The Daily Show comedians Jon Stewart and Jessica Williams had a field day with Fox News and one of its anchors, Megyn Kelly, over remarks she made about Santa and Jesus being historically and inarguably white.
Stewart kicked off the segment reminding viewers that the real St. Nicholas was indeed from Greece, as Kelly and her panel of guests had stated—but from the part of Greece that is now Turkey.
"Of course, the real St. Nicholas was from a part of the world that is now Turkey, so who exactly is changing the facts to make themselves more comfortable here?" Stewart asked, while showing a picture of what scientists have imagined the real St. Nick to have looked like—burly, with dark skin. "Actual St. Nicholas? Well, my guess is there’d be no Christmas if he looked like that dude because he’s probably still on the no-fly list."
Stewart also dug at Kelly for saying Jesus was white, quipping, "You do know that Jesus wasn’t born in Bethlehem, Penn., right?"
Stewart then introduced Jessica Williams, a popular fixture on the show. Williams quickly took over the snipes at Kelly, not pulling any punches.
"It’s Miracle on 34th Street, not Miracle on 134th Street," Williams dead-panned, sarcastically insisting that Santa was white. "The only miracle on 134th Street is that we get to participate at all. Half the time Santa skips us on his way downtown, just like a taxicab."
Williams also pointed out that maybe it was Kelly and the other Fox News panelists who were truly uncomfortable with the truth.
"A swarthy Turkish Santa would make people very uncomfortable—oh, wait no, Megyn said if I feel uncomfortable, there’s no need to change it. If white people feel uncomfortable, then we have to change it, and then pretend it’s the way it’s always been," Williams added. "First you fix history, then you lock that s—t down. Forever. In a vault. Sorry, Santa’s not black just because some blogger wishes he was, just like Megyn’s not black just because she spells her name creatively."
A final zinger was tossed, referencing the injustice behind "Stand your ground" laws.
"There is no way this could be Santa," Williams said, referencing the dark Turkish version. "Because the moment white folk saw a black man with a big old bag coming down the chimney, it would be time to grab a gun and stand your ground."
It’s worth noting that Megyn Kelly was curiously absent from her show last night. However, according to TVNewser, she was out sick with a cold and is expected to address her comments on Friday’s show.