There is no fear, no confusion and no mercy in The Nightly Show, and thank goodness for that. Last night, the program – only in its second day on the air – took a major risk in tackling the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby head-on.
“Tonightly, we’ll be talking Cosby,” host Larry Wilmore said in the cold open for the show. “We’ll be asking the question, did he do it? The answer will be yes.” If there was any fear that he would not be able to match his night-show predecessors, Wilmore and his staff of writers quickly eradicated them.
The show was a bold first swing right out of the gate. Most comedians have stayed quiet about Cosby, and those that have spoken out have relegated their comments to short bits. By focusing the entire episode on Cosby, The Nightly Show took a firm stance on the issue. There was no waffling, like we’ve seen with Chris Rock, or ambiguity. Wilmore took 30 minutes to discuss the story from all angles – the allegations, the influence of his television shows, the hecklers – and succeeded. The show, more than many other comedic bits, left little room for questioning.
The discussion also felt deliberate. Although the accusations and conversations surrounding Cosby were reignited by Hannibal Buress, a black comedian, the conversation has been directed in what Cosby might consider “white media”. Late last year, Cosby was interviewed by the New York Post and said, “Let me say this: I only expect the black media to uphold the standards of excellence in journalism and when you do that, you have to go in with a neutral mind.”
Many construed the comments as a call to “black media” to remain patient and support Cosby in the face of the allegations, implying that this was a matter created in the eyes of the white media. But The Nightly Show offered an important, rare opportunity for black media figures to speak about the numerous allegations, the specific, yet major relationship they have had to Cosby’s comedy and his influence in the black community. This was a step forward in our public view of the case, one that will hopefully eradicate the excuses of his defenders.
The most interesting part of the night came in the form of a roundtable discussion featuring a mix of comedians, writers and members of the media, including Jamilah Lemieux from Ebony magazine, writer Baratunde Thurston, and comedians Kathleen Madigan and Keith Robinson.
Lemieux made a pointed statement, saying, “I’m supposed to grow up and be a Huxtable.” The sentiment is one likely felt by many, especially black, middle class Americans. Lemieux, a graduate of Howard University (the influence for The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World) said she once felt like she let Cosby down when a past relationship did not work out and she became a single mother.
Later, during the Keep It 100 segment, Wilmore asked Thurston if he would criticise Cosby even though it might brand him an Uncle Tom and make him “lose his black card”. Thurston said he would, though Robinson called him out. It was a funny, yet heated moment and a display of the troubles and conflicts of “following” your community versus following what you believe to be truth.
It was a chance to not only speak about what happened, but to also speak about the legacy and power we derive from our idols and how, especially for people within marginalised communities, that has a lasting impact on the choices made in our everyday lives.
The lines between Wilmore’s comedy and his personality were blurred, such as when he said, “There’s a statute of limitations on the charges, but there’s no statute of limitations on my opinion and I’m telling you that motherfucker did it.” Looking at the first two episodes of the show, it is clear that Wilmore’s agenda as a show host will be singular, relevant and necessarily on-point. Cosby was and is a man in power, making the incidents (at last count, 35) absolutely possible and most likely probable. The facts are laid out, are evident, are potent in their similarities and depravity. As Wilmore said at one point during the night, “We don’t have to turn off our brains.”
