Stephen Colbert Declares War on Amazon.com

Posted on June 5, 2014

Stephen Colbert has declared war on Amazon.com and its founder Jeff Bezos, who he now refers to as Lord Bezomort. Colbert's books are published by Hachette.

Amazon and Hachette are in the middle of a highly publicized battle over their new contract. The negotiations are not going well, according to both parties. Amazon.com has pulled purchase buttons from some Hachette books and has delayed delivery on others. J.K. Rowling's upcoming book is not available for pre-order, which is definitely a first.

Stephen riffed on the shipping delays, noting that, "If you order Hachette's 21-day Weight Loss Kickstart, by the time it arrives you're still fat." He noted that Amazon has recommended customers buy used copies of Hachette books, prompting Colbert to jokingly deride tawdry used books pointing out, "publishers and authors get no cash from used book sales. Plus you don't want them. Used books are the sluts of the literary world -- passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper until eventually, they end up in prison."

Colbert has called for a boycott of Amazon and has been taking potshots at the retail giant on Twitter. Take a look:


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