Comedian and Florida A&M University alum Roy Woods Jr. is set to host the 85th Peabody Awards this June. The 85thPeabody Awards is on June 1 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Based at the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Peabodys program recognizes work from up-and-coming voices that speaks to today's most important societal issues. This is Wood’s first time hosting the awards.

Each year, a board of jurors unanimously selects stories that uphold the public interest, foster empathy, and broaden our perspective of the world to receive the Peabody Awards. Public service programming, children's and youth programming, immersive and interactive media, news, podcasts and radio, entertainment, and documentary are among the categories in which awards will be presented.

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“No higher honor than to be in the room as we celebrate some of our generation’s best storytellers and reflect upon the ways in which we can all contribute to bettering the times we are in,” said Wood. “I am also there because there is a free dinner… at least I’m assuming there is dinner… there better be some damn food, that’s all I know.”

In 2001, Wood received a degree in broadcast journalism from Florida A&M. In 1998, while attending Florida A&M, he started his comedic career. Wood began his stand-up career as Tommy Davidson's opening act. Wood is not only a comedian but also a WGA-nominated writer and an Emmy-nominated documentary producer. He is well recognized for his eight years as a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show. From 2011 to 2014, Wood also made appearances on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son. As the dinner's prominent guest host in 2023, he helped the White House Correspondents' Dinner to its highest viewership since 2017.

Wood currently hosts Have I Got News for You, a comedic panel show on CNN. Additionally, his fourth stand-up comedy special, Lonely Flowers, was just made available on Hulu.