During a New Year’s Eve 2024 broadcast, Whitney Cummings, the comedian, delivered a scorching razz. At times, her unusual quips left CNN anchor Anderson Cooper entirely bewildered. Cummings chose some significant subjects to lampoon, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, women’s athletics, the media, and importantly, Democrats; making it a uniquely wholesome derision.
At times, the anchors chuckled at her jests, which initially revolved around America’s peculiar fascination with notorious figures like the Menendez brothers and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. As things took a social turn, Cummings humourously pointed out how bleak the year had become indicating a surge in WNBA viewership, perhaps referencing the apathy from wider audience towards women’s sports.
The roast went on to gently parody ‘America’s Sweethearts’, a documentary about the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Cummings ironically drew attention to the mistreatment of cheerleaders in the film, insinuating that she could’ve mistaken it for a tragic scene from Hunter Biden’s laptop footage.
Adding further humor to the routine, she equated cryptocurrency with ‘astrology for men’; an observant commentary that induced laughter from both Cooper and fellow host Andy Cohen. In a satirical spirit, she questioned the logic and rationale of those investing in these nebulous digital assets.
As the narrative progressed, Cummings didn’t spare Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the President and Vice President at the time. She drolled, ‘The Democrats were too preoccupied with keeping a body upright that they could not conduct a primary.’ The joke indicates a perceived frailty in the Democratic leadership and the electoral process.
While Cohen insisted she continue the roast, Cooper seemed a bit detached, or possibly simply muster an amused reaction. Irrespective, Cummings further teased that the Democrats unprecedentedly did not even offer their own voters a choice in the Presidential Candidate selection. Her roast bitingly suggested that Kamala being ‘forced upon’ the populace was reminiscent of a Pfizer or Moderna’s aggressive vaccine campaign.
Towards the end, Cummings cleverly voiced criticism of mainstream media. She concluded her on-air performance with some last-minute remarks targeting topics she claimed were rarely covered by the establishment press.
In a post-roast interaction with Cohen, she humorously suggested that Cooper was experiencing a meltdown, having been unusually silent throughout her performance. Cooper admitted that, being not so keen on pop culture, he comprehended only a fraction of Cummings’ references. This amusing discourse explains how mainstream media often struggle to catch up with contemporary pop culture trends.
Cummings’ bitingly sharp roast drew a range of reactions on social media, epitomizing the sharp divide in opinion and the polarization of our society. Some from the right-wing corners applauded the performance as comedic brilliance while others deemed labeled it ‘weird and unfunny’, even a desperate attempt at being ‘edgy’.
Despite the mixed reception, the network didn’t include her performance in its New Year’s Eve coverage highlight reel. Whether this was a deliberate act to downplay the somewhat harsh critique or a mere oversight, one can’t definitively say.
Interestingly, Cummings also served as the showrunner of the brief 2018 ‘Roseanne’ reboot, featuring the notoriously conspiratorial Trump supporter Roseanne Barr. Back in 2018, Cummings identified herself as the ‘liberal progressive’ voice among the cast, a claim evidenced by her biting cultural and political commentary.
Her unpredictable stance on various political issues added an additional layer of unpredictability to her roast. In a controversial comment in March, Cummings even admitted that she does not align completely with any political party and admiringly mentioned Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – a vaccine skeptic appointed by Trump as his Health Secretary – implying that he was doing something right, which seems very contradictory considering Cummings earlier remarks on the Covid 19 vaccine.