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Stephen Colbert’s next chapter may still be taking shape, but his first order of business after wrapping The Late Show was apparently very simple: get on the dance floor and go absolutely feral in the most charming way possible. Honestly, this video of him moshing at his after-show will live rent-free in my mind.
ET shared a clip on Instagram from Colbert’s Late Show wrap party, showing the former CBS late-night host bouncing in the middle of the crowd at the after-party following his show's 2026 TV run. The video, credited on-screen to Gisela Margarita Pérez’s Instagram, features Colbert surrounded by partygoers as the room jumps along with him.
The video is labeled, “Stephen Colbert Dances the Night Away at His After-Party for ‘The Late Show,’” which is technically accurate but undersells the energy by about 40%. Colbert is fully in the center of the action, jumping up and down as the crowd moves around him like someone just opened a portal to late-night host spring break.
The videos from the party show Colbert dancing to House of Pain’s “Jump Around,” which makes sense because the man appeared to take the title as a direct instruction. The whole celebration followed Colbert’s final episode of The Late Show, closing out an 11-year run behind the desk. The party was reportedly held at Second, a New York event space, with a wonderfully on-the-nose “Fired & Festive!” dress code.
The guest list also sounds like someone shook a prestige TV snow globe. Reports and social posts from the night mentioned appearances from major CBS figures, former guests and entertainment heavyweights, including Gayle King, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon Batiste, Anderson Cooper, Katie Couric, Drew Barrymore, Mark Hamill, Paul Rudd, John Oliver, Ewan McGregor and others. Sir Paul McCartney, who appeared on the final episode, was also part of the farewell orbit.
The thing that I’ll continue to think about long after the show has faded from my memory is Colbert himself looking delighted and maybe a little unleashed. For years, audiences watched him steer The Late Show through monologues, interviews, political storms and emotional moments with that familiar mix of sharpness and sincerity. Seeing him in the middle of a dance floor jumping like a madman gives the farewell a much warmer feeling.
There has been plenty of conversation about what Colbert will do next. He has talked about wanting to keep performing, and his future includes co-writing an upcoming Lord of the Rings movie. But before Middle-earth, scripts or whatever his next show might become, he got one very human victory lap with the people who helped make The Late Show what it was.
I'm not sure whether this qualifies as moshing in the strictest sense. Nobody appears to be launching themselves into a wall of elbows, and the vibe is more of a joyful wedding reception than a basement punk show. But spiritually, Colbert is absolutely moshing. Late-night moshing. Dad-at-the-center-of-the-dance-circle moshing. “The show is over, and I have earned this” moshing. Honestly, I support it.
