Seth Meyers Shows Off His Meager Talents

Seth Meyers and Somaly Mam. Photo: Billy Farrell Agency

SNL's Weekend Update anchor, Seth Meyers, is widely considered to have killed at the April 30 White House Correspondents' Dinner, the toughest gig in comedy.

On Monday, Meyers was selected by NBC to skewer his bosses at their fall lineup presentation in New York. Despite his in-demand schedule, Meyers made time last night to host a charity event at the Bowery Hotel for Somaly Mam, the Cambodian human rights activist devoted to eradication of child sex trafficking and exploitation in the U.S. and overseas. Mam rescues, shelters, rehabs and educates girls in Southeast Asia. Project Futures is the global volunteer activist program involved in raising awareness and funds for the cause.

"We are not scared to have a dream – go to high school, go to law school," said Mam. "I raise money for my girls to make sure they have scholarships to go to school. Plus it's wonderful to see all the young people volunteer and get involved."

ELLE chatted with Meyers about charity, comedy, being charitable to targets of his comedy – and how he helped catch Osama bin Laden.

ELLE: How did you become involved in Somaly Mam's charity?
My girlfriend's involved with the Foundation and she gave me Somaly's book, which I read, and she's a very easy woman to be inspired by. [New York Times journalist] Nicholas Kristof writes about this so much and I feel that a lot of people are unaware of how widespread human trafficking is, even in this country, so any way we can raise awareness, I was just happy to find a way to help with my meager talents.

ELLE: Speaking of your `meager talents,' how nerve-wracking was it to host the White House Correspondents' Dinner?
It was one of the more exciting moments of my life but I was so nervous. And so nervous as the President was literally just destroying the room. He was so great. He's so funny and so hard to follow because even if you do as well as him, the tie-breaker is: which one of you is also the President?

ELLE: How did you prepare?
SM: I'd heard what a tough room it was, so I watched a lot of old [dinner tapes]. He warmed up the room great and once it was over and I felt it went well, it was definitely one of the best nights of my life.

ELLE: You just know that the next event you're going to be asked to do is the Oscars or another major award show.
SM: I refuse to believe that! I can't believe you don't count the ESPY's! Or the Webbies!

ELLE: Would you do the Oscars, if you are asked?
SM: I do like hosting things. I love to keep my options open, but I can play hard-to-get, at the very least like negotiating with Lorne [Michaels]...

ELLE: Now, speaking of destroying a room, were the vaporizing death stares coming from The Donald intimidating?
SM: I knew he was there but I had no idea where in the audience he was

ELLE: Have you two chatted since then? Is this city big enough for the two of you to coexist?
SM: I think I know how we feels about me. He's been very clear.

ELLE: He's said some, um, unkind things about you since then.
SM: I will tell you that when he hosted [SNL], there was a sketch called Donald Trump's "House of Wings" that a bunch of us wrote for him. That is still one of my favorite sketches. So I do urge people to look back and remember a happier time when The Donald and I were thick as thieves. Those days are gone, but...

ELLE: Perhaps the love will come around again.
SM: You never know. As he ebbs in and out of pretending to run for president.

ELLE: Speaking of the President, how hard is it to poke fun at people when they are sitting inches away from you?
SM: You think it won't matter until you're actually there and you're right next to them. I had some jokes about the President and I know he has a good sense of humor. He's a very smart guy and he knows if the joke's about you – even if you don't like the joke – you should laugh, because then you'll look like you're a great sport. With that said, I think he enjoyed those jokes.

ELLE: You left the jokes about the First Lady up to the President.
SM: I was so charmed by her, I would not have even told the softest joke about her. But I think his joke about her was the one he enjoyed telling the most. It was great.

ELLE: Now the next night, I'm sure you were glued to the Mets-Phillies game on ESPN, when the news about Osama bin Laden broke.
SM: We stayed up so late the night before, after the dinner, that I was asleep by 9:30 on Sunday night.

ELLE: What was the first thing that came to your mind when you heard bin Laden had been found – was it a serious New Yorker thought, or a joke?
SM: I was really proud of myself because the last thing I'd said to President Obama the night before was, `check Abbottabad.' So when I heard the news, I knew he took me up on it.

ELLE: As a comedian, how do you handle material like 9/11? It's so delicate.
SM: I think 9/11 was delicate but Osama bin Laden was surprisingly not. There was every detail about
how he was living, which was really exciting for comedians. I moved to New York August 20, 2001 so I
was here just three weeks before 9/11. And the first SNL I did was the first post-9/11 SNL.

ELLE: Now, yesterday you hosted the NBC fall lineup presentation. What's it like to bite the hand that
feeds you?
SM: Oh, I didn't bite it that hard! I will say I'm very excited about the new shows because Bob Greenblatt's a very smart guy.

ELLE: I'm sure already you've DVR'd those 4,000 hours of Olympic coverage.
SM: I can't wait.