13 Amber Ruffin Jokes and Moments for the Comedy Hall of Fame
Amber Ruffin is the hidden gem among the muck of middle-aged, white dude late-night talk show hosts. Getting her start doing improv in Omaha, Chicago and Denver, Ruffin followed her own path in comedy from Middle America to writing for Seth Meyers to getting her own talk show on Peacock.
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Ruffin’s ability to find humor around subjects regarding race and cultural issues has hit audiences right in the solar plexus without ever compromising her cheery disposition and outlook. The bottom line is that she’s the working woman’s comedian as a performer, writer, host and sometimes drunken narrator.
Which is why we’ve gathered together some choice cuts of Ruffin’s best moments and jokes for the Comedy Hall of Fame...
Rapping a Response to Kanye… Poorly
After Kanye’s comment about how slavery was a choice, Ruffin decided to respond with bars in a cute yet horrible way.
Discussing the Little Rock Nine on ‘Drunk History’
For the Comedy Central show, Ruffin got a few drinks in her to discuss the integration of nine Black high school students into an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The 2016 Election Day Sketch That Presumed Hillary Won
As a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Ruffin co-wrote a sketch toward the end of the 2016 election about the relief the country would feel when Hillary Clinton won. They shot it and everything. And, as you know, that didn’t happen. Yeah. Ruffin would end up deciding to mock her hubris by showing the sketch years later.
Singing About a Frequent Shopping Problem
Ruffin got some backup singers to help discuss an issue that often happens when she goes shopping: random white people presuming that she works at the store.
Her Valentine’s Day Tweet
Getting Mad Like It’s 1999
Ruffin shared a method of healthily channeling her anger at something trivial from the past, such as the subject of City High’s “What Would You Do?”
Discussing Clara Barton on ‘Drunk History’
After getting a little (okay, a lot) tipsy, Ruffin discussed a hero of the Civil War, Clara Barton, a woman who braved the battlefield to bring medical supplies to the Union on the frontlines.
Her Minute of Fury About Her Bodily Autonomy
Ruffin brings up a good point about abortion in that if the state wants control over her body, they need to be in control of everything along with the uterus.
Her Saying ‘Whaaat?’
Ruffin goes over the latest news in which so much out there is so nuts, it makes you want to say, “Whaaaaat?!?”
Exploring If Names Were Farts on ‘Key & Peele’
In this now-classic sketch, Key, Peele, Ruffin and others showcase what the world would be like if everyone’s name was actually a fart sound.
Apologizing to Seth Meyers Like a Sexual Harasser
Ruffin went on Late Night with Seth Meyers to explain how bullshit the apologies from powerful men who were caught as sexual harassers come across via punching Meyers in the face.
Remaking Art Done By Problematic Men
Do you have trouble enjoying certain media because of some fucked-up thing(s) an artist did? Well, Ruffin is here to help!
Being Very Serious About Comedy
Ruffin and her talk show staff break into a silly song about how terrible news impacts regular comedy shows and replaces silliness with seriousness.
