Aziz Ansari gets frank about TV's diversity problem while needling CBS on Colbert's Late Show
test dek sr billboard

Aziz Ansari ditched the small talk and cut straight to the chase in his Tuesday night appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. After noting that both he and Colbert are from South Carolina, the Indian-American actor and comedian decided to get serious. "Stephen is the first Late Night host from South Carolina and the 'bajillionth' white guy," Ansari said. "So a very interesting measure of progress."
When Colbert responded by asking if having Ansari on his show was helping television's minority problem, Ansari was wonderfully sassy. "Yeah, it's really diverse right now," Ansari deadpanned. "It's like 50 percent diverse. This is like an all-time high for CBS."
Colbert was speechless. Watch the full exchange below. Becca Stanek
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 worm-ridden cartoons about RFK. Jr and the CDC
Cartoons Artists take on vaccine advisers, medical quackery, and more
-
Will 2027 be the year of the AI apocalypse?
A 'scary and vivid' new forecast predicts that artificial superintelligence is on the horizon A 'scary and vivid' new forecast predicts that artificial superintelligence is on the horizon
-
Crossword: June 15, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia