Well, well, well, would you look at that? One week after inciting a violent riot at the Capitol, Donald Trump made history becoming the only president to ever be impeached twice. Congrats, Donald, you really earned that one. Late-night television was gifted this last little crumb of drama to dunk on Trump with as it transitions from the Trump era to the Biden years, and it seems that change is in the air. NBC’s A Little Late With Lilly Singh returned this week for the first time since the pandemic began, with a brand-new writer’s room and a revamped quarantine aesthetic. Let’s see which late-night clips stood out in this, Trump’s last full week as president.
5. Aubrey Plaza Spills the Tea on The Late Show
Everyone loves a good bit of (fake) gossip, and Stephen Colbert is no exception. This week, Late Show aired a previously taped segment in which queer icon Aubrey Plaza spilled the proverbial tea on her former co-stars called “Tea at the Plaza,†of course. Plaza, armed with a cup of tea (love to see an actor using her own props), started dishing on past costars like Amy Poehler, Zac Efron, and Robert De Niro, joyously spreading absurd and fake rumors about them. The tea on Poehler? “She sleeps with a Justin Bieber doll in between her legs every night,†Plaza said, adding “What a creep†for good measure. Plaza continued by noting that Zac Efron has “the smallest teeth [she’s] ever seen,†which will fall out of his mouth and down your throat if you ever are so lucky as to film a kissing scene with him. And De Niro apparently likes to dress up as a mailman and deliver mail even though “he’s not qualified to do that.†Plaza’s pit stop on The Late Show served as a nice reminder that while Colbert has carved out a niche for himself as one of late-night’s most aggressively political hosts, he can still be entertaining outside of the political sphere. Also, good for Miss Piggy for getting work done on her tail if that’s what she wants. Her body, her choice.
4. Samantha Bee Calls Out Complicit Republicans on Full Frontal
Back in the political sphere, the final days of the Trump administration are ending somehow with both a bang and a whimper, as Republicans quietly try and distance themselves from their riot-inciting, twice-impeached president. Full Frontal was simply not having it and devoted a two-part segment to said Republicans aptly called “It’s a Little Too Late for Republicans to Denounce Trump.†Bee began the segment by rightfully shouting out Eugene Goodman, the Black Capitol police officer who effectively rerouted an angry mob away from the Senate floor. Wow, an officer named “Goodman†saving the day? You simply can’t make this stuff up! Bee went on to call out not only the insurrectionists, but also the 147 members of congress who voted to overturn the election results. “They were happy to support Trump when it was helping them cut taxes for the rich and fill the Supreme Court with these adults of the corn,†Bee quipped. I believe the actual Children of the Corn would have had the good sense to have denounce Trump well before he incited a deadly riot — they’re creepy, but they were not dumb.
3. Brie Larson Sings Rude YouTube Comments on A Little Late With Lilly Singh
After almost a year off air, A Little Late is back and perhaps better than ever. The entire show has been completely revamped while in quarantine, with a brand-new writing staff headed by Chelsea Davidson. The studio audience has been replaced with “a Los-Angeles based home,†and Singh’s whole vibe now is much more relatable YouTuber than late-night show host, which is fitting giving her origin as, well, an incredibly successful YouTuber. As such, it makes sense that one of her first guests would be a fellow YouTuber like Brie Larson. On Tuesday, Larson dropped by Singh’s hype house, and after receiving some helpful best-practices advice about YouTube from Singh (you gotta tell your viewers to like and subscribe after every vid!), Larson serenaded Singh with some musical renditions of her rudest YouTube comments. This was fun, because anyone worth their salt knows that before she became an Academy-Award winning actress, Larson was an aspiring musician whose fake band was the best thing about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Things seem to be trending (YouTube pun absolutely intended) in a positive direction for Miss Singh!
2. Jimmy Kimmel Reconnects With His Old Friend “Freddie the Stonerâ€
One of the things I miss most about life before the panDemi Lovato is going to a party and meeting someone incredibly interesting that you almost certainly will never see again, or if you do it will be totally random and completely unexpected and a pleasant surprise. On Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, I finally got a taste of that feeling again when Kimmel checked back in with Frederick “Freddie the Stoner†Miller, an affable young man who was on the show a year prior while waiting on line for the first cannabis dispensary in Michigan to open up. Since sharing his plan to sit on the couch, smoke a bowl, and watch the new Dracula on Netflix (he heard good things!) with Kimmel approximately a year ago, Freddie has been up to quite a lot, and, as fate would have it, now works as a Weed Ambassador for Cannavista Wellness in Buchanan, Michigan. When asked how he wound up working at a cannabis shop, Freddie said his 30 seconds of fame on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last year changed his life for the better. “I went on your show man, and the next thing I know I’m getting calls left and right from dispensaries,†Miller says. “I mean Jimmy, I was, like, unemployed living with my mom – God bless her,†Miller says before launching into what can only be described as the perfect stoner laugh. Wow, dreams really do come true.
1. Anne Hathaway Officially Rebrands as Annie Hathaway on The Tonight Show
Everyone has the right to be called by whatever name they want or desire, and Ann(i)e Hathaway is finally exercising that right. On Tuesday, the actress formerly known as Anne stopped by The Tonight Show and revealed that she would prefer to be called Annie. “Can we talk about my name for a second?†she said before launching into the saga about how Annie became Anne. Apparently, when she was 14 she was in a commercial (of course she booked), and on her SAG card she chose to go by her real first name, Anne, instead of the nickname she goes by, Annie. A rookie mistake. “Feel free to call me anything but Anne,†she told Fallon. As someone of confusing name experience — my first name is *gasp* Derek, but I’ve always gone by my middle name, Chris — I do feel for Annie, but I must say, this change is a little tough for me. I saw Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement at an outlet mall with my cousins in OBX. I read about the time when Anne Hathaway sent a poached egg back to the kitchen not once, not twice, not three times, but four times and thought, Atta girl. I defended Anne Hathaway’s performance as Fantine (she slays) in the (underrated) Les Misérables movie to my best friend in college and we didn’t speak for approximately three weeks (we’ve ultimately decided to agree to disagree). But now, I have to say goodbye to all that, and so do you. So goodbye to Anne Hathaway, and nice to meet Annie Hathaway. It’s like Donny Hathaway, but with an Ann(e).
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