Zach Galifianakis nearly lost his chance to interview Hillary Clinton after insisting on joking about her email controversy during a 2016 Between Two Ferns appearance.
Negotiation Standoff
Clinton’s team initially demanded no mentions of the emails. Galifianakis recounted on Conan O’Brien’s podcast that he responded firmly: either allow the jokes or skip the interview. To his surprise, the team agreed, enabling the comedic bit to proceed as envisioned.
“I remember when I interviewed Hillary Clinton and I could tell she didn’t want to be there,” Galifianakis said. “You have to do it the way we want to do it if you’re coming on a comedy show.”
Roast Highlights
The segment featured sharp humor targeting Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State. Galifianakis quipped about her title meaning a literal secretary role, asking her typing speed and how President Obama liked his coffee—”like himself… weak.” He also pressed on copying Donald Trump’s tactics and the email scandal.
In one exchange, he asked if she’d flee to Canada should Trump win, prompting Clinton to reply quietly: “I would try to prevent him from destroying the United States.” When pressed on leading a civil war, she clarified: “I wouldn’t take up arms. I think that might be a little extreme.” Galifianakis joked back: “Oh, right, because you were saying before we were rolling that you wanted to take away everyone’s guns.” Clinton responded: “I really regret doing this.”
Clinton’s Pitch and Improvisation
Producer Scott Aukerman revealed Clinton herself proposed the appearance, inspired by President Obama’s successful Between Two Ferns spot to boost Obamacare sign-ups among young voters. “It was actually her idea,” Aukerman noted. The interview largely improvised, catching Clinton off-guard at times.
Galifianakis also critiqued fellow comedians for not challenging Trump more during podcast appearances. He and O’Brien agreed Trump appearing open to self-deprecating jokes could humanize him.
Clinton aimed to energize millennials, a key demographic, but ultimately lost the 2016 election to Trump.
