colbert is next. captioning sponsored by cbs >> today, trump acknowledged talking to rudy giuliani, calling him "a very great crime fighter." >> he was a very great crime fighter. he was probably the greatest crime fighter over the last 50 years. ( "batman" theme song ) ♪ rudy ♪ rudy ♪ rudy ♪ rudy ♪ winey ♪ dinky ♪ teethy ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da ♪ rudy! >> it's "the late show with

stephen colbert." tonight, angry white mail. plus, stephen welcomes jamie foxx. featuring jon batiste and stay human. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: come on! hey! hi! >> stephen: lovely! lovely! welcome. welcome, welcome, one and all. welcome to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. it is just delightful, delightful to be with these people here tonight. thank you for joining us

tonight. it's impeachment eve. it's a magical time ( cheers and applause ) and like every impeachment eve, we put the kids to bed, but they're all up listening hard to see if accountability is coming. believe! i believe! but all they can hear is scrooge mctrump screaming, "hum bug" from his rooftop, and i'll catch you up on the latest in tonight's "don and the giant impeach." >> i said you gotta do me a favor." >> stephen: all week, trump's been relatively quiet about his impending impeachment, but the pressure was building under the surface, because this afternoon, the lid blew off mount saint yellin. the eruption came in the form of a six-page shriek addressed to

nancy pelosi. here's a taste: >> "your spiteful actions display unfettered contempt for america's founding, and your egregious conduct threatens to destroy that which our founders pledged their very lives to build." ( laughter ) ( as trump ) "yes, a nation built on the belief that powerful white men face no consequences whatsoever." ( cheers and applause ) he tantrums on: "even worse than offending the founding fathers, you are offending americans of faith by continually saying 'i pray for the president,' when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense." ( laughter ) what does that mean? i have no idea-- i have no idea what that means? what is a negative prayer? what would that even be? ( as trump ) "your father, who aren't i

heaven, let's face it, nothin' special about that name." the letter is a disorienting mish-mash of dry legal language mixed in with trump's signature angry word smoothies. "the articles of impeachment introduced by the house judiciary committee are not recognizable under any standard of constitutional theory, interpretation, or jurisprudence. dot-da-dot-dot. you have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, 'impeachment'!" ( laughter ) okay. okay. happy now, nancy? you've cheapened something very ugly! that goes against everything trump stands for-- making very ugly things. extremely expensive. ( cheers and applause ) now the letter-- the letter accuses the democrats of having dark motives.

"everyone, you included, knows what is really happening. your chosen candidate lost the election in 2016, in an electoral college landslide-- 306-227-- and you and your party have never recovered from this defeat." my god! is there anywhere, any occasion he won't brag about his electoral college win? what do his condolence cards look like? "i'm so sorry for your loss. almost as bad as hillary's loss to me, 306-227." ( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) that's so sweet. that's really-- that's really-- >> jon: kind of heartfelt-ish >> stephen: so sweet, jon. thank you. he continued: "so you have spent three straight years attempting to overturn the will of the american people and nullify their votes. you view democracy as your enemy!" ( as trump )

"whereas, i view democracy as a friend... with benefits. because, under me, democracy is so screwed ( cheers and applause ) do you have a copy? here's an actual copy of the damn thing. this is-- i don't know-- it is six pages long. it is six pages long, single spaced like this. the middle pages are basically just a cut and paste from his campaign website. i'm not joking. he has space force in there. judges. his non-building of the wall. unemployment: why don't black people love me? and the usual puff and whine throughout the entire thing. then trump complained about how damaging impeachment has been to those he loves. "you do not know, nor do you care, the great damage and hurt you have inflicted upon wonderful and loving members of my family." ( as trump ) "you've hurt them all, from the innocent wife i cheated on with

a porn star, to the poor kids whose mother i bailed on two wives ago, all of them." trump also wrote-- ( cheers and applause ) trump also writes in the letter: "more due process was afforded to those accused in the salem witch trials." you know what? you know what? you know what? i agree with the president on this one. fair is fair. we should throw him in the river. and-- and-- i'll tell you what-- if he floats... judge? >> a witch, witch! >> stephen: now, in slamming pelosi he brought out some of the fanciest words he knows. "your legacy will be that of turning the house of representatives from a revered

legislative body into a star chamber of partisan persecution." how much do you want to bet he thinks a "star chamber" is a planetarium? ( laughter ) ( as trump ) "and if you're going to make it a star chamber, nancy, then i demand that saturdays at midnight, you have laser zepplin." ( laughter ) now, shortly after the letter was released, trump appeared on camera to sum up what it took him six pages to say. >> mister president, will you take any responsibility for the fact that you're about to be impeached? >> no, i don't take any. zero, to put it mildly. >> stephen: yes, trump doesn't take any. he takes foreign assistance. he takes daddy's handouts. he takes a handful of any woman who wanders into his grope-zone, but he draws the line at responsibility. now, while trump is publicly-- ( cheers and applause ) sure. sure, why not? no responsibility.

while trump is unraveling publicly, democratic candidates are trying to get the nomination sewn up. i'll tell you all about it in tonight's "doing it donkey style." >> civil rights. >> stephen: there's a new controversy about south bend mayor and spelling bee contestant who just saw his parents in the audience, pete buttigieg. pete's been getting some pushback for his habit of holding closed-door fundraisers for the big donors. yesterday, we got a few photos of an event he held in napa at the hall rutherford wine caves, where he had dinner beneath a chandelier decked in 1,500 swarovski crystals. so in case you were wondering if the wealthy gather in underground bunkers to plot the fate of the working class. yeah. ( laughter ) it was a decadent night. the butti-boosters enjoyed bottles of cabernet sauvignon worth $900, and ate off an onyx banquet table. well, you gotta have onyx. you know how hard it is to get human sacrifice stains out of walnut?

( laughter ) other candidates jumped on mayor pete's money party. right after the photos came out, bernie's campaign trolled buttigieg by buying the domain: peteswinecave.com. that's pretty good >> jon: they jumped right on that one. >> stephen: but buttigieg hit back at bernie's favorite drink: poland spring bottle that gets refilled with tap water until the label falls off dot-net. in other donkey-related developments, there's a new proposal from presidential candidate and obstetrician surprised to find out where babies come out, andrew yang. this week, yang announced that he wants to make psychedelic mushrooms "more freely available." chopper cheaper yeah, yeah, sure. why not? sure. though, i gotta say. i don't know.

i think there are already plenty available. that's why so many people can visualize you as president. according to a recent tweet, yang was swayed when a veteran in davenport told yang that psilocybin mushrooms were the only treatment he found effective for his depression after returning home. well, i'm all for candidates listening to voters, but yang changed his platform after talking to one guy. so, evidently, everyone gets one request. that explains yang's new billboard: yang 2020: hey tim, was it friday or saturday that you needed to be picked up from the airport? ( applause ) close enough! close enough! close enough. next up one the stylin' donkey, big news this week from the campaign of vermont senator and man whose office mate is experimenting with natural deodorant, bernie sanders. bernie is in second place nationally. he's got huge support among democrats under age 35, but he's

got a big generation gap problem, polling with just 2% with democrats over 65. just 2%! among seniors, bernie is trailing "sitting by the door at a restaurant." "granddaughter majoring in women's studies," and "too many damn remotes." ( laughter ) ( applause ) we have a great show tonight! but first, time to move on clearly. first-- you know what's going to happen now. first we're going to do "meanwhile." now, normally we would go to commercial right now, but would you rather have commercials or more show? >> audience: more show! >> stephen: okay, but understand that more show means there might be some subtle product placement. >> audience: product placement! >> stephen: all right! all right all right. let's do that. give it up for jon batiste right over there. jon, the great-- ( cheers and applause )

you know who we've got tonight, jon? tonight, in just a few minutes, the great mr. jamie foxx is going to be out here in just a little while >> jon: jamie foxx. >> stephen: you know, i spend a lot of time right over there, drawing together the day's biggest news themes, its richest, most-satiric characters; its darkest comic imagery and carefully plotting them out for you in the elaborate shakespearean comedy that is my monologue. but sometimes i just want you to pull my finger to release my segment: "meanwhile." meanwhile, a national treasure. folks, tonight's "meanwhile" is brought to you by kellogg's frostet flakes. joining me now, tony the tiger, everybody >> thank you, thank you,

stephen. it's good to be here. >> stephen: tonighty don't don't you mean it's greeat to be here? >> we'll see. i'm here because all across the country, some schools are being forced to cut sports. and i'm not okay with that. so i started mission tiger to help save school sports for as many kids as possible. >> stephen: well, that's wonderful, tony >> i bet you played a lot of school sports yourself, eh, stephen? >> stephen: that's wonderful, tony ( laughter ) >> so to help find the kids most in need we teamed up with donorschoose.org >> stephen: i'm on the board of donors choose >> you've mentioned that. >> stephen: okay >> and we've already funded 600 schools and helped over 165,000 kids. and these kids are greeeat-ful. >> stephen: again, not quite where i thought you were going with that, tony.

let me ask you this. does eating this box of frosted flakes they keep under my desk help in any way? >> absolutely! when you buy a box, you can support the mission. >> stephen: you hear that, dr. eichler? i am inhaling frosted flakes for the children ( cheers and applause ) >> and don't forget-- frosted flakes is sponsoring want tony the tiger sun bowl this year on december 31, the only bowl game with a mission. >> stephen: tony, i want you ton that if any part of mission tiger's mission is to release an actual tiger on to the field, i will totally watch that ( laughter ) tony the tiger, everybody! ( cheers and applause ) >> it was greeea-- nice to be here >> stephen: thank you, tony.

meanwhile, the entire internet is thirsty for actor kumail nanjiani who, after being cast as a marvel character, transformed his body into this towering chunk of beefsteak. dayum! he's putting the "male" in kumail. ( laughter ) a lot of us celebs post these photos of ourselves looking all buff, which can be very demoralizing to you normals out there. but kumail had the decency to add, "i would not have been able to do this if i didn't have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. it would have been impossible without these resources." that is refreshing honesty. and i, too, right now, want all my fans to know that achieving this look would not have been possible without "my" two biggest resources: irish skin and the march of time. ( cheers and applause )

♪ ♪ meanwhile, the city of "topeka will pay you up to $15,000 just to move there." the program,"choose topeka," was created with the intention of investing in employees to live and work in topeka and shawnee county so that we may foster an "intentional" community." that's important, an "intentional" community. because right now topeka's current residents are all drivers who ran out of gas on their way anywhere else. god love you, topeka. meanwhile, "the first celebrity voice to come to amazon's alexa is now available." "owners can now add actor samuel l. jackson's voice to their devices." great! ( clears throat ) let's try it out. alexa, what's the weather? >> say what again! say what again! i dare you. i double dare you, (bleep). say what one more (bleep)

time! ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: so pack an umbrella, i guess. meanwhile, a "lord of the rings" television series is currently in production on amazon, which means if you're in new zealand and you've "got a face like a leather handbag? missing teeth? you could be an extra on 'lord of the rings''" i was just down there for a week! why didn't you ask? face like a leather handbag? check. missing teeth? no, but i do have a willing heart and a pair of pliers. ( laughter ) now, the production it's production needs so many extras so fast, casting agents in new zealand are asking

for "hairy, hairy people of all ages and ethnicities, individuals with many freckles, redheads, and people with lots of wrinkles," and asking, "have you been out in that sunshine? is your face a little ugh?" ( laughter ) okay, don't sugar coat it. i'm sure it won't be awkward on set when you actually meet these human beings. "congratulations, everybody! your face looks like a cat coughed up a boiled potato. you, you, stand over there! your face is just the right amount of ugh." meanwhile, "scientists have discovered the deepest point on land." the deepest point? that bumper sticker with all the world's religions spelling "coexist." ( laughter ) pretty deep >> stephen: oh, yeah. that's very deep ( laughter ) >> stephen: meanwhile, once in a while, a story comes along that is far too phallic for us to

cover, but also far too phallic for us not to cover, which brings us once again to our "meanwhile" sub-segment: "peen-while." peen-while, the "cats" movie hits theaters this weekend, and, reportedly, one of its stars, jason derulo, isn't happy. specifically, derulo "is bummed that the film had to digitally remove his massive penis." because, come one, that's what everyone wants from a movie about cats: a massive human penis. ( laughter ) and it must definitely, for sure, be very big, because when asked by an interviewer, "you think that they airbrushed your penis out of the 'cats' movie?" derulo replied, "125%." ( laughter ) now, does that sound like someone who exaggerates the size of things? meanwhile, the town of skagway, alaska, is selling its newspaper for the "unbeatable price of zero dollars."

"unbeatable"? clearly, you've never heard of topeka, kansas. ( laughter ) we'll be right back with jamie foxx. ( applause ) ♪ ♪ across the country, schools are having to cut sports. i'm tony the tiger and i'm on a mission to fix that. ♪ bring back the tigers. ♪ your mighty, mighty tigers. [cheering sounds] buy a box and help all kids be tigers. too shabby! too much! i can rent this? for that price? absolutely. it's just right! book your just right rental at thrifty.com.

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( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody, welcome back to "the late show." come on, come on. what a night. what a special night tonight >> stephen: very special night >> stephen: we have a very special guest for you. ladies and gentlemen, my first guest is a grammy and academy award-winning artist you know from "ray" and "django unchained." he now stars in the new film "just mercy." please welcome back to "the late show," mr. jamie foxx! ♪ ♪ ( applause )

( applause ) ♪ ♪ ( applause ) ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> merry christmas. ♪ merry christmas >> stephen: oh, yeah ♪ merry christmas ♪ merry christmas ♪ happy new year ♪ ♪ "merry christmas to the reindeer we never think about the reyna deer.

we never say merry-- we never say that >> stephen: we talk about rudolph. we talk about rudolph >> but we never pay him homage. ♪ merry christmas to the reindeer the reindeer ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry ♪ merry christmas to the reindeer ♪ ( applause ) ♪ i'm just talking about rudolph okay, all right >> stephen: it's a message of hope. it's a message of hope, jamie foxx >> i think i came in hot >> stephen: happy birthday i understand you celebrated a birthday. >> i did, i did >> stephen: how many are we talking about? >> 26 times two. >> stephen: wow ( applause ) ( cheers ) >> stephen: careful now. wow >> you know, i gotta say, this

is actually a spanx, i got to be honest >> stephen: you got to >> i got the man spanx on. i call it a manx. >> stephen: you get your aarp membership >> i never used to look at that commercial >> stephen: you get all kinds of discountses. >> i'm sitting "are you at the age of 50? i got my readers on. oh, man! i don't like that! 50, 75, damn it! >> stephen: do you have to wear the readers now? >> but i have designer readers >> stephen: designer readers >> i have my own glass company and we make designer readers so you don't look... weird >> stephen: i know, the last time you were here you left me-- >> you turned into an older man. "let's see what's on the menu glvment you left me two pairs of sun glass the last time you were here and my boys stole them. nothing for the old man >> i got to get you hooked up >> stephen: i was hoping.

i was hoping. that's why we wanted you back so i could get the sunglass >> you know how you have the readers and it looks bag bad? i'm still hanging out with young people >> stephen: you don't want to be the chuck schumer down here. the slidies. the slidies all the way down >> i don't want the "let me get a look at you." "let me get a look at you!" >> stephen: how do you feel about aging? are you enjoying the wisdom cropping on you? >> i feel great. i hang around young people. it keeps me young. gary gray threw a party at my house. he was turning 50. and the people there were even older. and i was like, "oh, my god. i don't ever do this." they had, like, gray manicured beards. y paint all this ( hissing ) >> stephen: that's good that's good >> i hugged somebody in the back, and the lady kissed me and i left half my beard on her face. i wanted to tell her...

( laughter ) >> stephen: because i'm a little bit older than you are ♪ that's a black man's beard >> stephen: i'm a little older than you are. i enjoying being out with the elderly. i look working out at the local "y" because i feel very strong in comparison >> i try to keep it youthful. but, man, come on, i'm living so much fun. comedy keeps you young. i was on the set with norman lear >> stephen: how, he's 95, 96 >> 94, 95, nirks-- 100. whatever he is >> stephen: yes >> but he was texting, you know, just like. i was like this man, 95. "how do you do it?" "comedy keeps me young jung, jamie." as long as we're telling these jokes, we will forever stay young. >> stephen: as you're saying we have to celebrate the reindeer coming up. what other traditions do you have in your house? does all the family come? are you the host for everybody? >> yeah, i love christmas. and i love, like, lights, because when i was young we never had the good lights,un?

we didn't have any money forue know, how some people have the whole house lit up. we just took a red light bulb and took the white one out and put red light bulb out. it was like consistently saying, "danger." you know what i'm saying? it was consistently an mother, as opposed to -- >> stephen: we actually have-- this might be-- this might be your house. we have some footage here of lights. walk me through this. is this your neighborhood? >> that's my crib >> stephen: that's your house. that's not your neighborhood. that's your house. i didn't realize you lived at caesar's palace. wow! >> yeah, man, that's-- that's a hell of an electric bill right there. >> stephen: wow. and you put all those up yourself, i assume >> one by one, you know i like to get close to the work. no, but i give props out to my guy manny who takes care of my house. the first time i tried to do those lights, my bill was astronomical. like-- like close to some

crazy-- $00,000, $400,000 crazy. somebody got me, though. and manny says, "i got you on a better price." so manny hooked up the price >> stephen: wow >> yeah, but they got me. manny said, "i got you. don't worry about it." >> stephen: do you have christmas dinner and all that kind of stuff? do you do that for your family? >> yeah, we do the christmas dinner. my whole family lives with me. my mom-- my mom came back to live with me. i was adopted, so i got back with my mom about 12 years ago. my dad lives with me, too. but they've been divorced for, like 30 years >> stephen: they both live with you? >> yeah, boy, that's tough ( laughter ) yeah, that's tough, baby >> stephen: i'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you have a large house >> yeah, yeah. well it has to be for them. because he still dates. so you know, he has his dates. but she figures out a way to get on his side of the house when he has a date, walks in, looks, "hey, how you doing.

hmmm. hmmm? so this is want new flavor?" and i'm like, "oh, man." and he's at me door knocking, "can you tell her to stay on her side of the house? i'm having company." "now, parents." >> stephen: we'll take a break pup stay hydrated. we'll be back with more jamie foxx, everybody. stick around. like levi's (for him and her) jewelry... and 25-35% off kitchen electrics! or get an extra 20% off now with your jcpenney credit card. and feel the rush at jcpenney! (man)(elderly woman) you toh, thank you so much. (elderly man 1) i'll be alright. (man) ok. (elderly man 1) ok. (man) ok george, see you again soon. (elderly man 2) bye bye. (elderly man 3) ah dell, and you brought the family this time! (vo) it feels good to help those in need. you can choose meals on wheels to get two hundred and fifty dollars from subaru when you get a new subaru, like the all new outback.

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and you realize you are the the hostess with the mostest. you know when you're at ross yes! yeah! that's yes for less. entertain in style all season long. it feels even better when you find it for less-at ross. yes for less. ( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) the >> stephen: hey, everybody, we're back here with our friend jamie foxx. how old were you when you first started to perform? >> man... i mean-- literally, right-- as soon as i came out i was, like, ready. ( laughter ) >> stephen: what did your parents think when you decided, ", i'm going to do this professionally?" did your parents support that. there are people who are funny, people who can sing, but to make that your life, that's a risky thing to do >> i did. when i started the third grade,

mrs. reed--" see she said, "you're going to get into trouble." she said, ydon't i give you time at the end of class on friday and you can tell jokes to the kids." i would tell jokes. and i would tell jokes from the johnny carson show. you know why? because the only tv in my house was in my room, and my parents would watch the "johnny carson" show. and i would tell those jokes to the kids and they thought i was amazing i was doing impersonations. and when i finally got to-- to, like, l.a., i would do different types of impersonating. i was the only black guy doing ronald reagan. >> stephen: do you still have a reagan? ( laughter ) >> yes, i do. "well, well, well, as a matter of fact, there you go again." that's all ( cheers and applause )

>> stephen: the gipper. the gipper >> yeah, yeah. and so-- so when i got to l.a., i started burning up everything. i i was killing its clubs and all my impersonation was my go-to. mike tyson "heavyweight boxer, mike tyson." one particular night, i went to my mike tyson joke, right, and nobody laughed. you know why? because mike was in the audience. ( laughter ) and this was when mike was knocking people out for just smiling. one dude in the back said, "yo, mike is in here!" and i said, "oh, snap." and a girl in the front said, "what are you going to do, jamie? you scared? you scared?" and the dude yelled out, "mike said do the joke ( bleep ). but it better be funny of the so everybody looking at mike, and then they all look at me. and i did my thing. "mike tyson, heavyweight boxing

champion"-- whatever it was. i did some type of joke of him going through the drive-through at the kentucky fried chicken-- no, i went through the drive-through and he was the joyce voice." "hello, welcome to kentucky fried chicken. may i take your order?" ( laughter ) >> stephen: and? >> so-- so after it was over, everybody was laughing, a stadged ovation, and i was worried. and mike runs up to me. and he goes, "there he is! come on, you ( bleep )." and i started hanging out with mike tyson >> stephen: wow >> which was crazy because he was so rich and so famous at the time. we would be in clubs-- we'd go to a club, and mike would see a girl and say, "hey, you how you doing? you like b.m.w.s." and the girl would say, "yeah. " and he'd say, let's go, and go to a b.m.w. dealership and buy a b.m.w. and the next day knock on the door and get the b.m.w. back

>> stephen: those are good friends. those are good friends >> those are really good friends. bhi finally got on-- when i finally, like, auditioned for a show, it was called "the rock show." and i get on the show and -- >> stephen: was it a sit-com? >> it was a sit-com. it was called "rock." and i get on the show because at night robbie reed discovered me that night, of mike tyson. i get on the show, and i'm on the pilot >> stephen: sure >> for some reason eye know the reason but i can't tell you-- for some reason i got fired >> stephen: you know why you got fired >> i know why i got fired >> stephen: that's fortunate know that >> it will be in the book. i got fired but least i did the pilot. i tell everybody back in texas that, you know, i made it. but they cut me out of the pilot pilot. so when the pilot aired i wasn't in it, and my grandmother and everybody thought, that boy is out there lying, on drugs, or

something." but that was-- that was that. and then, a show by the name of "in living color." ( cheers and applause ) ♪ you can do what you want to do in living color ♪ that show had 100 people come audition, down to 50, down to 25, down to 10, to down to five. i was part of that five. i went on stage to do my final audition, and in the audience is-- is the juggernauts, jim carrey, all of the wins-- it was 30,000 of those. and i get a standing ovation, and the rest was history. >> stephen: wow, wow ( applause ) well, you have-- you have a beautiful new movie-- are you drinking with both hands like donald trump?

( laughter ) you okay, man? you all right? >> it just makes you feel warm when i do that. >> stephen: yes, yes. you have-- you have a new movie called "just mercy." >> yes >> stephen: and it too-- it follows a man named bryan stevenson, who i was lucky enough to interview at the old show in 2013. and he is a man who believes in criminal justice reform and getting justice for the innocent. tell the people what the story of the movie is and who your character is, what the relationship is between the two of you >> first of all, i get a call from michael b. jordan, who i have known for years. and what i love about michael b. jordan is that he keeps this narrative alive, even though he's the biggest star on the planet. he did "fruitville station" that play-through for our culture. and did "kill monger" and "black pantherment now here is "just mercy" about bryan stevenson, who say young lawyer who goes down to alabama and finds out there are people

on death row who have been unjust. they've been framed or just completely lied on. and one particular person is walter mcmillian, which is in his book "just mercy." i play walter mcmillian, who is just, you know, a regular man. has a tree chopping business, pulping business, driving home one day on a country road the police pull him over and said, "you killed someone" in a city he had never been in, a person he never heard of. they take and put him in jail. he was in jail for six years without a trial. it's a very powerful, powerful film. and so, it tells the journey of bryan stevenson meeting walter mcmillian, and walter telling him, "you don't understand. down here, in the south"-- because, you know, he was from the city parts. he says, "it's going to be tough. what makes you think you can get this done?" and he takes on the case, and it is the first case in alabama that was overturned, and it's-- like i said, it's an inspirational story.

it's a beautiful story. and i hope everyone goes -- >> stephen: we have a clip right here. and i believe this is where your character is saying to bryan stevenson, "what makes you think you can do this?" jim >> you rich boys from harvard, you don't know what it is down here. you're guilty from the moment you're born. you grow up with these white folks and you try to make them laugh and make them like you, and "yes, sir, "yes, ma'am." they have no fingerprint. and none of that matters when all you think is i look like a man... who could kill somebody. >> that's not what i think. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: extraordinary movie.

we have to take one more break. don't go anywhere. we'll be right back with more mr. jamie foxx, everybody. stick around. ♪ ♪ ( applause ) may your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. lease the c 300 sedan for just $399 a month at the mercedes-benz winter event. hurry in today. seaonly abreva cany to help sget rid of it in... ...as little as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign.

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( applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody. we're back with jamie foxx. now, i know that you-- i understand that you have said-- you won an oscar for playing ray. you played some amazing parts before, and deep and substantive part. you said this is the most important part to you that you ever played. why is that? >> this is the most important movie i have ever done because walter mcmillian is a stone's throw away from-- from me or any black man. and what i mean by that is my father actually went to jail for $25 worth of illegal substance for seven years. a man who educated in the 'hood for 25 years. the very judge that he would have come ment ort kids presided on his case. they didn't understand that that man taught me how to play tennis, taught me how to swim. i said, "why am i learning?"

he said, "i want you to know what white people, all people do." they took that man from me. i don't like the perception of a black man going to jail. i never go visit somebody in jail. i wrote my dad a letter, "i'll fight for you. when you come out, you come live with me so i can protect you." so when he did get out, i-- since he loved tennis, i told him "i made it. your son did good." and i took him to the u.s. open and we sat there and watched venus play. and, you know, tears down our faces. but that chunk of life disrupted everything. so when i see what walter mcmillian went through, it's not the same diej, but it is-- it's so close because of our--

the perception of us. and so that's why i said this is the most important movie. and what's interesting about it, is i look into the audience it's a, you know, people from all over. what's great about this film what, michael b. jordan did and our great director can is that it's a human story. and what i mean by that is if you're not black, that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy what this is. because they tested this movie in front of an all-black audience. they tested at a 97. i said, wow. we hoped that that would be. we sort of expected that. but then they tested in front of an all-white audience in kansas city. it tested at a 98. that's why i say it's so important because of because bryan stevenson is still could go this work. he is still out there, you know, working for people-- brown, black, white, whoever they were-- who have been disenfranchise or framed and in these horrible situations.

so sometimes it takes the art to open our eyes to what's going on. and when this film got to toronto film festival-- because i kept telling michael b. hang in there. he was worried about the performance. when he walked out he got a standing ovation. we got an eight-minute standing ovation at the toronto film festival. it broke the record ( applause ) and so-- and i-- i'll even-- and we'll talk about the art being able to be-- look at what you've done with your parent you're able to speak about things that most politicians can't even get out. so it's-- am i right? ( cheers and applause ) so it's interesting how art now has become a vehicle to get truth out. so this is the ultimate truth, and i hope that everybody will go see it christmas day in

select theaters, and in january, it's everywhere. but it is a beautiful, powerful movie. and when you see it, you're going to want to do something to change the narratives ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: thank you. "just mercy" is in theaters on christmas day. go see it. jamie foxx, everybody! we'll be right back. you shouldn't have to live with pain.

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>> stephen: that's it for "the late show." tune in tomorrow when my guests will be charlize theron, martha stewart, and a special appearance by john lithgow. now stay tuned for "the late late show" with guest host ken jeong. good night! captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ♪ are you ready y'all to have some fun ♪ feel the love tonight don't you worry ♪ where it is you come from it'll be all right ♪ it's the late, late show >> james: ladies and gentlemen, all the way from