Stephen Colbert and Nick Kroll’s #PuberMe challenge raises $1 million for Puerto Rico relief
Stephen Colbert announced on the "Late Show" Thursday night that he and Nick Kroll were nearing their $1 million fundraising goal for Puerto Rico relief through their #PuberMe campaign. The Stephen Colbert Americone Dream Fund promised to donate $1,000 to One America Appeal for every celebrity who posted an awkward preteen or teen photo with the hashtags #PuberMe and #PuertoRicoRelief on Twitter.
But Colbert and Kroll still needed one final push to get to $1 million. Then Lin-Manuel Miranda came to the rescue.
Miranda showed off an amazing video on the "Late Show" that was perfect for the #PuberMe campaign in more ways than one. The adorably awkward video shows a 13-year-old Miranda singing about coming back to New York after a trip to Puerto Rico. In the throwback video, he belts, "I came back to Puerto Rico yesterday and I'm bored. Oh, I hate it here in New York. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to live with all these nice folks. But I don't like it. It really sucks."
"I wish I had a mic for you to drop," responded Colbert. "That's incredible."
"I'm really making up a song about Puerto Rico even then," said Miranda. "My face is struggling to catch up with my nose. That was a dark year." Miranda just dropped the song "Almost Like Praying" for Puerto Rico relief.
Comedian Nick Kroll commented by phone from Argentina, "That song was so catchy. It's going to be stuck in my head for days."
Earlier in the segment, Colbert showed photos of celebrities who participated in the campaign, including Seth Rogen, Henry Winkler, Kristen Bell and Martin Short, bringing the tally to $233,000. Then, Kroll announced that he and his "Big Mouth" colleagues were giving another $100,000. CBS CEO Les Moonves matched the donations, bringing the pot to $666,000, and then Colbert announced that the Americone Dream Fund was adding another $266,000 to the total.
Finally, when the total reached $999,000, Miranda stepped in. Watch the video below.
