Early aughts comedians proudly inviting cancellation is in vogue right now, but this is one of the more egregious examples of a comedian whose old material isn’t worth starting a cultural discussion complaining about non-existent backlash in order to drum up some fresh press. Before this interview, there was no Twitter campaign to have White Chicks censored, nor was anyone trying to start a war over whether or not Wayans and his brother making Yo Mama jokes while wearing Frankenstein-ish drag makeup constituted a sexist racist transphobic microaggression worthy of a top trending hashtag.
Wayans concluded his “Old Man Yells at Cloud” tirade with a dig at the meddling kids and nebulous “executives” who fear the power of Gen Z Twitter, saying, “I ain’t listening to this damn generation. I ain’t listening to these folks: These scared-ass people, these scared executives. Y’all do what you want to do? Great. I’m still gonna tell my jokes the way I tell them. And if you want to make some money, jump on board. And if not, then I’ll find a way to do it myself.”
This interview about a Halloween kids’ movie is one of the most transparent attempts we’ve seen to create a controversy over a topic that no one was talking about, but it did give us one of the most self-aware quotes we’ve ever heard from any one of the Wayans brothers. Said Marlon, “One thing about the Wayans, we’ve always told the worst joke the best way.”
If there’s one thing that wasn’t missing from White Chicks, it’s the worst jokes.