Comedian’s Wild, Conspiracy Theory-Filled Roast Shocks CNN Hosts During New Year’s Eve Show

CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast is renowned for its campy chaos, and this year’s show was no exception, from Ralph Fiennes performing 2024’s much-viral “demure” meme to the DJ Diplo confirming he was high while on-air. But even with all that in mind, the night took an unexpected turn when comedian Whitney Cummings’ conspiracy theory-filled “roast of the year” left hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen speechless.

“I think after what I’m about to do I’m probably going to be in a huddle with a bunch of lawyers,” Cummings, the creator of 2 Broke Girls, warned before the set.

Cummings began with jokes about the Menendez brothers, the WNBA, Hunter Biden and how crypto is “astrology for men,” lines which garnered some laughs from Cooper and Cohen. Less amusing, for Cooper in particular, was a quip about CNN’s tanking viewership. And it wasn’t long before the pair were left alternating between moments of awkward laughter and stoic shock.

“Kamala was forced on us so hard, you’d think she was patented by Pfizer,” Cummings said in one particularly pointed punchline, before noting, “Oh no. Andy just gave me a very scary look.” (Cohen denied this was the case.)

Cummings finished her set by firing off some wacky conspiracy theories: Of course there was a moment for drones—“I mean, they’re still up there in the sky so I guess we can rule out that they were made by Boeing”—as well as dubious shout-outs to Disney’s funding, dead White House chefs, the Boy Scouts of America and even Trump shooter Thomas Crooks' (allegedly) missing silverware.

“I can’t believe you guys are still letting me go. This is amazing,” she said as she finished. She later posted on X that she had sped through her last few lines because she was “running out of time (and scared).”

Cummings repeatedly said during her monologue that she was worried that CNN would end the broadcast or cut away to safer content. Though that didn’t happen, her set wasn’t included in CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage highlight reel.

“I only understood like half the references,” Cooper said in closing.

For more, listen to Whitney Cummings on The Last Laugh podcast.