Reggie Watts Breaks Down on ‘The Late Late Show’ Over George Floyd Death, Shares Experience Growing Up With Racism (Video)

The Wrap

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James Corden’s bandleader Reggie Watts broke down in tears on Monday’s “Late Late Show” discussing the current climate in our nation following the death of George Floyd.

“Feeling so much, simultaneously, it’s crazy,” Watts, a comedian as well as musician, said last night on the CBS program.

Watts told Corden that he doesn’t normally “access” his feelings about growing up biracial in the midwest “because there’s a lot of pain and emotion there.”

*Also Read:* Jimmy Fallon Says He Was Advised to 'Stay Quiet' When 'SNL' Blackface Impression Resurfaced (Video)

That’s when he broke down.

“I’m so sorry that you’re feeling this,” Corden, himself crying at this point, said. “I would give anything to be in the room with you and put my arm around you.”

Watch the video above. It’s a tough, but important, one.

*Also Read:* Jimmy Fallon Apologizes for Blackface in Old 'SNL' Skit: 'I Made a Terrible Decision'

Below are excerpts from Corden’s monologue, which precede Watts’ appearance. The following quotes have been provided by CBS.



I’ve been struggling all weekend wondering what to say to you here tonight. Because who needs my opinion? Why is my voice relevant? There is not one person in the world who woke up this morning and thought – I need to know what James Corden thinks about all of this. Surely this is a time for me to listen not talk. And then I realized that that’s part of the problem. People like me have to speak up. To be clear, I’m not talking about late night hosts or people who are fortunate, like I am, to have a platform. I’m talking about white people. White people cannot just say anymore – yeah I am not racist and think that that’s enough, because it’s not. It’s not enough. Because make no mistake this is our problem to solve. How can the black community dismantle a problem that they didn’t create?

These protests, they have to result in change. Because when athletes took a knee peacefully at a football game, the Vice President stood up and walked out of that stadium rather than see that protest. Now a policeman takes a knee to a man’s neck and our leadership hide in a bunker rather than see this protest.  

And all of this is happening while we are still experiencing the horrors of this pandemic. A pandemic which saw more black and brown people suffer from the disease, yet have less access to healthcare that they needed. And remember it’s those same people, who make up a higher percentage of the essential workers helping all of us during this health crisis… So they help society more, but they get helped less. We shouldn’t be just trying to understand the rage. We should feel the rage.



*Related stories from TheWrap:*

Jimmy Fallon Says He Was Advised to 'Stay Quiet' When 'SNL' Blackface Impression Resurfaced (Video)

Jimmy Fallon Apologizes for Blackface in Old 'SNL' Skit: 'I Made a Terrible Decision'

Watch ViacomCBS' Powerful 8-Minute, 46-Second Blackout Video Tribute to George Floyd Here

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