‘Larry Wilmore’ devoted an entire episode to the Cosby rape allegations. Watch it.
If you haven’t caught Comedy Central’s latest offering, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, don’t feel like you’re COMPLETELY out of the loop. The second episode only JUST aired last night. That said, my recommendation is to get IN the loop stat and start watching the Wilmore-hosted late night comedy news show, which replaced The Colbert Report in Comedy Central’s weeknight line-up.
Wilmore, an actor/writer/comedian whom many know as “Senior Black Correspondent” from The Daily Show, promised, when this show was picked up, that he would be playing “without a net,” and the show certainly lived up to those words last night when Wilmore and his panelists tackled the Bill Cosby rape allegations.
Wilmore, who called Cosby’s current tour “tone-deaf comedy jam,” spent the bulk of the show taking down Cosby and supporting the victims who have spoken out.
After cracking a few jokes at the expense of Cosby’s defenders (one defender, in his quest for evidence, asked “Where’s the Polaroid?” of one of these assaults, and Wilmore went on an AWESOME tear against this dude), Wilmore got to the heart of why Cosby’s victims have experienced so much resistance and hostility in the wake of their confessions:
“Why aren’t people listening to these women? Because most of this allegedly happened so long ago? Is it because some of them went to Cosby’s hotel room alone? Is it because there are no Polaroids? Is it because he’s so famous, or is it just because they’re women? I would say, enough have come forward. The current tally stands at 35 women. Really folks, how many do we need?”
Wilmore then put this number in context for us:
“Let’s understand this number, okay? That’s like if Bill Cosby drugged and raped every U.S. President from George Washington to John F. Kennedy.”
The screen filled up with portraits of 35 of the most powerful and well-known white men in American history and the message read loud and clear: the reason these women have not been taken seriously by some isn’t because there are not enough of them, it’s because they are women and we live in a culture that teaches us to trust men and suspect women.
And then he lays down the law and delivers the best line of the night (and, note, this night was ALL about amazing lines):
“Now, to be fair, the number is changing so quickly that there are conflicting reports on whether the total really is 34 or 35, but if the difference between 34 and 35 women matters to you, please f-ck off forever.”
The Nightly Show
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Oh and there’s more. Check out the panel discussion segment of the show wherein Wilmore and company continue to break it down.
The Nightly Show
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And in case you haven’t grasped Wilmore’s stance on the Cosby case, please refer to the opening of the show where he says: “We’ll answer the question, ‘Did he do it?’ The answer will be ‘Yes!’”
This was the SECOND episode of the show, you guys. The SECOND episode. Wilmore and his team are already showing they’re not afraid to take risks, speak up and “keep it 100” in the realness department. And they’re just getting started. Count me in for the next episode, and keep them coming.
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