John Stewart surprises Larry Wilmore with send-off: ‘You gave voice to underserved voices’
During Larry Wilmore’s final episode of the “Nightly Show” on August 18, the outgoing comedian was visited by Jon Stewart and the former “Daily Show” show had some serious words of praise for Wilmore’s work.
“What you, my friend, were tasked to do, you have done, and done beautifully,” Stewart said. “You gave voice to the underserved voices in the media arena, and you did it. It was a show that was raw and poignant and funny and smart and all of those things. You did it from scratch.”
–Comedy Central cancels Larry Wilmore’s ‘Nightly Show’ for not ‘resonating with the audience’
Stewart went on to praise the “Nightly Show” for its diversity not only in staff but in stories:
“You started a conversation that was not on television when you began, and you worked with a group of people who you invited to that conversation to collaborate with you, to sharpen that conversation. And what you don’t realize is, you walk out of this room, and that conversation doesn’t end.”
Wilmore had expressed disappointment in what he termed “the unblackening” of the election cycle and his own time slot on Comedy Central.
–President Obama “appreciated” the sentiment in Larry Wilmore’s ‘n*gga’ comments
The network defended its decision to cancel, saying the show’s content simply didn’t get enough ratings or traction on social media.
“As much as we like Larry and the uniqueness of the show and the voices that are on the show — not just in terms of ratings — it hasn’t resonated in terms of our fans engaging with the show with consuming or sharing content or having a dialogue about it on social platforms,” said Comedy Central president Kent Alterman.
However, Stewart insisted that Wilmore’s effort had only planted a seed for new talent.
“All the people that you work with are going take what they learned here, and what they learned from you, and the beautiful experience that they had. And you’re going to start to see them do things in the business as well, and taking that and other experiences, and you’re going to watch that flourish. And that’s going to have you on it.”
–Larry Wilmore’s ‘Barry, you did it my n*gga!’ moment was expected and 100% authentic
Check out the moving clip below and the full episode here.
