You likely know Shaun Majumder best from his past 17 years on the hit CBC political satire show This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
In 2016, Majumder, wearing a bullet-proof vest that said “corrupt media” across the back, attended a Trump campaign rally. He interviewed supporters about Hillary Clinton, border security, and media bias and the clipped aired as part of 22 Minutes.
This clip and many others eventually got him violent threats from white supremacists, Majumder reported in a recent interview on Q with guest host Laurie Brown. But instead of racing to hide from such threats, Majumber became fascinated by them, he said. His journey to understand bigotry and to fight it has culminated into his new show, the Hate Tour.
“I did a lot of research,” Majumder said in the interview, “and when I started finding out about this white supremacist movement that I thought was such a tiny fraction of American society, and in fact it’s actually much bigger and more stronger and growing and becoming stronger as years go on, I started seeing the truth come out about people feeling threatened.”
He heard, for example, people claim that brown people were entering the US and threatening the country’s heritage.
“And I, being beige from Newfoundland, kept going, ‘You really worried about that here? You feel threatened by this? Is that not what your country—and ours, as Canadians—is that not what it’s built on?’”
But unlike much of the debate on this divisive topic, Majumder is out for a discussion. A humorous one, but a frank one. In his interview, Majumder was quick to express that this isn’t Majumder from 22 Minutes. “If you came here expecting to see CBC Shaun Majumder, you’re up Schitt’s Creek,” he said, referring to another hit CBC show.
At the same time, the show isn’t a rant. “It’s not a vulgar show,” he explained to Brown, “but it covers some dark, heavy stuff, but at the same time it’s light, it’s fun, but I end the show on a very optimistic note.”
And that note is? “We want to leave with the message, ‘People are good.’”
Join veteran Canadian comedian Shaun Majumder for a night of frank discussions and honest laughs on February 28 @ 8PM. Get your tickets now.
