Since 2001, CNN has aired a special New Year’s Eve broadcast centering on the famous ball-drop in New York’s Times Square and including recaps of the preceding year’s to stories, along with entertainment from recording artists and comedians. This year the network might have gotten more than they bargained for, though, when comedian Whitney Cummings blasted the news network and Democrats in a segment for the show.
CNN’s Viewership
Cummings, a frequent roast guest on Comedy Central, lambasted the network for its low ratings. She also castigated Democrats for their controversial decision to anoint Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee instead of having some sort of primary when it was clear that current President Joe Biden was not up to the task.
Speaking with longtime network stalwart Anderson Cooper and sidekick Bravo’s Andy Cohen, Cummings blasted CNN’s low ratings, which cratered after Donald Trump’s election win in November.
“I’m now playing, you know, like 3,000-seat theaters, which is about the viewership of CNN these days,” she quipped.
Democrats
Of Democrats, Cummings said they “couldn’t hold a primary this year. They were too busy holding up a body.” She was referencing to the party’s decision to keep backing Biden despite his fully apparent cognitive decline.
Plus, “The pro-choice party didn’t give their voters one when it came to their candidate,” Cummings cracked. “Kamala was forced on us so hard you’d think she was patented by Pfizer.”
Pfizer, of course, was one of the makers of the Covid vaccine, which was strenuously pushed by mainstream media.
To CNN’s credit, neither Cooper nor Cohen attempted to stop Cummings. But both appeared uncomfortable as she skewered Democrats and the network.
Asked about an upcoming show about the sitcom Friends that she is set to host, Cummings mocked Hollywood’s tendency to be preachy about a certain topic:
You know what, I’m a Friends fan. I’m also a fan of entertainment that just entertains. There’s this new thing where everything in Hollywood has to, like, lecture people how to vote and make you feel guilty about global warming. It’s just a fun show. No creeps. It’s just warm, wholesome.
“Things the Mainstream Media Won’t Cover”
Cummings later said on X that there were many more topics she wished to cover:
I had a super long list of “things the mainstream media won’t cover” but only included ones I super duper was able to fact check!
At the end of her CNN segment, Cummings listed things that she was sure wouldn’t be covered on mainstream media. She recapped them on X:
This is what I said at the end of my roast set on CNN tonight that I zoomed through [because] I was running out of time (and scared): Since I only have a minute left and I’m live on an establishment media, I figured I’d list some of things mainstream media will never cover:
The first [T]rump shooter didn’t have any silverware in his house, The Crown prince of Saudi Arabia put money into Disney, why is fluoride still in our water? Monsanto paid Google to skew search results, why are so many presidents chefs dead?
The Daily Beast referred to Cummings’ segment as a “wild, conspiracy theory-filled roast.”
It’s hardly the first time CNN’s live New Year’s Eve broadcast has had some controversy attached to it. Obnoxious comedian Kathy Griffin co-hosted with Cooper from 2008 until 2016. She routinely ruffled feathers at the network with her bawdy sensibilities and vulgar language. She even used the f-word on live television. CNN removed her from the show in 2017 after she released a publicity photo of herself holding a prop made to look like the severed head of Donald Trump.
Cummings also has a reputation for being a risque comic. She has been featured on Comedy Central’s roasts several times, including one of then-future President Donald Trump.
The comedian hinted that there might be backlash regarding her performance. “I think after what I’m about to do I’m probably going to be in a huddle with a bunch of lawyers,” she said.
