BRENDAN O’CONNOR’S Pussy Riot interview went international this week for all the wrong reasons.
Now Stephen Colbert has gone and shown him up by carrying out an utterly charming chat with Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.
Let’s examine the differences:
1. The “girls”
Stephen Colbert didn’t call Nadezhda and Maria ”girls”, not even once.
O’Connor on the other hand…
Colbert did manage to call them a “nice couple of kids” without sounding patronising though. How does he do it?
2. The faces
Look at these smiles for Stephen:
Not so many smiles for Brendan:
3. The LOLs
Colbert and the Pussy Rioters got on like a house on fire, joking about a shirtless Putin, Colbert and Putin hunting shirtless together, Colbert joining Pussy Riot etc. Gas craic all round.
Over on The Saturday Night Show meanwhile…
To be fair Nadezhda and Maria did break out some laughs when Brendan offered to organise for them to sit on a bed of nails next time they visit (nine minute mark).
They probably won’t be back though.
4. The topics
Colbert covered the reasons behind Maria and Nadezhda’s release from prison, gay rights issues in Russia and the girls’ thoughts on their future.
In Donnybrook:
“Can you ask if they believe Madonna is a freedom fighter like them?”
5. The Translator
Nadezhda, Maria, Stephen and the translator Anya got on like a house on fire, chuckling their way through speedily translated jokes and quips.
On the purple couches, Nadezhda’s husband Pietr was trying his best:
6. The audience
Maria and Nadezhda were on board with the Colbert audience, and in fact they thanked them for their support.
The Saturday Night Show Audience meanwhile were still reeling from the Marty Whelan hair plug segment.
7. The walk off
There was no walk off after the Stephen Colbert interview. They probably all went for a lovely dinner and played Jenga.
Meanwhile:
Poor Brenners. He tried his best.
You can watch the Colbert interview (in two parts) with Pussy Riot here. Prepare your LOLs.
The Saturday Night Show interview is here:
