Daft Punk had no plans to talk or perform during scrapped Colbert appearance

Reclusive dance stars Daft Punk only agreed to feature on comedian Stephen Colbert’s U.S. talk show on the condition that they would not speak or even perform during the appearance. The funnyman had been stuck in negotiations with the electronic duo for a month before it finally signed up for the guest spot on the 6 August (13) episode of The Colbert Report, and the presenter admits he was still eager to have the masked French stars on his show because he considered their refusal to talk an “interesting challenge”.
He had planned to perform a six-minute monologue while Daft Punk nodded silently alongside him, and air a video starring Colbert and actors Jeff Bridges, Hugh Laurie, Bryan Cranston and Matt Damon, dancing to the group’s Get Lucky hit in lieu of the performance.
However, the musicians were “uncomfortable” with the idea.
Remembering the conversation he had with the band’s representatives, the host recalls, “(They said), ‘It’s playing too much on the idea that they’re not performing as opposed to the joy of them being there.'”
The two parties managed to work out a compromise, only for Daft Punk to cancel the gig hours before showtime.
The last-minute schedule change, reportedly due to contractual obligations relating to a planned, surprise performance at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, left Colbert fuming and he made his frustration known during that night’s programme, ranting, “We booked Click and Clack (Daft Punk) over here about a month ago. Apparently, Daft Punk are going to make a surprise appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards. Don’t tell anyone, because fun fact: no one told me until two hours ago.”
Meanwhile, Jess Ignjatovic, the executive producer of the VMAs, insists MTV had nothing to do with Daft Punk’s decision to pull out of The Colbert Report.
He tells The Hollywood Reporter, “We don’t put restrictions on anyone… I would not describe that as MTV putting restrictions on people – it was up to that artist and their management what they wanted to do.”