Craig Ferguson addresses Boston bombing during ‘Late Late Show’ opening

Whenever Craig Ferguson has something on his mind, he alters his show for it. He has not been afraid to change up his show at the last second to take on serious topics, and during a taping for “The Late Late Show” on Monday afternoon (which will air after “The Late Show with David Letterman”), the CBS personality chose to take on a subject that is on much of America’s mind at the moment: the tragic bombing in Boston that has led to at least three people being confirmed dead.

Ferguson eschewed his traditional “it’s a great day for America” line in his opening, and he also went on to explain his personal connection to the city (it was one of the first places he spoke at after becoming an American citizen) and his frustration that these sort of events keep on happening:

“Obviously the news of today is so horrendous that it would seem insensitive at best to say ‘It’s a great day for America,’ so I won’t be starting the show with that tonight.  Is anyone else sick of this sh**? I seem to have to say that too often.

“People say to me ‘Craig, your job is to make people laugh at the end of the day.’ And I think, yes, that’s true, but I’ve never professed to be any damn good at that. And, the thing is, people want their mind taken off it. And I think, well ok, if you want your mind taken off it, you know, watch a cartoon or a video or something. I understand it, it’s perfectly acceptable. I don’t think it’s a terrible thing to not want to think about it, but I can’t not think about it.”

Ferguson is likely not to be the only late-night host to address the subject this week, and we will likely have more reaction and discussion on this moving forward.  NBC is the only major network to make a significant change to their programming schedule due to the bombing, opting to air a Brian Williams special rather than a new episode of “Revolution.”

Photo: CBS