Whitney Cummings says intern reported her to HR for saying ‘Merry Christmas’
Comedian Whitney Cummings told late-night host Conan O’Brien Wednesday that she was reported to human resources last year for saying “Merry Christmas” to an intern.
Cummings, 37, told O’Brien, 56, and co-host Andy Richter that the most stressful part of the holidays was shopping — admitting earlier in the segment that she was a “regifter” — as well as the “terminology” surrounding the season.
“Last year, I was working on a TV show, got in trouble with human resources for saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to an intern,” Cummings said on TBS’ “Conan.”
“Is that true?” O’Brien asked in disbelief.
“That’s true. I was leaving … I was like, ‘Bye, guys. Merry Christmas.’ Like just a formality, what you would say,” Cummings explained. “I come back, like, June 6th. HR calls me and they’re like, ‘Hey, we need to talk to you. One of the interns is pissed off that you said ‘Merry Christmas.'”
In 2018, Cummings served as the co-showrunner on the ABC network’s infamous “Roseanne” reboot.
The comedian said her greeting was just a “formality,” adding, “I don’t even care how your Christmas was.”
O’Brien brought up that “Merry Christmas” could offend or trigger someone “in these times.”
Cummings explained that she asked the human resources official what she could have said before they informed her that the intern was “agnostic.”
“I was like, no, no, no, no, no. You do not get to do that,” Cummings said. “Because had I known that this person was agnostic, that would mean we were in a relationship, like, that would mean we were intimately connected.”
“I should not know who believes in God and who doesn’t,” Cummings added. “I also can’t guess either, you know?”