Comedian Stephen Colbert attended the RSA computer security conference in San Francisco on Friday as the event’s keynote speaker. It was a controversial move by the Colbert Report host, as many had called for him to boycott the event after it was revealed that RSA had a contract with the National Security Agency. While Colbert did put his TV persona aside, he didn’t pull any punches.

Colbert ignored requests for him to boycott the event, like many security speakers had, notes CNN. Back in December, Reuters revealed that the RSA had a $10 million contract with the NSA to develop encryption software. That lead to boycotts of the event and protesters even gathered outside.

Still, Colbert tried to keep the mood light as best he could. He did admit that he’s fine with the NSA reading his emails, since he doesn’t have anything to reveal. “I don't necessarily want people reading my emails but I'm not a spy, I don't run a crime syndicate,” he said. “I've got things I don't want people to know but I didn't really go running for cover for a new way to encrypt.”

In addition to talking about the NSA scandals, Colbert defended RSA and even suggested that Reuters’ story had “no evidence,” notes CNET. He joked that he couldn’t back out of the paid gig because it was “paid in Bitcoin, from Mt.Gox.”

He also didn’t mince words when it came to Snowden, who he referred to as “practically a war criminal” for giving secrets to China and Russia. “Was Mordor not accepting asylum requests?”

When it comes to the NSA, Colbert noted that the agency got “totally pwned” by a 29-year-old. “We have solid proof that this program saved zero lives. It was designed to root out terrorists,” Colbert said. “It shouldn't bother you if you're not hiding anything, and since you can't hide anything from the NSA, nothing is bothering you.”

In the end, Colbert suggested that the NSA was everyone’s fault, since both Republicans and Democrats voted for it. “We voted for the people who voted for it, and then voted for the people who reauthorized it, then voted for the people who re-re-authorized it.” he said.

image courtesy of Comedy Central