Stephen Colbert Once Turned Down an Internship with David Letterman's Show (VIDEO)

Asked why he declined the offer, Colbert responded, "Because you do not pay people"

Photo: Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS/Getty

Here’s a lesson for all of you struggling kids out there: Internships don’t always lead to great gigs.

Case in point: Stephen Colbert, David Letterman’s Late Night successor, revealed Tuesday night he once turned down an internship with the Late Show because it didn’t pay.

He’s done pretty well since then, however.

Letterman had Colbert on The Late Show Tuesday to discuss the passing of the late-night torch, and Colbert – who dropped his faux-conservative act for the first time in ages – revealed that he once declined an opportunity to work on The Late Show

“In 1986, my girlfriend in college got an appointment to interview for an internship at the old show [Late Night with David Letterman] over at NBC,” Colbert explained. “She came here for the internship, and she was in the room, getting the interview, and I’m just waiting in the hallway, like a boob.”

Continued Colbert: “And the person at the next door opens up and says, ‘Are you the next guy, for the thing?’ ”

Long story short, Colbert had a short, unofficial interview that ended with him being offered the internship instead of his then-girlfriend. “The relationship did not last,” he said.

The kicker? Colbert declined the internship, because it was unpaid. (Somehow we doubt that’ll be a problem with his new gig.) But no hard feelings have lingered – the pair even took a selfie together at the end of their interview.

Watch another clip from the encounter below.

Like us on Facebook for more stories like this!