Updated with video: Larry Wilmore kicked off The Nightly Show tonight explaining he had not called President Obama a “n**ger” at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Wilmore said he had called him a “n**ga.” After which, Wilmore then attacked Mail Online’s U.S. editor-at-large Piers Morgan for having failed to properly “conjugate the slur” in his column about Wilmore’s widely panned WHCD performance.
“I hosted little dinner party. With a few friends — me, Don Lemon, the president. My boys! And I’m wrapping up my little speech and giving the president some props, telling him how much I appreciated him being the first black president. And then I buttoned it with a little, um, let’s say, colloquialism.”
Reaction to the last line of his speech was mixed, “like the president himself,” he joked.
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“Seriously, though, I completely understand why some people would be upset about it. It’s a very charged word. I get it.”
Pivoting sharply, Wilmore said there was one particular critique from across the pond that brings up “a very important distinction.”
He read Morgan’s column, which quoted Wilmore as saying, “Yo, Barry, you did it, my n**ger,” at the annual roast.
“Now, hold on. Are you saying I called the president a ‘n**ger’? That’s horrible! I would never do that. I believe I said, “Yo Barry, You did it, my n**ga. There’s s difference. Piers, you did not properly conjugate that slur. Very important. ‘N**ger’ is what white people use to denigrate, demean and dehumanize black people. And ‘n**ga’ is a term of endearment some black people use between each other, to take back that power.”
Wilmore forgot to tell his viewers Morgan wasn’t the only columnist who had scorched him for using the word during his WHCD set. WaPo’s editorial board member who is a black man, also excoriated Wilmore’s speech, saying, “Now, if there are things white people should not say, then there are definitely things black people should not say…African Americans know there are things that should never be said outside the safe cultural confines of the barbershop, beauty shop, backyard barbecue or momma’s house. Nothing exemplifies this better than two of the last words of Larry Wilmore’s disaster of a nerd prom performance.”
Hey, speaking of Don Lemon, remember that time, last June, when he was trending on Twitter after kicking off CNN Tonight by holding up a Confederate flag and then a sign on which was printed, in letters about half a foot tall, the same “colloquialism”? Lemon’s stunt had followed Obama giving an interview for the podcast WTF with Marc Maron, in which Obama had said, “Racism, we are not cured of it. And it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n**ger in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not.” Obama made the remarks after a white supremacist murdered nine African-Americans in an historically black church in Charleston.
“Does this offend you? This word?” Lemon asked, hopefully, as he teased his show’s upcoming topic with his made-for-social-media sign.
That night, Wilmore had reacted to Lemon’s segment by showing the CNN host his own race card
. In his funny take-down of Lemon, Wilmore initially declined to say the other “conjugation” of the word on his Comedy Central late-night show, opting instead for the cautious “N Word.”
“Wow! You went literal race card! Oh my gosh! Phew!” Wilmore emoted while fanning himself, as if Lemon’s card was giving him the vapors. “You want to see what really offends me,” Wilmore said of Lemon’s sign, holding up one of his own.
“Hey Don! I know a better N word you should focus on: news,” Wilmore said.
Getting back to Wilmore’s first post-WHCD show, having concluded the conversation about conjugating the colloquialism, this happened:
The press has often been disrespectful of this president, an attitude not exclusively consigned to Fox News, so it seems fair to have a comedian ladle mockery into their laps draped with linen napkins. The inability to laugh at ourselves shows a thin skin, as well as admits culpability. Truth to power was spoken and those in attendance can dish it out, but they’ve rarely had to take it. Sadly, they won’t get much practice as occurrences like this are rare. They sat down for comedy and got a crucible.
If Larry Wilmore were funny, it wouldn’t matter. Unfortunately he’s not.
Who the heck watches this guy? Why does he have a show? Who cares what he said? We should be more concerned about the fact he has a show. An actual TV show. I don’t think the executives know… Someone should tell them.
So why don’t you get a show and then we can all see how much better you’d be?
As a black man, I’m disappointed in Wilmore and even more so in Obama for not calling him out on the spot. We supposedly live in a time of #blacklivesmatter but we (black people) are still more than happy to keep this offensive and hurtful term alive and well. Now I realize this was a desperate attempt to save the sagging ratings of his show but he knows better. We can’t expect non-whites to have respect for us if we don’t have respect for ourselves.
Please don’t say “we” when discussing issues like this — not all of us agree with this kind of language, nor should we be held accountable for what others choose to do.
Plenty of black people have spoken out against Wilmore’s behavior, so let’s not go acting as if “we” all think and act alike.
Agree. I’m not a fan of Obama, but he deserves respect. Wilmore’s comment was very offensive.
Seriously? Obama should have stopped the show to deliver a lecture to a comedian on proper use of blanguange during standup?
as long as one race can use a word and another race can’t… how will we get rid of racism? When I can drop the N bomb anytime I want.. then…we are equal. Plain and simple
There is nothing stopping you from using the word any more than anything is stopping Wilmore from doing so.
The real question is: why would you want to do so?
Exactly.
Ever ask a black person that same question?
Yep.
love him
he was gr8 at the dinner
best ive seen.
Wow, what were you smoking that night?
None of this matters. Wilmore’s hard-left presentation, combined with similar approaches by most late night comics, means his ratings will stay soft for some time. It is adorable when he feigns a “moderate” pose, though.
I work in a black workplace and I promise you this word is never going away. Neither is referring to women as bitches and hoes — also considered colloquial by my coworkers. I’m told women refer to each other using those terms so there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s ingrained in the culture and there’s no talking around it. Plus, let’s be real, we as a country have bigger fish to fry when it comes to the black community. It’s 2016 and they’re basically still second class citizens. Words they use colloquially are the least of the issues that need to be addressed. Bottom line in this instance is that people just don’t like Larry Wilmore. Which is fine because his show is boring as f*ck. Just keeping it 100.
Your workplace is not “black culture” — black people are very diverse and not all black people refer to one another in those terms.
I’m black and nothing you say above has ever been “ingrained” into me… and I’d greatly appreciate it if you don’t make such stereotypical generalizations in the future.
Holy hell, what echo chamber do you live in? “Its very diverse and lalal” your diversity is about 10% the other 90% use it all the time. Its a punctuation mark in most parts of the country. Keep lying to yourself.
Until you know 100% of black people… don’t presume to know what 90% of us are doing.
And what they may or may not do, Anonymous, is not what bothers me — what bothers me is you assuming that what you see is “black culture” when there is no monolithic black culture to speak of.
We are individuals just like everyone else — to assume differently is to play into racist generalizations and stereotyping.
You are trying to tell me that this behavior is “ingrained” into me — and others — based on skin color and what you see in your limited environment; it would be the same as me going to Kentucky and saying all whites have a southern accent and listen to country music because that’s their “culture”.
I didn’t say they’re not diverse. They’re from all walks of life. A cross section of the socioeconomic strata. I’m the only white guy. From top to bottom, everyone talks like this and nobody objects. I’ve been the only white guy in the room in different offices for the better part of the last twenty years. I didn’t say there was anything wrong with how my colleagues speak to each other or to me. It doesn’t bother me. But it is like this. Sorry if that bothers you.
You’re missing my point — I’m black and I don’t talk like that, nor do most of the other black people I know.
What you see is not “black culture” — it is how some black people behave in your environment, but that doesn’t make it “black culture” nor does it mean that it is “ingrained” into my behavior. No one I consider a friend — black or otherwise — thinks that it is ok to refer to women as “bitches and hoes” either, so again — don’t try to apply such blanket reasoning to all black people.
Your earlier post makes it very clear that you harbor serious issues towards black people in general, even if you won’t openly admit it. The first step to dealing with them is acknowledging that not all black people think and act alike (and you know this because a black person is telling you this as we speak)… and the second step is to treat us as INDIVIDUALS accordingly.
Widely panned? Is that your same spin as trying to pretend that Colbert “crashed and burned”?
I get it’s a roast, but it just doesn’t feel right for a White House dinner. Such a horrible word whether its the full out slur or the “endearing” nickname. The President of the United States is not a n****r or a n***a. Possibly it would be different if it were funny, but it wasn’t funny. It was just awkward.
We need to understand that we are a Global community and looks to the U.S. for leadership on all issues especially the White/Black relation.
Larry Wilmore is the black Spike Feresten. Decent writer, lousy performer.
He was terrible Saturday night. Turned it off after a few minutes. I think most of the attendees did the same thing. How does he even still have a show with such horrendous ratings?
Larry Wilmore is an unfunny HACK! That is all.