Wyatt of the daily show5/29/2023 I’m just allowing something to continue if I’m just going to go along with it. I gotta be honest if something seems questionable, because if not, then I don’t want to be in a position where I am being untrue not just to myself but to my culture, because that’s exploitative. Something like this, I represent my community, I represent my people, and I try to represent them the best that I can. Cenac is characteristically thoughtful about how racial dynamics manifest themselves in creative spaces like The Daily Show, and how it places people of color in a bind where they have to “represent”: The entire conversation is well worth listening to. “I was shaking, and I just sat there by myself on the bleachers and fucking cried. (Aww.) Eventually, the show had to go on, and Cenac remembers going outside to a baseball field and having a breakdown. The fight carried on at Stewart’s office and was only stopped when one of the office dogs began pawing at them. “Fuck off! I’m done with you.” And he stormed out. I’m done with you.” And he just started screaming that to me. And he stood up and he was just like, “Fuck off. It sounded like Kingfish.” And then he got upset. I remember he was like, What are you trying to say? There’s a tone in your voice. It bothered me.” He wanted them to drop the bit and said that it reminded him of Kingfish, a character Tim Moore played on Amos ‘n’ Andy. “I’ve got to be honest, and I just spoke from my place,” said Cenac. (They did change the frame to one making fun of Stewart.)Ĭenac, who was the only black writer there at the time, voiced his concerns during the writer’s meeting. And so it bugged me.” Stewart had been getting flak from Fox News for the voice, and he wanted to do something to respond - an Avenue Q–style “Everything I do is racist” segment. It was just the voice that came into your head. “Oh no, you just did this and you didn’t think about it. “I don’t think this is from a malicious place, but I think this is from a naïve, ignorant place,” he remembered thinking. He made fun of Cain by doing a “voice.” At the time Cenac was on a field assignment, and watched the bit from home. This happened back in the summer of 2011, when Stewart was roundly pillorying the 2012 presidential hopefuls, including one Herman Cain. Stewart closed by saying he doesn’t consider himself malevolent, but acknowledged, “My ignorance of that dynamic had real consequences.” He added, “For us to dismantle the entrenched tributaries that continue to contribute to inequality of outcome of equity, it takes effort.What Critics Said When Jon Stewart Took Over The Daily Show in 1999 And I was defensive about them and still didn’t do it all right.” Those were hard lessons for me, and they were humbling lessons. “So they suddenly feel like, ‘I’ve got to be the speaker of the race.’ So we think we’re doing the right thing, but we’re not doing it in the right way. “It took me a long time to realize that the real issue was that we hired a person who is black… they felt like they’re carrying the weight of representation,” Stewart said. Stewart also addressed arguably the most controversial moment of his time at The Daily Show: When he blew up at Wyatt Cenac - the only black person on staff at the time - after the correspondent called him out for a racist bit where Stewart did an impression of former presidential candidate Herman Cain. Uh oh.”Įddie Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher' Guitar Sells for $3.9 Million at Auction Alluding to a 2010 Jezebel article about the show’s boys’ club, for instance, he said he remembered “going back into the writer’s room and being like, ‘Do you believe this shit? Kevin? Steve? Mike? Bob? Donald?’ Oh…Uh oh. Stewart went on to speak openly about the criticisms he received for having a predominately white, predominately male staff on The Daily Show. But what you realize is, just stopping active persecution isn’t enough to dismantle. Nobody likes to be called on their shit, especially when they feel like it’s not really their shit. Stewart admitted: “What’s hard about that for people is you get defensive. Toward the end of the interview (starting around the 50:40 mark), the conversation turned to how white men in positions of power, like Stewart, have an obligation to not only acknowledge systemic racism but work to tear down its structures. Jon Stewart owned up about some of his shortcomings when it came to cultivating a diverse staff during his tenure on The Daily Show in an interview on the Breakfast Club Tuesday.
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