Seth Meyers Hires Amber Ruffin
Seth Meyers Hires Amber Ruffin, First Black Female Writer In Late-Night Talk Show History
Following in the footsteps of Saturday Night Live, Seth Meyers also hires a black female writer — a rarity among after-dark network shows — for his new Late Night with Seth Meyers show on NBC, Jezebel reports.
Her name is Amber Ruffin, a former iO Theater and Second City performer who incidentally was among the women who attended SNL’s secret auditions for Black female comics.
“Well, well, well,” Cecily Strong, Meyer’s former SNL co-anchor, tweeted to Ruffin. “That sneaky Seth got you for himself! See you soon and congrats!!!”
“Yes! We are neighbors!” Ruffin replied. They are neighbors indeed since, according to Time Entertainment, “Comedian Seth Meyers doesn’t have to go far to get from his old NBC studio to his new Late Night studio: about 30 feet.”
Besides writing for Meyer’s highly-anticipated show, Ruffin’s got another feat under her belt: She’s the first Black woman in history to write for a nightly talk show. Ever.
Late night host legends such as Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Chelsea Handler, and Jimmy Fallen, according to Jezebel, never had a single woman of color on the writer’s staff. Not even Arsenio Hall or George Lopez.
The only shows that ever had a WOC are either off-network or on premium cable such as Totally Biased, The Chris Rock Show, and Real Time with Bill Maher, The Observer adds.
Miss Ruffin, a Chicago-trained improviser and comedian, has appeared on Comedy Central’s Key and Peele and is a sketch writer, actress, and producer for the YouTube comedy troupe, RobotDown, according to IMDB.
This news comes on the heels of Saturday Night Live’s recruitment of Sasheer Zamata, the show’s first Black woman comic since 2007, and two Black writers: LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones.
Be sure to check out Late Night with Seth Meyers on February 24.
