Vault: She's upset about what Jeff said

Summary

---

The Bert Show – “Vault: She’s Upset About What Jeff Said”

Date: August 11, 2026
Cast: Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, Jeff + Listeners
Listener Caller: Sherry

---

Episode Overview

This episode centers around a listener complaint about a racially charged comment made by Jeff on a previous broadcast. Sherry, a longtime listener, calls in upset about what she perceives as an inappropriate attempt at humor involving a sensitive racial term. The cast discusses context, intent, and differing boundaries of what’s acceptable on air. The segment explores race, humor, radio responsibility, and listener feedback, highlighting both the challenges and importance of discussing sensitive topics in public forums.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sherry's Call and Concern ([01:16] – [03:02])

• Sherry, a regular listener, calls in upset about a comment made on the previous Friday’s “Best Of” show by Jeff.
• The Incident: Sherry describes hearing a segment where callers discussed an older family member using “porch monkeys” for children. According to her, Jeff joked “what she should have said was mahogany monkeys” before a commercial break.
• Her Reaction:
  • Sherry shares her distress, stating:

    “It really upset me because I listened to you guys all the time...I waited in my car for a while to see if someone would come back and he would apologize or...that never happened.” ([01:31]–[02:20])

  • She insists that such topics are not a joke and the attempt at levity was deeply inappropriate, even if unintentional.

2. Cast’s Initial Response ([03:02] – [03:56])

• The cast (especially Bert and Kristin) acknowledges Sherry’s concern but tries to provide context for the joke.
  • Kristin offers a sarcastic remark to lighten the tension:

    “Well, it’s part of our campaign to bring back really old Southern racist slang...just not catching on as we had hoped.” ([03:02])

  • Bert explains the conversation was referencing intern Brandon, who was called “Mahogany,” and callers shared their own stories. He suggests Jeff was trying to lighten a heavy segment before a commercial ([03:19]–[03:43]).
• The importance of context is emphasized; without hearing the whole segment, they agree the comment sounds worse.

3. Discussion on Humor, Race, and Sensitivity ([03:56] – [06:37])

• Sherry persists, reiterating:

  “Even with your explanation, it's still inappropriate.” ([03:56])

• Bert counters:

  "For a very long time, people wouldn't talk about any of this stuff. ... I believe that Atlanta is such a racially fractured city is that nobody wants to talk about race...We're not afraid to talk about those issues...you have to be able to ask the ignorant questions of each other in order to get the truth." ([04:04]–[04:49])

• Sherry disagrees, stressing the lived experience of being on the receiving end of discrimination:

  “If you haven’t been discriminated against...you can't make light out of some things, it’s not your place to try to make light out of that.” ([04:49])

• The cast acknowledges her feelings are valid, and highlight that the line between appropriate and inappropriate is often blurred.
  • Kristin: “It's a legit complaint. ... I'm glad you called.” ([06:00])
• Sherry clarifies her intent was not to create division:

  “Don’t make assumptions about me. My husband is Caucasian, and I’m Black, and we have two beautiful biracial children. ... At least listen and think about it.” ([06:07]–[06:16])

4. Reflection and Acknowledgement ([06:37] – [06:58])

• Bert reiterates that different people will have different thresholds for offense; for Sherry, they crossed a line.
• They thank her for calling and expressing her perspective, noting, “We appreciate you calling.” ([06:57])
• The exchange ends amicably, but with no clear resolution.

5. Second Caller Responds ([07:12] – [08:18])

• Shannon, another listener, calls in to offer a different perspective.
  • She feels that open conversation, even about difficult issues, is essential:

    “In a way, I understand where the caller's coming from, but it's kind of people like her that keep racism around, you know, because of the fact that they are afraid to talk about those things that everybody finds so sensitive. You have to talk about it. ... Otherwise, how are we ever supposed to move past it?” ([07:17]–[07:46])

  • She acknowledges that for someone hearing the isolated comment, it may be shocking.
  • Shannon’s primary issue is that Sherry fixates on the one-off joke rather than the longer conversation ([07:55]).
• The hosts reiterate they post full conversations online so listeners can get full context.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Sherry:

  “It’s not a joke. And I didn’t think that was funny. ... It was offensive.” ([01:31]–[04:49])

• Bert:

  “...you have to be able to ask the ignorant questions of each other in order to get the truth.” ([04:04])

• Kristin:

  “She’s not seeing a lot of humor in any of this.” ([03:16])

• Bert:

  “That line is blurred for a lot of people...we just went over a line for you. Now, for others, it's not going to be that big a deal, but it touched you. And look, your complaint’s legit.” ([06:37])

• Sherry:

  “I'm not expecting you guys to be perfect, but at least listen and think about it.” ([06:16])

• Shannon:

  “It's kind of people like her that keep racism around...you have to talk about it. ... Otherwise, how are we ever supposed to move past it?” ([07:17]–[07:46])

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:16] – Sherry joins the show, voices her concern
• [03:02] – Kristin's sarcasm, cast tries to explain context
• [03:56]–[05:54] – Deeper exchange between Sherry and the cast about humor and racial boundaries
• [06:07]–[06:16] – Sherry explains her family context and clarifies her intent
• [07:12]–[08:18] – Shannon calls in with a contrasting view on discussing race

---

Tone & Takeaways

• Tone: Respectful but tense. The cast tries to defend intent while also giving space to Sherry’s feelings. There’s a mix of sincere engagement, discomfort, and attempts at humor.
• Core Themes:
  • Context is crucial with sensitive topics, especially on public broadcasts.
  • Humor and intent don’t erase the impact of racially charged language.
  • Open conversation about race is important, but everyone has a different threshold for what’s acceptable.
• No “resolution” is reached. The call ends with mutual respect but ongoing disagreement—a reflection of many real-world conversations on race and humor.

---

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch upfront payment

[B]

of $45 for three months, $90 for

[C]

six months or $180 or 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes

[B]

and fees Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See Terms what if the freshest thing you summer didn't come from a store? Meet Garden Garden is the smart indoor home growing system that grows flavorful greens, herbs, fruit and vegetables right in your kitchen. No backyard, no experience, no grocery run required. Garden automatically balances water and light so nutrient dense produce is always within reach. Heading out this summer, Kelby Garden's AI Plant assistant keeps your garden thriving while you're away so you can come home to a harvest with garden. Your lettuce isn't days old from a truck. It's alive, crisp and inches from your plate. Fuel your summer from the inside out. Visit mygarden.com that's my G-A-R-Y-N.com the Birch

[D]

show all right, Sherry here, upset with us about something that happened on the Best of on Friday. Good morning, Sherry. You are on the Birch Show.

[B]

Good morning.

[E]

Morning.

[D]

How are you?

[E]

I'm doing fine. How are you guys?

[D]

Good. What's going on?

[E]

I was calling because I was listening to the radio on my way to work on Friday and I came in. I'm not sure how the conversation started or who the intern or whoever the other guy was, but someone called in and they made a comment or they were telling you guys about an older grandmother in the family that makes inappropriate comments for their children. And so right before it cut out to commercial, I believe it was Jeff, excuse me if I'm wrong, made a comment because I think they said the grandmother called the children some kind of monkeys or something, or porch monkeys. And so Jeff goes, what she should have said was mahogany monkeys. And I was just really disgusted by that. One is not, I mean, the guy was calling in to tell you guys about something awful or something that an ignorant person, you know, didn't know better or I don't know if it's because she was older, I'm not sure. But it's not a Joke. And I didn't think that was funny. And it kind of, you know, it really upset me because I listened to you guys all the time. And initially I said, well, I'm just not going to listen anymore if he's going to say something like that. And I waited in my car for a while to see if someone would come back and he would apologize or. But that never happened. And I didn't know that you guys weren't on the radio on Friday. And so if it's something that was replayed, I was just wondering, why wasn't it cut out?

[F]

Well, it's part of our campaign to bring back really old Southern racist slang. We've been. Something we've been working on for better part of a year now. It's just not catching on as we had hoped. But we're still trying to.

[D]

She's not seeing a lot of humor in any of this.

[E]

Yeah, that's not funny.

[D]

I think the base of the conversation was our intern, Brandon. Yeah, Somebody had called him Mahogany, and he said, like, that was the worst thing that you could call. And then others were calling in and saying the exact same thing. Like, if you think that's bad, listen to what I've heard. And I think Jeff was just trying to lighten it up. Before he went into commercials, he was

[C]

referring back to the previous conversation with Brandon that he was called Mahogany.

[D]

Yeah, it was part of a bigger conversation. So if you missed the first part of it, I could understand how you would be totally offended and shocked by the last 30 seconds. But it's one of those things, and I think it's up online, so you could go listen to the whole conversation up online.

[E]

Okay. But even with your explanation, it's still inappropriate.

[F]

Well, I mean, conversation was something that

[E]

you could make light of.

[D]

Well, here's how, you know, here's where I will disagree with you on this, and we've talked a lot about this on the show, is that I think for a very long time, people wouldn't talk about any of this stuff. And I think it's part of the problem. Why I believe that Atlanta is such a racially fractured city is that nobody wants to talk about race. Nobody. Like white people aren't exactly sure what the terms are that are really offensive and ones that we. That white people can use or cannot use. So we're not afraid to talk about those issues. As a black person, I can hear how you're shocked when you hear stuff like that, but we think that. That you have to be able to ask the Ignorant questions of each other in order to get the truth.

[E]

It's not a fact of asking a question. I'm just. I don't. Maybe you'll go back later and you'll think about this. I'm saying that if you haven't been discriminated against, or even if you have, or that you can't make light out of some things, it's not your place to try to make light out of that. It's not. That wasn't funny. It was offensive.

[C]

It definitely is an offensive conversation if you don't hear the whole thing. That's why I think.

[E]

Not the conversation, just him making a joke about it before going to commercial.

[C]

You gotta hear the horror.

[E]

I wasn't the only person that thought that was inappropriate.

[C]

Sherry. I really think you feel differently about it. If you can go back and you can listen to the whole thing, because you're hearing it as a comment completely out of context and where it originated from.

[D]

And I will say that you're the only one that called about it.

[E]

Well, I couldn't get through on Friday to try to call about it. And I didn't realize that you. You guys weren't there. And I heard that the guy called and he was like, that's something his grandmother had said. And I realized that Jeff was trying to make light of it or that he probably didn't mean any harm. I'm just saying, can you think about it? It was not appropriate.

[F]

She's. There's nothing we're gonna say.

[C]

Her concern. I don't think she's being out of line.

[D]

It's a legit complaint. I mean, if that's really how you feel about it, then it's. That's. I'm glad you called.

[E]

And, I mean, don't make assumptions about me. My husband is Caucasian, and I'm black, and we have two beautiful biracial children.

[F]

Nobody made. Nobody made any assumption about you.

[E]

I just. I just wanted to make sure that you understood that I wasn't trying to create. Because I know you mentioned, like, divisions and making light of stuff. There's just a line. Like, you don't. You don't want to. I won't say hurt people, but you should do your best. Nobody's perfect. I'm not expecting you guys to be perfect, but at least listen and think about it.

[D]

I think that that line is blurred for a lot of people. And there are times where we talk about that, that that blurred line on the show, and some are going to have a very, very, very difficult time confronting that blurred line. And we just went over a line for you. Now, for others, it's not going to be that big a deal, but it touched you. And look, your complaints. Legit. It's a complaint.

[C]

We appreciate you calling.

[E]

Well, you guys have a good day.

[D]

Thanks for calling. Yeah, I don't think there was gonna be any resolution there, you know? You know what I'm saying?

[C]

Well, I think she just wanted people to think about. It's not funny. It's not funny to, you know, to her, to other black people. I don't see what was wrong with that.

[D]

Here is Shannon. Good morning. You were on the Burt show. Hi.

[E]

Hi. I am. And avid. I'm sorry, I'm out of breath. I ran downstairs to get my phone. Just. I'm an out of breath, running downstairs listener, and I, I. In a way, I understand where the caller's coming from, but it's kind of people like her that keep racism around, you know, because of the fact that they are afraid to talk about those things that everybody finds so sensitive. You have to talk about it. You have to get it out there. Otherwise, how are we ever supposed to move past it?

[D]

And I think that's kind of been our philosophy about it also. But if you hear it for the very first time and it's not brought up in the context that you're used to hearing, then it is very shocking.

[E]

Very true. But she still seems to be stuck on that one comment, and you guys told her over and over again, we'll listen to the whole conversation. It's not the whole conversation that she's worried about. It's that one comment, and that's what's bothering me.

[D]

Yeah. And on most days, we post most of the show up [e-mail] so if you want to go listen to that whole conversation, it's up there right now. All right, Shannon, thanks a lot. Appreciate your call.

[E]

Thanks. Have a good day.

[D]

You too.

[E]

Bye.

[B]

Bye.

[F]

The Burch show.

[G]

The real recovery starts after the final whistle. And that's where Minky Couture comes in. From leading Relating Ole Miss to the pros. Jackson Dart knows peak performance means knowing how to cum down, too. That's why he teamed up with Minky Couture to create a collection as tough as his game and as soft as his downtime. When the crowd is gone and your body is still buzzing, Minky Couture is the blanket built for the moments after the game, takes everything out of you. Shop the Jackson Dart Collection now at minkycouture. Dot com. That's M I N K Y C O-U-T-U-R-E.com. minky Couture.