Latest news with #politicalsatire
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Why Stephen Colbert's talk show was cancelled, and what it has to do with Trump
Late night TV legend Stephen Colbert is being taken off air, and suspicions are swirling. His US network CBS says it cancelled the talk show for financial reasons, but could President Donald Trump have something to do with it? We unpack the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, the settlement between CBS's 60 Minutes and Trump, and the state of political satire in the US. Guest: Mawunyo Gbogbo, ABC pop culture journalist. -------- Read Mawunyo's article about the CBS decision here. If you liked this chat, you might enjoy our previous episodes on how long Donald Trump can keep breaking the law or why art is being covered up in Australia. And feel free to share your thoughts to
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
David Letterman slams CBS over Stephen Colbert exit
David Letterman has backed his successor Stephen Colbert and suggested CBS canceled The Late Show because he was 'always shooting his mouth off' about Donald Trump. The 78-year-old late-night legend created The Late Show in 1993 after NBC denied him the chance to succeed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Colbert took over for Letterman in 2015 and took the show in a decidedly more political direction. But despite leading in the ratings, a shrinking late-night landscape led CBS to claim losses in the tens of millions of dollars. In his first comment on the show's cancellation, Letterman noted that Colbert's show was more about political satire than his version of The Late Show, but was still complimentary, calling the decision by CBS 'pure cowardice.' 'I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this, they're going to be embarrassed, because this is gutless,' he told former Late Show producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Letterman then said that he believed CBS was acting on behalf of Skydance CEO and incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison to make their lives easier after acquiring Paramount, taking away a constant critic of Trump. 'Hey boys, here's what we're gonna do: not only are we gonna get rid of that guy, we're gonna get rid of the entire franchise so you don't have to worry about another guy. It's gone,' Letterman said. The longtime talk show host noted CBS's $16 million settlement with the Trump administration over a deceptively edited interview with election rival Kamala Harris, which Colbert had previously mocked as a 'big fat bribe.' He also referred to Ellison as a 'bottom feeder,' saying he should've bought a Dairy Queen instead of a television network. 'Stay out of this business.' He also tore into accusations that the show lost so much money, with both Gaines and Barclay saying they had cut budgets to help the network several times when they were at CBS. 'You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago, six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money,' he said. Letterman noted that despite the show supposedly losing tons of money, CBS is allowing Colbert to stay on the air for the next ten months. 'That's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose according to them. I don't think it was money. I think it was all to make sure the Ellisons were solid spending Dad's money,' he said, referring to Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. He said of the treatment of Colbert: 'They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.' Letterman echoed Colbert's own joking words from earlier this week when the former Comedy Central comic called himself 'a martyr.' 'For Stephen, I love this: he's a martyr, good for him. If you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction,' he joked. Ultimately, he said he envies the position Colbert is now in with his liberal viewers. 'I only wish this could've happened to me. This would've been so great for me. Now we've all gotta kiss Stephen Colbert's ring now,' he quipped. The comedian's decade-long run as host of CBS's late-night flagship will end next May, with network insiders suggesting the top-rated show was canceled because it was losing anywhere from $40 to $100 million per year. Trump posted a celebration on Truth Social when the news was announced, saying, 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.' Colbert, who briefly addressed the move the day of its announcement, devoted much of his Monday show to the controversy, eventually uniting with almost every other liberal late-night talk show host in a show of support, as well as Adam Sandler and even Lin-Manuel Miranda. The 61-year-old comic opened after a standing ovation and lengthy applause from the New York City crowd by saying 'cancel culture has gone too far'—then joked that now the show is ending, he can say whatever he feels. Colbert said sarcastically of Paramount: 'They made one mistake, they left me alive! For the next ten months, the gloves are off!' He then referenced Trump's comments, turned to an 'Eloquence Cam' and said: 'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.' He also addressed Trump's claim that Jimmy Kimmel is next, replying: 'Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There's only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!' He went on to say that cancellation meant he could finally admit what he felt about the president. In contrast to his often over-the-top anti-Trump monologues, he dryly said: 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have the skill set to be president. Just not a good fit, that's all.' He addressed his bosses at CBS—who he said 'have always been great partners'—before turning to Paramount's decision to cancel the show. 'How could it be a purely financial decision if The Late Show is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' He quipped: 'I could see us losing $24 million but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million, oh…'—naming the amount the company settled with Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. He returned to mocking Trump and the recent news accusing him of writing a 'bawdy' letter to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. 'I'll have more to say about all this after the commercial break. The only other story is a small one... the president is buddies with a pedophile.' Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's 'lack of profitability' Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show—whose cancellation was announced last Thursday—costs $100 million a year to produce, with Colbert getting paid between $15 and $20 million a year.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
David Letterman unleashes fury at CBS for canceling his successor Stephen Colbert
David Letterman has backed his successor Stephen Colbert and suggested CBS canceled The Late Show because he was 'always shooting his mouth off' about Donald Trump. The 78-year-old late-night legend created The Late Show in 1993 after NBC denied him the chance to succeed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Colbert took over for Letterman in 2015 and took the show in a decidedly more political direction but despite leading in the ratings, a shrinking late-night landscape led CBS to claim losses in the tens of millions of dollars. In his first comment on the show's cancellation, Letterman noted that his show was more about political satire than his version of The Late Show but was still complimentary, calling the decision by CBS 'pure cowardice.' 'I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this, they're going to be embarrassed, because this is gutless,' he told former Late Show producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Letterman then said that he believed CBS was acting on behalf of Skydance CEO and incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison to make their lives easier after they acquire Paramount, taking away a constant critic of Trump. 'Hey boys, here's what we're gonna do: not only are we gonna get rid of that guy, we're gonna get rid of the entire franchise so you don't have to worry about another guy. It's gone,' Letterman said. The long-time talk show host noted CBS's $16million settlement with the Trump administration over a deceptively edited interview with election rival Kamala Harris, which Colbert had previously mocked as a 'big fat bribe.' He also referred to Ellison as a 'bottom feeder,' saying he should've bought a Dairy Queen instead of a television network. 'Stay out of this business.' He also tore into the accusations that the show lost so much money, with both Gaines and Barclay saying that they had cut budgets to help the network several times when they were at CBS. 'You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago, six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money,' he said. Letterman noted that despite the show losing tons of money, they're going to let him stay on the air for the next ten months continuing to lose it. 'That's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose according to them. I don't think it was money, I think it was all to make sure the Ellisons were solid spending Dad's money,' he said, noting Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. He said of the treatment of Colbert: 'They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.' Letterman echoed Colbert's own joking words from earlier this week when the former Comedy Central comic called himself 'a martyr.' 'For Stephen, I love this: he's a martyr, good for him. If you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction,' he joked. Ultimately, he said he envies the position Colbert is now in with his liberal viewers. 'I only wish this could've happened to me. This would've been so great for me. Now we've all gotta kiss Stephen Colbert's ring now,' he quipped. The comedian's decade-long run as the host of CBS's late night flagship will end next May, with network insiders suggesting the top-rated show was canceled because it was losing anywhere from $40 to $100million per year. Trump posted a celebration on Truth Social when the news was announced, saying 'I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.' Colbert, who briefly addressed the move the day of its announcement, devoted much of his Monday show to the controversy, eventually uniting with almost every other liberal late-night talk show host in a show of support, as well as Adam Sandler and even Lin-Manuel Miranda. The 61-year-old comic opened after a standing ovation and a lengthy applause from the New York City crowd by saying ' cancel culture has gone too far' and then joked now that the show is ending, he can say whatever he feels. Colbert said sarcastically of Paramount: 'They made one mistake, they left me alive! For the next ten months, the gloves are off!' The Late Show host then referenced Trump's comments, turning to an 'Eloquence Cam' and said: 'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.' He then referenced Trump stating in the same Truth Social post: 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.' Colbert replied: 'Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There's only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!' He also said that cancellation meant he could finally admit what he felt about the president. In contrast to his often over-the-top anti-Trump monologues, he dryly, quietly said: 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have the skill set to be president. Just not a good fit, that's all.' He addressed his bosses at CBS - who he said 'have always been great partners' - before talking about Paramount's decision to cancel the show which he took over from David Letterman in 2015. 'How could it be a purely financial decision if The Late Show's is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' 'I could see us losing $24 million but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million, oh...' he quipped, naming the amount the company settled with Trump for over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. He went back to bashing Trump and the recent news accusing him of writing a 'bawdy' letter to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. 'I'll have more to say about all this after the commercial break. The only other story is a small one... the president is buddies with a pedophile.' Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's 'lack of profitability ' Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show - whose cancellation was announced last Thursday - costs $100m a year to produce, with Colbert, 61, getting paid between $15 million and $20 million a year to host. Colbert beats ABC and NBC rivals Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, but that still wasn't enough to save him. Late night shows have slumped in profitability in recent years as viewers shun the format in favor of streaming services or watching content on their phones. Advertiser revenue has slumped sharply even in the last three years, Puck reported, making it harder to pull Colbert's show out of the red. Colbert was reported to be 'not angry, actually' about his cancellation and was chatting with his staff in a 'matter-of-fact' way before Thursday's show, Puck reported. Colbert, who will broadcast his final show in May 2026, was first informed his show was on the chopping block around July 4, it is claimed. Paramount Co-CEO George Cheeks made the decision, Puck reported. He then went on vacation, giving bosses at CBS time to plot behind his back, CNN reported. He moved to share it as quickly as possible so that his staff would not learn of their impending unemployment via leaks to the press. All three major late night hosts - Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon - have become notorious for their regular rants about President Trump, which many viewers have complained are boring and off-putting. But Belloni said he didn't believe the famously anti-MAGA Colbert was axed to appease Donald Trump, who recently won a $15 million payout from CBS after suing them over a 60 Minutes interview with Harris he said was deceptively edited. The axing of Colbert has delighted Trump, who posted about it on his TruthSocial network earlier today. Colbert's ouster could also make it easier for CBS parent company Paramount's efforts to merge with media company Skydance in a deal that must be approved by Trump's Federal Communications Commission. The Late Show launched in 1993 under David Letterman to compete with longtime late night juggernaut The Tonight Show. Colbert took over from Letterman in 2015 after his retirement. More than three decades later, CBS's entry into the late night sphere sits at the top, with second-best Jimmy Kimmel Live! raking in an average of 1.772 million viewers. Colbert, by comparison, collects an average of 2.417 million. Colbert - who once played a conservative character on Comedy Central's satirical late night program The Colbert Report - often aired jokes at the conservative's expense. Trump celebrated the news of the show's cancellation as a result. 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,' he wrote in a Friday Truth Social post. 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert,' he added, before talking up right-wing Fox News star Greg Gutfeld. '[He's] better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show,' Trump added, referring to Jimmy Fallon.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Comedian Nish Kumar on why Trump isn't actually 'good' for comedy: 'He's not one of your crack smoking mayors'
Nish Kumar reflects on political satire, social media and the evolving global reach of stand-up comedy ahead of his Just For Laughs shows in Montreal LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Nish Kumar attends Day 1 of The Podcast Show at the Business Design Centre on May 21, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/) As the Just For Laughs comedy festival continues this week, shows from comedian Nish Kumar are sure to be a highlight of the Montreal summer staple. While Kumar sells out stand-up shows around the world, and for good reason because he's one of the best, he said that he has a "sentimental fondness" for taking part in a festival. "The shows are always really good fun. ... There's an international circuit of comedians that do these things, that do Montreal, that do Edinburgh, that do Melbourne, and ... it's a really great opportunity to catch up with some friends, and also get to see some cool stuff as well," Kumar told Yahoo Canada. "I watch a lot when I'm in town and I've seen some unbelievable shows." This isn't Kumar's first time in Canada this year. The British comedian was doing a show in Toronto in February, just as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs came into effect. ADVERTISEMENT "That was a particularly febrile time," Kumar recalled. "I think I was hoping that things might have calmed down a little bit, but obviously they were never going to calm down." "It's a fascinating experiment in what happens when a country, for seemingly no reason, out of nowhere, reverses centuries of diplomatic relations with its neighbour, with whom it shares a land border." Kumar's February show was also just months before Canada's last election, which saw Mark Carney get elected prime minister after previous holding the position of Governor of the Bank of England. "It obviously is very strange for a British person that Mark Carney is [the Prime Minister]. I know he's Canadian intellectually, but to me he only exists as a character in British news from 2016 and 2017," Kumar said. Nish Kumar: Trump isn't good for comedy But while some have frequently assumed that Trump is "good" for comedy, Kumar stressed that "he's not." ADVERTISEMENT "He's not one of your crack smoking mayors, ... the idea of regionally powerful politicians that make national news for being buffoons is maybe something that I can see as being good, but with Trump ... he poses this huge existential threat. Especially with his total hostility to climate science," Kumar highlighted. "I think what you have to try and find the balance with is engaging with the seriousness of what's actually going on and what the ramifications of a lot of these guys are, and also ... you're trying to find the balance between jokes that make people laugh. ... If it looks like you're not taking it really seriously enough people will just will get annoyed. I don't think the people that I'm performing to are interested in hearing like, he says 'bigly,' or look at him, isn't he orange. I think if I went out and did that kind of stuff the people that I'm performing to would be furious. I'm always trying to thread that balance between jokes that are funny, but also engage with the seriousness of the stuff that a figure like Trump is capable of." What that has also meant is that Kumar has to be especially adaptable to respond to what's happening in the world, U.S. politics, Trump and beyond, which he's been able to navigate with real finesse. "Since 2016, I've always kept a bit of room in my shows for stuff to change constantly," Kumar said. "You try and make sure that ... 80 per cent of the show is set in stone, ... and then the other 20 per cent you have to be loose and you have to keep writing while you're touring." "The silver lining of that is that you're never bored with the show. I've had to kind of retool the show as I've been touring, because I've been touring it for nearly a year now, and so that 20 per cent has just changed." LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 29: AFTER MIDNIGHT, airing Thursday, February 29, 2024, with host Taylor Tomlinson. Pictured: Nish Kumar. (Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images) The good and the bad of social media A big shift in comedy consumption around the world has been things like social media and podcasts allowing people to get exposure to comedians they otherwise wouldn't engage with, also helping to create an invested audience for things like comedy festivals, as Kumar highlighted. ADVERTISEMENT "I think the internet is sort of supercharging these things, rather than taking away from them," he said. "A British comedian of my standing 20 years ago would not have been able to casually come to Canada and America and sell out tour shows, that didn't exist. It's only because of the internet and podcasting and Taskmaster, specifically. ... I think there's a lot of negatives that it has for our industry and the art form more broadly, but from a perspective of getting people to come to shows and live comedy and festivals, I think it's actually really helped." But engaging on the internet, specifically on social media, can be a tricky exercise, with Kumar describing his relationship with the platforms as "not always healthy." He has spoken about receiving death threats for years. "I think the problem with it is that it's not exclusively bad," Kumar said. "I'm grateful to the internet and social media for what it's done for my career in terms of the live audience. I think in terms of having access to everyone's opinions about a thing that you've made is not always conducive for getting it made. Having the ability to see what every single person thinks of you can, at points, be paralyzing and I've definitely gone in waves with it." "I don't want to praise him ever, really, but the one thing I will say is Elon Musk buying Twitter has been really great for me, because it means that I've stopped using it, I think like for a lot of us. ... It's like a reverse Raiders of the Lost Ark, where he just opened this box and just Nazis went everywhere. And I think that, that had made a lot of us examine our relationship with it. Is this all part of a long game for Elon Musk's attempts to improve all of our mental health? No, it definitely isn't. But I genuinely think there's something fundamentally unhealthy about all of it." Kumar stressed that Canadian Naomi Klein's book "Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World" has "rewired" his brain in terms of engaging more critically with how he conducts himself on social media platforms, and more "empathetic" to "victims of these algorithms," while angrier about the perpetrators. ADVERTISEMENT "There's this illusion that's been created that we've got a lot of critical thinking applied to what we would call legacy media, or mainstream media," Kumar said. "And that's good and healthy. And we should have been considering who the gatekeepers were the whole time. ... However, there is a flip side to it, which is we have lost the ability to realize that there are gatekeepers to the internet, and you'll see people say, 'Well, you've got to question everything' and then repost something about, for example, the COVID vaccine that they've engaged absolutely no critical thought to at all." "There's this idea that social media platforms are purely democratic and if something is blowing up on social media it's just a pure exercise of democracy. And again, that doesn't really take into account the algorithms that govern these websites, and the fact that it's not necessarily qualitative, it's just that you've done something that games the algorithm in a particular way." From his evaluation of politics, societal structures and beyond, Kumar continues to be one of the best and essential voices in stand-up comedy. Nish Kumar has shows on July 23 and July 25 at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Comedian Nish Kumar on why Trump isn't actually 'good' for comedy: 'He's not one of your crack smoking mayors'
Nish Kumar reflects on political satire, social media and the evolving global reach of stand-up comedy ahead of his Just For Laughs shows in Montreal LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Nish Kumar attends Day 1 of The Podcast Show at the Business Design Centre on May 21, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/) As the Just For Laughs comedy festival continues this week, shows from comedian Nish Kumar are sure to be a highlight of the Montreal summer staple. While Kumar sells out stand-up shows around the world, and for good reason because he's one of the best, he said that he has a "sentimental fondness" for taking part in a festival. "The shows are always really good fun. ... There's an international circuit of comedians that do these things, that do Montreal, that do Edinburgh, that do Melbourne, and ... it's a really great opportunity to catch up with some friends, and also get to see some cool stuff as well," Kumar told Yahoo Canada. "I watch a lot when I'm in town and I've seen some unbelievable shows." This isn't Kumar's first time in Canada this year. The British comedian was doing a show in Toronto in February, just as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs came into effect. ADVERTISEMENT "That was a particularly febrile time," Kumar recalled. "I think I was hoping that things might have calmed down a little bit, but obviously they were never going to calm down." "It's a fascinating experiment in what happens when a country, for seemingly no reason, out of nowhere, reverses centuries of diplomatic relations with its neighbour, with whom it shares a land border." Kumar's February show was also just months before Canada's last election, which saw Mark Carney get elected prime minister after previous holding the position of Governor of the Bank of England. "It obviously is very strange for a British person that Mark Carney is [the Prime Minister]. I know he's Canadian intellectually, but to me he only exists as a character in British news from 2016 and 2017," Kumar said. Nish Kumar: Trump isn't good for comedy But while some have frequently assumed that Trump is "good" for comedy, Kumar stressed that "he's not." ADVERTISEMENT "He's not one of your crack smoking mayors, ... the idea of regionally powerful politicians that make national news for being buffoons is maybe something that I can see as being good, but with Trump ... he poses this huge existential threat. Especially with his total hostility to climate science," Kumar highlighted. "I think what you have to try and find the balance with is engaging with the seriousness of what's actually going on and what the ramifications of a lot of these guys are, and also ... you're trying to find the balance between jokes that make people laugh. ... If it looks like you're not taking it really seriously enough people will just will get annoyed. I don't think the people that I'm performing to are interested in hearing like, he says 'bigly,' or look at him, isn't he orange. I think if I went out and did that kind of stuff the people that I'm performing to would be furious. I'm always trying to thread that balance between jokes that are funny, but also engage with the seriousness of the stuff that a figure like Trump is capable of." What that has also meant is that Kumar has to be especially adaptable to respond to what's happening in the world, U.S. politics, Trump and beyond, which he's been able to navigate with real finesse. "Since 2016, I've always kept a bit of room in my shows for stuff to change constantly," Kumar said. "You try and make sure that ... 80 per cent of the show is set in stone, ... and then the other 20 per cent you have to be loose and you have to keep writing while you're touring." "The silver lining of that is that you're never bored with the show. I've had to kind of retool the show as I've been touring, because I've been touring it for nearly a year now, and so that 20 per cent has just changed." LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 29: AFTER MIDNIGHT, airing Thursday, February 29, 2024, with host Taylor Tomlinson. Pictured: Nish Kumar. (Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images) The good and the bad of social media A big shift in comedy consumption around the world has been things like social media and podcasts allowing people to get exposure to comedians they otherwise wouldn't engage with, also helping to create an invested audience for things like comedy festivals, as Kumar highlighted. ADVERTISEMENT "I think the internet is sort of supercharging these things, rather than taking away from them," he said. "A British comedian of my standing 20 years ago would not have been able to casually come to Canada and America and sell out tour shows, that didn't exist. It's only because of the internet and podcasting and Taskmaster, specifically. ... I think there's a lot of negatives that it has for our industry and the art form more broadly, but from a perspective of getting people to come to shows and live comedy and festivals, I think it's actually really helped." But engaging on the internet, specifically on social media, can be a tricky exercise, with Kumar describing his relationship with the platforms as "not always healthy." He has spoken about receiving death threats for years. "I think the problem with it is that it's not exclusively bad," Kumar said. "I'm grateful to the internet and social media for what it's done for my career in terms of the live audience. I think in terms of having access to everyone's opinions about a thing that you've made is not always conducive for getting it made. Having the ability to see what every single person thinks of you can, at points, be paralyzing and I've definitely gone in waves with it." "I don't want to praise him ever, really, but the one thing I will say is Elon Musk buying Twitter has been really great for me, because it means that I've stopped using it, I think like for a lot of us. ... It's like a reverse Raiders of the Lost Ark, where he just opened this box and just Nazis went everywhere. And I think that, that had made a lot of us examine our relationship with it. Is this all part of a long game for Elon Musk's attempts to improve all of our mental health? No, it definitely isn't. But I genuinely think there's something fundamentally unhealthy about all of it." Kumar stressed that Canadian Naomi Klein's book "Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World" has "rewired" his brain in terms of engaging more critically with how he conducts himself on social media platforms, and more "empathetic" to "victims of these algorithms," while angrier about the perpetrators. ADVERTISEMENT "There's this illusion that's been created that we've got a lot of critical thinking applied to what we would call legacy media, or mainstream media," Kumar said. "And that's good and healthy. And we should have been considering who the gatekeepers were the whole time. ... However, there is a flip side to it, which is we have lost the ability to realize that there are gatekeepers to the internet, and you'll see people say, 'Well, you've got to question everything' and then repost something about, for example, the COVID vaccine that they've engaged absolutely no critical thought to at all." "There's this idea that social media platforms are purely democratic and if something is blowing up on social media it's just a pure exercise of democracy. And again, that doesn't really take into account the algorithms that govern these websites, and the fact that it's not necessarily qualitative, it's just that you've done something that games the algorithm in a particular way." From his evaluation of politics, societal structures and beyond, Kumar continues to be one of the best and essential voices in stand-up comedy. Nish Kumar has shows on July 23 and July 25 at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal
