Comedian Andrew Schulz is facing backlash over his response to the controversy surrounding podcast duo ShxtsnGigs, who came under fire after laughing at jokes he made about Black women.
ShxtsnGigs are a pair of British influencers best known for their comedic podcast by the same name. The duo, real names James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu, boast nearly two million YouTube subscribers — but many of those viewers are lashing out at them.
In summer 2024, ShxtsnGigs appeared on an episode of Andrew Schulz’s ‘Flagrant’ podcast, where the comedian made several off-color comments concerning Black women.
Although the pair seemed somewhat uncomfortable at the remarks, Duncan and Dawodu laughed along… and two months later, their reaction to Schulz’s jokes caught them in a firestorm of criticism.
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On September 16, 2024, the two addressed the issue in a podcast episode, where they called Schulz’s jokes “incredibly inappropriate” and said their reaction to the situation was a “fight or flight” response.
“When you’re in there, you’re in shock,” Duncan explained.
“All you wanna do is move on,” Dawodu added.
The pair’s apology didn’t sit well with critics, who continued to lash out at the podcasters online… and two days later, Schulz finally shared his thoughts on the situation.
Schulz and his co-hosts reacted to ShxtsnGigs’ apology during a September 18 podcast episode, where Schulz appeared to poke fun at the “serious” nature of the ordeal and even claimed the pair wanted other things removed from the episode, but not those particular jokes.
“I do have empathy for what they’re going through,” Schulz said. “They’re young and new to this content game. This is what happens to a lot of people who are funny on the internet, but they’re not comedians. They are still concerned about cancellation.”
“The nature of being funny is something inappropriate happening. …what they don’t realize is by apologizing, you’re just amplifying it. The people who are upset at this, the majority of them don’t listen to the podcast. A lot of them are resentful of their success and are like, ‘Why are these guys making all this money?’”
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Schulz’s response to the situation has garnered the comedian a fair amount of flak online, where users are hitting out at both him and ShxtsnGigs.
“Andrew Schulz tries to hide his hateful, stereotypical comments under the guise of ‘brilliant’ comedy but there’s nothing exceptional about his act. It’s weak, uninspiring and devoid of any interesting/thought provoking angle to issues,” one user wrote.
“James and Fuhad need to take a note… their bs ‘apology’ and excuse as ‘being in shock’ was nonsense. They clearly agreed with the racial comments, it’s not hard to speak up as done below! Andrew Schulz has always been a weird-ass hating mf,” another said.
“As much as those guys should’ve said something on the show, we, as a community, absolutely should be canceling @andrewschulz in the same way his community would if the tables were turned,” yet another said.
However, fans of Schulz are singing a different tune, with one user writing on YouTube: “Shxtsngigs laughed naturally on that joke, actually found it funny but then HAD to apologize after the backlash from their audience.
They knew it was just jokes. If they really found it offensive they wouldnt have laughed at all, fake apology just to keep their fans.”
“Love the doubling down, been rocking wit Schultz & the boys since Westerbros… glad he stood on everything, don’t change for nobody,” yet another wrote.
Although ShxtsnGigs’ appearance on Schulzs’ podcast took place two months prior to the outrage, some netizens are tracing the current backlash to their more recent appearance on the Pour Minds show, where they made comments about the appearance of women in Atlanta, Georgia.
“In Atlanta, I’ve seen the least baddies so far,” Duncan said. “…Atlanta is clapped.”
These remarks also sparked outrage among fans, which snowballed into the current deluge of criticism against the pair for their previous statements about Black women on Schulz’s podcast.
Thus far, neither Schulz nor the ShitsnGigs duo have offered any further response to the ongoing backlash, which continues to spark across social media.