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FROM THE BOTTOM, UP
One of the turning points in my early life
was when I took a job selling books door to
door. It was this big encyclopaedia-like thing
called The Volume Library. I went into a lot
of people’s houses, and I saw so many people
who were unhappy with their lives. I knocked
on one door and this guy came out with a
shotgun; I literally jumped out of my shoes.
I left them on the porch and got out of there.
Seeing so many unhappy lives made me
realise that I may as well pursue something
that makes me happy, rather than just do
something for money. That’s when I got into
show business seriously. It actually wasn’t
too hard a decision, when I thought about
it: selling books door to door, I basically
had nothing to lose – metaphorically or
literally. I could only go up.
NO PRESSURE, NO
DIAMONDS (NO FUN)
I spent the next few years doing stand-up
comedy. I already had experience making
my family laugh, but now I was learning
how to hone jokes and perform. After a few
years, I started writing for a sketch comedy
show called In Living Color. I always said,
“It was the worst of times, it was the worst
of times.” We were in the writers’ room
until three or four every morning. It was
very competitive, and you thought you were
going to get fired every day. I’m sure that
feeling made me do my best work; it was
great for productivity. But it was also great
for depression, loneliness and despair. That
definitely wasn’t the atmosphere at The Daily
Show, where I worked later on. Jon Stewart
and I were more like peers; there was mutual
respect, which is important when you’re
untangling issues like race.TAKE A STAND
There was no one smarter than Jon when
it came to taking politics, mixing it with
your point of view and making it funny.
It was amazing to see him do that every day,
and I drew on that when I started hosting
The Nightly Show in 2015. That role helped
me understand the importance of taking a
stand. I had to show up every single night
and take a position on the news of the day,
which really helps you clarify where you
stand on things. The next job is to make
your stance entertaining, which, in the
current climate, good luck with that. But
it forces you to be inventive. It’s something
I’m still trying to do with my podcast,
Black on the Air: find topics to clarify,
and make them entertaining.THE UNBLACKENING
IS REAL
Even before Donald Trump was elected,
America was becoming very divided.
There is a long history of black men being
delegitimised, and I saw Trump’s run as a
sort of ‘Unblackening’ of the Obama years.
At the same time, there is also a positive
current running through pop culture right
now. We’re seeing more and more cultures
on the big and small screens: two of the
biggest films this year were Black PantherTHERE WERE TIMES I COULDN’T
HANDLE CRYSTALLISING SO MUCH
NEGATIVITY EVERY DAY. MAYBE I
GOT CANCELLED TO SAVE MY LIFE.
and Crazy Rich Asians. And apparently
the President is in love with Kim Jong-un.
I’m very happy for them. It’s an interracial
relationship and I think they have potential.BAD ENERGY IS
CONTAGIOUS
As the host of a news comedy show, you
become a cipher for all the bad news going
on. And in 2016 it really was all bad news.
There were times when I felt like I couldn’t
handle crystallising so much negativity every
single day. After 15 years, I think Jon was
relieved not to be doing The Daily Show
any more, not to have all these thoughts in
his head all the time. So when The Nightly
Show was cancelled in 2016, just before the
presidential election, yes I was disappointed,
but I also felt like, “Finally, I can take a
break.” I don’t know how you’d do that show
now. Maybe I got cancelled to save my life.TAKE THE BIG SWING
If you’re going to be in business for a long time
you’re going to have ups and downs – there’s
no such thing as a straight line. Last year I
was working with Bassem Youssef, the
Jon Stewart of Egypt. We were trying to
make a TV show about an Arab family in
America who were also superheroes. I felt
it was important to have a TV show with
an Arab-American family, showing the
things they might have to deal with that
are dierent from what’s usually on TV.
The fantasy element was a way of making
that fun. In the end it didn’t get picked up,
but I was proud we took that big a swing.
Because one of these times, the swing
will hit, and you’ll be glad you took it. •