By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Despite what seemed to be a farewell announcement and the severing of all ties with his longtime “Daily Show” association, there remains a possibility that former show correspondent Roy Wood Jr. could still be in the running to replace Trevor Noah as host. Now Wood isn’t saying he’s a favorite or even necessarily in the running, but he tried to clarify in an interview for Rolling Stone last week what he meant by prior comments on NPR that said he had to abandon the correspondent’s job because it would conflict with any opportunity to be the show’s new host.
“I don’t know that I’m going to be chosen to host,” Wood said. “And if I’m not chosen to host, I don’t know if the new host A) will want me, or B) is running an offense that fits me as a wide receiver. There’s a world where I still get offered the show, and there’s a world where I get offered something else. But I just know that to figure out what I want to do next, just as a contingency. I can’t do that while I’m doing my job as correspondent. It would disrespect the job of correspondent.”
Wood further addressed the situation in an interview with Sherri Shepard last week. “Well, number one, it still could happen,” Wood told host Sherri Shepherd before cracking, “I just don’t want to do work in the meantime.” “I was shocked at the decision myself, because number one, we were in a strike,” he added. “Who you know comes off strike and then quit the job?”
Wood was one of 14 guests hosts to emcee “The Daily Show” on a weekly trial basis until the show went off the air in early May due to the writers’ strike. Also included were Leslie Jones, Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Handler and past and present correspondents Hasan Minhaj, Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic and Dulcé Sloan (though Sloan only hosted one night before the work stoppage).
Previous reports that correspondent Hasan Minjaj was a favorite to get the hosting job have since been disproven. Recent stories on various websites have quoted executives from Paramount and Comedy Central saying they have gone back to “square one” in deciding on a new host. Deadline cited Minhaj, Jones and Handler as serious contenders.
Wood also didn’t shy away from giving specific reasons why he felt Minhaj has come under fire and perhaps now lost some favor. Minhaj has been severely criticized for embellishing stories involving real people in which the Muslim-South Asian American comic painted himself as a victim of racism and Islamophobia.
“I understand the integrity issue that people are bringing up with regard to Hasan and his stand-up,” Wood said. “Do I think that the things that happened within his stand-up make him incapable of being a Daily Show host? Nah. I think he would still be a perfectly fine host and a perfectly fine candidate to host The Daily Show. There’s a gang of people who are never going to forgive him for what he’s done, and I think that goes against the whole concept of forgiveness. Comedy Central is between a rock and a hard place. If Hasan was their frontrunner, there’s a lot of atonement that would have to probably happen with regard to Hasan.”
Wood also expressed his gratitude for online fan support and disappointment regarding his decision to leave after an eight-year run.
“The love online has been very kind, very dope, and very genuine. It’s weird when people are angrier than you are about something,” he laughed. “There’s love for me and vitriol toward [The Daily Show], and it’s also hard because you’re trying to get people to understand that Comedy Central has the final say and not The Daily Show. But it’s been very touching to have people appreciate what I do enough to voice an opinion about it. Traveling the last four days straight and talking to strangers in airports about it has been a little — difficult isn’t the word, but people don’t know how to approach me because they don’t know what state I’m in. Some people will come up and say, “Man, go do your thing!” and others will come up and they’re almost in mourning, like I posted about my dog dying or something. I’m fine. I’m thankful. I had a job for eight years, bro. That’s an excellent run.”
“The Daily Show” is now back on Comedy Central with multiple guest hosts, among them Michael Kosta, Desus Nice, Charlamagne tha God, Michelle Wolf and past guest hosts Silverman and Jones. A new permanent host is expected to take over at the start of 2024.
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