Charlamagne Tha God Tells Colbert His Interview With Rush Limbaugh Was an Unproductive ‘Waste of My Time’

Stephen Colbert spoke to Charlamagne Tha God about systemic racism and his on-air conversation with Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday night’s A Late Show, which the Breakfast Club host described as unproductive and inauthentic.

Charlamagne noted he was disappointed in Limbaugh’s response to white privilege during their conversation, adding that he thought the interview “felt like a waste of my time.”

“I said ‘you’re being delusional right now,’” Charlemagne explained, recounting his response to Limbaugh’s claim that white privilege doesn’t exist. “What really bothered me about that conversation is, after I left that conversation I felt like it wasn’t productive.”

Charlamagne told Colbert that his conversation with Limbaugh didn’t feel genuine — as if he was putting on a performance by denying the existence of privilege, before defining it clearly for a caller when the interview ended.

Colbert related to Charlamagne’s experience and revealed that he felt the same way after his interview with President Donald Trump, which he also thought was performative and dishonest.

“After we left his show, he was taking callers, and a caller asked him ‘What is white supremacy? What does Charlamagne mean when he talks about white supremacy, white privilege?’ He broke it down so eloquently. Rush broke it down like he knew exactly what it was,” Charlamagne said.

“They say anything they want in front of the microphone,” Colbert said about politicians and pundits. “But then they come on your show and they act like the reasonable man.”

Colbert guessed that people are more honest and feel courageous enough to speak truthfully in their own studios because they don’t want to give other hosts credit.

Charlamagne explained that he and Limbaugh both work for iHeart media, so executives suggested the two hosts have a discussion in the wake of Geoge Floyd’s death.

“The powers that be were like, ‘Hey, Rush had this whole epiphany about the murder of big Floyd and he thinks it was wrong and he wants the police to be arrested and he wants to talk about it,'” Charlamagne said. “I thought that would have been powerful because I think it’s great when white people use their privilege to combat prejudice, but if you can’t get to the root of why these situations happen, which is white supremacy, which is white privilege, then what conversation are we really having?”

Charlamagne also spoke to the late-night host about systemic racism in America and suggested focusing on legislation and reparations to reach economic justice.

The Breakfast Club host told Colbert he wasn’t surprised by Floyd’s death or the protests responding to the incidents, adding that equality and inclusivity in America are being exposed for the illusion it always was.

“America advertises itself as an all-inclusive resort but it’s really a private club founded by old rich white men for rich white men, and they make the rules and we’re all caught up in this web of white supremacy,” he said. “Nothing is going to get us out of that web until you have more privileged white men willing to dismantle that system by relinquishing and sharing the wealth and power.”

Charlamagne added that he thinks America is at its breaking point and the only way to create change is by voting out the current administration and focusing on legislation.

“People are screaming to America to make a change,” he said. “We keep talking about things going back to normal — normal was never working in America … There has to be a lot of atonement from this country in regard to legislation and reparation, to black people in particular because we built this country for free.”

Watch above, via Youtube.