Stephen Colbert hosts “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” (CBS Photo Archive/Getty)
Stephen Colbert, who openly 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.
The Harvard Graduate Students Union has been on strike since Oct. 27. Before the event, members 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 contacted both performers ahead of time, including through their labor organizations, but neither agreed to withdraw.
The alarm went off about 40 minutes into the sold-out program at Sanders Theatre, prompting Colbert, Ma and attendees to evacuate, according to Harvard Magazine. The conversation, titled “Arts for Life’s Sake,” was scheduled to run for 90 minutes but never resumed.
Stephen Colbert appears onstage during “The Debut” premiere at the 2026 Montclair Film Festival at MKA on Oct. 24, 2026, in Montclair, New Jersey. (Joy Malone/Getty Images)
Roughly 50 union protesters gathered outside the theater before and during the event, using drums and air horns while chanting for improved pay and working conditions, the outlet reported.
The reason for 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. Members, it added, were relieved that no one inside the theater appeared to be in danger.
Students cross Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The union is calling for annual salaries of $55,000 for research assistants and about $45,000 for teaching fellows on 10-month appointments. It is also seeking annual raises of 3% or cost-of-living adjustments.
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Additional demands include an independent process for handling harassment and discrimination grievances, help with legal fees in Title IX cases and financial assistance for workers who must leave unsafe laboratory settings.
Union members also want safeguards for sensitive immigration records, guaranteed leave for visa delays and immigration emergencies, and advance notice if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents come to campus. They are asking Harvard to require a judicial warrant before cooperating with ICE.
As it urged 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 by reaching out through SAG-AFTRA and the Boston Musicians’ Association.
Yo-Yo Ma performs a solo during the premiere of Angelica Negron’s “Mudillo” as Gustavo Dudamel conducts his final performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on 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 event,” the union said. “In other words — they crossed our picket line.”
Author John Green, by contrast, shifted a scheduled 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.”
The Boston Globe reported that Green also donated proceeds from the event to the union.