>
Comedian Leslie Jones returned to television as a guest host of The Daily Show on Tuesday, bringing her outrageous sense of humor to the controversy over the new Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Boston.
Jones, formerly a star of Saturday Night Live and the failed Ghostbusters reboot, tackled the statue titled The Embrace as she begins guest hosting the weeknight show in the wake of Trevor Noah’s departure.
Many have mocked the statue’s appearance, with Jones taking a new angle by saying that the statue resembled oral sex.
“They’re celebrating you in Boston right now,” Jones exclaimed, referring to the people who have participated in the activity.
Comedian Leslie Jones returned to television as a guest host of The Daily Show on Tuesday, bringing her outrageous sense of humor to the controversy over the new Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Boston.
Jones then addressed the backlash against the statue, which has included people from right-wing pundits to Coretta’s cousin Scott King, saying he was only speaking to black audience members because King was “our civil rights icon.” “.
‘Okay, black people, what the hell are we going to do? We have to talk about this, because you know it’s wrong when blacks and Proud Boys hate the same statue,” he said.
She then turned more contemplative, suggesting that the statue might age well, acknowledging that people didn’t like the Eiffel Tower when it was unveiled.
“Maybe it’s just a matter of time, eventually we’ll see this statue for what it really is,” he joked.
He then returned to the topic with correspondent Dulcé Sloan, who said that designers never do the Martin Luther King statue correctly, referring specifically to the one in Washington DC, before addressing ‘white people’.
‘The man literally marched for freedom and his statue has no legs! Say what you want about those silly **conservatives, but they know how to make a statue. He’s a white guy on a horse, he’s always a white guy on a horse, there’s no mistaking it.
“That’s what liberals should do, make a statue of MLK in his suit on a horse.”
When Jones asked Sloan if King had a horse, Sloan replied, “I don’t know and neither do you.” So put him on a horse, put him on a throne, heck, put him in Joe Biden’s Corvette! At least we would know who he was.
Jones then addressed the backlash against the statue, which has included people from right-wing pundits to Coretta’s cousin Scott King, saying he was only speaking to black audience members as King was “our icon of the civil rights”.
The Embrace performed in Boston on the Friday before Martin Luther King Day
The sculpture was inspired by a hug shared by Dr. King and his wife Coretta upon learning that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dulcé Sloan, who said designers never get the Martin Luther King statue right, specifically referring to the King monument in Washington DC
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hugs his wife Coretta after learning she received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.
The sculpture was inspired by a photograph of the couple embracing in 1964 after learning that Dr. King Jr. had received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Hank Willis Thomas, the Brooklyn-based artist behind it, said he wanted to create a sculpture dedicated to love and not war, and that the image symbolized the strength of the couple’s iconic marriage. Members of the King family were on hand yesterday to witness the unveiling of the sculpture in Boston.
But while the idea behind the piece is undeniably moving, the end result fell flat for many critics, not to mention Coretta’s cousin.
Former Guardian art critic Waldemar Januszczak called the 19-tonne sculpture a “particularly bad memorial to Martin Luther King”, while others called it “awful” and a “waste of money”.
Many questioned why the artist chose to depict the couple’s arms and shoulders, but not their heads or faces, saying it was difficult to “brain wrap”.
‘Were they really that scared to commission a full figure naturalistic figure?’ asked one reviewer.
‘Big shame, maybe the concept was much better than the execution… it just looks… awful!’
Not impressed: The sculpture collapsed for many who asked why the artist removed the couple’s heads.
Artists and art critics were also not impressed with the sculpture.
‘This is a sculpture that doesn’t translate well to a photo; a single angle view does not capture it.
“Amazing idea, beautiful concept, but hard to understand,” said another.
According to an interview with the artist conducted by The New York Timesthe sculpture was paid for in part by Embrace Boston, a part of The Boston Foundation.
The charity “works for racial and economic justice,” according to the Times report.
helped provide resources and $10.5 million in funding’ which includes a ‘maintenance fund’ for the sculpture and the park in which it stands.
Artist Hank Willis Thomas at yesterday’s presentation. He said that he wanted to create a sculpture dedicated to ‘love’, not war.
Jones is the first guest host in The Daily Show’s post-Trevor Noah era after the South African comedian stepped down in December.
Future guest hosts include comedians Sarah Silverman, DL Hughley, Wanda Sykes, and former Sen. Al Franken.
Noah shocked his colleagues when he announced his departure from the show during a taping in front of a studio audience, according to a new report.
Noah, who has hosted Comedy Central for seven years, announced his intention to leave during the taping of the Sept. 29 episode, taking the show’s audience and staff by surprise.
In an interview with the hollywood reporter Posted Monday, showrunner Jen Flanz said she and head writer Zhubin Parang were sitting together at a desk just off camera when Noah broke the news on camera.
‘He starts talking and talking, and I look at Zhubin like, ‘What is he doing? We’re going to have to edit this,’ Flanz recalled.
Flanz, who has been with the Daily Show since Craig Kilborn was a presenter in the late 1990s, said that when they realized what was happening, she and Parang “lost all feeling in our bodies.”
‘Did you know?’ Parang whispered to her, and she replied: ‘You seem to know?’
In September, Noah broke the news to his audience that he was ending his stint on the show, telling viewers, “There’s another part of my life that I want to keep exploring.”
Showrunner Jen Flanz (left) said she and head writer Zhubin Parang (right) were sitting together at a desk just off camera when Noah broke the news on camera.
Noah explained to THR that he decided to announce his departure in front of the audience because it was the best way for everyone on the show to know his decision at the same time.
“Part of the reason I did it that way is because I didn’t want anyone to be the person who tells someone else, then tells someone else, then tells someone else,” Noah said.
And this is where we created the thing. [The show] It’s where we are together, our space, and to me, it felt like the most natural way to tell everyone at the same time,” he told the outlet.
Noah said in the new interview that the stresses of producing the show during the pandemic had begun to weigh on him and he said he was ready for a new chapter in life.
“Maybe this comes with not growing up in the United States, but I think it should all end,” he said.
“A lot of American companies and American media say, ‘Keep it going as long as possible,’ but I think it’s healthy for things to end while they’re still in a good place.” I want to leave before I burn myself, because there are many other things that I would like to do,’ added Noah.
Noah’s final episode with The Daily Show aired on December 8, and the comedian plans to quickly launch his next act with a 28-city stand-up comedy tour.