Only Ziwe Could Pull Off Interviewing George Santos

Showtime never should’ve canceled Ziwe. Not that we needed further proof, but the iconically eponymous host is back with another reminder: her highly anticipated interview with former congressman George Santos.

Almost immediately following his expulsion from Congress for committing various acts of fraud, George Santos agreed to sit down for an interview with Ziwe. Santos, whose career can be neatly summed up by the House Ethics Committee’s determination that he “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” maintained his pathologically messy persona in an interview that touches on everything you expect (Trump, Congress, the HBO movie) and then some (menswear, empathy, Botox).

Although Santos was just dethroned as Washington’s top messy bitch who lives for drama by the congressional staffer who filmed himself having sex with another guy in a Senate hearing room, he still rises to the occasion in his sit-down with Ziwe. Right out of the gate, Ziwe brings up the time Santos compared himself to Rosa Parks and asks his thoughts on other famous activists, none of whom—Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk, and James Baldwin—he can identify.

Running down a list of politicians, Santos calls out Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham, Bob “Gold Bar” Menendez, and Dan Goldman as fellow fraudsters. He cops to using Botox and getting fillers since he was 25 years old, and says he uses more makeup now than he did when he was a drag queen for a “single day.” On the subject of race, Santos claims to have “plenty” of Black friends (so many he can’t possibly name them!), but he doesn’t “see color.” Asked if he would be open to adopting a Black baby, Santos says, “I wouldn’t be opposed to it. Especially because I can probably make a Black baby on my own, granted my dad. And my entire dad’s family, because I’m biracial.”

Santos claims he’s “not ruling out” a return to politics, though he rejected the label of “politician,” instead asserting that he was an “elected public servant for 11 months” who “never caved to the establishment of politics.”

During a quick either/or Q&A, Ziwe asks if Santos would rather shoplift from a Sephora or an Ulta, to which the former congressman iconically replies, “Neither. I don’t do petty crimes.” Ziwe goes on to compare Santos to Tinker Bell, asking him, “If we stopped clapping, would you go away? What could we do to get you to go away?” Santos responds, “Stop inviting me to your gigs.”

Further proving Santos’ inability to connect with a single demographic because he’s just so stupid, he’s unable to define both “slay the house down boots” as well as the much more simplistic concept of empathy.

The biggest takeaway from the Santos chat is that we need more Ziwe. Who else is going to hold the George Santoses and Chet Hankses and Emily Ratajkowskis of the world accountable?

(featured image: YouTube)