The Daily Show

Trevor Noah has finally stopped doing the show, and it's time for a new host. We are on guest host number eight now. Any thoughts?

I hope they pick Hasan Minhaj to keep a link with the Stewart era.

He did guest host a couple weeks ago.

That's why I picked him instead of another Stewart-era correspondent/contributor.

I haven't watched them all but Roy Wood Jr is really good. He clearly has his own tone that is distinct from Trevor and Jon.

Oops, I somehow didn't follow the thread.

Yeah, Roywood Jr is pretty good.

This week, Charlemagne the God is hosting the show.

Shame about Minhaj, surprised at how many people are using the "Just Joking" Justification to defend what were presented as true stories.

For the record, it's mainly white people defending Hasan in that regard.

Who's he again, and what happened?

https://www.avclub.com/hasan-minhaj-admits-fabricating-details-stand-up-comic-1850843261

I'm... really okay with anecdotes from a standup comic's standup set being mostly fabricated. Calling it a "Just Joking" Justification seems unfair since they're literally jokes being told.

Depends on how much the jokes depend on the story being truthful.

I think when you're naming actual people as villains of stories that never actually happened, "it was all for comedy, of course some of it was made up" isn't a defense.

Yeah, you can make up some things for comedy, but there is a line somewhere.

yeah its where you start getting sued for slandering someone

That too, but I think there is also a line where people feel you are emotionally manipulating them with fake stories about your life. I remember there was a scandal once about a Dutch autobiographer who made up his own autobiography. But even there the line can be blurry: people will generally accept simplifications of biographical narratives to make the overall story clearer, but they won't accept too much of it, or outright fabrication of events.

The line is usually targeting real people, calls for violence and at least leaving clues something is falsified in absence of a "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer (many a joke will start off seemingly true before a left turn into "And then aliens landed!" type punchlines). I haven't read the article in depth but just hearing footnotes from other sources. If the story was fully presented as fact with a bit of humor on the side, that can be an issue but we don't have exact context on what he said. I remember Christopher Titus had a farcical bit on a gun control solution of "Arm the Children!" and he said after the show that he had people compliment the idea as though he was serious. Even still, what we see in various specials is a refinement of a joke over months and months of testing out comedy clubs to see what is working and if it is landing right. So reviewers may see a proto-joke and write a massive op-ed over how offensive it is without consideration of the process.

Honestly, I think when it comes to stand-up comedy, you should always assume any anecdote is mostly or entirely made up. You go to these people for the comedy, not the life story.

The life story bits should be considered a bonus to the comedy, not the other way around.

From what I've read from other POC, the issue is a lot of his stand up material is his experiences growing with racism. The fact that some of his stories or anecdotes were embellished or didn't happen causes some concern that white people will think all their experiences with racism isn't true, and white racists will use it as ammunition.

I've never been a fan of that argument. It's the same logic that made people conjure the idea that Joker would be an Incel rallying cry, and that the only thing people need is a comedian's point of view before becoming a mass murderer. It also assumes lying, manipulation and projecting yourself as a victim is a rare human trait.

Truth is real harm is real harm, theoretical harm is just a distraction. Anyone who puts themselves on a stage should be careful on a personal level but this whole situation with Hasan is not some immoral scandal.

No it isn't.

I like Charlemagne already, he isn't giggling at his own jokes, and he isn't ragging on white people all the time, which gives him a leg up over several previous guest hosts already.

Are they going to have a new host eventually, or is the guest host the new model?

I doubt they'd stick with the guest host model permanently, but I've heard they might go with co-hosts instead of a single permanent host so as to emphasize the show over any individual host.

This was a very interesting story, and I'll buy that book for sure.

Also, honestly, Cat Bohannon is very funny, and I think she should be asked to be the guest host some time.