Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” (CBS Photo Archive/Getty)
Stephen Colbert, who publicly backed striking Hollywood writers in 2023, was accused Thursday of crossing a union picket line to appear with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma at a Harvard University event that ended abruptly after a fire alarm sounded.
Members of the Harvard Graduate Students Union, on strike since Oct. 27, had asked Colbert and Ma to cancel, postpone or move the appearance in solidarity with workers seeking higher pay and stronger workplace protections. The union said it reached out to both performers beforehand, including through their labor organizations, but neither agreed to withdraw.
The alarm went off about 40 minutes into the sold-out event at Sanders Theatre, prompting Colbert, Ma and attendees to evacuate, according to Harvard Magazine. The discussion, titled “Arts for Life’s Sake,” was scheduled to run for 90 minutes but never resumed.
Stephen Colbert appears onstage at “The Debut” premiere during the 2026 Montclair Film Festival at MKA on Oct. 24, 2026, in Montclair, New Jersey. (Joy Malone/Getty Images)
About 50 union protesters gathered outside the theater before and during the event, beating drums, blowing air horns and chanting for improved pay and working conditions, the outlet reported.
The source of the fire alarm has not been determined, and the union said it was not involved.
“The alarm was unrelated to HGSU’s picketing activity and we have no knowledge of its cause,” the union said in a social media statement, adding that members were relieved no one inside the theater was in danger.
Students walk through Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The union is seeking annual salaries of $55,000 for research assistants and about $45,000 for teaching fellows working 10-month appointments, along with 3% annual raises or cost-of-living increases.
Its other demands include an independent process for handling harassment and discrimination complaints, help with legal fees in Title IX cases and financial assistance for workers who must leave unsafe laboratory settings.
The union also wants safeguards for sensitive immigration documents, guaranteed leave for visa delays or immigration emergencies, and advance notice if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents come to campus. It is additionally seeking a requirement that Harvard obtain a judicial warrant before cooperating with ICE.
In urging the performers to reconsider, the union pointed to Colbert’s support for the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, when he joined Hollywood workers on the picket line.
The union said it repeatedly asked Colbert and Ma not to cross the picket line, including through their labor organizations, SAG-AFTRA and the Boston Musicians’ Association.
Yo-Yo Ma performs the solo in the premiere of Angelica Negron’s Mudillo as Gustavo Dudamel conducts his final performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“They continued the event inside without regard for the picket line and refused to speak with union members as they left,” the union said. “In other words — they crossed our picket line.”
Author John Green, however, shifted a planned Harvard appearance online so he would not cross the graduate student union’s picket line.
“They’re on strike and I had to move a thing to not cross a picket line,” Green said in a video shared by the union. “Which was an easy decision … it was not a hard decision for me.”
According to The Boston Globe, Green also donated proceeds from the event to the union.
