Stephen Colbert fights back tears in emotional goodbye speech: 'We were lucky'

Stephen Colbert is bidding farewell to his The Late Show in a touching speech.

​As the 11-year run came to an end, Stephen marked the conclusion of his long-running show with a heartfelt tribute to viewers and his team.

​In the emotional opening monologue of the finale episode, the 62-year-old host began, "We call it the joy machine, because to do this many shows, it has to be a machine. But the thing is, if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears."

​While expressing his gratitude to his staff, Stephon fought back his tears, continued, "I cannot adequately explain to you what the people who work here have done for each other and how much we mean to each other."

​Despite the gloomy atmosphere at the set, it did not stop Stephon from throwing jokes in his future plans.

​"A lot of people have been asking me what I plan to do after tonight," he said, before joking, "And the answer is drugs."

​After an emotional reaction from the audience, Stephon immediately diverted the focus by saying, "No, no, we were lucky enough to be here for the last 11 years. You can’t take this for granted."

​Stephen Colbert wrapped up his late-night show on Thursday night, 10 months after he confirmed that CBS had decided to axe the long-running show.

​The cancellation of the show sparked widespread criticism from the public as it came after Stephen commented on the Paramount settlement linked to a Donald Trump legal dispute involving 60 Minutes.

​Later, CBS insisted that the decision was made due to "purely financial" reasons.