Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories
Season 1Episode 6Jul 18, 2019

Ziwe Fumudoh makes people uncomfortable

Growing up, she wanted to be a pop star. Her parents wanted her to go into medicine or finance. She ended up as a comedian writing for “Desus & Mero.” This week we talk about how she does money.

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Ziwe Fumudoh performs during the Movement Voter Project comedy benefit at The Bell House in 2018 in New York City.
Ziwe Fumudoh performs during the Movement Voter Project comedy benefit at The Bell House in 2018 in New York City.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Movement Voter Project

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In the first episode of “Desus & Mero,” the hosts starred in a faux-heartwarming movie trailer called “The Greenest Book” (rated WG for White Guilt).

It punctured the supposed racial enlightenment of the Oscar-winning movie in a way no other late night show could. Ziwe Fumudoh wrote it.

“I was just aiming to write a funny sketch that, like, satirizes how someone can be racist and still hailed like this racial healer as a super progressive would when clearly they were not,” she said.

But writing for late night is just Fumudoh’s 9 to 5. She’s a comedian who does a lot, including a monthly show where she performs pop songs.

This week, we’re gonna spend the episode talking with Fumudoh about all things money and work — from her childhood dreams of pop stardom and pressure from her immigrant parents to what she has saved and how she learned to be comfortable with uncomfortable humor.

The Team

Ziwe Fumudoh makes people uncomfortable