CNN’s New Year’s Eve transmission is famous for its delightful disarray, and this year’s event certainly lived up to that reputation, featuring Ralph Fiennes amusingly embodying the 2024 viral “demure” meme and DJ Diplo openly admitting to being high while broadcasting. Yet, amid all the antics, the evening took a surprising twist when comedian Whitney Cummings’ conspiracy-laden “roast of the year” rendered hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen nearly speechless.
“I suspect that after what I’m about to share, I’ll find myself in a meeting with a slew of lawyers,” Cummings, known for creating 2 Broke Girls, cautioned prior to her performance.
Cummings kicked off her routine with laughs revolving around the Menendez brothers, the WNBA, Hunter Biden, and her take on crypto being “astrology for men,” which drew some chuckles from Cooper and Cohen. However, one particularly less amusing jab at CNN’s declining viewership struck a nerve with Cooper. It wasn’t long before the duo oscillated between awkward laughter and stunned silence.
“Kamala was shoved down our throats so hard that you’d think she got a patent from Pfizer,” Cummings declared in one particularly biting remark, then added, “Oh no. Andy just shot me a very alarming glance.” (Cohen later refuted this assertion.)
To wrap up her performance, Cummings unleashed a barrage of bizarre conspiracy theories: Naturally, there was a mention of drones—“I mean, they’re still floating above us, so I suppose we can dismiss the idea they were produced by Boeing”—alongside dubious references to Disney’s financial contributions, deceased White House chefs, the Boy Scouts of America, and even the supposedly missing silverware from Trump shooter Thomas Crooks.
“I can’t believe you all are still allowing me to continue. This is incredible,” she exclaimed as she wrapped things up. Later, she shared on X that she had rushed through her final remarks due to “running out of time (and feeling scared).”
Throughout her monologue, Cummings expressed concerns that CNN would cut her segment or switch to more conventional programming. While that ultimately didn’t occur, her segment was excluded from CNN’s New Year’s Eve highlight reel.
“I only grasped about half of the references,” Cooper remarked at the conclusion.
