02x08 - Democracy

[bunniefuu]

patriotic music

Every election is a facelift for the country,

and babe, we're lookin' botched.

I mean "snatched."

Sure, some cities don't have water,

but let's talk about the ones that do!

I don't let myself get discouraged,

which is why I bring this quote with me whenever I enter the

voting booth.

I think that, to be very honest with you,

I
-
- I do believe that we...

should have rightly believed but we certainly believed that

certain issues are just settled.

Certain issues are just settled.

And that's why I do believe that we are living,

sadly, in, um, real unsettled...times.

Iconic words from Vice President Kamala Harris.

[eagle caws]

People say that democracy isn't cool,

but then how do you explain why there are so many long lines at

the polls, idiot?!

[sighs] Don't fight me on this because,

in the words of activist Kandi Burruss,

"I am not Michelle Obama.

You go low, I'm goin' low wit cha!"

U
-S
-A: where sparklers are legal, despite the danger.

Tonight, I'll be joined by Bob the Drag Queen.

Democrats are pass
-around party bottoms.

And DeRay Mckesson.

There is no America without Black people.

U
-S
-A!

U
-S
-A!

Oh, no!

Ziwe starts now!

cool theme music

My guest tonight is an iconic drag queen,

comedian, and activist who believes in the power of

democracy.

Show them what democracy looks like!

[Ziwe VO] He was arrested while exercising his First Amendment

right.

All equality!

[Ziwe VO] His HBO travel show, We're Here,

reveals his true pro
-America agenda.

Please welcome Bob the Drag Queen!

Ah!


-"Yankee Doodle"
-Ah.

My little wave to the world.


-How are you?!
-Hello, thank you for coming!

I'm beyond excited.

I'm beyond excited.

What's beyond excited?

What's the next level?

Um, titillated.

I'm very excited to titillate you.

I'll tittle you!

No, let's just hop into this interview,

because I have a lot of questions for you about...

democracy.


-I love democracy.
-[Ziwe] You do?


-We stan.
-We stan democracy?

Oh, we stan democracy.

Okay, [bleep], marry, k*ll: legislative branch,

executive branch, judicial branch?

Are we talking, like, ?!

Why would you take it [laughing] to ?

There was a hot person in office in .

Barack Obama?

Yes, of all the people who've been in office since I've been

alive, he's the #.

And that's Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton,

Obama...

What year do you think I was born?

?

What year were you born?!

I was born in 'cause I'm .

So you don't think we're the same age.

[guffawing] Wow!

I'm shook.

You
-
- you were actually really close,

and I'm hurt by that.

Where were you January th, ?

Funny you should ask...

because you'll notice I went dark on social media that day,

and my GPS was turned off,

and I do have a very long CVS receipt

for one tube of ChapStick that was purchased on the Upper West

Side of Manhattan that is the only evidence of where I was.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

patriotic music

How would you rate the Great American Experiment on a scale

of "sashay" to "slay?"


-Oh, this whole country?
-Yeah!

America!

In the main challenge, you really let freedom ring.

But on the runway...

you were not shining from sea to shining sea.

I'm sorry, my dear, but you are up for elimination.

That was my RuPaul.

Not as good as my Obama but...

Okay, well, do
-
- do the Barack Obama.

Thank you!

Was that
-
- it's like pulling teeth around here!

Ugh. [clears throat]

[Obama voice] Uh...America, uh...

I, uh, was talking to Michelle, and, uh...

she was, uh, telling me, uh, that...

it is time to show up for each other!

[regular voice] Are you gonna acknowledge that was good?

Yes.

I need you to acknowledge that that was a very good Barack

Obama.

I'm saying it's good!

What
-
- how much validation do you need?

Uh, maybe just one more.

It was good.

That's the same one! [laughs]

On an episode of Billboard Pride's 'Spillin' the Tea,'

you said, "All white people are r*cist."

Just to show America you're not biased,

could you make a sweeping generalization about Black

people?

All Black people in America...

um, have probably, um...

tense music

been at the receiving end of some form of white supremacy

ideology.

Wow, and can you make a generalization about Latinos?

I'm gonna pass on that one.

Asians?

Pass on that one too.

Indigenous people?

Oh, I
-
- mm, pass on that one too.

Interesting that you didn't say they were subject to racism as

well.

[inhales sharply] Cancelled.

You didn't even ask for my pronouns when I sat down!

I read them!

They're she/her and also he/him.

Well, I updated them this morning.

Oh, what are they now?

Just reversed; now he/him and she/her.

Could you tell them that we'll be right back after the break?

[Obama voice] Uh...America, uh, we will be right back,

uh, after this short break!

[Ziwe VO] Next on Ziwe...

Do you want me to explain fisting?

You just kinda cram it.

chimes

[man VO] From the majestic heights of the Rocky Mountains

to the awe
-inspiring depths of the Grand Canyon,

America is definitely not in the grips on an ethnocentric

backlash against the historically disenfranchised,

all because a couple of brokeys didn't want to pay taxes to

Britain.

Across her wide
-open prairies roam the steady winds of freedom


-
- the kind of feel
-good metaphor that lets you know

America is the real deal, with real judicial appointments that

are built to last like a big old truck,

a truck that makes laws that are balanced and fair.


-[women] No justice!
-[crowd] No peace!

[man VO] Whether gazing up at the starry skies of the country

or the twinkling lights of the city,

America knows how to dream big...

and incarcerate big, because people deserve it.

Bad Americans: jailed.

Good Americans: free.

A nation where every politician is definitely effective and

definitely gets things done

and is definitely not too old
-
- because that would be ageist
-
-

and a Congress that definitely wants to do anything,


-anything at all.
-[Senator Johnson] I
-
- I object.

[man VO] Whether breaking a new record for speed...


-[overlapping shouting]
-endurance...

[overlapping shouting]


-or strength...
-[crowd] U
-S
-A! U
-S
-A!

[man VO] America celebrates its champions...


-Roman Polanski.
-[cheers and applause]

[man VO] And is ready to celebrate you.

America: the only country that is big and strong.

Plan your visit today at usausausa.baby.me.

exciting strings

If you could give a shout
-out to some of your favorite Black

female politicians...

Can I tell you one of my
-
- a moment that really rocked my

world before I give a shout
-out?


-[Ziwe] What?
-[sighs]

When you're Black...

and you're
-
- you're kinda raised to root for everyone Black,

so you kind of just do it blindly.

Yes.

Without even considering what they're up to.

Got it.

And when I was younger, I really was, like,

very inspired by Condoleeza Rice.

[Ziwe] Oh, got it! Yes.

And then I got older, and I was like,

"Oh, she w
-
- oh!

Oh..."

Think about the things that woman had to overcome.

Her name was "Condolisa Ri
-
-" Is it "Condoleeza?"

"Condoleeza Rice."


-"Condoleeza."
-Yeah.

It's kind of an amazing name.

And it's like, when you have a name like "Oprah" or

"Condoleeza," you have to make it big.

And to be clear, when you say "A name like 'Oprah'..."

A name that, like, white people would be like,

"What's with that name?"

Like "Condoleeza."

Like a Black
-
- she has a
-
- it's a old Black country name.

It is?

What is the last
-year
-old white girl you met named


-"Condoleeza?"
-[ding]

[Ziwe] Wow.

But anyway, I was inspired by her as a kid,

and as I got older, I started to be like,

"Oh, no, she's kinda...

[bleep]ed."

But Stacey Abrams.

What's wild about Stacey Abrams is, like,

there's so much expectation of Black women to,

like, kind of save the day in politics,

so, I mean, you famously once said,

quote, "You can always rely on progress from Black women."

Mm
-hm.

So what issues are you currently waiting for Black

women to fix?

Um, I
-
- I don't know that I'm waiting for Black women to fix

things, but when they do, you know,

I'm like...

they
-
- they kinda do their own thing.

I'm
-
- I'm not like, you know...

getting Black women to do certain things.

I need you to acknowledge that that was a very good Barack

Obama.

[slow
-mo] It was good.

But I think that Black women will shock us in the future with

what they've fixed.

We won't even
-
- sometimes there are,

you know, different factions of people working their own things

in their own time.

So do you think that if Stacey Abrams takes a day off,

democracy will die?

Well, what day is it?

On a Tuesday.

Which season?

Fall.

Death of democracy.

Wow!

You've claimed Harriet Tubman was the first Black superhero.

Yes!

Who would win in a fight: Harriet Tubman or Spiderman.

Um, I'm gonna go with Harriet Tubman.

How would she beat Spiderman's a*s?


-Well, she has a g*n.
-[g*nsh*t]

[crew laughter]

And is this the Tom Holland version or the...


-Tobey Maguire?
-That twink?

[scoffs] Oh, she would ruin.

Tom Hollands is lbs soaking wet with rain boots on.

Harriet Tubman is a scout for the US military.

The cardio on this woman?

From below the Mason Dixie to Canada times?!

Also, those g*ns back in the day,

it wasn't, like, a little b*llet.

It would wreck your whole sh*t!

Closed casket!

[slam]

And your impression of Harriet Tubman sh**ting Spiderman to

camera?

Watch out, Spidan[bleep]!

exciting cinematic music

[Ziwe VO] Next on Ziwe...

Hi, are you Team Oligarchy?

Or Team De
-mocracy? [chuckles]

chimes

"The Star
-Spangled Banner" hip
-hop beat

chimes

Famously, you once said, quote, that you thought about possibly

running for office.

N
-
- [laughs] no, I n
-
- [laughs]

Yeah, you did!

Bob, would you run for office one day?

Maybe down the line when I've had enough,

I will.

No, I'm
-
- I'm not cut out for politics.

I don't have what it takes.

What does it take?

I think it takes, um, one, a level of servitude that I don't

have; I'm not very subservient.

I'm a dom top.

Maybe down the line

Down the, down the, down the line

Most politicians, are they power bottoms or are they dom

tops?

Republicans or Democrats?

'Cause the Green Party, they're fisting bottoms.


-They're nasty.
-Wow!

Oh, the Green Party?

You don't wanna [bleep] with them.

What does that even mean?

Fisting?


-It's when you take your hand
-
-
-No, I
-
- oh, gosh.

Oh, okay, sorry.

Do you want me to explain fisting?

With consent, can I explain it to you?

In relation to politics.

Fisting is when you take a ballot and you put it in the

box, so you kind of have to crunch up the ballot like this

so that it can fit in there, and then you just kinda cram it.

And the Republicans?

Um, they're
-
- they're kind of, um.

lazy tops.

Democrats?

Democrats are pass
-around party bottoms.

Oh, wow!

Yeah.

Do you need me to describe what a pass
-around party bottom is?

For the record, yes, please, to your camera.


-It's when you pick a bottom...
-[Ziwe] Yes.

And you pass 'em around at a party.

Yes.

Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Being a Democrat?

"The Star
-Spangled Banner"

[Ziwe VO] Next on Ziwe...

[laughing] This...is...rigged!

Rigged!

chimes

Nice country you got there.

Would be a shame if something happened to it.

Donate now and I'll see what I can do.

chimes

exciting strings

It's time to play Mobilize the Vote.

Could you sing the jingle?

Mobilize the vote

Mobilize that mutha[bleep]in' voooote...

N[bleep].

I thought you were gonna say it with me.

Can I say n[bleep] on this show?

Yeah.

Can you say it with me, though?

No.

Someone is going to spin the wheel.

Based on where it lands, you will have to inspire that group

to rock the vote by picking something out of the Bag of


-Tricks.
-[Bob] Got it.

Let's begin!

Richard Nixon?

[Bob] Oh, God.

Wow!

That's...really...

bubonic plague!

[Bob] It's a little dark.

[Ziwe] Perfect for the times.

Great, spin the wheel!

patriotic music

Ratata
-tatata
-tatata.

[Ziwe] LGBTQ+.

Uh, "Plug their favorite beer."

Lesbians, I'm talkin' to you!

So listen, Edna!

I'm gonna need you to put down the Pabst Blue Ribbon,

call your twink cousin, let him know...

we're votin' this November.

Spin again.

patriotic music

Oh, this is your people!

The way you come on my show to insult me...

[long beep]

Spin again.

patriotic music

Your people.

[laughs]

[shrieking laugh]

Wow, Nene!

Wow!

"Blank is on the ballot."

Elders.

I'm sorry to interrupt you from watching the news,

which you love to do, or from doing sudoku.

Now, I know that as you...mature,

um, getting to live becomes much more expensive.

And let's just say medication...

is on the ballot.

That sounds like a threat.

eerie tone

chimes

Democracy works if you work it, pledge.

So let's play Electoral College.

Jingle me!

All right, here we go.

Uh, Electoral College

Bi
-di di di

[Ziwe] All you have to do is take a ping pong ball and toss

it into a cup.

That will be your vote.

Hey!

Because you did it wrong, the Scantron was messed up.

[buzzer]

Your vote didn't count because you didn't have a witness when

you signed.


-[buzzer]
-Yikes.

Okay, here we go.

Sorry, the polling site is closed.

[laughs] Oh my God!

Okay, woo!

Ayyy!

g*ng g*ng g*ng!

Sorry, that one doesn't count!

Well, why doesn't that one count?

Because we lost your votes in the mail.


-[buzzer]
-Wow!

That's the show! [laughs]

Let me vote as a white guy.

Oh my God!

[overlapping dings]

exciting music

This just in: Local Man Does Horrific Thing with Horrific

Weapon.

For more on this story, my co
-anchor Ike.

Thank you, Ziwe.

Sources say he got said horrific weapon from Horrific Weapons

Store.

Local politicians are shocked to learn that,

based on their inaction, everything played out to its

logical conclusion.

Ike?

More after we find out the perpetrator's race and gender.

Ziwe?

White and male.

Back to you, Ike.

And now, a word from our sponsors.

The only way we're able to bring you this in
-depth coverage is

because of the generous support of the horrific weapon's parent

company.

uplifting jovial music

If! Only! Somebody! Could!

Tell me! Why! This! Keeps! Happening!

The million! Dollar! Question!

I'd be a rich woman if I knew the answer.

Breaking news...

Actually, no breaking news at the moment.

I, uh...

Well, uh...

It's just that these events keep happening so quickly one after

the other that I, uh...

Well, you know, the first thing I feel after I peeled back the

layer of numbness is an anger,

followed with hints of a sad helplessness.

somber pensive music

This just in: meet the doctors that are required to sing!

Is the best medicine music?!

Do
-re
-mi
-fa
-so
-la
-ti cured!

exciting music

Welcome to Democracy: The Game Show!

exciting game show music

Where the rules were made up a very long time ago,

and you have to not question them at all.

Guess what
-
- this game is not rigged,

just like democracy!

Let's play.

Please welcome the contestants!

Are you ready for democracy?!

[Ziwe VO] Contestant # is Elizabeth,

a schoolteacher from New Jersey.

Are you ready for democracy?!

And then do a
-
- can you krump?

Like, "Are you ready?!"

"The Star
-Spangled Banner" hip
-hop beat

Contestant # is Mark, a guy in New York City.

Are you ready for democracy?!

Before we officially play the game,

I need you to prove that you're American citizens.

The person with the most identity wins.

Show me your identification.

Licenses!

Voter registration!

You knew this was about democracy!


-Credit card...
-[Ziwe] Wow!

Um...teacher ID...

Okay, teacher ID!

Union shout
-outs!

Come on, Mark.

Voter ID...

Do you always travel with your voter ID?

Yeah, I keep it right under my ID.


-The voter ID card wins.
-[ding]

That's one point, but Elizabeth, I think teachers are our best

laborers, so a point for you, too.


-Thank you.
-[ding]

Now, let's play a game; it's called Lesser of Two Evils.

I'll tell you about two candidates,

and I'll need you to run to the lesser of two evils and tag

them with your I Voted sticker.

Now, Candidate A is a sex offender,

and Candidate B is a milder sex offender.

So who are you gonna vote for?

[sighs]

We have to choose, right?

Or you don't vote.

Lesser of two evils!


-[ding] [ding]
-Wow, I love that for us.

Candidate A is a g*y pro
-life Democrat and Candidate B is a

Black Republican.

[Mark] I can't go pro
-life.

[ding]

[Ziwe] Oh, Herschel Walker.

[Elizabeth] I'm just gonna close my eyes.

[ding]

[Ziwe] Candidate A is years old,

Candidate B is a woman.

Okay, we're pro
-woman; I love that vibe.

[ding]

Okay, Candidate A lied about being Black,

Candidate B thinks Black people lie.

I'm gonna sit this one out.

You're gonna
-
- you're not gonna vote in this election?!

I'm choosing between the lesser of two evils.

I
-
- I don't think either of them is less,

but I also don't want to not exercise my right to vote,

so my gut instinct is to sit out.

exciting game show music

[buzzer]

[Ziwe] The next round is called Where are Your Morals?

Stand up against what you hate in politics.

What do you guys hate?

What do I hate?


-Yes, hurry!
-[Mark] Okay, oh, geez.


-Well, I hate ConEd.
-[ding]

They're awful.


-Not a fan of cops.
-[ding]

Wow!

I hate racism, I hate inequality,

I hate liars.

Now, here's a question for you: this could be full with money.

[cash register ding]

So I wanna know how much cash would it take for you to drop

your morals.

$?

No.

$,?

No.

$ million.

[softly] Yeah.


-$ million?
-Yeah.

Please say "I love Con Edison."

Con Edison is just fine.

[dramatic thud]

[Ziwe] It's time to dab your way into America's heart by

doing a little dance, just like your political heroes have done.

Whoever's my favorite wins.

Hit it!


-For democracy?
-Dab for democracy!

Dab for
-
- isn't that
-
- isn't this
-
-

Dab!

Isn't this, like...

Dab!

"The Star
-Spangled Banner"

[dinging]

[Ziwe] In this next game, you'll sing a song to win the

Black vote.

It's called "The Black National Anthem."

Do you guys know that?

I hardly know the words to the
-
- the white national anthem.

[eagle caw]

The white national...?


-[buzzer]
-[dramatic thud]

Hit it!

"Lift Every Voice and Sing"

Lift every voice and sing

Sing!

I just
-
-

Can I sing this as a white woman?!


-Is this a trap?
-It doesn't...

Is capitalism a trap?


-[softly] Little bit.
-Mm...

Are the major tenets of our government a trap?

Is democracy a trap?

No!

Then no, this is not a trap.


-[buzzer]
-[dramatic thuds]

This is called Stay in Line, to vote!

This money in your hands is your life savings,

so hold onto it as long as possible while standing on one

foot or you lose your vote.

Okay, stay in line!

Work!

Go back to work!

Wooooork!

Wooooork!

Voting!

Voting!

Oh, you dropped your money!

[landslide]


-[buzzer]
-Final: beat The Essay Contest!

Explain why democracy is great, but don't be boring!

If you're boring, I get to ring my little bell.

[bell rings]

For whom the bell tolls!

Democracy's great 'cause it's, uh...

the actual government that is for the peop
-
- [bell rings]

Elizabeth?!

Democracy is about voting, and voting is about using your


-voice.
-[bell rings]

I'm ringing that bell positively.

And that's The Democracy Game Show!

triumphant music


-You both lost.
-[dramatic thud]

chimes

I don't believe in free speech.

It's going to cost you to hear my voice.

chimes

My next guest is a Civil Rights activist and podcaster,

whose work first became highly visible during the Ferguson


-protests.
-[crowd] Black lives matter!

The police k*lling people has to stop.

patriotic music

[Ziwe VO] From police reform campaigns to a well
-funded

Baltimore mayoral race,

to his iconic blue Patagonia vest,

he is one of the most online political figures working

today.

DeRay Mckesson!




-Thank you.
-[applause]

That's so fun.

I love your Blackness and mine!

I love you in this vest.

A cut
-off vest is great.

Thank you, I had to keep it a little slutty.

elegant music

[laughs]

I love that you have a vest!

I love that you have a vest!

What's a more iconic look, the Black Panther beret or a DeRay

vest?

The beret.

But I love a good vest!

You know, I
-
- I've had the vest for a long time.

Is it the same vest every single time?

Same vest.

When it rips, Patagonia will fix it for me.

[Ziwe] And do you wash it?

I do; it takes a long time 'cause you have to dry it with

tennis ba*ls [chuckling] so that the down doesn't clump.

Or I can actually ask Patagonia to help me wash it.

Okay, Patagonia flex!

I don't have a deal with them.

Do you need an agent?

What's stopping you from getting a deal?

What's a deal like with Patagonia?

It
-
- it would be cool to do a line of acti
-vests.

Get it?

"Acti
-vests?"

Isn't that cool?

Do you agree with the following statements?

Oh, God...

[Ziwe] Please repeat after me if you do.

Here we go.

"I love the United States of America."


-I...love Black people.
-[ding]

"I love the government."

[ding]

"I have nothing but admiration and respect for the troops,

who lay down their lives each day to protect our country."

If the troops are Black people, then absolutely.


-[ding]
-[Ziwe] Got it.

So you only support Black troops?

Uh, I support Black people.

Black people made this, you know?

There is no America without Black people.

Tea!

Boom.

Where were you January th?

Watching white people run up on the Capitol and the police do

nothing.

January th is so fascinating because if Black people had done

that, as you know, they'd have shot at
-
- the police there

would have shot everybody.

Oh my gosh!

They did more to us when all we had was cell phones.

Mm.

Those people
-
- I will never forget that man putting his feet

on Nancy Pelosi's desk.

That is wild.

I would never storm the Capitol,

but other people are a little more radical.

Now DeRay, I remember very vividly the Ferguson uprising.

Why would you say that you are sort of a face of this movement?

I think that my tweets resonated with people,

and I hoped that they were able to use them to mobilize across

the country, but I'm
-
- I
-
- I sit here as, like,

one of many people who stood in the street in ,

and I'm of that.

You stand on the forefathers of people like Jack,

for example.


-Jack?
-Jack, Twitter man.

Oh, Twitter, uh, ah
-
- [chuckles]

Well, if I stand on the shoulders of Jack in terms of

protests, but I consider Jack a friend.


-[Ziwe] Oh, you do?
-Yeah.

Flex!

I mean... [chuckles]

Are you in favor of Elon Musk's buying Twitter?

No.

You don't support African
-American

entrepreneurship?

[laughs]

If you had to estimate, how many watch lists do you think

you're on?

Today?

I don't know, not a lot, hopefully.

But back then, it was a lot.

For those watching at home, I have no association with this

man whatsoever.

And the FBI
-
- I will tell you, I'll never forget,

I was somewhere, um, where Miss Tina was and I had
-
- the FBI had

just come to my house, and I tweeted about it,

and she just, like
-
- you know, people were, like,

nervous about being around me,

and I was like, "I didn't
-
- I didn't do anything!

The FBI just stopped by."

And what did Miss Tina
-
- what does she have to do with this

story?

There were, like, a set of people who, like,

didn't wanna be too close to me that day...

[Ziwe] Got it.

That was just a Beyonce flex, it's okay.


-[DeRay] It was a
-
-
-Just admit it.


-Ah...
-Admit it, admit it!

Oh God, no, it
-
- that was true.

Shout
-out to Beyonce, though!

We love Beyonce.

And she follows you.

And she follows me.

And she follows me.

In the past, you've said that having a seat at the table

doesn't matter as much as people think it does.

But why is this photo of you sitting at a table featured on

your website?

So that was a important moment; that was a intergenerational

meeting of Civil Rights leaders with President Obama.

I said to him, I'm like, "Obama, you can't call people 'th*gs!'"

He had just called the Baltimore protestors "th*gs."

And he looked at me and he was like,

"DeRay, you said things on TV you shouldn't say either."

And I was like...

"But I'm not the president."

And he was like, "You're right."

And I was like, "Thank you, President Obama."

Your boy Obama.

You once tweeted, "Protesters are the entrepreneurs of

American democracy."

Did I tweet that?!


-You tweeted that.
-When?!

How much money should they make?


-Did I tweet that?!
-You tweeted that!

I think people should be p
-
- social justice work is work.

How much do you make?

Our tax forms are public.

[Ziwe] Hm.


-They're on there.
-[ding]

Got it.

Next on Ziwe...

Did you know that when you were being tear
-gassed,

that you were going to get a guest spot in 'Being Mary Jane?'

No!

chimes

I put the "racy" in "democracy."

chimes

exciting strings

Your interview with Katy Perry stoked a lot of criticism for

being a publicity stunt.

Why are you sighing?

Okay, w
-
- what?

What about Katy?

Can I even show you the question?

It says "How did you book her?"


-Zoom in on that!
-[laughs]

[Ziwe] How dare you interrupt me?

I actually think it's rude to come on someone's show and be

surprised they're gonna ask about the things you did in the

past!

Katy is my friend.

Uh, I am on the board of Katy's foundation,

The Firework Foundation, and we run a summer camp,

and Katy and I are both camp counselors at the summer camp.

We have one coming up in September.

You are camp counselors at the summer camp?!

Yeah, Katy's like a legitimate counselor;

she's not like a just...there hanging out.

And what do you and Katy Perry do at this camp?

We're not the only counselors.

There's, like, a whole set of counselors.

Well, I don't mean it in a creepy way,

I mean what do you and the multiple counselors
-
- plus the

very
-famous celebrity Katy Perry
-
- do at the camp?

We've done go
-kart, we do
-
- they design a shoe for Katy

Perry's collection...

Are you and Katy Perry involved in a content farm?

[laughs]

No, they're middle
-schoolers!

You know, any way that I can help make a difference,

sign me up!

Do you have a board
-
- are you a foundation?

Can I be on the board?

You love a board, chile!

[laughs]

You go to exclusive fashion events sometimes,

like this Gucci Hamptons party.

Are you there to canvass?

Uh, I'm on the Gucci Changemakers council.

Well, how many councils are you on?!

[laughs]

I am; I'm on the board of Rock the Vote,

Katy's board, uh, Gucci Changemakers.

I think those are the only...

boards I'm on, besides our board.

I love boards as well.

What inspired your decision to run for mayor of Baltimore?

Was it a lust for power or to take a job away from a Black


-woman?
-Ah!

Well, let's be clear, you know
-
-

Could you do that scream again?

It wa
-
- [laughs]

It was the right decision, and that woman who won ended up in

jail for fraud.

But running for mayor was an acknowledgement that the people

who were running...

were not the bee's knees and that, like,

I could do a better job than that.

Speaking of platforms, um, your photograph is hanging at the

National Portrait Gallery.

Can you name five Black female activists you'd probably taken

the spot of?

I wanna believe that there is room for all of us,

uh, but I think that there needs to be a portrait of Diane Nash,

who is an incredible leader of the Freedom Riders;

Fannie Lou Hamer, obviously;

Bell Hooks, right?

Rest in Peace.

Septima Clark, and...

I think Coretta doesn't get enough...

Coretta Scott King.

Coretta doesn't get enough sort of praise as an organizer


-herself
-
-
-[Ziwe] Mm.

As an activist herself.

Okay, can I ask you some questions about Can't Wait?

Yes.

Can't Wait worked!

It was one of the most successful
-
-

[Ziwe] It worked?!


-Yeah!
-[Ziwe] Really?!

It's the single biggest reduction to the power of police

in American history.

[Ziwe] So Can't Wait and Campaign Zero.

There's in
-fighting, there's alleged accusations being thrown

around.

So are you a messy [bleep] that lives for drama?

[laughs]

Um...

No, you know, here's the thing:

some people don't love me or the work that we do or people

on our team or our approach, right?

[Ziwe] Mm.

And the goal wasn't to be popular,

the goal was to figure out how to do right by Black people and


-community...
-[Ziwe] Mm.

And every single day, I'm confident that we do that.

Would you say that you're the living embodiment of a corporate

release statement?

No, we break the law all the time!

Oh my gosh, why would you say that on camera?!

[laughs]

You've been critical of fellow activist...

Shaun King for mishandling funds.

Okay.

Do you think it's generally a good idea to be skeptical of

people who rise to fame through activism?

Y
-
- yeah, I think that
-
- I think that celebrity corrodes


-almost all things, right?
-Mm!

Uh, and I
-
- when I think about the platform I have,

I think about it as a tool, not a goal.

Often, being in places allows me to say the thing to the people

or get close to the people so I can ask them about this or

"Can you do the law?"

or "Can you
-
- can we have a meeting about this?"


-Those sort of things.
-Mm.

Uh, but the moment that fame or visibility becomes the goal,

I've just seen it ruin people; I've seen it...

What?

Every guest has a nugget that they wanna share on the show.

The nugget is that we can win, you know?

I think about the
-
- the wave of protests
-
- ,

, all these people in the street
-
- and the thing that I

take away from it is that, like, we can actually change this.

I'm a believer in democracy.

Do you have anything to ask me before we go for the rest of our

lives?


-Yes.
-What?

Did you vote for Eric Adams?

The only politician that I will stand up for every single day is

Andrew Yang.

Andrew Yang

[both in unison] What's not to like?

And that's our show.

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