Seth Meyers gets to the bottom of Rudy Giuliani's confusion over Black Lives Matter

(Image credit: Peter Kramer/NBC/Getty Images)

published 12 July 2016

In Seth Meyers' opinion, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's issue with the Black Lives Matter movement all comes down to the fact that he's subconsciously adding a word to the activist group's name that isn't actually there. "The problem with you, Rudy, is you're imagining the word 'only' in there, as in 'Only Black Lives Matter,' but no one is saying that," Meyers said on Monday's episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers. Giuliani has repeatedly called the activist group "inherently racist" because it "divides us."

Meyers tried out an analogy about a convenience store sign. "In fact, assuming the word 'only' in any context is kinda weird, just in general. Like when you see a sign outside a store saying 'We Sell Lottery Tickets,' you don't assume they mean 'We Only Sell Lottery Tickets,'" Meyers said. "In fact, despite it not being on the sign, you're fairly certain they also have Mountain Dew and porno mags."

All this led Meyers to conclude that, contrary to what Giuliani said, Black Lives Matter is neither "racist" nor exclusionary. "Essentially," Meyers said, "it just means 'black lives matter, too.'"