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Stephen Colbert plays a character that he describes as "willfully ignorant."

(Charles Sykes, AP file photo)

Stephen Colbert has found plenty of success during the past decade with "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. On the satirical news show, Colbert plays the character of a conservative host that he has described as an "idiot" and "willfully ignorant."

On Wednesday, Colbert targeted Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. Snyder, who has been subject to criticism because of his team's name, announced this week the team is forming the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation, a foundation to benefit Native Americans.

Snyder, who says he will not change the team's name, has been criticized as being less-than-sincere with his gesture. That's where Colbert's character comes in. From the show:

You can see the clip below. (You can also go here to see the clip.) Colbert addresses Snyder at about the 4:47 mark.

The Colbert Report

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Now Colbert is finding himself under fire, but not because of the clip, but because of a tweet sent by a site controlled by Comedy Central, @ColbertReport, quoting the skit. Here is a screen shot of the tweet:

The tweet has since been removed, but not before setting off a firestorm. Many did not find it humorous, especially taken out of context, and it has spawned #CancelColbert, which is trending on Twitter. Some examples:

Defenders of Colbert are fighting back, though, saying people who are targeting the show are missing the real point:

Colbert also responded through his Twitter account:

The account that sent the original tweet also responded:

What do you think? Are people justified in being upset with Colbert? Comment below. Also, see more tweets in response to controversy.