Vault: John Mayer Racist Comments

Summary

The Bert Show – "Vault: John Mayer Racist Comments"

Date: June 23, 2026
Main Cast: Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, plus listener call-ins

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Bert Show tackles the controversy stemming from John Mayer’s infamous Playboy magazine interview, focusing on his racially insensitive remarks, particularly about not dating Black women and using the N word in an attempt to intellectualize the concept of a “hood pass.” The cast discusses public reaction, the broader implications around race and language, and Mayer’s public apology, weaving in perspectives from listeners and their own experiences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context of John Mayer's Controversial Interview

• [01:01] The show jumps into the controversy surrounding John Mayer’s recent Playboy interview, noting his history of speaking candidly about past relationships (Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston).
• Mayer describes Simpson as "sexual napalm," calling her addictive "like a drug."
• Memorable Quote:
  • "He talks about Jessica Simpson and how she’s wild in bed... Said she was what, sexual napalm." – Host, [01:21]

2. Racial Comments and “Hood Pass” Explained

• Mayer is accused of making racist comments when referencing his dating preferences and comparing his "male parts" to a "white supremacist."
• [02:33] Panel explains "hood pass" as an acceptance by Black people of a white person, akin to being "allowed in the neighborhood."
• Mayer goes further, using the N word outright in his response.
• Memorable Quote:
  • "He calls his male parts a white supremacist... which leads into this whole racial comments that go on." – Panelist 1, [01:27]

3. The N Word and Public Reaction

• Mayer’s use of the N word is repeatedly highlighted as unacceptable and deeply offensive, regardless of his intent or attempt at intellectualizing it.
• [02:59] The show shares Mayer's apology, where he admits to arrogance, realizing the futility in intellectualizing a word so emotionally charged.
• Memorable Quote:
  • "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it because I realized there’s no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged." – John Mayer (via panelist), [02:59]

4. Authenticity vs. Social Responsibility

• Mayer’s push for unfiltered "authenticity" is criticized.
• [03:14] Discussion on the necessity of filters in public life, especially regarding topics that impact marginalized communities.
• Quote:
  • "You can’t go your whole life with 100% authenticity. You have to have a filter and you have to have a governor on things you say.” – Host, [03:14]

5. Perspectives on Racial Language and Passes

• Callers Paisley, Tim, and Mario contribute firsthand perspectives:
  • Paisley (Black woman): Strongly disagrees with the "hood pass" concept, suggesting “you're an exception” is the more accurate—and often problematic—term. [05:30]
  • Tim (Black man): Shares that context with close friends matters to him, but public use—especially by celebrities—is different. [06:20]
  • Mario (Black man from Mississippi): Describes mixed feelings as a Mayer fan, noting the personal and historical weight of the N word. [08:10]
• Memorable Quote:
  • “Every time a white person has said that around me, there's been a fight. You know, it's not like something you would just look over lightly.” – Mario, [09:21]

6. The Limits of Apology

• Debate among hosts and callers about whether any apology could undo the damage.
• The cast generally agrees that fame has distracted from Mayer's musical legacy:
  • "We have forgotten that he's one of the best musicians of our time. He's become so absorbed with celebrity and controversy." – Host, [10:19]
• Panelists call out Mayer’s arrogance:
  • "Shut up. I mean, you're not an intellectual if you even use the word. So quit giving yourself so much damn credit." – Panelist 2, [10:38]
  • "Stop talking. Play the guitar." – Panelists, [10:59]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mayer's defense:
  "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it because I realized there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged." – John Mayer, as quoted by Radio Show Panelist 1, [02:59]
• On white people using the N word:
  "I just, you know, I'm a little skeptical of people, especially white people... I just don't think that's cool at all.” – Panelist 2, [03:52]
• Listener reaction:
  "If you tell me you have a hood pass, I don't know what that means because me and the people I know are not from the hood. You know, if you say we're accepted... Hood is just way too much." – Paisley, [04:57]
• On being an ‘exception’:
  "You're an exception. You, you, you. You can come through. You're an exception.” – Paisley, [05:40]
• Impact on fandom:
  "This is like, wow, you know, I know when I get to work today, everybody's gonna be like, yo, so you're gonna sing any John Mayer songs then? I'm like, I doubt it." – Mario, [08:34]
• Critique of Mayer’s intellectualizing:
  "I think he's let it all go to his head. I think he's a fantastic musician... But I just. He gets on my nerves because I try to intellectualize the word. Shut up." – Panelist 2, [10:38]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:01] Intro to John Mayer interview controversy
• [02:33] Explanation of "hood pass" and N word discussion
• [03:14] Debate over authenticity and responsibility
• [04:33] Listener Paisley challenges “hood pass” language
• [05:54] Listener Tim on context and the N word
• [08:10] Listener Mario on personal impact as a fan
• [09:38] Panel reviews Mayer’s exact apology wording
• [10:19] Cast reflects on Mayer’s celebrity overshadowing his musicianship
• [10:38] Panelists critique Mayer's arrogance and urge him to focus on music

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains The Bert Show’s signature blend of real talk and lightheartedness, balancing critical discussion with humor and genuine listener engagement. Listeners and hosts speak candidly, expressing strong opinions and openness to different perspectives, while reinforcing the importance of language, responsibility, and social impact in public discourse.

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For those who haven't listened:
This episode provides a full breakdown of the John Mayer controversy, candid debates on race and language, and authentic reactions from both the cast and listeners. While rooted in pop culture, the conversation moves into deeper territory on privilege, intent vs. impact, and the evolving expectations placed on public figures.

Transcript

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[Commercial Announcer]

Get it the Bird show yeah, we

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

need to get into this interview with John Mayer that he's had with Playboy magazine recently because there's a ton of controversy going on with it and we're accustomed to John Mayer sort of talking about his relationships and getting into those. That's not anything new. He talks about Jessica Simpson and how he she's wild in bed in this interview with Playboy magazine, saying she's like a drug. He couldn't get enough of her.

[Radio Show Host]

Said she was what, sexual napalm.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Sexual napalm?

[Radio Show Host]

I don't even know what that means. Yeah, he's a songwriter, so it seems

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

to be co yeah, he says drugs aren't good for you and I bet I like him a lot. And she talks about her as a drug, but says really nice things about Jennifer Aniston. And he asked if he still loves Jennifer Aniston. He says yes, always. I'll be sorry that I didn't. It didn't last. In some ways I wish I could be with her, but I can't change the fact that I need to be 32. So maybe kind of a dig at the end, but he still is in love with Jennifer Aniston. But that's not like the controversial part. And later in the interview they asked do you throw do you blame black women? Throw themselves at you in a roundabout way. He calls his male parts a white supremacist. He compares them to a white supremacist, which leads into this whole racial comments that go on. And people are commenting on how he's a racist. In this interview, which is what I was getting to, people reacted to his answer and that he doesn't date black women. So they asked him the question saying that he doesn't date black women because he has a white supremacist genitals. John said, someone asked me the other day, what does it feel like to have a hood pass? And by the way, it's sort of a contradiction in terms because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a blank pass. And that's the.

[Radio Show Host]

You know what a hood passes. It's like, if you're a white person and you're accepted by black people, it's a hood pass.

[Caller Paisley]

Okay.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

Like you're part of the hood.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

But he.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

And then he said the N word. Pass.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

He said the N word pass. And use the full word. Like he didn't.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

Yeah, we can't go around it.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

I can't know.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

I can't physically say it.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Ever say that.

[Radio Show Host]

And he came out the next day and he's apologizing left and right for using it. What did he say? That it's just such a. It's such a sensitive word that he should have known better.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

He said, it's a shame that I did it because the point I was trying to make was that is the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it because I realized there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.

[Radio Show Host]

On one hand, I understand what John Mayer is trying to do, I think, and he's so quirky. It's very difficult to tell. And he's also so arrogant that it's very difficult to tell. Also is that he's going through this phase right now where he's going through 100% authenticity. He wants to say what he wants to say, and he just wants to be 100% truthful. So he's making all of these comments in different articles, and he's offending left and right. The truth is, you can't go your whole life with 100% authenticity. You have to have a filter and you have to have a governor on things you say. You are not allowed to say everything that's going through your mind.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

You can't say the. Well, and the thing also with the N word, there are people that can say that so easily, and there are people that just. I mean, it's like a choking reflex for me to even. I can't. I can't use it. And so I just, you know, I'm a little skeptical of people, especially white people, because we've had the argument about Black people using it, but for white people to have that roll off their tongue like that, I just think. I don't know. I just don't think that's cool at. Think an apology is going to make up for it?

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Definitely not. And then he actually apologized at this concert in Nashville, but actually teared up during the apology. So I don't know if it was sincere or not. I haven't checked out the video yet, but I am posting it [e-mail].

[Radio Show Host]

Good morning, Q100.

[Caller Paisley]

Hi, it's Paisley.

[Radio Show Host]

Hey, Paisley.

[Caller Paisley]

Hi. I just want to comment. I want to say hood pass. Don't use it, because the majority of black people are not from the hood, right? Yeah. So we don't. We don't know that hood path would be an actual good saying.

[Radio Show Host]

Yeah, it sounds like it's. It sounds offensive. Those two words together just sound offensive to me.

[Caller Tim]

I know.

[Caller Paisley]

Hood pass. I'm like, okay, that doesn't. If you tell me you have a hood pass, I don't know what that means because me and the people I know are not from the hood. You know, if you say we're accepted, you know, we can hang out with black people and, you know, I don't know. Hood is just way too much. Of course the N word pass is not going to be accepted because black people that I know don't consider themselves as N words.

[Radio Show Host]

Now, hood pass, I've only heard a couple of times. I have black friends that told me that I get a white person pass, which has never been offensive to me. But hood pass.

[Caller Paisley]

You know what the real saying is? You're an exception.

[Radio Show Host]

What do you mean?

[Caller Paisley]

You're an exception. Either way it goes, you're an exception.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Okay?

[Caller Paisley]

You're an exception. You, you, you. You can come through. You're an exception.

[Radio Show Host]

And it's a compliment. It's a compliment, right?

[Caller Paisley]

No, that's the politically correct way to say it.

[Radio Show Host]

Gotcha. All right, thank you very much.

[Caller Paisley]

Alrighty. Bye. Bye.

[Radio Show Host]

Appreciate it. Here is Tim. Good morning, Tim. You're on Q100.

[Caller Tim]

Hey, what's going on, guys?

[Radio Show Host]

What's up?

[Caller Tim]

Nothing much. I've never heard of the hood pass myself, but I have heard of a ghetto pass. And it's basically, you know, the same thing that John Mill was saying or whatever. And it's not. I'm not justifying it at all, but I've had, you know, friends of all races or whatever, and I've had white friends before in my past who have used that word, like, with me or whatever. When we're talking and it's been perfectly

[Radio Show Host]

fine, you have to be so close. Like this weekend we got into this conversation cause I was down in Miami with my friends Kenny and Dolvette. And for what we're talking about, it's important for me to say that they're both black. And we got into the N word conversation. They both said that we're all so tight that I could use the N word in referring to them. I could say that, but the word can't come out of my mouth. Yeah, I just can't do it.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

Say it.

[Caller Tim]

And I can understand that. You know, I understand your point completely. But to most guys, or most black guys, I can promise you, if you don't think of yourself that way, then it doesn't offend you if people use it in a non offensive manner. You know, I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, so I've been called that word a number of times. Not trying to be funny by white people before, you know, just growing up and remembering that, and that's when it's offensive. But if you have that specialized past, because it's a ghetto pass, hood pass, in past, white person pass, whatever you want to call it, then it can be okay. Because I don't think of myself as an N word. So if somebody said it to me, you know, one of my black friends or one of my close white friends would say it to me. And I know that it's just being said, you know, as a term between homeboys and between buddies, then it's fine with me. There's no problem.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

Well, as a white person, I think it's irresponsible for a white person. Like in your situation, Bert, if you said it, you're with your, you're with your pack, you're with your group of friends. John Mayer saying in an interview, it's more appropriate for, you know, a black one of a black artist to say, you know, be asked about John Mayer. He said, you know what? He gets that passion, then it's not offensive. But for John Mayer, you know, of course it's John Mayer arrogantly saying, well, you know what? Cause I've got that pass. And then on top of that saying

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

that the N word, pass, I think

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

it's irresponsible for any white person to say that word.

[Radio Show Host]

Hey, Mario, good morning.

[Caller Tim]

What's up guys?

[Caller Mario]

Love the show.

[Radio Show Host]

Thank you.

[Caller Tim]

Thank you.

[Caller Mario]

I'm a black guy from Mississippi, so, you know, it's like a double, double bad for me. But I love John Mayer. I grew up in Private schools and all that. So I had a bunch of white friends, and, you know, we would joke around a lot with race. You know, I would go to their house, and they were like, oh, we're great. The help's here. You know, and it was funny, you know, but I love John Mayer. But this is like, wow, you know, I know when I get to work today, everybody's gonna be like, yo, so you're gonna sing any John Mayer songs then? I'm like, I doubt it.

[Radio Show Host]

Would you. Will you continue to call yourself a fan after that?

[Caller Mario]

I don't know. It'd be tough because, I mean.

[Caller Paisley]

Yeah.

[Caller Mario]

Would it help if you saw an

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apology from him that looked completely sincere?

[Caller Mario]

Probably, maybe. But, I mean, I don't know. I mean, because that word, I mean, it's very, very powerful, especially for people who've seen some type of discrimination or issues around it. You know, me being from Mississippi, I was raised in a completely different type of family to where we were encouraged to be stronger and persevere through all of that, you know, because my parents went through it so bad and my grandparents. So, you know. But I'll tell you this much. Every time a white person has said that around me, there's been a fight, you know, it's not like something you would just look over lightly, you know?

[Radio Show Host]

What exactly was the apology? Verbatim? What was his apology?

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Verbatim?

[Radio Show Host]

Did you hear that guy calling in our last caller, Mario?

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[Radio Show Host]

I know, because I'm on the radio right now.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

There's actually two apologies. The first apology was for the racist remarks. He goes, it started as an attempt to not let the waves of criticism get to me, but it's gotten out of hand, and I've created somewhat of a monster. I wanted to be a blues guitar player and a singer and a songwriter, not a shock jock. I don't have the stomach for it. And then he apologized for using the N word. Saying. And it's such a shame that I did, because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I would be intellectualizing using it, because I realized that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.

[Radio Show Host]

You know what? The. Not the core problem here, but one of the big problems for John Mayer now is that we have forgotten that he's one of the best musicians of our time. He's become so absorbed with celebrity and controversy and the celebrity of being a celebrity that you forget that he's a musician and one of the great ones.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Agreed.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

Well, he's let you forget that. Like one of the reasons he gets on my nerves is because of. I think he's let it all go to his head. I think he's a fantastic musician. Yes, his music is brilliant. I've never disputed that. But I just. He gets on my nerves because I try to intellectualize the word. Shut up. I mean, you're not an intellectual if you even use the word. So quit giving yourself so much damn credit.

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Stop talking.

[Radio Show Panelist 1]

Play the guitar.

[Radio Show Panelist 2]

Yes, exactly.

[Radio Show Host]

You're on the vert show.

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