Stephen Colbert's Daft Punk Diss: Host Ribs Music Website for Claiming Band's No-Show Was a Stunt

Faux pundit lashes out sarcastically at Pitchfork for suggesting that the MIA band, which pulled out at the last minute, was all part of a ploy to promote the MTV Video Music Awards

Stephen Colbert may not have gotten lucky when Daft Punk abruptly canceled an appearance his show Tuesday night.

But one skeptical website sure found itself the unlucky recipient of Colbert's sarcastic verbal lashing when it dared to suggest that it may have all been a stunt.

In a blog post, music website Pitchfork suggested that Colbert's elaborate takedown of the band—in which he trashed them via a sidesplitting video spoof that quickly went viral—was all part of a clever ploy to drum up publicity for the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, which Daft Punk reportedly had to prep for, and whose corporate bosses also own Colbert's network, Comedy Central.

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"So maybe it was the plan all along—an elaborate fake-out to promote Daft Punk's appearance at the VMAs," said the site, which later went on to speculate that Robin Thicke, the 11th-hour performer who eventually replaced Daft Punk on The Colbert Report, had been on standby all along.

"This could mean that Thicke's performance was part of an elaborate ruse and that the band never intended to perform on The Colbert Report in the first place," Pitchfork noted. "Perhaps it was a cross-promotional method of advertising Daft Punk's appearance on the VMAs. It could also mean that Thicke was taped as a safeguard in case the band fell through."

Colbert, however, was having none of that.

"Well I've got one thing to say to Pitchfork: busted! Ya got me. These guys are good!" he said sarcastically on Wednesday's show, before tearing into the website for its conspiracy theories.

"We thought we'd trick you by flying the Disco Decepticons from Paris in a sophisticated pantomime to fool everyone, even myself," he sneered. "So committed was I that Daft Punk was coming, all just to help someone else's show on another network, a month from now."

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He added: "But we can't put one past you, Pitchfork. I mean, what a load off. The guilt was killing me."

Colbert then ended his mock mea culpa by revealing his real motive.

"And now that I've come clean, I can just do what I love: promote the VMAs," he added.

Looks like Pitchfork got Daft Punk'd, indeed—Colbert-style.