I read a strange article the other day concerning long-time Daily Show host Jon Stewart and former Daily Show contributor Wyatt Cenac. In less than two weeks, Stewart will be ending his 16/17-year reign as host of The Daily Show, and seemingly everyone from President Barack Obama to businessman Donald Trump have weighed in on the matter, complimenting Stewart and his show, saying he'll be greatly missed. So it came as a bit of a surprise to read the following headline over the weekend: "Wyatt Cenac: Jon Stewart told me to 'f*ck off' after I challenged him on racially charged impression."
While I've never met Jon Stewart face-to-face and don't know the man personally, I have greatly enjoyed his show for a majority of the 16+ years he's been the host and would be lying if I said he hasn't been one of my biggest comedic and literary inspirations. It should also be noted that I largely enjoyed Wyatt Cenac's appearances on the show when he was a contributor as well.
Given that, this report came courtesy of an appearance Cenac made on Marc Maron's podcast, WTF. In the summer of 2011, Stewart was engaged in one of his classic back-and-forths with Fox News - this one concerning an impression he gave of former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain. Fox News responded by contending that Stewart was mocking Cain because he's black. While Stewart basically laughed off this accusation, letting Fox know he's attempted a number of awful impressions, and providing video evidence of them at the following link, Cenac seemed to side with Fox on the matter - http://www.salon.com/2015/07/23/wyatt_cenac_jon_stewart_told_me_to_%E2%80%9Cfck_off%E2%80%9D_after_i_challenged_him_on_racially_charged_impression/.
Wyatt Cenac then reportedly confronted Jon Stewart in front of the rest of The Daily Show crew, and as reported on the WTF podcast, this is what then ensued:
"[Stewart] got incredibly defensive. I remember he was like, What are you trying to say? There's a tone in your voice. I was like, 'There's no tone. It bothered me. It sounded like Kingfish.' And then he got upset. And he stood up and he was just like, 'F*ck off. I'm done with you.' And he just started screaming that to me. And he screamed it a few times. 'F*ck off! I'm done with you.' And he stormed out. And I didn't know if I had been fired."
After the incident, Cenac, who has admitted to looking for a father-figure and mentor in Stewart, was shaken, saying:
"I was shaking, and I just sat there by myself on the bleachers and f*cking cried. And it's a sad thing. That's how I feel. That's how I feel in this job. I feel alone."
At the time, Cenac was the only African-American writer on the staff. He did say that Stewart apologized afterward, but that it was too little, too late.
First off, both men should have handled the confrontation better. Wyatt Cenac shouldn't have confronted the host of The Daily Show in front of the rest of the crew. He should have asked Stewart to talk to him privately about the matter. On the other end of things, Stewart should have acted in a more calm and mature manner.
When it comes to the heart of the story and Wyatt Cenac's (and Fox News') accusation that Jon Stewart was mocking Herman Caine because he's black, though, I think I'll have to defend the long-time Daily Show host. Watch the video clip. Stewart wasn't providing a stereotypical impression of the black community; he was simply providing an impression of one man - Herman Caine, who happens to be black. Like his singing, impressions aren't Stewart's strong suit. Stewart has given impressions of President Barack Obama, New York Representative Charlie Rangel, and other African-Americans without much complaint from Fox News (and other conservatives). Not only that, he's given impressions of: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and countless other people. When Cenac approached Stewart about the matter, Stewart allegedly said, "You never had a problem with my Chuck Schumer." That's the thing. As the only black writer on The Daily Show staff, Wyatt Cenac felt he was the only voice of the black community and it was his duty to stand up for them and let his views be known about a segment he felt was racially insensitive. While I can understand his perspective on the matter, I think he missed the fact that Jon Stewart was poking fun of Herman Cain, the politician, and not Herman Cain, the black man. Jon Stewart should have reacted more appropriately to Wyatt Cenac's confrontation and probably shouldn't do impressions for a living after leaving The Daily Show, but I honestly don't think he was being racist with his Herman Cain impression. If Cenac wants to hear something truly offensive, he should listen to Stewart sing sometime. My dog started howling just thinking about it...
While I've never met Jon Stewart face-to-face and don't know the man personally, I have greatly enjoyed his show for a majority of the 16+ years he's been the host and would be lying if I said he hasn't been one of my biggest comedic and literary inspirations. It should also be noted that I largely enjoyed Wyatt Cenac's appearances on the show when he was a contributor as well.
Given that, this report came courtesy of an appearance Cenac made on Marc Maron's podcast, WTF. In the summer of 2011, Stewart was engaged in one of his classic back-and-forths with Fox News - this one concerning an impression he gave of former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain. Fox News responded by contending that Stewart was mocking Cain because he's black. While Stewart basically laughed off this accusation, letting Fox know he's attempted a number of awful impressions, and providing video evidence of them at the following link, Cenac seemed to side with Fox on the matter - http://www.salon.com/2015/07/23/wyatt_cenac_jon_stewart_told_me_to_%E2%80%9Cfck_off%E2%80%9D_after_i_challenged_him_on_racially_charged_impression/.
Wyatt Cenac then reportedly confronted Jon Stewart in front of the rest of The Daily Show crew, and as reported on the WTF podcast, this is what then ensued:
"[Stewart] got incredibly defensive. I remember he was like, What are you trying to say? There's a tone in your voice. I was like, 'There's no tone. It bothered me. It sounded like Kingfish.' And then he got upset. And he stood up and he was just like, 'F*ck off. I'm done with you.' And he just started screaming that to me. And he screamed it a few times. 'F*ck off! I'm done with you.' And he stormed out. And I didn't know if I had been fired."
After the incident, Cenac, who has admitted to looking for a father-figure and mentor in Stewart, was shaken, saying:
"I was shaking, and I just sat there by myself on the bleachers and f*cking cried. And it's a sad thing. That's how I feel. That's how I feel in this job. I feel alone."
At the time, Cenac was the only African-American writer on the staff. He did say that Stewart apologized afterward, but that it was too little, too late.
First off, both men should have handled the confrontation better. Wyatt Cenac shouldn't have confronted the host of The Daily Show in front of the rest of the crew. He should have asked Stewart to talk to him privately about the matter. On the other end of things, Stewart should have acted in a more calm and mature manner.
When it comes to the heart of the story and Wyatt Cenac's (and Fox News') accusation that Jon Stewart was mocking Herman Caine because he's black, though, I think I'll have to defend the long-time Daily Show host. Watch the video clip. Stewart wasn't providing a stereotypical impression of the black community; he was simply providing an impression of one man - Herman Caine, who happens to be black. Like his singing, impressions aren't Stewart's strong suit. Stewart has given impressions of President Barack Obama, New York Representative Charlie Rangel, and other African-Americans without much complaint from Fox News (and other conservatives). Not only that, he's given impressions of: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and countless other people. When Cenac approached Stewart about the matter, Stewart allegedly said, "You never had a problem with my Chuck Schumer." That's the thing. As the only black writer on The Daily Show staff, Wyatt Cenac felt he was the only voice of the black community and it was his duty to stand up for them and let his views be known about a segment he felt was racially insensitive. While I can understand his perspective on the matter, I think he missed the fact that Jon Stewart was poking fun of Herman Cain, the politician, and not Herman Cain, the black man. Jon Stewart should have reacted more appropriately to Wyatt Cenac's confrontation and probably shouldn't do impressions for a living after leaving The Daily Show, but I honestly don't think he was being racist with his Herman Cain impression. If Cenac wants to hear something truly offensive, he should listen to Stewart sing sometime. My dog started howling just thinking about it...
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