Newfoundland?"
5: "I don't remember, you should be talking to my crack dealer."
4: "I'm not an addict, I'm just stupid."
3: "Crack, Crack, Crack, Crack, Crack, Crack, Crack."
2: "What answer gets me to Dairy Queen fastest?"
1: "Help me, Canadian Jesus."
"All of this, the allegations, the intoxicated rant tapes, the crack smoking he believes is excused somehow by his rampant alcoholism, all of this pales in comparison to this next moment," Stewart said as he set up the latest Ford moment.
"Let that be your last statement, throw down the mic, make that your last sentence of your entire career in public service because that is what we call in my business a closer," an incredulous Stewart said after showing the video.
"Kind of makes you nostalgic for the crack now, doesn't it Toronto," Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report joked about Ford's denial of not only the alleged sexual comment.
Ford's tirade also included angry denials at other allegations contained in the court documents, which referred to police interviews of the mayor's former staff and a waiter at a restaurant who said he suspected the mayor and a woman were snorting cocaine in a backroom. Another allegation was that the mayor was seen with a woman believed to be a prostitute, something Ford also denied and indicated he would be taking legal action against his accusers.
"This has everything you want," joked Late Show host David Letterman.
"The city council was grilling the guy, it turned out that at one point he had hookers in the mayor's office...boy I did not see that coming," said Letterman, who devoted his iconic Top Ten List to Ford's pregnant pause this week in response to a question from a council member on whether he purchased illegal drugs.
Ford's foibles have been a staple for late night hosts ever since word first surface of a video that appeared to show the mayor smoking crack, something he initially denied but later admitted he has done.