ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from New York City,
the only city in America,
it's The Daily Show.
Tonight,
Ukraine borrows some missiles,
Senator Chris Murphy,
and Akwaeke Emezi.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
(cheering and applause)
What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Thank you for coming out in person.
Feel that vibe! Feel that vibe!
Wow! This is great. This is great.
Take a seat, everybody. Take a seat.
And first things first,
can I just say happy Pride Month, everybody.
(cheering and applause)
Welcome to it.
You know what that means. For the rest of June,
all crimes are legal for gay people. (whoops)
Yeah, I studied. I studied.
All right, we got a really great show for you tonight.
We'll be talking about the battle to steal Ukraine.
We're gonna be talking about the battle
to steal the next election
and the battle to steal Star Wars back
from Black people.
Plus, Senator Chris Murphy
is joining us from Hartford, Connecticut,
to tell us which Republicans
are finally getting on board with gun control.
So, let's do this, people.
Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering and applause)
Okay. Let's kick things off
with the ongoing Russian war with Ukraine.
Or, as the Russian media says,
"There is no war, but we're also winning it."
Ever since Vladimir Putin decided
to aggressively crash on his neighboring country's couch,
Ukraine has been asking America for bigger and better weapons
to help them defend themselves.
Now, usually, when you ask America
to send you weapons, they'll send them quicker
than a restaurant that precooks the food in the morning
and then just reheats it when you order it at night,
but because America and the rest of the world
is terrified of starting World War III-- rightfully so--
they've had to find ways to support Ukraine
without being accused of attacking Russia.
And so just today, President Biden announced this.
NEWSMAN: This morning, President Biden has announced
the U.S. will send another $700 million worth of weapons,
defense systems to the Ukrainian military.
Among the newly provided weaponry
is the Multiple Launch Rocket System,
uh, which is a highly capable long-range system.
NEWSMAN 2: This has been the subject of debate
inside the Biden administration for weeks now,
whether or not to provide Ukraine
with these more advanced, longer range weapons systems.
Concerns, uh, within the administration
that Russia might view this as a provocative step,
giving Ukraine the ability
to strike within Russian territory.
That's why the United States actually sought assurances
and secured those assurances from Ukraine
that they would not use these ro... these rocket systems
to strike Russian targets on Russian territory.
Yeah, that's right. Biden made Ukraine promise
that they will only use the rockets
in Ukrainian territory.
They will not use them in Russia.
Yeah. So, he's basically giving them advanced rockets
like a dad gives his teenager a credit card.
Just like, "Now, remember what I told you.
"This is only for gas, groceries
"and the strip club. No textbooks this time.
I don't want to see that charge again."
But this is major help, though.
$700 million.
That's a ton of rockets.
Or maybe it's, like, ten rockets.
I never know with military equipment. Like... (laughs)
No, you-you never know how much anything costs, you know?
It's like when someone tells me they spent $100 at Sephora.
I have no idea if that's, like, one face cream
or enough eye glitter for a whole season of Euphoria.
I don't know how much it is.
And look, I get that America is trying to find the balance
between helping Ukraine
and triggering its own war with Russia,
but still, this is putting Ukraine in a tough spot.
Because who knows how easy these missiles are to use.
You know, I don't want us to be in World War III
just because some Ukrainian soldier
entered the distance in kilometers
when it was supposed to be in miles, you know what I'm saying?
It was like, "Oh, 1.6? I meant to put..."
(yells)
But I will say, this is good for Ukraine to defend themselves.
And this is good for Russia to know
they can't just push other countries around.
You know who this is most exciting for?
American missiles. Yeah.
What a different experience this is gonna be for them.
I'm so excited.
Oh, I'm so excited to be going overseas for the first time.
And the best part is I've been invited.
Wow.
Because my dad went to Iraq, but he wasn't invited.
And my grandfather, he went to Vietnam,
and, boy, did they not want him there.
But look at me-- I got invited to Ukraine!
♪ I'm a missile going to Ukraine ♪
♪ They invited me ♪
♪ I'm a good missile in my family! ♪
My new one-man show, Missile in Ukraine,
will be debuting next week.
-You guys can join in. Make sure to watch it. -(cheering)
All right, let's move on.
Disney released a new Star Wars show
on their streaming platform Disney+,
which I've heard is good but not as good as Paramount+.
Now, this Star Wars show
is not the one about the Mandalorian
and it's not the one about Boba Fett.
No, this one is about Obi-Wan Kenobi,
the galaxy's most powerful hobo.
And anyone can see where this is going. Right?
It's just, like, show after show on Disney.
You see what they're doing. You get it.
Their plan is to release a show
about every character in Star Wars.
It's genius.
Make a ton of money.
Personally, I can't wait for the Jabba the Hutt sitcom.
(chuckling)
What?
I know she broke your heart, Jabba,
but you got to start dating again!
(speaking Huttese)
Dude, chaining her up and putting her in a gold bikini
doesn't count as a date, silly!
-(laughing) -(canned laughter)
♪ ♪
(cheering and applause)
That show's also premiering next week.
Anyway,
the Obi-Wan Kenobi show is introducing
a lot of new characters to the Star Wars franchise,
but there is one character in particular
who isn't getting the warmest welcome from the fans.
NEWSWOMAN: This morning, Obi-Wan Kenobi himself
-putting his force behind costar Moses Ingram... -Where is he?
...after social media users launched racist attacks
against her after her debut in the Jedi Knight's new series.
She brings so much to the series.
She bring so much to the franchise.
And it just sickened me to my stomach to hear
that this had been happening.
We stand with Moses. We love Moses.
And if you're sending her bullying messages,
you're no Star Wars fan in my mind.
NEWSWOMAN: Moses sharing she had received hundreds
of racist messages following the series premiere.
There's nothing anybody can do to stop this hate.
I think the thing that bothers me
is that, like...
sort of this feeling that I've had inside of myself,
which no one has told me, but this feeling of, like,
I just got to shut up and take it.
And I'm not built like that.
Neither should you be. No one should have to just shut up
and take racism. I agree with that.
Especially in Star Wars. Guys, like, what is this?
What is this? You're racist in Star...
Like, from the very beginning,
this has been a series where no one thinks twice
if Harrison Ford is best friends with a giant dog bear
or if a brother and sister want to smash.
No one complains about that.
They're not getting death threats.
I'm so tired of fans attacking Black people in Star Wars,
when there are so many other races and species
they could be bag-- bigoted against.
Think about it. You could hate everyone,
Go on a rant about the creepy Twi'leks, you know?
Or the greedy Jawas.
There are so many more opportunities for racism
than just Black people. Mix it up.
Broaden your horizons.
You know? Or as the Ewoks say... (speaks Ewokese)
You know?
Got to think bigger.
It really is.
-Just... get out there. -(applause and cheering)
And you know, it's really great
that Ewan McGregor made a video supporting his costar,
but I think Star Wars needs to come back even harder
at the racists, really make them suffer.
They should give Princess Leia a new, Black boyfriend.
-Yeah. That's right. -MAN: Yeah!
-(applause and cheering) -Going to be a dope scene.
She's going to come back in, and he'll be like,
"Hey, yo, Leia, I got the plans for the Death Star.
We're going to (bleep) tonight."
(laughter)
All right, finally, let's talk about families.
You know, one of the best parts about having a family is
that you have people to blame in therapy
-for why you haven't succeeded in life. -(laughter)
And also, you have people who will continue your lineage,
deep into the plastic-bag, global-warming apocalypse.
Now, there are few cultures who take family more seriously
than Indian people, but as this next story shows,
some of them might be taking it a little too seriously.
All right, let's take a quick peek
at what's trending right now.
An unusual lawsuit in India.
Parents are suing their only son
for not giving them a grandchild.
Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad say that they've done their part.
They paid for their son's pilot training,
a lavish wedding and even a honeymoon.
And they say that they've waited six years for a grandchild,
and now they have filed a lawsuit saying
that if their son and daughter-in-law
don't give them a grandchild within a year,
they owe the parents $50 million rupees,
which is equivalent to $675,000.
-Damn! -(laughter)
Damn, this is wild!
They're suing their son for not giving them a grandchild.
Being parents is so weird.
You spend the first 18 years doing everything you can
-to stop your kids from having sex. -(laughter)
And then, as soon as they grow up,
you turn into frat bros. "Yo, you got to get laid, dude!
"And don't use a condom, either. That shit's for losers.
Just do it. Do it now."
(applause and cheering)
As weird as it is, part of me sees
where these parents are come from, though.
I mean, the only reason you have kids is so
that you can get grandchildren.
Yeah, let's be honest. Nobody wants to be a parent.
You know? It's just what you have to do
to become a grandparent. The name is in it.
It's "grand." It's better.
And also, grandkids and grandparents--
they're on the same page.
Of course, grandparents want to be grandparents, you know?
They're the same thing.
They both love telling long and pointless stories.
They have so many of the same life experiences.
It's just like, "Hey, Grandpa, I walked-ded in the park,
and I saw a puppy, and I pooped-ded in my pants."
Just like, "Wow! Same here, kiddo."
(laughter)
But look, if these parents really want grandkids,
I don't know if a lawsuit is really going
to help make that happen, especially with, like, a year.
You've given them a year.
You realize every time now their son has sex,
-he's thinking about his parents. -(laughter)
"They did this, not me."
And that lawsuit is definitely going to help his dirty talk.
Can you imagine?
This poor Indian guy is going to be in his bedroom.
He's just like, "Do you like that? Do you like that?
"You like the way I'm trying to avoid
"paying $675,000 to my parents?
This is a 50 million pump right here. 50 million rupee!"
(speaking foreign language)
(applause and cheering)
Why would you do that?
All right, that's it for the headlines, but before we go,
let's check in on traffic with our very own
-Roy Wood, Jr., everybody! -(applause and cheering)
Yeah. What's up, man?
How you been, bro?
-What's going on, Roy? -Ah, I'm great, man. I'm chilling.
What is happening in the traffic, man?
Hey, man, you know I'm like a pigeon at the bakery,
-just trying to get his bread up. It is what it is. -Okay.
A quick look at the roads. Now, as you can see,
the northbound 770 starting to clear up.
We had a little bit of disruption a little bit earlier.
A tractor trailer overturned. Some onlooker delays.
-Wait, wait, R-Roy. -Uh...
You're actually doing the traffic.
Yeah, yeah. I've... been going to therapy, man,
and I figured, like...
She told me to be a vessel of positivity
-to people within my circle, and... -This is amazing.
and then karma would be reciprocal. So, you know,
I've come out here before and we go back and forth,
-and I don't want that... -Yeah, because you never want to do--
I say "Do the traffic," and then you're like, "Nah,
-I don't want to do the traffic. (grumbles)" -Yeah, and I just--
And then you're like-- Then you want to talk about, like,
the things I'm talking about. But this is great. You're doing
-that now. -Yeah, I'm gonna just do this job.
-This is 'cause of therapy? -Yeah. That's...
My man. Look at-- This is growth.
-Real quick... -But I'm glad you're not jumping in...
Let's... What's the traffic?
About Ukraine, real quick, let me just say something.
Just-just real quick about Ukraine, the Russian thing,
like, I know we're sending Ukraine the-the weapons
and we're sending money, but the issue, bro, is that
that ain't what the Russians respect.
We got to get their respect. We got to get the respect
of the Russians, and the only thing-- some people
only respect crazy, so you got to be crazy.
It ain't enough just to send 'em a rocket.
The United States got to go over there and just
buck a couple shots in the air just to let 'em know
what we could do if we wanted to. Just, "bop, bop, bop!"
Just a couple, just shoot a couple rockets, missiles
in the air and then they be like,
"A'ight, they crazy, let's leave."
'Cause that's-that's how you handle stuff
in the streets, man. You put your ten toes
on the ground and you go "bop, bop!" That's what you do
-in the streets. -I-I'm sorry, what-what streets are these
-that you're talking about? -Like North Korea.
Like, North Korea, right?
What the-- Don't do that with me.
Does anybody ran up on North Korea?
Ain't nobody ran up on North Korea.
-Nobody ran up on North Korea. -Know why? 'Cause every two,
three months, North Korea go... (imitates rocket)
"Pop, pop, pop!"
They shoot a rocket up in the air for no reason.
And that's what you got to do, dawg. That's the streets, man.
It's like Boyz n the Hood. Did you ever see
-Boyz n the Hood? -Y-Yeah, I did.
That's what the Russian-Ukraine--
that's what the United States got to be. We got to be like
Ice Cube. Like, uh, you remember Boyz n the Hood,
Ricky got bumped into by the gangbangers, and the gangbangers
are getting ready to beat up Ricky, and then Ice Cube
stepped up, was like, "We got a problem here?
We got a problem here?"
That's what America-- but it'd be a missile. It'd be a missile
right here and all. "You-you got a problem. What you gonna do?"
And Russia'd be like, "A'ight, let's go on back
and drink some vodka." That's how everything'd went.
That's a-that's a novel way to solve-- All right, so, so,
so, what's happening in the, uh, in the traffic there, Roy?
Them kids should countersue they parents.
-They-- I'm gonna get to that. But they should count-- -Okay.
'Cause-'cause how you gonna sue me for not having a kid?
I should be able to-- If you can sue me for not having a kid,
I should be able to sue you for having a kid.
I didn't consent to being conceived.
Therefore I want some money.
I just don't think that's right. And that-that behavior
from them parents anyway-- that come from parents
who ain't scared of they kids. You-you-- At a certain point,
your parents supposed to be scared of you.
-You the child-- -Your parents?
-Yeah. You-- -Your parents are supposed to be scared of you?
Yeah, you stronger, you faster, your parents
can't be behaving like that.
That's why every time I go back to Alabama, I go home,
visit my mama, I turn on one of them murder forensic shows
where they kill the parents, and then I just look at her.
Just to let her know I got some ideas up in there.
Gonna scold me into having a child.
You gonna scold me into having a child?
Scolding don't work.
Everybody know that scolding don't work.
It's like in Boyz n the Hood-- you see Boyz n the Hood?
When Doughboy's mama scolded him, she said,
"Don't you go to that store and go stealing some stuff,"
and what'd Doughboy do? End up dead two weeks after Ricky.
We-we got enough time left? Do we even have any time?
No, we-we don't, we don't. We had the time, and then,
I mean, we basically watched Boyz n the Hood.
-So, uh-- -But-but--
But, uh, you know what, I'm glad-I'm glad you've been
going to therapy, that's been helping.
-Roy Wood Jr., everybody. Thank you. -Yeah, it's been good.
-(cheering, applause) -I appreciate it.
All right, when we come back, Senator Chris Murphy
is joining us on the show. You don't want to miss it.
(cheering, applause)
(cheering and applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
My first guest
is Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
He represented Newtown
when the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre
occurred a decade ago,
and following the devastating school shooting
in Uvalde, Texas, he begged his colleagues to act.
Why do you go through all the hassle
of getting this job,
of putting yourself in a position of authority,
if your answer is that as the slaughter increases,
as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing?
What are we doing?
Why are you here...
...if not to solve a problem
as existential as this?
Joining us live now from Hartford, Connecticut,
please welcome Senator Chris Murphy to The Daily Show.
(cheering and applause)
Senator Murphy.
It...
It must feel at some point,
uh, like you-you are, you know,
going up against an immovable force.
It must feel at some point
like you are engaging in a conversation
that seems to go around and around in circles.
But it seems like in and around this time,
there is some movement.
There are some Republicans who have said,
"You know what? Maybe there is something we should be doing
even if it is not the perfect solution."
Let's-let's jump straight into that
and talk about what you've seen
in terms of a bipartisan move
to change what gun safety should be in America.
Well, Trevor, thanks for having me on.
And i-it does feel, um, often
like déjà vu repeating itself.
Uh, ten years I've been at this.
Um, the American public has made up their mind.
There's nothing in this country that's as popular
as changing the gun laws to make our kids safer.
90% of Americans support things like making sure
that everybody has to go through a background check
before they buy a gun.
Um, but we run up against this brick wall,
which is the power of the gun industry
and the gun lobby. But you're right.
It does feel different this time.
Um, I just got off the phone,
off a Zoom call, with, um, about, uh,
t-ten or 12 Republicans and Democrats
that are trying to pass something that will save lives--
not do everything but try to break this logjam.
And I think it's because of the, you know,
very unique, cataclysmic nature of this last mass shooting
but also because, over the last ten years,
you know, we've built an anti-gun violence movement
that is powerful, that has just as many members
and just as much money as the NRA and the gun lobby has,
and that has started to have an impact.
So I don't know whether this is gonna succeed.
I-I've been, you know, Charlie Brown kicking a football
that gets pulled out from under me, uh, over and over again
enough times to know that maybe this won't turn out differently.
But, um, I owe it to the, uh, families in Texas,
the families in my state, in Sandy Hook, to give it a try.
What seems to be the holdup?
What are some of the internal conversations
that you're having?
Y-You know, without betraying anybody's trust,
what are the sticking points?
Because if-if so many Americans,
if such a large percentage is in support
of many of these commonsense measures,
why then do their representatives
not seem able to put those things into effect?
Well, right now, this is a problem
only inside the Republican Party.
Every single Democrat in the Senate
would support things like expanded background checks.
And-and the reason that it's a problem in the Republican Party
is that, um, to win a Republican primary today,
a lot of my colleagues think that you need
the endorsement of the, uh, gun lobby.
Uh, not-not just because of the money
that comes from groups like the NRA
but because, um, you know, associating yourself
with the gun industry has become kind of a proxy
for a broader set of conservative values.
And so we got to solve that problem for Republicans.
We got to find another way for them to demonstrate
how conservative they are without having to do the bidding
of a-- of an industry that is supported
by only 10% of their constituents.
But that's starting to change,
because now a lot of Republicans are starting to see
that they vote for things, um, you know,
like restrictions on, um, uh, a-assault weapons,
they actually will be rewarded
by larger numbers of their constituents
than ever before that support these things.
So I-I think the political calculations
of some of my colleagues are beginning to change.
But it's slow.
You know, for decades, they were told
you can never, ever beat the gun lobby in an election.
That's not true anymore, but it takes a little while
for that lesson to be learned.
Let's talk about some of the concrete steps then
you're looking to take.
You know, every mass shooting in America is followed
very promptly by people saying,
"This wouldn't be solved by that solution."
"This solution wouldn't solve that problem."
And it becomes a chicken and the egg scenario
that never seems to end.
What are some of the concrete measures that you can take now
to change some of the gun laws in America
to make the country safer, at least, if not perfect?
Yeah, and I think it's really important to remember
that there's a mass slaughter in this country every single day.
I get it. There's good reason
why this country pays more attention
after a catastrophe like Uvalde.
But there's 110, 120 people every single day
who die from guns, and, in fact, since Uvalde,
there's been 18 mass shootings in the United States.
Now it was four people, ten people, 12 people,
not enough to get the headlines,
but there's a crisis every single day.
What are we talking about? Red flag laws.
These are the laws that allow you to take guns away
temporarily from kids like this guy in Uvalde,
who was showing signs of doing something disastrous.
We're talking about strengthening
our background check system.
We're not going to get all the way
to universal background checks, but making sure
that more gun sales come with these background checks.
We're talking about money
for community anti-violence initiatives.
Trying to wrap services around at-risk kids,
especially in our cities, um,
where poverty often leads to violence.
That could make a big impact, as well.
So it's not everything I want,
but it would be the most significant set
of gun reforms, in really, 30 years,
and we're closer than ever to getting it done.
There are many people who voted for Democrats
who I think would sometimes look enviously
at what Republicans are able to do
despite, you know, their setbacks.
You know, we've seen what Mitch McConnell has been able
to do with the Supreme Court.
We've seen what Republicans have been able to do
with abortion and restricting it around the country.
Um, do you ever consider these options?
Do you ever think to yourself,
"Oh, man, we should also be looking at ways
"to use the tools and the mechanisms
that are present to us in America to get something done?"
Or is there a reason that you don't take that approach?
Well, right now, we have a majority in the House
and the Senate that support expanding background checks
to every gun sale, which would probably save the most lives.
We have a president who will sign that bill.
The problem is the rules of the Senate right now
require you to get 60 votes, not 50 votes
in order to pass a-a bill like that.
So, for the American people, it's frustrating, right,
because they did their job. They put majorities
in the House, the Senate, a president in the White House
who support what they support-- expanded, uh, protections
when it comes to our nation's kids
and the safety of our communities.
But the rules of the Senate stand in the way.
Now, when Mitch McConnell wanted to get conservatives
on the Supreme Court to outlaw abortion,
he changed the rules of the Senate. But right now,
we are a few votes shy, in the Democratic caucus,
of changing the rules now that we're in charge.
So, yes, I-I don't think we should deliberately
adopt the policies of Mitch McConnell,
but I do think that when we have power, um, you know,
when the voters have given us power,
we should listen to them, um,
and do what the majority of Americans want us to do.
Well, I'm sure most Americans would hope-- in fact, all--
that you're not Charlie Brown this time, the ball
doesn't get taken away, and something actually gets done.
Thank you so much for taking the time to join us
and, uh, we hope to see you again.
-Thanks. -We'll be right back.
(cheering, applause)
(cheering and applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show. My next guest tonight
is an award-winning, best-selling author.
They're here to talk about their novel,
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty,
and their memoir, Dear Senthuran,
which will be available soon in paperback.
Please welcome Akwaeke Emezi.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering and applause)
(laughs)
Akwaeke Emezi, welcome to The Daily Show.
Thank you for having me.
It... I feel like I've met you before.
-(laughs) -It's so weird.
We have, like, this energy between us.
It's, uh, it's... There's something about it.
Um, I shouldn't just welcome you to The Daily Show.
I should also say congratulations
on being not just one of the most prolific writers
but one of the most celebrated prolific writers.
You have written four books in-in how many years now?
Seven books in four years, actually.
-All right. You see? I was counting four. -(laughs)
'Cause I knew in the pan... How many in the pandemic alone?
In the pandemic, about four, yes.
-In the pandemic, it was four, yeah. -Yes.
'Cause I remember going like... I-I've, like,
looked at everyone who worked in the pandemic
and how much work they did, and it was four books
just in the pandemic.
-Yep, that's accurate. -Right? Everyone else was like,
"We're making bread," and you're like,
"I'm gonna make, uh, best-selling books."
Um, I-I would love to know
how you switch so seamlessly between genres,
because you-you aren't celebrated in one.
You know, people love your poetry.
People have fallen in love with your memoir.
And then now, you've switched into the world of novels,
which everyone was shocked by.
'Cause they were like, "Why-why would you do this?
-It's trash." Romance novels. -Romance novels specifically.
Yes. People are like, "No, romance is trash."
And now you've written it, and people are like,
-"Maybe-maybe it's not trash. Maybe it's, uh..." -(laughs)
I-I'd love to know how you switch so seamlessly.
I think it's because I'm a reader of every genre.
So, I started reading romance novels
when I was a kid growing up in Nigeria,
and we would smuggle them to school
because they were banned for being vulgar
-and inappropriate. -Oh.
And they were, like, the Harlequin,
the Mills & Boon romance
-with, like, you know, Fabio on the cover. -Right.
-(laughs) -Wait, you were a fan of those?
Yes.
-I mean, I was 13. -(laughs)
-Okay, but still. -To be fair.
Okay, okay. All right, all right. Still...
And I really got into them as a kid.
I think there's something in there about, like,
being young and exploring your own sexuality.
Um, and then I came to the States when I was 16
for college, and I discovered paranormal romance.
And I was like, "Oh, my goodness."
(laughter)
-"Shape-shifters." -(laughing): Oh, my Lord.
That's hilarious.
And-and then I took a break from it,
but I came back around, like, in the last couple of years,
and I found, like, the romance that was being written now
-was so different from what I grew up on. -Yes.
And it had, like, so much representation in it.
And it had so much hope in it.
You know, you could read these love stories
about people that society considers deviant,
whether it's just because you're Black or you're queer
or you're neurodivergent or you're in a wheelchair,
and they get happily ever afters.
And I was like, "There's a little magic in that."
Like, a little magic of hope.
I think that's what people love about your work,
is that it has shifted the ideas of what is "the norm"
and just told stories through multiple different lenses.
You know, I'll-I'll start with-with your memoir.
The style that you wrote it in is really interesting
because it's a series of letters to people
and yet it takes us through a journey of-of your life.
Why did you choose to do it in that way?
Why didn't you choose to address the book to the reader
and-and rather let us in on a world
where we almost become voyeurs of your relationships?
Well, so the secret is I hate writing essays,
because you have to be, like, so serious about them
and you have to do research and things like that.
And I just wanted to write a book
that felt like the conversations I have with my friends.
-Oh, I like that. -I think, like, these are the spaces
in which you're really honest
-because it's intimate. -Mm-hmm.
Because you're speaking without a filter.
You're not worried about, you know, how some random reader
-is going to take it. -Oh, yes.
And it strips down that artifice.
It strips down that wall.
It's a different kind of vulnerability.
And, also, in writing in letters,
it's like a citational practice for me,
I think, in terms of community.
Like, all the ideas I have, the stories I tell,
I tell them with my friends, I tell them with other people.
And so to write the letters, it was a way of showing the world,
like, "These are the people I think with."
Even if it's not people that I know personally,
people who I engage with their work,
these are the people I'm thinking with.
These are the people I'm building worlds with,
and I wanted them to be recognized as well.
It-It's a beautiful journey.
And then to switch from, you know...
from one style of book to the other,
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty
has-has just gotten everybody buzzing.
And Michael B. Jordan is gonna be making the film version
of the book, the film adaptation.
-You're gonna be an executive producer on it. -Yes.
It's a really beautiful story. Before we get into that,
I'd love to know why you chose not to write the screenplay.
Because you-you are a writer.
Why-why not do that part of it as well?
I have too many books to write
-right now. (laughing) -Okay, okay. Oh. You know what?
-That's-- Yeah, yeah. I mean... -(cheering and applause)
I mean... I get it. I get it.
But, also, I think, for Black people working in Hollywood,
like in film and TV, it's a different style of writing.
Like, I was executive producer on--
-in development for my first book, Freshwater. -Mm-hmm.
And we were working with FX, and we were in development
for, like, three years, and I was like, "Oh.
This is very different from writing books."
Because in books, you can do whatever you want,
-and no one's going to stop you. -Yeah, you're in control. Yeah.
-Right. -Your editor can say,
"Well, I want you to change this," and you can be like,
"No!" And nothing happens.
But in TV, you kind of have to listen to the people
-who are giving you notes. -Oh, yeah, you do, yeah.
-Yeah, they don't play that game. -Yeah, it's, you know...
They're like, "No, no, no, this not going to work."
Yeah, I wanted to hand it over to people who actually
do work in that field and kind of know how to collaborate
-maybe a little bit better. -I like that.
Okay, so, they're like the conduit between yourself
and the TV. Okay, I get that.
The story is a really beautiful, painful look at,
not just love. 'Cause, you know,
when I heard it was going to be a romance novel,
I was like, "Oh, this is going to be interesting."
And it's more than, like, a romance model in the way...
novel in the way we think of it.
It's a story about grief really. You know, we follow the story
of Feyi in the book who's a woman who's lost her partner,
and she's in this world where it's just grief.
What is the point of life, almost,
is what we're experiencing in the book.
And then, we see her fall in love with somebody.
I won't spoil all of it.
-But that person is tied to her through grief. -Mm.
I would love to know how that became a theme
for a romance novel.
You wouldn't think that death and grief would be something
that you'd want to put in a book about love.
It snuck in, you know?
Initially, I was like, "This is going to be a fluffy book."
-Yes. -"It's just going to be messy, hot girl summer."
-(laughter) -And then I met the character.
And she was like, "I have depths that you can only dream of."
And-and when I started writing it, it felt...
it felt fitting because I think there is so much grief
-in the world we're living in now. -Yeah.
There's so much of it, and so many people are trying
to figure out this question of,
"How do I keep living throughout it?"
-In some ways it feels sacrilegious almost. -Mm.
-It feels wrong. It feels like survivor's guilt. -Yes, it does.
Like, there are so many people who are suffering,
-and you're here having a hot girl summer. -Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
And how do you balance all of that?
Um, so in the book, I wanted to write about this woman
who's exploring that and figuring it out.
Because at some point, we do have to find a way to live.
And so, she is, like, chasing life, she's chasing joy,
and she's chasing happiness,
and she's making a lot of messy choices along the way.
But I think that's part and parcel of it.
-You know, with grief, the world doesn't stop. -Mm-hmm.
And that's something I wrote about, like, in my memoir.
It's... It seems wrong the way
that one world can stop when you lose someone,
and the rest of the world just keeps going.
-Like, it doesn't matter that your world just stopped. -Right.
And at some point, you have to figure out
how to blend back into it.
Yeah, how you get back into the highway of life
that's just moving along. The, um, the-the main character
in the book is also an artist,
and I feel like that was inspired a little bit
by your world, because I know you are--
I mean, "an artist" almost doesn't describe it,
because you-you like everything, you know?
It's video art and it's pictures, and it's everything.
But her style of art is very particular, because
she works with-- you know, and I've seen some of the images,
it's-- it's blood. You know, which feels very morbid.
I-I wanted to know how you got into art that involves,
like, portraits of people where there's a lot of blood
in the image, but it's not sad, somehow.
What-what is the message you're trying to convey
and what connected you to that art form?
You know, for me, it's always something spiritual.
Like, one of the things I try to do--
and that was why I also wrote the memoir the way I wrote it--
is to figure out how to move spirit first
in a world that's always asking to you translate it
into something that's more legible to, you know,
the mainstream or to the layperson,
and-and I find that, with blood, there's something so visceral
about it, where you can't-- you can't mask it.
You look at it and it's exactly what it appears to be.
-Right. -It's jarring, in that sense,
and it's such a big part of rituals,
especially for indigenous, like, African faith traditions,
it's such a big part of ritual. So, with my work,
a lot of the times, what I'm doing is I'm creating
these self-portraits, I'm recreating rituals,
I'm trying to find a way to, like, connect back
to all these ways of being, like, before we were colonized
and, you know, our whole cultures were stripped from us.
Right, right, right. It-it really is an interesting journey
and it-it's fun to see you playing with that
in the book and the journey that she's on and, you know,
going into the Caribbean, and I'll tell you all about--
you guys are just gonna have to read the boo-- I don't want to
tell you the book, 'cause I see you guys now, like,
"Tell us more, Trevor." I'm not gonna tell you any more.
Thank you for joining me on the show. Congratulations
on yet another critically-acclaimed book,
and I hope to see you again on the show.
-Thank you. It's a pleasure. -Thank you so much.
(cheering, applause)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is available now
and Dear Senthuran will be available in paperback
on June 7th. We're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
-Thank you very much. -(cheering, applause continuing)
(cheering, applause)
Well, that's our show for tonight.
But before we go, before we go,
please consider donating to Everytown for Gun Safety.
They're a movement of parents, students, survivors,
educators, gun owners and concerned citizens
who are fighting to end gun violence
and build safer communities.
Research shows that common sense public safety policies
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Everytown works with local, federal and state governments
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please donate and help them at the link below.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there and remember:
if you're desperate to have grandkids,
don't sue your children.
Just go to a playground and take one.
There's hundreds there. Hundreds.
Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
Maybe the jury is saying that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
should never reconcile, but maybe this could bring about
a reconciliation of Johnny Depp and Kate Moss.
Who knows?
I was being told in my ear about a mountain lion,
so I didn't hear you, but we should probably move on to that.
NEWSMAN: Yes, all right, Fox News alert,
and a live look at a high school
in Pescadero, California where students and staff
got quite a scare-- a mountain lion
somehow getting inside the building.