You’ll have to find a new place to get your pop culture and political news; the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore has been canceled by Comedy Central after two seasons. The late night talk show served as a spin-off of the formerly Jon Stewart-hosted Daily Show (where Wilmore acted as a recurring contributor) and aired hundreds of skits and segments — some of which featured (or inspired by) our favorite entertainers. Here, we round up some of the show’s best moments.
When Piers Morgan found himself on the receiving end of the Beyhive’s stingers.
While most of us were busy loving Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade, there were a select few listeners who, despite it not personally reflecting their lives at all, took issue and offense with its content—namely, Piers Morgan, as Nightly Show contributor Franchesca Ramsey pointed out in a segment that swiftly put the “failed CNN host” in his place. Morgan slammed Bey for becoming “militant,” said he preferred the “less inflammatory, agitating” version of the entertainer and then feigned ignorance in rhetorically asking if he was even allowed to listen to the album because of his skin color. Ramsey was eloquent in reminding him, among other things, that that music was “not created for your comfort.”
When 2 Chainz became our favorite political commentator.
If you’ve ever wondered why so many presidential candidates opt to “suspend” their campaigns instead of quitting entirely when their chances of winning look slim (see: Ben Carson), it’s not to save face; it’s because of greed. And we didn’t have to consult political pundits to learn that. 2 Chainz taught us in less than a minute—and did so in a fur vest and gold chains worth double the amount of some of these aforementioned campaigns. Ha!
When Mac Miller proudly reminded Donald Trump that, no, not all white people love you.
Donald Trump and Mac Miller‘s beef dates back to 2011 when the rapper released a song named after the presidential candidate. Trump was admittedly “proud” of the track until it went platinum and he then threatened to sue the rapper for royalties. Since then, Mac has stayed woke to Trump’s antics and on this Nightly Show segment willfully used his whiteness to get the Republican’s attention—just so he could then drag him. He calls Trump out for being a “racist son of a bitch” and for lowering the bar on the nation’s intelligence; he ponders what most of us have been thinking: if Trump’s really evil or just “an egomaniacal, attention-thirsty, psychopathic, power-hungry, delusional waste of skin and bones that’ll do, say or allow anything if it means [he’ll] just get one more minute in the limelight”; and declares that, unlike those Americans claim they’ll move to Canada if Trump wins, Miller’s willing to remain in the U.S. as a martyr to forever tell the masses about this “fuck-wad of a human.”
When Cam’Ron became the Human Resources exec you should never ask for advice.
Cam’ron is like hip-hop’s Santa Claus. Strip away the make-believe portion and you have a guy who delivers nothing but gifts all year round. Seriously. Even with Dipset’s shaky foundation and the constant delays behind projects like Purple Haze 2 or Federal Reserve, Killa Cam still manages to do no wrong. Of course the genius minds over at The Nightly Show recognized this, so this was brought to the attention of millions via several occasions courtesy of laugh out loud skits. Each of these brought out the must-see comical side of Cam, the side that prompts an intern to send $20,000 in petty cash to Flatbush (see above). The side that offers tips to fake your own death. The side that slings bootleg movies at a office holiday party dressed up as Santa. Now that’s a genius. Papadapolis. Never lenient. We really mean it.
When B.O.B. got a much-needed lesson in science…from an actual scientist.
When B.O.B. went on a Twitter rant to publicly theorize that the Earth is flat—his supporting arguments included “the horizon is always eye level” and “where is the curve?”—everyone’s favorite astrophysicist and cosmologist Neil deGrasse Tyson came on the show to literally teach the misinformed rapper a lesson. Using fundamental facts and quotes from his “man Isaac Newton,” Tyson schooled and shamed the “little creature.” He then displayed exactly how gravity works with an actual mic drop.
When Vic Mensa said “Bye, Bye, Bye” to Justin Timberlake.
[at the 12:00 mark] Remember when Justin Timberlake tried to show his appreciation for Jesse Williams’ BET Awards acceptance speech, but just ended up getting dragged on Twitter instead? Well, Vic Mensa sided with the journalist who called out JT in the first place for appropriating black culture. When Mensa appeared as a panelist on _The Nightly Show and was asked about the controversy, for which Timberlake later apologized, the rapper called out JT’s history of not being an advocate against the injustices black communities face, or in supporting their social movements.