Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)
So, that Vanity Fair cover happened.
And…where the women at? Guess they were at their secretary desks freshening the men’s whiskies, because this is clearly some Mad Men boardroom fantasy circa 1965, right?
Sadly, the cover is real, and when Newsweek asked Trevor Noah his thoughts about the controversial image, he conceded: “Yes, that Vanity Fair cover is all men, which is what it is.”
But he also pointed out that while late-night TV is nearly all-male, the comedy landscape as a whole looks a little different.
“If you look at the top comedy actors, Melissa McCarthy by far is killing the numbers of other actors. You look at Amy Schumer right now—I would argue that there is no more preeminent voice in comedy. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, their movies coming out..”
So, how do we change the face of late night? Noah pointed out that for a while, only white men were late-night hosts, and alluded to Samantha Bee’s forthcoming TBS show as a sign of progress.
“I guess what we need to look at is how is that evolving? The first step in that is you go, OK, there’s two men of color. That’s a big jump. Pretty soon there will be a woman that’ll be added to that. And there will probably be more women, which is gonna be fantastic. And over time, that’ll happen; it’s a conversation that we need to continue having.”
It’s also a conversation Noah can actively contribute to as, you know, a late-night host.
Noah’s Daily Show premieres September 28—and he has the power to make sure that the gender makeup of his show doesn’t look like that VF cover. Will he use it?
