Aziz Ansari has used his new show Master of None to shine a light on issues of race and identity in Hollywood, and the comic took things one step further during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Ansari and Colbert were talking about their respective South Carolina backgrounds, when the Parks and Recreations star remarked that: “Stephen’s the first Late Night host from South Carolina - and the bajillionth white guy.
“It’s a very interesting measure of progress,” he pointed out.
Ansari’s new show, which sees him play a fictionalised version of himself, has been praised by critics for depicting the poor representation of people of colour by the entertainment industry.
Attempting to steer the conversation away from his own show’s lack of diversity, Colbert praised Master of None for trying to raise important issues.
“Is having you on my show… does that count [towards increasing diversity] at all?” he asked.
“Yeah! It’s really diverse right now,” Ansari replied, pointing to the two of them. “50% of the people on TV [right now] are non-white.
“This is like an all-time high for CBS!” he laughed.
Colbert is speechless after the remark, and struggles to compose himself as Ansari is applauded for his quip, choosing to silently shake his guest’s hand instead.
Ansari recently penned an essay for the New York Times called “Acting, Race and Hollywood” where he discusses the dismay he felt growing up and seeing Indian actors lose parts in big movies to white actors who would “brown up”.
“Whatever progress toward diversity we are making, the percentage of minorities playing lead roles is still painfully low,” he wrote.
