Club Shay Shay - Donnell Rawlings Part 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: Club Shay Shay - Donnell Rawlings Part 2

Episode Information:

• Title: Club Shay Shay - Donnell Rawlings Part 2
• Release Date: January 15, 2025
• Host: Shannon Sharpe
• Guest: Donnell Rawlings
• Description: NFL legend Shannon Sharpe engages with Donnell Rawlings, delving into Rawlings' experiences in Hollywood, his comedy career, personal relationships, and perspectives on various social topics.

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1. Revisiting Hollywood: Parties and the Industry

[02:06 - 07:21]

Donnell Rawlings kicks off Part 2 of his conversation with Shannon Sharpe by addressing misconceptions about Hollywood parties. He questions the allure and reality of such events, highlighting that despite rumors, many parties remain low-key or inaccessible to outsiders.

• Shannon Sharpe expresses skepticism about Hollywood's reputation:
  “I just find it hard to believe that nobody knows when it's about to start popping.” [05:46]

The discussion shifts to the cultural dynamics within Hollywood, with Rawlings noting differences between parties attended by Black communities versus others.

• Donnell Rawlings states:
  “I think our people in our community have these parties, but they’re on a different scale.” [06:32]

Shannon emphasizes the negative aspects, labeling Hollywood as an “evil dirty place” and shares personal insights on discouraging his own son from entering the entertainment industry.

• Shannon Sharpe shares a heartfelt perspective:
  “I have a nine-year-old son that was talking to me about entertainment... I wanted to tell him the reality.” [08:10]

2. Personal Relationships and Fatherhood

[07:21 - 12:23]

The conversation delves deeper into Rawlings' role as a father and his protective instincts. He recounts conversations with his son about the challenges and pitfalls of the entertainment industry, stressing the importance of honesty and setting boundaries.

• Shannon Sharpe passionately advises:
  “This is what I would say. I’m trying to tell you the reality.” [12:23]

Donnell discusses his approach to relationships, emphasizing the significance of his son in his life and the sacrifices he's made to ensure a stable environment.

3. Comedy Career and Collaboration with Dave Chappelle

[12:23 - 24:00]

A significant portion of the episode focuses on Rawlings' comedy journey and his collaborative relationship with Dave Chappelle. Rawlings highlights how Chappelle has been instrumental in shaping his career, offering opportunities that have led to prestigious platforms like Comedy Central.

• Shannon Sharpe reflects on the impact of Dave Chappelle:
  “Dave is the goat... He has respect for me as a comic.” [23:18]

They discuss the dynamics of producing stand-up specials, with Rawlings sharing anecdotes about refining his material under Chappelle's guidance.

• Shannon Sharpe recounts:
  “He said, Donnell, I want to redo your special... It makes a lot of sense.” [30:09]

4. Navigating Interracial Dating and Community Dynamics

[65:33 - 81:21]

Rawlings tackles the contentious topic of interracial dating within the Black community. He challenges the stigmas and misconceptions, advocating for openness and personal choice over societal expectations.

• Shannon Sharpe asserts:
  “Somebody should be only dating a certain person... Whatever makes you happy, right.” [65:40]

The dialogue explores how societal pressures and cultural narratives impact personal relationships, with Rawlings emphasizing the importance of unity and rejecting divisive sentiments.

5. Industry Insights: Negotiations and Artistic Integrity

[37:50 - 43:10]

Rawlings shares his evolving approach to negotiations within the entertainment industry, emphasizing the shift towards artists having more control due to digital platforms and personal branding.

• Shannon Sharpe observes:
  “The power is in you having support, you having fans.” [38:20]

He discusses the diminishing role of traditional agents and managers, advocating for a more self-reliant approach where comedians leverage their fanbase to secure opportunities.

6. Challenges and Triumphs in Stand-Up Comedy

[47:05 - 84:58]

Rawlings recounts memorable moments from his stand-up career, including collaborations with prominent comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. He highlights the pressures of performing live, the importance of authenticity, and the creative process behind his specials.

• Shannon Sharpe shares his pride in Rawlings' special:
  “It felt like I really knew what I was doing. I knew point of view... I captivated the audience.” [70:02]

Donnell emphasizes staying true to his comedic voice, avoiding formulaic sets, and continuously evolving to keep his material fresh and engaging.

• Shannon Sharpe advises on comedy creativity:
  “Point of view is key. You can’t steal a joke about a relationship I have with my son.” [76:32]

7. Perspectives on Cancel Culture and Free Speech

[39:04 - 43:07]

The episode touches upon the impact of Cancel Culture on artists, with Rawlings expressing nuanced views on accountability and artistic freedom. He differentiates between holding individuals accountable and outright cancellation, advocating for constructive criticism over ostracization.

• Shannon Sharpe reflects on Cancel Culture:
  “Certain people can be canceled. People that don’t lie.” [40:14]

8. Future Endeavors and Personal Growth

[84:56 - 77:11]

Rawlings discusses his aspirations beyond stand-up, including podcasting and other creative ventures. He underscores the importance of versatility and continuously seeking growth opportunities to stay relevant in the ever-evolving entertainment landscape.

• Shannon Sharpe highlights Rawlings' adaptability:
  “I’m building a podcast... Eventually, I’m gonna get that to a point where I don’t have to work as hard.” [26:29]

Notable Quotes:

• Shannon Sharpe on Hollywood's negative influence:
  “Hollywood is an evil dirty place.” [07:00]

• Donnell Rawlings on the importance of honesty with his son:
  “I’m trying to tell you the reality.” [08:10]

• Shannon Sharpe on artist empowerment:
  “The power is in you having support, you having fans.” [38:20]

• Donnell Rawlings on comedic authenticity:
  “Point of view is key. You can’t steal a joke about a relationship I have with my son.” [76:32]

Conclusion:

In this engaging episode of Club Shay Shay, Shannon Sharpe and Donnell Rawlings traverse a wide range of topics, from the glitz and pitfalls of Hollywood to the intricacies of personal relationships and the evolving landscape of stand-up comedy. Rawlings provides candid insights into his career, collaborations, and personal life, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, resilience, and adaptability. Their conversation sheds light on the broader challenges faced by artists in maintaining integrity while navigating an industry rife with both opportunities and obstacles.

---

Notable Moments:

• Comedy Special Experiences: Rawlings shares detailed experiences of producing his stand-up specials, including interactions with Dave Chappelle and overcoming production challenges. [30:09]

• Interracial Dating Discussion: A passionate dialogue about the stigmas surrounding interracial relationships within the Black community, advocating for personal choice and unity. [65:33]

• Negotiation Strategies: Rawlings elaborates on modern negotiation tactics in the entertainment industry, highlighting the shift towards self-reliance and leveraging personal brands. [38:20]

---

Key Takeaways:

• Authenticity Matters: Maintaining an authentic voice is crucial for long-term success in comedy.

• Empowerment Through Fanbase: Artists can leverage their fanbase and digital presence to negotiate better opportunities without relying solely on traditional agents.

• Honesty in Personal Relationships: Rawlings emphasizes the importance of being honest with his son about the realities of the entertainment industry to guide him effectively.

• Navigating Social Topics: Addressing sensitive topics like interracial dating requires a balance of personal belief and societal understanding to foster unity and respect.

---

This episode offers a deep dive into the life and thoughts of Donnell Rawlings, providing listeners with valuable perspectives on comedy, personal growth, and navigating the complexities of Hollywood.

Transcript

[Host]

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[Donnell Rawlings]

Off time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check my favorite jersey. It is good luck. Check an iconic drink that's a fan favorite.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Check.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five. I consider Hypnotic the point guard on my game day roster because not only is it versatile, like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth. So grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17% alcohol by volume Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely, drink wisely.

[Host]

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[Guest]

Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. Is it a situ hold up? Is it ever a situation where the Hollywood parties everything is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why you asking me about Hollywood parties now?

[Guest]

Cause you know you Hollywood.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I did not. I live in the country, man.

[Guest]

You don't live in la.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I do not. I live in a. I live by a creek. I go kayaking.

[Guest]

You spent 10 years 15 years in Hollywood.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I never was a part of Hollywood like that. Why you asking me Hollywood questions? Okay, ask me the question.

[Guest]

What are any Hollywood parties on the up and up where you just go have hors d'oeuvres, you have a good time maybe, and just all of them are at 2.

[Shannon Sharpe]

2:00 in the morning.

[Guest]

Oh, but you getting at 2:15, though.

[Shannon Sharpe]

My mama told me it would be days like that. She told me, don't get caught up. She didn't say shit. But she said, don't get caught up in Shannon shit. That's what she said. She said, don't drink the yak. I don't know. Here's the thing. Here's the thing, okay. Why do people act like they don't know what the Hollywood is about?

[Guest]

Especially. Are you saying you can't expect a person that's not in Hollywood to know what Hollywood's about, but the people that are in Hollywood definitely know what Hollywood's about.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The people that's not in Hollywood know what Hollywood is about. How? Because they hear the stories. You hear a lie. Are we gonna be real?

[Guest]

Yeah, let's be real.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right. What you're doing is. What you're doing is not being honest.

[Guest]

I've never been to a party, so I can't tell you what's going on there. I can't tell you what's being served. I can't tell you the location. I can't tell you anything. Cause I've never been there. It would be dishonest of me to say. Yeah, I know. That's what's going on.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All you know those Hollywood. I've been to some.

[Guest]

Mm. Careful. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I've been in a situation.

[Guest]

You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights? Have you been written to them?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I plead the Fifth. I will just say this. I've been to parties.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That I was like. It felt like a regular party, right? And then I also been to parties. I feel like it's probably a good time for you leave or partake.

[Guest]

Damn.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm not a partaker.

[Guest]

Oh, so you left.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It was one time.

[Guest]

Did you leave?

[Shannon Sharpe]

What you talking about?

[Guest]

The parties. When they get crazy, do you leave? Did you leave?

[Shannon Sharpe]

What was the next question?

[Guest]

What about, I stayed for 10 minutes. But that's what normally happens.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I peeked in.

[Guest]

But that's what normally happens.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I peeked in.

[Guest]

Darnell, you know, hey, I'm only gonna peek a boo. I'm only gonna stay for 10 minutes, you know? You ever go to a party? Hey, look here, guys. We only gonna be here for 10 minutes. 10 minutes. 10th turn to 30. 30 turn to an hour. Hour. There you there all night.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right, Shannon, what do people go to Hollywood for? What do people. I just find it hard to believe. And I am not. Because they're like, oh, my God. You're saying. I just find it hard to believe that as long as Hollywood has been in existence, as long as all type of crazy shit happen, I just find it hard to believe that nobody know that when it's about to start popping.

[Guest]

Oh, is it a situation that. Because Hollywood.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Can you change your voice?

[Guest]

Okay, what do you want me to say?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got to Catch a Predator voice right now. Go drink another drink. Go back to funny voice. Nah, I don't want to hear that shit. No, fuck that. Nah. Put some dramatic music behind this shit. I ain't coming here for that, man. I ain't coming here for that.

[Guest]

You gonna have to talk to CJ about the score to go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I already know what it's gonna be. Slow motion and everything. I know what it's gonna be, but.

[Guest]

Maybe it's a situation. Hollywood, a lot of times was. It was our counterparts that had these type of parties.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Our counterpart white people. Yes, yes.

[Guest]

Now it's being alleged that someone that's from our community was having these types of parties.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I think our people in our community have these parties, but they. This. This is just at a different scale. Yeah, he's at different scales. I think our part is just, like, have weed. Yeah, yeah. He got orgy drugs on his shit. Oh, Lord.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Orgy drugs is a whole different. You ain't gonna never start an orgy with a blunt. I've never seen somebody be like this. Yo, who gonna suck my dick first off of this blunt? All right. You don't wanna. You are so smart. No, no. I'm just saying, you know when to disconnect from me in this interview or not. You very smart.

[Guest]

No, no.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The. The. Cause I know. Cause if you looked at me at that moment the right way, it would have gave the impression that you agreed. Yes, it would have.

[Guest]

I would have.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn.

[Guest]

Go now I'm just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Ooh. What?

[Guest]

Lord have mercy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't know nothing about no parties.

[Guest]

You don't know nothing about no parties?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't know nothing about no parties.

[Guest]

Let me ask you this. A lot of times you played.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why people so obsessed with these goddamn parties?

[Guest]

I think for the long. I don't know if People really thought that they probably have heard something.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You can't even have a white party now. Look what Diddy did. Nigga, you can't even go see Frankie Beverly and Mays now.

[Guest]

Well, rest is true before I let.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You go into the freak off. Can't even wear all white no more.

[Guest]

Well, Michael.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn you Diddy.

[Guest]

Michael Rubin has taken over the white party now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I don't those people in those high places, I just want just what here's. Hey, boys and girls don't come to Hollywood, right? Hollywood is an evil dirty place. If you don't have any indication of what this world is about, stay the away from it, don't be surprised by anything. And guess what? Don't go to a mansion party at 2:00 in the Hollywood Hills. I ain't saying that's going to happen. There's a chance of it and got to let these motherfuckers know. Don't be naive. You can't be naive. Nobody want to talk about that. You don't want to say what you could do to prevent this shit. So it's a tough thing. There's like you say with this, damn if I say this about it or say that about it. But I do know Hollywood is an evil place. This job is evil. Entertainment, acting, the whole. I got a nine year old son that was talking to me about entertainment. He was like, daddy, I want to do entertainment. And the first thing I did, any guy would be like, oh, he wants to follow my footsteps. First thing I told my son was, you know, 95% rejection. They're going to be hating people, going to be negative. It's going to be hard. You going to get a lot of this. What I told him, right? You can get a lot of doors slammed your face. I was like, if you were built for that then maybe why would you want to do it? Try to discourage him. He said, daddy, because you inspire me. And I wanted to tell him, do.

[Guest]

You see that photo?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now that's double the disrespect. No, no, no, no. I'm not going to let you continue. Can I get some water?

[Guest]

No, you want no water?

[Shannon Sharpe]

That was foul. Yo, I looked you in your face and said, my nine year old son, you blocked all that shit out. No, no, no, no, no. You blocked all that shit out. You ain't say, aw, you blocked all that shit out. You the type of would show my son that picture.

[Guest]

No, no.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes you would. Yes you would. Yes you would.

[Guest]

No, yo, I would do that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You think your son, your Father used to be Ashley. Look, there's a picture of him with baby all of his. That's what you do.

[Guest]

He never saw Ashley, Larry.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, he don't. He. No, he know Ashley. But I'm saying. You don't think you owe me an apology for that? You just said in a moment. I'm giving you a tearful debate. A serious moment.

[Guest]

You serious?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You didn't think I was serious?

[Guest]

Mm. You.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I going back to the joy of my life.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right. You want to give my son childhood trauma? I looked and I said. And he said, I cannot believe.

[Guest]

I don't believe you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why you don't believe me? I did tell my son this. And he said, daddy, cuz you.

[Guest]

No, no, be truthful. You being 100% honest right now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

100% honest.

[Guest]

Okay, let's go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You already it up. You talk about. Let's go. Rewind. You already blew it.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Till you see the picture. What I was trying to tell you is that I told my. What I was trying to tell you before I was so disrespected is that I don't encourage. I don't encourage almost anybody doing this business. If you don't know how up it is, right. You have to know. Now you want to do extra serious now.

[Guest]

But look, I think the thing is for my. I mean, I think all of our kids, I think for the most part, normally, like when doctors have kids, the kids, like a lot of times you and my parents, they become a doctor or you become a lawyer. If you're a professional athlete, kids see their father play football, basketball. That's what they want to become. So I'm not surprised that he wanted to follow in your footsteps.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, but before I was so rudely interrupted, yes, I didn't want to discourage him from following my footsteps, but I. You did. Can I finish my thought? This my life and my son, man, what the fuck? All right, go ahead, go ahead.

[Guest]

But you did try to discourage him.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me finish.

[Guest]

Okay, go ahead.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I said, I like the idea, you like what daddy do. But why don't you focus. And you're gonna hate this. Why don't you focus on being a funny doctor or a funny lawyer? But this business is very evil, right? Any woman that's thinking about this, yes, you can get it. Yes, you can be successful. But this was. I'm not saying it's going to happen to you, but it's going to be that. Try you.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

We got to stop sugarcoating it. Don't do math. They don't do easy math. This plus this equals this. You don't want to do that. Oh, why? I'm telling you what it is. Somebody said, this is gonna be very controversial. When Bill Cosby was in the news for all this shit. Somebody said, daniel, but what would you tell your daughter? They was looking serious like you looking at me, right? They said, what would you tell your daughter? I said, I would tell my daughter this. It's gonna be hard for you to take. If a man sends an SUV for you at your place in the hood, takes you to the airport, you're on a first class flight. You get off that flight, you go to baggage claim. It's a with the sign with your last name on it. Get in another SUV, go to the Four Seasons with a 3,000 square foot crazy ass sweet chocolates and champagnes. Whatever, bitch. That's not an audition. And a motherfucker's gonna try to get you, right? You can't say that. Oh, what are you saying? I'm telling you that's the reality of it. I'm trying to tell you. This is what I would say. I'm trying to tell you shit that men do, right? So it won't be a surprise to you. Oh, I thought that he admits. No, it don't mean that. It could mean that. But here's the equation. This plus this could equal that. And I don't want you to be a part of that equation. I would tell her straight up. And also I would be in my daughter's life enough that no man could ever excite her or do something that I can't do that could persuade her to do something that she don't want to do. But when you start talking about real shit, everybody, are you victim blaming. Say the reality of it. If the non reality is not working, let me tell you the reality. Bitch don't get on an airplane. You can't say that. Oh, no, There'll be people eating me up with this shit right now. I don't have no career like that. But that's to be honest. Truth is, let's tell the reality. Even when Katt Williams did that explosive interview everybody's talking about, Katt Williams did not say nothing that people don't already know about Hollywood. Where is the lie? Okay, there is no lie. But what is the truth getting you? What did we get from that? What did you get out? Stay out the parties. You can't say that. I'm wrong for saying that shit. And I'm gonna be in my daughter's life enough. Where can't dangle shit and get her excited about that. But when you say that. Oh, you can't say that. When Bill Cosby says shit like, you know, it's troubling them. And I know people could. They could say what they want. That fathers not being fathers. When you address that shit, nobody want to deal with the real reality. The real reality is what the are you doing right? The are you doing here? You know, this is not it. And it is people that will get success in this business for hard work.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There's a lot of people out there. I don't want to discourage anybody that has dreams to be an actress or actor. There are people who get it right way, and there are some people that's gonna suck a dick to get to the top. And there's gonna be a position for everybody. I'm not saying I'm hiring, but that's whoever. I'm not saying that. And I'm gonna tell you, you know who's really up about this movement? The real hoes. The real hoes are fired up. Oh, I gotta go to acting school. Fuck us down. I was just ready to be like, waka, waka, waka, taking the shortcut. There's options, but I wouldn't care, especially on the female side of it. But I will say this, Shannon, one of the good things about all this shit that's happening with Diddy, all this shit that's happening with the MeToo movement checking itself.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like as wild as used to be. I'm not saying I'm guilty of a lot of crazy shit, but years ago, 25 years ago, I go to a set, I would have no problem saying, oh, you look nice in that dress.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying?

[Guest]

Yeah. You can't say.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You can't say none of that. Oh, you look nice. I see you. Ooh, ooh. But now, and this is where I know the MeToo movement, and this is the beauty of what's going on, and the beauty of these guys getting caught in this shit and going to jail and this Harvey Weinstein shit is that now you see it.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying? But the reality of it, that shit is out there, right?

[Guest]

Let me ask you this. Do you think people. Because you were able to do this. Cause a lot of times when people are in situations, success of a Dave Chappelle show, and you're playing, basically, you're the Robin to his Batman.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why God be Robin?

[Guest]

Well, Dave was the lead, so I.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Ain'T never been Batman in Nothing.

[Guest]

No, I'm just saying. I'll just say it's repellent.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, go ahead, go ahead. You already showed me a level of disrespect, so I don't know what I'm just saying. No, I mean, I already know. No, go ahead, go ahead. I mean.

[Guest]

I mean, you okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm robbing. Go ahead. Yeah, right. And I'm so lucky to work for Dave. No, no, no.

[Guest]

I ain't say so.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He gave me such a big break.

[Guest]

He did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And he got me out of those little freaky parties. All right, Shannon, go.

[Guest]

How do you explain.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I know a nigga about to say something up when they do their hands like that, yo, when they do that shit, it's coming home. All right, go ahead, continue, sir.

[Guest]

But how would you tell them? Because everybody want everybody.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'll tell you what, let's go back.

[Guest]

Everybody wants to be. Because what you was on Chappelle. Chappelle's Batman. Now, a lot of times, guys like, man, bro, I'm tired of playing. I'm tired of being Robin. I wanna be Batman. And they leave or they try to upstage, right? Should more people be willing to play Batman?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, Robin. The thing is, you gotta realize Robin can get on too. Yes. And then the black community, this is the problem. Black community, black comics, whatever. We only think it's only one nigga at a time. There's only one person. You can't share the stage. I'm saying, even though I don't have a problem, some people are comfortable being on the side. Some people, their ego, they wanna be the star. I don't care about being a star. I care about winning, right? And at the end of the day, I know that I have moments where I'm my own Batman, right? But also know, fuck with. I mean, I'm Batman. I know being Robbie right now, this.

[Guest]

Is a good look.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Guess who I'm beside? I'm beside him. And people get to see me. I do my own shows. I do my show. I sell out of Comic Con or whatever. But yes, it's something to be said when Dave has me open for him and we doing a arenas of 20, 25,000 people with some of the biggest name in the industry. And I go up there, get a stand ovation before I go on and before, after. I know there's advantages of being a Robin, but I know that I have my moments of being Batman. But that's when you have to put your ego inside. You know what, what 50 Cent says on every platform, one of the 48 Laws of Power. What's that book? Power?

[Guest]

48 Laws of Power.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's like, don't upstage the master. You know what I'm saying? You know what? I know what my position is, right? And when I'm around Dave doing shit, I won't even take pictures with people. I won't even take pictures with people because I don't want to give the impression that I know that's his space, his time, and I will have my time to shine, right? People got to understand that. And relationship with Ben Robin has opened up the doors. Comedy Central. When I did my last special, Comedy Central, Robby Prawn, Ted Serrano, they had already decided that they was gonna give me a special, okay? There was already some talk about Dave producing special. They had already taught they were gonna give me a special, right? That was already in the can. But also, now, here's when Batman and Robin relationship pay off. Commie essential. When I got that, they would have probably gave me. I don't even wanna say the number was, but it would have been a type of number where I would've probably used half of that money on the budget to produce it. And I would have came back with a wop wop. Me waiting for Batman. I got seven figures. Wow, that's a relationship that works. Everybody's not built for that. Everybody's not. And those people that can't handle it are the people that's usually envious and jealous. And I don't have no reason to be that way, because I know Dave knows. Pound for pound, I'm one of the funniest out here, right? I don't care what you want to say. I know that people ask me all the time, Dave Chappelle's one of your favorite. Ask Dave Chappelle who's his in his top five. And unequivocally, he would say that I wasn't part of that. And not because of one set, because of seeing me over the years, seeing me in some of the toughest situations, Seeing me at the Hollywood bowl when that place holds 18,000 people and they're late. It's only 900 people in there, 18,000 joint. And then the head of Live Nation comes up and says, down there, good news, bad news. Well, you got 15 minutes. Only thing, there's nobody out there. So you want to wait five more minutes or do you want to go now? I'm like, what, the 18,000 people gonna come that quick? Give me the whole time. And Dave said, one of the greatest sets he's ever seen. I jumped off that stage. 800. Can you imagine what 800 people look like? And 18,000 people. I went off the stage, went to each person in that audience, ripped the shit. Everybody in agreement will come back up. Dave said, if I was teaching the comedy course, I would show people what it means to be able to stay in the pocket and do that. And this is. Then this is. And this is when I say this. And yes, I'm getting a little mad. Dave Chappelle did the outdoor cornfield shows when nobody else was doing shows for two summers in a row. Some of the biggest names in comedy came out of that cornfield. Guess who ended the show every time? Me. Wow. So when people wanna talk shit like that to me, when people wanna say, did your son see the picture you sitting between diddy legs? I tell him, I remind him, that's who. I closed the show. No, that's. I closed the show. But did you close. But did he close his legs? Go ahead. Wa, wa, wa, wa. But that's just it. That's just it. You know, I know that I'm a funny guy, right? I know that I've paid my dues. I know I've accomplished a certain amount of things, and I know there's a lot of other things that I could do. But one of the things I do know is I don't get caught up in the stupid shit that all these other comedians talk about. Dumb shit, stupid shit. I'm enjoying the journey. I enjoy the fact I call my own shots. I work when I want to work. And also, I also realized I didn't go to college. The only really training I had was being a military police officer in the Air Force. And I built a career for myself where at the end of the day, I could put my name on the marquee. And people say, you know what? That guy's funny. I want to go see him. Anything else is extra.

[Guest]

What's some of the best advice Dave has given you?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Dave don't really give me advice.

[Guest]

You really.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, he don't really. He doesn't really give me advice. Just stay out of trouble. Well, he will say, dave has told me this. You starting to level up. So as you starting to level up, you got to be careful of shit because they will come after you. But he doesn't really. You got to realize Dave is the goat, right? I'm older than Dave, but Dave really has respect for me. He has respect for me as a comic. So it's not too much advice. You'll give him. And when we talk. And, like, our relationship is not like our relationship. It ain't all about just comedy.

[Guest]

Yeah. Y'all ain't really talking about. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying?

[Guest]

It's just like, y'all talk about life.

[Shannon Sharpe]

People come to me like, yo, I got this check. So. So I say I don't even talk to Dave about none of that. Me and Dave talk about family. You know what I'm saying? Like, we like our friendship. It's not just on that screen. We'd have been at funerals together. We'd been in weddings. You know what I'm saying? When I had my first kid, you know what I mean? He saw the excitement that I had on those tour buses and shit like that. So our relationship is not just about that show. It's a real brotherhood. Hold on.

[Guest]

You live in Ohio?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Mm. What the. What?

[Guest]

You're from the dmv? What made you decide to go to Ohio?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I got invited to a ditty party.

[Guest]

No, Dade lives in Ohio.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No Dade lives in Ohio. But I'm gonna tell you, this is what made me think about it. During the pandemic, when the whole world was shut down. The whole world was shut down. Nothing was moving in la, you know what I'm saying? My baby mother was really getting on my nerves. And at a very tough time when nobody was working, I didn't know what the future of anything was gonna be. And Dave was one of the first person. He built a. He created a bubble out there. And it was in that time, that first summ. At that time, that I started really looking at, like, what's really important in life. And Hollywood shit didn't matter, you know what I'm saying? It was just like during the pandemic, if you didn't appreciate the simple things in life, like being in Hollywood and riding past the playground with no kids there, all that type of shit, if it didn't get to you and realize something else is out there. And I went out there to Yellow Springs, spent some times in the country. I saw how simple that life was, and I got it. I was like, why do anybody need to be in Hollywood now?

[Guest]

Did you think you could ever live that simple of a life?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. And the reason why, because my life is so chaotic anyway. I travel so much. I'm all in so many different places. I can get my chaos there, but when I go on the elsewhere, just want to chill. I want to look in the backyard and see a mother deer.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I want to eat some of the shit you used to eat, like possums and turtles and all of that crazy shit, right? And that's what it was. I was like, this is the simple side. And I never. Hollywood is not Hollywood anymore. There used to be a point where the only way you can make it, you had to be in New York or Hollywood. But you're an example of you ain't got to be in Hollywood to do any of the things that you do. No, you can be whatever you want.

[Guest]

That's what digital is. That's what the Internet, digitally has done.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And then what it also is, you bring it to me. Like, I do a podcast, whatever. I'm building the numbers on that. But I'm like, eventually I'm gonna get that to a point where, you know what? I don't got to work as hard as whatever. I better do that. But it was just simple life. It was that simple part of it. And then after doing it for over 30 years, it ain't too much that I haven't already done.

[Guest]

Experience that you on the wild side.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So, you know, I know different birds. And now blue jays and canaries and like that, and I appreciate that.

[Guest]

Now, cardinals. Canaries are not native to Ohio.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What?

[Guest]

Canaries are not. What are you cardinals? That's the red bird.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, you a bird now? Oh, this Mr. Do Everything. Yo, not nobody knew what bird I was talking about. You had to take it to the origin of the bird. Okay.

[Guest]

I grew up around the Great Automobile Society.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I grew up on gray birds. They was all great pigeons. A canary cardinal couldn't even make it in dc. They get jumped. You ever seen a colorful bird in Brooklyn? No. All gray birds.

[Guest]

Let me ask you this.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Guest]

You got some money when you first got some good money, some decent money? Not when you look. I mean, obviously any money you was making probably was a little bit more than you was making in the dmv. But when you got a good chunk of money, what did Donnell do?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Pay back all the I owed? Yo, I was on people's books, but I never. The thing is, my grind has been just constantly, you know what I'm saying, Where it was no money to make some comfortable money to be scaring about this. But the crazy thing now is I'm going through a transition on learning how to have money, make money, right? But I never, like. I've always been, like, just. Just teetering along, but it was never nothing. It was never nothing. Like, oh, my God, I can't wait to blow money.

[Guest]

You never had no throwaway money?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Never did that, right? If I. I won't say throwing that. I know this sounds crazy, but the best thing, the weirdest thing, and I'll get over this. The best part of me making money is being able to help others and give other people. When I. When I was younger. When I was younger in the game, I was like, you know, money. What money is going to mean to me is that I be able to take care of some people and make other people's life comfortable. Because where I'm coming from, there's not too many people can go somewhere and say, even as simple as, like, y'all get what y'all want. Order whatever you want.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying? But it was never. And I'm not like a flashy guy or anything like that. I just. Simple shit. As long as I can provide for my son, my family, I'm good.

[Guest]

Does. Is money. Does money mean different things to you now as opposed to, say, 25, 30 years ago?

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, I've never, like, been excessive, you know what I'm saying? Only thing I did when I was younger, I wanted to live like a drug boy without the chance of going to jail.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying? I wanted to have a nice car, dress nice, and just be. I wanted to be able to go somewhere and not look at the tags and not worry about money.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know, and I've built enough now. That's where I'm at right now. But money is not my. My motivator.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The only thing I look at money now is for my. The future of my son.

[Guest]

Right. I had Marlon Waynes on about a couple of months ago, and he said when he. He wrote a show, he and Sean, and it didn't go through like he wanted to. And then Kenan came on, and he made him write it 20 plus times again. And I read that Dave made you rewrite your special three times.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. But it was. I don't know if it was a rewrite, but it's so funny. Cause Marlon gave me some advice once before. He said, donald, taking you off and just write. You can write your future. But the Dave situation was. This was during the pandemic. He really got close to my standup, and he was like, I want to do your. I never approached him about doing my special, okay? He said, I want to produce a special. He was just like, you deserve it. He came up with the idea of the home team, Me, Lunel, Earthquake, Tony woods, and that was it. And we shot the special the first time I did a stab at it. It was in Charlotte at the Fillmore Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. But this was at the heels of the pandemic, right? So it was just like the venue had COVID protocol. You had to have vaccination cards and all this type of stuff. And we did the special and I ripped a special, right? And I'm me and Dave, me and Quake had announced our specials coming out. And then maybe like a week, maybe, maybe two weeks after we made the announcement, Dave calls me. I was about to go on stage in Baltimore and he said, donna, I want to redo your special. And like, that's a very insulting question. Say to me, because the first thing you think it wasn't funny. I said, just tell me how did I go from a standing ovation, chest bumping Stan Latham to you. Now you want to do it over? He said, donnell, I could put you in front of any audience and you'll rip it. It doesn't make it a great special, right? Made a lot of sense. And you talk to a guy that already won like four Emmys, five Grammys. I said, I still don't know what that means. He said, look, you did a lot of COVID jokes. Netflix had turned away like half my audience because of not within the vaccination situation. And they had the mask. And he said, I seen you do these jokes better than this. I said, I've seen you do jokes better than what happened on the special.

[Guest]

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[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Donnell Rawlings]

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[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Donnell Rawlings]

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[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Donnell Rawlings]

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[Host]

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[Shannon Sharpe]

But I was already under gun because when you when you practice for a special you usually do an hour right? There was during COVID nowhere I could go into an hour right? Only place I could do was 15 minutes. So what I was doing was I had four 15 minute shows and hopefully I bring them together when it's time for it. But when I listened to him and after he said that it made more sense. He said we're going to do this, we got to knock it out the park. And I was saying you still going to give me my money right? Yo the check it already cleared, so we could do it a thousand times. Yeah, that was the first time. Maybe seven, eight months after that, we were doing some shows in Napa Valley. And we were backstage, it was me, Dave, Ricky Hughes, who produced all his specials. And Dave said, ricky, how many cameras do you have here? She said, we got five. He looks at me, said, do you want to shoot your special? I said, when? He said, tomorrow, no announcement. We were just going to roll the dice. We had the cameras. And I was excited about that because I didn't have to do a build up inviting family. It's a Netflix presentation. We was bas going to do it with nobody knowing.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Caught another standing ovation. He hits me back. I want to do it again. I'm like, what the. He was like, bro, just go ahead.

[Guest]

And tell me what's up.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, that's what I want to say. But then he said, I didn't like the production. I'm like, you produced it. But what it was. He's very meticulous when it comes to production. And the thing was, it was like people walking around because we didn't have an audience person telling people, don't go to the bathroom. And he just didn't like the look of it. And I was like, all right, the next stab, I was at the New York Comedy Festival, and I said, let's just bring the cameras in here and do it. And that's when I think I nailed it. That's when the new day. The special was good. I look good. People like the special. I talked about stuff that's evergreen. Because that first one, if you would play that first one today and saw Covid Mass, you would already known it was shot in 2020.

[Guest]

Correct.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But the way we did it this time, you don't know. Something timeless time is it could be funny five years before and five years after.

[Guest]

So negotiating. What have you learned about negotiating with companies like a Netflix, like Comedy Central? You mentioned that Dave produced a couple of your shows. And so obviously they take you serious when they. It's kind of like with anything, you know, you hire an agency and you go negotiate with people, they take you serious. Like, oh, he ain't bull job because.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You have an agency behind you. Yeah, yeah, but that's like. But then some. But. But I know this is going to sound crazy, but the traditional sense of negotiating, agencies, management, it's about to change. And the reason why I say that, because the artists now have power. Now where you needed an agent or manager to introduce you to this person and get this Right. The power is in you having support, you having fans.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying? A person that has 50 million followers on Instagram, what is the manager going to do for them? Introduce somebody to take more money? I'm not saying in cases you not going to need that, but it's becoming more where the artists can negotiate their own thing. And the whole thing is knowing what your worth is. And then I've always been like, my negotiation. People always tell me, what's your price? I really don't. It all depends on what the need is and what it is. And I've never been a person that tried to just hit you in the head. I try to build relationships with people for a long time, not for just one shot.

[Guest]

When. When Dave did the Netflix special and he caught a lot of flack for the transgender joke.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So we ain't got no non Dave question.

[Guest]

Yeah, just one. Just one more. He's able to tell. He's.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Can I call Dave, tell this nigga to come and do this interview?

[Guest]

I reached out. I reached out to.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He said, that's why I'm here. He said, that's why I'm here. He's like, man, who. The next nigga that was on the.

[Guest]

Show, you know Dave.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, no.

[Guest]

The transgender joke.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I've never seen his joke or my joke.

[Guest]

His joke. I've never seen a guy. And even when he did the Saturday Night Live, that monologue that he did there, the way he can tell a story, the way he can weave you in and out, and you don't even realize it because I didn't. You know, I get what he was saying.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I really, really begged you to come see me live.

[Guest]

Where you gonna be at?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'll let you know. But go ahead, continue with Dave again.

[Guest]

And Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm joking.

[Guest]

When he stood, Netflix stood behind him. And you mentioned something, that this Cancel Culture, before long is going to be done away with because you were giving people too much power. People that have built something over 25, 30 years, and they make one mistake and it's gone.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, but see, it's only certain people can be canceled. Certain people can't be canceled. People that don't lie. First off, what Cancel Culture wants to do, they want to stop your bread.

[Guest]

Okay?

[Shannon Sharpe]

First, they want to do. They can't wait to say the agency dropped him. So and so dropped it. They want to stop your money when they. When they were. They're powerless when they can't stop your money.

[Guest]

Correct.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what? I'm Saying the situation with him, and there are some artists like that. You know, I would say Chris Rock is one of those joints that can be canceled. They built a base. And I think I'm not at that level, but I think I'm uncounseled because I'm not on a TV show. I'm not doing movies regularly. Last five or six years. Any work I've got, it wasn't through audition. It was because somebody said, we want this guy. But, you know, when you don't have to get a check for somebody else and you create your own check, you can't counsel a person.

[Guest]

Is there a joke that you won't do?

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's not a joke that I won't do because I'm irresponsible in the jokes that I choose to use. Now, the argument has been like, oh, I believe in freedom of speech. Whatever. Yes, you have the freedom to say whatever you want. Also know that there's some consequences will come with what you say, and there's a possibility that there may be some backlashes. I encourage white people to use the N word all day. I say use it so you can see how it feels to use it. If you think you're that strong, if you want to make that argument, we're not going to use it. Use it. But then this is what's going to happen. There's consequences to anything that you say or do. Right. One of my phrases is a joke could be too soon, but it never could be too soon for a funny observation. That's what my comedy is. I think that's what some of the best comedians.

[Guest]

Right. There are some times. I mean, you said some LBTQ jokes, Asian jokes. I mean, when you say a joke, do you know, like, I don't know if I should have.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Or you just go, no, I do know that. And then the ones that make me. Oh, no, those are the ones I want to do the most. Yeah, because I'm just saying it's like there's something to be said about a comic that speaks from their point of view and how they feel.

[Guest]

If that's what comedy is, if that's what comedians supposed to do, supposed to go places because they're supposed to be like the bet.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It all depends on who it is.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You have some comics. You have some comics that would never do that because they're in the business with corporations. They're in this business. That's where they make their money. You know what I'm saying? You have some of them that don't but it all depends. I know some. Some comments. Like I say, Jim Gaffigan. You ain't gonna never hear Jim Gaffigan do a straight up dick and pussy joke, but he might water it down. And you suck toots of words because he's protecting his bag.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Whatever you gotta do, protect your bag, whatever your bag is. My bag has been grimy for the longest, so I don't have to. I don't have to protect it like that.

[Guest]

You friends with Joe Rogan, right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. How.

[Guest]

I mean, Joe went from a. I mean, I didn't know Joe was a comedian. When I first was introduced to Joe Rogan was Fear Factor, right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

A lot of people.

[Guest]

And then the next thing I know, he's, you know, basically the voice of the ufc. He's calling fights, and then obviously he's a pretty good stand up comedian from what I hear. I don't, you know, really get into it like that. So. What. What. What is the yin and the yang? How did you and Joe become cool?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, Joe, we became. First off, I. I know of Jeff from Fear Factor, from Chappelle Show.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And then he was like a really big part of the Comedy Store vibe there. Like, he' big name for years. And of course, it's podcast, but I never ever, like, was like, hey, Joe, I'm so and so and so and so. My introduction to people, I want them to see me perform.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I'm saying? I wanted to see me perform. He would see me and pass in the Comedy Store. And then he knew my reputation, that I was a funny guy.

[Guest]

Okay?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Then we exchanged words, whatever. And then one thing led to another where I did his podcast. And it was interesting because I heard Ms. Patrick was on the show.

[Guest]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And Ms. Pat was like, people got upset with her because she kept it real. And I'll double down and say, I know that's his character, because when I did his podcast for the first time, I was like, you, I want to come off the road, man. I don't want to work as much on the road because I want to spend more time with my son, but I don't make money in Hollywood. I was like, I need to make money in Hollywood. He was like, just start a podcast. I'm like, it's not that simple. He was like. And I'm saying to myself, ain't no money in podcasts like that. And then I googled him. I was like, okay, so let's talk about that. Let's talk about that, right?

[Guest]

But he had the Top of the foot.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This is what I'm telling you. This is what I want to say. And when Miss. When I watched the one, Ms. Pat, I was like, she right? That's the type of person he is. But our own people are so critical of each other. When Joe said Danielle, I was like, how do I get subscribers like that? He said, just do a podcast on a tape recorder, anything, Just do it. I'll tweet it out, you'll get some licks off of that. Then you do all the other podcasts. Next thing you know, be on. Guess what? I did it. I came out the gate with like 7,000 subscribers off of that. And people could say what they want to say. I'm so sick of the black, white, that type of shit. There's some people that stand up people and they say, what they going to do, right? He's one of them. As much as people want to say, well, the people at him, they're not funny. Guess what? Them white boys have figured out a thing to do. They figured out a way to make other. Make each other rich.

[Guest]

Yes. They support each other.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They have a system.

[Guest]

They just support each other.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They have a system. They have a system. All right? This person. Okay, let's say, guess what? Everybody ain't gonna be the funniest, but who's gonna be the best business people, who gonna be the best hustlers or whatever? And they have a system that they make each other stars. Why black people don't do that.

[Guest]

I want you to be a star. I just don't want you to be bigger than me. So if that means. That means you don't want me to be a star. Okay, well, I don't want you to be a star.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's right. You don't want you. Oh, nah. Let me be a star first, right? They don't look at it like that.

[Guest]

No.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That crew, they could say, I don't give a. All right, you already hurt my feelings about my son, so this can go wherever the it goes. But where is that, that sense of unity? Always talk shit. Why isn't Spike Lee the most sought after director doing the biggest movies and everything? What y'all wanted, we want him to do black movies, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm doing black movies. Black accident. Guess what? You ain't going to see my movies. So I don't have no power. When does it stop? And at the end of the day, at the end of the day, you can take race and everything away. You got good people and bad people.

[Guest]

Yeah, on both Sides? Absolutely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

In a relationship, no matter what anybody thinks about Rogan, whatever the relationship I have with him, he's always been the standup guy to me. Always pick up my call and always been like, do you need anything? I got you.

[Guest]

You can only base what you know about a person through personal experience, right? So somebody else judging Joe Rogan, that's never been around Joe Rogan and you having a personal relationship with Joe Rogan and saying, this is how he is with me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you can't do that, Shannon. Cause people want the relationship they have with you. They want you to have a similar relationship.

[Guest]

They do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They want you to have a similar relationship. I'll give you an example. Kid Rock.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Kid Rock is a good friend of mine. I met Kid Rock doing. When we was doing these summer shows in Ohio when. Cause Kid Rock is a provocateur. He says some dumb shit out of me all the time. I get that. I don't think that that is. I don't think. I think it's two people. I think it's Bob Richie and that's Kid Rock, right? Kid Rock is a provocateur that wants to talk some shit and get you stirred up. Bob Richie is a person I met in Yellow Springs, Ohio, when. Nobody want to talk to him. Nobody want to take a picture with him. We floating down the river and I'm talking to him, right? And he's right beside me on a boat saying, donnell, I feel like I just went through 12 hours of anger management. Thank you. I saw a guy. That's the one that I know, right? I saw a guy that was doing a comedy festival in Nashville. Donnell, I think you funny. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for showing me love. Whatever. Would you be interested in doing this? I saw a guy that had a show, the Grand Ole Opry, one of them white. Establish. You want to say, I did the show. Seven comedians, six of them white. I'm the only black comedian. I go on last. I close the show. Shannon. I knew when I went out there, it was all magas. It was all magas. It was not somebody from the left. It was not a lbg. It was the only letters in there. It was M, A, G, A capital, capital. All I saw was Star Spangled Band and shit. You know what I'm saying? Red, white and blue. God bless America. And I said to myself, oh, man, fuck that. But I was like, what? What's my job? I'm a comedian. Can I go out here and rock these mothers? I did. I closed the show 35 minutes, no politics, no nothing. Caught a standing ovation at the end of a backstage Kid Rock. He said, man, I think we might have just brought America back together. I said, and don't separate it. That's it. But your, your, like you said, your personal experience is different from mine.

[Guest]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And the person can be like this, but he says so and so do I give a about it? Yes. Do I tell him Sometimes. Come on, man, you. You can't say that, right? You. It don't make no sense to say it. But that, and I say that's one of the things that I really appreciate about what I've built for myself with my father and everything, is that if you come to one of my shows, it's not just all black people, it's not just all white people. It's a mix of everything.

[Guest]

It's America, dating, got a nine year old old ass with a nine year old. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. Why you wait so.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know the level of disrespect that question is for a man with no kids who ain't got no kids. I ain't talking about you. Oh, I'm kidding me, nigga. All right. I don't kid me. No, no. You know how hurtful that is for a guy. And when I say that myself, that thought that he was already settled into the fact that he probably never had no kids, which is mentally for a man, it's a tough thing. I had already said, you know what? You're probably not gonna have no kids. You got nephews, you got kids, huh?

[Guest]

Did you want kids?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, but the situation just didn't. And the situation just didn't happen. And I just wasn't shooting up the club like that, you know what I'm saying?

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. I mean, I wasn't a raw dogger like that.

[Guest]

So I mean, okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nah, you saying like, you proud. You been going raw longer than me. Oh, oh. He like, yeah, nigga, I been getting that heat. Heat for the longest. But what I'm saying was it just wasn't. It just didn't happen.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I was in relationships where it'd be like two years, three years, then start all over and shit like that, right? But then it just happened. I did have him late in life, but I don't have no regrets about it. Sometimes I do think, what if I would have started early, whatever. But then you'll go crazy thinking about that. I'm just happy that, you know, and then I have a beautiful son.

[Guest]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Don't yes me about my son. Please.

[Guest]

What about marriage, then?

[Shannon Sharpe]

What? Marriage?

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is probably 1,000 out of the cart for me.

[Guest]

What?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I got a son. That's black marriage, yo. It's gonna be one of the other. Have a kid or marriage? Yeah, I got one. And then when she said. And I remember, I remember she was like. She knew what the baby was. I said, boy or girl? She said, what do you want? I said, girl. I said boy. Boom. I was like this I'm out Rawlins thing continues. Yeah, but my happiness. My happiness come through him. And my happiness come through what I do.

[Guest]

Have you ever caught someone cheating on you? You say you had a dream.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, I don't think I caught nobody cheating on me. But I know in the past I cheated so much. I know I had to pay them taxes.

[Guest]

You got your. They got the lick back.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm pretty sure of it. I'm 1000% sure. But you gotta pay. I'm like, ah, it was time to reverse that sooner or later. Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I look at cheating like this. Like mother no good. Go to the next question.

[Guest]

I will ask. Toxic relationship. Who more toxic, women or men?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what a toxic man's gonna say? Women, Them crazy bitches. They bitch don't understand us. Yeah, the most toxic. Them crazy ass. Oh. Cause I ain't come home last night. You tripping. Why you going through my phone? Ah. Would you consider yourself toxic by defin. Yeah, I do think I'm. Nah, but see, damn, if I don't think I'm toxic, then I'm a narcissist. I'm a nigga. Put everything in there. Gaslight, toxic narcissism, love bombing. I do all of that type shit. And that's what make men men. We ain't gonna be perfect. You and your goddamn therapist about that shit. I'm all of them. All of them. Every mental health word you can use on me. Toxic narcissism. Through all of that, I am a good. Yeah, through all of that. You know what this is something to be said. A lot of people have better relationships and relationships be strength strengthened. If women would just stay the out of cell phones.

[Guest]

There you have the urge to see. They gotta know if I. I'm a.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Knight in shining armor. If you stay the away from my phone. I'm from this place. And they gonna never understand this logic.

[Guest]

You're a Hallmark movie guy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I'm like this. What did I do for you to think that you wanna my phone just. You know what women say. What I had this feeling. It was just something inside me. Did you hear that? Did you have that feeling when we was in Abu Dhabi? Did you have that feeling when we was at the. During a shopping spree? When do you have this feeling? And what do you want from that feeling? Nobody understand the Shaq says something close to this. I'm coming home to you. I'm so and so. Stay up, Shaq. Stay out. My phone. Oh, wow. What you got to hide? No, I ain't got nothing to hide. But so a man, you can't have no level of privacy. In everything about my life, you need to be privy to it. It don't make no sense.

[Guest]

You out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you know when is foul, right? You know when a mother is foul. You know when the mother foul, oh, I didn't answer my phone. Oh, I fell asleep on my man couch. You know the foul. So why you want to play with that? It don't make no sense.

[Guest]

Heard someone say the strongest drug in the world is a woman.

[Shannon Sharpe]

One of my mentors said, Donnell, this is when your career really takes off. When you done knocked down everything you want to knock down, you done had that experience. That's when it takes off. Because he said, Donnell, you gotta remember this. No, this is what he said. No pussy is gonna be better than new pussy. And once you get to the point where you don't need new pussy or chase it, that's when shit starts to exchange. Cause the men always gonna have the drive to want to do something with somebody. But eventually you get to a point like, is it worth it? And I think that what happens is you've been in so many situations where the consequences of your action, you realize, guess what? Most of us know how to be good men, right? We know how to do it. Because you can look at every bad relationship, prepares you for the next relationship, right? And you know, like, how did this one up? Because I did this, right? Once we get to the point where we say we don't want to do that, then that's when you'll get to that point.

[Guest]

Do you want more kids? Cause Al Pacino had one at 83. So you waved from that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I ain't gonna do that. I think it would be unfair to that kid. But I did when I did. I wish after Austin, I wish that I would have had another one right at that. Just because he is built to be a big brother and he just got that part of him. But, you know, she's so young that she probably, she could pop out.

[Guest]

Yeah, I'm like 20?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is she 23?

[Guest]

Darnell?

[Shannon Sharpe]

20. You. Oh, why you didn't date her mom?

[Guest]

Why'd you go for the Darnell?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I didn't date her mom because why didn't I date her mom? Yeah, good question.

[Guest]

No, wait, I'm asking the question.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No conversation.

[Guest]

Because that ain't the Darnell Rollins show.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Love is love.

[Guest]

If you don't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Love is love.

[Guest]

I agree with you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What?

[Guest]

You like him young, though.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I say Drake. I heard you. No, don't do that. I don't like him. I don't like him young. I like what I love. I didn't groom nobody. Son, it is what it is, but I can't date nobody my age and get what I wanted. What I look like getting a 48 year old bitch pregnant?

[Guest]

It's possible it could have happened, but.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I ain't want them odds.

[Guest]

Hold up. She was on Bad Girls Club.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Guest]

You like bad girls?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I made her a good girl. Nigga say that. Ask me another question.

[Guest]

You like toxic.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I was going through a transition in my life, and if somebody made me feel good about myself that I knew in the future I was gonna have a beautiful son, that you was gonna try to ruin the relationship I had with him by talking about, did he see you between. I saw the future of this show before I even goddamn did it, all right? And I didn't break no laws. I didn't do it. Yes, she's a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot younger than me, but that's what it was. I gave my opportunity. I gave myself an opportunity. Why you hating on me?

[Guest]

Where y'all beat at? Forever 21.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yo, y'all ain't gotta laugh that hard, son. Uh, you know what?

[Guest]

Let's try to figure out that I'll be where you meet this 23 year old at. Cause, I mean, hey, 23. I think I'm a couple of years older than you. I go 33, so I just need to know. 23, 33. They probably in the same area. Maybe we can hang out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm not with you. I am not hanging without you. I'm not hanging with you. Okay, What I want to say. There was a part of my life where someone gave me a certain energy that I needed. And they expressed to me I wasn't out there on no playgrounds. Yeah, I didn't have R. Kelly in the background. And they expressed to me that they. And this is how they get you. I like older men. Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.

[Guest]

You like younger women.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Can I finish my sentence? Go ahead. You can switch and do interview yourself if you want to do that. Give him another mic. No, no. It was just. It was something that happened in my life. It was timing. It was me coming off another relationship, and I just felt this person made me feel good. And that turned into a relationship where I had a beautiful son.

[Guest]

That's it. What do y'all meet? How do you ask Al? I'm interested. I'm an older guy myself.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We were. We. I was working on this show in New York, and we both had a social media manager, whatever, shared the same person.

[Guest]

She worked on the show, too.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, she was on the show that you just said, okay, I'm not embarrassed.

[Guest]

About that, but, no, you shouldn't be.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, that was the case. And this person kept on saying, like, y'all energy, y'all funny, the sense of humor, whatever, that we wanted y'all to meet. And I'll be quite honest, I wasn't excited about it. I wasn't excited about it because of that show. I just wasn't excited about anything that was going through a point in my life where I was like, I don't need to be with nobody right now. But then I did meet. Then I met her. And then this is how all relationships start. You feel and see all the good things. And there's somebody that knows. I won't say pray on her, but they know what makes you feel good, right? And at that time, everything about our conversations and everything I felt good about. And it was like small, small tests. This might be minute to you, right? But I remember I had took her shopping, and we were at this mall, and when I go shopping, I'm like this. I ain't looking, no tags or nothing. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, right? And it was three pairs of pants on it, right? And the pants was like. I was like, you like those? The pants, like 225 jeans. They both was 225 pair. I said, you like them? She said, yeah. I said, why'd you put it back? And she said, I couldn't see myself, and this was my money I was putting up. She said, I couldn't see myself paying $225 for a pair of pants. And I know that feels weird, but I was like, I'm not mad at that answer.

[Guest]

Yeah, that's good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

In a situation where you could have been like this, I'm going to just. And that started conversation. And then again, she was in my life, made me feel a certain way and made me feel a certain way, literally and figuratively. When I needed to feel a certain way. That's what happened. And then some short time period after that, we had a kid.

[Guest]

I saw you had Dr. You. You interviewed Dr. Umar. Obviously, Umar is. He's very. Pan Africanism is the word that he used.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Just say he's very. Not us. What? You mean us? You know, us. Me? You know what us mean? No, you know us. Don't even try. You know us what? Sisters that don't even flow off your lips, right, son? It's like somebody in your ear. Like this, like, say it. Say it. Say it. You know, he's not like us. They not like us. No. No, they're not like us.

[Guest]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I know you know what the I'm talking about. Darnell, give me my cards. I got some cards and you know what I'm talking about. Go ahead. All right. Go ahead.

[Donnell Rawlings]

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[Host]

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[Shannon Sharpe]

Amazon Pharmacy presents painful thoughts. The guy in front of me in the pharmacy line is halfway through an.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Incredibly detailed 17 minute story about his gout.

[Shannon Sharpe]

A story likely more painful than the gout itself. Next time, save yourself the pain and let Amazon Pharmacy deliver your meds right to your door. Amazon Pharmacy healthcare just got less painful. I don't know what you're talking about.

[Guest]

Why is it. Why do you believe that interracial dating is such a big a hot topic in our community?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why is it a hot topic against have something to be mad about? Now I can understand your feelings are interracial. This may sound crazy and ooh, would this up. I could understand that shit if we were still like marching like in 1940, but God damn, nigga, we got so many examples of what a biracial relationship has created. You know what I'm saying? We got so much of like. It don't necessarily mean everybody ain't trying to fight the power all the time, right? I like all my smiles. I said fight the power downstairs. This freedom fighter right now, right? Yo, yo, I said it in my sponsor. I said the dopest blowjob you ever gonna get is a reparations blowjob. I don't give a. And you laugh. Cause you know, you know, don't even. Hour. Hour.

[Guest]

Goddamn.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What's the difference, huh? What's the difference between what? Joe, Joe, you ever had a reparations blowjob?

[Guest]

I don't get down like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, man, oh man. They always talk about where's the lies right here. All lies will be exposed right here. I don't. I can understand the sentiment of Dr. Umar. I can understand that. I just don't subscribe to. Somebody should be only dating a certain person. Yeah, and whenever you say that, they say that's the language of a bunny hopper. So what? Whatever the fuck makes you happy, right? That's how I feel.

[Guest]

So I'm just supposed to be with anybody? Just. They treat me like crap. Just find somebody else up? That's not always the case. But why can't I be with some. Why can't I be with the person that likes me?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You can, but then. But then what does it say? Then you take it away. Oh, you taking the money out of the black community. Everybody take money out of the black community.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, I can't talk about it. Oh, you bunny hopping? I've hopped. Am I Hopper?

[Guest]

Is your son mixed?

[Shannon Sharpe]

My son is mixed with Salvadorian and black. Oh, yeah.

[Guest]

Tina.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Selena. Yeah. I have a beautiful son too. Yeah. The DNA Was cracked on that one. I system up. Somebody said, oh, Donnell, you met. You got that pretty girl pregnant. I'm like, do you think I want to get somebody pregnant that look like me? We gotta balance this shit off. I ain't gonna have no good hair now.

[Guest]

Did Tyrese really get mad at you for making fun of him crying?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, he did, but I didn't give a.

[Guest]

Did he reach out to you?

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, he reached out. He slid in my DM Pause. No Diddy, right? It was something I did a joke about. I used his face as a crying mic face. Oh, I expect that from somebody that I don't fuck with. I'm like, nigga, I didn't saw you twice in my life. That what he hit you with? Yeah, he said something about, oh, I expected. Cause I made a joke about him crying faces. Dismiss him the fact that I'm comedian and dismissing the fact that the cried too much.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Shut the up. I wish somebody, you know the phrase, take his phone. Yeah, somebody really need to take Tyrese's phone. We don't need to know every second of your life, right? I respect you as an artist. I respect what you've done, but damn, man, I wish you would just shut the up.

[Guest]

Have you got a lot of that? People ask you to take down polls to stop making jokes about them?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nah, people don't do that.

[Guest]

You weren't gonna do it anyway, huh?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I wasn't gonna do it. I've never considered it. And the reason why I say that, because I'm really selective on what I put out there. And I'm like, if you can't take this, you just overly sensitive, and I can't cater to that, then if I do that, then I'll be taking posts down for everything. No disrespect to Tyrese or anything like that, but I personally think that someone needs to take his phone. Cause we. I know you wanna be in touch with your fans. We don't need to be a part of your whole journey.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

We don't need to do that.

[Guest]

Let me ask you this. What was the best comedy standup experience you've had? You've been on Def Comedy Jam, Showtime at Apollo, Comic View.

[Shannon Sharpe]

For me, the best comedy experience I've had was when I did my special. Because no matter what you think of that special, it felt like I really knew what I was doing. Like, from Dave us scratching it twice, I feel like the next one I'm doing the next one. I do. I know exactly. I know point of view is I know Beginning, middle and end. I know that during that show I captivated the audience. So for some reason, as long as I've been doing it, and I've been doing it for 30 plus years, it was that special that I was like this. Oh, now I know what it means to be a professional comic when the stakes are up because you can just. People say, well, I've seen it. Be funny, whatever. It's one thing to be in a comedy club with no pressure, but when those lights are on, somebody's money is there. And you trying to duplicate what you did all these years to that. It's something I just felt like when I did my special New Day, it was something that made me feel like I know what I'm doing now. And even after that, people that come to my shows, they're like, oh, I didn't know if he was going to do stuff from the special. No joke from my special, is there? It's all new and I'm still getting better.

[Guest]

The set for a special, you say a special is gonna be an hour. Are you doing all new material? Are you doing material that you like? You've fine tuned like some of the jokes, obviously on the special.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes, the special, you doing stuff that you. This is what I felt I wanted to do. Because you on a clock, you on a time, you want people's money. I wanted to feel like I wanted that special, that. But I wanted to be open enough where something happens in the moment, I can do that, which makes it very organic. But a lot of times you don't have the flexibility to do that. You still just like buy the book by the book. But when I do my, even my show today or whatever, you see me, I've probably 50 of stuff is what I want to do. And I want to do my. I want to keep myself open for what could happen.

[Guest]

Right. Wow. So let me ask you a question. How much do you like when you go on stage, do you like, you've rehearsed you like written down? Because Marlon says, I don't write down anything. I'm going up there, I'm free, I'm free. I'm just going with the flow. And then I've had others say, hey, I got a set, I know what I want to go. I want to go boom, boom, boom, boom. Hey, I might alter here or there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

According, but I don't never have. I don't have a script, but I do like, if it's certain points, I want to do me the best sets I have when I'm Working with the emotions I'm dealing with that day. If I'm having some drama, family stuff, whatever, if I can kind of turn that into stand up. But I'm not like some people, they are like Chris Rock. Chris Rock is not. He's not going to deviate. I've seen Chris Rock prepare for special. It's going to be like, papa, Papa. He's a, he's a professionalist. He's a professional. And this pen game is crazy. But me, I want to be able to talk about something, but how do I get there?

[Guest]

Right? I'm looking at, you know, Jamie Foxx called you a beast. You worked with Chris and Dave on the. Because you was on the. At the Hollywood Bowl. You mentioned the Hollywood Bowl. So were you there when the guy rushed the stage?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I wasn't there and I was a part of that tour, but I had another gig. I was doing one of my gigs and that was the only show during that run that I missed. I was. It's so funny because I was on a flight and before I was taking off, somebody said they just attacked Dave on stage and I was like, oh, like I'm gonna take a parachute and get off this shit. Like I'm gonna go save him. But I wasn't at that show.

[Guest]

Chris Rock recently ended a billionaires private. But once he found out somebody was recording. How serious are you about recording your shows?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I. It's weird. I think that like I'll. In my shows, I'll make sure the emcee announces that no recording rights. I'm not going to let that ruin my show.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because even though somebody is recording your set, it's not going to take away from people seeing you live and seeing you put it on a platform that you're going to do it. It doesn't matter if somebody records. I wish people would take more time to be involved with the show and not record. But if somebody record my shit, it's not going to stop them from watching on Netflix are going to see me live. But it's like a funny situation.

[Guest]

Did you get upset at Katt for what he said? On my platform, a lot of people got mad at me. They said, because you allowed Cat. I'm like, allow. I mean, I have asked somebody ask, you know, I invite you in and have a conversation. I don't know where you're going. Just like, I didn't know what you were gonna say.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I didn't get mad. But my thing is like, you got people with problems and people with solutions. And my only Thing was that. And I listened to it. Like I said earlier, okay, like, you haven't said anything that people don't know about Hollywood. And then my thing is, what do you want out of this? All right, so and so stole my joke. Write another joke. And even when I listen to it, it's so easy, sir. First off, if a can that easily steal your joke, guess what? It ain't the best joke out there. Mark Cary was upset, like, oh, Steve Harvey did a joke about Halloween. I'm like, who don't got a Halloween costume joke? Who don't got a joke about, I was so poor, we dress up like ghosts. I was so poor, I dressed up like a UPS man who don't have those jokes. And then it may sound crazy, but writing a joke, I used to be. When I first started, I used to be, oh, that motherfucker stole my joke. He stole my style. I'm like this. I didn't get nowhere with that. I had beef with comments. I'm like this. All that does for me is like, you know what? First off, if muffins say a joke, go fight him. That's how it used to be when I was coming up. It ain't like you didn't have no block. You go fight a. That stole your.

[Guest]

Was then your joke?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, yeah, yeah. If you knew it, you just stepped to him. If you ain't gonna step to him, what are you mad about? If anything? Write another joke.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's so. But not only that, usually when you hear somebody. When you hear somebody. Somebody stole a joke. The joke is so easy to steal, right? That. What are you complaining about? And that's when you go deeper into you as a comic. Because now, all right, people used to steal my shot. I was like, you know what? That joke was stealable. You can have it.

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Then I got to go back into myself. That's why I talk about point of view. You can't steal a joke about a relationship I have with my son. You can't steal a joke I have a relationship or any relationships I have. You can't steal that joke. It would force you to be more creative. But a lot of this shit is just bullshit.

[Guest]

How have you been able to appeal to two different audiences? Because you have crossover appeal, obviously. Like you said, you came up in the chitlin circuit. You can black comedy. You can be in a black room filled with blacks. You can go room like you said you had in Nashville. You had basically the audience. None of them look like Darnell Rollins. How have you Been able to make that transition.

[Shannon Sharpe]

White business. What?

[Guest]

I don't know nothing about that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Darnell, you trying to get me. I'm sorry.

[Guest]

I'm not there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Darnell.

[Guest]

I'm not there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, I ain't. Okay. I'm sorry. Sorry, O. I didn't mean. For a white bitch. Explore different cultures.

[Guest]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Be involved. The reason why I've been. Because I just don't have one group of friends.

[Guest]

I like to drive around my block.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Guest]

That's it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes, that's your block. Is look like me. Your block is a cul de sac. Yeah.

[Guest]

And people like me live in it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Bunny.

[Guest]

No, I don't know what. Darnell, where did you get that from? I wanna know who told you that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I ain't gonna. I don't have no resources. But it's all over your face. No, it's not. It is all of your face. But you see how even the way you talk is different. You see? You enunciate now, son. Yo, you said. I beg your pardon. You got index cards? What the are you talking about?

[Guest]

You see how powerful the Internet is?

[Shannon Sharpe]

What?

[Guest]

Somebody said that and ran with it. And not everybody believes that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I believe. I believe that. I. All right. I believe that you are a hopper. You a hopper. You a hopper. You might have a T shirt on for a photo op.

[Guest]

No, but y'all want me to.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You might wear a dakish tashiki on your birthday. No, you can't hop in here all that.

[Guest]

Tried. Obviously, they say that because they want me to reveal.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Guest]

And I won't fall for the. I won't fall for the banana tail.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Don't see even the phrases you use. That's very white. Okay, the banana in the tailpipe.

[Guest]

What about the Okie Doke?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okie Doke is better. But that's not what you said. You said banana, and you said the old banana in the tailpipe. That's a bunny hopper right there, son. Oh, they had to hit me with the blur. Blur. Blur, Blur, Blurf.

[Guest]

No, let me ask you a question.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because the reason why. Cause I'm culturally diverse, and I don't just associate with just one type of people.

[Guest]

Right? That's what I am.

[Shannon Sharpe]

One of my friends. This is one of my friends. This is what he said. He said, man, you gonna have a good time with Shannon. I said, why? He said, cause y'all both like black and white.

[Guest]

I like women.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, now, he wasn't talking about the women. He was talking about black and white in regards to, like, you know, like. Okay, let's say I got a guy like I like, I like, oh, this is this, it's this, this, this. And you know what? It may sound insulting, but I know what he meant by that. And I'm gonna tell you that it's been a dilemma in my career and I didn't find out till like a year ago. I was talking to this promoter and I was doing a show and I was talking about these black package shows, right? And it's like, it's always like some more. It's always earthquake. It's all these people. And I asked him, I said, yo, and I love everybody I just named. I said, how did, why do they keep missing me? Why I'm not on these shows? And he said, donnell, I pitched you for this show. I'm the one who got you the show. He said, but a lot of promoters think you're a white comedian, right? And what they meant by that was because my audience and what I can appeal to is black and white. So they don't think that I'm a black comic.

[Guest]

And plus what they see you pull up to the arena with, so what that might have something to do with it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It has everything to do. What I'm saying is the diversity that I have, you know, And I was like, but I want, I want all the money. But that's. Then when one of my friends said it about you, it's like cuz y'all, you both pill to so to both. What's wrong with that?

[Guest]

They, because they want you to love one and then hate the other. But why can't it's kind of like the Angel Reese, Kaitlyn Clark. Why can't I like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese? Why? If I like Caitlin Clark I gotta hate Angel Reese.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why?

[Guest]

If I like Angel Reese, I gotta hate Caitlin Clark. Why can't I like both?

[Shannon Sharpe]

The reason why is because this world just feels feeds off of all negativity.

[Guest]

They gotta make you pick it. You gotta choose a side.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gotta choose a side. And it's all negative. Like even what I say when it comes to the Internet, whatever, guess what? Bad guys could win on the Internet. You know, when I first started, you had to be likable to sell tickets, you know what I'm saying? But now you could be hated and still make money. Because at the end of the day it's always about the engagement and who is going to be the most interested in giving you the most engagement politics.

[Guest]

How do you stay away? Do you make sure, do you try to stay away from political.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I try To. It was one time when I used to put my political views first and in the forefront because I was passionate, felt something away about it. But I also realized that who comes to my shows and everything and it's easier for me to. I'm very selective on what I talk about because there's not just two type of people, there's a lot of people that pay my bills when it comes to that. So even when I talk about politics, I don't do it in a way where I'm going to turn somebody off.

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I do it in a way where we all can laugh about it, Right? Like even on the Trump shit, it used to be, I used to be like, yo, Donald Trump or whatever. Or I could, I could say that. And that's easy to black audience. It's easy. You're going to win with that. But now I'll give example, I'll go out here, I was like, you know, if I had to ask Donald Trump one question, the question would be is, where did you get a brand new ear in 72 hours? Right. That disarms you. I talk about what I talk about and you don't have to get upset, right? And then I'll. People like, well, Donald Trump, this example.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

People talk about Donald Trump is racist. My question is if most corporations, you tell somebody, you ask me where you work, who you work for. I work for AT&T. How many employees? A thousand people, you know, 200 of them. Probably racist, but they don't wear the costume. Or racist. I say I'm too successful and I work too hard to care about all races. Why would I care about a racist gas attendant? You work at a gas station, not me. You know, I don't do shit like anybody, but I do certain things. We have to talk about is hotbed conversation. And I will, but I'm not trying to separate my audience.

[Guest]

You went to the high school T.C. williams.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Guest]

Remember the Titan? You remember my best friend Keith Burns went to that high school. You on that championship. You weren't on that championship team. That was before you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, you have a nice way to call me old. But it's okay.

[Guest]

He older than you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Who, Burns? No, he not. I'm older than Keith.

[Guest]

How old are you?

[Shannon Sharpe]

You the same age? You know, I'm 56. I'm older than you. I just turned 57 December 6th.

[Guest]

Well, you weren't on that championship team.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I know I'd have been 70 something if I was on that championship. That's what I'm trying to say.

[Guest]

No, Burns won the championship his senior year.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, he didn't.

[Guest]

Oh, Lord.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Remember the Titans, when that wasn't the championship he won?

[Guest]

No, I'm saying. No, that was. No, the championship that they. He burns them. Wasn't the last one. That was in the 70s. I think Coach Boone won the first.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Championship in the 70s now. No, no, keep them. They didn't win the championship. Yeah, they did. We can talk about that later.

[Guest]

We're gonna bet $50. They say you stole the ball from Kevin Durant. Drained the three on the three.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, sir. Yo, did y'all got the video?

[Guest]

We gonna show it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, yeah. I'm telling. That was one of my greatest moments. Now we back on. I love you, man, but what about.

[Guest]

The time you got hurt?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't wanna hear about the time. About that. Let's talk about the first. Other one. First.

[Guest]

But we go back to that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, what you was talking about was.

[Guest]

Okay, Kevin Durant, he tried to hit you with a crossover, right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Guest]

You stole the ball.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Can I tell my story?

[Guest]

Go ahead, tell the story.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right, so, boom. First off, Big Ticket does an annual, annual Celebrity Sub game, right? And I know they didn't want me on the team because they said they didn't have my shoe size. I was like, nigga, I wear a nine. Y'all always got nines around here, right? They ain't had no jerseys. They didn't have nothing, right? So I come on the up on Karan Butler. He out, coach, right? They called me in the game. I don't know why they called me in the game. They called me the game. Kevin Durant bringing the ball up, right? I feel like Freaky Zeke. Like, did I put him in a full nelson? Then I swung him around, all right? So he tried to dribble the ball between my legs. I don't know what happened. I stole the ball, right? Man, I don't even know what to do with that. I'm going down the court. I picked Kevin Durant pocket, right?

[Guest]

Okay, okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I'm going down the court, and I was like, if I try to go all the way to the basket, I'm a double dribble. Something going to be stupid. So I pulled up at the three.

[Guest]

You pulled up like Steph Curry.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Y'all got the receipt. I pulled up with the three. Boom. Y'all saw how I did it, right? So I was like this. I dribble. Boom. You see?

[Guest]

Okay?

[Shannon Sharpe]

And let me tell you a story, okay? So I'm like this. Behind the back. I did behind the Back, flipped it again between the legs. He coming, pushed him out the way, took the ball. I pulled up. But when I pulled up, I pulled up in slow motion because I wanted the moment to be forever.

[Guest]

So I sound like you froze in time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. What I did was I pulled up with the left, right? Yeah, the right coming next. I hit with the left. I was like. Then on the way down, I take it then reverse it, right?

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

First I went up with this. You in the air. Let me tell my motherfucking story. Look, this all in the air. Cause you know my vertical, like 43. I was just 10 seconds in the air. So I pulls up like this. I'm shooting it, right?

[Guest]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Then I said, nah. Cause he was gonna try to block it. Pulled it back down.

[Guest]

Damn.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What I was gonna do was do it behind the back pass, but he wasn't open, right? So I said, now I got five seconds left, right? I pulls back up, right? I pulls back up, right? I pulls back up. Like the bitches is going crazy, right? I pulls back up, right? Then it was like, this, money. Nah, it took a minute because that's how my. My angle is. My shit is like 30 seconds up there, right? So all the bitches could get pictures and shit. So I pulls back up, pop. He behind me trying to get the ball. Everybody in slow motion like, oh, they look at.

[Guest]

They looking like this.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me tell my story, please. They like, oh, shit, right? And I'm coming down, I hear everybody saying, oh, shit. And then something said. Red Grant was there. He was. And all of a sudden all you hear, I'm not an athlete. I never heard this in my career. They was like, oh, shit. As she learned, I was like, what, nigga? Right? I was like, what? Right? And then I called timeout.

[Guest]

What you call time out for?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I took myself out the game.

[Guest]

You can't call time out if you make a shot. You don't have the ball.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, I don't play like that. I called timeout. They was like, oh, shit. Ashley, Larry. And they. And I was sitting back there like this, yo. I was like this, right? And then Karan Butler, he act like I'm a threat from the outside. We started losing. He's like, just, yo, you want to get back out? I was like, it's over for me. I got a triple single. My career's over. Boom. That's what happened. And y'all got the video. Yes, yes.

[Guest]

But tell the time. You hurt yourself dunking on that eight foot goal.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You. You have what I call negative positive Energy, you know, that's a good interview. And what happened was this was after I hit that three point on Kevin.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So boom. You know a story gonna be funny when you say boom, right?

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So I'm in my baby mother house, her mother house, Stephanie house. I'm just. Don't say, what you about to say?

[Guest]

I ain't gonna say nothing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What you doing to his baby? So the kids fucking. They like this. They call me over here. They got, you know, the rim.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It goes ten foot to eight foot. Right?

[Guest]

Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm minding my business. I'm barbecuing, right? Minding my business. Got a barbecue rack. They said, what you gonna do over here? I said, what? I said, what y'all gonna do is. Y'all gonna. First of all, put your camera on this. When vine was out, I want them to vine me. Vine was probably right. I said, vine me. I said, what y'all gonna do is take a picture. They said, what you gonna do? I said, first off. Cause this coming off the Kevin Durant thing. Yeah.

[Guest]

So you feeling good about yourself?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nice. Well, I said, I'm gonna throw the ball off the backboard, right? I said, I'm gonna grab it. Cause you know the hang time I had in that last year, right? I said, I'm gonna grab it. I said, I'm gonna do a 360. I said, I'm gonna do a 360, right? I said, I'm a see what right here. I said, I'm gonna do a 360. Then I said, I'm a bang it, right? And I said on my way down, because I had a barbecue rag right here. I said, on my way down, I'm gonna grab the rag. I'm gonna wipe my face. Y'all better catch that shit. They said, do it, old head, right?

[Guest]

That made me even matter there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gas that Gas me. I walked out. I remember I went back and something said, pow. Joe. I wish I came. My pants too tight. I'll show you. Right here. Patella.

[Guest]

You rubbed your patella?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I tore it. I said something said this how? Because I'm in. I'm in Jersey, too, so I'm nervous.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I didn't know. I. My leg. I thought I got shot, but I ain't know who I was beefing with, right? I can't believe Mike Epson done rolled up, Right? Okay. Yo, I thought Mike Epson rolled up. That's another story. Tell him. Ask him how I saved his life. Anyway, so that's boom, bam, right? Pop my Leg, right? And I'm mad cause I'm like, I can't believe my let me get shot. Ain't nobody saying, go get that thing or nothing, right? And it was so up. Cause the little kid, it was like a Spike Lee movie. The kids was looking over top of me like this, right? They was like, we don't even know what happened. He was only 2 inches off the ground. I thought I got shot. And I was mad cause nobody was trying to get at him. And here's the crazy thing about that. I was up when I did that. I was up for a role. What was that? Power. Was it power? Yeah, I was up for a rolling power.

[Guest]

Wow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

As soon as I get my leg fixed out of surgery, my manager called me and said they wanted you for power. For power. And I was like, my knee up. And Charlie Murphy got that role. That was the last role Charlie Murphy did. It was off of power, but that's what it was. That was my whole career. Y'all saw what you.

[Guest]

You were pretty athletic because I read you were a security guard at a grocery store and used to chase down crackheads. So you pretty athletic. You could have been an athlete. Crackhead's fast. How you catch em?

[Shannon Sharpe]

First off, I wasn't a security guard at the grocery store. I was a general.

[Guest]

Okay, you was a general guard at the store.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I had rank. I had rank. And you don't chase her down. You put five carts in lane 17.

[Guest]

You blocked.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gotta make that block theme. Make that pattern go right. Cause they want to steal the shit and run out. But you got to make it where they go sideways. But that was my job. I had before.

[Guest]

Before you had a comedy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep.

[Guest]

You promoting anything? Tell us about anything you promoting. You're performing. Tell us where you. Where you're at next.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm performing. This is what I'm promoting.

[Guest]

Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Brotherhood.

[Guest]

Okay. I'm all for that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Black excellence. You know the crazy thing about this? My mother warned me about you. What'd I do? She said you was gonna say that. She said a baby. He gonna say what I did. And you tell them. She said, don't drink the yak. I do have a podcast and I know what it is. I should have did it earlier in the show. It's called the Donnell Rawlins show. It's on YouTube and all podcast. Platforms. I'm excited to be here.

[Guest]

Thank you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm excited to be here. I didn't know that you was gonna be the villain.

[Guest]

No, no, no. We had great conversations today.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No.

[Guest]

Yeah, we did I mean, we've been trying to get this. We've been trying to do this for.

[Shannon Sharpe]

A minute now, right?

[Guest]

You've been dodging.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Can I have my phone call? Is it on? Oh, man, my battery died. It did?

[Guest]

Yeah, it died.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Boy, you lucky.

[Guest]

Well, see. Hey, see, cj, you see the Lord. Lord. You see how the Lord want to do it?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yo, yo, what he doing? Look at the Lord. Charge my up. Ask me two more questions. Ask me two more questions. Charge my up. N. Ask me two more questions. Tell us the M story. The what? Oh, my God. I can't.

[Guest]

Would you be with Mike Eps?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I wouldn't beef with Mike Eps. Ah. I wouldn't be for Mike Epson. I'm one big.

[Guest]

You were beefing with Mike Epps.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I wasn't beefing with Mike. He was beefing with you. I was. Well, I just. Me and Mike Epps.

[Guest]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Pretty much came to New York about the same time. Craig, he was a country dude from Indiana, Atlanta. I was a country dude from D.C. virginia. And me and him was like closest friends. We used to drive. We used to catch the subway together, ride the subway together. They used to make fun of our country accents. And we was guys that was getting on right in some kind of way. During that process, we fell at odds.

[Guest]

Chick. I knew it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, I wasn't a chick.

[Guest]

What was it?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because I was never on the level with the chicks. Mike else always had son of baddest joints. I wasn't there. You might want to get him on the show and ask him.

[Guest]

I got you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Ask him how I saved his life. That's a good question.

[Guest]

You saved his life. I'm sorry.

[Shannon Sharpe]

For saving his life. No, no.

[Guest]

This concludes this episode of Club Shit.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, no, no, no. I want to call somebody.

[Guest]

That's the Lord, Lord, won't he do it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yo you.

[Guest]

Thank you, Villa 66 at Resorts World for having Club Shay Shay here today. This brand new spectacular two bedroom entertainment villa on the 66th floor has a stunning view of the script. This is reserved for invited guests only. Keep up with Villa66 on social media at Resorts World Las Vegas.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price wanna.

[Guest]

Slice got to roll a dice that's why all my life I be grinding.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All my life look all my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle.

[Guest]

Paid the price wanna slice got to roll a dice that's why all my.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Life I've been grinding all my life I'm Peter Schrager, host of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network and the Season with Peter Schrager Podcast Whether you're ordering wings for the game or you're whipping up a seven layer dip or you're ordering a pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat in this football season. Uber Eats has the best deals on game day food no matter what you're craving, from two for one pizzas to buy one, get one wings to whatever it is you want. Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. Uber Eats is the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day terms and conditions apply and see the app for details.

[Host]

All right, let's talk about Amazon Prime. It's not just one thing. It's a collection of services that help you get the most out of whatever you're into. Whether it's a hobby, sport, or getting things done fast, Prime's got you covered. Like my hobby for all things sports. You can order sports supplies, listen to content like this podcast on Amazon Music or watch content. You can do it all with Prime. Everybody loves the fast free same day shipping, especially as we kick off the year. But what about all the content you can listen to on Amazon Music Music to podcast fast shipping? What is not to love about this membership I'm in? Prime fuels your passions, makes everything easier. So whatever you're into, it's on Prime. Visit Amazon.com prime now when it's tip.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Off time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check my favorite jersey. It is good luck. Check an iconic drink that's a fan favorite.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Check.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five. I consider Hypnotic the point guard on my game day roster because not only is it versatile, like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth. So grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17 alcohol by volume Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely, drink wisely.