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Stephen Colbert, CBS Selling Mug to Benefit Unpaid Federal Workers

“Don’t Even Talk to Me Until I’ve Had My Paycheck.”

That’s the message emblazoned on coffee mugs that Stephen Colbert and CBS are selling to benefit celebrity chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, a disaster-relief group feeding furloughed federal workers due to the government shutdown, according to Vanity Fair. Colbert unveiled the mug on Thursday’s episode of “The Late Show,” encouraging viewers to support his friend Andrés, whose team has been cooking up to 20,000 free meals a day from a pop-up kitchen located in Washington, D.C.

Available for purchase from the CBS Store, the mugs cost $14.99 each with 100% of the proceeds going toward World Central Kitchen.

Several companies in the promotional products industry say they’ve also been impacted by the partial shutdown of the federal government – now the longest in U.S. history. The shutdown began December 22, 2018, after Democrat leaders denied President Donald Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In all, about 420,000 federal employees deemed essential are working without pay, while another 380,000 are furloughed, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Last November, Colbert launched another charitable effort at Trump’s expense, releasing a children’s book comprised of quotes that the president said in the wake of Hurricane Florence. “Whose Boat Is This Boat?: Comments That Don't Help in the Aftermath of a Hurricane” was published by Simon and Schuster, with 100% of the proceeds going toward the Foundation for the Carolinas, The One SC Fund, The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund and World Cnetral Kitchen.

As of Dec. 24, 2018, the book has raised over $1.25 million for hurricane relief, according to Inside Edition.