Ziwe: In Conversation @ The Moore RESCHEDULED!

Sharp, interrogative, and vivaciously pink 🎀

📸: Courtesy Ziwe | STG

Saturday, April 15th • 8 pm

UPDATE: Ziwe’s April appearance at The Moore is rescheduled to Sunday, October 22nd at The Neptune “due to a scheduling conflict,” says STG. “Tickets will be honored for general admission seating at The Neptune on the new date.”

“Who is Angela Davis?” “How many Black friends do you have?” “Why do you hate Black women?” These questions were typical fodder for comedian Ziwe Fumudoh’s interview show Baited. She began the series on Youtube in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump. According to her, Trump’s election, like her interviews, reveals the explicit and implicit racism of every American. Then in 2020, amid the Covid lockdown and civil unrest in response to the killing of George Floyd, Ziwe moved Baited to Instagram Live. This move caused her to go viral, bringing viewers into her world of outrageous outfits and searing interviews. Guests like actress Rose McGowan, chef Alison Roman, and scammer Caroline Calloway squirmed on our screens to a chorus of live comments. Ziwe’s interview style is certainly not what journalists would call “best practice”—but hey, she’s a comedian!

Born to Nigerian immigrants in Massachusetts, Ziwe was raised around the type of liberal people who would never consider themselves racist regardless of their actions. At Northwestern University, Ziwe studied African American studies and Film/Television before moving to New York City and entering the stand-up scene. Stand-up and her experiences writing for shows like Desus and Mero and outlets Reductress and The Onion shaped Ziwe into the sharp and interrogative comedian on our screens today.

In 2021, Showtime debuted Ziwe, a variety show hosted by the one and only. Metered control in aesthetics and comedy shapes the vivaciously pink show. And with a Showtime budget, Ziwe catches many more A-list names in her web, from revolutionary icon Gloria Steinem and basketball star Blake Griffin to her comedian peers Cole Escola and Patti Harrison. Still, the show’s comedy lies in the fervent denial of racism and Ziwe’s baiting premises.

Knowing Ziwe’s style, I’m unsure what her live show at The Moore will offer except perhaps a call out of Seattle’s casual style of racism. But with no indication of the tour’s content, I guess we’ll just have to go and see, and perhaps get baited ourselves!

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Author

Miranda Hardy

Miranda is a Seattle-based writer, musician, and gal about town. You can find her at the library, your local bar’s karaoke night, and staring longingly at the Ballard Locks. Don’t ask her about AI, pop music, or why she loves Seattle because you’ll never get your ear back.