Michael Ian Black is speaking out about losing The Late Late Show hosting job to Craig Ferguson. A prolific actor, writer, and director, Black has been working in the industry for 30 years. He got his start in TV, starring in two different sketch comedy series in the early ’90s: You Wrote It, You Watch It and The State. He rose to further prominence in the 2000s when he played McKinley in the movie Wet Hot American Summer and starred as Phil Stubbs on Ed. In 2004, Black was in the running to host The Late Late Show following Craig Kilborn’s departure.
Kilborn left the show in August, and the remainder of the year saw several guest hosts step in. These included well-known celebrities such as Drew Carey, Ana Gasteyer, and Aisha Tyler. It eventually came down to Ferguson, Black, D. L. Hughley, and Damien Fahey, who each hosted for a week-long trial run. Eventually, Ferguson was chosen. He started his time as host in 2005 and stayed with The Late Late Show until the end of 2014. CBS again featured several guests afterward, with current host James Corden starting in 2015.
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In response to an article from TheThings detailing why Ferguson was hired, Black posted a Twitter thread with his thoughts. He reacted to the information that one meeting with Les Moonves, the former chairman and CEO of CBS, apparently had a big impact on the hosting decision. Read Black’s full thread below.
Great to learn the guy was undermining from the beginning.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 28, 2021
I met Les one time. Now I understand that that meeting was set up for me to fail. It was presented as “Les wants to say hi” about ten minutes before I went to his office. I should have understood it was more than that but nobody told me or prepped me. I was shy because I am shy.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 28, 2021
Instead he lied to me after the last show basically telling me I had the job. None of this matters now – it was a long time ago. But it’s a reminder to people that so much is beyond our control. All we can do is what we can and hope for the best. Show biz is a terrific business.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 28, 2021
Though Black allows that this all took place “a long time ago,” it’s completely understandable that this new information about why he missed out on The Late Late Show is hard to hear. For one, the comedian has already had to reconcile with nearly getting the job over the last 15 years. To then learn some were actively working to prevent him from landing it only adds salt to the wound. As Black says, Ferguson did a great job hosting, but that’s likely little consolation after hearing this news.
Black’s thread on The Late Late Show also highlights a larger trust issue in Hollywood. It’s known for being a cutthroat industry, but his tweets show that has a major impact on the people working in it. Additionally, his sentiment that “so much is beyond our control” applies to both show business and many other industries. As losing out on a job is a very universal feeling, Black’s thread may help even those working outside of Hollywood feel less alone.
Source: The Things, Michael Ian Black
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