Gary Owen SWEATS talking Shannon Sharpe Allegations, Living with LA’s Most Dangerous Gangster & More

Summary

Podcast Summary: Andrew Schulz's Flagrant with Akaash Singh Episode: Gary Owen SWEATS talking Shannon Sharpe Allegations, Living with LA’s Most Dangerous Gangster & More
Release Date: April 30, 2025

Flagrant, hosted by Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh, is renowned for its unfiltered and unapologetic take on various topics. In this episode, the hosts are joined by comedian Gary Owen to delve into a myriad of engaging discussions ranging from personal anecdotes to controversial allegations involving Shannon Sharpe.

1. Introduction to Gary Owen and Initial Banter ([00:00 - 02:12])

The episode kicks off with Gary Owen introducing himself and teasing the upcoming topics, including stories about Shannon Sharpe, living with a dangerous gangster, and interactions with O.J. Simpson. The conversation quickly shifts to light-hearted banter about the pluralization of names and cultural nuances related to language.

Notable Quote:
Gary Owen [00:00]: "If you miss the days of comedians actually being funny instead of preaching to a choir then welcome to The Flagrancy."

2. NFL Draft and Quarterback Discussions ([02:12 - 04:20])

Charlamagne Tha God engages in a detailed discussion about the NFL draft, focusing on the limited number of teams seeking quarterbacks and the strategic decisions teams make. The debate highlights perspectives on team needs and the challenges of drafting in a quarterback-heavy era.

Notable Quote:
Charlamagne Tha God [02:12]: "The Bengals was not going get him. You know what I mean?"

3. Shifts in Charlamagne’s Audience and Personal Life ([04:20 - 06:12])

The conversation shifts to Charlamagne Singh noticing a change in his audience demographics, notably an increase in white and LGBTQ+ listeners. He shares amusing experiences about how this shift impacted his performances and audience interactions.

Notable Quote:
Charlamagne Tha God [04:29]: "I did this gay guy sat in the front and Ontario. And we got it. It just the stars aligned."

4. Charlamagne’s Divorce and Legal Battles ([06:12 - 22:56])

A significant portion of the episode delves into Charlamagne's tumultuous divorce. He narrates the challenges of filing for divorce in Ohio to avoid California's stringent tax laws, encounters with a relentless process server, and the ensuing cat-and-mouse game that ensued. The hosts explore the emotional and financial strains of divorce, with insights into how public perception and legal maneuvers played roles.

Notable Quotes:
Charlamagne Tha God [21:10]: "So if there's a knock on the door, just so you know, it's probably a process server."
Gary Owen [12:38]: "Gary's been coming on bullying idiots throughout the entire destruction of his marriage."

5. Navigating the Comedy Scene as a White Comedian in Black Circles ([22:56 - 43:18])

Charlamagne shares his unique experience as a white comedian thriving in predominantly black comedy circles. He discusses the acceptance he received, the cultural dynamics within these spaces, and the lessons learned about authenticity and presence. The discussion touches on the importance of being genuine and the challenges of maintaining relevance without appropriating cultural nuances.

Notable Quotes:
Gary Owen [30:10]: "Comedy is, what, 15 years before you start making money? 10, 12, whatever."
Charlamagne Tha God [36:27]: "I only think it's just comics. I think it's entertainers."

6. Early Career Challenges and Success Stories ([43:18 - 70:10])

The episode transitions into Charlamagne's early career struggles, highlighting his determination and the unconventional paths he took to achieve success. Stories include interactions with prominent figures like Floyd Mayweather and Kobe Bryant, experiences on comedy tours, and the challenges of balancing his Navy career with his burgeoning comedy career.

Notable Quotes:
Charlamagne Tha God [49:30]: "Collider, what if you go after him? He’s gonna be all like, dude, nah, we’re cool."
Gary Owen [70:10]: "I didn't have the long time where I was going and featuring for people."

7. Interactions with Celebrities and Maintaining Authenticity ([70:10 - 94:40])

Charlamagne recounts memorable encounters with celebrities during his rise in the comedy scene. From hosting gigs and special appearances to candid moments with icons like Eddie Murphy and Eminem, he emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself amidst the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Notable Quotes:
Charlamagne Tha God [85:08]: "He didn't know me. I didn't know him. Was he?"
Gary Owen [93:44]: "You had San Diego first, and then you moved to LA."

8. Reflections on Comedy Evolution and Social Media Impact ([94:40 - 124:25])

The hosts discuss the evolution of comedy, comparing past and present dynamics. Charlamagne reflects on how social media has transformed audience interaction, joke dissemination, and the overall landscape of stand-up comedy. The conversation also touches on the importance of being present and authentic on stage, lessons learned from various mentors, and navigating controversies.

Notable Quotes:
Gary Owen [125:24]: "People always talk about how comedy changed from, like, late 90s into the 2000s, and today, obviously, is very different."
Charlamagne Tha God [123:34]: "You have to be present in the room."

9. Addressing Controversies and Moving Forward ([124:25 - 155:58])

The latter part of the episode addresses sensitive topics, including allegations against Shannon Sharpe and the broader implications for the comedy and sports communities. Charlamagne shares his perspectives on accountability, the role of comedians in society, and the importance of supporting integrity over sensationalism.

Notable Quotes:
Gary Owen [135:08]: "I like Shannon. And like an accusation is an accusation."
Charlamagne Tha God [135:35]: "That was the thing. Cuz Showtime had my back, I will say."

10. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts ([155:58 - End])

The episode concludes with lighthearted exchanges and shoutouts, reinforcing the camaraderie among the hosts and guests. They reflect on the importance of authenticity in comedy and the evolving nature of audience expectations.

Notable Quote:
Gary Owen [155:58]: "We love you, man. We appreciate you. Everybody go check out mint comedy."

Conclusion

This episode of Flagrant offers a comprehensive look into Charlamagne Tha God’s personal and professional journey, intertwined with Gary Owen’s comedic insights. From navigating complex legal battles to thriving in diverse comedy circles, the discussion provides listeners with an unvarnished view of the challenges and triumphs within the entertainment industry. The hosts’ candid conversations underscore the importance of authenticity, resilience, and cultural understanding in comedy.

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Note: This summary focuses solely on the content-rich segments of the transcript, excluding advertisements, intros, and outros to maintain relevance and clarity for readers unfamiliar with the original episode.

Transcript

[Gary Owen]

What's up, everybody? Today we are joined by the most punctual black comedian in America and easier to break down Shannon Sharpe's future. He shares some insane stories of living with one of LA's most dangerous gangsters who's currently serving life in prison. He reveals a private conversation he had with O.J. simpson and how Charlamagne and I played a key role in his very public divorce. That's my goal for 20, 19.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

16 years. How long you been faithful? 16 years. Something.

[Gary Owen]

Give it up right now for the legend himself, Gary O. Gary is a legendary comedian, Absolutely hilarious. There's no special no S is available@mint comedy.com. make sure you go check that out. It's Gary Owen.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No S. You hear that?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. We know that there's one person on the couch that might not.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

People love the letter S. They love the restaurant. Can I get some shrimps?

[Gary Owen]

Do Latinos do that too? Do they pluralize?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, you don't know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You don't have any.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, I didn't know it was just my friends until Kanye said, Prince Williams ain't doing right if you ask me. And I was like, prince William, how the you get Williams?

[Gary Owen]

It's not a last name.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Black people love that letter.

[Mark Agnon]

Is it really Serena William?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I never googled that.

[Mark Agnon]

I don't know. That's great.

[Gary Owen]

Anyway, you're a big, you're a big football fan, right? What did you make of the Shador Sanders thing? Do you care about college ball at all? Are you just Bengals?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think who made a. Made a lot of. Of nothing is not the first guy to drop.

[Akash Singh]

I mean, five rounds is crazy though for a guy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You gotta realize there was really only like five or six teams looking for a quarterback in the beginning. It wasn't like 32 teams. Like the Bengals was not going get him. You know what I mean? The Ravens were not going to get him. So when they act like all 32 teams, I go, really? We all knew it was five or six teams. It was the Giants, the Saints, the Titans. They went and got cam wars. So they were out, right? It literally every, every round it was. You were looking at four teams.

[Gary Owen]

That's right. You already got a quarterback. You're not even picking it up.

[Akash Singh]

Here's where I disagree. I think there's five or six teams not looking for a quarterback. The Bengals, cuz they got Burrow, the Ravens because they got Lamar, the Bills because they got Josh Allen, couple other teams. If your quarterback isn't that tier, the Chiefs, Mahomes. You're looking for a quarterback if you're Dak. If you're the Cowboys, you got Dak Prescott. He's old. He's coming off a season ending injury twice in the past three years. Draft a quarterback. Most teams your quarterback's not good. So you might as well draft a guy, take a chance in the third, fourth round and just see what happens.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, I'm also thinking next year is supposed to be quarterback heavy. So do you want to bring them in now? You know you're not going to win or like, you know what, let's hold off. Get this D lineman, get this.

[Mark Agnon]

And what's the thing? If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, the Browns got five. Yeah, but he's got a shot. He's in a perfect situation now.

[Gary Owen]

So explain. Yeah, because the expectations are low now. They only exceed expectations and they're building new stadium.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

If he comes in balls, they're going to be in a dome next year.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, he's going to be.

[Gary Owen]

He's going to be comfy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, he's going to be. That's what he keeps saying. He's in the cold. No, he's not. Yeah, he's got no weather to worry about after next year.

[Akash Singh]

That's great.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, it was weird. It's like I don't understand if GMs or if NFL GMs are like the most open minded people or they're racist because it's like if you beat your wife, they'll be like, they expect that a black. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh my God. Should have went on the pivot. Come on.

[Akash Singh]

That's my point. I watch it happen with a black quarterback every year. Justin Field went to a bad situation. He wasn't good by Fields. Fields.

[Gary Owen]

They got done questioning everything.

[Akash Singh]

Fell for no reason. Lamar Jackson fell out of the first round. It's always. I don't see this happen with white quarterbacks very often.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What are you talking about? Tim Couch won the Heisman at Nebraska. They drafted him and said you got.

[Gary Owen]

To switch positions because he sucked.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Somebody can say the same thing about Shador.

[Akash Singh]

Five years ago, Shador can actually throw a ball. Tim Couch played in like a wishbone offense.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Sports, sports. This is good.

[Gary Owen]

I like this. Sports and racism collide it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm a very proponent of black quarterbacks. They can't come to see me, you know what I mean? The white one's dope, bro. Ain't been to his show.

[Gary Owen]

I've been seeing some white people at your Shows recently, bro.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it's starting to happen.

[Gary Owen]

Gross. I've been seeing some white people at your shows and gays. I saw that clip with the gays.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Dude, I did a. I did this gay guy sat in the front. No, the woman.

[Gary Owen]

There was like five of them.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, that's. That's what I was getting to. There was a gay guy that sat in the front and Ontario. And we. We got it. It just the. The stars aligned. It was perfect. He laughed at every joke. He was open everything he had, like, my boyfriend tastes better shirt or something like that, posted that it did great on the Internet. And then I come to Houston and now there's a line of gay guys like, yeah, we saw the video. I was like, oh, this might be the audience. I didn't even know. So this whole time said, they love.

[Mark Agnon]

You're going to Gary no R pretty soon.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Awesome.

[Gary Owen]

Cracker. White people showing up to your shows, Gay showing up to your show. This is crazy. You're like 20 something years into. How many years? 25.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Seven. So 28.

[Gary Owen]

28 years into your career.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow.

[Gary Owen]

Harlem white people found you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They did.

[Gary Owen]

You start posts on YouTube, Instagram. White people find you. The gays find you. Now, how does the black community feel about this? They've held you down for 28 years.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I. I've. I've got enough equity in the community that it's fine. They're good.

[Gary Owen]

So they're just. They don't feel like the white people are taking the thing that they started well.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Gotta buy their tickets sooner. People buy in advance, so that should happen to me too.

[Gary Owen]

Because, you know, for years my audience was only black. Right? Like, people knew me from geico and they knew it from brilliant idiots. And so I do clubs around the country and, like, the owners would say, which I'm sure they said to you initially, they were like, you look the way you look and your audience does. Like, what exactly is going on? They didn't understand it and. And it was funny. Like, once. Once I did Rogan and, like, white people started finding out about me then. White people buy tickets in November for a show in April. Early on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, you would. You're. You. MSG would have been sweating bullets, Trust me. I heard a rumor, and I don't know if that's true, but maybe DL can. DL Hughley can confirm it one day. But when he got the Hughleys, it really crossed him over in the mainstream. And the rumor was that's why he.

[Gary Owen]

Got the neck tattoos. He was like, I gotta keep these White people awake.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The rumor was he would tell the comedy clubs this show don't sell in advance because they were all white people's buying so far in advance. He goes like, the Late Show Saturday. We're not putting that on sale yet. That was the rumor. I heard.

[Gary Owen]

That's cool.

[Akash Singh]

That's awesome.

[Gary Owen]

Yo, Gary, here's a good question, right? Both of us have done Uncle Shannon's podcast.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

This is really why we wanted you to be on here outside of your special being out. You having this prolific career, being one of the most successful touring comedians in American history. You've been doing this 28 years.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Okay. A lot of people don't realize that people have little bumps and blips, but 28 years is not a game. You go on Shan's podcast, almost immediately afterwards, some little white girl sues him for a horrible thing. Did you introduce. Did I introduce you to a white girl?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know that that's completely out of my wheelhouse. You're trying to bring her back. I've said it numerous times. I ain't had white since white had me.

[Gary Owen]

No way. You haven't had a little one?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

1996?

[Gary Owen]

No.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's where I was born. Met her at TJ Fridays.

[Mark Agnon]

That's crazy.

[Gary Owen]

Whoever you are, you ruined everything.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was off Highway 8 in San Diego.

[Gary Owen]

I remember it. It was bad.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no, no, no. It must have been bad.

[Gary Owen]

You never went back.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No. She was a white girl that only liked black dudes, and she kind of picked up on me, and we both said, we're just gonna try.

[Mark Agnon]

She tried to introduce you to her.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

See what happens? We both made a consensus decision. You know what? Bucket list. Check.

[Gary Owen]

Like a gay lesbian hooking up the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Sea just to try. Look at my feet real quick. I didn't realize that didn't sound good.

[Gary Owen]

Okay, so.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow. You never. And you never.

[Akash Singh]

Were you guys never into white girls or were they not into you, or what was it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

A little bit of both.

[Akash Singh]

A little bit of both. He's the same.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was like, even when I was in the Navy, we grew out of state of San Diego, and we go out to Pacific Beach. It's all beach bars, white people. There'd be one black girl, and at the end of the night, my boys would be like, how does this happen every night? I'd just be in the corner. I don't know why. I don't know. Just. They like me, I like them. So we just went with it.

[Gary Owen]

And have you been, like, the first white guy for a lot of Black women.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, so many. If I hear this shit one more time. So the myth ain't true.

[Gary Owen]

Let's go, Gary.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Let's go, Gary.

[Gary Owen]

Okay, what myth? What myth?

[Mark Agnon]

Thank you so much.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So you're the first.

[Gary Owen]

Now knowing you're looking at. Okay, knowing you're the first white guy, do you ever. Are you ever, like, let me just do some, like, wild and then just blame it on being white? Like, do you ever do that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I'm actually. I'm probably more apprehensive. I'm not really a talker. Oh, so you know, it makes you uncomfortable when. Cause Gary is not the best name in the bedroom.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, Cheeto.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Are you beating this pussy up, Gary? I don't leave you. There's certain names, like Rodney. Sounds like you put some shit down Rodney, boy.

[Gary Owen]

It's got Rodney in it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Rodney's the name that looks like you put it down the bedroom, but ain't gonna pan out in life. You know what I mean? If you grew up with a Rodney, at some point you will get this phone call as an adult and you hear what happened to Rod, it falls.

[Mark Agnon]

Apart at 17, 18.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Rodney's a beast. He was a beast of a fullback, you know?

[Mark Agnon]

But do you feel pressure as a. As the great white hope, you know, like. Like you're representing all of us, bro. If you're in someone's first time with a white guy, like, there's probably a.

[Gary Owen]

Lot of black girls that. Another white dude after you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Because you represented us well. So there's a lot of white dudes that got black pussy that might have never gotten it because of you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're welcome. You're welcome. Yep.

[Gary Owen]

And then after that, they probably never did it again. So they went two times.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah. It's probably happened. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

But you don't care.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, it's funny. Like, there's a couple.

[Akash Singh]

Once you go away, you give it one more night.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There's a couple. What's crazy, a couple exes from my past. And then was this while you were married.

[Gary Owen]

Can you bring up that clip?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no, no. We gotta bring up this clip immediately.

[Gary Owen]

This is one of the greatest clips in Internet history. This is one of the greatest clips in Internet history. You need to get this clip up. It's brilliant. Idiots.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm starting to sweat.

[Gary Owen]

You gotta start from the beginning. Beginning, though, that's the thing. You gotta put the volume all the way up.

[Mark Agnon]

If you reposted everywhere, Gary A Tal.

[Gary Owen]

You might be a black comic.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is what I didn't know. I didn't know you could pull this up. I thought there was copyrights and nothing. That again. Let's go. This is.

[Gary Owen]

While Gary is happily married. I'm going to get you back to cheating, bro.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This year.

[Gary Owen]

That's my goal. That's my goal for 20, 19, 16 years.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How long you been faithful? Don't laugh. Don't laugh. You can't laugh. Laughing is incriminated.

[Gary Owen]

Gary, a towel. Somebody get Gary a paper towel.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Get him a shirt. Get him's going to show that. Let's get some AC on in here. That came up in court, bro. No, I didn't. This is your fault. No, you didn't. You ruined his marriage. Yo, son, I can't believe we settled, but it came up in court. So that's it. I was like, gary.

[Gary Owen]

Gary's been coming on bullying idiots throughout the entire, like, destruction of his marriage. And it probably started in that moment where he couldn't swallow coffee while trying to pretend to be faithful. Oh, my God.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, why is this coming to me? Here's the funniest shit.

[Gary Owen]

How big was the ice cube in your throat?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yo, appreciate this. Being a sports fan, randomly I pressed follow to follow. Max Crosby, the DN for the Raiders, right?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All of a sudden, he sends me a voice memo on ig, like, bruh, you're a legend, man. I'm thinking about to do one of my special. J goes do the funniest shit ever. When they asked you if you was faithful, you started joking, bro. That was legendary. I'm like, this. All the shit I've done, Max, that's what, you know me films. That's what the nose before. I mean, he was dying. Like, oh, my God, bro. That's the funniest. I feel like Marlon Wayans. Marlon sweats on every. Every podcast.

[Mark Agnon]

Wait, how did your lawyer defend the clip?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no. It wasn't my. My ex. She said. She goes, I just saw a video. I've never seen it before. I guess when everything came out, people started sending her. They said, you should have known. I was like this. So then she brought it up.

[Gary Owen]

Okay, so you went.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You said, no, no, no.

[Gary Owen]

That was crazy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You were crazy for that.

[Gary Owen]

Like, why didn't you just swallow what was happening? I need to play by play. By play.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I'm supposed to be. Yeah, and it just came out, right? Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

But the question was, how many years you' and faithful.

[Gary Owen]

Yes.

[Mark Agnon]

Don't commit a crime of Gary.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Let's go back to my special comedy. Look it back Looking back. God damn, that was funny. That was hilarious. All right, so you. It was so organic. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You had a crazy. You had a. You had this crazy divorce. It's sad, but it's over now. Everything's fine.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's funny.

[Gary Owen]

And still watching this. No, it's the ptsd.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Silence. You know what?

[Gary Owen]

It's him.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Kobe, Game five.

[Gary Owen]

Who's the guy? Who's the guy? G thing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. What's going on here? Actually feels good. It's kind of.

[Gary Owen]

Bro, I don't.

[Mark Agnon]

I don't want to point this out. This is how you know Gary's a black comic. Is that. You still have lotion in your ear. A little.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Don't wipe it off.

[Gary Owen]

Don't wipe it off.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I swear. Do you see it? Do you see it? That looks amazing. I'm so sorry. I'm pointed out. Sorry about that. But it is. I couldn't believe you guys. Don't miss. He's like this. Oh, you're at a Marriott property. That's definitely a. That's the Marriott looks right there. I'm sorry for pointing out, but I couldn't. It was like gob in his ear, bro.

[Gary Owen]

Sweat bullet.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Why are you looking at my sock? In 60 degrees, it ain't even hot. It's crazy. Like him.

[Gary Owen]

I ain't been around this many white people in 40 years.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He's back in court.

[Gary Owen]

There's two of you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Stop laughing, bro. I didn't want to do this podcast.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, my God.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Now he's a member of Dipset and Ch. Oh, my God, dude, I'm dying here. Guys.

[Akash Singh]

Also, guys, tour dates June 19th and through 21st. I'm being salt Lake City at Wise Guys. All those dates and plenty more@akash singh.com. now let's get back to the show.

[Mark Agnon]

What's up, everybody? World's fastest dates. All right, I'm coming to Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, Stroudsburg, Penn, Hoboken, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and a bunch of other dates. You can get them at Mark Agnon Live. I'm bringing you my debut tour. One hour of stand up comedy. No more, no less. I'll see you guys at the show. Suck his dick. Yo, what happened to your hand, by the way?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Pickleball. Hell, yeah, Gary. Pickleball. Paddle.

[Gary Owen]

No, that's funnier.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I don't play.

[Gary Owen]

No, I played paddle. A lot of people confuse it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah. I didn't whoop you. I spanked you.

[Gary Owen]

Different sport.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Was it different?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How?

[Gary Owen]

Well, it's basically. I love talking about this one. A Thanks. I just want to let you know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So pickleball is just like tennis. Like, you're standing on a ping pong table, paddles. Like squash and tennis put together. So there's like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know what squash is.

[Gary Owen]

It's basically, there's walls on all sides, and you can use the walls. Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know. Squash? Squash.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah. So there's walls on all sides. So you can use the walls, and there's like, fence, and you can hit the ball off the walls. The ball's always in play.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Paddle. Where's the wall?

[Gary Owen]

That wall is in the back. That, like clear glass.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, it's glass.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The score is the same.

[Gary Owen]

Say again.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Scoring is the same.

[Gary Owen]

I've never played pickleball, so I wouldn't know.

[Akash Singh]

He said that like, it was cool.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But. What happened to your head?

[Mark Agnon]

Is it okay?

[Gary Owen]

No, I just scratched. I just scratched it. This really, like. I wish there was something funnier about this story, but it's not.

[Mark Agnon]

Damn.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, I noticed you have a wedding ring on again.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Why would you get back on? Like, why would you do that again? It was really tumultuous. You're divorced. That's the thing that I feel like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We have off the Internet.

[Gary Owen]

You're.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, I know I. Giant diamond diamonds. It's down here.

[Gary Owen]

You. How long have you been faithful to this girl?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Shut up. Shut up. Only once. Look, let's see.

[Akash Singh]

Let's see why you're not answering.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How long you been faithful? This is different. Different relationship.

[Mark Agnon]

Nice.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was a big reason for the original divorce, though. Like, we just.

[Gary Owen]

Fidelity. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We stopped being in.

[Gary Owen]

You guys stop having sex.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, I think the last. That's six years, three times. Whoa.

[Akash Singh]

Only one of them.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So when I was on your podcast. That was deep in the six.

[Gary Owen]

That was deep in the six.

[Mark Agnon]

Got it.

[Gary Owen]

But now let's. Now just out of. Because you brought this up. I didn't bring this up. Was that when you started, you know, kind of seeking other holes?

[Akash Singh]

Extramarital relationships?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, and a big part of it.

[Gary Owen]

Right, right, right, right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean? You're not sleeping with your wife.

[Gary Owen]

Were you trying, though? Are you trying?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No.

[Akash Singh]

That's trash.

[Gary Owen]

You weren't even trying.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

She wasn't either, though. Neither of us. We went through Covid and just never touched. It was like we're watching Walking Dead in All American. That's. That was covet. I was watching All American like, it was a real team.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, yo, how's he gonna leave Beverly High for Compton?

[Gary Owen]

I did this. I did this with Friday Night Lights. I remember that. Like, I actually cared about if they were gonna win.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. So, I mean, that's really what it came down to.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Now, so that was Covid. This clip is from well before COVID So I'm just curious on the timeline.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Of all of it. Yeah, I've been. We've been what, it's been five years separated.

[Gary Owen]

Gary, I feel like you're getting. You're getting back into the. The iced coffee moment. Like you're slowly walking ourselves back. I feel like you are, and we don't even want to be there, but you are walking back into it because you have a beautiful new marriage right now. You have twins, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

That's amazing. I'm sure that's exactly what you want.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You came down to 55 is not working, bro.

[Gary Owen]

This divorce was so tragic, but also so the way that you describe it, you came on brilliant, and you were breaking it down. Dude. I was crying, laughing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Do you remember some of the process service. Oh, my God.

[Gary Owen]

The process server, the pr. Can you just break down that story a little bit?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay.

[Gary Owen]

If you feel comfortable.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, it's in the past.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, it's all cleared.

[Gary Owen]

This. Okay, good.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Process server.

[Gary Owen]

Can you break down the process server, too? The white.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

When you file for divorce, you want to. This happens a lot when you want. When you got houses in two different states. So we had a house in Ohio and a house in California. So I filed for divorce in Ohio. Reason being, obviously, financially, usually it's better in Ohio, but we were registered voters in Ohio. We pay taxes in Ohio.

[Gary Owen]

But the real reason is because if you divorce in California, you're fucked.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That, too. But we can't file in California because if it goes down there, then they're going to come after us for tax evasion and voter fraud. So I. I didn't do it out of just California. I was like, no, we are registered voters before we built the house in California. I asked my accountant, I go, I don't want to pay California taxes. How can I get a house in California? He goes, as long as you spend less than half the year there. I'm on the road every year. So I'm on the road half a year. I was like, no problem. And you got to keep a residency somewhere else, Bo.

[Gary Owen]

Ohio.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So even if you looked. It was funny. If you looked at our neighborhood in California, all the license plates was Nevada, Arizona. None of them were California. Everybody was doing the same Right. So that's really why I followed Ohio. And then as soon as I tried to do the somewhat respectful thing, I said, hey, I'm not happy. I want a divorce. And I said, so if there's a knock on the door, just so you know, it's probably a process server.

[Gary Owen]

You said that to her?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah. And she was.

[Gary Owen]

She was also trying to serve your ass.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's when. That's when she's like, like, she went left. I was like, oh, this ain't gonna be good. Because I heard the door knocking. The guy was knocking, and she wouldn't answer. I go, I think the door's not gonna. She goes, nah, it's probably Amazon. I go, oh, she knows. Like, she's. She's about to do something. And so she didn't answer the door. And then like two days later, the TMZ came out where she filed in LA against me. And now I was like, wait, we don't live in la. We lived in the Bay. And so that started off a like three month cat and mouse game of avoiding a process server. I went to my boy's house in West Virginia. I was off the grid. I wasn't using credit cards, cash. Like, they're not gonna find me. This dude's house, like, it was damn near Deliverance. I mean, it was, it was.

[Gary Owen]

You were hiding at the comedy clubs.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Comedy clubs. I would stay in the hotels. I'd be under Muhammad Shabazz. I'm ordering bacon for breakfast. Literally the group service, guys that Muslim, I don't need that turkey. So I was at. I. I remember I was at the Four Seasons in Baltimore for two weeks. I never left my room. And then I would go to the shows and then they had, they picked me up, like, underneath the. The hotel. And it was like we. We drive over and my opener was at the other. This other hotel under my name. So he was hoping to like, like, mislead them.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, and then, let me see, they almost got me in Colorado Springs. So I had my normal opener and he's a bulldog, but he didn't go with me. And I said, I got a bad feeling about next week, man. You're not with me. And we weren't in Colorado Springs. Five minutes, I'm crossing the road. I'm getting to the club like two hours early, and this guy goes, hey, Gary. And I looked and I saw him pulling the paper out of his back. And I. Motherfucker. I turned into Ricky from Boyz and he started chasing me and he threw the Cause if it takes you, it's on, right? Yeah, he threw. It didn't hit me, right? And one of my guys, I had two guys with me, and they both got fired after this weekend because I told him, I said, you1 job is to not let him come. The dude walked right between them, just right between. They looked, went. I go, motherfucker, I don't want you to fight nobody, but stop him. And then the one guy started looking at the paper as I go, don't fucking touch that. Because if they touch it, I could be served. So then I go in the dressing room, and now I'm turning into Cuba Gooding. He's swinging on the edge. You know, this money's gonna cost me. And it did. It was. It was. It was six figures. I'm not gonna say how much for jurisdiction. Just going to court now, being a lawyer in California to fight it, fight jurisdiction, that was just. It was just a big waste of time. But ultimately, we got in Ohio and we settled.

[Gary Owen]

We got her. I know what happened. I go, we got her.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Bread in Antioch, California. And it was crazy how it happened. Like, I had hired a process server And I said, 247 surveillance on the house. And they just said, she doesn't come out. She's. She's just. She's not leaving. I go, I got a feeling this. This service company ain't got 247 on the house. Then they hit me with, like, a huge bill. And I go, well, I'm not gonna pay until you get her served. I hired a process server out of Cincinnati. Me and her flew into town, and we had her within an hour.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, we flew from Cincinnati to Sacramento because he said, don't fly into Oakland or San Fran because if somebody sees you, they could tip her off here in town. Yeah, we flew into Sacramento. Gotta rent a car. We were driving through my neighborhood, and I. Right before we get to my neighborhood, there was a grocery store. I looked to my left, I swear to God, I saw our suv. I was like, that looks like ours. And then we went to the house. She wasn't there. I still had the garage door opener. So the garage came up and the car was there. I go, let's go back to the grocery store. It was her. She was pulling out. We followed her for about 15 miles on the highway, and she pulled into a Panera Bread. And she went through the drive through. She got stuck, and that's where we got her. Wow. The lady came out, and I had to get on the other side and film It. To video it. So she never saw me. She was so focused on the driver's side. I'm right there, like, filming the whole thing. And then I got back in the car. I was like, got her. We freaking got her. And then she goes, you got to get out of here because you. You can get. Still get served today. So I had to immediately go to the Oakland airport. And I just walked in. I'm literally walking down. Southwest had a flight. Like, I was, like, me on. I just was walking down. I. I would have been on spirit that day, just walking down. Everybody got a flight out. I didn't care where we went. I get out of California. Southwest had a flight, just got on, dipped out.

[Gary Owen]

And now things are okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What do you mean?

[Gary Owen]

Like, between you two? Is that you're. You're fully divorced?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, yeah. We. That's been over, like, two and a.

[Gary Owen]

Half, three years talking at all.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Not like that.

[Gary Owen]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay. But my son's talking to me. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

I was hesitant to ask, cuz I know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was. No, no, he's. He's good now. Out to see the twins. No way. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good. Yeah, he's. He's doing good.

[Gary Owen]

Stressful.

[Mark Agnon]

When you were following her on the highway, were you nervous?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No. Here's what's funny. So I'm. The processor was driving, and she goes, you gotta get in the back seat. She might see you. It was. It was. It was freaking a. This lady was a bulldog. So now I'm in the back. I don't think you see me. She goes, get down.

[Gary Owen]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I don't know where we're at. I'm just looking up, up. And she goes, I think she sees us. I think she sees us. I go looking in the back for this Nissan Rogue. So that's when we went to. We came to stop. She goes, all right, I need you to get up, get your phone out. And then that's. I didn't even know where he was at. I just got up, and I was like, oh, we're at Panera. And boom. Laying down.

[Mark Agnon]

No disguise or anything. I would have done, like, a mustache or something, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, but if she. That was too much. It's funny when you go through this for four months, though. You're always looking like, how is this gonna end? Clever. When I was in West Virginia, I'd be walking around like, how does this end? Did they get me? Do I get her? And then it was funny because I'm in West Virginia for a couple weeks. At one point. And I just was having, like, Stockholm syndrome. I gotta do something. So I went through an orange theory in, like, Huntington, W.V. orange theory. I was in the best shape. I'll put it like that. I just remember the lady saw my id and then I'm trying to keep a low profile. I'm thinking, I'm good at this orange hair. The whole time she goes, you don't work out like this in California. California ain't like that. I was like, why the fuck are.

[Gary Owen]

You keep saying my name?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

She looked like Olivia Newton John mixed with John Travolta. Real rough. I'm sure she didn't have a boyfriend.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, my God.

[Mark Agnon]

You know, the way you describe it almost sounds fun. I'll be honest. Like, like, the process.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

Like, I kind of want to do this adventure.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it wasn't adventure.

[Mark Agnon]

It sounds like a Mr. Beast video. Whoever gets served first loses.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It is wild, though. Like, and. And I will say, like, it was very, like, a male bonding experience because every guy that had been through a divorce reached out. Out. Like, in my business. Anthony Anderson reached out. Kevin reached out. Shaq reached out. I feel like I'm name dropping. But they had all been through messy divorces. And one of them said, I don't know if it was Shaq or Anthony, because, you know, you. When you go through it, you're. You're thinking, I'm about to be broke. You hear all these horror stories. Yeah, I'm going to be working the rest of my life for somebody else.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then one of them said, they said, look, if you get a chance to settle, settle, your talent won't allow you to go broke. And I was like. I was very profound.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, oh, then I was really ready to settle at that point.

[Gary Owen]

But I also understand that feeling. Like you've worked your ass off for almost 30 years, you've made a bunch of money, and now you're faced with this dilemma. You're like, I might have to pay all this money to an ex wife. And there goes my security blanket. Now I'm back hustling. Now I have to do this because I got to pay bills, not because I want to do it. That changes everything.

[Akash Singh]

Comedy is, what, 15 years before you start making money? 10, 12, whatever. It's like you're broke before that.

[Gary Owen]

Also, alimony. Like, imagine you're paying something off the top. You're paying 30%, whatever it is, before taxes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, yeah. Oh, we have some other stuff I didn't. I didn't find out about till later. Too. What, the IRS was coming, baby. Oh, no, I had no idea.

[Gary Owen]

For her, for her.

[Mark Agnon]

For.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We were married joint. I was like, oh, I didn't know this was happening. Wow. That's what scared me more than anything.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, well, I gotta work for the IRS and her.

[Gary Owen]

Were women upset at you during this whole thing? Because it was public.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Public.

[Gary Owen]

And I imagine a lot of them had went through similar things.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I think Internet women, but real life women.

[Gary Owen]

So at the shows they were sympathetic to you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Best thing I ever heard was I had gone like a week and a half, two weeks. I'm just reading the Internet. I'm holed up at that Four Seasons in Baltimore.

[Gary Owen]

Terrifying.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

My first show out the box. I'm on stage about 45 minutes in and lady in the back goes, I love you, little cheating ass. To hear that. That was the only time I was nervous walking on st Stage in probably about 15, 20 years. I didn't know how they were going to react to me.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, you thought the Internet was real.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So you were going to walk on.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Stage or you're going to see the dudes sympathetic and the women are like, yeah. No, it was. I was like, oh, the Internet is not real. Why.

[Gary Owen]

Why do you think that was?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Just because you just. You're literally by yourself and you don't know who to trust. Like, you're getting. You're. She's finding out. I'm like, how is she finding this out? Yeah. Oh, there was some shit she found out that only two or three people knew.

[Gary Owen]

You got a mole, bro?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I found all of them out.

[Gary Owen]

No, for real. One of my openers was telling her, yeah, get the out.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

That's crazy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah. How did he.

[Gary Owen]

How did she convert him?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I had already fired him.

[Gary Owen]

Like, fired him. And then he was like, okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So after the divorce came out, then they got in touch and he started giving her like all this.

[Gary Owen]

Was she paying him to do it or he was just doing it off the strength of I hate you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, no, know. I don't know. But you. You can find him at a coffee shop. You know what I mean? Like, I go, I. I still follow him.

[Gary Owen]

Just like, just to see where his life is.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How's that?

[Gary Owen]

Damn.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How's that? Gregory's Coffee at 3pm on a Sunday brunch show.

[Gary Owen]

Well, it's good to know you're not vindictive. I love. I love it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You said it. You said it. You should like those posts. You should double check.

[Mark Agnon]

You said in a special that after it got out to TMZ that the D. DMs were crazy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, that's. That was. Yeah, that was a little nuts.

[Gary Owen]

Wait, girls were sliding in DMs?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Once they knew that you were single?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, I don't know. I guess they were. It was a lot of people shooting their shot and it was all over the place. It was ugly, pretty.

[Gary Owen]

But did you have some fun once you got single? Like now you're married, you're obviously a good, faithful husband.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was having fun when I was married.

[Mark Agnon]

His throat's clear now.

[Gary Owen]

It was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was very compartmentalized. The road was the road and home was home, bro.

[Gary Owen]

It's so funny, bro. The way that you would do it. Just so funny, bro. I remember once we did a pod. You remember back in the day.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I know where you're going with this.

[Gary Owen]

You know, this was so. This is when I found out Gary's not a white guy at all because we did this pod. He was telling me about his whole life. It was beautiful. It was inside jokes that we were doing it, but it was a one on one. Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

At that restaurant?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

In Gilas.

[Gary Owen]

Gila. And it was awesome. And then I was like, you want to go grab a drink? He's like, yeah, sure, let's go grab a drink.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think.

[Gary Owen]

Did you come as well? Yeah, I think we went to go grab a drink and then Gary pulled up with a fine ass chick out.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Of nowhere, but didn't even give us.

[Gary Owen]

Didn't even mess me. Yo, by the way, keep this low. So now I'm sitting down like, is this his assistant? Like, who is this fine ass girl? She's like touching his shoulder. I'm like, gary, what the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Did you just.

[Gary Owen]

You made me a liar. Why you going to make me fake?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You can lie, but don't make me sweat, bro.

[Gary Owen]

Like, no heads up, nothing Like I.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Was supposed to know.

[Gary Owen]

Like, we all cheaters, bro.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I should have gave you a heads up. Not even a text message. Oh, man, she's doing good now.

[Mark Agnon]

That was his assistant ass system. Yeah, yeah, it's fine.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

She's like, we married now she's doing the weather in Detroit. I remember that too. I'm like, well, was there any part.

[Gary Owen]

Of you was like, I should probably just let Schultz know I'm a piece of another part of you at all or what?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It you're at that place where you. I. I've heard it and I didn't believe it. You almost want to get caught. You just like, let's Just get home.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So you get a little reckless. Yeah. You know, that was. I think that was like 2019.

[Gary Owen]

That was early. Yeah. So I want to date it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, the shit. The shit hit the fan in 2021 for me early, so I. I never believed it. But. But I look at my behavior and I was like, yeah, I wanted to get caught. Caught. I was. I was. I wasn't like pda, and I wasn't out there at parties bringing people, but I was like, I wasn't hiding it either.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it was almost like. Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

I'm also curious. Is there like an. Like a. Like an OG comic thing? I feel like comics that were on the road in, like, 80s, 90s, because it was before social media, there was a little bit of a crazy. A dual life that a lot of comics would do that you can't really do now.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I only think it's just comics. I think it's entertainers. Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

I think that's probably like the set pack.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Jesus.

[Gary Owen]

But specifically, like. Like, comedians are on the road every single weekend. So you have a life on the road and then you got a life at home. And I think a lot of these guys, before camera phones, before the Internet, you know, before social media, you can kind of do whatever you wanted.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And there was girls in every city, and you would go back to those cities and those girls were still there.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So, yeah, you could see how that would definitely happen, especially if, like, things at home weren't great.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Comedians, man. You know, you get on the road in the beginning and you're getting attention, you're tapped in socially, and you've never had that before. And he's like, oh, I don't have to talk to girls. They're talking to me. Yeah. You know.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it's, it's.

[Gary Owen]

Why do you think it's not happening now?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think it's still probably going on.

[Gary Owen]

It's just. It's just easier to get caught up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

A girl posts on social media, she's with you, you know, she's tagging you in a picture. Your girl's going, who the. Is this tagging you in a picture?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, I think also part of it. I think that's mainly it, but a smaller part. A lot of times now comedians are making more money before they get on the road, whereas before, that's all you had, so you had to only take you. Now you can afford to take your boys, so you're kind of just hanging out and you're not as inclined to go out and chase the night where it's like, well, I'm with my homies, so I don't have to. Otherwise, it's just you in some random city in Toledo or wherever. And it's like, what am I gonna do? I'm just here alone.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Fact.

[Gary Owen]

What do you think happens to Shannon, man? Have you spoken to him since?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Are you guys close and we're cool, but not.

[Gary Owen]

It's just.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's so weird. Like, they know he's coming back in September, bro.

[Gary Owen]

I was shocked at how many people, like, immediately came out and on him and on it kind of like. Like, what do you think that's about? I'm trying to wrap my head around that because usually when there's an accusation from an only fans girl, it's like, oh, this is some fake. She just wants some money. But with Shannon, the immediate response from, like, big media figures was, hey, what the hell are you doing? You're up. Why are you doing this?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't. Listen. I'm the last person to comment on someone's personal life.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. But also the best experience.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I don't want to be the hypocrite.

[Gary Owen]

No. You know what I mean?

[Akash Singh]

Why do you think. How about that? Why do you think he's not getting more support?

[Gary Owen]

That's what I'm wondering. Why.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Think about it. Think. It's very similar to stand up. Like, why do the guys that sell the most tickets, people, like, they on, like, as many people on Kevin.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And if you know Kevin, he's like, so you're nicest guys on the planet.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. And you guys just.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

On them, you're going, what is that?

[Gary Owen]

That's because humans just. We have an issue with society.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You kind of want that spot.

[Gary Owen]

So Shannon was viewed as. But then there's people like, I. I saw Stephen A. Smith kind of talking, which. And Stephen A. Smith is at the top.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I don't know. Did you see that? But I think he wants to be the top top.

[Gary Owen]

But he. So he don't want even anybody second or third.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, that's.

[Gary Owen]

That's hate that. Hate in them. Because. Yeah, if there's. There is a human instinct, there's like jealousy and competitiveness. Right. And sometimes it clouds our judgment. And we see it happen a lot. You know, like you said, people hating on Kev when he's literally like the nicest, most supportive guy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

But if you're above somebody and hating on someone and like being super critical of somebody below you when they're not even convicted, that Feels like hate right there. Like, why are you even worried about what's happening? But Shannon's pod was more successful, so.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Maybe he's like, looking at him as. But it's also clicks. Yeah. It's also like, you talk about Shannon, you're gonna, like, definitely clip it up. Yeah. You're gonna get numbers. That was the guy. Especially in that john. Like, you know, Stephen A. Wants to comment on, you know, I don't know, the Pope dying is not gonna get the numbers of Shannon Sharp scandal.

[Akash Singh]

I think part of it is he's angling for president and he's gotta be Smith.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. He's like, to prison.

[Gary Owen]

No, he wants to run.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He wants to run.

[Gary Owen]

You can tell he wants.

[Akash Singh]

So if you want to run, you got to morally be like, how could you?

[Gary Owen]

I also think that, like, Shannon's show was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You need a clean record to run nowadays, you know?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Like, Shannon's show, by design was like, very clicky and, like, in a lot of ways toxic. Like, yeah. Shannon's show. Like, you did the show.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was crazy how the show was sports based, but the comedians get the biggest numbers.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Because comedians out here talking shit.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

But like, Like, I even remember when I was doing it, and I love Shannon. Like, the team was brilliant. The way they put it together, it was like, really brilliant. There's this guy, C.J. is producing it. They're like, they're fucking smart. But, like, there are moments where, like, they stopped the interview and then CJ Would hand him a card with questions that were going to be clickable videos and be like, here, just ask him these questions. Shane is reading a question. He don't even know who he's talking about, you know, so it's like the show is designed to be clipped up and put on social media for those type of, like, more. Let's call them messy. Messy. Messy clips.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So I wonder if, like, you are promoting messiness when you're messy, people are less inclined to defend you. Does that make sense?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I know what you're saying. Kind of like Jerry Springer.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. He's like, yo. If Jerry did. Some people are like, yo, yeah. Why are you gonna feel so bad for you? You made a lot of money on people's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, Jerry wrote that. He wrote the check deck to the hooker.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, yeah. When he was like, mayor of Cincinnati.

[Mark Agnon]

He was his mayor.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. When I was growing up, every time we went, it was Jerry Springer everywhere. When I grew up in Cincinnati, Jerry Springer was our mayor. And Jor and George Clooney's dad was Channel 9 news. He was the newscaster, 6 o'clock news. So I was like this dude who knew? And then Carmen Electra was the big booty chick. No, Carmen Electra was the big booty chick. Chick with the bad teeth. They used to dance at this place called Caddies on Sunday. Teenage nightclub. Prince came in town, scooped it, she was gone. And then like six months later, she's in a Prince video and her teeth were fixed. I go, oh, she got teeth fixed. Everybody knew her. She had teeth. These are.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, these aren't the first two, but the rest are.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Everybody got veneers now, huh?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This. Well, this got knocked out in fifth grade.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So this is fake.

[Mark Agnon]

Damn. What happened? Happened?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Last day of school, extra recess.

[Akash Singh]

You were cheating on your girlfriend.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We ain't got enough equity in this relationship, bro. I tell you what. I did my old opener, right?

[Gary Owen]

I got you me serving chai soon.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That mush hour. No, they said we got extra recess. Last at school, I went hauling ass. Like, yeah, you know those doors, the gym doors? I didn't know it was locked.

[Gary Owen]

No, no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I had buck teeth. They was like this, you know, I did the joke. Like I went. I used to go to Catholic church and the priest never messed with me. And then I found out he was messing with all the little boys and I was like, dang. He never fucked with me once. I'm not letting that mouth hit my shit.

[Mark Agnon]

But once he lost the teeth, then it was like. That was an open go.

[Gary Owen]

I love it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That tooth flew out.

[Gary Owen]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

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[Gary Owen]

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[Gary Owen]

Could you tell the story about when you were filming your special and Floyd showed up?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, yeah, yeah. That was.

[Gary Owen]

This is crazy 2011. This is your first big Showtime.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, this is the one. This is the one you've been working on. I was like, all right, this. This should do well.

[Gary Owen]

So let me. Let me set this up a little bit. You're already percolating. You're getting a lot of attention. You have the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Think like a man. We just got done filming. It wasn't out yet, but.

[Gary Owen]

It's not out yet. But even before that, you had some, like, big appearances. Was it deaf comedy champ?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, the Mike EP's life from the Nokia.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Kind of. Kind of got a little buzz going again about.

[Gary Owen]

But you had some real buzz. You had this opportunity to do a special with Showtime, right? And this is at the time where, like, you either it was HBO or Showtime.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This was also a time where Code Black came out of nowhere and did the Shaq all star comedy. Kevin Up.

[Akash Singh]

That's. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hot spot.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it was. It was a time where Def Jam was gone, Comic View was gone. There was a lull. The Internet wasn't what it is now. So there was. People were like, where do we find stand up?

[Gary Owen]

So then Shaq show comes in.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Shaq show blew Kevin out the water, basically, right? And even though Cedric was on it, D Ray was on it, Aries Spears on it. But Kev was the one that really benefited the most off that.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so I was like, I remember I opened up for Mike and Houston Appsy, Mike Epps in Houston. And he goes after the show, they go, hey, we're filming this thing Friday. This is like Saturday. Can you come in? And I go, what? What is it? And they go, we're doing this dvd, it's gonna be released, and all the. All the best Buys and all that stuff. And I go, all right. And I go, well, how much? They was like, well, it's 2500. That's it. There's no back end, there's no hotel, there's no flight.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was in Columbia South Carolina. I canceled it. And all they said was, is Jeff Clanger gonna be there? Because he was running Code Black. He now. I think he runs Kevin now.

[Gary Owen]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I was like, see, Gonna be there. And they gotta go, if you promise me. He watches my set. I'm in. I'm in. They go, we got you. I get there. I get there on a Friday. People don't know there was 10 acts. They only aired, like, five of them.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Five got cut. And so we're backstage, and everybody's, like, arguing over who's gonna go last. And I go, I'll go last. And I remember I looked. I'll last. I knew.

[Akash Singh]

That's a great.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I knew I had. I never did the black church joke yet, which kind of like the black and white church.

[Gary Owen]

I go, this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I've been doing it at clubs, but it hasn't been aired. It was like bringing the house down. Like, one of my strongest, probably.

[Gary Owen]

You have something in your pocket right there.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And the Tiger woods just happened where his wife beat. I had a strong tiger. I said, if nothing else, they only want me to do 10, 15 minutes. I think end up doing 20 because I went last. I knew I had, like, eight. That was just going to bring the roof down in the beginning and end.

[Gary Owen]

So you could pedal. Boom.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I walk on stage, and you're.

[Akash Singh]

Kind of refreshing because you're probably the only. Like you said, probably the only white guy there. So they've been seeing black dude, black. And then this white dude pops up, and you're kind of waking back up like, oh, different.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was. It was nine comics doing dick jokes. And then I came out, different angle. And what. What set the whole set off was Morris Chestnut was in the front row. So I walked out, I see Morris Chestnut, and I go, hey. I go, oh. Literally, I go, morris. And I go, hey, you guys ever watch Boys in the Hood and think, ricky's gonna live? And I said, emma's hating. I said, I get so mad at you every time I watch it. I go, you die every time. Just so I'm like, stop eating the Twinkie, bro. You passed the test. You're going in the army. So resets the whole room alive in.

[Gary Owen]

The moment right there. Right, right, right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so Clanigan saw me, and then they sent me to Japan first. He wasn't familiar. So the Shack was doing the tour. Yeah. So they was like, yo, they want to send you to Japan first to do a show. And I go, so I went to Japan. I think it was me, Mark Curry, Lunel, a couple other.

[Gary Owen]

Mark Curry, man. Dude, Mark Curry. So fucking funny.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, he's so good. And then I guess the word got back. No, he's. He's solid. He's got it. Because he only saw 20 minutes.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, of course.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So then they. They put me on the. That shack tour of 2011. 7. And then they said, we're going to give you a special. We got to deal with Showtime.

[Gary Owen]

Okay. On the Shack tour. Who is. Who is your group that's going?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was D Ray, Michael Blackson, Corey Holcomb, me, and Capone.

[Gary Owen]

I mean, where are you going? Up in the show.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right. For Corey. Corey closed it. D Ray hosted.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then Michael Blackson and Capone. Flip Flop flopped.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Half the tour. One would go first, one would go second, and then. Then I would go fourth, and then Corey. Corey would close it.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Strong.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So that was great show. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a solid show. And all of us kind of did our own thing after it ended, and then so they gave me the special. So I'm in Vegas. I mean, we stopped filming Think Like a Man, like two weeks before. I'm filming this. It's at the Mandalay Bay. And I just remember I'm on stage. Stage. It's sold out, but there's literally in the front, two empty rows. And I'm going, why aren't they filling this?

[Gary Owen]

Keep in mind, this is a theater. So rows are 20, that's 10, 20. Seats are just easy, easy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Mandalay Bay, the big theater there. I'm like, why is. This is so weird? Why aren't they filling this in? I don't know. Floyd has called and said, I'm coming. I don't care if there's a special. The Floyd shows up. Floyd's the champ at this point.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. He runs Vegas.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He runs Vegas.

[Gary Owen]

He's bringing a billion dollars every single time he does a fight.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm on stage, and I. I'm 30, 40 minutes in, and a commotion happens.

[Gary Owen]

It's like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There's, like all these people just. I thought a fight happened. What's going on? And then it starts coming towards me, and I'm going, what the fuck is happening? You know, Floyd's a little guy. Yeah. He's in all these big bodyguards, and I'm going, what's going on? And then I see Floyd go, oh, Floyd. And then I just started talking to him and his entourage for about 15 minutes, and then they kept like, five of it in the special.

[Gary Owen]

That's great.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's all he did completely in the middle of it, I'm like, all right.

[Gary Owen]

But it worked out of people who haven't saved something. Don't know. Like when you're taping anything, it could be a 10 minute set, it could be an hour set. Like you're kind of in like performance mode. Right. It's hard pilot, you're on autopilot. Right. I need to make sure I get these jokes right. And every time you do a joke, it doesn't go as good as it did in Portland. You're like thinking about and editing in your head.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And then 20 people walk in. 40 minutes into your 40 people walk. Sorry to stay in the moment. Moment is one very ballsy. But like, that's a really, A lot of people just ignore it. Yeah. And try to muscle through. Like that's a, that's a courageous thing to do. But you do it because you got chops. That's the thing. Like you've done a lot of shows where people are walking in. In the middle.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You know what I mean? Like if you go in that shack tour, if you went up first or second slot, people are still walking in.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. True, true, true. You know what I'm saying? And that's the first time I met Floyd. That's the crazy part.

[Gary Owen]

I thought that he told you he was coming.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I didn't. They. They told me he's coming, but I didn't tell me he's going to come in the middle of my set. The. The promoters are like, yo, well we got the call. Floyd's coming.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, oh, there it is. Look at all them people. Did you see it? Middle Special just take. They took over.

[Akash Singh]

I mean. Yeah, that's like a nightmare scenario. Nightmare.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And they're all in the front. It's.

[Gary Owen]

It is a nightmare.

[Mark Agnon]

But it's also an amazing look, Right.

[Gary Owen]

To have Floyd Mayweather co sign you.

[Mark Agnon]

If you're watching this at home and you're like, oh, who's this Gary Owens guy? You know? And then all of a sudden they see Floyd walk in and sit down, you're like, oh, why'd you throw the S on there?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Because that's Gary Owens. That's what they're thinking.

[Mark Agnon]

That's what they're thinking. But then just have Floyd sit down and start laughing like, I mean, that's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What people don't know.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

On the other side, Winky Wright was there. Oh, so then Winky was there and then Floyd came in too.

[Mark Agnon]

In the moment. Did you know, oh, this is going to play amazing. Or were you a little.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, he's kind of going with it.

[Mark Agnon]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're just kind of winging it.

[Gary Owen]

Were you roasting him at all?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I just. I told him about the Grand Rapids. I said, I just appreciate you bringing all the Grand Rapids. Oh, my God. I said, if you agree in rapids right now, commit some crimes. There's no store owners. There's no police officers.

[Gary Owen]

Does he have a good sense of humor?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Here's a good thing about Floyd. I'll tell you this. If I'm in Vegas and he's in town town, there's no phone calls made. He always comes and he buys tickets. As far as I know. I don't get the phone call saying, Floyd's coming. Can you leave tickets? Wow.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He's there or. I. I know for a fact when I did sls, he bought him because I was on a door deal. And we put the show together on, like, three weeks notice, and it was not sold out.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So when I got the ticket counts, I go, we had a hell of a walk up. And then I was like, oh, there's Floyd again, coming through the club. That's great.

[Mark Agnon]

Did he talk to you after. After this?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, he came backstage. That's where we met.

[Mark Agnon]

And what was the. What was the vibe like backstage?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He was real quiet. He real quiet, you know, Can I get a picture? That was pretty much it. Wow. But he's been cool ever since.

[Gary Owen]

So he turns it up. He, like, turns it on when the camera's on, in other words.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, well. Then we start think like a man 2 the next year in Vegas. And that's where I got to know him because he asked me to come by. They were going to go out one night, and he asked me to come by the house. Like, all right. Me being the white guy, I literally. He showed up at the time, he told me to come, and nobody there, bro. Like, it's me and me and two of my boys. Like, why are we here so early? Floyd was getting a massage. He was on the massage tables, and he's like. It was just how you think of Floyd Mayweather for his. The girl's just massaging and. Hey, what's up, G? I go, hey, how you doing? Hey. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Midwest right here. Midwest shit. Yeah. He just still talking. I'm like, like this. What is.

[Gary Owen]

What is happening right now?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Then he got a haircut. Then he gets the haircut. Girls, like, we're way too early, but here's the best part. This is a Pretty Woman moment. We're there and then. Then it gets crowded. Then hour later, it's crowded. And then everybody's going to the Palms to go to some nightclub. And Floyd doesn't drink, so people think he's out partying. Yeah, he might be out, but he's party. It's all water. He. And I'm not exaggerating. Ten limos pull up and people just start getting in the limos. And we're all going to this nightclub and we get in limo with like, me and my boys just happen to get limo with like three girls that just jumped in it. Barely spoke English. So now we're sitting there and they're. They're not talking to us. They're not trying to entertain us. And I'm. We're trying to be nice.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then nothing. We get to the party. We can't get in. It's too crowded. One. It was. It was like a Saturday. It was Vegas already. And then Floyd's coming with 150 people.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We're not getting it, even though we're with Floyd. I said, let's go to another spot. So the girls we looked at, I said, you want to go with us? And they're like, no. And it was very apparent. No, we're not. We're going to fight our way. And we will eventually get to Floyd tonight. Right. Monday, we're on set of Think Like a Man too. They're extras in the movie. We had a pool scene and they hire these pretty girls to be around the pool. I look at them and go, oh, you know, I walked by. How you doing? You go to my trailer where it's cooler than this studio where I can sweat in private. Have fun in this 110 degree weather.

[Gary Owen]

I want to know early tour stories.

[Mark Agnon]

Like.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, the first 10 years that you're in the game game. Like. Like, are you. Are you. How early are you ever with, like, some of the. The goats.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay. When I started in San Diego, I was doing two different circuits. I had the black circuit, and then I had the mainstream circuit. The mainstream was Bobby Lee.

[Gary Owen]

Yep.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Darren Carter. I remember Bobby Lee used to sit. Yeah, me and Bobby Lee used to sit at Denny's. And he'd always have the notebook. And he's writing, writing, writing.

[Gary Owen]

I don't believe that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But then he. And then he was the first one out of the open mic crew at the Comedy Store that got. They got the break, so to speak. Paulie came. Paulie Shore came down. His mom Was with the Mitzi. And they. And all sudden, Bobby went to Vegas with Paulie. He came back down, and we're. We're waiting. Like, what's it like? What's it like? And then Bobby goes. He tells this whole lie. I found out 20 years later, he's, oh, my God, dude. I was with. And then afterwards, Missy said she can make me a paid regular at the Comedy Store. He goes, and then I met these two girls and we went back to my room and they handcuffed me to my bed and they robbed me. I go, what? So he said they tied him up and he was naked and the clean ladies had to let him go. The clean ladies came in the next day and got him. I believed this story for 20 years. Then I went on a tiger belly and he told me it was a lie. I go, you motherfucker. No. He had us at Denny's. Like, I, I, I put the grand slam down, bro. So the girls, they just. You like that? They just like that. That's what I was thinking. Like, oh, my God.

[Gary Owen]

I got.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I got a really. I gotta get on the road. And then. But on the black side, it was Nick Cannon. He was doing all the Rooms because Nick was in a rap group called the Bomb Squad.

[Gary Owen]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so I didn't.

[Akash Singh]

That describes his comedy career perfectly.

[Gary Owen]

Jesus Christ.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's so wrong. That's so wrong. He's a good guy. He's a good guy.

[Gary Owen]

He's a good guy. He's put a lot of. He put a lot of people on. Yes.

[Akash Singh]

I was all wild. That's why we would make these jokes.

[Gary Owen]

He wouldn't care. That's why I feel we need to turn off the AC or something. It's freezing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So Nick. Nick was in a rap group. And I remember Magic Johnson had the talk show called the Magic Hour.

[Gary Owen]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And they. Magic's people saw me at the Comedy Store one night, and he went back to magic and said, I just saw the funniest white guy on the planet.

[Gary Owen]

Magic Johnson said that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

His guy said that. So Magic came to see me the next week. Fat Tuesday. People don't. Fat Tuesday put so many people on. Back in the Tuesday night guy, Tori spot. Like, people were getting discovered out of.

[Akash Singh]

I bombed my dick off in that room.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Did you?

[Gary Owen]

Holy. Oh, dog.

[Akash Singh]

This happened to me so many times early on, I'm like, halfway through bombing, and then one guy just comes up there, runs the show, walks on stage. He just goes, give me the mic. And I was like, okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's where I got More out of la. La. It was. What club? The Major. He had the. It was black Fat Tuesday.

[Gary Owen]

I thought was tripping on Tuesday when I.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They changed it and then I went back to Fat Tuesdays. Originally it was Fat Tuesdays. That's where Jamie Foxx saw me and got me audition for held up. Oh wow. I. I was there there. And Aries might say that didn't happen. I was there. I saw the set that got Aries mad TV because they were there. The, the, the Fox people was there. Oh wow, the execs.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I saw Leslie Jones go up when Chris Rock saw her and ripped that night. I was like, I'm. You look back, like I was there for some like historical moments.

[Gary Owen]

The set that Aries gets mad tv.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

What? I mean, just.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I remember the joke that killed it. He had a Michael Jackson joke joke where he was in a wheelchair and he said, what if you know Michael Jackson in a wheelchair? And he does the whole. He. He imitates him so good and he'd be like. And then he flips over. Act like you turn the chair this way and this way. But he's still performing. I'm up the joke.

[Gary Owen]

Sure, sure.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But that's the joke that he closed with every night. Every time he did a show, he was gonna close with that and he killed.

[Gary Owen]

He's wildly talented. Like.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Eric is wildly talented. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

His imitations, unbelievable. Yeah. So Nick, literally, I'm. I'm doing. I got. I'm at my apartment and dubbing VHS tapes, like to try to give the magic's people because I got nothing. I don't have any, I don't have any clips. Not on TV yet.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it's like bad audio, bad video. And I'm trying to clip this five minute set to give the magic people. Yeah. And Nick shows up with his manager. At the time, his name was Samir Toma. I remember saying. And then Nick goes, what are you doing? I go, magic Johnson saw me, bro. I said I might get it on his talk show and I'm all fired up. And Nick goes, man, I should do stand up. And I go, you should. Yeah, you should. And then the next week we had this place called Mr. O's. On Wednesday night was a big urban black comedy night. And Nick went up there and did nothing but comic view jokes. And I go, nick, you can't do that. That's somebody else's joke. Yeah, I saw last night. It was funny. He just didn't. It wasn't like he was out and out stealing. He did not know. I said, no, no, you gotta do your own jokes.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then less than a year later, we went up to Oakland for the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition. And Nick had like a solid six. And that's all you got. And he was clean. He was young, good looking dude. And that's when the, the, the, all that people saw him and he got, he got, he either got the semifinals or the finals. And then, you know, he kind of doing a warmup.

[Gary Owen]

This is a time before the Internet. Like now the Internet is used to like, search for talent, right. Like, you almost kind of wait for a comic to prove themselves on the Internet. But before you had to see somebody live. So there was all this tension when like somebody special was in the room. Because your whole career could change in seven minutes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. @ the mercy of somebody else.

[Gary Owen]

Simple as that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Somebody likes you and like, I'm gonna go with him.

[Gary Owen]

But so the anxiety. Just imagine that, like, it's already nerve wracking. I'm sure when you go up at like a big club on a big night when there's a full crowd, you want to do well. But imagine you go up and you know that Damon Wayans is in the. Or Keenan Ivory is in the audience. You're like, that's it. My career is. I'm in movies now. I'm in TV shows. They'll develop something around me.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it's crazy how it happens. I, I had a, I had a TV deal with Quincy Jones and it was like the, it was like the best six months of just sitting back, listen to, like an historian tell stories about Frank Sinatra.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Orson Wood Wells, Billie Holiday. He was there and he's not lying.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And we had a TV show that didn't go anywhere. It didn't go. And oh, my God, I remember we went to the ABC office and we're waiting in the lobby to go in and pitch this TV show. And Quincy starts talking about strip clubs in France. And that was the conversation. He goes, yeah. And then usually when they say, all right, you guys want to come back? Usually most people stop the conversation. And now we're in the pitch a TV show mode. No, no, no, no, no. Quincy's still telling me the story as we walk into the room. Both execs at ABC are gay as. And I'm going. And then Quincy, literally, he's, he's ignoring him. He goes, yeah, they like the jazz. The girls strip the jazz. And then he goes, he goes, he goes. Every strip clubs In France, they're like, no. Oh, I love this. And then he was like. They were like, I go, I love this. We're not, we're not getting this show. We pitched that show to this. Nothing. Usually when execs say, no, it's a day or so. I wasn't at my car. They're like, my manager already called. Yeah, they're passed. And I go, big shock. That means we left. And they go, we're done. I knew it was over with the minute he said, you're going to shoot.

[Akash Singh]

What year is this?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

2000.

[Akash Singh]

2000.

[Gary Owen]

What about like horror gigs? Did you. Because you got success quite early. Did you ever go through that stretch where you're doing the fifteen hundred dollar weekend?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, yeah, yeah. First rogue I ever got was the comic strip in El Paso. And they paid me 500 bucks and I had to get there and it was like Wednesday through Sunday. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was in the Navy. So I drove from San Diego to El Paso and it was the easiest drive ever because I was like, oh. Because that's. This the time you had to mail your headshot? Got in, send a VHS tape, fax over a fake resume that I made up. I had nothing. I remember I said I opened up for Jim Carrey for a cancer benefit. Complete lie. Everything was a lie, dude. I was like, you know what I mean? And then so I get to El Paso and it said they got a comic condo thing where all three comics are in the same thing. I took the big bedroom, not knowing the headliners coming. Do that headliner show. He goes, bruh, get out. I was like, oh, shit, sorry. So I'm going, yeah, other room. I didn't have a lot of money, so this is how I survived. I went to the grocery store, I got Cocoa Puffs and a gallon of milk. That's breakfast for the week. Arby's had the $2 beef and cheddars, so that was lunch. And then you eat at the comedy club and you bring it back for your late night food. I was like, dude, I was $20 in food.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I came back to the good. I remember thinking, oh my God, how do these comedy clubs make money? I remember when I. My first, first comedy club headline gig after Comic View. I remember with my. My agent's office. Yeah, we got. We got something club in Dayton. They're paying you $4,000. I go, holy, man, this one. This club might shut down. How do you pay me to going out of business?

[Gary Owen]

That's crazy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Fourth out there was four. Four it was 4400 for travel. I was like, what?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Four hours for a flight?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Holy, bro.

[Gary Owen]

What about any guys that you open for that? Like, to this day, you're like, I've never seen anybody kill like that or any guy you've been on the road. And they don't have to be big famous guys. They can be, but, like, the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The guy. When I first started in la, it was open. Miking was Pablo Francisco.

[Gary Owen]

Just destroy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I want to follow that dude.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, I, I was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I. I'd seen him do the Latino knight, the white knight, the black knight, and he was the only guy that killed.

[Gary Owen]

And all of them impressions, right?

[Akash Singh]

Well, he had the movie voice.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The movie. The movie voice to Arnold Schwarzenegger at the time, where he was like, little tortilla boy.

[Gary Owen]

And it was the same bit every single time.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Still waited to see it.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was like, oh, my God.

[Gary Owen]

Impressions have that longevity. It's. It's. It's like a. In a way, it's almost like you're watching magic, right? Because it's like. And that is sometimes the downfall is like, if you're really good at impressions, like, you don't actually have a joke. We're kind of just laughing because you're like, oh, yeah, you sound like that famous guy. You look like that. But the guys that can do it.

[Akash Singh]

With a joke, that's what made Eddie so impressive. He could do everything.

[Gary Owen]

Eddie could write the bit that even if he didn't do the impression, you'd still laugh at. Yeah, Eddie.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What's so amazing about Eddie? He was like 21.

[Gary Owen]

He was doing all the dudes. He was a kid.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

In the one special, we ended with the burger. The burger Jo. Like, how his mom made the burger with the peppers in it. I go, that's your closer.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Look back on. On that. You're like. Usually the closer is, like, kind of raw, rugged, something putting peppers in a burger. I'm like, what the fuck was that?

[Gary Owen]

No, that'd have been my first joke. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So you're going through this. You're getting. You're getting success, you're starting to make some money, and then you're headlining on your own. You're not really opening for other guys. Like, it was pretty quick, essentially.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I didn't headline. I didn't. I didn't have the traditional feature for people because I was in the Navy when I started. I was on BET and in the Navy at the same time.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So how it happened was I Was starting to stand up. I knew that's what I want to do. I was going up, like, six days a week that anywhere that. I mean, I was made. There was a karaoke night at a place called El Torito. I would go up and not sing. I do jokes. It got to the point where people knew to get quiet when I walked up, because they go, oh, this is the funny dude. He about to tell some jokes.

[Gary Owen]

No way.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The first couple weeks, it was rough because they were paying attention, but I just want to get on stage. And I didn't know where to go. So I go, wait. If they got a microphone, they got a little stage. I'll just start telling jokes. And then. And it got to the point where literally the. The host of karaoke. All right, y'all, you know, he's here. It was like, that type of vibe. And then karaoke is very. The same people every week.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it really helped me because I had to kind of do new shit every week too. So it was. It was. It was kind of a dope thing. But I'm. I'm driving in my truck, and they said, we're looking for the funniest black comedian in San Diego. So I called in, and I didn't say I was black or I wasn't black. I just. I put a little bass in my voice. What's up? This the contest? Yeah, I want to enter that. What's your name? Gary. So I entered out one, and then that's actually where I met Nick, because he rapped. He rapped on the show. His manager got him on there, and that first place. Got you an audition for Comic View.

[Gary Owen]

Got it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I auditioned for Comic View. I got all on. I'm still in the Navy.

[Gary Owen]

So.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They used to film the whole season in a week. It was Monday through Friday. They either did three or five episodes a day, so. And it was a contest. You just kept moving on. So I just kept moving on every day. I took a week's leave. I won my. My rounds, like, so I got an hour special. So I've been on Stand up less than a year, and I had this hour special.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I wish they would replay it because I know it's gotta be brutal because you only had to do 44 minutes. Minutes?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

With commercials.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And it was so slow and paced because I didn't have 24 minutes. I waited till every last. And then I had to be silent. I was so paced, like.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That clock just was moving so slow. I was like, holy. I got two jokes I've worked 28, so they called me, they called me like six months later. And Curtis Gadson was the head of BET at the time. He goes, he's like, curtis Gaston wants to meet with you. I drive back up to la and he goes, yeah, we make it. We want to make you the host. And I went, what? So they want me to make me the host of comic. I'm still in the Navy.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So BET doesn't know I'm in the Navy. Obviously the Navy doesn't know I'm doing standup. But it was a funniest thing cuz I don't have cable and so I don't know I'm airing. So I'm on the base waving cars on the base and a brother would be like, motherfucker up. What you want to do last night? Yeah, yeah, have a good day, man. So I'm like, wait a minute, my own tv. And then I would go out to like, you know, Burger King or something and somebody like, was you on tv? I had no idea I was airing and I kept getting stopped. I was like, why you want stopping me?

[Gary Owen]

What was it like back in the day when there were fewer channels and you had something pop on TV?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Do you make me sound 18 as right now?

[Gary Owen]

No, no, I'm not trying to make you sound old because I remember like GEICO days when there were just fewer things to watch.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So when people were watching a show, you felt it on the street?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. For real.

[Gary Owen]

Like I remember just walking around certain areas, especially like tourist areas in New York City if you're in Times Square. It was like, it felt like every person within an age demographic had watched the show.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

With the Internet now it's different. Like with the Internet there's little echo chambers. So you'll be walking down the street, somebody recognizes you, somebody's like, I don't even know who the that is. It's divided. But back in the day it was like if you watched comedy and you watched bet, you watched Comic View.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So you didn't miss it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So you would instantly feel it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Does that make sense?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I, I went from like never be on the road to being asked the headline immediately. So I didn't have the, the grind of featuring for somebody.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like I was kind of just thrust into it.

[Gary Owen]

That was kind of similar to my journey. Like I didn't have a long time where I was going and featuring for people.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, yeah, I didn't. I mean that's a beauty. A standup every you ask 100 comics, everybody. They're g. 100 different stories. Yeah, you know, I just, I had to get out of the Navy, did anything. I couldn't go on the road.

[Mark Agnon]

Did any of them know, like, any of your close Navy friends know that you were doing standup, like, on the side?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I mean, that's how I got to do all the. The quote unquote black rooms. I'd be telling people, like, on the base, like, I'm do stand up. And the black guys, like, you can go here or you can go here. A lot of white comics didn't want to go there, cuz it wasn't a bad area. But I was like, I just want to tell jokes.

[Mark Agnon]

Did it cause any tension once it premiered and once it aired? And everyone knew bet like with the Navy, like, where they, like, with your superiors or whatever you can't be doing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Dude, I had good thing. I had black chiefs, black bosses that were watching it. These looked out.

[Gary Owen]

They loved it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yo, when I tell you my. The last three months I wasn't showing up for work, all they said was, you got. You show up Monday morning. Yeah, don't get nothing pierced. Keep your hair cut. Then we're going to. They, they. What they did is they put me on a part of the base where you were. I was supposed to be like graying papers, basically. It was a guy they were running. I don't know. It's some guys that weren't. I was a cop in the Navy, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was like guys that were trying to be temporary police officers for their command. No, Andrew, I let everybody go, dude. When I say let everybody go, everybody. That's why we lost the war on terror. I would have been the peacemaker, but they, they had me, like, in some part of the base that I only had to report this one old dude, and he knew what the deal was. So I'd see him Monday morning, I check in, and I'd be like, I'm out. And that was the last three months.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then I remember the paperwork came.

[Mark Agnon]

In, like, this is a good cause, but the government subsidized a good one.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean?

[Mark Agnon]

Like, I'm down with that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But then the paperwork came in. That. That kind of hurt a little bit because I was still getting paid. So then the paperwork came in, like, yeah, you're. You're out.

[Gary Owen]

I go like, you got dishonorably discharged.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Not dishonorably. I was honorable, okay? Just my time. And then I was like, I remember it was it was in January. I was like, damn, I ain't got that check coming in every two weeks.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So now I'm in LA trying to make it, you know what I mean? Like, but I wasn't, I wasn't broke or anything. That's why I don't have the whole. I didn't. Where my next meal was coming from. Yeah, I didn't, I, I went to la even I wasn't in the hole.

[Gary Owen]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I didn't have any money. So. When you're single with no kids, you don't need a lot.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean? Even my, my first roommate in la, he, we had no living room furniture. So if you was to break in our apartment, you'd have been like, nobody lives here. I had my bedroom, he had his bedroom. I ain't buying a couch for you. For you.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then I end up living like only fans, girls, guys.

[Gary Owen]

I think it's very, very important to note that while we're recording this, the Knicks, the New York Knicks are currently up three one. Okay. That's right. They're currently up three. I believe by the time this episode comes out, we have already closed out the Detroit Pistons. We are on our way into the second rounds. Okay, this is to me an absolute no brainer. The Knicks dominating. These are easy games. We like to keep it closer ratings because this is a city that understands entertainment. It's very important to us. You are welcome, everybody. Oh, the Knicks. This call. That call. Yeah, you're welcome. Okay, you stayed, you watched that game. You're allowed to do it because for some reason your wife is okay with you watching sports, but not anything else or not scrolling your phone. Why is that? Let's not ask questions. Point I'm trying to make here, okay, is that this NBA playoffs is shaping out to be absolutely fantastic. Okay? Outside of watching Boston play, which is like watching paint dry, I can't believe a team so good could be so fucking boring to watch. It has been fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. What are we going to do? Are we going to put some money up? Yes, we're, we are. And when we put that bread up, we're going to do it over at stake. Stake is the leader of global betting, U. S social casinos bet on top sports, political events. Use a promo code flagrant for your welcome bonus. We've got some big ones coming up. Okay? Is, is, is LeBron going to do it? Is he going to pull it off? Is he going to come back once again from 3:1 or is he going to pass the baton to the next man that's going to carry the league on his shoulders for another decade. Who knows? Who knows? You can bet on it. And you'll do it over there. At stake. Anyway, let's get back to the show.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Crazy part of my first year in LA end up, I end up moving in with like this big, big drug dealer. And I didn't know he was like the dude in la.

[Gary Owen]

And he had a roommate, he had.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

A, he had a mansion in Bel Air. He wanted me to house it. He needed a white guy I found out later to be the face of the nation neighborhood because he would, we had these parties and the cops would get called and I'm the one going up to the end of the driveway because you, you had, you had to walk to get to the house. You couldn't see it from the street. So if cops show up, he'd always be like, oh gee, they at the gate. You had no idea.

[Gary Owen]

Something.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You don't. I'm from Ohio, I get to la, I'm, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm showing up now like at these LA parties and I'm seeing houses I've never been in before. So I don't know. In la, you know, everything's kind of fake it till you make it type deal. Okay. Okay. So I don't know, I really was naive. I thought he threw parties, I thought he was a bodyguard. And I don't know what anything runs, I don't know what these houses run for. So I'm kind of clueless.

[Akash Singh]

You were a terrible cop.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So he, he literally, he, I don't know, you know, it's still my dude. He's in prison now. I still go visit him. Really still my guy, he got life. He's. I don't think he's getting out. I hope he does, but I'm not gonna say what he did.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Cuz I want him. I think get out.

[Gary Owen]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But that's still, that's still my dog, man. But I just remember we came, I came home one time and I had never seen that many drugs in a house. Like I walked in, yeah. And there was just like the weed. The blocks was up to my calf and it filled, it would fill this whole studio. And I'm going and like five SUV's pull down the driveway. These Suburbans and these, these brothers look like they was off the grid. They didn't smile, they didn't say hello. They opened the door and just started loading the, up in the back of these SUVs. And I had one of my buddies, one of my buddies was there and he goes, is this weed? And my, my. My boy goes, yeah, what do you mean? He goes, you want some? He was like, you know, I can, I can have some of this. He goes, if you want something, take some. He went like this. Tried to take a pinch if you won't get it. And I saw the glow from the last dragon come over. Oh, my God. So then he does the dumb shit. He goes, yo, I got some boys, man. I got some boys out buy some weed. He goes, give my number. And then they then end up going bad because he's like, yo, your boys are bullshitting, man. Don't send them by my way up. They bullshitting. He like, snapped on my boy because he tried to be like, if you guys are going to buy some shit, this is like another level. Yeah. Like, they were running the shit. Like, I don't want to give everything away, but they were running through different states.

[Gary Owen]

Was there any concern during that time that you're like, okay, I have a promising career.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's why I got out. That's why I told him I got to move out.

[Gary Owen]

And how, how did that combo go?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I literally told him, I said, bro, I'm a comedian. I can't be around this.

[Gary Owen]

What'd he say?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I get it. And then shout out to my ex wife. She calmed him down because there was a point he got a little angry.

[Gary Owen]

Wait, wait, what happened?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm going to leave that off the air.

[Gary Owen]

Okay, fair enough.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But got a little angry and she had to go have lunch with him and calm him down. Be like, you know, Gary loves you. Like, he would never do anything to you.

[Gary Owen]

So he was worried that, that, like, you could potentially snitch and then he would be up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know.

[Gary Owen]

I would be worried.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know.

[Gary Owen]

Trust one white guy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'll tell you a cool story.

[Gary Owen]

You get life in prison the second he moves out of your house.

[Akash Singh]

He goes in visits.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right now we're cool. You know, they had nothing to do with me. But I'll tell you a cool story. So I, I just started headlining and we're still living together. And I come home and there's two girls in my room, right?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We had like a, like four bedrooms in the house. And then there's two girls in my room. And I'm going. I walked in, I go, what the. So I go to his. His room. Not. Yeah. Oh, there's like, there's two girls over here. Oh, I Thought you was getting back tomorrow. He's my bad, bro. I get him out. So the girl's like, oh, we're so sorry. You got room. And he tells me because, yeah, these are some of my girls in Vegas, man. I was looking out for him this week. They were like, drop dead gorgeous. They look like they were made in a lab, right? They were hookers. Then he brought the LA to. They were, like, going in the Palisades and everything. And he's the one that would drive them, sit outside, make sure they got their money. I'm sure he's getting broke off a little bit too, right?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Pimping is what we could be.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Could be. Yeah, I know.

[Gary Owen]

I was going with that. This was not the visual he was probably giving.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They come out of my room, they go, they leave.

[Gary Owen]

The guy was doing life in prison. He was probably really earnest with those girls.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They lean my. My room. And I'm going. First I was pissed. I go, no flu in my room, but I can't be full of clothes.

[Gary Owen]

I'm sleeping under bed.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So it's this internal. Yeah. And then I looked at my room. I go, our room's really clean. And I was like, they washed my clothes. I was like, everything. I opened my drawer, go. This is folded beautifully to be in my room. It never smelled that good.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, all my shit was pressed. I was like this. Oh, that wasn't a bad deal being room. Then he goes, yo, G. I mean, they here. Like, if I want to do something. I was like, no, I'm good. Like, if you. They would. If they would have called me when I was on that podcast you and Charlamagne went down. I was too, like, green, freaking out. Like, no, no, I'm good.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'd never seen a guy pull pussy like him, though, really, in my life.

[Gary Owen]

Wait a minute. The drug kingpin and pimping girl ever.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'll give you an example. What the world do we live on? Hold on.

[Gary Owen]

This is Gary. Are you telling me the drug dealer, kingpin, pimp that has a mansion in Bel Air was good at.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm going to tell you, off the air, some of the women, and you won't believe me.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Like famous girls.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Akash Singh]

Just at the house, same one name, we believe.

[Gary Owen]

Nope.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But, like, I got. I got the movie held up.

[Gary Owen]

Halle Berry.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Why? I was living with him. No, no. While I was living with him, I got the movie. I said no when you said no. Kind of. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Make me feel good.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Can'T you? No, definitely not. No.

[Gary Owen]

Anyways, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. So I'm. I'm leaving the next day to go shoot.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Held up. So he goes. He goes. He goes, yo, my boys come and pick him. This when everybody had the Lincoln Navigators. He goes, I said, no, they're gonna have a car service. He goes, you ain't going to your first movie in a. A sedan. He said, you know. He goes, no, I got my boy coming. We're gonna take you right. Like in the Navigator.

[Gary Owen]

How do you even, like, connect with this guy? Like, where does he.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He used to always be at the comedy clubs. And how he. How I started hanging out with them was. It was Thanksgiving. This before cell phones.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was doing all the black rooms in la.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So Tuesday night was the comic store. Monday night was Improv. Sunday night was Laugh Factory. It's Monday night at the improv Mo better Mondays was that D wasn't hosting them. D. Ray wasn't even on the scene seen back then. This is like 98.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I'm out front. Everybody's hanging out in the clothes. And he goes. He goes, yo, G, what you doing for Thanksgiving? I go, nothing. Just come out house, you know. All right, what's the address? Did you keep on. There's four cell phones, too.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Writes the address down. Thursday comes, Gary shows up in Compton to his mom's house.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I knocked on the door. The door goes, you came invited me. He just kept. He just kept, like, staring at me. I was like, what the you staring at? He goes, yo, I never have no white boy in my house. I go, my boys wouldn't believe there's a white boy in my house right now. My mama's house. He was literally tripping that I showed up.

[Akash Singh]

You're like a celebrity.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I knew to hang with the women. Don't hang in the backyard with the dudes. Play domino. If you went with the women, you good.

[Gary Owen]

Tell me, tell me, tell me, what's the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Because if they vouch for. For you, we like him. He cool. They going to. They're going to vouch for you quick.

[Gary Owen]

But the dudes are going to be more suspicious. White guy was a cow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I stayed in the kitchen all Thanksgiving. I was mixing sweet potato pie. I was putting cheese in the macaroni cheese, bro got apron on.

[Mark Agnon]

I was in that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This crush is pumpkin. I think I started crying when I ate it. Oh, my God. Thank you so much. This is so flavorful. Okay, So I got in good.

[Gary Owen]

That's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's what started the relationship.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I showed up and Then he hired me. I thought he hired me to go to Utah to host this thing for Brian Russell. This is when the Jazz had Carl Malone, John Stockton. So Brian Russell was playing for the Jazz at the time. So he. He was real cool with Brian. Right. They knew each other from San Bernardino back in the day.

[Gary Owen]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So they said, yo, I'll never forget. They go, casey and Jojo and Rolls Royce. We got a concert Brian's doing. Will you host it? I said, yeah. So we. I. They fly me out to Salt Lake. I go there. It's funny. Casey and Jojo doesn't show up. I just remember it was like a junior college gym and it's packed, but it was all fucking Samoan, like, looking people.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And. And I was like, oh, this ain't my audience. And I hadn't really been on TV at all. So I'm a no name, about to go up. Casey Jitter didn't show up. They. They just like, they lied. They said they missed a flight. And then Brian goes, all right, I'm gonna try to private, where you at? And they were. And then they were lying. They just weren't gonna show up. And so the. The concert got canceled.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But it really got me in with like, Brian Russell. Russell, my roommate, because they were close. And then I remember went to the game the next night against Portland.

[Gary Owen]

Hold on. What happens with the show?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They just led by left it. Shows canceled. That was it. I stayed backstage the whole time. I don't. And they still paid me. I showed up.

[Gary Owen]

I mean, whoa. Wow. That's got to be embarrassing for a guy like that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, he was hot. He was hot. He was like, no show. They didn't. They're not coming. Their band was there. Show up. The band was there. The Rolls Royce was the open act. They were there. I was there. The only two people didn't show up was Casey.

[Gary Owen]

And so everybody's prepared to do the show, and then they bail.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then they was like, we must fly.

[Gary Owen]

Why didn't they say their aunt died or something like that?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know. But I think they weren't expecting Brian to be like, yo, about to send a private. Yeah, no, they were like.

[Gary Owen]

And then he pulled it. Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They pulled their trump card, so to speak. So that's what got me cool with them. And then we just. We just became friends over that. And then he asked me to house it. He said, yo, I'm about to leave town for a couple months, man. Can you house sit? And I was like, well, let Me see the house. Two bedroom, rundown apartment in North Hollywood off Lankershum. I went to this house. I went, what? The indoor pool on the inside and outside. Like, it was just the most beautiful home with nothing in it, by the way away. No, there's no pictures, no tv, no refrigerator. There's nothing in this.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

His door had a padlock on it. You couldn't get in his room. Yeah. And then I just remember I said, I can. I'll sit here. And then I asked him, I said, can I put pictures of me up on the wall? He. I don't give a what you do. I was bringing girls back there. They thought it was my. What are you doing? Comedian, man. That's when comedians had TV deals. Yeah, yeah. Germany, baby. I got steak sauce in that.

[Gary Owen]

So you were living good while you're in la, even though it's the beginning of your career?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I can honestly say my first year in LA, the. This, the 98 year, I got to move with Jamie Foxx. I got the role with Jamie. I'm gonna keep that off the air because you know Jamie, man. Jamie can go like, parties wise. Jamie's parties are legendary.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I'm hanging out with Jamie. I got the big ass house in Bel Air that people think is mine, that it's not. I go, I'll just put like this. I lived what everyone thinks the Hollywood life should be for one year, and that was enough. I'd be dead, really, if I kept that going. Yeah, I'd be dead. We had. So we had some parties. He. We had a July 4th party in 98. Kobe showed up. Nobody knew he was. Just got done with his rookie year. Right. My buddy from San Diego's there and he it up the intro because they go, yo, Kobe's here. And I was like, oh, there was a lot of other celebs there too. Right. You know, Kobe was like a. I don't know. He's like, he just didn't go out. Yeah. So for him to show up, it was a day party. Yeah. I remember my buddy. Keep mine. Everybody's acting like it's my house because they don't. He don't want anybody know it's his. So when everybody comes, I'm getting introduced to everybody. So I'm here. They go, hey, Kobe's here. I go out to say hi to Kobe. My buddy is like within earshot, and he keeps walking around. He go, kobe Bryant. I can't wait. Cobra's here. Jelly bean son. Kobe. Kobe ride. I was like, dude, shut the up. When he's standing there, he goes, kobe, baby. He goes, I kill. Kobe's here. K to the O to the B to the E. And you can tell Kobe's like, shaking my hammer going, the.

[Gary Owen]

Is this weirdo?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But he just kept walking around us. What are you doing? I put was like, what the are you doing, bro? He go, man, that's coke. R, bro. That's cot. It's like.

[Gary Owen]

So Kobe's 19 at this point?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yep.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He wasn't drinking or nothing?

[Gary Owen]

No, I'm not trying, probably.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He's probably there less than an hour. Wow. We came, hung out, had some handler, bodyguard with him. He was real cool, though.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, Real, real cool.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But there was, like, at that time, I bet you half the NFL was at that party.

[Gary Owen]

Holy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was a B. That party was so, so epic. I would be at, like, a Gold's Gym in Pasadena. Somebody, yo, you have another party.

[Gary Owen]

So you were, in a lot of ways, the man.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

A year into comedy in la.

[Gary Owen]

In la. Comedy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You had San Diego first, and then you moved to la.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm a white guy doing all the black.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I was the only one really doing it.

[Gary Owen]

Very recognizable.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Early 20s. I'm at that age where you're going out and you're all that stuff. Stuff. So it was. I don't. That was. That was one of the funnest years of my life. I really got to live the LA experience for one year. Okay.

[Gary Owen]

You're so popping at this time and all these people are coming to your house and it's the party. Are you, like, believing the hype? Are you hitting on, like, famous chicks? Are you?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I had no problem hitting on famous chicks.

[Gary Owen]

And was it successful?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Huh? Couple really Not. No. A listers, but, you know, a couple classmates from a different. Different world. I don't mean regulars. I mean one episode. Let me know. You hit Whitley Gilbert Sorority sisters.

[Gary Owen]

Okay. Is when you move out. Is it a reality check?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, I had to go. That was when the. Was hitting the fan, bro.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, I'm seeing. I shouldn't see.

[Gary Owen]

No, I know, but then you have to adjust your lifestyle. Yeah. Now you're back.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Imagine. But. But no, this all happened, like, over the course of six, seven months. So in that six, seven months, I got the hosting job on bet. So I'm on TV now.

[Gary Owen]

But your new house doesn't look like that, I imagine. No. There has to be an adjustment period. And, like, are all these people that were, you know, kind of, you know, living the good life around You. Then they see your new house. Are they looking at you differently, do they think?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No. Either. I don't think he was like that. I was like, I just. I end up moving in with my ex. And she had a nice little. It was. It was complete opposite. It went from party, party, party. Now I'm living in a nice townhouse in Glendale.

[Gary Owen]

Right, Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so it's. It's very quiet now. You know what I mean? So it was, you know, it was an easy transition.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow. Did you ever have interaction with Kobe after that party?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Nope. One and only.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

My boy, that all up. I still blame him to this day. I was like, dude, what the. He thought that was my house. He just. I'll never forget his fucking cheesy ass. I can call it out. Scott King from Dayton, Ohio. God damn it, Scott, you that all up.

[Mark Agnon]

And every time the cops came, were you able to smooth it over?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Every time.

[Mark Agnon]

There was never a moment. Where'd you say.

[Akash Singh]

Did you play the military card?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What'd you say?

[Gary Owen]

No.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, so we had. There wasn't neighbors close by, but they were in the. In the vicinity. And all they see is like a line of cars in. Black people getting out. You know, And I'm talking like. You're talking like Nate Dog type people, right? You're not looking at Wayne Brady's getting out. So they're like these black people and, you know, they're hearing music and we're partying. We. We never had late night parties. I was always. The July 4th was like noon to seven smart. And then we weeded everybody out, and then we let maybe like 30 people stay late. And we. And it was always good odds. It was 10 dudes and like 20 girls. You know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

And is that by design? Are you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What's that?

[Gary Owen]

The freak off. So the freak offs. What happened is you're like this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I've never heard of that. Hold on.

[Mark Agnon]

What is.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There is a story I can't share. So the same night, the July 4th party, afterwards, we're in a Jacuzzi, and there's like 10 people in the Jacuzzi, and we're all just kind of sitting. Keep in mind, I'm. I'm still young in the game, and everything's just. I'm just soaking everything in like a sponge. We had a sauna, and this guy. Guy started this girl in the sauna. So everyone's just talking. Let's say we're talking about the Lakers or the Clippers or something. And this. All they see is this girl's ass cheek and the steam and he's just pounding it and he's got her up and nobody's acknowledging it going, are we not going to talk about the getting. I don't care. The Carl Malone punk shack in the playoffs. This dude is a girl right here. So the whole time we're talking, I'm going like this.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It never got acknowledged and then they just came out like, how y'all doing? It's like, oh, LA's different.

[Gary Owen]

Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

LA is different.

[Gary Owen]

So you live like the, what people assume is the wild LA life.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I didn't, I observed it.

[Gary Owen]

You observed it. I don't want to put anything bad on you, but like when people do talk about Hollywood and these freaks offs in these parties, there is a version of that which kind of exists.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, I, I, I don't doubt anything. After the first, really first year I.

[Akash Singh]

Saw that gets as crazy as everybody says, Even crazier than what you saw.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think it gets way crazier than what I saw. Like when I saw a minor version.

[Gary Owen]

Like when people talk about the Diddy. Are you, are you like 100%. Some weird things were happening, those parties.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Like that ever made you feel uncomfortable.

[Akash Singh]

Or did he ever ask you to live with him?

[Gary Owen]

Nothing illegal. No, nothing illegal that way. But like so debaucherous that you're like, yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

You're saying gay.

[Gary Owen]

No, I saying, no, I'm not saying. I mean like so debauch that you're like, yo, what are we even doing here?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, is fun. But no, no, I, I never saw nothing that would, would make me uncomfortable. I would say that.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was ne. It was. I never saw no gay.

[Akash Singh]

Even after that one year. Did you ever, like, because you're in the industry, you're. Think Like a Man. Massive hit. Think like a man 2 comes out. Are you getting invited any of that? That they're like, yo, this is weird and I don't feel comfortable.

[Gary Owen]

You at the freak off?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, I never went there. No.

[Gary Owen]

Give me Harvey Weinstein in a hotel room.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no, no, no, none of that. That first year was the most I'd seen my life.

[Gary Owen]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was the, Honestly, it was the age I was at. It was the time. That time in la.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean? And it was just, it was just the stars aligned, so to speak. Like, everything was happening. I got, I got the host job on Comic View. I'm a white guy on a black show. I get a movie with Jamie Foxx. Which is huge that time. Right? Held up.

[Akash Singh]

Oh, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We shot up in Canada, so I was kind of. Jamie was feeling me out, like, is Gary cool or not? You know what I mean? So it just. It was just. Honestly, I wouldn't say anything. It was great.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And the thing is, I'm still cool with. With the dude. After it all hit the fan, I still go back. I've. Man, I visited that dude and. And I visited him in San Quentin, in Folsom. He's somewhere else now. I'm. I'm probably gonna go see him in a couple weeks when I'm up in the Bay, you know what I mean? He's. That's still my guy. He didn't never do me wrong. Right. You know what I mean? I. And I literally told him, like, when I. When I had to move out, I. Dude, I can't be around this, bro.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, I'm still seeing. I'm not seeing, like. I'm not seeing anybody Rob anybody. I'm not seeing anybody overdose. But I'm going, jesus. Li. The. The one story that I was like, oh, this is different. It used to be the Key Club in la.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So. And the Century Club was Sunday night in la.

[Gary Owen]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The Century Club is a better story. The promoter for the Century Club at the time, I don't know who he was. I'd always go there with my. My guy guy, right? We always got in. We always walked in. Nobody stopped us, Right? One night I went out by myself and I told him, I said, bro, I'm gonna go up the Century Club. He goes, all right. I'm just gonna chill the house, all right? So I go. The promoter wouldn't let me in. So I'm sitting. I was like. And he literally asked. He goes, yo, where's little boy? I was like, oh. He didn't come. And he was like, all right. And just let me stand out there. Go. Oh. So I just got my truck and drove back home. So I'm home like an hour later. I thought he was going to send your car. Yeah, your boy wouldn't like me in. He goes, I'll handle it. That's all he said, right? That July 4th party, right? He goes, g, come here. I said, what? He's got the dude in the closet at the house.

[Akash Singh]

Holy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So he opens the closet and the dude's there. And he goes, hey, tell me what the happened? And I was like, I don't know what you're talking about. Did you go Centry Club? Yeah. He goes, so the guy's like, in the closet and he goes, yo, you let my boy in when he's with me, when he's not with me, he goes, he's me. Blah, blah, blah. And I'm going, what the is about to happen? And I go, hey, man, I think it's just a misunderstanding when I said that that promoter goes. That's all it was. Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. Wait a minute. Why is this motherfucker in the closet? And he's like this. Hold on. I was like, well, this is some different shit. You know what I mean? Motherfucker don't ever stop my boy, right?

[Akash Singh]

Crazy shit.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We went to the Key Club one time on Sunset. That's so dope.

[Mark Agnon]

That stresses me out. All of this gives me so much anxiety.

[Gary Owen]

I love.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So we went to the Key Club one night in la, and we usually just walked in and this one big, big old redheaded white bouncer grabbed them by the arm.

[Gary Owen]

You let people know when someone's white?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Listen, most white people just.

[Gary Owen]

They never say the color of skin if it's a white person. But you're around so few white people that then you have to point it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

At what redheaded white dude. You know who you were. That bounce.

[Akash Singh]

That's so funny.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So we would have got it with redhead.

[Gary Owen]

They come take red bone. I don't want.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Go, go, go, go. He grabbed him by the arm, did nothing wrong. Like, if it's your first day at the nightclub.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're supposed to stop people from walking. Walking in.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He grabbed him and he was like. All sudden, he freaked out. Like, he goes. He goes. He looked at him and he was going to his car, and I was like, oh, is he about to grab something? Yeah, you know. Yeah. So I'm following him down Sunset. I'm going, bro, bro, it ain't that serious. No, that. Everybody stopping me, I was like, oh, what the about to happen, right? We come back, the promoter for the Kinko tonight is not followed him. He goes, bro, he ain't no. He ain't no. And then he goes. He goes, him or me? The went back goes, you're fired.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Fired. The bouncer like that. Wow. The bounce was like, what the. I do.

[Akash Singh]

Bouncer got lucky, to be honest with you.

[Gary Owen]

He just got fired. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This was a real dude.

[Mark Agnon]

That's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, this was no joke, bro. I'm giving you, like, the pg.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, you got life in prison for.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, of course.

[Mark Agnon]

But still, I mean, here's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm not saying his name for a reason.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah. I Don't want to say, yeah, I don't want to know anything.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's my dog. But off air, I'll. I'll pull him up. I'll show you.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, what. And he was a big dude too. He was like 6, 7. He wasn't a small dude.

[Gary Owen]

Does life get more boring after that for you? Like, you get married, do you have a family? Which is not boring at all. Obviously. It's incredible. But like, you're living this insane movie for about six or seven months.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And then you go to have a very kind of traditional home. You're on the road, you have success. Like, what, what is happening in your brain at that point in time? Are you like, less anxious? Like, you must be a little nervous. You're living with a drug dealer. He's throwing parties locked up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I go, yeah, that was a good move.

[Gary Owen]

That was.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it was a good move. Getting out of there.

[Gary Owen]

Getting out of there. Because you could have got caught up in like a rico, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know if I don't know or.

[Gary Owen]

What is it called when you're aware of what's going on?

[Mark Agnon]

You're eating and abetting or something?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I was purposely not asking questions. I think that's why hung out with me. I never asked a word.

[Gary Owen]

So it's just like, yo, let's have fun.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We're hanging out. But I will say, I never paid for a drink. I never, I never had no problem getting into clubs. And, and, and if anybody's like, will watch this and be like, gary bullshitting, if you know who I'm talking about. Yo, the know.

[Gary Owen]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

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[Gary Owen]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's cozyearth.com Spotify.

[Gary Owen]

Do you think that that played a part in your acceptance in the community outside of. Just in LA, specifically?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

100%, I was with the guy.

[Gary Owen]

So you're with the guy, and it's like you're this white dude that you're in. You're in the black comedy circles, but which at some point in time, when you start to get success, there might be, like, some pushback. I'm sure you've experienced that in even your career. Like, you've had mass massive success as a white dude in black comedy. But do you think at that point in time it was like, nah, he's cool. He's with him. There was this co sign. Do you think that was helpful in the beginning?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think in la, it just got me in the rooms. Like, people was like, you know what I mean? Do you know Scruncho?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay. Scrancho knows who I'm talking about.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Scrancho, like, was running the same group with him, right? Scrancho won night. Accused me of stealing one of his jokes. Have you seen my act? And Scrancho's act, okay, it's literally like. Like, Bill Mars said, I'm trying to steal Politically Incorrect or something. So Scrunch and Sc. Sconcho was being cool. Scono was not being. We're outside the improv and he was like, yo, G, my boy said you took something. I go, what? What?

[Gary Owen]

They.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Here's what they said. I took. Scono used to bring somebody on stage or something for a bit, and then one night, I'm messing around, I brought.

[Gary Owen]

Somebody on stage, but it wasn't planned. You're just kind of riffing it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. And Scrancho knew, and this is not indictment. He was cool as we was outside, we're talking, but his boys was like, he stole your. They're hyping them up. They're like, hyping them up to hit me, right? I go back. Scrotic can go too. Hold on.

[Akash Singh]

It's not a guy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I go back, back and tell my guy, I said, yo, scratch on his boys, man. He goes, huh? I'll handle it.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, Jesus.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We see Scrancho, I'll handle it. Next Tuesday, we see him at the Comedy Store. Scono pulls me aside. I. He. My boy sees Scrancho in the same dudes.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Pulls aside and told Scon, man, hey. Somebody said, gary. So you and Scrunch was like, nah, he was misunderstanding, said this. And, you know, it ain't like that. He goes, all right. And he looked at his boys, he Was like, he looked at the boy. He goes, you never speak to him again. And he got to say, gary, you say to me. And he's like, all right, all right. What the fuck?

[Gary Owen]

That's crazy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, he was like, don't you ever speak to him again. Whatever you say to him, you say.

[Gary Owen]

To me, what happened? Like, how do you guys think you developed that relate. He really seems to care for you. He really seems to look out for you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Facts.

[Gary Owen]

And where does that come from?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He just said, I don't know. He always said, like, I. I never asked questions. I never.

[Gary Owen]

Do you think that you're, like, the one person in his life that just made him feel like a regular guy? Maybe he's this incredibly powerful, feared human being from the stories you tell me, right? And you got to carry that weight every single interaction you have. Like, he doesn't get led into a club. He has to make it not known that you can't do that to a person. Like him, not him. And at every point in time, I imagine he's thinking about, like, how he exists within the hierarchy of humans. He's around that bouncer gets fired, that gets sent around. Hey, don't mess with this guy. It's constantly, don't mess with this guy. And then when he's hanging out with you, maybe he feels like he can kind of let that ego go a little bit.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But he. He used to love the comedy clubs, bro.

[Gary Owen]

He was there, but outside of the comedy clubs. I'm trying to understand, like, why he's so protective of you and why you become a representation of him.

[Mark Agnon]

When you guys were hanging, just the two of you, were you making him laugh? Like, were you cracking him up? Yeah, like, he was silly when it was just y'all.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Was. Was he, like. Was he also joking around? Did you see a different side of him?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I saw a different side of him.

[Gary Owen]

And what. What was that side?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know. I saw him. He kind of let his guard down. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And what is it about. What is it about you that allows him to do that? Does he.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't know. It's. It's a weird thing. It was, like, complete opposites, just hanging out.

[Gary Owen]

Like, I wonder.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Here's a funny story. I came up one time, and he was in my. My room, and he was asleep on the bed, but he had the. He had the gun in his hand, right? So he's sleeping like this, and I'm doing this. I'm trying. I go, hey, no, try to wake him up and not get shot. No. My God. I'm yelling his name. Yeah. And then he wakes up, he goes.

[Gary Owen]

What the fuck you doing?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, you got a fucking gun in your hand. I don't want you to wake up and fucking. It goes off. Then he looks like safety, but I don't know.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, of course.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Around that world. Like, yo, yeah, my guy.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

Were you ever, like, careful making jokes around him? Cuz I'm sure with everyone, you're like, ribbing people, you know, roasting, whatever, but with.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I never roasted him.

[Mark Agnon]

Were you intentional about that? Like, oh, I don't want to cross a line with this guy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, not intentional. I just didn't feel the need. Yeah. You know, I didn't feel the need. Yeah, that was.

[Mark Agnon]

Why are you so comfortable in that kind of environment? Like, growing up in Ohio?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Know any better?

[Mark Agnon]

That's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're naive. I just got to la, bro. He's, like, really taking care of me, like, as far as, like, you know, I'm getting into spots. I'm in the mix. You know, he had money, so I was never paying for. Right.

[Gary Owen]

You know, I wonder if you being an outsider, not just you being a white guy, but you just not being involved in his world at all allows him to let the guard down. Because if he's, like, getting vulnerable and telling some random person in his crew things that make him nervous or he's afraid of, that starts to go around, and then all of a sudden people start to think, yo, he's actually scared, or he's. He's vulnerable. But with you, you're this outside. It's like you almost get to be like, Tony Soprano's therapist.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

He doesn't have to prove he's hard with.

[Gary Owen]

He doesn't have to constantly prove he's hard all the time, which is probably like a very relaxing moment in someone's life.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I didn't think about that.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

You're just laughing, making him laugh. Y'all are just goofing around. It's like. It's such a break from the rest of his life.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

I mean, just. I can't imagine the pressure of every interaction in your life. You have to let everybody in that room know that you are the baddest on the planet. That's stressful to even consider.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

The fact he doesn't get let in the club and he has to go. I'm sure on some level he's just like, fuck if I don't make a thing out of this. They're going to think.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I still don't know what was gonna happen.

[Gary Owen]

He was gonna make a situation.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. But I was like, what is going on right now? You know what I mean? I still have no idea what would happen that night.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

So then you. So then you leave that. You go on the road and at this point in time, are you just selling tickets? Like the road is kind of easy to fill up or.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I wasn't. I. I think people got this misconception that I got on BET and I was just selling out everywhere.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That didn't happen for me.

[Gary Owen]

Where's the whole horror stories?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

What is that period between bel Air and 2011? Mike Epps, NOA event. What is that time?

[Gary Owen]

Like, when are you doing the comic strip in Edmonton for 40 people?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like. Yeah, yeah. I don't have a lot of those stories.

[Gary Owen]

Interesting.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's great.

[Akash Singh]

That's awesome.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't have the. Because I was. I. I just. I got the job on bet. I was headlining and I wasn't that great.

[Gary Owen]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But I was selling a decent amount of tickets that I always got put on the ensemble shows at theaters, you know what I mean, doing those type of things. And I was always like.

[Akash Singh]

You were always comfortable.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I never had a. I never had to worry about the club not bringing me back.

[Gary Owen]

Did you ever build close relationships with any of these guys? Any of like any of the comedians that we would know? Like, who are you closest to? Or were you kind of your own man on an island?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I was kind of on an island.

[Gary Owen]

Nobody that you really got close to Because I've seen you around these space.

[Akash Singh]

Like, honestly, the friendships usually come from grinding. Like your. But like you, Bobby Lee a little bit.

[Gary Owen]

But like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I don't think I. That's weird. I never thought about that. I don't think I have any. Like super close.

[Akash Singh]

You got on kind of quickly and you're by yourself. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Well, cut your opener.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You're seeing. Like I said when I met him, I was like, I always see you on the flyers. Coming.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Or you just left, you know, I mean, he's coming or leaving. That's usually how you get to know people. Like they're coming or going. But I don't have any. Like people. I call the Times standup wise. I'm trying to think. No, I mean, I still. I'm probably talk to Joe Coy a lot.

[Gary Owen]

Interesting.

[Akash Singh]

He's great.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, he was around in the beginning.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We met. I'm. I think we met. We really met at University of Alabama one night, had a college show together. And he still brings up how I him. One night at the Comedy Store, I switched the lineup and I put him up after. After a guy that was really strong and Joe just was starting, and it was the Black Knight and he a dick. And he still blames me. I go, dude, I'm so sorry. Yeah. Like. And I didn't do it with the malicious intent. To this day, I don't even remember why I switched the lineup, but it literally was my call. Yeah. And he still, like, remembers it. It's funny. About to do Sofi with Gabriel Glacis. He's still like, you're fine.

[Gary Owen]

Who is your hardest follow?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Ooh. Back in the day when I first started, nobody wanted to go after Craig Robinson.

[Gary Owen]

Craig.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Because he had a. He had a joke with his piano.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That brought the goddamn house.

[Gary Owen]

This the one from that he did on def.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Goes, can I see your booty? He does this whole song and he goes like this. He did this whole bit. He goes. He goes, you know, can I see your booty? And then he come. They go, see that girl. Everybody wants to see your booty. Or something like that. Just.

[Gary Owen]

He killed.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was like, every time you see him on the little lineup, you'd be like, dude, I gotta go after this.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Because you know he's gonna destroy. So, Craig, nobody wanted to follow Cat back in the day when you. When we were open miking.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He was Cat in the Hat because he had the. The biggie bed, the one he accused Cedric is stealing. He had that big event where the car broke down. Dad brought the house down. She's like. But I think the strongest back when I first got to LA was earthquake.

[Gary Owen]

Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Nobody. Earthquake had a closer. And it was one of those runs.

[Gary Owen]

It was just build.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It went for like five minutes. And it was like. I was dating this girl and she had a baby adult. And it was like this.

[Gary Owen]

He played.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He acted like this baby was in the crib with real problems, you know, mean going off, like in baby talk. And I was like in the crowd just. And then earthquake. You know, earthquake. Y'all, like, you know, it's not like a big synop. They're in the middle of chaos. Earthquake out.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And dips. And I was like, oh, my God. That's where I learned don't watch stand up. Especially before you go up. Because if I know I'm following back in the open mic day, if I'm going after Quake, Cat, Craig, any of those dudes, I'm Outside the building.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I don't hear this.

[Gary Owen]

Yep.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I'm making sure I got loud conversations.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, good. See it again? Yeah. So when I go in, I'm not psyching myself out, you know what I mean? But Quake had the strongest closer in the late 90s, I think.

[Gary Owen]

Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I mean, man, bring the house down with that shit.

[Mark Agnon]

Well, I want to find that bit. I've never. I've never heard that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it's dated because, remember, it's something. Something has with a pager, you know? Did you use my code on my pages and like that? So it's dated down?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I would say Quake was a window I wanted to follow back then. Any.

[Gary Owen]

This is a bad question, but there's part of me that's like, is there any set that you had that was just, like, absolutely destructive and then somebody that was big, big, big just could not step into afterwards? Yeah, we don't have to name names. I don't want to name names. But, like, they.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It happened at the. It happened at the Bay Area black comedy composition. The same one that Nick won.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I had a. I don't know what I said, but the guy that went after me did really bad. And it was. They used to, like, call the bombs his name for a minute. Like, you know, like, you had a. Like, if you bombed after me. Oh, you had Andrew. You know what I mean? I can't remember the guy's name, though. Oh, I remember. I just remember he had a pink. The only thing I remember, he came after me. He had a pink sweater with the big white lapels coming out afterwards. It just was really bad that night. I don't like to. On comics.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I really can't remember his name, though, because I've never seen better.

[Gary Owen]

Better. Better not to do that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Not to do that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That. That was a. That was a rough one for him.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean?

[Mark Agnon]

I'm curious. Like, so many of the stories, is you obviously having so much acceptance within the black community. Specifically, I'm curious, was there ever any issue being a white dude in that space that caused you problems or you lost opportunities purely just because of, you know, what you look like?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I think. I didn't. I think it's one thing to be a white guy and you're acting like you want to hang out with black people when you're ingrained in the culture. Like, like I said, they saw me at the black spots. When I got to la, I was in. I wasn't Doing the Comedy Store all night. I was. I was going to Maverick Flat. I was going to Komiak Theater. I was going to all the. All the black. And not. Not the ones in Hollywood. I'm talking with the ones in. In Compton and on the other side of the. The 10, you know what I mean? So I don't think. I didn't. I never saw that most of the comics was cool.

[Gary Owen]

It's so weird how, like, I saw that in New York too. Like, we would do the black rooms in New York when we're coming up. And I just didn't understand why it was so divided. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Especially like the black comedy world. Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

No, like, why comedy white and black. Yeah. There'd be like these white comics that would be doing open mics. They'd be trying to get up at the clubs and they would do these open mics that were horrible. And the black rooms. This is what I'll say about the black rooms. If you show up and you want to get up, they will get you. They'll get you up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's why I started doing.

[Gary Owen]

They're way more accepting than. The clubs are not going to make you send them a tape. Go do this whole fucking rigor. And then open mics in the city are just literally, that is just comedians there. There's no regular audience member. So in my mind, I was just like, well, I want to go up wherever. It's not like, weird to perform for black people. I grew up in New York City, but the, the. What I saw was like, mostly the non black comics in New York would not even venture to the black rooms.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Which is crazy because you figure, don't.

[Gary Owen]

You want to go up in front of people?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, that's something. And you. And you want to push yourself. Like, I want to make sure these jokes are. They go over wherever I'm at.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And also one thing that I think really taught me in the, in the black rooms is like, the, the black rooms, they were not there for you to try your little misdirection math problem.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Do you know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

Like, the white audience sometimes will entertain. They'll be like, oh, I see what you did there. Yeah, like, oh, I got it. And the black room's like, oh, yeah, okay, good. Whatever. Oh, so you didn't kill him. So I stabbed him. Oh, I guess you stabbed them. It was important that, like, you acknowledge that we're in this room. And I want to go back to that moment where, like, Floyd comes back in. Floyd walks into your special taping. Yeah, like, that's. You have to be present in the room. That's something I learned in the black rooms. You have to be present in the room. If you are not present, they immediately will just check out on you. They're like, are you going to pretend I'm not here?

[Mark Agnon]

The emotion has to be real.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You have to be present.

[Gary Owen]

Like, if something weird is happening, you have to call it out.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And I think it's something that's really helped me in my career that I don't think I would have developed in the white rooms at all. Or, like the. Whatever you call them, the mainstream room.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And it's like. Because they'll give you a little bit of leeway. Like, you, like, the joke will go over and be like, oh, I guess that one didn't go over. And then the only way. All right, well, what's the next one? Yeah, there's this, like, politeness that exists, right?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

And. But yeah, it's interesting. Like, you develop this, like, really important tool for comedy, which is being able to stay present in the moment. Not every show is going to be polite where people are, like, they waited two weeks to get. To get that ticket to go to the seller, and they're ready to go in there, waiting with their hands clasped like this.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

You know, it's. Yeah. I wish more. I wish more comics, especially when they're younger, would go into the black rooms. I think they learn a lot more.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I think I've only been to the Cellar once.

[Gary Owen]

Really? Wow. Do you. Are you scared to do white rooms?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, not at all.

[Gary Owen]

Do you remember the first time?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm begging. I literally. I keep begging my agent, and he'll tell you this. Get me in Salt Lake, please. I just want to go. I want to experience everything.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Because I don't think you would. Wouldn't cross over.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

I think it'd be very easy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like this latest special, and it was on purpose, and somebody be like, don't listen to haters and stuff, though. The one on. On Mint right now, there's no race jokes. And that was a purposeful thing on my part.

[Gary Owen]

But I don't think that there's not.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

One mention at all. And I was just like, you know what? Because how the. How this special came out was the last special I had broken. And family, we did that on Friday, and I woke up Saturday morning and I went. I told my manager, I said, I think I had another hour. Did we get it last night? Because we did two shows. She was. Yeah, we're clean. I go, I'm gonna do a different hour tonight. So I sat there at the coffee shop and we wrote down bullet points. And I just remember there was. There was 12 bullet points, and it was like one or two words. And we taped it to the stage so I could glance down and you didn't. I didn't want a choppy special if I was trying. Needed the flow. So we did it in the flow of things and. And it. It came out good. And then when I wrote, I. I looked. I said, look, there's no race jokes in this. Almost like laughing about it.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then when I. When I saw it, I go, all right. Yeah. I don't think. I don't think jokes in this.

[Gary Owen]

Again, I'm curious. You know, obviously I wanted to be successful just because I love you, but, like, I don't think that, like, staying away from race jokes would change any dynamic. I actually think going on pods and stuff will communicate to more people that at the end of the day, you're a storyteller. And like, you especially live with a.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Drug dealer in la.

[Gary Owen]

White people are interested in that. White people watch the Wire, you know. So to me, it's just about, like, an education process. You're a storyteller. At the end of the day, white people probably seen you in these black spaces. And then they might go, oh, maybe he's a comic for black people and not for me. White people a little concerned about that. They want to watch black shit from afar, but they don't want to be in it. A lot of times.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The reason why Roots was like the number one show on TV in the 70s when that miniseries came out, because Wife feels like, I don't. I want to watch this.

[Gary Owen]

They no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Who.

[Gary Owen]

The biggest consumer of hip hop music is white people.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right?

[Gary Owen]

I mean, there's like, you know, population things.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want to watch on tv. I just. I don't know if I want to go to the concert or.

[Gary Owen]

But there is a little. There is a little concern and also like to defend white people sometimes. There also is like a. A shame same. It's like, am I. Am I appropriating this? There's like a. There's sometimes a slap on the wrist. If white people do get too interested, they're like, oh, you're gonna take this from us? Which I understand from black perspective as well, which is like, they have seen that happen. Like white people putting cornrows in and all of a sudden trying to make it some white shit. So I understand both sides of it. But, like, there is a thing with white people. Like, they want to, like, comfortably watch something that they have nothing to do with. They really are. White people are really interested in that kind of shit. But. But I think the stories that you tell, especially the ones from today, like, I. My assumptions, people are going to love this. And they're going to be like, I want to go check out Gary's. Like that what the standup is like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I'm way better. I do coke on stage. Yeah. I stole key from him. I do one line in his memory every show, bro. I ain't been asleep since February. That's why I was sweating.

[Mark Agnon]

Got snorted for the homies. Sometimes you see how the coke came.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Out of my system. This is crazy.

[Mark Agnon]

That wasn't lotion. It was blow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

20 minutes of this was rough. So what happened, dude, you were pouring. Yeah. Then just stopped. Yeah, that happened 50°. That happened on Think Like a Man. The first one. Oh, my God. The first time we all sat in the bar together and we're in the scene, I started leaking just like I was on here. And I. I didn't know why. I'm not nervous. I'm amongst friends. I go, why the am I sweating? And I know my body, I'm like, just get adjusted, get adjusted. And then one of the producers go, jesus Christ. That didn't help, bro, because I'm doing the same thing. Like, I know. Do they see it?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't think they see it. I go, because everybody's just doing their shit. Nobody's acknowledging. No, they're actors. And as soon as that proves, I go, jesus Christ. Then the floods gave been open. This dude, this guy's like Samuel Jackson in A Time to Kill. They kept calling me Sweaty Jackson the whole shoot. I go, what the, bro? Then I leaned up and it looked like I got shot. It was just sweat in the back. But you gotta realize it wasn't. It was warm. It was July. We were in a bar and they had to shut off the AC and then to shut off the fans. So as soon as they said, we're ready to roll, it just went up like 20 degrees. And my body just takes a minute to adjust. I was fine the rest of the day. We were in that booth all day. But that first 30 minutes was like this shit.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That goddamn producer. Jesus Christ. You don't want to do that in fucking Kev's. Right there. It was attack mode right there, bro.

[Gary Owen]

I've been there. Can I ask a question, sort of based on that? You were In Daddy Daycare, what was it like meeting Eddie Murphy for that movie? That's like weirdly favorite movies from childhood.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. So I wanted to ask Daddy Daycare is weird how it came about. I was, I was preparing all week for an audition for an Eddie Griffey movie called My Baby Daddy. So they call me in the morning and they go, hey, we got an audition like an hour for this Eddie Murphy movie called Daddy Daycare. And I go, no, no, it's Eddie Griffin. They go, Eddie Murphy? I said, eddie Griffin, it's at 3:00. I'm arguing with this lady that's not my agent on the phone. They go, gary, you haven't auditioned like an hour for this movie with Eddie Murphy. We know about the other one. I go, oh, really? So I drive to the Fox lot. I go in. It was one line. That's why I didn't have to really prepare. It was, hey boys, you got a brand new cereal. Veggios, boys and girls. So I'm looking at it and I go, what the fuck am I doing with this? And they, I was, it was. All the kids was auditioning that day. So the whole, the waiting room was all these kids. So when I walked in, I said, hey, can I ask this mom? I go, can I bring your son to the audition? So I walked this kid in who has no idea who I am and I read for some dad first and then he said, all right, read, read for the Karen, the broccoli. So I grabbed the kid and I sat him down. I started snaking around him and started dancing. And that's when I did the, the B R, O, C C O L I. I just made that up in the audition room. And that's the only audition where they go, you got it.

[Gary Owen]

Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I did the song. They said, you got it. And I go, oh, no way.

[Gary Owen]

I just in the moment. You got it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, like they like, you got it. They like, dude, Steve Carr was like, bro, where are you from? Why don't I know you? He, you just killed that. He goes, you're good.

[Gary Owen]

This never happens, by the way.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I've never had that happen.

[Gary Owen]

I've never heard a story where someone just gives someone the role. And usually you have to get producers.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Approvals with the producers. I skipped all the other steps. I was in with everybody direct producers there.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So they, they tell me I got it. Great. Then we go to shoot. Eddie doesn't go to the table reads. Eddie's not at blocking. Eddie's not another rehearsal so the first time I see him, I'm in this carrot outfit.

[Gary Owen]

Go.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Comes around the corner, and I'm literally this close to his face, and I'm. I'm just like. And I. At first I got stunned. I go, eddie Murphy.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I'm looking like, that's his nose. He ain't got lotion in his ears. I'm looking at all his features, like this close. And then he goes, hey, man, I didn't know you were in this.

[Gary Owen]

He.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's me up.

[Gary Owen]

He knows who you are.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. And I go, whoa. And he goes. He goes, I love that joke. I heard he knows. Stand up.

[Gary Owen]

He. Yeah, apparently.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He said, I love that joke about Eminem and Tiger Woods. And that was the time he don't. I never knew if he was at the Comedy Store or not.

[Gary Owen]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He just sit in the back. So this bit was not on tv, so clearly.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was a time when I said, the world's upside down because the number one golfer is black, the number one rapper is white.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Basic joke. Yeah. But he knew it.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then so I was like, oh. It kind of felt validated a little bit.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then we go to do the scene where I'm supposed to do the song. I don't do the song. I'm scared now because Eddie's there, right? So I just start doing it. Hey, boys and girls, you got a brand new cereal veggie. And the director goes, cut. He goes, where's the fucking song? And I go, what do you mean? He goes, the song. The B R O, C L. I go, oh, I know, if you want it. He goes, that's how you got the part. So do the song. Right. B R O C C O L I I am the broccoli and don't.

[Gary Owen]

Know why is Eddie in the room while you're filming the scene?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He's on the other side of that glass thing. I don't know if he's there or not. I don't know.

[Gary Owen]

Got it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Got it. It's a different room. Great movie. But we go. We. We go to the premiere, and they blocked off all this in Westwood. They had like a kids carnival and stuff. It was dope. Then Eddie was being so cool that day, and there was a line of people to get pictures with Eddie. Yeah, I'm literally next. There was a comic that wasn't in the movie. He was just an aggravating guy. Like, every time you saw him around town, he's just aggravating. He goes up to Eddie right before I'm gonna get a picture with him. Oh, Jesus. And he grabs him, and he grabbed my back of his head.

[Gary Owen]

And he start.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You could tell he was in his ear going, you inspiration. I do this. But Eddie was like, get away. I got a line. Huh?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah. If you're Eddie, you're just like, who are you?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I got a line. I go, I'm not next.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He just. Eddie was gone five minutes later. Yeah, he just left the whole party. Go, dude it up. I still have a picture with him this day.

[Akash Singh]

It's another Kobe guy, dude.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. No, the Kobe. He didn't touch him. This touched him.

[Akash Singh]

Back of the head.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Back of the head. And was like, oh, in his ear. Like, I could. You could tell what he was saying. You know, he did it.

[Gary Owen]

I think Eddie did everything right. I think there's a lot of times, like, comedians look at Eddie and they're like, I want you getting back on stage. Everybody wants to see you on stage. Or, Eddie, why aren't you doing this? Or Eddie, why don't you doing that? Why? For me? I look at Eddie and I'm like, okay. He has a huge compound where his entire family can live on it. He has all these kids. He wants to spend time with his kids. And then for a day job, he goes and makes a movie for 10 or 20 million dollars. And it's only in, like, the comedian's mindset, where we're so yearning for more, we're never satisfied that we look at Eddie Murphy's career and go, why doesn't he still do it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. No shame.

[Gary Owen]

No, no. He figured it out. He did it all. And now he gets to hang out with his family, which is what we should do.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's who Shannon Sharp should call. That's how you white women don't get any scandals. Eddie Murphy does it better than anybody. Shannon, call Eddie. Baby popping in. Mixed big down. Nobody's paying attention to their coffee beans. Every week with a new blonde. I'm like, this guy's the best. Figured it out. Yeah, he figured it out. Call him. Champagne. The poor Shannon.

[Gary Owen]

What do you think? How do you think Shannon comes back from this?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, I think it'd be all right.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There's nothing. Crazy text messages, huh?

[Akash Singh]

He lose that bag? 100 million apparently is on the table.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't think he's gonna lose it.

[Gary Owen]

I. Yeah, it's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

They did something behind closed doors. They. From what I know, the text. They were just into some wild.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. And you're allowed to be into wild.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

The the thing.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The weird thing is that a lot.

[Gary Owen]

Of people seem to be almost hoping that it happened. That's the thing that I never like.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, I like Shannon.

[Gary Owen]

I like Shannon. And like an accusation is an accusation. At the end of the day it's like innocence will proven guilty. So this is an innocent man and you want to hope that these things didn't happen. We should all want her to be lying.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Because if she's lying, that means a woman wasn't assaulted. We should all hope, right? Women are not assaulted. Yeah. Right. Like that should be where our minds are at least.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

He isn't innocent man right now. And if the girl's not doing a criminal suit, she's just suing for money. I'm a little suspicious.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Especially anybody's. Everyone on this podcast. It had to benefit you.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean? So it's like how do you.

[Akash Singh]

Unless you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want to go back.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. I want guys like that that are giving comics like platforms.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want those guys to maintain a clean image.

[Gary Owen]

You're psycho. You want that to not have been for you. That's one way to look at it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Listen, man. You're out the bag. Never heard that before.

[Gary Owen]

Listen.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You have my bag. My numbers went through the roof after I got on.

[Gary Owen]

Dude.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What are you talking about? My guy went to Peacekill New York crush. I never peel in my life. I mean but I did have a. A lot of people like they'll more and they have done the last like two years. It was. People will come up at the meet and greets or see like saw the Shay interview.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Really? It benefits. I mean I'm sure they summon other. But that's the first thing that comes out of their mouth. Yeah. You know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

I mean you crushed that one. That was really funny.

[Mark Agnon]

The confidence from Shannon in his. In his video saying drop the tape.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Did you see it?

[Gary Owen]

Oh yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

He goes drop and drop.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Gary Owen]

I need a preview that some edits.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I was thinking that the 30 seconds are going to drop like this. The fact you want 10 out there crazy.

[Akash Singh]

You got a strong set.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's work. You edited that wrong, bro.

[Mark Agnon]

Dropping the tape is crazy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think we should all learn. Don't film yourself, yo. What? Don't film yourself.

[Gary Owen]

This is the thing put on his.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't have the time. I don't have the wherewithal. I have no interest but having.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean?

[Gary Owen]

That's a different level of confidence though. To film it to to film it and want it out. Because usually you film something, you watch yourself. You're like, oh, man, I look way different in my head.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Do some squats, Trim my armpits. What the Is going on over here?

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, he said, drop the tape.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Tape.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah, bro.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We don't all look like Shannon.

[Gary Owen]

That's a good point.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. That's a big. Yeah.

[Mark Agnon]

You think you have a good set and you listen back to. You're like, oh, I kind of bombed.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean?

[Mark Agnon]

Like, that's how I feel. Like the tape would go, drop it. And you see it and you're like, scrub it.

[Gary Owen]

But, yeah. Free Shannon. Man, I hope he's okay. Yeah.

[Akash Singh]

Because I need to get on club.

[Gary Owen]

Shay.

[Akash Singh]

Shay.

[Gary Owen]

It's. He still doing eps?

[Akash Singh]

No, I don't. I don't imagine he's still doing Nightcap.

[Gary Owen]

I think he's still doing his stuff. He's just not doing the ESPN stuff.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, he dropped him with. I. Obviously it was tape, but he dropped one with Terence Crawford and somebody else since all this came out, so. Episodes are still dropping.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. What do you think about. What do you think about Kanye's new song, man?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Are you.

[Gary Owen]

Did you listen to that at all? No.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Don't know any lyrics.

[Gary Owen]

I mean, it's on. It's on Twitter. And. And it's.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think some of the cousin.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, what is that one?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Something about his cousin. His cousin or some.

[Gary Owen]

I think it was. There was. He was giving a fellatio to his cousin. I think that was someone like blood cousin.

[Mark Agnon]

Yo.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's a good point.

[Gary Owen]

That's a great point. Is it blood? Not that it matter. It shouldn't.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That does matter.

[Gary Owen]

Well, yeah, it does. Your mom.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You can't be sisters with.

[Akash Singh]

Also minorities. Just call friends cousins sometimes.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, no, I do that. That's the point he's making.

[Akash Singh]

He's really aggravated by a bunch.

[Gary Owen]

A bunch of us were assuming that it was blood cousin. But you're right. It could just be a friend of his, and they were just sucking each other's dicks at a young age, which is great friendship. It's still odd. That is odd. Yeah, there's that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That is.

[Gary Owen]

Are we gonna listen to it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And some. You just take it to the grave.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Like, Kanye should watch this interview and realize I was. I was very careful.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. Like, you didn't say his name the entire entire interview.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. And it was tough. A couple times. It almost came out.

[Gary Owen]

Really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah. So hang with my cousin reading dirty magazines.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All right, that's enough.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah, I got the gist of it. I did see a meeting the Stones that Kanye got his jaw wired shut so he'd stop sucking his cousins.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Here's a crazy story about Connie was like, before the. The song came out through the wire, I was in this long time. I was in Brooklyn, and I was at some, like, little house party thing. There's, like, 30 people there, and somebody had something to do with that video. Put it on the tv. I didn't know what the it was. I didn't know who he was. And they go, yeah, this dude's gonna blow, man. Literally, you know, this guy's about to. He goes. And it was like some videographer that was helping him with the video. And then it was, like, six months later, he was through the roof. And the only reason I remembered it is because he had D Ray in the video.

[Mark Agnon]

Oh, that's right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so when I watched it, I go. I go, is that D Ray? And that's. Oh, I remembered it because it wouldn't have resonated and I wouldn't put two and two together. But he showed me it, like, right before he blew.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah, it was like the arm and the sling joke or something. He was, like, doing a joke with him.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. And then I'll tell you another crazy story. Eminem story. His second video is called Role Models. So I'm in it, but I'm basically an extra. But I wasn't actually. When we recorded it, I was in that. So Philip atwell directed all Dr. Dre's videos. Somehow he got wind to me and was like, yo, calls me out of left field. Yo, we got this new rapper, man. Some shady one out yet? No, I knew who he was. He got this white rapper out of Detroit, man. He's. You know, he's got this coming out. He goes, rap dude video, man. We need somebody to make it funny and punch up a little bit with us. So I got on this hangar in Santa Monica, and we shoot. And I don't know who he is, right? No, nobody does. You got.

[Gary Owen]

You got to be 20, early 20s at this point.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is. This is right when I'm on bz and right when I got on there. So I go to the video. If you pull up Role Models, I'm an. I'm an extra in the background. I'm a cop in the background.

[Gary Owen]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't even think I've seen it. Yeah, it didn't pop like the other ones. Where's. He's in.

[Gary Owen]

That's me.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There I am.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow.

[Gary Owen]

And Then.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So in the video, they had. They go, hey, this guy's getting busted with weed, and what are you guys gonna do? And so I went to craft services, and I had cookies in my pocket, right? So we supposed to arrest them. And then there was. We were laying on top of the cop car, and the scene was, you think we're arresting them? And then the three of us are all getting high together on top of the cop car. So we're looking up at the sky, and it's me, the criminal, and then Eminem. So they passed the weed, and after they passed the joint, I pulled the cookies out of my pocket, and I passed in there, and it. It went over well. Everybody ate the cookies, and then when the video came back, took the cookie part out.

[Mark Agnon]

Did m ever hit you after you did the. The joke Each other, but even after the joke with. With Eminem and Tiger?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, no, no, no, no, no. And he didn't know me. I didn't know him. Was he.

[Gary Owen]

When you guys were on set, was he nice, funny?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He was just kind of. It was the. In the. The wild mode. Eminem, right?

[Gary Owen]

Oh, really?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It was all new. He was just. He was cutting up with his boys. And I remember Dre was there, and I remember Dre just kept. After we got done, she goes, man, you two together, that be some. That be some. You two together.

[Gary Owen]

They knew of you at the time for sure.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I guess. I don't know. But I was like this. I go. I go, yeah, Wood. Wood. After the Eminem video came out, I go, I hope they call me back. Back one day. But, yeah, that was kind of cool. It's like before it happened.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what I mean? It's kind of cool to be there. Whoa.

[Gary Owen]

Did we ever get to the bottom of who Kendrick was talking about? Oh, yeah. Wasn't. Was he talking about you and then.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I feel like I ran with it. I go, oh, we're doing like you cloud chase. I go, that's why we do stand up for attention. Entertainment. Attention. Clout. Nobody wants to be an anonymous comedian. Yeah. Stupid. Are you clout chasing? No. Kendrick.

[Gary Owen]

Duh.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's exactly why I did it. Comment on Kumo D. To.

[Gary Owen]

To his credit, you said in your latest special, there are no race jokes. So you did listen to him.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I did before the song came out, though.

[Gary Owen]

So that is the profound effect that he has on white comedians.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There it is. I stopped.

[Gary Owen]

He stopped the media turkey.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Dude, I'm so different now.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I learn. I'm be like Mark Wahlberg. Just get up at 4:30 eating protein shakes and doing no black no more.

[Gary Owen]

Jesus Christ.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Crazy thing about Mark Wahlberg, that's the first celebrity I ever saw. I was, I was.

[Akash Singh]

Was he living that entourage life?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There was, there was. It was, it was Marky Mark. Yeah. And I was in. I was in the Navy and I was. I was in Cincinnati and I was flying back to D.C. and this is before 9 11. So you could go up to the gate and just hang out. Yeah. So I'm hanging out with two of my buddies waiting to see me off. And then like four black guys, huge black guys are walking on the plane go, the who's coming off? And then Mark Wahlberg was in the middle of him. This is when he just had the. The Good Vibration song was always song. And then he. I just. I just remember he was really short, his cat was huge. And I just remember it just popped out. I go, ah, Monkey Mark. Why I said that? I don't know. It just popped out. I go, mike, Mark. And then that's the. But that was the first celeb that you ever saw. I ever saw in my life. 18 years old. I think he was doing a concert in Cincinnati that night. Some summer series. But that was the first celeb I ever just saw.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow. At this point, are there any celebrities that come to the show that you might not be familiar with, but your kids are more excited than you met, than you are?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Oh, that's a good one. That's a go. I'm thinking. Dang, that's a really good question. I don't know because I've heard this.

[Mark Agnon]

Happen where it's like, oh, like I met so and so and my kids were going crazy cuz they, you know, oh, it's Mr.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Beast.

[Mark Agnon]

And you're like, who's Mr.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Beast, bro?

[Gary Owen]

You never had a young kid come up to you like, dude, my dad is the biggest fan.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All the time.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, all the time.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I know all the coaches in the NFL now. I know all the coaches and I'm older than them. Like, what the happened? You know what I mean? Like, I'm cool with all the coaches now. Like, I don't know any players. I look at the players like I don't know what the.

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, I have a hard time. Like, I used to really like hate a player. This and that, and now I'm like, this is a child. It's a baby.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Facts. O.J. came to my show when you're in Miami, Simpson. And as soon as I started talking to him, I Go. I get why people with you.

[Gary Owen]

Why? Why?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He is the most. He was the most charming person. I forgot. He.

[Gary Owen]

Allegedly. Allegedly.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This the coldest. He did. I ain't never seen nobody do this. He came with two white girls. Yeah. And a dude left with zero. He tells the host, he goes, look, host goes, they said, OJ's here. And, you know, they bring me out to say hi to him. And then he goes, yo, give me a. Let me know if you're gonna announce me that I'm in a room. Right. This is when a Coconut Grove improv was upstairs.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so the host goes, all right, I'm gonna sell this joke. And then we'll say, oh, OJ's in the room. Right? So he tells the joke. He goes, yeah, we have a big celebrity in the room tonight, O.J. simpson. This moves seats and was sitting between two black girls.

[Akash Singh]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He moved over. He stands up and goes. And the crowd game is standing. Oh, right. And I was like, did that move.

[Gary Owen]

Away from the white girl?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And as soon as it calmed down again, went back to the white girls in the back. And then afterwards, I'm sitting at the bar, he starts bullshitting for, like, 20 minutes. And the whole time, I just want to be like, did you do it? But he's just going, where you from, man? I said, oh, that was a cold. Coolest game ever played in my career. You know, I played in Buffalo. We were the Cincinnati, man. I said, man, I ain't ever experienced cold like that. He just started talking about old football games. And I'm 20 minutes in, I'm. Before I went, wait a minute. This O.J. simpson, I'm just talking football there. I lost track of everything. I go, oh, this guy's good.

[Gary Owen]

He's good.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I left there, like, I like him. Yeah. All right, man. See you later, man.

[Akash Singh]

In that documentary, they're saying when he would, like, beat him, Nicole. Cops get called over there, and then they just end of being friends with oj.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I can see why.

[Akash Singh]

Be like, you know what?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, I completely experienced that. That side of it. Yeah, I can see why.

[Gary Owen]

So he charmed you completely Sociopath dude.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, completely charmed me, bro. I was like, oh, I'm sitting there talking about Bengal, and you know what I mean? You like Carson Palmer? I think he's pretty good. You know, this regular. Wow.

[Mark Agnon]

I'm curious. Like, people always talk about how comedy changed from, like, late 90s into the 2000s, and today, obviously, is very different. In your experience with your audience, have you felt the same change you just.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Grow with your audience.

[Mark Agnon]

Yeah, you just grow with them. So the same people feel like the.

[Akash Singh]

Audience has grown or changed or you have grown and changed.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, I found, like. Yeah, I know we do. I. We talk about me being big with the black community, but a lot of military come out too. A lot of ex military come out. Because I get that a lot. You get the coins?

[Akash Singh]

Yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Or you get like, dude, you know, they saw joke. Russell might be military, police and like that. So I get, I get that a lot. So I would say, far as, like, what I've noticed, a lot of ex military be coming out. You.

[Gary Owen]

You've had your audience for decades. There was a time, which I don't think is. Is. Is currently happening, where, like, there's a little more sensitivity around comedy, but when you have your own audience, they understand you. So you don't feel like you had to change your jokes at all.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Well, you broke it down. I think you, Shane Gillis guys like you, you just kind of. You kind of paved the way a little bit, showing like, look, I'm gonna, I'm gonna just do me. If you wanna be offended, that's on you. I'm gonna do me. So I got, I got a little bit of heat with the special needs community back in 2016. It's the only time I, I felt like I backed down. I was really upset about that.

[Gary Owen]

What was that joke? What was the joke again?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I got a special needs cousin named Tina and she got an std.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And when I, when the whole family was like, tina got an std, I was like. Was like, Tina's. That was the. To me, that was the bigger deal. Like, I was so happy she was getting all right. She ain't missing out. You know what I mean? I'm so excited for her. But in my, in my special, I said the word. I didn't say special needs. I didn't get the email blast.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, it was just for saying.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. Saying the word. Which, yeah, that's all it was. Had nothing to do with a joke.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And then they, they came after me to the point where I had just got my reality show greenlit on BET. They were threatening to go after sponsors like McDonald's and like that. We're going to tell them not to run ads. They basically. They were like, we're going to go after you for your TV show.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I had to literally fly to D.C. and meet with four special needs people that were telling me how to write my jokes.

[Gary Owen]

And what did they say? How did they say it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This what they did. And they made sure they had the gamut, bro. Yeah. They had a black woman, a black man, a white woman, a white man, and it was the whole gamut. It was. It was Ms. It was the guy that looked like Corky from Life Goes On. It was the lady that you couldn't tell. They made sure I was cooking.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

When that told me, I said, well, why don't I supposed to do?

[Gary Owen]

And what did they say? Like, what were they saying?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I said, what's funny? Okay. When you say this, you say this. And I was like, this what I go say? So you learned your lesson. Literally. You can look it up. Gary meets with the special.

[Gary Owen]

Last week, we were the darlings of liberal media. This week, Gary's doing retard impressions.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is what Aries does. This is what Godfrey does. They're good at celebs. I'm good at special needs.

[Gary Owen]

So there you go. So you're just telling us the story. So they're telling you how to tell the joke to make it more.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I told them, I said, I don't blame these four people. They all had people behind them, them that were like, their people. I blame you. Yeah. I said, you don't want them to be made fun of, which to me says, I'm better than you.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't make fun of you. I feel sorry for you. Amen. If I make fun of you, we're the same. Make fun of me. They would literally. They couldn't fathom, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I think a lot of times.

[Gary Owen]

The protective parents or loved ones, and they just. They see somebody who obviously is going through something very difficult, and they're like, I just want to protect them from the evils of the world. Without realizing that maybe they would laugh at it as well. That part, I think that's one of the beautiful things of the Love on the Spectrum show, to be honest. I don't know if you've seen it, which is like, you. They showcase how funny they are intentionally and unintentionally, and they show the family also laughing. And it gives you this kind of, like, freedom to be like, hey, okay, as long as we're not bullying these people.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, it's funny.

[Gary Owen]

It's funny. They do funny.

[Mark Agnon]

Showcasing the joy is like, the most beautiful part.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah. I think the biggest issue, what I learned from it was, especially if you're a parent of a special needs kid, where do you direct your anger? If I was. I'm with my wife. I. I Didn't cheat. I've been faithful to her. I have a good job. I've done everything right that you say you're supposed to do in life. And I now have a special needs child. Who am I mad at? I can't be mad at God. I can't be mad at the child. There's this comedian that's just told especially these jokes, so I'm mad at him. That's where my anger is directed. Yeah. And that's. I think that's where it comes from. Yeah. It's. It's not there. It is. There's the four. Well, the one girl wouldn't get in the picture, but the little white dude told me how to tell my jokes. I need a. All my. All my stories can be validated. I told some doozies today, but none of them are lies, I'll tell you that.

[Gary Owen]

Wow. So you there with George Wallace, Michelle.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Obama, Shane Gillis, Sam J. George Wallace, Sam J. And Corgi from Life Goes On. It was a fucking. It was a day. It was a day. Yeah. They flew me to dc. Wow. And I had. And Showtime took it out of my special. They took that joke out, but it was too late. It was already out there.

[Mark Agnon]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow.

[Akash Singh]

That kid is adorable. To be honest.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I literally was like. They was like, don't. You know, People are like, don't take it out, Art. I go. I go, bro, nobody's gonna notice. It's already out there on the Internet if Showtime takes it off their website and they're. If it's going to get my TV show is what it is.

[Gary Owen]

So you were able to do the show because of it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, that was the thing. Cuz Showtime had my back, I will say. But they was like, whatever you want us to do.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I said, sometimes we want to fight just to win.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And sometimes I'm like. I was like, I don't give a. There's a. This. What I told him in the room. They didn't like this joke. I said, yo, it's 2016. That special came out in 2013. And you're calling them slow. You been this special been on for three years and now you're mad. But they're the slow one. You're the slow one.

[Gary Owen]

And they're not even watching it. There's no way the three of them will watch.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

One person watched it, made a blog or something. And then it just caught wildfire. There were actors. Tom Arnold kept dming me, wanted to talk to me. I guess he has a special needs son.

[Gary Owen]

Oh, no.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

There was another actor that I really liked. He's in all these. These action movies, I guess he's. And they. They just go on these rants and they just, you know, I'm going, oh, my God, dude.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You never saw the joke.

[Gary Owen]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know. Good.

[Gary Owen]

Gary, we love you, man. We appreciate you. Everybody go check out mint comedy. Check out Gary's new special. No s. Gary Owen, no s. Gary.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Owen, no S. Black people put an S on everything.

[Gary Owen]

Yes. God bless you, man. Thank you so much.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Thank you, guys.

[Gary Owen]

Thank you, man.