Monday’s premiere of “The Daily Show” brought a noticeable change with Trevor Noah replacing Jon Stewart. What’s less noticeable is the change of staff Noah brought with him.
Some of Noah’s new staff are:
- Supervising producer Baratunde Thurston, Black.
- Writer David Kibuuka, of South African.
- Writer Joseph Opio, of Uganda.
- Correspondent Ronny Chieng, of Chinese descent, born in Malaysia.
- Correspondent Desi Lydic, an American actress.
In the past, “The Daily Show” had been called the “least diverse” late-night show. A 2010 article in Jezebel said it had a woman problem (though shortly after, it brought on more women).
And in August, writer Wyatt Cenac revealed that he’d argued with Stewart in 2011 over an impersonation of then presidential candidate Herman Cain that Cenac found racially insensitive. In a podcast with Marc Maron, Cenac compared Stewart’s interpretation to a character from “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” a 1950s TV that portrayed Black people in a racist fashion. Cenac said he found the impersonation “a little weird.”
After he confronted Stewart, Cenac said his former boss told him to “F— off.” (Stewart later apologized).
Cenac left the show in 2012. He said he felt tension, partly because he was the only Black writer.