It would be interesting to hear Larry Wilmore's take on this. Sent from TypeMail
On Jul 24, 2015, 9:47 PM, at 9:47 PM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: >On Fri, Jul 24, 2015 at 11:02 AM, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I just listened to the WTF Cenac interview and the TDS story was long >and >> nuanced. They spent about 30 minutes discussing Cenac's tenure there >and >> it's an injustice to encapsulate it in two sentences or two >paragraphs. The >> blowup was not directly about Stewart's Cain impersonation, it was >about >> how TDS was going to respond to the criticism of FNC and others. >Stewart >> wanted to do a comedy piece about he is a racist about everybody and >Cenac >> felt that was being defensive, which acknowledged wrongdoing but made >no >> effort towards resolution. When Cenac brought that objection up in >the >> writers' room that's when Stewart blew up. After their argument, >which went >> from the writers' room to Stewart's office, ended, Cenac stayed on >TDS for >> another year as a correspondent as he did not want to return to the >> writers' room. >> >> The end of the discussion was about an invitation Stewart extended to >> Cenac to appear on the August 6 show. Cenac talked about his >ambivalence >> and Maron told him to put his hurt feelings behind him and go. (SNIP) >> > >I agree with Tom that Cenac, who is very bright and sensitive, is >nuanced >and complex in his discussion of his relationship with Stewart, and the >entire interview is worth listening to closely. For example, he makes >clear >that he loves TDS (though his last few years there were a miserable >torture), and he says that Stewart almost literally saved his life, >when he >hired him at a particularly low point in his life when he was very dark >and >depressed. He also says that he went in hoping to have a father-son >type of >relationship with Stewart, and was disappointed that he did not work >that >way. So part of the underlying emotional context for the incident is >this >dynamic where Cenac was already feeling that he was not getting as much >from Stewart as he wanted. This by the way is the kind of thing other >correspondents on the show have said about Stewart - not that he is an >asshole, but he is very demanding, very business like, and very much >focused on the show. It also goes to the point that I have made on >other >threads several times over the last couple of years, which is that >these >shows (TDS and TCR) are much, much more demanding and time-consuming >than >the network late night shows. No traditional late night host, even Dave >or >Conan in their creative heydays, spent as much time preparing per >minute of >air time as Stewart (and Colbert) have on their shows. > >I disagree a bit though with Tom about the direct trigger of the >blow-up. I >think it clearly was the Cain impersonation. True, it happened in the >context of crafting Stewart's response to the criticism, as Tom notes >above, but Cenac's objection to the planned bit (and they did >eventually do >this bit) was rooted in his objection to Stewart's Cain impersonation, >which he clearly things is insensitive if not racist (he makes clear >that >he does not think Stewart is a racist). Here is a good faith >transcription >of the relevant part of the interview done by myself. This begins with >Cenac explaining (for the third or fourth time, counting earlier >attempts >on the in-house listserv) his reaction to the Cain impression: > >"'I've got to be honest, when I heard it... I cringed a little bit, it >bothered me'. And he [Stewart] got incredibly defensive, and I remember >he >was like, 'what are you trying to say, there's a tone in your voice', >and >I was like, 'there's no tone', and I was like, 'it bothered me', and I >was >like 'it sounded like Kingfish', and then he got upset and he stood up >and >he was like 'fuck off I'm done with you', and he just started screaming >that to me, and he screamed it a few times, and he was like 'fuck off >I'm >done with you', and he stormed out, and then I didn't know if I'd been >fired. And again, this was the guy who saved me, and now, multiple >times he >has said I'm done with you, fuck off." > > >As I say, I actually agree with Stewart on the substance of the >disagreement, but there are two serious problems with his response to >Cenac. One he did take responsibility for - later that same day, and a >couple of times over the rest of his tenure there, Stewart apologized >for >blowing up, saying he forgot he was the boss and that it was >unprofessional. But Cenac basically never felt like that response got >them >very far, and I think it is because of Stewart's second problem, which >is >that he is not acknowledging the inherent problem in having one black >writer on a show like that. They had emphasized to him that he was not >being hired to be *The Black Guy* on the show, but because he was just >a >funny comedy writer. But inevitably, he knows that people (including, >maybe >especially, people in the Black Community) are going to look to him to >voice the "Black Perspective" on things. This is illustrated when >Stewart >says to Cenac (paraphrasing now) "How come you never complained when I >did >an exaggerated Jewish accent for Shumer (and this was basically the >tone of >the bit that Stewart eventually did on the show that night)? Cenac >responds >in a way that I ultimately disagree with, but which illustrates well >the >deeper problem Stewart is not acknowledging, which is to say that he >(Cenac) is not Jewish and Stewart is, so he trusts Stewart to check on >when >the line gets crossed in that direction. But when it comes to things >that >might offend the Black community, he (Cenac) is the one whose ass is on >the >line, and that people are going to look to, and so he feels obligated >to >push back strongly when he senses something is wrong. > >Again, Cenac is a sensitive guy, who admits that he wanted a father >figure >from Stewart and was disappointed that Stewart did not want to play >that >role. What he needed (I think) was someone to say "Hey Wyatt - you are >not >here to represent the Black Community - you are here to help us write a >funny show. If you don't think what we are doing is funny, we want to >hear >that, but give yourself a break and don't take that whole weight on >your >shoulders". That would have been nice, but was and still is necessary >is >for Stewart to understand that he put Cenac in that position by only >having >one black writer on the show in the first place (and of course a >similar >point can be made about women in the writers room and other groups). > >-- >-- >TV or Not TV .... 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