Ryan Clark Says He Was Targeted at ESPN + The Usher Fan Everyone's Debating

Summary

The Latest with Loren LoRosa – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Ryan Clark Says He Was Targeted at ESPN + The Usher Fan Everyone's Debating
Air date: July 27, 2026
Podcast: The Latest with Loren LoRosa — The Black Effect Podcast Network & iHeartPodcasts

Overview

This episode focuses on two trending conversations shaking up pop culture and sports media:

• Ryan Clark’s candid revelations about his controversial exit from ESPN.
• The viral debate over a reserved fan pulled onstage by Usher (and Chris Brown) during their Nashville concert.

Loren brings her vibrant, in-the-moment tone, mixing personal reflection with industry insight and audience engagement.

---

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Loren’s Mindset & Life Reflections (02:27–17:11)

• Feeling "In Between": Loren reflects on her weekend spent resting and disconnecting, and her ongoing journey to find balance between her hustle and her need for quality downtime.
  • She’s moved past feeling guilty for taking breaks, seeing rest as strategic, not lazy:

    "I've gotten way past the feeling of feeling guilty because I'm taking time for myself... now I feel like it's more of strategy." (03:18)

• Lessons from Church & Belonging:
  • Loren shares a segment from her mentor Ms. Lori Hay’s sermon on belonging and “the bait” that keeps people trapped in imposter syndrome or self-doubt.
  • Ms. Lori Hay asks listeners to consider:

    "What's the bait that he's using? ...I want you to identify what's the bait he's been using? What has he been using to try and get you to be this person that is just always in control." (07:27)

• Personal Growth & Self-Worth:
  • Loren connects this message to her own growth and changing relationship with work, noting how success and self-worth become intertwined, especially as a high-achieving Black woman in media.

    "It's masked in success. It's masked and always think you got to be right. It's masking so much stuff...I've literally always been just as good as my last story, all of my or my last job, all of my life." (15:35)

  • She admires figures like Charlemagne the God for being able to celebrate wins but also enjoy downtime, contrasting her own building phase with his established career.

---

2. Deep Dive: Ryan Clark’s Exit from ESPN (27:07–35:02)

Background Recap (27:07–28:59):

• Ryan Clark, retired NFL player and celebrated football analyst, was suddenly let go by ESPN after over a decade.
• Rumors surfaced, suggesting he was notified during a TV break; ESPN reportedly wanted to control the narrative rather than have Clark learn the news elsewhere.

Clark's Emotional Perspective (29:24–31:29):

• Ryan Clark opens up on The Pivot podcast, expressing shock at his firing and hinting at an underlying agenda:

  "I truly thought for the first time in my life, I worked so hard at something. I was so good at something...that they couldn't fire me, that they wouldn't fire me..." (29:32)
  "What makes me a little bit sad about myself is I did adjust who I was to try to keep my job...I couldn't be too black." (31:41–32:21)

• Clark describes feeling invisible in company PR—even when he won diversity awards, ESPN quietly omitted them, making him question if there was a “target on his back.”

Loren’s Commentary (31:29–35:02):

• Loren lauds Clark’s vulnerability but wishes he’d stripped away even more layers; she’s looking for the “real, unfiltered tea” about ESPN’s culture and his experience.
  • She points out complexities: some see Clark as performative in his activism, others expect even deeper honesty.

  "Let's take all of the gear off. Let's derobe...and get into what he's actually been experiencing at ESPN on an even more deeper, detailed level." (32:44)

• Loren describes conflicting reports about Clark’s exit—her own reporting indicated he was asked not to return from break, while TMZ suggested it was voluntary. Clark himself disputed TMZ’s account on X/Twitter.
• She emphasizes the need to discuss how Black professionals face unique pressures, like having to modulate Blackness or activism to keep corporate jobs.

---

3. Viral Moment: The Usher Fan Debate (39:02–43:58)

What Happened (39:02–41:21):

• During an Usher (and Chris Brown) show in Nashville, fan called onstage appeared reserved and didn’t participate in the usual serenade.
  • Usher comments on stage:

    "I don't think she wants to be up here." (39:13)

• Loren describes usual expectations—fans onstage with Usher/Chris Brown usually play along, dance, or sing back, making it a spectacle.

Backlash and Fan’s Response (41:21–41:35):

• The fan, a nurse from Chattanooga, reveals she was harassed while exiting the stadium:

  "Even people harassing me. While I was walking out of stadium...‘you wasted the opportunity, sis.’" (41:21)

• Fan’s aunt says she kept it “cute” out of respect for her boyfriend and child. Some online say she shouldn’t have gone onstage if she didn’t want to interact.

Loren’s Take (41:35–43:58):

• Loren sympathizes but agrees with the internet: if you get on stage, take part in the moment; otherwise, “why get up there?”
• Notes this is now a “social pressure” moment—future “Usher girls” will feel added heat to perform for the crowd.

  "Now you gotta go up because the public who ain't attending the concert...we've only been seeing this through those viral moments." (42:38)

• Loren also notes the legal and social risks for artists bringing random fans onstage in 2026—she personally wouldn’t do it as an artist.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Blackness at Work:

  "I knew, for lack of a better word, I couldn't be too black."
  — Ryan Clark (32:21)

• On Rest & Hustle:

  "I've gotten way past the feeling of feeling guilty because I'm taking time for myself...now I feel like it's more of strategy."
  — Lauren LaRosa (03:18)

• On Online Pressure:

  "I think the next Young lady who goes viral from this Usher concert is some pressure on her. Now she gotta go up because the public who ain't attending the concert. We've only been seeing this through those viral moments."
  — Lauren LaRosa (42:38)

• On Belonging and Imposter Syndrome:

  "What you believe is what you feed or what you feed is what you believe..."
  — Ms. Lori Hay (06:46)

---

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | | --------- | ---------------------------------- | | 02:27 | Loren's Reflections on Balance & Life Changes | | 06:42 | Clip: Ms. Lori Hay on Belonging & Bait | | 15:35 | Loren on Self-worth, Success & Pressure | | 17:11 | Reflections on Influence, Platform, and Purpose | | 27:07 | Ryan Clark’s Perspective on ESPN Exit – Interview Begins | | 29:24 | Clark on Seeing the Signs & Invisible Achievements | | 31:41 | Clark on Adjusting Identity at Work, “Not Too Black” | | 39:02 | Usher/Chris Brown Nashville Show – Viral Fan Incident | | 41:21 | Fan’s Reaction to Online Harassment | | 42:38 | Loren on Social Media Pressure Following the Incident |

---

Summary

• Loren uses this episode to encourage listeners to seek balance, question transactional ideas of belonging, and acknowledge the cultural and racial dynamics at play in high-profile careers.
• The deep-dive into Ryan Clark’s ESPN controversy exposes how media narratives, corporate culture, and racial identity intersect in sports media.
• The viral Usher fan debate highlights social expectations in the age of social media—how even light-hearted pop culture moments become complicated under public scrutiny.
• Throughout, Loren’s tone is introspective, direct, and community-minded, always looping lessons back to her listeners.

---

For those seeking an authentic, quick-hit pop culture analysis with personal and cultural resonance, this episode of The Latest with Loren LoRosa delivers insight, relatability, and conversation starters for work, social feeds, and beyond.

Transcript

[Lauren LaRosa]

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[Lauren LaRosa]

I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything. And everybody knows you don't lie about that right. Lauren came in hot. Hey, y'. All, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa. And this is another episode of the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversation that shakes the room, baby. So today and every day here on the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. You guys know we check in behind the scenes of the grind. So back here, kicking off another work week, how am I feeling today? I am feeling in between. Hmm. That's a good. Those are good two words to describe how I'm feeling today. It's like I'm feeling very well rested. I took the weekend to just do that, spend some time with family as well too. But I'm learning. Y' all know I'll be in and out of learning how to disconnect or not, but I'm feeling in between because I feel like I had such a great weekend disconnecting. And then it's like, y' all know Monday is like such a big news day. If you don't know it is. Monday is a really big news day because there's so much that happens over the weekend. Even though the weekend is typically slower, a lot more things happen during the week because you have like, you know, different filings, everything from divorces to, you know, if cases are going down. Civil criminal things just move a bit faster during the week. But Sunday came after I spent Friday and Saturday just really relaxing. I told you guys in the last episode, you know, I developed this plan of, like, here's how I'mma get things. You know, I'm trying to, like, get a well oiled machine running. And I feel like if I can do it myself internally and personally first, that's what will reflect in what I'm able to do and articulate across my team, which is really important to me now that I'm like, working with people on a daily basis. On a daily basis as a team. I want to make sure that, like, we're actually progressing and executing and getting things done. And I know it starts from the top, so I'm in between because it's like, all right, you take this little break. I've gotten way past the feeling of feeling guilty because I'm taking time for myself, whether it's I stop answering my phone for an hour or two or I decide that I'm going to say no to attending some things, whatever the case may be. I used to feel really, really guilty about that stuff, but now I don't. Now I feel like, it's more of strategy. Like, where do I need to be and why do I need to be there? Because it is important for me to be outside and on the ground right now. But, like, I think that there's a very much good quality over quant conversation when it comes to picking and choosing those things. But the in between comes in because it's like after you do all that, after you take the break, a part of me, I'm used to operating at such a. I don't take those breaks type of, you know, feeling that, like, I'm all. I woke up this morning feeling like, ugh, am I fully prepared for the day? Am I fully prepared for the week? I didn't spend the weekend basking and, you know, being overthrown and all of the work things and all the stuff. I probably took calls this weekend. I was really intentional because I felt like last week the wake up time was kicking my behind, so I wanted to be able to, like, catch up with myself a bit. But, yeah, you just feel in between because what you're used to doing, I. I really. What you're used to doing. Let me finish the thought. What you're used to doing, you're no longer doing. So your body, your mind, everybody around you is used to you operating in a certain way. And then you start to change that, but everything around you may not change right away. So you're kind of in this in between space of like, here's what I'm trying to get to, here's the balance I'm trying to get to, and here's what I'm coming from. But I'm taking it to church again in the check in, my mentor, Ms. Lori Hay, she spoke at my church Seeds of Greatness over the weekend. And she talked about, like, belonging and basically what you believe is what you feed or what you feed is what you believe type of thing, right? Like, let's take a listen to a clip from Ms. Laura Hayes about the idea of belonging. Kind of like the fitting in conversation and like, almost like imposter syndrome too. Let's take a listen.

[Ms. Lori Hay]

How many of y' all experienced some beasts with Eve every now and then?

[Fred Armisen]

Again,

[Ms. Lori Hay]

That was until I kept reading and I read a little further and it said she wasn't just enticed by the fruit, she was enticed by knowing. And then I felt conviction because I don't know if you're like me, but I went through a season of I gotta know, God, I gotta know how you gonna work this out, God, I gotta Know how you gonna come through? Tell me. Tell me now. And then I bite the fruit. And now I'm trying to fix it.

[Lauren LaRosa]

What's your bait?

[Ms. Lori Hay]

What is that thing that you bite every time that the enemy is in your ear saying something? Did he really say it that way? Did he really say you have to attend church? Did he really say you should serve? Did he really say you should give to the church? They just want your money. What's the bait that he's using? I was having a conversation with my husband, and I was like, ugh, I kind of don't even want to say what my bait is. And then I realized, oh, you almost got me. Because what I thought was I was keeping a secret from the enemy if I didn't say it. But he already knows because he been using it. I'm the one that was ignorant. I'm the one that couldn't recognize how he was using it. I'm the one that noticed it. He knows you come for my children. Oh, my gosh, I'm a different person. And when I recognize that thing, and I said, ooh, I've been taking the bait. I've been concerned about how it was going to happen. I've been worried about it. Identify with yourself. Now, I'm a teacher, so by trade and by calling as you're sitting there, and if you're taking notes even in your head, in your phone, I want you to identify what's the bait he's been using? What has he been using to try and get you to be this person that is just always in control. This person that is anxious about everything. This person that is depressed about everything. This person that is controlling to the point that your kids don't even want to be around you because you so controlling. Your husband, your wife don't want to be around you because you got to be in control of everything instead of you saying, hold on, baby, let's go to God and see what we going to do. And we're letting the enemy in our ear, and he's saying all these things to us, and we're just allowing it to happen.

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[Ms. Lori Hay]

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[Lauren LaRosa]

So I was watching this sermon over the weekend and I was like trying to figure out like I knew that it hit me at several different places in my life and whenever I'm like watching sermons or even if I'm just listening to people speak or in conversations with people, I always walk away thinking about what I actually have happened on a day to day in my life and what God is bringing to my front door about that and why, like, what is the message? How is it supposed to hit me? How's it supposed to land with me? Supposed to smack me in my face with something, but what is it? So from her conversation just in me, you know, trying to find balance and what I've been talking to you guys a lot is about, a lot is change. I feel things about myself changing even though I can't articulate everything. So as I'm trying to figure out what those things are that are changing, why they're changing, and how to incorporate it in my day to day and incorporate it in people I interact with and. Or not anymore, a lot of times you just kind of feel like, well, who are you to be doing all this? And it's like, but who are you not to be? And that's what I've been having a conversation about with myself. It's like there's nothing wrong with you being like, I'mma take a weekend and just enjoy life like you taking 48 hours to just breathe, eat some crabs with your family, get off your phone. And I've been really good about this. I've done this for at least two weekends in a row. I'm proud of myself. Even Sunday morning for breakfast, I was like, me and my boyfriend went to breakfast and I was like, let's do a no phones breakfast. And he was like, you are going to die without that phone. Like, you gonna be itching by the end of breakfast. And I was like, no, let's do it. I just think now I'm realizing how much more valuable thought, opinion, workflow and execution is at a high level when you really take the time for yourself to understand who you are in a situation and to really understand that you belong in a situation no matter what you can or can't produce. I've literally always been just as good as my last story, all of my or my last job, all of my life. And that's so crazy for me to say out loud, but when I was listening to Ms. Hayes talk about belonging and she was talking about this thing that she was, you know, fighting with herself about admitting out loud and fighting with admitting out loud because, like, you don't want the devil to hear that and be able to lean in and just do more with it. And I think that's why I've never really talked about it as well. It's masked in success. It's masked and always think you got to be right. It's masking so much stuff. I was sitting and just downloading so much and I'm like, girl, you've been operating as such a. I always have to put points on the board forever, Literally forever. And a lot of that is fear. Like, you know, for me, it's a lot of I want to be able to, like, make sure I'm financially straight. I want to make sure that I'm able to do things for myself that even like my mom couldn't do, my grandmother couldn't do. I want to make sure they're good as they get older in age and the things that they've worked for, you know, they're living off of and they need things replenished. I want to be able to, like, really be comfortable and enjoy my children and my family when I get to that point.

[Ms. Lori Hay]

And.

[Lauren LaRosa]

And for me, the idea of that was always a number, like a money number. And then I heard this Ms. And I mean, and so much in My life has been changing so fast recently, and I think I've been really having to get in tune with myself because I don't know what God is preparing me for y', all, but I'm trying to tell y'.

[Ms. Lori Hay]

All.

[Lauren LaRosa]

It's so weird. It's like being on a platform where you're so available to everyone else will make you. You're in taking so much, you're intaking so much criticism, so much thought, so much opinions, so much reaction to things. And you're also. Well, for me, because I'm a producer, I'm also a part of the nucleus that is creating that, right? Like, creating the reaction, creating the thoughts, creating the news sometimes. And you get caught up on that of like. Like, that's how I show improve. Like, the reaction of other people, the emotional invoking of other people. And the more I'm around people who operate at a high level and actually enjoy their life and the level that they're at, I realize that, like, it's not just about your last job, your last win, your last W. In the chat, like, I literally think back to Charlemagne. So last Thursday, July was the date. Last Thursday, July. Last Thursday, July 23, it was announced that Charlamagne will be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is amongst 32 people who were selected out of hundreds of people, including, you know, Keke Palmer, Raven Simone, Lil Wayne, Grandmaster Flash, Idris Elba. Like, you know, he's a part of this great class of people who are going to do something as major as receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And I remember when I got the news alert about that because I subscribed to every platform you can imagine via my phone. And then, you know, families putting it in group text and our ep, Eddie sent it to me, the Breakfast Club executive producer sent it to me to make sure we, you know, got it to talk about in the show the next day. Just making sure I saw it and I remember my first thought was, he's so excited right now, just about enjoying his summer with his family. He keeps calling it a dopamine rush, but like, you know, being out at Jay Z and seeing him excited there and then, you know, taking weekend, you know, staycations away with his family and his daughter is about to go to college soon and, you know, prom and all these things happen. Like this summer for him, going to go see Jeezy and Mary with his wife and having a date weekend this summer. I've literally said to him, like, I love this little summer you having. You outside, you having a good time, like, you are really enjoying your life. And for me, I know right now I'm in a building phase. Like, Charlotte made 200 million up. All right? I'm in a building phase. I'm in a different phase of my life where right now, what I'm doing, and I do enjoy a lot of it, I've had to teach myself even that, to enjoy things as they're happening, even though I'm on such, you know, I'm boots on the ground right now. I'm really. I'm in the thick of the grind, and I enjoy that. But what I've had to talk myself through is you're not prevailing through the grind. You're not surviving to learn how to live, because this is just because your last story was great. You're surviving, and you're learning now how to live because that is what God already had destined for you. You're in this room. You. You know, on this platform, this podcast, you have the Latest with Lauren LaRosa and these listeners that download. Because it's above you, girl. So you know my check in today. How am I really feeling? How are y' all really feeling? And if anybody's going through that, like, phase of life where I don't know if it's change or if I'm getting older, I don't know what it is, but I have just been looking for, like, the deeper purpose of, like, my existence. Not, like, oh, my God, what is my existence on this earth? Like, you know, like, not all of that. Like, you know, how people think God and think the universe? Like, I'm not all, like, floaty like that. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that I've really been having a conversation with myself about, like, my belonging and questioning why I think I have to give to belong. Like, why is that transactional in my mind? And what. And as that changes for me and I become firmer in, like, no, this is like, I'm here, like, and I'm here because I do what I need to do to be here. What that looks like for me as far as, like, you know, how it is portrayed in my work. So that's where I've been at with it. And that's the kind of, like, middle point in between point that I'm telling you guys about. Because, like, even taking a break and just being able to enjoy certain things, I. I used to always feel like going back home to Delaware when I lived in LA was like, so grounding for me, like I would, I would leave and I'd be motivated to get back to la, motivated to get back to work, motivated all these things. But now it' like I leave Delaware and I'm motivated to get back to work and I'm motivated to get, you know, to all the things. But I leave and I'm, and I leave family and not even just Delaware, but like any interactions with people that like are in my life that like I love and I love to hear from and I love to have conversations with thinking about so much more substance of things like what I told you guys with Charlamagne. Like to me the one of the most flyest things about him receiving that Walk of Fame star announcement last week was the fact that I knew in real life he wasn't even caught up off all that. He was literally, he's just been so excited to live life and experience things in real time. And as I'm learning to be a personality and I'm watching, you know, Charlamagne envy, you know, just navigate like me and Jess are literally here learning from them. And I say here because I'm in the Breakfast Club studio recording this podcast. I watch how like that real life goes into everything goes across everything that they do. Now this brings me to where we gonna go in the latest today.

[Sprite Advertiser]

Yo, I was scrolling through the Sprite Living track list the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. It was wild because records like California Love still not a player and back then are so much more than words in songs. They're moments, they're memories, they're snapshots of where hip hop was and where it's going. That's what Sprite gets. They spent over 40 years celebrating artists who define the culture and now they're turning the conversation over to the fans. And if you're like me, the real fun is getting into the why. Why does this song matter? Why did this line hit? Why did it change hip hop forever? Now, I can't promise you any answers, but with Sprite you'll have a good time figuring it out. Check out the full Sprite Living track list and breakdown the stories behind your favorite bars@livingtracklist. Genius.com this is the sprite Living track list. Obey your thirst.

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Exactly. Best switch I ever made.

This is just one reason to join T Mobile this summer. There are 250 reasons. Find yours

Savings based on the value of benefits included with experience beyond like entertainment and one year year of AAA Classic and DashPass on us. Benefits may require activation C Plan for details get $100 via virtual prepaid MasterCard with eligible ported no cash access and expires in six months. Issued by Sunrise Banks and a member FDIC. Allow eight weeks.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up, y'?

[Kerry Brownstein]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the host of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from Together and I heart women's sports because, let's

[Sam J]

be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.

[Ari Chambers]

So Kelsey Finler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.

[Sam J]

My first thought is just like, what's up with the snacks?

[Lauren LaRosa]

Like, what are we eating?

[Ari Chambers]

The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire

[Sam J]

timeline and the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka.

[Sam J]

Shout outs to you, Naomi, you get the Palm.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Naomi, you get the Palm for that.

[Sam J]

Because we're not just interested in what happened, we're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans.

[Fred Armisen]

Kerry Brownstein and Fred Armisen here, you

[Kerry Brownstein]

know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candace, Nina and Lance, Spike and yes, the chicken.

[Fred Armisen]

We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves. To tell you about Podlandia. AO rewatch our brand new podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Each week we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning. Breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process.

[Fred Armisen]

How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it and

[Kerry Brownstein]

we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest Stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Fred Armisen]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvised, not just words, but a song, a melody.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Well, I thought he was gonna write.

[Sprite Advertiser]

I thought you were all gonna write a song.

[Fred Armisen]

I remember you thinking that.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Listen to Podlandia Ayo rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Because as we get into the latest, y' all know, we get into the conversations that shake the room. And I want to get into a conversation right now that Ryan Clark had on his podcast, the Pivot. He's there with the guys over at the Pivot, and he is finally talking about what went down with espn. Now, I do wish that it had been a bit sooner. I feel like some of the stuff that I've been seeing on social media, I don't know, I just. I don't like the theatrics around something that I feel like could be such a great teachable moment. I don't know, I just. I'm not here for the performative stuff now. Love Ryan Clark, though, and I. And everything that I know that, like, it is his for him. He feels like it's his mission to stand for, like, all things black, black women, like, you know, all of that. But I just thought that the conversation that he was going to have on the Pivot about this moment with ESPN was going to be a very real and honest conversation about what the hell is really going on over there at espn. And I do think that he got pretty honest. He definitely got really vulnerable. He ended up breaking down in tears. But I don't know, I just feel like it just. I can't even really put into words what I was expecting from. Let's get into the conversation. You guys make your own synopsis for. So for background, for those of you guys who do not remember, Ryan Clark, you know, former NFL champion, also analyst, you know, he hosts the Pivot, which is a podcast, but he was also on NFL Live, and he had been working with ESPN for over a decade following his football career, was recently laid off from espn. Now, when this happened, I received a statement from sources close to production over there that told me that he was actually told during a TV break. And the reason why he was told during the TV break was because he, like, the network, they were scared that the news was gonna. Was gonna break while he was on air, and he didn't want the. The network is saying that they didn't want him to find out from anybody else. But from what I was told, and now what we've confirmed through Ryan Clark himself, is that he didn't feel like it went down that way at all. So he's basically saying he was not laid off, he was fired, and that it was basically almost like there was a target on his back because he's a black man at espn. Let's take a listen.

[Ryan Clark]

I think the big question is, did you see it coming? Could you take us inside that moment? Yes and no. I'm upset with myself from this perspective. There were signs, but I truly thought for the first time in my life, I worked so hard at something. I was so good at something everybody acknowledged that I was. That they couldn't fire me, that they wouldn't fire me, that a company who's going to have the super bowl this year, who truly wants to put their best foot forward to the entire world and have the best people talking about football, wouldn't fire, in my opinion. This is my opinion, and it seems to be the opinion of many others, the best football analyst in the world. I didn't think that, and that's my fault. You know, this off season, our piece on Monday Night Football with Greg Brooks won an award, a diversity award. And our showrunner and our director and our producer were so excited. And it was like, PR Is going to post it, and it never happened. And eventually I just posted it myself. And then PR Reached out like, oh, I'm so sorry that we missed it, but the Emmys are coming up and we'll post it afterwards. And I just remember sending a text to one of the people I work with, and I said, they're not going to post that. They don't care. So there were just signs throughout the season. Like, even now, if you look at everything for the super bowl year, I'm not on any of that. A guy that's supposed to be a part of Monday Night Football, a man that's supposed to be a part of NFL Live, a man that's a huge part of First Take was a part of building Get Up. So to me, the signs were always there. And I called man. I called executives, I called decision makers, I called bosses. Is my schedule changing? What's it look like? And it was never a definitive answer, but I think it was never a definitive answer because this was always.

[Lauren LaRosa]

And then Ryan Clark goes into not really being able to fully be himself, like, as a black man. Right. And things that if he would have been able to change. And let's take a listen to Address

[Ryan Clark]

the head down thing. What makes me a little bit sad about myself is I did adjust who I was to try to keep my job. I did have meetings with people and say, okay, what is it that you need from me? Not the analyst. The analyst was. He was damn good. Right. If you care about the person that's on tv, what is it you need from me? Because I want to do that. I want to build a relationship. I want to involve you in the things I'm doing. You know, man, like this show for three years, bro, we never shied away from any topic. We never shied away from tackling anything we did this year. Cause I knew I couldn't have no beef. I knew I couldn't respond to disrespect. Right. I knew, for lack of a better word, I couldn't be too black.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Now, this is the part I was talking about because there is conversation around Ryan Clark and there are people who feel like, you know, a lot of things that Ryan Clark says and the things that he chooses to stand for. Yes. A part of it is like, okay, he's a black man. He knows what that's like. He knows what that. Where. Where he's coming from with that. But there is a part of it where, you know, people feel like it's a bit performative. I really wanted him to get into, like. I mean, he talks about Stephen and he talks about a meeting that they had where Stephen a let him know, like, you know, you making some executives upset up here. But I just think that there was like a deeper surface. Like, let's take all of the gear off. Let's. Let's derobe. Like, let's really strip naked. Not physically, but in the sense of this conversation, and get into what he's actually been experiencing at ESPN on an even more deeper, detailed level. Especially because. And I thought that we were going to get that, especially because when tmz. So I did the story that Ryan Clark was basically let go during the break and that he was. He. He did not return from after the break because basically he was told that he. He didn't need to. TMZ shot back at my story with a. A headlines basically stating that Ryan Clark was not forced to leave the taping, that it was his own choice. Ryan Clark then retweeted TMZ's story on X and said. And he disputed it. He said that he was asked or he asked after they gave him the news, should he go down? And he was said and he was told yes. And something that's what? I mean, like something's not making sense there and I feel like he talks about it and he gives us a few things, but he never directly says certain things at the same time and I just thought that we were gonna get that. Now don't get me wrong, it was a great conversation and again, I think he did get very personal in the conversation, but I just felt like there was another level to it a bit. I do feel like that, and I don't know if, look, I don't know where that will lie if we'll get that. But he's been very honest about feeling like there was this target on his back. So I thought that he would kind of unveil the layers of the onion a bit about what the target was. But yeah.

[Sprite Advertiser]

Yeah. I was scrolling through the Sprite Living track list the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. It was wild because records like California Love still not a player and back then are so much more than words and songs. They're moments, they're memories, they're snapshots of where hip hop was and where it's going. That's what Sprite gets they spent over 40 years celebrating artists who defined the culture and now they're turning the conversation over to the fans. And if you're like me, the real fun is getting into the why. Why does this song matter? Why did this line hit? Why did it change hip hop forever? Now I can't promise you any answers, but with Sprite you'll have a good time figuring it out. Check out the full Sprite Living Track list and breakdown the stories behind your favorite bars@livingtracklist. Genius.com this is the Sprite Living Track List. Obey your thirst this summer there are

[T-Mobile Advertiser]

250 reasons to join T Mobile girls.

Trip booked and switching to T Mobile help make it happen with Experience beyond

switch and get $100 back plus $650 in value in built in plan benefits. That's $750 in your first year guaranteed.

And honestly, that hundred dollars back, I'm putting it towards the zipline now.

That's how you do summer.

Exactly. Best Switch I ever made.

This is just one reason to join T Mobile this summer. There are 250 reasons. Find yours

Savings based on the value of benefits included with Experience beyond like entertainment and one year of AAA Classic and DashPass on us. Benefits may require activation C Plan for details get $100 via virtual prepaid MasterCard with eligible ported no cash access and expires in six months issued by Sunrise Banks and a member FDIC. Allow eight weeks.

[Ari Chambers]

What's up, fam? I'm sports journalist Ari Chambers.

[Sam J]

Hey, what's up, y'?

[Target Advertiser]

All?

[Sam J]

It's your girl, Sam J.

[Ari Chambers]

And we're the hosts of Everyone Watches Women's Sports, a new podcast from together. And I heart women's sports because, let's

[Sam J]

be real, women's sports is giving us way too much to talk about these days.

[Ari Chambers]

So Kelsey Findler, she became the first female solo rower to go from California to Hawaii.

[Sam J]

My first thought is, like, what's up with the snacks? Like, what are we eating?

[Ari Chambers]

The highlights, the rivalries, the breakout stars, the moments that take over your entire

[Sam J]

timeline, and the conversations that start during the game and somehow keep going all week. Every week, we're breaking down the biggest stories across women's sports.

[Ari Chambers]

Naomi Osaka showing out. She beat Sabalenka.

[Sam J]

Shout outs to you, Naomi.

[Ms. Lori Hay]

You get the Palm.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Naomi, you get the palm for that.

[Sam J]

Because we're not just interested in what happened. We're interested in why everyone's talking about it. Because everyone watches women's sports. Listen to everyone watches women's Sports on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Hey, Portlandia fans, Kerry Brownstein and Fred Armisen here, you know us, or rather, you know them. Tony and Candice, Nina and Lance, Spike and yes, the chicken.

[Fred Armisen]

We've played a lot of iconic characters over the years, but today we're showing up as ourselves to tell you about Podlandia AO rewatch our brand new podcast.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Each week, we'll revisit an episode of Portlandia from the very beginning, breaking down the sketches, exploring the backstories of our most iconic characters, revisiting the Portland locations you know and love, and opening up about our creative process.

[Fred Armisen]

How did any of this get made? Why do we think that was a good idea? We're ready to talk about it.

[Kerry Brownstein]

And we'll also be joined by the people who helped bring it all to life. Guest stars, collaborators, and friends, including director Jonathan Krisel, the mayor himself, Kyle McLaughlin, legendary musician Amy Mann, and many more.

[Fred Armisen]

Kyle is going for it. Here you fully improvise. Not of just words, but a song.

[Lauren LaRosa]

I thought he was gonna write.

[Sprite Advertiser]

I thought you were all gonna write a song.

[Fred Armisen]

I remember you thinking that.

[Kerry Brownstein]

Listen to Podlandia Ayo. Rewatch on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Now, moving on in the latest, speaking of the latest, child, lately, Usher and Chris Brown have been going viral. You know, they have the tour that they're on touring all over the world. And Usher and Chris Brown were recently in Nashville. Now, there is a young lady that is now viral as h e double hockey sticks in everywhere because Usher called her on stage. And when he called her on stage, this is what happened. Let's take a listen. I don't think she want to be on the stage, huh? Yes, you got that right. That is Usher saying. Saying, I don't think she wants to be up here. Now, I know you guys are audio listeners, so let me paint the picture for you. Normally, when Usher or Chris Brown calls girls on stage, it is like a serenade. Like Beyonce, destiny's child cater to you moment. But the fan that they call on stage normally gives a little something back, whether it's a touch or singing along or, you know, like, there's a something that we're watching. Especially when Chris Brown called them girls on stage. But you know, Chris Brown, I don't know if he's fully single. I know he recently had a baby with, you know, jada, who is believed to be his girlfriend. But Chris Brown be getting it in on that stage, okay? I mean, it be the humping. It be the thrusting to be all the things, the girls be throwing it back. It's insane. Ushers is a bit more if you've ever been. I went to his Vegas residency, too, and he did this during his residency where it's like, he's a showman, so he's serenading the women, making them feel good. There was one point in his residency in Vegas where he was even making little fake drinks. I think they were fake, but he was making drinks on the stage for the people as they came up. But anyway, so this girl comes on stage, and she's, like, smiling a little bit, which is like, smiling with your eyes for those people who did not watch America's next top model. And she's smiling, but, like, she's really not giving him much at all. Like, when I say giving him much, I mean, I at least would think, like, a hand would go on his back and, like, she would grab him behind the neck or singing a song back to him or something. Now, this went viral, okay? The young lady, who is a nurse from according to what we're learning about her online, has spoken out. And she spoke out and she was really upset. She says that people were even trying to get at her as she was leaving the show because the girls was like, yo, you wasted the opportunity, sis. Let's take a listen.

[Target Advertiser]

It was even.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Even people harassing me. While I was walking out of stadium. Oh, really? While me and my family was walking out of the stadium, people were harassing us and, oh, well, you should have did this. I would have did this.

[Sam J]

Were you available to go on the

[Lauren LaRosa]

stage is what I'm trying to understand now. She has also posted some things online shooting back at the hater, saying, like, look, I was cute. I looked cute. So I be danged if I don't get up there on that stage and let the whole, you know, let all the people see me. But then her aunt came out and said she had a boyfriend and a child and she kept it cute because of that. And I think the girls are just trying to figure out why get up on the stage if you're going to do all of that. And like, if you're not going to feed into it, why get up on the stage? I will say, I mean, it's not like she could have took her clothes off and they could have got busy on the stage. Usher is a married man. She has a person she went home to. But I did think that if you were going to get up on the stage, you would at least give a little something something. Because, you know, according to what this young woman and her family who've now come out online in her defense, have said, they were moved from floor seats over to the VIP and then told like, oh, we're going to try to get you on stage. So if you know that and you're down to go on stage. And she said she was there for Chris Brown. But then it's still, I feel like if you played it cute because of the man at home and the baby and, you know, just trying to keep it cute, you wouldn't give Chris Brown much either.

[T-Mobile Advertiser]

I don't know.

[Lauren LaRosa]

I wouldn't have went on stage. Like, if my man is at home. Whether my man was at that concert, especially what the man at the concert, you on stage is crazy. But if my man is at home, I'm not getting on the stage to participate. I'm just not doing it. And I think that's why the girls were upset. Like, girl, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and you ain't even take advantage of it. But I think the fact that there is so much upset around this, like, I saw this on Page Six. I saw it on Daily Mail. I know TMZ covered it. We're talking about it here on the latest. It hit the Shade Room, Neighborhood Talk. Like, this was so viral. The fact that this was so viral, I think the next Young lady who goes viral from this Usher concert is some pressure on her. Now she gotta go up because the. The public who ain't attending the concert. We've only been seeing this through those viral moments. More so with Usher. I'm sorry. More so with Chris Brown and Usher. The last viral moment on Usher's side of it was when Dave Chappelle popped out at one of the shows and it looked, literally looked like a Dave Chappelle skit because of the face that Dave Chappelle was making. The next young lady that goes up there, baby, it's some pressure on you, okay? Because miss cute little nurse from Chattanooga, Tennessee didn't mess it up for the girls. Now you gotta give their show improvement

[Sprite Advertiser]

again.

[Lauren LaRosa]

I don't. I wouldn't be on that stage if I was an artist. I honestly, I always wonder about this. Like, do they have the girl sign something? Like, I would even be. I would. As an artist, I would be nervous about even any of this. Like, any of it. Like the girl getting up on stage going viral, having to handle all the critics touching her the wrong way or anything. Like, people are so weird with, like, lawsuits and stuff like that. That wouldn't be doing it in 2026. But hey, if I check out the Chris Brown and Usher concert and the girls get on stage, I'll be definitely back here talking about it because I'm a watch from my seat. Real cute. That has been another episode of the Latest with Lauren LaRosa. I tell you guys every single episode. You could be anywhere with any old body, but you choose to be right back here with me, my lowriders. I appreciate you and I'll catch you in my next one. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.