Ziwe Fumudoh

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Ziwe
Born
Ziwerekoru Fumudoh

(1992-02-27) February 27, 1992 (age 29)
NationalityAmerican
EducationPhillips Academy
Alma materNorthwestern University
Occupation
  • Comedian
  • writer
Years active2017–present
Websitegenerationziwe.com

Ziwerekoru "Ziwe" Fumudoh[1] (born February 27, 1992) is an American comedian and writer known for her satiric commentary on politics, race relations and young adulthood.[2][3] She created the comedy show Baited with Ziwe, is a writer on Desus and Mero,[4] and co-hosts the Hysteria podcast from Crooked Media.[5] Fumudoh stars in and executive produces the Showtime variety series Ziwe, which premiered in May 2021.[6][7]

Early life and education[]

Fumudoh grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the second of three children to parents who emigrated from Nigeria to the U.S. after living through a civil war there.[3][8][9][10]

In 2010, Fumudoh graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.[1][11] In 2014, she graduated from Northwestern University with a double major in radio, television, and film and African American studies, with a minor in creative writing: poetry.[3][12][13]

Career[]

Fumudoh was a summer intern at Comedy Central in her junior year of college, working on shows including The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.[11][14] During her senior year of college, she summer-interned as a writer for The Onion and took improv classes at the iO improv theater.[15] After graduation she started working as a screenwriter on The Rundown with Robin Thede.[4][14][15]

In 2017, Fumudoh created Baited with Ziwe, a show on YouTube that originally featured some of her non-Black friends whom she baits into making unwitting racial faux pas.[4] It was an edited show including effects that highlighted when someone was "baited", first produced through her work at Lorne Michaels's Above Average Productions.[8] During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Fumudoh moved the show from YouTube to Instagram Live with new guests each week.[16] The new version had no effects, and the featured guests were increasingly notable, including Caroline Calloway, Alison Roman, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan.[17] Fumudoh asked guests direct questions, such as "What do you qualitatively like about Black people?" and famously asked Roman to name five Asian people, which she was unable to do. Fumudoh said she wasn't trying to get anyone canceled, but that her show's goal was to have a good discussion about race while entertaining people, and to critique the system, not individuals.[5][18] She typically started each show by announcing, "this is a comedy show".[19]

Fumudoh appeared monthly in Pop Show, a show she created at Brooklyn's Union Hall in which she performed original pop songs.[14][20][21]

Fumudoh has written jokes for Stephen Colbert.[4][14] She has written and contributed to The Onion since December 2013. She is both a features and video contributor.[22]

Since 2019, Fumudoh has been a writer on the TV show Desus and Mero.[23][24] A Forbes reviewer wrote that she had the "confidence of an old comedy pro".[14]

Fumudoh co-hosted Hysteria, a podcast from Crooked Media.[5]

In 2019, Fumudoh joined the cast of Our Cartoon President as the voice of Kamala Harris. She also wrote the season 3 episode "Senate Control".[citation needed]

In August 2020, it was announced that Fumudoh was writing a book, The Book of Ziwe, a collection of humorous essays, for Abrams Books with a release date of January 2022.[25]

In October 2020, it was announced that Fumudoh would be working with Showtime on a new variety show, Ziwe.[26] The six-episode series features musical numbers, interviews with guest stars, including Gloria Steinem and Andrew Yang, as well as sketches. In addition to hosting the eponymous show, Fumudoh also writes and produces.[27] The show is notable for its colorful sets, musical numbers, and highly accessorized, wild costumes, on which Fumudoh collaborated with costume designer Pamela Shepard-Hill.[6]

Fumudoh has worked as a writer for publications including The Riveter Magazine, Reductress, The Daily Dot,[28] Into The Gloss—where she wrote a column called "Operation Goo Goo Gah Gah"[29]Vulture[30]—where she wrote TV recaps—and The New Yorker.

Filmography[]

  • 2017: Baited with Ziwe (TV Series) – Writer, Actor
  • 2017-2018: The Rundown with Robin Thede (TV Series) – Writer (7 episodes)
  • 2018–present: Desus & Mero (TV Series) – Writer (66 episodes)
  • 2019-2020: Our Cartoon President (TV Series) – Writer, Voice of Kamala Harris, Hollywood Hotshots, various cast
  • 2020–present: Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News (TV Series) – Actor
  • Ziwe: A Race Baiting Series (TV series) on YouTube – season 2 of Baited, reimagined
  • 2021: Ziwe (TV Series) – Producer, Creator, Writer, Actor

Discography[]

  • 2020: Generation Ziwe EP[15]

Writing[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Supporting Engaged Scholarship". Andover, The Magazine of Phillips Academy. Winter 2010.
  2. ^ Jennings, Jackie (14 December 2018). "WATCH: How Ariana Grande's 'Thank U, Next' is like the MCU". SCI FI Wire.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Yap, Audrey Cleo (14 July 2020). "Ziwe Wants to Be 'the Ellen DeGeneres of Race Relations'". Variety.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Hawgood, Alex (15 March 2019). "Ziwe Fumudoh Uses Humor to Push Racial Buttons". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Desta, Yohana (24 June 2020). "Ziwe Fumudoh Has Mastered the Art of Putting White People on the Spot". Vanity Fair.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Testa, Jessica (13 May 2021). "That 'Ziwe' Look". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Wheeler, André (3 May 2021). "Ziwe Puts the Met in the Hot Seat". The New Yorker.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Blake, Meredith (6 May 2021). "Ziwe is here to revolutionize late night. Even better if it makes you uncomfortable". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Kilbane, Brennan (1 September 2020). "How Ziwe Fumudoh Gets Ready for Each Episode of 'Baited'". Allure.
  10. ^ Sullivan, James (12 May 2021). "Ziwe brings a satirical edge — and queries about race — to her new Showtime series". The Boston Globe.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Fumudoh, Ziwe (30 October 2019). "Ziwe And The Skincare You Buy After The Derm Reads You 'For Filth'". Into The Gloss.
  12. ^ Misulonas, Joseph; Lenhoff, Caryn (22 January 2013). "Meet The Daily's winter columnists". The Daily Northwestern.
  13. ^ "Ziwe Fumudoh '14". Recent Alumni Newsletter Archive, Northwestern Alumni. 2020.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Escandon, Rosa (31 October 2018). "26-Year-Old Ziwe Fumudoh Has The Confidence Of An Old Comedy Pro". Forbes.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c Milliken, Clare (29 September 2020). "An Artist First: Ziwe Fumudoh starts uncomfortable conversations with comedy". Northwestern Magazine.
  16. ^ Jung, E. Alex (16 July 2020). "Who's Afraid of Ziwe Fumudoh?". Vulture.
  17. ^ Berkowitz, Joe (2 July 2020). "The best show on TV is Ziwe Fumudoh's hilariously uncomfortable Instagram Live show". Fast Company.
  18. ^ Garcia, Sandra E. (9 July 2020). "Ziwe Fumudoh Asks: 'How Many Black People Do You Know?'". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Murphy, Chris (28 August 2020). "Ziwe's Instagram Live Show: 'An Incredible Leader'". Vulture.
  20. ^ Pilat, Kasia (9 August 2018). "5 Comedy Shows to Catch in N.Y.C. This Weekend". The New York Times.
  21. ^ Zinoman, Jason (31 January 2019). "Instead of Killer Punchlines, Killer Choruses". The New York Times.
  22. ^ "About The Onion". The Onion. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  23. ^ McKenzie, Joi-Marie (14 March 2019). "'Desus & Mero's' Secret Weapons Are Two Black Women Writers". Essence.
  24. ^ Smith, Mariah (5 February 2020). "Desus and Mero Writer Ziwe Fumudoh Plays the Race Card for Laughs". W Magazine.
  25. ^ Wright, Megh (12 August 2020). "Ziwe Fumudoh to Bait You With a Book of Essays". Vulture.
  26. ^ O'Connell, Mikey (21 October 2020). "Ziwe Fumudoh Getting Her Own Variety Show at Showtime". The Hollywood Reporter.
  27. ^ Greene, Steve (23 February 2021). "'Ziwe': Showtime Sets Premiere Date for New Variety Series". IndieWire.
  28. ^ "Articles by Ziwe Fumudoh". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Ziwe Fumudoh, Columnist at Into The Gloss". Into The Gloss. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Ziwe Fumudoh Author Archive". Vulture. Retrieved 15 May 2021.

External links[]

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