Dante inThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert?

On Thursday, July 17, 2025, Colbert noted that the show would be ending in May of 2026, as CBS had decided to cancel it and had just notified him the day before.  Toward the end of his announcement, he says, via a painted face and googly eyes on his hand, “Okay, that’s all I wanted to say.  Dante, let’s do the show!”

This may well be a reference to Dante Pagano, a camera operator on the show, as this article mentions.  But perhaps also a nod to the Poet?