Source: Nina Westervelt / Getty
On Wednesday, in an exclusive interview with Eric Deggans at NPR, Roy Wood Jr. announced his decision to leave The Daily Show as a correspondent. After being a rumored frontrunner in the race to replace Trevor Noah after his successful guest hosting duties and his applauded turn hosting The White House Correspondents Dinner, Wood Jr. leaves the show that he helped go viral time and again.
In his official statement, Wood Jr. said:
After eight amazing years on The Daily Show, where I’ve been able to pursue my comedic and political curiosities with some of the best writers, producers, crew and correspondents anyone could hope for, I’ve made the decision to move on.
I’m grateful to Trevor Noah, Paramount and especially Comedy Central for giving me the runway to also produce three one-hour stand-up specials, for letting me host two award winning podcasts, letting me write and shoot my own comedy pilot, write a film, and much, much more. I look forward to finding other ways to collaborate with them down the road.
Until then, I am excited to nurture new ideas and see what the future holds for me in the shifting sands of late night television, scripted comedy, and whatever else the comedy gods may have in store for me in 2024 and beyond.
Ruth Etiesit Samuel wrote an opinion piece in HuffPost remarking why Roy Wood Jr. leaving The Daily Show matters.
Noting that Wood Jr. had been repeatedly passed over as a permanent replacement for Noah, Samuel wrote: “Instead of waiting for a seat at the table, Wood has taken matters into his own hands. His announcement comes amid news that writers on ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ have similarly declined to return. Moral of the story? Know your worth and add tax.”
Wood Jr. recently offered a social media joke in which he playfully implied that he would have been Noah’s permanent replacement if he was white. Responding to a screenshot that identified him in a photo that was actually of Pete Davidson, Wood Jr. joked: “It’s me. Just trying this white thing out to get another gig, when they hire me imma flip it back.”
It’s me. Just trying this white thing out to get another gig, when they hire me imma flip it back. https://t.co/wFSkhjj6kB
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) October 6, 2023
Although Roy is currently selling out across the country with his Happy To Be Here tour, we thought it would be a good idea to commemorate his time as a correspondent on The Daily Show with a gallery of some of his absolute best moments from the show. Let us know your favorites and if we forgot any in the comments.
We wish Roy good luck in all of his future endeavors!
The post Remembering Roy Wood Jr.’s Top Moments As He Leaves ‘The Daily Show’ appeared first on NewsOne.
