Ziwe Fumudoh

Ziwerekoru "Ziwe" Fumudoh (born February 27, 1992) is a 1st Generation Nigerian-American comedian, writer, and actress. She is known for her satirical commentary on politics, race relations, and young adulthood.

In 2017, she created the YouTube comedy show Baited with Ziwe and its 2020 Instagram Live iteration. She wrote for Desus & Mero from 2018 to 2020, and she co-hosted Crooked Media's Hysteria podcast in 2018. Fumudoh starred in and executive produced the Showtime variety series Ziwe (2021–2022). She published a collection of essays called Black Friend in October 2023.

Early life and education Born February 27, 1992, Fumudoh grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the second of three children to Nigerian immigrant parents.

Fumudoh graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 2010 and attended Northwestern University.

While an undergraduate at Northwestern University, Fumudoh wrote for student publications including Purp Magazine, Northwestern Sketch Television, and Project SOARD.

Career

2013–2017: Early years In 2013, Fumudoh worked as a summer intern at Comedy Central on shows including The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. At The Onion she worked in video, research, and contributing features. From 2015 to 2020, she wrote for publications including The Riveter Magazine; Reductress; The Daily Dot; Into The Gloss, where she wrote a column called "Operation Goo Goo Gah Gah;" Vulture, where she wrote television recaps; and The New Yorker.

After graduation, she worked at Lorne Michaels's Above Average Productions. a show on YouTube that featured her "baiting" her white friends into making unwitting racial faux pas. In the same interview, she said that she got the inspiration for the show from asking her white coworkers what questions they would be uncomfortable to answer on camera. That same year, she co-hosted Hysteria, a podcast from Crooked Media. A Forbes reviewer wrote that she had the "confidence of an old comedy pro."

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Fumudoh moved the show from YouTube to Instagram Live with weekly celebrity guests including Caroline Calloway, Alison Roman, Alyssa Milano, and Rose McGowan. She stated that her show's goals were to facilitate discussions about race while entertaining people and critiquing the system. Guests were asked to participate in games that illuminated societal discomforts surrounding race, one of which was titled “Enslave, Appropriate, Silence,” a take on “Fuck, Marry, Kill”.

2020–2021: Ziwe on Showtime Season 1:

In October 2020, the first season of Ziwe, Fumudoh's variety show on Showtime, was announced.

The first six-episode season launched in May and ran through June 13. Its six episodes featured sketches, musical numbers, and interviews with celebrity guests including Fran Lebowitz, Bowen Yang, Phoebe Bridgers, Julio Torres, and Stacey Abrams. Fumudoh served as host, writer, and producer, and she worked with costume designer Pamela Shepard-Hill. Critics applauded the refreshing twist, especially highlighting the one-on-one interviews, particularly when the guests were able to laugh at their own expense or fully sidestep the 'gotcha' interview questions by countering with questions of their own. However, some members of the critical community felt the show fell short in its attempted expansion to sketches beyond the gotcha style interviews.

Season 2 debuted on November 18, 2022. The show's formula largely remained the same with one-on-one interviews centered on gotcha style questions, though the guest list expanded in size and scope with celebrities popular among women, the LGBTQ+ community, and the Black community.

Celebrity guests included Ilana Glazer, Mia Khalifa, Emily Ratajkowski, Katya Zamolodchikova, Julia Fox, Bob the Drag Queen, Joel Kim Booster, Amber Riley, Michael Che, and Hannibal Burress.

Cancellation:

In April 2023, Showtime announced it would not renew the series following a change of network leadership. Critics lamented the loss of the only late night style comedy show hosted by a Black woman, particularly in the wake of TBS' cancellation of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee in July of 2022.

2023 – Present: Ziwe returns to YouTube In 2023, Fumudoh transitioned the interview series from Showtime to YouTube. As of June 2026, Fumudoh has around 550,000 subscribers.

On December 18, 2023, Fumudoh interviewed former U.S. House representative George Santos on her YouTube show titled Ziwe News Network (ZNN). The interview was covered in political news outlets and entertainment columns.

On November 6, 2025, Fumudoh interviewed New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The interview received news coverage for Adams' behavior.

Other guests have included comedian Caleb Hearon, singer Reneé Rapp, drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, SNL cast member Devon Walker, comedian Kevin Hart, rapper Vince Staples, media personality Whitney Leavitt, and actor Adam Pally.

Other television projects: In 2021, Fumudoh wrote for the television series Dickinson and appeared in two episodes as Sojourner Truth. That same year, she played Sophie Iwobi, a comedic commentator on a late-night show resembling Ziwe, in one episode of the third season of Succession. The character was tailored to more closely resemble Fumudoh after she was cast.

In September 2023, Fumudoh was part of the "My Wings, My Way" campaign for Victoria's Secret.

Influences Fumudoh has cited Jonathan Swift and Stephen Colbert as influences, having been introduced to them by a teacher during her freshman year of high school. Naming the latter as a foundational reference, she has said of his appearance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner, "It was so unbelievable that he’d speak to authority or even around authority like that... I was really compelled by his satire." She has also taken inspiration from Oprah, the works of Zach Galifianakis, and Nathan Fielder,

Personal life Fumudoh lives in New York City.

Filmography

Discography All credits are adapted from Apple Music and Spotify.

As lead artist

Singles YearTitleAlbumWriter(s)Producer(s)2022"Surveil Me"(featuring Jen Goma) Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Jen GomaJen Goma"Men"(featuring Jen Goma)"Am I Gay?"(featuring Jen Goma)Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Jen Goma"Hot Hot Ozone"(featuring Jen Goma)"Black in E Minor"(featuring Jen Goma)"Famous and Normal"(featuring Jo Firestone)Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Sam Taggart, Jen GomaJen Goma"Baby Let's Move On"2021"White Actor Blues" (featuring Sam Taggart & Helene Yorke) Ziwe: A Famously Iconic SoundtrackZiwerekoru Fumudoh, Michelle Davis, Jen Goma"What Do I Get Out of It"Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Cole Andrew Escola, ChickenChicken"Black Friends"(featuring Patti Harrison)Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Jordan Mendoza, William D Freeman, William M. KaweschDonwill"Stop Being Poor"(featuring Patti Harrison)Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Jordan Mendoza, ChickenChicken"Wet Diaper (Goo Goo Gah Gah)"Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Jordan Mendoza, Jen GomaJen Goma"Lisa Called the Cops"Ziwerekoru Fumudoh, Cole Andrew Escola, Misha Bess LambertMisha Lambert"Ponderosa With Omarosa"Generation ZiweZiwerekoru Fumudoh "Make It Clap for Democracy"

Extended plays TitleDetailsZiwe: A Famously Iconic Soundtrack Released: June 18, 2021 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download, streamingGeneration Ziwe Released: April 28, 2021 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download, streaming