In-person conversations rarely resolve media shouting matches. LeBron James tried to accomplish this with Stephen A. Smith a couple of weeks ago. But their confrontation sparked a larger firestorm. Notably, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark recently hosted comedian Andrew Schulz on The Pivot, though, in an exception to the trend.
Advertisement
Back in September, Schulz made controversial comments about Black women on his podcast. Clark took exception to Schulz’s words and stood up for the Black culture. After months of back-and-forth jabbing, they decided enough was enough, leading to their Pivot chat.
Once they were sitting face to face, both men were gracious while defending themselves. Clark told Schulz he felt a need to speak up because his podcast guests didn’t handle things properly.
“If the two black men that were sitting across from you would have addressed it a different way, even if they would have maybe laughed, and it felt like a joke. It was an uncomfortable situation where what you said was neither refuted or agreed to, and it wasn’t presented as a joke… it didn’t feel like a joke [to me], said Ryan Clark on the podcast.
Schulz disagreed with Clark’s “presentation” claim. The comedian added that he understands why Clark felt justified in saying something, but reminded him that comedy’s interpretation is always in the eye of the beholder.
“However somebody takes a joke, they’re right. If you don’t find something funny you’re right. You’re allowed to react however you want to whatever I say. The tricky thing is is when like we start trying to decide what the intention is… [sometimes] I’m making jokes about myself… sometimes it’s about a culture I go visit,” Andrew Schulz explained.
Speaking further, Schulz stated his audience is, “by far the most diverse audience in all of comedy.” To him, this demonstrates he, “[talks] about cultures in a way where they don’t feel bullied. They feel seen.” He admitted his joke on Black women from the podcast, “[didn’t] represent that.” However, he believes people suggesting he’s using comedy, “as a smoke screen to say how he really feels” couldn’t be more incorrect.
Meanwhile, Clark countered by saying he “never painted” Schulz as anything. Schulz felt differently. That, in itself, seems to be where the argument existed. Clark wanted to be sure the world knew not all Black women acted as Schulz indicated. Schulz interpreted that as Clark portraying him as being a potential bigot.
That reality backs Schulz’s point that everyone can digest any joke however they desire. The comedian doesn’t believe anyone should police someone else for feeling a certain way. At the same time, he doesn’t want someone incorrectly labeling him as a prejudiced person.
In Schulz’s mind, he’s simply exposing people to different cultures. He doesn’t want to be defined by one joke/mistake. No matter which side of the belief line you fall on, that’s something we can all relate to and understand.
