The Latest Controversial Ziwe Interview Was Actually Quite Good

Ziwe’s most recent “iconic guest” on her interview show was Eric Adams, the unpopular mayor of New York City who will leave office in January after failing to secure a second term. 

Adams has been accused of colluding with Donald Trump, taking bribes from foreign governments and hiring ex-girlfriends to key posts in his administration. He’s not widely loved as a mayor. Choosing to platform him on a show like Ziwe’s is curious, where she interviews comedians and celebrities like former Saturday Night Live cast member Devon Walker and Julia Fox. 

She did interview former congressman and convicted scammer George Santos, which earned her a ton of ire for giving a pardoned, albeit disgraced politician a platform. Some might think she’s done it again by giving Eric Adams an exit interview after his disastrous term as mayor. But I’d argue that Ziwe has gotten much better at the task of interviewing clowns with political power since Santos; which I agree did little more than give a snake oil salesman a space to hawk his wares. 

The roughly 20-minute interview of Adams was not something that could be misconstrued as benefitting the outgoing mayor. Her Santos interview did nothing to put his feet to the fire. Her Adams interview further eviscerated his already tattered legacy. It was 20 minutes of traps that Adams waltzed into happily, securing his legacy as someone who cannot be taken seriously. 

“Tonight, one jokester and a national joke sit across from each other in a bombshell interview,” Ziwe introduces the segment. What follows would be a humiliation ritual for anyone capable of feeling that emotion. Adams is clearly not, as one commenter on the video noted,

“What's your favorite subway stop to stop and frisk?” Ziwe asked a few minutes into the interview.

Stop and Frisk is a widely-reveiled policing practice ruled to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. It’s used to terrorize men of color all over New York City and has led to numerous human rights violations. The racist practice has been passionately defended by Mayor Adams, a former police officer. 

“All of them. When it's used correctly,” Adams told Ziwe, completely unapologetic. “You know, it can't be abused because I didn't go to federal court to sue with Floyd versus NYPD for it to be abused. But every stop is the right stop if it's used correctly.”

The entire interview went down as follows: Ziwe presented some of the many, many, many insane, outrageous, or just downright goofy things Adams has said or done while mayor and instead of defending himself or providing some alternative explanation, he just doubled down. 

The  65-year-old man unashamedly flirted with Ziwe, 33. It was these moments that truly neutered any sympathy for him. 

By the time the interview ends, you feel grateful that Ziwe is no longer in the room with him, and even more grateful that Adams will not be working in the public sector ever again. It’s clear his aspirations are to be a wealthy real estate developer, and in that industry, being a creepy old man who loves staying out at nightclubs can be par for the course. 

It was also different to interview a problematic sitting politician than to do the same for a candidate of the same ilk seeking the power of public office. We’ve seen the aftermath of comedians conducting interviews of politicians before. Theo Von, Andrew Schulz, and Joe Rogan will never fully wash the stain off their hands of having Donald Trump on their podcasts weeks before the 2024 election. In those cases, the interviews included tons of fawning softball questions for a very divisive person looking to become the most powerful person in the world, again. 

Ziwe cemented the Adams mayoral legacy as one of a man who shouldn’t be allowed to plan the family vacation, let alone have the reins of a city. The fact that it was also a funny watch was the cherry on top.