Club Shay Shay - Damon Wayans Part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of our conversation with Damon Wayans as he opens up about his work with Bernie Mac on Mo’ Money and doing a comedy competition with him. He also recalls a hilarious prank pulled on him by Bruce Willis, shedding light on the playful side of his Hollywood experiences. Yet, not everything in Hollywood was a joke —Damon talks about working on toxic sets and the toll they took on him. He also discusses how he found inspiration for his iconic role of Major Payne.

He goes on to talk about Orlando Brown, who he worked with as a kid. Damon also shares stories about his friendship with basketball legend Michael Jordan and what it's like to have a friendship with someone as iconic as MJ. He even opens up about the dumbest purchase he ever made, offering a humorous take on the lessons he's learned about money. Damon’s perspective on wealth and fame is both thought-provoking and sobering as he reveals how, in his experience, the more money you make, the fewer Black people you see. He praises LeBron James for staying loyal to his friends and working with them to build a successful, tight-knit team.

As for fame, Damon shares his thoughts on the difficulties that come with it —how it’s hard, painful, and managing relationships with family, friends, and money can be a real challenge. He addresses the impact of cancel culture on his career, admitting it’s made him hesitant to return to stand-up. Damon also discusses the issue of joke stealing in comedy, sharing how Robin Williams paid comedians for the jokes he stole from them.

Damon also reflects on his connection with Katt Williams, sharing insights on working together on My Wife and Kids. He touches on the difficult dynamics of nepotism in Hollywood, working with his family, and how he feels about his son, Damon Wayans Jr., stepping into the comedy spotlight.

Damon’s time on My Wife and Kids was a pivotal moment in his career. He talks about making a conscious effort to represent Black families in a positive light. His passion for inclusion shines through as he discusses how important it is to have Black people as a part of his sets and the broader television and film landscape.

In this episode, Damon doesn't shy away from discussing Kanye West, offering a nuanced perspective on Kanye's current behavior while acknowledging his love and admiration for the artist despite the controversy. With a healthy dose of humor and heart, Damon discusses his personal evolution, from his marriage and divorce to his current health challenges, including living with type 2 diabetes and surviving a brain tumor.

This episode is a celebration of family, resilience, and the hard-earned wisdom that comes with a life well-lived. Damon shares how he now values the beauty of his family and faith more than ever and what he wants his legacy to be. Tune in for a candid, inspiring, and hilarious conversation with one of comedy’s brightest stars.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. What
the Kenan do? Pray?

Speaker 2 (00:06):
What do?

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Mike Tyson won't beat you up? Pray the super Bowl?
Fox put that on, put you guys on and stole
the audience. But Marlon said, you got them in trouble.
What you do?

Speaker 3 (00:20):
I think I did a Gerbil joke with h Richard
improvised that it was funny. We only lost one or
two sponsors. The dad already got the money. Well, you
said about but don't put us on live if you
don't want it live.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
That's what that was.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
My thing with esen l is this is supposed to
be live, and I don't feel no edge.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
I don't feel this is so I don't know.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
It's like methodical. Didn't feel like, Oh there's some Dan.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Like you like being on the edge.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
I loved being loved being on it.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
You're not there anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, No, I'm older, wiser.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
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a comedian stand up, did you ever want was your
goal always? Before I make my other point, was your
goal always to do stand up and go to television

(02:33):
because it seems like there's a natural progression. You look
at Richard Pryor, you look at Gene Wilder, you look
at a lot of the others, you know Cosby, you
look at a lot of stand up comedians go that route.
Was that your goal?

Speaker 3 (02:46):
No, I just wanted to be as funny as I
could be on stage, and stand up became therapy fun me.
You know, I've been able to solve a lot of
problems in my life by going on stage and I
just joy like talking about my foot, I talked about
my brother dying and you know, just everything. And I

(03:06):
did stand up because I had to, Okay, because you know,
I've been suicidal. I've been you know, in very very
dark places. But you know, when you go on stage
and you talk about it and people laugh, you go,
it's not that bad. What else is messed up in
my life?

Speaker 1 (03:25):
If that? What a comedian job is is to take
real life events and make them funny, even if even
if it's personal events. Like you said you were suicidal,
you talk about that and you make a joke out
of it, or you see things going on in the world,
you make it funny and you make people laugh, and
for that set thirty minutes an hour, ninety minutes set,
they forget about the problems that there might be going.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
Yeah, your job as a comedian is to live until
you almost die, to survive it and then cry, then
put a smile on your face and tell them why. Wow,
that's what Richard did.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
He said at the bar, Yes, wow. Why do you
think black men get so much criticism for wearing the
dresses in movies when whites have won Academy Awards for
doing said same.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Thing because blacks is gay?

Speaker 1 (04:22):
No, I don't know why.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
I just think. I just think. You know, you can
make anything an issue for me. It's like, is it
funny right to me? Tyler Perry in a dress all day?

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Every day?

Speaker 3 (04:34):
I'm there, right, hello, erth that's funny. You don't care
it's funny. So you know, if if you do it
and it's not funny, then I got a problem with you,
right because you went through hair makeup and you yeah,
long period of time and it wasn't funny. White chicks hilarious, Yes,
Big Mama House hilarious. I don't. I personally don't have

(04:57):
a problem, right, I don't. I think we say it
because with crabs in a barrel sometimes and we try
to pull people down. But you know, like you said,
Dustin Hoffman won an Academy Award, Robin Waide won an
Academy Award. You know, it's like, I don't have a

(05:20):
problem with it.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Are there many any roles that you auditioned for that
you didn't get that you felt you should have gotten,
or there's a role that you turned down You're like, damn,
I probably should have took that one.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
Every role you auditioned for you think you should have got.
But you know, every role is not for you, you know.
So I had auditioned, not auditioned. They picked me to
be in What That showed me the money?

Speaker 1 (05:47):
What movie was that?

Speaker 3 (05:49):
J Jerry McGuire had a big meeting in New York, and.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
So you're gonna be Cooper Goodings character. I was supposed Yeah,
I was. I was up for that. They wanted me.

Speaker 3 (06:00):
I met with Tom Cruise and the director what's his name, uh,
Cameron Crow yeap and I think that's his name. And
we're walking around Jim Brooks's apartment in New York and
we're doing the scene where he meets him at the
mall and he's walking around like this here, and I'm

(06:21):
on fire. My brain is just like I'm improvising and
they laughing and me and Tom Cruise, I'm just like
and out of the corner of my eye see Tom
doing this.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
You're too tall?

Speaker 3 (06:33):
Yeah, And I'm I'm I'm.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Like, what is this?

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Something on my head?

Speaker 1 (06:36):
What am I here?

Speaker 3 (06:37):
I don't know what's going on? And then afterwards I
didn't get it, and Cameron wrote me this beautiful five
page letter and it's explaining to me like how talented
he thinks I am and how great and wonderful and
you know, but you know it was out of his
control and it's fine because Cooper laid it out. Do

(06:57):
I think I would have gotten an oscar? Don't? I
don't know, but I don't. I don't even think for
one minute about another man's success. I'm happy for him.
It's another brother, chalk it up, another one did something good.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
But you were supposed to be like Batman forever. Also
right now, that's Marlin, not Marlon. Richard Pryor about when
did that? Because we keep talking about it, and if
I'm not mistaken, I think Mike Epps was was like,
we're close to doing it, and then something happened.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
Well, I was the original one that they picked and
supposedly Richard wanted me to do it, and Martin Scorsese
was going to produce it, and it was, you know,
we mad about it. They loved it, and you know,
just felt that I could really and then I don't
know what happened, but it went from me to Eddie

(07:52):
to Mike, Mike Epps to Marlin. It's just like, you know.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
Are we going to get that? Are we going to
get the biop of Richard Pryor? I hope.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
So there was a wonderful script written by this playwright
in New York. I forgot his name, very bad anyway,
but he wrote this amazing script based on Richard Pryor's
book Prior Misdemeanors, right, and it's just great. And then
I don't know what the politics are, but it's a

(08:26):
movie that needs to be made.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
And because his life is complex, I mean, you can't
sugarcoat it is. What it is is his life.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
He lived it, and I think it's his life. I
think it's his ex wife, wife who wants to make
it her story. Okay, because I read her book A
Fallen Angel, which was a good book, but Richard was
abusive and she wants it to be more about that.
And I met with Jennifer and I was like, look,
Richard Pryor is michaelm Max with punchlines. That's how black

(08:57):
people see him. They would lose their minds if they
made this movie about you.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
It ain't gonna fly. You are a medical.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
Part of Richard Pryor to us, So you do yourself
a disservice trying to make it. This here, this that
you have right now is amazing. You should go with that.
And then I never heard from her again.

Speaker 1 (09:25):
Wow. Bernie Bernie Mack was in more Money? What was
Bernie like? Love?

Speaker 3 (09:31):
Bernie Man one of the funniest guys ever. Oh man,
you know Bernie Bernie Mack was. I was there doing
in Chicago the Miller Lite Comedy. I guess it was
comedy competition and they were given the winner like fifteen
thousand dollars and Bernie won. That night I was hosting

(09:54):
and Bernie. That was the same night that uh Robin
Harris died.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Okay, yeah, right, And.

Speaker 3 (10:05):
He did a tribute to Robin Harris and that's how
he won.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
Wow, I'm looking at this. You and the Last Boy
s Guard with Halle Berry and Bruce Willie. How did
how did how did that? You and Bruce team up
and come up with this?

Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh, he didn't team up. I got a call that
they wanted to meet me in New York. And it's
funny because I I say, Okay, I'm gonna come to
New York. He was shooting some movie in New I
think Howard Hork or something like that, and they flew
me out. The limo driver comes to pick me up

(10:41):
at my house and he has a sign of saying
Keenan Wayans. I was like, oh, snap man, okay, and
I get in the car, get to the airport. The
greeter Keenan Ivory Wayans. I think they want Keenan. I
get to my hotel, I check in under Keenan and

(11:03):
I get it and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna
just go for this. And I go and I go
to the set and Bruce goes gotcha. I was like,
oh you so I was. I was like I had
to not my stomach because I was you know, you
don't want me, but I'm here and I just wanted
to meet you, right, But they wanted me, and they

(11:25):
put me in the in the movie, and it was
it was, it was. It was good to do a
big action film. Yes, you know, it's it's.

Speaker 1 (11:35):
Weird when you know, when you.

Speaker 3 (11:37):
Do sketches, it's like five minutes and then you're done.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
When you're doing a movie three months, six months, yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:44):
Six months, and you just go, wow, this.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
Is big ass budget.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
We have the lobster and steak every day for lunch.
I'm like, man, this is crazy.

Speaker 1 (11:54):
How have you learned? I mean, is it a situation
where you've ever been on set and you're doing something
and you and maybe someone in the movie don't get along.
How do you suppress that? And says, you know what,
I'm here to do the movie, damn you, damn him,
damn her, whatever the case may be. I'm doing this
and then I'm gonna be out. I don't care if
I ever see all again.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
It happens, and you know, you you would see my family.
Whenever we do something, it's always a party. You come
on a set of a Winds project, it's a part.
People hug each other. And they laugh and you know,
and it's all right, quiet, let's on the set and
we're trying to make the people behind the camera laugh
and you know, But then you go on another set,

(12:31):
and I've been on toxic sets where he's just damn.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
This don't feel good, right, this is like this is
this is.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
Horrible, you know, and you okay being this kind of
an asshole and you're gonna maintain this for the rest
of for the next three months. I don't I don't
get it. And I've worked with people.

Speaker 1 (12:55):
Who are just like, you're ready for it to be
over hungh.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yes, ready to like quit, like I'm out check police.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
Major Pain is that your masterpiece? Is that your is
that you're a mona Lisa? Is that your I love
Major Pain? If funny thing about Major Pain? And and
most of the times with my projects, I worry about
other people first. I think about, like, what are the
kids do? They do? They know their character?

Speaker 3 (13:23):
I didn't figure out the character of Major Pain until
the cameras roll, So I was like, so there was
a guy we had to do, like I work with
a tech guy went down to Camp Pendleton and you know,
and this guy named Captain Dale died, and Captain Dale
died like dance. He was always like yes, and I

(13:46):
was like, that's interesting, but that's too it's get on
your nerves. And then the stunt coordinator was a guy
named Billy Washington, and Billy had an oval bite and
talked like this, and Billy would he he was real me.

Speaker 1 (14:02):
He told the guy a stuntman. We was doing blank Man.

Speaker 3 (14:07):
He was on a gurney and the guy was opening
up multiple doors laying on the gurney, but he had
come up too high, so his head was hitting the
doors going through and he was going and at the
end of the take, Billy said, you want me to
call your mama, get your head back on that table

(14:29):
and get the scene done. And the guy was his
head was bleeding, and I'm like, this dude is crazy.
So I took Billy Washington and Captain Dale died and
I came with major pain because he had an ulmer
bit and he talked and looked crazy, you know, So yeah,
it was it was. I think people love it because

(14:53):
it's so extreme into torture kids.

Speaker 1 (14:55):
It's fun, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (14:57):
And to actually get away with it, you know where
it's funny. To them and funny to me. And one
of the greatest feelings is to sit and watch it
with my grandkids and they laugh. Right, you just go, Wow,
that's that's amazing.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Orlando Brown was a star in your movie. He was very,
very talented as a kid, but now seemingly going going
viral for all the wrong reasons. Have you have you
touched him? Huh? He said, I touched him. He'd be
wild with it. Yeah. Have you reached out to him?
Have you talked? Have you spoken to him? No?

Speaker 3 (15:32):
I mean he's he's somebody else who I love Orlando.
We had a great time on Major Pain, and you
know there were times, but you know, sometimes guy gotta
talk to you, right, you know. And I don't know
who's around them.

Speaker 1 (15:46):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (15:47):
We don't have that kind of relationship, you know what
I mean. I love him. I want what's best one,
but you know, he need somebody. Hey, come in younger,
let's talk, you know, And I don't feel one.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (16:00):
I don't have his information.

Speaker 1 (16:01):
The other thing is, y'all don't have that type of relationship,
and I don't.

Speaker 3 (16:05):
You don't want to get rejected, you know what I mean?
You don't know what's when somebody started talking crazy, you
don't know what they'll do. It's not what he'll say
is what he'll do if I tried to reach out
to him.

Speaker 1 (16:16):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (16:17):
So I just hope you know that you know, he
finds peace, because he definitely is not in a good
place right now.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
As being a top comedic, stand up, being a top actor.
Obviously in the nineties you had it going on. What
I mean, do you buy anything lavish? Did you? Did
you live? I mean, you say you broke your marriage up,
so could you you living?

Speaker 3 (16:42):
You kind of look at a nice house in a
gated community, and Michael Jordan moved in next door to
shoot space jam but my wife.

Speaker 1 (16:53):
Got that check him out, you talk to it. Yeah,
we became like friends.

Speaker 3 (16:57):
But you know I gave Michael his space, right because
you don't go behind the gated community to be bothered, right,
You have the dude next door, So you know, we
we we had to have a friendship and it's based
in you know, love and respect. It's taught me a
lot of things about life and how to navigate fame

(17:19):
and all that other stuff.

Speaker 1 (17:21):
But she got the house, she got the house. You
want it back, No, I want her happy.

Speaker 3 (17:31):
No, honestly, because it's it's you know, when you say
it's over, it's over, right, and you pay whatever. When
you think about, you know, giving up, who Jeff Bezos
gave up like three billion, No, forty plus billion. No,
that was the other guy who was Oh.

Speaker 1 (17:52):
Yep, it was it was over forty.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
But that was just for peace, the price of peace.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
I like, hey, y'all for forty bill.

Speaker 3 (18:01):
But he gonna go make it yeah, but he got right.
But but but but that, you know, as a woman,
you got to say, somebody would give me forty b
dollars to get out of their life.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
Damn, I'm what do you think the dumbest purchase you've
ever made?

Speaker 3 (18:27):
Hmmm?

Speaker 1 (18:28):
Drugs? Mhm.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
Back in the day, dumb. But I've never really been
an attic.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
I was just stupid hardcore stuff, coke.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
I've done pretty much everything. But I always like getting
up and going to work, so I never could get addicted.
They have time to get addicted to anything. But now
it's just like you go, well, I'm glad I experienced it,
and and I'm and I'm done. I came out on
the other side I don't need nothing nothing.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
Did it interfere with any time that was Was the
drugs ever a hindrance for anything that you were doing
at the time.

Speaker 3 (19:08):
No doing the drugs to do Yeah, but if it's
like you know, it's I feel bad for people today
because it's so dangerous. The drugs they're doing could kill you. Yeah,
I ain't never you If you told me this could
kill you, I wouldn't do it.

Speaker 1 (19:25):
Right because you don't know what you get now. They
lacing it with everything, And what have you learned about money? Money?

Speaker 3 (19:33):
You see is money you spend and people always want
to spend your money.

Speaker 1 (19:39):
When they see true true.

Speaker 3 (19:43):
And the thing is for me, money is not money
is a tool, right, And I'm grateful to have some tools,
you know, and to be able to help people when
I can. Yes, But right now I don't need nothing.

Speaker 1 (19:57):
I have.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
I have everything I want life, you know, and really
that's my peace with God and peace with men. And
then you know, I got my music. I'm a Vinyl freak.
I love Finyl music.

Speaker 1 (20:10):
Oh so you got a bunch of old forty five?

Speaker 3 (20:12):
Uh no, the albums I don't have twenty five? Yeah,
I have the albums I have some forty five, but
for disc I used to DJ.

Speaker 1 (20:23):
Still.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
I've always DJ, and I've always had two turntables my
whole life, right since I was like thirteen years old.

Speaker 1 (20:31):
You may you say money is a what do you
use tool? Because people look at money as different ways.
Me I look at money. I like, it's not so
much money. I like freedom. Freedom is what money provides,
so you know, and I think there are different things.
I mean because if I could have freedom and still

(20:53):
be what I am be, you know, still don't have
to worry about anything, because that's what you know. You
want to get to a place, like we were just
talking about the forty See you get forty b You
could say, f you, I don't care, I don't want
to do nothing. Well, I don't like you. I've been
wanting to say these for the longest time.

Speaker 3 (21:07):
Yeah, but you got you know, we live in a
at your sketch society where you're no longer free. You
can't rely on your money, okay, because you don't know
what's going to be written on the next extra sketch
right right, so you can't. I feel like I can't
think about my money right in terms of my freedom

(21:31):
My freedom is you know what God gave me, my
ability to create, my ability to love, my ability to
be disciplined, and to take care of myself and those
I love.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
Right, there was a viral clip you did a stand
up special and say you were talking about blacks making
millions then and asked if there's still racism in America?
And can you believe that video in nineteen ninety we're
talking about thirty five years ago. It's still viraling today.
Wasn't never gonna change, like, but people think, But you
do realize people think that. People think once a black

(22:05):
person get millions, hundreds of millions, that racism has dissipated.
If you what, David, if you made one hundred million dollars,
you worked two hundred million dollars, how's there racism? Right?

Speaker 3 (22:17):
Well, what happens is the more money you make, the
less black people you see. Money brings you into a
new category. You moved to a different house, in a
different neighborhood, and you get different friends, your money people
that come around you to help you make the money
and maintain your money and make more money. The complexion changes,

(22:38):
you know what I mean? I like so I love
about like Lebron. You know, he's got he got mad,
and he got randy and he got rich. Yeah, so
he kept he kept that group, yes, around him. Yeah,
but unless you have that group, because like you say,
the high use climb, the less you're going to see
and you're like, okay, well they don't treat me in

(22:58):
that way. So so it's it's and it's divide and conquer.
You know, at a certain point they sit you down,
you know. You know, Beyonce's father, all right, we got
it from here. The Jackson's all right, Joe got it,
we got it. You know, you said that and go
what you know? Venus is Serena. We got them, you know.

(23:18):
But it's and if you want them to be successful,
you have to kind of let it happen. And then
they hit new heights. But you become a liability, you know.
I mean as a parent, Well, where were you those
nights in the rain when we're hitting balls?

Speaker 1 (23:40):
H Yeah, let me ask you this, when you're on
top of the world and you were you still are?
I mean, you gotta you live a great like you said,
you live a great life. You don't have any you
don't overly concerned about money. You have a family. You
can still feed your family. You got grandkids. But when
you're at that apex in the nineties, what was that?

Speaker 3 (23:59):
Like there's a pain in the ass really yeah, Like
being famous is like being a beautiful woman on a period. Okay, nobody,
nobody know the cramps and stuff that you feeling. Yeah,
they see the external beauty and they think you should
be happy, and it's like, I'm bleeding, right, okay, you

(24:21):
running on, I'm bleeding.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
So what what was we see? This external? We see
damon and everything like man, major pain and more money
and YadA and YadA. What was brewing inside that we
couldn't see?

Speaker 3 (24:37):
Club foot?

Speaker 1 (24:39):
You know?

Speaker 3 (24:40):
My foot? I'm always in pain, really, oh, constant pain. Yeah,
it's like a throbbing pain, you know so, but it's
you get used to it.

Speaker 1 (24:49):
They can't do anything for it. They can't give you
like medication or shoot it up or something.

Speaker 3 (24:53):
I don't want medication. It's a reminder to be grateful.
This foot took me a long way.

Speaker 1 (25:00):
You know.

Speaker 3 (25:00):
If I didn't have this pain, I wouldn't have this edge,
I wouldn't have my perspective on life. I wouldn't have
that fire on my tongue. Right, So I'm grateful, But
people can't see that, right. People can't see that you are.
You know, the internal conflicts you have, you know with

(25:22):
family and friends and people. You know that you tend
to lose friends because you loan the money and then
they don't pay you back, and then they get mad
at you.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
Because you asked for it back.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
Yeah, but I had not even for asking for just
because you look at them, I'm a pay you man.

Speaker 1 (25:39):
Nothing yeah, yeah, but why why is it? Why is
it like that? Why? I mean, if you come to
me and ask me for money, I shouldn't have to
go to you to repay it. You should be mad enough.
You was mad enough to ask. Here you go. But
I've learned name and I don't know what you think
about this. I'll only lend money that I know I
can lose that I'm not getting back. Yeah, that's how

(26:01):
I do. I give. I give it because I already know,
because we're gonna end up falling out, and I don't
want to fall out. I don't want to ten fifteen,
twenty thirty year relationship to end over money. So here
you go, because I know you're not gonna pay me back.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
Right, Well that I mean, that's what that's maturity. It's
like you know, you just I don't. I've paid a
lot of people out of my life.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
You mentioned like stand up is? Is stand up therapeutic
for you? Absolutely? Why do you stop?

Speaker 3 (26:30):
I used to have to need because I don't need
it anymore.

Speaker 1 (26:32):
And you don't need therapy no more?

Speaker 3 (26:34):
Uh no, No, I'm at peace, I really am. I'm
at peace. And you know the therapy is knowing that
I could buy my head, and you know that God
is hearing my prayers and seeing in my life my
prayers answered. And it ain't for material things. It's for
the safety of my family, and you know, for me
to have wisdom and to be grateful for everything.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
Therapeutic. You don't need to scratch that itch anymore. So
now what do you do to replace what you gave
up by doing?

Speaker 3 (27:09):
I write. I write for sport. I draw my son
crazy because every other week I'm sending him a script.
Read this, dad, I got a life. I have six kids.
Come on, man, I just read it when you get
a chance read it. But I write because I do
have a fear of going crazy.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
You know, because you have so much going on in
your head.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
No, because it runs my family. It's like diabetes. You
gotta know, you gotta know that it's a possibility, right.
And the thing is, you know, I can't turn my
brain off. I can't not think about these stories and
characters that come to mind. So rather than have them
up in my head scrambled, I put them on paper

(27:56):
and I go one day I make money off of
this it or something. But I had to get it out.

Speaker 1 (28:03):
Do you sleep? I do?

Speaker 3 (28:05):
I sleep wonderful?

Speaker 1 (28:06):
How you sleep so well? Again? And it's hard for
you to turn your mind off.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
When you get sixty five, it's easy you just later.

Speaker 1 (28:14):
I got to do it.

Speaker 3 (28:14):
See the bed, it's beautiful.

Speaker 1 (28:18):
Did cancel culture? Scare your way?

Speaker 3 (28:20):
Cancel culture made me not really want to do stand up.
I had this long conversation with Dave Chappelle. He's like, man,
we need you to get back out there. Man, we
need you know, we need that voice come on. And
I was like, and I had done it again at
his you know, his him encouraging me to do it.

(28:42):
But you know what what today you can't be a
shock comic, especially if you're famous, right, because the hitch
in your pockets, right, so back in the day, guys
like Sam Kennison and Dice Club, and you know, that's
how I grew up. I grew up with guys that

(29:04):
you know, start trouble, you know they say, and it's
like people, you know they want to talk about comedy.
You got reporters talking about comedy. You don't know my world.
You are not qualified to talk about comedy. If you
ain't never bought a joke or tol a joke or
sola joke, or stole a joke or rot a joke,

(29:27):
you have no business talking about comedy. You ain't have
been paid in burgers. You can't talk about comedy. So
I think a conversation about comedy and what's acceptable should
be held amongst comedians. If Dave Chappelle wants to talk
to me about my act, I want to hear it.
If Jerry Seinfeld, if Jay Leno, guys who've done it, Yeah,

(29:51):
I want to hear what you say, because you're going
to do it in a way to encourage right, not
to just tell me you can't. I ain't never put
on a football helmet and got hit by no guy
your size and got up and did it again. What
can I talk to you about football just because I

(30:11):
watched some games. I can watch a thousand games, and
I can't tell you what a locker room smell like.

Speaker 1 (30:17):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
I don't know the camaraderie sitting on that plane flying
into bad weather. I haven't experienced that, so I can't
talk to you intelligently about it. Same thing with comedy.
It's a conversation for comedians, not reporters.

Speaker 1 (30:35):
But Chappelle has been one of the few guys that
have been able to beat cancel culture because they can't
take because you know, normally, like you said, to hit
you in the purse. But he's like, hey, I just
put up a dot com and I'll just go do it.
I don't need Hollywood. I don't need to do movies anymore.
So you can't really hit me where it hurts me,

(30:57):
which is financially. It's it's also.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
He's a unicorn, right and Dave has raped rode the
wave right of you know, he didn't take any breaks.
It's when you take the break and then you try
to come back, then they can hit you and get
you because you you know, he already knows how to
talk to them. They're his puppets, you know what I mean.

(31:22):
They bow to Dave Chappelle because he is the only
real voice out there in terms of holding us down,
holding comedy down. So you know, yeah, I mean, but
you can't be a shock comedian today. You have to
have a conversation. Like I could do stand ups, right,

(31:43):
but it's like understanding you can't go on stage your
baby go, man, I hate my wife. And then now
you say I hate and you hear women, you know,
and it's like but if you go on stage to
go I don't understand women, right, that's different. Now the
guard is down, help me understand why women are.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
Like, you know, say behave in the matter with right.

Speaker 3 (32:06):
It's a conversation, not a proclamation. Right, So yeah, I
could do it, but I like going on stage and
say I hate I want to hate stuff.

Speaker 1 (32:17):
I mean, where versus was out? You like you like
to do a versus.

Speaker 3 (32:20):
I was just having a conversation, right. Somebody in the
radiant goes, have you ever thought about a versus? And
I said Dave Chappelle? Because I think Dave Chappelle is like,
you know, like who should I said, you know, I don't.
I don't want to dog anybody here. But like you know,
I'm a great comedian, so I want to do I

(32:43):
would do a versus against another great comedian, you know
what I mean. That's all I was saying, but they took.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
It out of they took it out of context. Uh
would trump being in office? The PC culture because now
people feel very comfortable saying doing pretty much anything. Are
you okay with that? I'd rather know how you feel,
what you think?

Speaker 3 (33:06):
Yeah, you know, I'd rather say no, you don't have
the job, or say no you got the job, as
opposed to no black person, we don't want you to work.

Speaker 1 (33:19):
Right.

Speaker 3 (33:19):
So I think it's you know, we've lost our way
I think as a society, and we're so you know,
I call it the deification of men where you don't
you know, it's like everything everybody is I don't know,

(33:40):
just solvet you know, And it's soft about.

Speaker 1 (33:44):
Everybody scared to say how they really feel.

Speaker 3 (33:46):
Yeah, it's like what what what's wrong with telling them
the truth?

Speaker 1 (33:49):
Say it? Say the truth?

Speaker 3 (33:53):
At least I know where to go or where you
know where not to go.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
Joe Rogan said, you need better friends. You needed somebody
to tell you some damn get your ass back on stage. Man,
you too good to be housed up. Hold up in
a house writing, put through the writing and go do
a set.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
I I love Joe Rogan. I've actually stolen a joke
from Joe Rogan.

Speaker 1 (34:16):
You stole the joke. Yeah, but you know how people
feel about now.

Speaker 3 (34:19):
No not not not intentionally, not intentionally. So here's what
happens with comedians is like you, This is why I
don't watch comics is because you are You can't help
but have that writer on in your brain go oh,
if he'd have done that, right. So the school I
grew up in, if you watch the comedian do something

(34:41):
on stage, and then you after he comes up, you go,
I got to I gotta tag for you, and you
give him that joke that you wrote in your head
because that's his right. So when I was coming up,
it was like, we go this place called Canters, a
little dive on Fairfax, And after the colubs closed down,
like two o'clock in the morning, Jerry signed for be

(35:02):
at a table and Jay Leno and my brother Robert
Townsend and we were poor, were eating frenchies, sharing some
French fries. That's how broke we were. But What would
happen is Jay would come over and go, hey, Ken,
and I saw you do this joke, and then I
was thinking of that. And then Keene would get up
and go and tell Jerry, and Jerry would come on
and tell our sinio, you know. And it was like

(35:22):
a community. And if another comedian was on stage doing
somebody else's act, they would yell up, that's just the serio.
Really in the middle of your act. Yep, I was
dead tonight. Joe Rogan was gonna beat up Carlos Mencilla.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
He stole a joke.

Speaker 3 (35:40):
Yeah, and he told and and and Carlos.

Speaker 1 (35:43):
Said, hey, it worked for you. I like that. He's
so stupid.

Speaker 3 (35:52):
I can't even hit you because you just really believe that.

Speaker 1 (35:57):
I know you. I don't know if you watched the interview,
but you've heard it. Kat sat down with me about
a year ago.

Speaker 3 (36:03):
Oh the world heard it, and.

Speaker 1 (36:05):
People got upset with me, damon, because they say, well,
you should have defended this, you should have defended that,
or you shouldn't know. All I did was ask him
a question. I didn't know that there was so much
animosity or beef between comedians. I don't think the world
knew it. The comedic world knew it because you live
in that Like you said, you live in that world,

(36:27):
so you know what. Guys gals don't get along with
each other. When you heard the interview, tell me what
went through your mind. I laughed, because Cat is funny.

Speaker 3 (36:37):
Cat is one of the fewest comedians that in one word,
you know who it is. I'm marry as soon as
he opened his mouth, and Wanda Sykes, Chris Roth, you
know that means you have a clear and distinctive voice.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Right.

Speaker 3 (36:53):
So when I watch a comedian, I'm watching funny. I'm
watching what's going on behind his eyes, and he goes
I'm and he reaches for his drink and then he
starts and he's thinking funny, he's really roasting these guys.
People took it, you know, like personal, like he's trying to.

(37:14):
He was just having fun, got that liquor in him,
had the fire going behind him. You know, he was
like feeling stuff. I don't think I personally don't think
it's that. I feel like we're a fraternity and there's
enough stuff going on out there for you to be
talking about instead of talking about what's going on in here.

(37:35):
You know, what I mean, because you know, I, like
I said, I think it's funny. But everybody steals jokes.
You know, it's like it's not stealing the joke, it's
once you know it's not yours, and you keep doing it.
That's the crime. Because this is you know, it's funny

(37:57):
how it works. The mind just works, and it's grabbing up,
especially for you know, people who don't write jokes, right,
they just go up on stage and talk, right, Kat
Williams talks, you know, Steve Harvey, you know, that's what
you just talk. It's almost like being an NC and
you go, hey, where are you from?

Speaker 1 (38:17):
What you do?

Speaker 3 (38:18):
And the first thing that comes to mind is what
you say? But sometimes you're saying the first thing that
came to your mind is somebody else's joke.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Do you have to give it? If you steal somebody's joke,
do you have to give them credit for it? No?

Speaker 3 (38:33):
You know, Robin Williams was a notorious thief. His manager
used to walk around with a check book and Robin
would come off stage and commedimly say, hey, he just
took me an age to write him a check seventy
five dollars damn. Because he knew Robin was all stream
of conscious and he would steal material he was known.

(38:54):
Comedians would go, I'm not going on because Robin's here.

Speaker 1 (38:58):
Right, you know, but it's it happens.

Speaker 3 (39:03):
But I always look at like comedy like this, If
it's not the last joke I'm ever going to tell,
I ain't gonna treat it like that. Oh okay, you
ain't taking my wife or my kid. It's just a joke.
That means I got to think of something else, right,
you know what I mean. But for people to be all,
you know, up in arms about a joke, really, what

(39:27):
is the joke? Did the joke in the war and
you know in the Middle East?

Speaker 1 (39:31):
Right? Was it that powerful? Then? What you're tripping over?
The creator from the Jamie Fox Show say he and Jamie,
if I'm not mistaken, haven't received a check because he said,
the networks there they're still in the red and if
they're operating at a loss twenty five years later, it's
hard for and I think a lot of people when
they hear that, it's hard for them to believe, especially

(39:53):
with the success that the Jamie Fox Show enjoyed.

Speaker 3 (39:55):
Well it was on a network, yeah, right, so I
made a lot of money off a wife, kids. I
can't relate to that. It's a different network though, So
Jamie and you know, and Living Color too, I get
like residual checks for thirty nine cents. I'm like, what
is that? Trying to be funny?

Speaker 1 (40:13):
Yeah right, yeah, that saved the posterage for that right.

Speaker 3 (40:16):
So, but but that's what they send out.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
Now.

Speaker 3 (40:18):
What happened with these upstart networks. WB was one of them,
Fox was one of them. They got these sweetheart deals
from SAG and AFTRA where they didn't have to because
they were an upstart, right, but they still, you know,
operating as if they just started right and WB my
brothers didn't really make no money off the Wayne's Brother show.

(40:40):
So you know, like I said, I made a lot
of money from wife and kids.

Speaker 1 (40:45):
So that's why, yeah, I still get checked. Not to
rub it in, but I still get checked my wife
and kids. What's your favorite memory, because I mean, like
I said, you would voted one of the greatest TV
dads of all time.

Speaker 3 (41:00):
Greatest moments was the bond that I had with Tsha
and George and Jennifer and Lil Parker. You know, it's
just some of the best times. And you know, everything
I do is family. So June David Jr. Was there,
and my son Michael, and my sister Kim wasn't there.

(41:21):
But like a lot of family, you know, on a
day to day and there's nothing like walking in and
seeing faces that look like you.

Speaker 1 (41:30):
You know, and now is that conscious? And when you
do things like that, you're like, I want to make
sure that that that we're well represented.

Speaker 3 (41:40):
If I don't, nobody else will. So if if you
don't make that conscious effort that, you know, you hire
a producer who happens to be white because that's who
the studio wants because they controlled them money and they
want to make sure that their money. You know, They okay,
that's cool. And then you tell him the mandate, I

(42:01):
need you to hire some black folks. He gonna give
you one or two people hair and makeup, and you go, no,
that's not enough. I need apartment heads. I want camera,
I want a cameraman. I want you know, I'm very
like adamant about what I want. And you know, when
you walk on and I understand all white sets because
people want to be it's about a comfort zone.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
Being comfortable.

Speaker 3 (42:23):
You want to be racist and tell those jokes, and
then you look up and you see the black grip
walking around. You just feel uncomfortable.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
You can't take it.

Speaker 3 (42:30):
He can't tell your jokes, right right, Okay, But it's
the same way with us. It's like we bring in
people and it's a family and you freedom expressions.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
We want to talk about eatingnox tails. Yeah yeah, yeah,
but you had Kat. Kat was on the set of
My Wife and Kids for a few episodes. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:49):
Cat used to open for me. I knew Kat was up,
you know, do you know you know Cat was gonna
blow up. Absolutely. That's why I brought on My Wife
and Kids because he would open for me. Kat was
one of those comedians like I took into Vegas. He
got standovation twenty minute set. Wow, he was powerful, still powerful,

(43:10):
but like he was like when he was young. He
was all over the doing split sea, sliding across the
stage and you just go, wow, I got to bring
my egg game, you know what I mean? And I
think you know what most comedians you know respected about
me is I never told them to not do material,
like you know, it's customary for the opening act to go, Hey,

(43:33):
is there any jokes that you don't want to say no,
I'll go.

Speaker 1 (43:35):
Do you really? Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 3 (43:37):
I don't want you to tamp hold on anything, d Ray,
all of these guys, Nope, just don't hold it in,
just go back. I just have to be better.

Speaker 1 (43:45):
Hold on. I'm reading that you have an Oscar Worthy
field with kat, your brother Marlon Terry Crew that you
won't release.

Speaker 3 (43:52):
Yeah, why the myth? Oh you, it's just you know
what happened was? I shot this movie called Behind a
Smile about this comedian who moved from Cleveland to la
and he meets his idol who's me, and his idol
see his potential. He takes him under his wing and
then destroys him because he's threatened by him, to the

(44:15):
point where the kid blows his brains out on stage.
It's called Behind the Smile and Malin is absolutely brilliant
in this movie. But I went to sell it and
Netflix was the first place to come to me. This
is before, So this movie was in two thousand, like
four or five, and they came to me and I

(44:37):
didn't like the deal, so I just said I'm put
in the vault. But that was the like the only
I mean, we got great reviews and we did a
festival up in Aspen and Dave Chappelle was like, oh, man,
that's my favorite movie. That's why I went to Africa.

Speaker 1 (44:58):
So if they were to come back and offer you
more money, would you let it go? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (45:04):
I was told yeah, I told maland I don't want
to go shop it. But if he can sell it,
sell it, it's fine. It's a great It's a He's Brent,
cat Is Brant. This is like, you know, I got
Cat Williams, George Wallace, Uh, what's his name? Bob he
died recently, Bob Saggat, isn't it And Jim Belushi and uh, yeah,

(45:29):
it's just it's a great, great cast.

Speaker 1 (45:32):
You got many how many movies do you think you're
having the vault that you've shot? Or you got scripts
just that one? But of scripts, it's crazy.

Speaker 3 (45:40):
I've got cabinets of scripts, TV and film because I
have to write. I have to just because it gives
me peace, and it also gives me something to think about.
That's like, so when I wake up in the morning,
I'm thinking about my script. I'm not thinking about what's

(46:00):
wrong in the world right thinking about these characters.

Speaker 1 (46:03):
You know, I got a production company, right, do you.

Speaker 3 (46:08):
I'm gonna give you them if you want. I gave
you some.

Speaker 1 (46:11):
I just wrote it. Yeah, I do. Everybody need to
look at that. Look at that failm I know some
people that know some people.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
Well, let's meet some people.

Speaker 1 (46:22):
Do some things with some people. Papa's House, your new show. Yes, uh, brother, sister, granddaughter,
I mean you mentioned that, like when you do something. Hey,
it's a family affair.

Speaker 3 (46:32):
Right, because I'm gonna go. Here's what's wonderful about like
doing my show. So my granddaughter is actually an episode.
She's brilliant. Robert Townsend directed it. Crazy because Robert Townsen
directed me in my first thing, and then he's directed
my granddaughter and her first thing.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (46:47):
Then my sister Kim is a director, writer, Sean is
a writer. Damien directed in an episode Michael's in the
writer's room, Kim. And you know it's just like to
walk in. It's what it does to me psychologically is
I have to check my ego at the door, right,
So I walk in and I got to show them

(47:09):
how to do it, how to lead right. And so
you know my son is also an EP, but you
know he's kind of deferring to his dad. But it's
also like my temperament is so that everybody feels at ease.
Right as Damon goes, so goes the show right, And

(47:32):
Junior also is like, you know, it's like, no, we
got to be here on time all the time. You know,
you're ep. You gotta set an example right.

Speaker 1 (47:42):
When you say, all so people in your family is
in the room. How different are you intellectually? Like when
you write, how close? How similar are you? Like you
think like Keenan? Do you think like Marlon? Does Kim
think like you? Does Sean? Sean thinks like this? I'm
like this, you know.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
And at the end of the day, I have veto power,
So I want to know what you bring to the table.
I want to hear what you think. And that's every
writer in the rum. Everybody has good ideas, right, but
not every idea is good for this particular episode. But
I want to hear them all because for the most part,
my brain works like this, that's it right, and either

(48:23):
it is or it ain't right right. Either it's a
good episode, a good story, or it doesn't work in
my brain because I write all the time, I can
see it just in the pitch. Okay, yeah, that'll work,
you know, but I everybody feels good about creating, you know,
contributing to these episodes.

Speaker 1 (48:43):
You know, we haven't seen Sean in a while because
I was looking for because I had never I had
never seen Kim. I think I saw you in passing.
But to meet you at the NAACP Image Awards. Obviously,
Marlin a couple of years, many many years ago, I
met both of them. Is he still right, Sean?

Speaker 3 (49:00):
It's amazing, Sean. They're working on scary movie. I don't
know what number.

Speaker 1 (49:05):
Six, but yeah, so since Marlin is in Papa's house,
are you gonna be a scary movie? Probably not? I
mean you perfect with the foot you are? You? Are you?
Are you done with movies?

Speaker 3 (49:22):
No, it's not done with movies. It's just the you
know that particular. You know, they be watching scared movies.

Speaker 1 (49:29):
That I don't that you don't really care for.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
Yeah, I don't play with demons because I don't want
them playing with me.

Speaker 1 (49:36):
So you know what I've never really had normally when
I give my family, mommy money. But when you're working
with family, how you negotiate with them? Cause they be
trying to they be trying to up charge you.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
No, Well, family gets what they deserve. You know, they
have fair market value, Kim and Sean, and you know
it's the younger ones that come along you go. You
got to earn it, right.

Speaker 1 (49:58):
You know.

Speaker 3 (49:58):
So my son he's a staff writer and he's earned it.
He got three scripts in this season. So you get
paid for scripts too.

Speaker 1 (50:06):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (50:06):
You can't cheat the process, right, you know, because then you.

Speaker 1 (50:09):
You don't want to see the bad president, do you,
Because what if they're not working for you, ain't nobody
else is gonna be giving them money just because you like,
I want you to earn it. I want you to
earn this. I'm not gonna give you what you deserve.
I'm gonna give you what you earned. And once you
earn it, that means you deserve it, and I'm gonna
pay your cording.

Speaker 3 (50:26):
Well, the thing is, like they it's the industry has
a set for what you get at each level.

Speaker 1 (50:35):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (50:35):
So it's not on me, okay, you know, And they
can't cheat him even if they wanted to.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
Right.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
So, like next year you put in work and there's
a bump for it and you'll get a different credit, right,
you know what I mean. So it's like, but I
don't feel that I should go in and make them
make him a co producer, right, Okay, I probably could,
but that's a disservice to him because now all the

(51:02):
other people in the room looking at him like this.

Speaker 1 (51:05):
Bro, that's not what you earned, right, right.

Speaker 3 (51:08):
So, like my granddaughter is in an episode coming up, and.

Speaker 1 (51:13):
She had the audition you make up audition.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
She wanted to it. Okay, so she's so amara. She
is a stand in, right, And I told her, so
she's doing standing for essence? And I told her, a baby,
this is an opportunity. When you are doing these lines,
do them as if you are playing that role. So
go home and I want you off page after the

(51:40):
second day. You don't have a script. You memorized it.
Learn to hit your mark. Say it with enthusiasm, say
it like you replace essence.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
You're not.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
But if you act like that, you get in your reps.
Now when it's time.

Speaker 1 (51:55):
To go, you ready to go.

Speaker 3 (51:56):
You're confident. So she walked into that audition, killed it,
and there was probably twenty other women. So I said
to the castings, I said, listen, who do you think
was better than her nobody. Then she got the park.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
Wow, nepotism talking tomorrow and to morrow, I said, man, look here,
what good is it if I can be in this position,
if I can't put my family on, what the hell
am I doing?

Speaker 3 (52:23):
You want to think about nepotism sometimes, you know, you know,
Keenan said this one time to the family. He goes,
till you're talk to the next generation. You guys were
born on the road to success. Why do you keep
making detours? Mm hm ooh.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
I like that one.

Speaker 3 (52:42):
It's like, just show up and they talk about we
don't want to do Wayne's probably what what we can't
keep doing Wayne's brothers?

Speaker 1 (52:51):
What? So?

Speaker 3 (52:54):
Go all right, you go and see how many other
projects you get. Build your resume off of funny stuff.
That's what you know is gonna happen. If you do
a Wayne's project, it's gonna be funny. There's levels to
how funny it'll be, right, But for the most part,
you can say you did some comedy right that you
can put on your resume. You go do one or
two lines and somebody else's stuff you ain't gonna get

(53:16):
off because they don't care about you.

Speaker 1 (53:18):
Right you are. I've always asked. I wanted to ask
this my mom because people ask why because I look
just like my dad. My mom they asked my mom,
why did not name me a junior? And my mom
says that wasn't gonna happen. Lebron says he kind of
hate naming his son Lebron James Junior because of if

(53:39):
you are someone the natural comparison you are, you have
a junior and you and people automatically think you're funny
like your dad? Can you write like your dad? King
Griffy Jr. Deon Sanders Junior, Lebron James Jr. What made you?
Did you think? Did you factor? It? Is like, well, no,
I just want to name him junior.

Speaker 3 (54:00):
I didn't think he was gonna be in show business.
I thought he wanted to be an animator. Okay, right,
So I never like, you know, when you name him,
you just I got my son, right, you know what
I mean? I want him to be named after me.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
Yeah, I ain't.

Speaker 3 (54:12):
Thinking about I didn't even know what I was going
to do back then, right, you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (54:16):
So you know.

Speaker 3 (54:18):
He he has jokes about being a junior. He says
it's the most arrogant thing you could do to name
somebody after you, like I'm so wonderful. Look I'm gonna
make another meat. But he was able to navigate, you know,
a very tough road because at the height of my
fame he started doing stand up and you know, because

(54:41):
I wouldn't give him the money. You had a baby, bitter,
I can teach you the family business, you know. So
I took him on the road and he would he
changed his name to something Kyle Green, and he'd go
up on stage and half his act the young that
name of son. So he just had the own Damien

(55:07):
Ways Junior, right, you know. But because he wasn't able
to concentrate on stage because he kept hearing people, you know,
say you look just like your daddy. Oh yeah, you
spend him out.

Speaker 1 (55:17):
He spit you out.

Speaker 3 (55:19):
And it's just like just say it, address it and
then keep it moving.

Speaker 1 (55:22):
Now. Be funny situation. We saw a couple of weeks
ago Michael Jordan's son running to some issues that had
some some drug issues and things like that. I don't
know if your kids have ever been I gave him
the drug. How would you have that situation if one
of your one of your kids got into a similar situation.

(55:43):
Here was funny boy my family.

Speaker 3 (55:46):
We are a comedian, right, Oh, so you don't want
to write us some new material?

Speaker 1 (55:53):
I can kid you not.

Speaker 3 (55:54):
I got a phone call this morning from some dude
who said he's a hacker, a hacker, and that he
has some explicit images from some young I think he
said boys on one of my family's phone that he
hacked into. And I said, listen, we're comedians. Tell me who,

(56:16):
because I want to write I need to know who
the perfectly. I said, you can't, and he was like,
you think it's funny. I said, yeah, it's funny, and
go ahead and release it.

Speaker 1 (56:33):
It's funny. And that's how my family would deal with
in my life, haven't No, Yeah, raising kids in a
privileged situation, because that's not how you grew up. And
the thing is, we always well, I want my kids
to have so much more, and sometimes we do a

(56:56):
disservice to our kids because we give them more and
they and they're not always appreciative. Because tough times create
tough men. Yes, tough men create easy times, that's true.
Kids that come from hard easy times create hard times
all over again. So how were you able raised having

(57:18):
what you have kids grew up with fifty times more
than what you had. How did you get your kids
to say, you know what my daddy has, but that
ain't me. I'm gonna go get my own.

Speaker 3 (57:29):
You gotta start out. You gotta start them out. You
give them bare minimal. If you're happy with seven hundred
dollars a week, okay, that's gonna be your life. See
how good that's seven hundred dollars. I'm gonna keep you
off the pole, you know, I'm gonna keep you off

(57:49):
the crack because you can't afford it, you know. So
now and with that comes opportunities to make and to
I can give you job, I can't give you a career.
And the thing about having like the next generation, they
don't have that, you know, And that's what it takes

(58:11):
to really hit that next level that yes, you know
I have that because I missed meals. My kids never
missed missed the meal.

Speaker 1 (58:22):
And they wasn't eating you know, pig knuckles and everything
like that. They eating steak, they eating loft and the
crab legs they eating.

Speaker 3 (58:29):
They have snack, a snack.

Speaker 1 (58:32):
What do you call that?

Speaker 3 (58:33):
A pantry with snacks chips yes, Yeah, I ain't had
none of that. We had nwladi that you kept in
your pocket and if you wanted to eat one, you
had to sneak it out, slide it up your arm
here because if my brothers find out, they're gonna take.

Speaker 1 (58:56):
It from me. You know what I mean. Now that
you're a grandparent.

Speaker 3 (59:02):
And a great grandfather and great grandfather, Joe dam I
didn't know that.

Speaker 1 (59:06):
We didn't know that.

Speaker 3 (59:07):
Yeah, it's beautiful.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
What's the because a lot of times that I'm a granddad,
not two times. My son just had welcomed a daughter
about three weeks ago. And when I heard people say
my grandmother, and I'm living testament to this, I believe
my grandmother loved her three grands more than she loved
her own nine.

Speaker 3 (59:26):
Yeah, I love my grandkids more than my kids. And
I'm gonna tell you why, because it's a different love. Right,
So your kids, all your hopes and dreams is in
your kids. Right when they say something smart to someone,
it's a reflection on you. You don't talk to mister

(59:47):
Jones like that. You go apologize my granddaughter he's fat. Yeah,
go tell them it's funny, you know, because it's a
different kind of parent thing, you know. So I frustrate
my kids because they want me to. I said, listen,
it's on a need to know my kids, the grandkids,

(01:00:08):
the relationship I have with them, they could tell me anything.
They tell me the stuff they're too afraid to tell you,
and I'm gonna give them the best advice possible because
part of my title is parent, right right, right, So,
but if I feel you really need to know something,
I'm gonna tell you, and I'm gonna tell them that
I'm gonna tell you right.

Speaker 1 (01:00:28):
But right now they saying stuff you don't need to know.

Speaker 3 (01:00:30):
Yeah, but they because they feel comfortable around me, and
I feel my granddaughter told me yesterday that Pop, I'm
gonna come to you for advice from now on because
we talk about stuff that they feel like they can't
really tell their parents.

Speaker 1 (01:00:45):
Let me, who are some of the people that had
they been around when you guys were doing in Living
Color that you would love to do a sketch about Kanye.

Speaker 3 (01:00:58):
Kanye Yeah, but you know what, I love Kanye, you know,
and people are mad at him. You know, what he's
doing is wild. But you know, when you see a
homeless person in the street, and they're talking to theirself.
You can't be mad at them. Something wrong. They're sick, right, Kanye,
something wrong with him, you know. And people I don't

(01:01:19):
listen to the homeless man yelling stuff and think, oh
he mean that. He don't mean that. It's just coming
out right, right. So somebody needs to grab him, somebody,
you know, that's what you need, an uncle, right, grab him? Hey,
come here, boy, let me talk to you. You don't
say that, you don't do that somebody who he loves
and respects. Does he have that in his life? I

(01:01:41):
don't know, but I love Kanye. He's a musical genius.

Speaker 1 (01:01:46):
You were married for fifteen years. What do you learn
about marriage? What do you learn about yourself during a marriage?
I was married nineteen nineteen. Damn, I showed you for
my bad. I'm added back home.

Speaker 3 (01:01:53):
It's cheap of the keeper or cheap of the killer.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
Keep killing.

Speaker 3 (01:02:01):
But but you know, marriage is not just the moment, right.
You have to get through moments. You know, it's it's
tough like so, you know, trying to tell my sons,
like you know you want to get married because brands

(01:02:22):
want to know. If you think about Bill Gates and uh, jobs,
and you know all these guys bezil is about to
get married again. Why because when you sit down and
people think about being in business with you, if you
can make manage your marriage, I can be in business

(01:02:44):
with you because I know on a day to day
you are having to humble yourself and have to kind
of work through stuff. So with business you'll do the
same thing. I feel like you would do the same thing.

Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:03:00):
I think marriage is beautiful, But marriage when you get
to the older years where it becomes a ballet where
they don't say much. You know, after all these years,
she know what shut up me? She know she's not talkative.
She make your little coffee in the morning, and your

(01:03:23):
toasts not breakfast. You know, she figured out you need
something to eat. And come downstairs and the paper's there
and you read it and y'all just exist together.

Speaker 1 (01:03:35):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:03:35):
You fart and you look at she ain't laughing, Okay,
go back to the paper, you know, and then she
talk and you just and when you get to a
certain age, you got the most wonderful thing in the world,
which is hearing ad you turn that down, just looking out.

Speaker 1 (01:03:58):
So what did you do? Mm?

Speaker 3 (01:04:02):
And that's that's what it is. But you think about
all that you've been through and the kids and the grandkids,
you know, and it's it's special. I think marriage is
a beautiful arrangement.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:04:15):
I was just too young and dumb to know that
back then.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
Are you on? Are you on good terms? Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:04:22):
Here's what's crazy is you know, for the longest, like
she and I would, you know, we we never said
it to each other, but we just made up our
minds that we can't let the grandkids feel our resentment.
And there was resentment, you know. She'd come in and
sit over there, and I'd sit over there. And then

(01:04:42):
probably about seven years ago, I was over at Junior's
house family gathering because she I would, they kids would
invite her to barbecues at my house and it's fine,
you know. And what it was is the fear of
having to relitigate what happened in the marriage, right, And
I know I messed up. I messed up, so I
don't want to deal That's why I pay you animony,

(01:05:03):
so I don't have to deal with that.

Speaker 1 (01:05:05):
Right.

Speaker 3 (01:05:06):
But about seven years ago we over Junior's house and
were sitting outside and she's over there, somewhere and we're laughing.
We all, that's what we do is laugh and joke,
and we start reminiscing. And then she came and sat
right next to me and start chiming in. And then
we were talking about she brought up a story and
I was like, I remember, I remember, and it was

(01:05:27):
and the kids were like talking. But I could feel
all the tension just leaves disipate. The relationship changed. I
love her and I was able to say I love you,
and she says that to me when we see each other.
I care for I don't want nothing bad happening, right,
you know. And and it's it's a it's maturity, right,

(01:05:51):
you know. And she said the last week when I
saw her, She's like, we did good by the kids, right,
We high five?

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
Yeah? Wow? So what what's what's what's the dating life
like for? Because I need you know, I'm I'm headed
towards sixty two.

Speaker 3 (01:06:05):
Bro, I don't date. I'm happy.

Speaker 1 (01:06:07):
You happy.

Speaker 3 (01:06:08):
I wake up in the morning like a kid, you know,
you run outside and come home smelling like pennies. I
could do whatever I want to do. That's he's in
my house, right, I don't.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
Have to Hey, we're good.

Speaker 3 (01:06:21):
All right? You need thing I don't. I could not.
I've been by myself too long.

Speaker 1 (01:06:29):
You sitting waves in Huh? So you ain't getting married?
No more?

Speaker 3 (01:06:33):
No, I never say never, because if some woman can
climb over the wall of resentment, the bile that I have, Yeah,
for twenty five years, I've been writing checks, all the money,
if she can come out. She was sent by God.
That's a superhero.

Speaker 1 (01:06:54):
Hold on, this can't be true that you dated the
same woman as your nephew wants. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:07:01):
I was in love with her, that's the thing. Come on,
you ain't never did Jackson five?

Speaker 1 (01:07:09):
I mean a for a family moment, that's south Limit's damon. No,
But he was.

Speaker 3 (01:07:12):
It wasn't like they were in love. Do you know
how small the pool is out here in CALLI yeah,
dating pool? Like and this was probably what two thousand
and what two thousand and one?

Speaker 1 (01:07:27):
Two? Did you know? What? Originally? Did she know? Originally?

Speaker 2 (01:07:31):
That?

Speaker 1 (01:07:32):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (01:07:32):
When I met I so I was. I got divorced
and I was by myself for two years, right right,
And then I saw her and I was just like,
oh my god, I'm in love. And I found out
my nephew had dated it. I'm like, you know, what's
up with that? He goes, that's you. I was like, okay,
pastor ki and I went ahead and I fell in love,

(01:07:58):
fell in love and it was okay.

Speaker 1 (01:08:01):
But it's just they clowned you, didn't it.

Speaker 3 (01:08:04):
Yeah, family gatherings is awkward.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
I don't know about that one. Damn I matter. I would
just have to let her go.

Speaker 3 (01:08:18):
No, you see it, you understand. And she cooked.

Speaker 1 (01:08:24):
She went to caught on blue, what she can, artail,
nick bone, baggage, color.

Speaker 3 (01:08:30):
Green, hairy, all that, and then so with turkey desert dessert.

Speaker 1 (01:08:36):
Come on, oh.

Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
Man, like a bona fide like chef. I think she
does that now amazing.

Speaker 1 (01:08:42):
I might either think about it and then the other things.

Speaker 3 (01:08:49):
While she cooked.

Speaker 1 (01:08:55):
I do not. You have type two diabetesies of the
how's it going? Yeah, I mean it's like my club foot, No,
it's good. Did you always have diabetes?

Speaker 3 (01:09:11):
Yeah, in twenty seventeen. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:09:14):
It's it's in your family, jeans.

Speaker 3 (01:09:17):
Here's why I'm learning because I have a freestyle leave breaking.

Speaker 1 (01:09:21):
Yeah, with checks change my life right.

Speaker 3 (01:09:24):
And what it is is we eat stuff and you
don't know what's good or how your body is breaking down, right,
So this gives me. I got the gluecos monitor, and
I can look at it and I know where I'm
at at all time. The thing is, I walked into
the hospital, I was I felt delirious. My sugar is
at five thirty five, supposed to be between eighty and yeah, twenty.

Speaker 1 (01:09:47):
You about to go into a diabetic coma, That's what
he said.

Speaker 3 (01:09:50):
I So I tell Keenan, and Keenan's like, okay, you
gotta change your diet. What do you mean, because well,
if you don't eat sugar, you won't have a sugar problem, right,
life changing. So he goes through my cabinets and stuff
and you're gonna throw away this. You're gonna throw away
this ketchup got sugar everything?

Speaker 1 (01:10:11):
I like, got you it does, And I was like wow.

Speaker 3 (01:10:14):
So then I'm like, I still had to take insulin.
You know, you're taking five six units with every meal.
I'm like, I don't want to do this sticking your
finger to pray. Oh my god, It's like I don't.
But what I found out having this glucose monitor is
if I lift weights, heavier weights, then my sugar goes

(01:10:35):
down all day and especially legs. Right, So that's the
first thing that go when you start. When you get older,
you stop doing the legs. You think walking is working
your legs. Oh, I walk three miles and nothing.

Speaker 1 (01:10:50):
In order for a muscle to girl, you got to
put it on the stress that part, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:10:54):
They say there's a part of your brain that only
grows when you do stuff you don't want to do.
Tend to have the most developed part of that brain.
And this part of the brain has to do with discipline,
self control, stick to itiveness, you know. And so I'm
trying to develop that part of my brain.

Speaker 1 (01:11:13):
Right. So we see lebar Ball have some complications with diabetes,
end up having to have a limb amputated. IRV Gotti.
I think he ended up he had type two diabetes.
He ended up succumbing to it. So now, so how
does how does Damon Wine eat now? And I read
that you like only eat you know, do you have
a garden.

Speaker 3 (01:11:32):
Protein vegetables? I do you eat from my garden every day?
People think I'm crazy, but I you know, it's it's delicious.
I don't put a whole lot of season It's just
salt and pepper. And then I have my you know,
like turkey. Crazy thing is I can eat turkey, but
chicken don't sit well and don't digest. Really yeah, you
think it's just it's the cousins, yes, yeah, right, Why

(01:11:54):
am I having problems?

Speaker 1 (01:11:58):
Right?

Speaker 3 (01:11:58):
But you know I learned that with the glucose mine.
You know, the yams, shoot my blood, sugar, blueberries, it's
all the stuff that they tell you can have. No,
you can't be very high in.

Speaker 1 (01:12:11):
Sugar though, especially fruit is very high in fruit chokes.

Speaker 3 (01:12:17):
You had brain surgery, yep, I had a tumor on
my pituitary, so everything was shut down. You that's your
master gland, yes, right, So Testarchian was low, my drenals
were blown out. So I go there and what was
crazy is I was starting to see cock eyed because

(01:12:41):
the thing was the size of a lemon inside my brain.
So if you do like this, that's where the petuitary
is in the middle, right underneath. Doctor told me that's
the best place to get a tumor because they don't
have to cut your head open and went in through
my nose right, so you know, I'm Jehovah's witness. Couldn't

(01:13:01):
do it with blood, so I had.

Speaker 1 (01:13:04):
To tell the doctor, so you don't transfusions, right, No
transfusion right.

Speaker 3 (01:13:07):
So the crazy thing is when I found out I
had the tumor, I thought they were gonna cut my
brain open. So I'm like, I don't know if I'm
do I'm just write it out. I had a good life,
Thank you and my family, Kim especially. It's like, you
were going to get this surgery. I'm gonna punch that
thing out your head. So I like it was crazy
because you know, not doing the blood. You know you

(01:13:32):
have to really you know, this is a test of
your faith. Absolutely, So they give you that thing and
there's no turning back, right, and you don't know what's
gonna happen when you go out underneath. But here's how
faith works. So I say my prayer and I ask
God what I'm gonna do it? Okay, I'm gonna do
it no blood. Not only was this it's successful, but

(01:13:55):
the number one doctor in the world to perform this
surgery did my surgery, Wow, doctor Kelly at Saint Joseph's Hospital,
and he went in and got it all nine percent
of it and I didn't have to do no blood.

(01:14:16):
So when you when you put God first, good things happened.
But I remember being in the hospital afterwards, and you
know that recovery sleep is amazing, isn't it amazing?

Speaker 1 (01:14:31):
They just don't let you get a loan. They wake up,
the start leave me alone.

Speaker 3 (01:14:39):
But I all I remember is a kaleidoscope of wansas.
Every time I opened my eyes, there's somebody different there.
There's so much love in my family, you know, grandkids,
and my brothers and sisters and you know, and nieces.
And it was just like there was never not anybody there.

Speaker 1 (01:14:57):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (01:14:58):
You know, because in the hospital they tried to up
tell you. Yeah, you know, they're constantly trying to put
something else in there, and you go, no, no, no, no, no, no,
you need somebody to advocate. No, he don't need that,
he said, no blood. But the blood is the most
expensive thing they can give.

Speaker 1 (01:15:13):
You, the brain surgery, the diabetes. What have you learned
most about life? What do you embrace most about life?

Speaker 3 (01:15:24):
I have a beautiful family, I have a wonderful God.

Speaker 1 (01:15:29):
I have.

Speaker 3 (01:15:32):
So many blessings that you know. I'm the anger that
I used to have when I was young, I no
longer have because I just know that God has his
hand on me. And my family. Right, He's protected us
for years and years. And I know not everybody with

(01:15:54):
the last name Wave you know, is good or tries
to be good. But what we do have is others
that will correct you, and we ain't shy about going hey,
you're acting to fool like that, you get checked. And
so for that reason, I truly appreciate my family and

(01:16:18):
this wonderful journey that I'm on. You know, people, I
jokingly said when people when I die, I want it
on my tombstone. Don't cry for me, you're next.

Speaker 1 (01:16:38):
What if Damon Williams wanted his legacy to.

Speaker 3 (01:16:40):
Be I just want people to smile when they think
about me. I just want them to smile because that
dude he loved life. He was funny.

Speaker 1 (01:16:48):
Is it what your family? What can people take away
from the Walliam's family with the way you guys interact?
What would you like other families to take most away
from the way you interact with your family or your
family interact with each other.

Speaker 3 (01:17:05):
That you never know what could happen or will happen,
So all that stuff you hold on to let it go.
You know, I don't always agree with my brothers and
sisters and we have our little disagreement, but for the
most part, you never know what tomorrow brings, So don't
bring tomorrow today, right, Which is I wish i'd I

(01:17:29):
could have. I know so many people I don't understand
families that don't get along. You don't talk to your brother. Yeah,
you know you stop talking to your mother. How that
happened that my mother come kick the door down, she
climbing through the window. You don't stop talking to hu.
You know That's not how my family. I just wish
that people. The funny thing is like on my set,

(01:17:52):
people are hugging and kissing when they come in and
they tell me, we don't do this in my family
should yeah, And they just think may some wonderful cards
thanking me. It's not me, it's it's my family. It's
how just we are and we and we get work
done right.

Speaker 1 (01:18:13):
Anything you want to promote. I know you have Papa's
house now, just.

Speaker 3 (01:18:17):
Papa's house and the movie that we're gonna do together.

Speaker 1 (01:18:20):
I like that. David don't want to thank you. Thank
you continue success, everything you've done in this business, in
what your family has meant to this community. I think
I speak for everybody that's gonna watch this and it's
gonna listen to this. Thank you, God, Bush, I appreciate you.
Thank you. Spotlight l A the newest exclusive nightclub for

(01:18:40):
a love and club shap shade of film here. Spotlight
l A is a place for anything and everything, with
something programmed for everyone. Keep up with Spotlight on Instagram
at Spotlight dot La.

Speaker 2 (01:18:51):
All my life, grunting all my life, Sacrifice, hustle, price,
want to slice all my life. I've been grinding all
my life, all my life, been grinning all my life.

Speaker 1 (01:19:04):
It's like the price, that's what play the price one slice,
not the poe that all my life.

Speaker 2 (01:19:10):
I've been grinding all my life at