Tue, Jan 31, 2023
Newsweek
U.S.

Watch: Hillary Clinton Appears in 'Daily Show' Segment 'Song for Women 2017'

By
U.S. Hillary Clinton The Daily Show Women Women's March

In "The Yearly Show 2017," an end-of-year special presented by The Daily Show, correspondents Dulcé Sloan and Desi Lydic recapped the year for women in a song— with a special appearance from Hillary Clinton.

"Song for Women 2017 (feat. DJ Mansplain)" aired on Monday night, covering events such as the release of Wonder Woman and the Women's March while also making critiques on the not-so-great occasions.

"When I heard that we were going to do a year-end special I was like, we have to do a song," Lydic said at the opening of the song segment. Sloan then clarified that it was she who first suggested a year-end song.

"I've been singing my whole life," Lydic said, as she tried to teach Sloan to be a better vocalist, despite the latter having outstanding singing skills. Lydic's singing, on the other hand, caused a producer to drastically turn up the autotune in all of her parts.

"This is going to be a powerful song for women," Sloan said in the video. Lydic followed up with "And black women," to which Sloan, a black woman, reacted with confusion and displeasure while the audience laughed.

This can be seen as a commentary on white feminism, a term that refers to a women's movement that disregards the unique plight of women of color.

Critiques of white feminism surfaced in the days surrounding Women's March on Washington in January. A black blogger named ShiShi Rose wrote a post on Instagram in December 2016 telling white allies that "now is the time for you to be listening more, talking less." The meaning of the march did ignite contentious conversations surrounding race.

View this post on Instagram

Today's #ActivistAday features myself, ShiShi Rose (@shishi.rose) and I am one of the admins here. . For some people, their outlook of this country deeply changed on November 9th. For the rest of us, this is how it has always looked. I want to remind you that that is a privilege. It's a privilege that white supremacy wasn't at the forefront of your reality, because you benefit from it. I want to remind you that no ally ever got very far, in any movement, without acknowledgement of their own privilege daily. You do not just get to join the efforts that people of color have been working for their entire lives to both teach and survive, without doing work, too. You don't just get to join because now you're scared, too. I was born scared. Now is the time for you to be listening more, talking less, spend time observing, taking in media and art created by people of color, researching, and unlearning the things you have been taught about this country. You should be reading our books and understanding the roots of racism and white supremacy. Listening to our speeches. You should be drowning yourselves in our poetry. Now is the time that you should be exposed to more than just the horrors of this country, but also the beauty that has always existed within communities of color. Beauty that was covered over because the need to see white faces depicted was more important. Now is the time to teach your children, to call out your family, to finally speak up. You have been silent for long enough. Now is the time to realize that you should have joined us sooner. But since you're here now, it's time to get to work. #WhyIMarch

A post shared by Women's March (@womensmarch) on

The Daily Show included a male character under the name of "DJ Mansplain" as a reference to "mansplaining," which is defined as "(of a man) to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner."

DJ Mansplain's verse mimicked controversial reactions to sexual assault and harassment allegations, stating "But maybe you asked for it/It's kind of on you/We men are dumb/We can't control what we do."

After expressing their annoyance with DJ Mansplain, Sloan and Lydic invited Clinton to "take us home." The skit ended with a grand finale of Clinton appearing in the recording studio and lip syncing to some impressive notes while Sloan and Lydic finished the song.

The special took place at the Gramercy Theatre in New York, and reflected on the turbulent year, AV Club reported Tuesday. The special involved skits and routines from correspondents such as Hasan Minhaj, whose Netflix special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King debuted this May, gaining an 88-percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Request Reprint & Licensing, Submit Correction or view Editorial Guidelines