Ziwe on YouTube as the ‘Great Equalizer’ and Her Only Interview That Went South

Ziwe Fumudoh has built her career in comedy and as an interview host who can handle any guest, from political figures to drag queens.

The podcast star and creator screened two episodes from the upcoming season of her podcast “You’d Be an Iconic Guest” — one with comedian and actress Wanda Sykes and the other with with political commentator Hasan Piker — at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10.

Following the screening, Variety hosted a conversation in partnership with YouTube and Fumudoh, where she discussed her platform as a YouTube creator to shape discourse and direct her own content.

“I think of YouTube as this sort of great equalizer,” she said, noting how hard it is to sell, develop and produce a TV series “YouTube is one-to-one. You create it, and then it’s online. That is the best experience as someone who is artistic, as someone who wants to create art. I do believe that digital creators are the new Hollywood.”

Ziwe’s trademark interview style is both confrontational and comedic. When asked how she balances that style, she said, “I’m a good active listener. I don’t feel the need to fill dead air, and so that is comedic because someone sitting in silence as you sort of ramble is inherently hilarious.”

She also talked about the only interview that ever went south, with the guest ending the conversation after three questions. “Sometimes the universe has different plans for us,” she said when asked why the interview ended.

“It’s an energy thing,” she said. “I think of this as scene work, and these are my scene partners, and so we’re really catching a vibe together. And so I go into it comedy-first. Obviously, the questions and the journalism are part of the entree, but the amuse-bouche is that we are laughing and enjoying ourselves.”

“Ziwe,” a variety show on Showtime, launched in May 2021. The show ran for two seasons and was canceled following a change in network leadership. She moved the show to YouTube in 2023. When asked if she would return to traditional media, she said she appreciates the freedom to be independent.

“I started all of this because of people like Issa Rae, people like Abbi [Jacobson] and Ilana [Glazer], like ‘High Maintenance.’ They all started on YouTube, and then they went traditional,” Ziwe said. “And then you’re also finding traditional media people like Colbert or Conan O’Brien. They’re on YouTube. I go through the cycle of life in entertainment, however it may see fit. But the only thing that’s consistent is my YouTube channel.”

And as for a late night slot of her own, she said, “I don’t know what the future holds. I will be interviewing for the rest of my life. It’s my favorite thing to do. I love asking questions. I love being messy.”

In a recent episode with Law Roach, stylist to stars like Zendaya, the two shared a moment that has since gone viral where they touched each other’s hair. Ziwe credits that moment to a commenter. “I really appreciate the ecosystem that I’m able to have in that space,” she said. “It’s very indie, but I feel really close to my audience, and I would not have it any other way because I’m a woman of the people.”

Ziwe made her feature film debut this year in “One Night Only,” and she said that project won’t be her last acting appearance. “I love to do one guest star role a year,” she said. “I’m passionate about acting, so yes, you’ll see me doing more. But I write, I produce, I direct, and you see that all on YouTube, which is really exciting. I just love to create. I think it’s compulsive at this point.”

Some of her dream guests include Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley or Jennifer Lawrence. “The nice thing about doing the show myself is that I can interview whoever I want,” she said.

When her subjects cross into the political sphere, she has seen pushback. “People do get really mad at me,” she said. “That’s just something I have to just turn off my phone and ignore it.”

Regardless of who her guest is, Ziwe digs deep. “What I like about the interviews is that I feel like it’s a marriage of audiences,” she said. “You have your own world and ecosystem, I have my own world and ecosystem, and then together the interview I hope brings out something new and interesting to my audience as well as to theirs.”

“As far as the politicians, yeah, people get pissed, but I think that’s part of the satire, right?” she adds. “It can’t be safe. I’m not an edge lord. I’m not trying to rage bait, but I want to continue to push myself as an intellectual, as an artist, to create something that’s really dynamic.”

In 2029, the Oscars will be on YouTube. Would Ziwe want to present or even host? “Anything is possible,” she said. “Honestly, the world is such a big place, and I have such a powerful mind. I would never say no. Well, actually, there are a couple things I would say no to, but that is not that is not something. Sure, that sounds fun.”