The television talk show circuit of the 1980s rarely courted controversy. That all changed in 1989 with the premiere of The Arsenio Hall Show, which changed late night TV forever. However, a recently unearthed time capsule reveals that Hall himself was sometimes challenged by the new culture he helped usher into the mainstream. During the December 14, 1990 episode of his show, two members of Queer Nation interrupted Hall to challenge him on why he didn’t have more openly gay guests on his show. And how Hall reacted made for one of the most electric, unscripted moments in talk-show history. 

Premiering in 1989, The Arsenio Hall Show brought hip-hop, R&B, and a younger, more diverse guest list—and audience—to a genre that had been coasting on the same formula for decades. It was a major sea change before cable, and the internet broke the monoculture. And it broke the rules of what........

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