Wayne Brady detailed his trailblazing impact on the entertainment industry during a recent interview on The Breakfast Club. The TV personality pointed out that he opened up doors for other Black entertainers, such as Donald Glover, Steve Harvey, and Key & Peele, before reflecting on his famous skit on Chappelle's Show.
Close to the 27-minute mark, Brady said he was a fan of Dave Chappelle and his show prior to his guest appearance. However, Brady admitted that a joke that the late Paul Mooney told about him on the show rubbed him the wrong way. In one episode, Paul Mooney said, "White people love Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X." Brady noted that he spoke to Mooney about the remark years later but still considered the joke, "wack."
"I've gone down on record, god bless Paul Mooney, god bless him. A comedy legend," Brady said. "When I got to talk to Paul years later, I stand by the fact that that joke was wack. It's not a funny joke. Folks laughed at it, which comedy is always predicated on the fact that I'm going to make a joke in this room with the five of us right now, hoping that at least three of you will connect with the universality of what it is. That's why you're gonna laugh. So he made that joke based on the fact that he felt that Black culture would laugh at Bryant Gumbel and Wayne Brady."
Brady expressed his disappointment in him and Bryant Gumble being considered "not Black enough" and stated no one owns his "Black card." He also described running into Chappelle's Show regular Donnell Rawlings and saying "f*** y'all" to the comedian, prompting a call from Dave Chappelle two days later.
He claimed Chappelle apologized for the joke and said he didn't think the joke was funny either. After settling their dispute, Chappelle invited Brady on the show for what would become one of the most memorable skits during the show's run.
Brady's Breakfast Club interview isn't the first time he's addressed Paul Mooney's joke. Last year, a fan tweeted how much she enjoyed Brady's skit and Paul Mooney's joke. Brady replied to the tweet and wrote, "As much as you like it, I hope you see why jokes like that are problematic in our culture. That's the reason I did the sketch in response. It's not a funny joke. The sketch we did was funny."
Look above to view Wayne Brady's interview.
