Wyatt Cenac, a former Daily Show writer and on-air correspondent, has accused Jon Stewart of shouting at him to “Fuck off!” when Cenac expressed concerns about Stewart’s impression of short-lived Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain.
Wyatt Cenac: I called out Jon Stewart for being insensitive and he told me to “fuck off”
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.
Cenac appeared on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, where he explained that his relationship with Stewart wasn’t great, before elaborating. Cenac felt Stewart’s Herman Cain “voice” was ignorant and insensitive:
[Stewart] got incredibly defensive. I remember he was like, What are you trying to say? There’s a tone in your voice. I was like, “There’s no tone. It bothered me. It sounded like Kingfish.” And then he got upset. And he stood up and he was just like, “Fuck off. I’m done with you.” And he just started screaming that to me. And he screamed it a few times. “Fuck off! I’m done with you.” And he stormed out. And I didn’t know if I had been fired.
Kingfish refers to George “Kingfish” Stevens, a character Tim Moore voiced on Amos ‘n’ Andy, a radio show set in Harlem that was later adapted into a television show.
Here is Stewart’s Herman Cain impression:
And here is an episode of Amos ‘n’ Andy where Kingfish is spotlighted:
Cenac explained that he felt that the “voice” was coming from a place of ignorance, not maliciousness. He continued:
I represent my people, and I try to represent them the best that I can. I gotta be honest if something seems questionable, because if not, then I don’t want to be in a position where I am being untrue not just to myself but to my culture, because that’s exploitative.
Stewart retires from The Daily Show in August. On the podcast, Cenac said he wasn’t sure if he would be returning for the final show.
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