Liberal former late night host Stephen Colbert was hurried out of a Harvard event Thursday after a fire alarm interrupted his appearance while hundreds of union protesters demonstrated outside. The protesters were furious over his decision to cross their picket line and proceed with the talk.
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined Colbert onstage despite pleas from the Harvard Graduate Student Union to cancel the appearance in solidarity with striking workers. Union members loudly chanted and demonstrated directly outside the venue.
The disruption made it difficult to hear the speakers even before the alarm sounded. Once it went off, organizers ended [1] the event during its question and answer portion and escorted Colbert from the venue.
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Despite the escalating scene, union members denied having anything to do with the fire alarm. They said they did not know what had caused it.
“The alarm was unrelated to HGSU’s picketing activity, and we have no knowledge of its cause,” HGSU wrote in a statement on social media.
“Members at the picket were relieved to learn that no one inside was at risk,” the statement continued.
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The union had hoped Colbert would honor its picket line, pointing to his support for protesters during the Writers Guild strike in 2023. Colbert also cofounded Strike Force Five.
The union similarly appealed to Ma, who is a Harvard graduate. Both men proceeded with the event despite those requests, prompting the angry demonstration outside.
HGSU has been on strike since Oct. 27. The union is demanding a fair contract that includes wage increases, protections for noncitizens, and safeguards involving harassment and discrimination.
Graduate classes have gone untaught since the strike began. The union also insisted that Colbert and Ma received plenty of advance notice that appearing at the event would be considered crossing its picket line.
“HGSU-UAW sent multiple formal communications to Colbert and Ma’s teams well in advance of the event that due to ongoing strike action, the building their event would be held at would be one with an active picket and that we encouraged them to move their event to an off-site location or virtually, reschedule the event, or cancel so as to not cross the picket,” the union wrote on Instagram.
“Colbert and Ma’s respective unions, SAG-AFTRA and the Boston Musicians’ Association, also reached out to them on our behalf with the same request,” the statement continued.
The union said Colbert and Ma moved forward anyway and did not engage with members as they departed. “They continued the event inside without regard for the picket line, and refused to speak with union members as they left the event. In other words — they crossed our picket line.”
American author and YouTuber John Green took a different approach when faced with the strike. He changed his schedule to avoid crossing the HGSU picket line and appeared remotely instead.
“They’re on strike and I had to move a thing to not cross a picket line,” Green said in an interview clip posted to the union’s Instagram account.
“Which was an easy decision… it was not a hard decision for me. I’m sorry I had to do it on Zoom,” he continued.
“But I’m also sorry that the student workers have to be on strike against the richest university in the world.”
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Green donated the proceeds he earned from the event to the union, according to The Boston Globe. The union highlighted his decision as its dispute with Harvard continued.
The Harvard Graduate Student Union and representatives for Colbert and Ma did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment. The alarm’s cause remained unknown based on the union’s statement.