Almost 20 years after Fox abruptly canceled Arsenio Hall’s hit show, the comedian has battled his way back to the top. Well, rather battled his way back on TV as a late night host. Hall recently revived his career after winning NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, and subsequently landed a talk show on CBS where he will be the host.
Back in 1990s, Hall was on top of the world when he was hosting his successful late night program The Arsenio Hall Show, but it all came to a fast-track end. Why? Well, Hall was bent on having controversial Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, appear as a guest on the show. The higher executives for the show warned the host that it was a bad idea, but Hall booked the minister anyway.
Despite a press release saying that Hall would have other guests appearing the night of Farrakhan’s appearance, the comedian instead interviewed the controversial and perceived anti-Semite almost the entire 60 minutes. Criticism from the appearance was enough for Paramount to cancel The Arsenio Hall Show after five years. His final program aired May 27, 1994. Hall claimed, “his decision to have the controversial Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan appear turned affiliates, advertisers and some viewers off the show, which ultimately led to its cancellation.”
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