Ziwe has secured a legendary guest for her latest interview: George Santos.
After hinting at a collaboration with the former congressman, comedian and celebrity interviewer Ziwe unveiled her exclusive sit-down discussion with Santos on YouTube Monday morning.
Ziwe’s “ZNN” interview, a CNN parody presented by her own Ziwe News Network, started with onscreen text declaring “No congressman were paid in the making of this interview even though George asked three times.” She then presented a list of civil rights icons and asked Santos to share his thoughts on each. The list included Marsha P. Johnson, James Baldwin, Harvey Milk and Bowen Yang’s “SNL” impression of Santos — which he humorously suggested deserved an EGOT.
When asked whether he would want Yang to portray him in an HBO movie, Santos dismissed the idea, stating, “that movie is not ever going to happen. That book has no perspective of me or anybody close to me. It’s fiction,” referring to Mark Chiusano’s novel “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos.”
The ousted Republican representative, who was removed from office on Dec. 1 after an ethics report accused him of breaking federal law, agreed to join Ziwe for an interview after she reached out to him and prophesied that he would be an iconic guest.
The scandal-plagued congressman faced 13 criminal charges from the federal government, including wire fraud, theft of public funds, money laundering and making false statements to Congress. He was found to have used campaign funds for personal expenses — including car payments, OnlyFans, makeup and designer clothing — and was accused of misleading Congress about his financial situation on official disclosure statements.
When asked about his personal expenses, Santos claimed, “I’ve always worked, Ziwe, so yeah, my own money. Like everything else I own.”
Santos, who became the sixth member of the House ever to be expelled, faced intense public scrutiny prior to taking office due to his habit of lying about his background. He lied about his high school and college education, previous employment, and even falsely claimed to be Jewish, later dismissing the claim and stating, “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
In the interview, Santos took aim at other politicians, describing them as “frauds,” and suggested that they wouldn’t withstand the same level of scrutiny as he faced. He listed Kevin McCarthy, Lindsay Graham, Bob “Gold Bar” Menendez and Dan Goldman as fellow alleged fraudsters.
Throughout Ziwe’s interview, Santos made several controversial statements, including claiming that he doesn’t “see color,” insisting that “Gen Z loves Trump; he’s an icon,” and boldly declaring that he would “outlive each and every member of Congress.” He also voiced his reluctance about joining “Dancing With the Stars” in the future, stating, “I’ll pass.”
The interview concluded with speculation about Santos’ potential return to politics in the future.
