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Lilly Singh Makes Television History With Late Night Show Debut

The YouTube sensation became the only openly queer woman of colour to host a late night show on a major network.

YouTube sensation Lilly Singh made history late Monday when she became the only openly queer woman of colour to host a late-night show on a major network.

“A Little Late With Lilly Singh” took over the 1:35 a.m. slot in the US on NBC, which “Last Call With Carson Daly” held for 17 years. But, in honour of her roots, Lilly debuted her first episode at 10 p.m. Monday on YouTube.

Lilly is the daughter of Indian immigrants in Canada and came out as bisexual earlier this year. She rose to fame under the name “Superwoman” on her YouTube channel, which amassed nearly 15 million subscribers. Lilly also penned the bestseller, “How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life.” Readers selected the book as the winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards - Best Nonfiction in 2007.

She joins a short list of women who have hosted late night shows on major networks.

In her first monologue, Lilly joked that viewers at home must be confused about why “Slumdog Millionaire” was on TV after Seth Meyers, adding that the media had mentioned her skin tone and sexuality so much that she may as well call her show “A Little Late With Bisexual Woman Of Colour.”

“A little long but it has a nice ring to it!” she quipped.

Lilly also thanked the many successful, powerful women of colour who had paved the way for people like her, giving shoutouts to her friend Mindy Kaling (who appeared as the first guest on the show), former first lady Michelle Obama and, last but not least, the brown M&M.

Singh also appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon before her program’s premiere, and thanked NBC for being “the only network where a woman can have a show after midnight that allows her to keep her clothes on.”

Watch the first segments released from the show below:

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