KEY POINTS

  • Stephen Colbert said he didn't make the final guest list for Barack Obama's birthday bash
  • He said he and wife Evie still decided to vacation on Martha’s Vineyard as they had already booked their flights and hotel
  • The "Late Show" host extended a preemptive invite to Obama for his own 60th birthday in three years

Stephen Colbert was not among the lucky few who got to attend former President Barack Obama’s 60th birthday bash, despite reports suggesting otherwise.

Following a two-week hiatus, Colbert returned to the "Late Show" stage on Monday to answer the "one question on everyone’s mind" — whether or not there is truth to reports that he was at Obama’s scaled-back birthday celebration at Martha’s Vineyard last week.

"Given the whole pandemic thing and the Delta variant, a celebrity mosh pit was maybe not the wisest choice. So Obama decided to scale back the guest list for his party," Colbert explained. "He was forced to limit the invites to only his closest Beyoncés."

The New York Times reported Friday that a number of would-be attendees had been cut from the guest list, including Conan O’Brien and David Letterman, but said Colbert had been among those who attended.

"Yeah, I mean, it makes sense—I am known for filling in when Letterman drops out of something," Colbert joked, before clarifying that he "didn't f--king go" to Obama's birthday.

"In the massive scaling back, I got massively scaled," he explained.

But the host said he and his wife, Evie, still decided to vacation on Martha’s Vineyard that weekend as they had already booked their flights and hotel. Photos of them touching down at the local airport a day before the event were published by the Daily Mail.

Colbert also addressed a report from the Boston Herald claiming that he and his wife owned property on the island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. "Could you please send me the address and the keys and maybe the alarm code? 'Cause I’d love to stay there someday. I don't own a house on Martha’s Vineyard," he said.

"It just goes to show, kids, that if you work hard, put in your time, and get to be the number one show in late-night television, you too can get disinvited from the cool kids' party," Colbert concluded before sending a final message to the former president.

"My own 60th birthday is coming up in three years," he said. "And you, sir... are not going to want to miss it. Please come! I'd be so honored if you can. I’ll scale me back to make room for you and Michelle."

Obama's spokesperson Hannah Hankins told the press last week that his "outdoor" party was "planned months ago in accordance with all public health guidelines and with COVID safeguards in place," according to the New York Post.

"Due to the new spread of the delta variant over the past week, the President and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends," the rep continued.

Conservative political commentator Candace Owens was among those who criticized the bash.

"The entire mainstream media colluded to lie to the American people and pretend that Obama was scaling back his party. He didn’t. He went all in, maskless, inside," she wrote on Twitter after retweeting a screenshot of a video posted by one of the attendees, singer Erykah Badu.

Stephen Colbert Emmys
Host Stephen Colbert performs onstage during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 17, 2017 in Los Angeles during one of the night's best and funniest moments. Getty Images