BLINK AND YOU MISS IT

Roy Wood Jr. Quietly Shades ‘The Daily Show’ at the Emmys

Did you catch what the onetime correspondent said as the show took home Best Variety Talk Series on Sunday night?

Roy Wood Jr. has been playing the good sport since leaving The Daily Show last year, but on Sunday night, he couldn’t resist getting one quiet dig in at the Emmy Awards.

After Trevor Noah announced he was stepping down as Daily Show host, Wood Jr.—a beloved correspondent whose impeccable timing and cutting insights have long made him a fan favorite—emerged as a frontrunner for his spot behind the podium. For months, however, the show has failed to name a host; Hasan Minhaj was reportedly a favorite for the job until a New Yorker exposé killed his chances.

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Even after that, however, Wood Jr. did not get the job. He announces his departure from the show last October, more than a year after Noah confirmed he was leaving. Comedy Central has yet to name a successor.

On stage Sunday night, as the show accepted the award for Best Variety Talk Series, viewers caught Wood Jr. mouthing the words “please hire a host.” And while allegations from amateur lip-readers faced some fact-checking after last week’s Golden Globes, the comedian seemed to confirm on Twitter that he said exactly what he thought we all said.

In a quote tweet, Wood Jr. wrote, “chill fam I was trying to do that in the low.”

While accepting the award, Noah acknowledged the mild surprise of The Daily Show’s victory. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver had been a perennial winner in the category, but this year, the show switched categories to Scripted Variety Series, which it won.

“I told you we’d beat John Oliver if he wasn’t in our category,” Noah said. “We did it, we got rid of John Oliver.”

For more, listen to The Daily Show’s Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper on The Last Laugh podcast.

Laura BradleySenior Entertainment Reporter

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