Gumby & Hostess for Isha

Anderson Cooper Presents Isha Sesay With Gumby And A Platter Of Twinkies For Her Birthday

by Frances Martel | 9:12 am, January 14th, 2012

CNN’s Isha Sesay is noticeably British, and in so having grown up, seems to have missed out on a number of things Americans take for granted. Sesay celebrated her birthday yesterday, and in the tradition of Anderson Cooper 360º, host Anderson Cooper gave Sesay an absurdist image for her birthday: Gumby, a character Sesay was unfamiliar with, holding a plate of Hostess pastries, which Sesay had never tasted.

Cooper noted that, a few months ago, Sesay had conducted a report on a man dressed as Gumby arrested for robbery, with the caveat that she did not understand “who or what” Gumby was. She followed that up with a report on the demise of Hostess, where she noted she had no idea what a Twinkie or a Ho-Ho was, and had never eaten one before. So in honor of her birthday (happy birthday!), Cooper presented her with a series of Hostess treats on a platter– delivered, of course, by Gumby.

“You are much more– attractive?– in person?” Sesay told Gumby hesitantly. Then, somehow, a news segment where Gumby shows up with a platter of twinkies got even stranger when Cooper began to insist that a concerned Sesay have her first twinkie. As she nibbled on the pastry somewhat disgusted, Gumby began to excitedly jump around and clap in the background. It’s delightfully weird.

The clip via CNN below: