How are you Queen Thede?
You know, just in the Christmas spirit.
That's right.
I never thought I would be 3 inches tall,
but the benefit is I had, like, a 2-inch waist.
OK.
So that was fun.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Did you get those heels
from Ron DeSantis or--
[laughs]
Baby, I don't want to know what's in his closet.
[laughter]
Probably Lindsey Graham. But listen.
[laughs]
Oh, no.
This--
He's like, now, why am I in it?
You know why. All right.
Now, this movie seems pretty fantastical, right?
Yes.
There are elves and magic and Black Santa.
Yeah.
[laughter]
But--
Now, that's facts.
--the villain is a white woman.
- Yes. - So is it fiction or not?
Yeah.
[laughs]
Oh, my god.
Who knows, right?
It is funny to imagine a Black Santa too.
That's what's so exciting, right?
Because I grew up with the typical white Santa
in all the books and everything.
We all did.
Yeah.
But I think now, you know, I think
the world is ready for a Black Santa,
especially David Alan Grier. Why not?
[cheers, applause]
You know?
Do you think--
do you think the world is ready to tell
kids that Santa isn't real?
You think that's inappropriate?
Mmm.
You know, when I was growing up-- so my parents definitely
wanted me to believe in Santa, but my aunt was like,
you know Santa ain't real.
And I was, like, six, you know.
And, like, as--
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Is she a Jehovah's Witness?
No, but my babysitter was, and she told us
we was going to hell because we were not Jehovah's Witnesses,
which I was like, that don't feel
like a tenet of your religion.
But-- so my aunt told us.
And, like, as an adult, I was like, now,
my aunt was sleeping with somebody other than my uncle,
so I feel like if she told me Santa wasn't real,
I should have told my uncle your wife ain't real.
You know what I'm saying?
[laughter]
But it's too late.
[cheers, applause]
Also, that's a complete lie.
She wasn't cheating on him, but I thought that would be funny.
I think--
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yeah, it was
about to be a rough Christmas dinner for you.
You out here spilling family secrets on TV.
My aunt is literally like, how dare you?
They never cheated.
You know, I don't know.
Here's the thing.
Marriage is a sham, and I think everyone should cheat.
No, I'm just kidding.
Well, you're clearly in the lying spirit today.
I don't know what's happening.
Why do you think Jesus doesn't headline
his own birth day, though? It's like Santa--
Ooh.
Santa, the Grinch, they get more attention.
That's a good point.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yeah.
Jesus didn't have good marketing.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Exactly.
Yeah.
And his friends were whacked.
They were either trying to be him or betray him, so--
That's very true.
Jesus got out early like Tupac, you know.
He was just like--
he was like, I'm good, you know.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yeah, be a martyr.
Die young, be a martyr. - Exactly.
All his albums slap.
I mean, if Jesus would have made albums, he would--
they'd have been, like, top five.
Jesus, Tupac, Jay-Z, you know.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yeah.
For most of the movie, you play a Christmas figurine.
I do.
And Eddie Murphy is basically-- he had an earpiece
to hear what you were saying. - Yes.
Yeah, that seems like a lot of pressure.
What was it like-- - Well, it seems annoying.
Do you want this in your ear all the time?
It was funny, because the first day,
we didn't know-- we thought their ear--
so we would go rehearse on set as live people.
Because Eddie and Tracee really--
Tracee Ellis Ross is incredible in the movie too.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely.
Wanted-- yeah.
It's so funny.
They wanted me, Nick Offerman, and Chris Redd, who played all
the figurines, to be there in person,
improvise together, get the feeling of it.
Then we would go to these sound booths,
and they would hear us on the mic in their ears.
And we thought they only heard us when they were rolling.
But at the end of the day, Tracee--
Tracy just goes, you know we can hear everything
you're saying, right?
We were having debates about Drake albums.
Like, we were just being so annoying while they
were trying to work.
And they didn't tell us the whole first day,
but after that, we learned.
So we were trying to chill out.
How many times did, like, shooting
get delayed because you guys were
busy making everybody laugh--
All the ti-- every day.
Every day.
And the cool thing was Director Reggie Hudlin had us
on set for scenes that we weren't even-- we
didn't know if we would be in.
Because they would animate us kind of after all the end
of the live-action stuff.
So we were there for months.
And so we got to hang out with them and, you know,
just go crazy.
And Eddie lights up, as does Tracee, when we go off-script,
especially me and Chris Redd.
We were always trying to make them break, so--
we never made Eddie break, but he definitely made us break.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Why does he like it?
Because he can't remember his lines,
so it's better to freestyle? - No!
Why does he like it?
Let me tell you how--
Eddie knows everyone's lines.
He is a professional.
This man has done 50 movies, OK?
This is, like, easy for him.
But, no, I think he just loves that spirit.
I think there are so many comedians in the movie--
DC Young Fly, Anjelah Johnson, all these great people.
So I think he just wanted that spirit, yeah.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely.
Now, the last season of A Black Lady Sketch Show
aired this past spring. That's right.
Make some noise for that. [cheers, applause]
Thank you.
The fact that the show was even allowed to exist
is a huge accomplishment.
- Listen, you ain't lying. - That's right.
Let alone the fact that you picked up a lot of awards
for it. - Yeah.
It's inspiring an entirely new generation of Black women.
What sketch from the show are you most proud of?
Probably the one where I play a man.
No, I don't know. I think--
[laughs]
One person is like, I saw it.
I don't know. What am I most proud of?
You know what?
I think Courtroom Kiki, which is, like,
the Black lady courtroom.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - OK.
Somebody knew it. OK.
[laughs]
Yeah.
I think that's one because it's like-- it just shows Black
sisterhood in a really fun way that I think we don't
get to experience very often.
So people always tag me on social media when they have,
like, two Black ladies at any one place,
and they're like, Black lady dentists.
And I'm like, stop clapping.
Get your teeth fixed.
But yeah.
So I think that's dope, and it kind of lives beyond the show.
So I think any of those sketches--
like, the bad bitch support group with Angela Bassett,
you know--
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely.
We had a lot of fun.
Like, creating these iconic moments
that you don't see anywhere else
and that you will never see again.
You never going to see a 227 remake where we actually
have Marla Gibbs and Jackée Harry--
you know, just all these amazing actors.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: You have to have a Black woman run
the show to do a 227 sketch. - For sure.
- Absolutely. - For sure.
And a lot of trust from HBO, because I'm sure they'd
be like, what are we making?
But-- you know, having Issa Rae as an EP doesn't hurt.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: That's right.
That's right.
[cheers, applause]
Did you feel fulfilled?
Like, did you feel like you got everything you
needed to out of that show?
Yeah.
I think, you know, for me, I don't want to, like,
be Jordan playing baseball.
You know what I mean?
Like, I want to leave the legacy there
and, like-- first of all, he was great at baseball.
No shade to Jordan.
He's Michael Jordan.
But, I mean, he's better at basketball, right?
I mean, that's the thing that he spent his life doing.
So I just didn't want to be--
I never, in anything that I do, want
to be, like, past my prime.
So-- although I'm incredibly young.
[titters]
I think-- yeah.
So I feel good about it.
But I'm always going to be a little sad.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yeah.
And I still think of sketches wherever I go,
which is the problem.
But, you know, I never say never,
and you never know what can happen in the future, so--
It feels like-- well, it's not it feels like.
It did check off a lot of boxes.
The show did. Because, you know-- Black.
It was women.
It feels like slightly Hollywood
may not be on the diversity push that it once was.
Do you think that had anything to do with the show
not coming back?
No, no, no. Not at all.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK.
I think most--
if you ever notice, most shows really don't go past,
like, three seasons anymore.
I don't think the audiences really want to--
want that as much.
I don't know.
I think there's very few shows that, moving forward
in this kind of climate in the industry,
are going to last, like, 20, 50 80 seasons.
I just think--
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely.
You know, I think we're always
looking for the new thing, and no one wants
to overstay their welcome.
So I have such great partners at HBO,
and I'm still making shows with them.
I have a new show that I'm working on with them.
So there'll be-- there'll be more to come.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Absolutely.
I always want to keep it fresh, yeah.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: That's right.
[cheers, applause]
So we may not have the Black Lady Sketch Show,
but we still have Robin Thede. - Yes.
That's right.
I didn't die.
I didn't die just 'cause the show is over.
That's right.
Candy Cane Lane is streaming now on Prime Video.