Ryan Clark and Andrew Schulz addresses comedian's joke on Black Women

Ryan Clark and Andrew Schulz recently addressed their disagreement over a joke Schulz made about Black women on his Flagrant podcast. The joke described the "Black girlfriend effect" using stereotypes. Many people criticized it as offensive. Clark was one of the voices who spoke out against it.

Clark stated that Schulz's joke reinforced negative views about Black women. He said that jokes like these can shape public opinion. Schulz defended himself by saying his goal was to make people laugh, not to hurt anyone.

The two had a conversation on Clark’s The Pivot podcast. Schulz admitted the joke caused harm and explained his style of comedy, while Clark emphasized the responsibility comedians have when making jokes about marginalized groups.

What was said during their discussion?

Andrew Schulz appeared on The Pivot podcast on April 1 to discuss the issue. He explained his approach to comedy, adding that he often explores controversial topics and does not believe that makes him racist. He said his goal is to make people laugh:

“The joke wasn’t funny enough for how much it hurt people,” Schulz said. “And they’re entitled to however they want to feel about it. I just don’t like it going into the territory of, ‘that’s how he really feels, and he’s just using it as a smokescreen for how he really feels.’ No, what happened is I just wanted us to laugh,” he told Ryan Clark.

Later, Clark said:

“To people who may see that … they’ll go, ‘well Andrew Schulz made this joke about Black women and there were two Black men sitting across from them, this must be true, so I can go behave like he behaves,'” Clark offered.

Schulz further added:

“I hope that people maybe learn more about me and they see that I don’t have bad intentions for people and I make fun of everybody. I hope that they learn that, but I understand that as I get there, we’re going to have these little things that we stumble across, and people’s feelings are going to be hurt. And it sucks.”

Schulz added that he tries to be careful while talking about people and lifestyles he hasn’t experienced. Regarding the Flagrant episode, he felt that his guests and the situation made his intentions clear:

“That was kind of, with that situation, what I thought people would see is, I’m not doing that joke in front of two white guys in a room. I’m doing it where there are two Black guys in the room as well. I thought that would communicate there’s good faith here, there’s no real animosity or that kind of s***,” he said.

Why did Andrew Schulz's joke cause controversy?

The joke gained attention because it involved stereotypes. Many people found it offensive. They believed it painted Black women in a negative light. Some saw it as reinforcing harmful ideas about relationships and behavior.

Clark argued that such jokes can influence how people see Black women. He pointed out that comedy has power. He said that when jokes spread harmful ideas, they can lead to real-world consequences, and wanted Schulz to recognize that impact.

Andrew Schulz defended his joke but also acknowledged the backlash. He said he did not intend to offend anyone, admitting that the joke was not strong enough to justify the negative reaction it caused.

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Ryan Clark and Andrew Schulz openly discussed the joke with each other. They had varying opinions but heard each other. Clark discussed the effect of comedy. Schulz stood by his method but acknowledged that the joke was not powerful enough.

Their exchange demonstrated the delicate balance between comedy and responsibility. Some were with Clark and others with Schulz. The debate highlighted the current argument over humor and social issues. Both men indicated that they hope people will keep having these dialogues.

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