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Matt Damon shared the wildest story about his rescued 'jungle cat' from Costa Rica

"At no point in this story did I have any idea what would happen next," one viewer wrote.

@colbertlateshow/TikTok, Canva

The cat distribution system reaches even the depth of the jungle.

The cat distribution system always works. Even for celebrities. Just ask Matt Damon.

While appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the “Jason Bourne” actor shared the wildest story about a stray cat he had adopted 10 years ago during a month-long stay at an Airbnb in Costa Rica.

After hearing him describe this next level kitty, you’ll understand why he describes him as “the coolest cat you’ve ever seen.”

“He was living by himself in the jungle…He was hunting. He had two giant holes in his side. He was fighting for his life every night,” Damon began.

Damon and his family fed this tough jungle kitty every night, and by the time came for them to head home, they decided to take their new furry friend with them.

"We decided we gotta take the cat, he's gonna die, now he's relying on us,” Daman joked with Colbert.

Once Damon got the cat home, he figured it would prefer staying out in their backyard. Nope.

"He never went outside, ever again."

Now, this is where the story takes a slightly darker turn. Eventually the cat developed a brain tumor. However, Damon became determined to not “let a brain tumor take this cat out.” After all, this is the toughest jungle cat!

Eventually the Damon family and Jungle Cat moved to New York City. And by this time, the cat had lost a lot of weight and was only walking around in circles (a common symptom of cat brain tumors).

Hoping to find a cure, Damon took his feline friend to a cat neurologist named Chad (which cracks Damon up to share), and Dr. Chad at first tells him to prepare his children and teach them that part of a pet owner’s responsibility is giving them the “dignity” of a humane death when quality of life is too far compromised.

But just when things seem at their worst, this story does a 180 into hilarity.

@colbertlateshow Matt Damon shares an incredible story about the cat he adopted from Costa Rica. #Colbert ♬ original sound - colbertlateshow

“Chad said, ‘I could load him up on steroids. And I go, ‘What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘I mean, I could give him like a BUNCH of steroids.’”

At this point, Damon, Colbert and the audience are all laughing.

Damon apparently asked “are there long term issues?” to juicing his cat, which got an emphatic “YEAH! Massive long term issues with that but we can just see what happens,” from Dr. Chad.

This was apparently two-and-a-half years ago. And not only is Jungle Cat still around, but “jacked like Arnold Schwarzenegger,” Damon joked.

Down in the comments, viewers were begging to see photos of Jacked Jungle Cat.

"MATT WE GOTTA SEE THE CAT!!!" one person demanded.

"WHERE CAN I DEMAND A PICTURE OF ARNOLD SWAGGERCAT?" echoed another.

Others were just enamored by Damon’s storytelling skills.

"Matt Damon always delivers the funniest stories," one person wrote, while another said that he “needed a podcast.”

And perhaps the best comment goes to the person who said, "At no point in this story did I have any idea what would happen next."

While Dr. Chad might have seemed a little out there in his methods, it’s fairly common for pet oncologists to try incorporating steroids like Prednisolone to treat the inflammation associated with brain tumors. However, that’s normally low doses, not using a bunch and seeing what happens. But hey, it seemed to work! And Damon got a really great story out of it. Not to mention more time with a pretty awesome jungle cat.

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Pop Culture

If Tom Hanks is ‘America's Dad,’ who would be its ‘Cool Uncle’?

One actor clearly won the debate.

via Kyle Cassidy/Wikimedia Commons, All-Pro Reels/Wikimedia Commons and ToGlenn/Wikimedia Commons

"Weird Al" Yankovic, Matthew McConaughey and Snoop Dogg

Tom Hanks’ wholesome, relatable and reassuring on-screen presence has been said by many to have fatherlike qualities. Over the years, Hanks’ portrayal of genuine, honest characters in films such as “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Cast Away” has etched him into the heart of many Americans, earning him the endearing title "America's Dad."

Further, Hanks’ off-screen personality closely tracks many of his “everyman” characters, solidifying his reputation as a father figure. And the fact that he’s maintained this reputation in the cutthroat world of Hollywood is a true feat, given the number of years he’s been in the limelight.

So, if Tom Hanks is “America’s Dad,” who in popular culture could take the role of “America’s Cool Uncle”? You know, the guy who gives you your first sip of beer, introduces you to great music and has conversations with you that dad was too embarrassed to discuss.


A Reddit user named Galactic Splurge posed the question to the AskReddit subforum, and over 6,500 people chimed in with their thoughts. “If Tom Hanks is America’s Dad, who would be America’s cool Uncle?” they asked.

So, to determine the winner of the great uncle debate, I looked at the number of upvotes each suggestion received and then ranked the top 15. It’s not the most scientific way of doing things, but it gives us a pretty good idea about who people think should win the award.

The funny thing is that the results weren't even close. Actor and musician Jack Black had around five times the number of upvotes over second place. Who else made the list? Here are the top 15 most popular responses for who should be America’s favorite “Cool Uncle.”

1. Jack Black

"This is the only correct answer." — _HuntressWizard

​2. Matthew McConaughey

​"Like... Uncle Matt is DEFINITELY the guy to set up a bonfire for you when you're 16." — pm_me_your_clippings

3. Jeff Bridges

"That’s just like, your opinion, man." — Downvote4grammar

4. Robin Williams

"He is the fun uncle that you have sweet memories of as a child and teenager but then passed away. But every time someone brings them up, it’s never sad, it’s just 'remember when Uncle Robin used to….' and everyone laughs and smiles." — Sandvich48

5. Danny DeVito

"I was just going to say no he’s more like Nana's new friend we just call Uncle Danny," — sew_u_thnk_ur_a_hero

6. "Weird Al" Yankovic

"'Weird Al' is your mom’s wacky cousin who makes every party a good time." — KiribakuFriend

7. John Candy

"The good uncle who passes when you were little, John Candy." — itsearlyyet

​8. Snoop Dogg

"The uncle that you go on walks with during family get-togethers, same come back all bleary-eyed." — Bonnedraco

9. Keanu Reeves

"Rides motorcycles, plays with weapons, knows martial arts, is humble and genuinely kind. Definitely the cool uncle." — Phil_MyNuts

10. Bill Murray

"He's the uncle who seems really cool when you're a kid but once you're an adult, you realize that he's a drunk and there's a reason why he keeps getting remarried and divorced." — Yellow_Vespa_Is_Black

11. Paul Rudd

"I still feel like Paul Rudd is the corny friend you’ve known since childhood and comes up with weird nicknames like Jobin or City Slicka." — Sandvich48

12. Dave Grohl

"I was watching Dave Grohl interviews one day, my son was 10 at the time and I didn't realize he was paying attention to the TV. He asked me later that day, 'Can we please watch 'the nice man' again?' Dave is forever known as 'The Nice Man' in my house." — Background_Ad5873

13. Woody Harrelson

"I had a dream that he married my aunt and bought me a Nintendo during his ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ era. I’ve called him Uncle Woody ever since. This is the only answer." — DJTrpTrp59

14. Jeff Goldblum

"A lot of the other options here are 'goofy silly uncle who lives one suburb over.' Goldblum is more 'cool uncle who lives in the city and used to hang with rock stars.'" — Pylo_The_Pylon

​15. Danny Trejo

"He's the uncle that everyone thinks is intimidating as hell and maybe a gun-runner or something, but it turns out he runs a soup kitchen and reads to kids in the hospital." — Geminii27

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Guy watching 'The Office' on plane has 'mind blown' when he learns 'Dwight' is sitting next to him

The reveal was perfect.

via Wikipedia/The Office

'The Office' starring cast at the beginning of the third season.

Celebrities who want to avoid being harassed in public have found refuge over the past three years because they can wear masks to conceal their identities while protecting themselves from airborne diseases.

On April 13, actor Rainn Wilson, best known as Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” sat next to a fan in a plane and went unnoticed for over 5 hours because his mask concealed his identity. He had fun with the situation in an Instagram post where he secretly filmed the guy sitting next to him as he binge-watched “The Office” during the flight.

In the post, Wilson videos himself, wearing a mask, and slowly pans to the guy sitting next to him who is intently chowing down on a meal while watching “The Office.”

“When the person sitting next to you has no idea who you are ...,” Wilson captioned the video to his more than 3.3 million followers on Instagram.

After the video went viral, countless people asked Wilson whether the guy beside him realized who he was. So he did a follow-up post on the video's second slide where he explained the big reveal. “Everyone keeps asking me did the guy ever recognize you? And, yes, so after five hours of watching ‘The Office,’ I finally nudged him,” he said.

“I was like, ‘Oh, it seems like you like that show.’ And I was slowly taking my mask off," Wilson continued. "And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I really liked it a lot.’"

Wilson’s anonymity allowed him to get an honest opinion of the show he starred in for 9 seasons. "I was like, ‘Oh, I heard it was not so good,’ Wilson recalled. "He’s like, ‘Well, it starts really slow and the first season is kind of questionable.’”

“And I was slowly taking my mask off, and I was like, ‘Oh, not so good, huh, the first season?’ he said.

“He’s like, ‘Yeah, but once you get into it and get to know the characters.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but that first season kind of sucks. Is it really bad? That’s too bad that the first season sucks,’” Wilson continued before completely removing his mask and exposing his true identity.

When the guy realized who it was, Wilson says his “head exploded,” and the two “had a nice laugh.”

“So, happy ending,” Wilson concluded the post.

A testament to Wilson’s sense of humor was his patience in the funny situation. He could have revealed who he was when his seatmate first started watching “The Office.” But he waited over 5 hours before the big reveal, making the situation even more surreal.

Funny enough, the thing about the video that received the most comments was that the guy on the plane wasn’t a huge fan of season one of “The Office.”

The most popular comment on the post, which received nearly 5500 likes, was by its_bnv, who took real issue with the guy’s opinion. "First season sucks? Did he not watch diversity day?! One of the best episodes of the entire series."













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Health

Jon Stewart reveals the backlash he received about defending the COVID lab leak theory

We need to be able to have tough conversations.

via Wikimedia Commons

Jon Stewart applauding at the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games.

The debate over the origins of the COVID-19 virus has overwhelmingly come down partisan lines. Democrats tend to believe it came out of a wet market in Wuhan, China. Republicans tend to support the theory that it came from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

It’s easy to see why partisans have come down on different sides of the divide. Conservative media tends to demonize China and position it as an enemy of the United States. In contrast, liberals are more sensitive to race issues and don’t want to demonize Chinese people. This concern was played out in real time after there was a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.


But shouldn’t people choose to believe how the virus originated based on facts instead of blindly supporting their political tribe? Especially when discussing a deadly disease that has killed nearly 7 million people?

Jon Stewart thinks so.

In 2021, he caused a big stir when he broke ranks with many liberals by endorsing the lab leak hypothesis on ‘Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

"Science has, in many ways, helped ease the suffering of this pandemic…which was more than likely caused by science," he said to nervous laughter.

Colbert added there was "a chance" the virus leaked out of the lab.

"A chance? Oh my god!" Stewart replied. "There's a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China. What do we do? Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.”

"The disease is the same name as the lab! That's just a little too weird, don't you think?" he continued.

Stewart then put his theory in perspective.

"There's been an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey, Pennsylvania—what do you think happened?" he said. "Oh, I don't know, maybe a steam shovel mated with a cocoa bean…or it's the f**ing chocolate factory. Maybe that's it!"

The idea is gaining traction two years after Stewart's admission. On Tuesday, February 28, FBI Director Christopher Wray publicly acknowledged that the Bureau considers the lab leak theory the likeliest cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Energy has also endorsed the idea saying it has “low confidence” that COVID-19 “most likely arose” from a lab leak.

However, none of the other U.S. agencies have changed their assessment that natural origin is more likely, so the intelligence community sits divided, with no definitive proof either way.

Stewart addressed the controversy on the latest episode of his Apple+ TV show, “The Problem with Jon Stewart.” When it was brought up on the show’s accompanying podcast, he shared how the debate shows an inability for people to discuss complex topics in today’s political climate.

WARNING: Strong language.

“The larger problem with all of this is the inability to discuss things that are within the realm of possibility without falling into absolutes and litmus-testing each other for our political allegiances as it arose from that,” Stewart added.

“My bigger problem with that was, I thought it was a pretty good bit that expressed kind of how I felt, and the two things that came out of it were, I’m racist against Asian people, and how dare I align myself with the alt-right," he added.

Stewart said the backlash he received from people on the left was “swift, immediate and quite loud.”

“The part that I don’t like about it is the absolutes and the dismissive like ‘f**k you, I’m done with you. I will never forgive you, you have crossed an unforgivable line. You’ve expressed an opinion that is antithetical to mine, or not mine,’” Stewart continued.

“What was stunning to me, I think, was the anger,” he added.

There are numerous lessons we can learn from the COVID-19 era if we decide to look at the hard facts. One of the most important has to be our ability to think critically about important issues, whether that’s the origins of the virus or the facts about masks and vaccinations. During the pandemic, these were life-and-death tests and sadly, far too many people put their politics before the facts and paid dearly for it.

We need to know how the virus emerged, no matter how uncomfortable it makes people, so that we can prevent it from happening again.

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