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Stephen Colbert Had to Retire His Persona, So Meet His "Identical Twin Cousin"

It's a "totally different guy"

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Liz Raftery

Stephen Colbert's Colbert Reportalter ego "Stephen Colbert" has been offering his take on the Republican and Democratic National Conventions for the past two weeks, and apparently that's not sitting well with some people.

After lawyers from an unnamed company (presumably Viacom, which owns Comedy Central, where "Stephen Colbert" originated) threatened to sue Colbert -- who now hosts The Late Showon CBS -- for copyright infringement, he was forced to retire the character.

Stephen Colbert brings the "Hungry for Power Games" to the DNC

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce that, thanks to corporate lawyers, the character of Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, will never be seen again," Colbert told his audience on Wednesday, to loud boos.

But there's a twist.

Colbert introduced viewers to the identical twin cousin of the Colbert Report host, who is also named Stephen Colbert, but is a "totally different guy." The new Stephen Colbert appeared via satellite, wearing an American flag print T-shirt at the Democratic National Convention. In addition, Colbert's segment "The Word" is now called "Werd."

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Watch the introduction of the newest Stephen Colbert in the video above.

(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS.)