Comedian W. Kamau Bell says he's working overtime these days. 'Black people of all jobs get asked to explain racism to white people, whether that's in their job description or not,' he says. 'Well, it happens to be my job description.'
Comedy is to make you laugh. And I think there's just different types of laughter. So, some people right now need comedy that distracts them from all this stuff. And that comedy is perfectly great. And I use that kind of comedy myself.
And then there's a kind of comedy that helps you process what's going on in the world, which is the tradition that I like to sort of be a part of. Like Dick Gregory, Chris Rock, Paul Mooney, Wanda Sykes. But all of that weighs on you, you know. So, even if you're a comic who's trying to write just funny word puzzles, it's harder to write those right now.A lot of times in those late night shows, you have to sort of play by their rules.
I very much understood with Conan and with Jimmy Fallon — I got called a day before to do both those shows and I'm in my house doing it. I'm playing by my rules.Saturday Night LiveMy job is to talk about what's going on in the world right now. Because that's why I feel like I'm there. I'm not the guy he called to apologize to for blackface. So, I know why I'm here.
NPR's Kira Wakeam and Tinbete Ermyas produced this interview for broadcast. Emma Bowman adapted it for the Web.
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