🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Late night hosts still had coronavirus on the brain as many of them tapped without a live-audience on Thursday. Some shows—like Jimmy Kimmel Live where Mayor Pete Buttigieg filled in—had a few staffers in studio but they were seated a distance apart as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.
Despite not having people in-house to laugh at their jokes, hosts did their best to calm the nerves of Americans watching from home. Dr. Sanjay Gupta even dropped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to offer all the reasons why people shouldn't be panicking over the virus.
Read on for a look at some of the best late-night moments from yesterday below.
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Now that his presidential bid has wrapped, Pete Buttigieg is apparently running for a spot on late-night television. The former Democratic nominee made his hosting debut and didn't break a sweat while taking over for Jimmy Kimmel without an audience. He even managed to make a little joke or two.
"This was not our plan. We just decided this a few hours ago, and it's disappointing because as you all know, I love to crowd surf. It's kind of my thing," Buttigieg said. "But the experts have told us the best way to prevent spread of the virus is for us to physically, so that's what we're going to do. The only way we're going to get through this crisis is with unity. So let's do this together. Who's with me?"
Buttigieg cut to a video of people cheering and waving the American flag before he delivered his most gutting punchline of the night: "Full disclosure: none of those people are here. But when you don't have a real audience, you have to fake one. Just like [President Donald] Trump's inauguration."
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Bee didn't hold back her criticism of the president's handling of the increasing threat of coronavirus and the fact that he is "bravely denying anything is wrong." She also fired shots at conservative media's coverage of the virus, delivering a scathing takedown of Fox News' attempt to blame the coronavirus on the Chinese.
"China, we know it's not your bad. But could you please send Brian Kilmeade an edible arrangement so he'll shut the f**k up?" Bee said. "Tying coronavirus to China and Chinese people isn't just a racist dog whistle, it's a whole racist orchestra."
The comedian urged viewers at home not to fall prey to racist rhetoric surrounding the illness, which is affecting people all across the globe.
"It's a mighty, mighty racist bass tone, which brings me to this important point: The coronavirus is not an excuse to be racist. I know racism is like America's weighted blanket. When everything is stressful, nothing makes us feel more secure than treating other people like trash," she said.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Although Colbert's show was originally scheduled to film without an audience on Monday, a last-minute decision from execs resulted in an empty studio. But Colbert took full advantage of not having a live audience and seemed pleased with not having anyone there to disagree with his jokes.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who recently launched the podcast Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction, stopped by the show to bust the myths surrounding coronavirus. The renowned surgeon also talked about the line between caution and panic and what precautions people should actually be taking to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
"I don't think it should ever cross into panic because panic doesn't serve any purposes, certainly from a medical standpoint," he said. "I think the idea that people should really be concerned enough to really start to do things with their own lives that can help protect them I think is real."
More notable late-night moments
Seth Meyers dropped by Showtime's Desus & Mero and was somehow able to identify Rudy Giuliani's teeth in a zoomed-in shot.
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah wept for Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, who were confirmed to be suffering from COVID-19 in Australia.
"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, corona got to Tom Hanks. And this man's already been through so much. I mean, think about it. After the war he's been through and that time his plane crashed, and he already had to deal with his dog dying. I feel bad for him. I mean, at the same time, he shouldn't have been letting everyone touch his chocolates. That's probably how he got it," Noah said.
About the writer
Michigan native, Janice Williams is a graduate of Oakland University where she studied journalism and communication. Upon relocating to New ... Read more