Zach Galifianakis demanded the freedom to joke about Hillary Clinton’s email scandal during her appearance on his Between Two Ferns show, leading her team to initially threaten to cancel the interview ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Negotiations Behind the Scenes
Galifianakis revealed on Conan O’Brien’s podcast that Clinton’s team contacted him with strict instructions: no mentions of the emails. He responded firmly, stating, ‘Well, we don’t have to do the interview. That’s fine, we won’t do it.’
To his surprise, the team relented, allowing the comedian to proceed on his terms. ‘You have to, if you’re going to come on a comedy show, do it the way we want to do it,’ Galifianakis explained.
He noted Clinton appeared reluctant during the taping, adding, ‘I remember when I interviewed Hillary Clinton and I could tell she didn’t want to be there. And I totally get that.’
Roasting Clinton on Air
The interview featured sharp humor targeting Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State. Galifianakis quipped about her title, asking how President Obama liked his coffee—’like himself?… Weak’—and inquired about her typing speed.
He also pressed her on potentially emulating Donald Trump’s tactics and mocked the email controversy directly. When asked if she would flee to Canada or the Arctic if Trump won and Kid Rock became Secretary of State, Clinton replied softly that she would remain in the U.S. to ‘try to prevent him from destroying the United States.’
Galifianakis joked about a civil war, to which she responded, ‘I wouldn’t take up arms. I think that might be a little extreme.’ He fired back, ‘Oh, right, because you were saying before we were rolling that you wanted to take away everyone’s guns.’ Clinton admitted, ‘I really regret doing this.’
Clinton’s Initiative and Improvisation
Producer Scott Aukerman disclosed that Clinton pitched the appearance herself, inspired by President Obama’s successful episode to promote Obamacare among young voters. ‘It was actually her idea,’ Aukerman said. ‘She told her team she wanted to do it and that she really liked the one with President Obama.’
The segment relied heavily on improvisation, helping Clinton connect with millennials—a key demographic for her campaign. Despite the gamble, she lost the election to Trump.
Views on Trump and Comedy
Galifianakis and O’Brien discussed how comedians often fail to challenge Trump, with Galifianakis wishing they would ‘push back against him more often’ instead of sucking up. They agreed that Trump appearing open to self-deprecating jokes would humanize him.
