Wayne Brady, Bill Maher and The Problem With What Black Manhood Means to NON-Black People

July 12th, 2012 - By Charing Ball

Source: pothole-of-obscurity.blogspot.com

Comedian Wayne Brady went on a very public tirade about recent comments made by fellow comedian Bill Maher, for making oft-color jokes about his blackness.

Brady, probably best known for his role on the comedy sketch show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” blasted the “Real Time” funnyman for referring to President Obama as “your Wayne Brady.” The implication, of course, is that Obama isn’t black enough – at least from Maher’s perspective – just like Wayne Brady.  Speaking with Aisha Tyler on her podcast, Brady said, “I’ve had Bill Maher twice now when referencing Obama…he’s like ‘yeah, with your Wayne Brady’…so that means it’s a diss to Obama to be called me because he wants a brother brother.”

Brady also took the time to point out that Maher shouldn’t claim to know Black folks as he says, “just because you f–k black hookers.” *side eye* He also added that he would “gladly slap the sh!t out of Bill” to prove just how black he is:  “…I’d get sued and lose my house and it’s not worth it for me. But the black man part of me would be so satisfied to slap the sh!t out of him in front of Cocoa and Ebony and Fox, the three ladies of the night that he has hired.”

Okay, I’ll say it: Does Wayne Brady have to choke a b***h?

I love it when television and reality clash into the perfect meme inducing moment.  Anyway, this is serious for Brady. After years of being clowned as the non-threatening black man, he is ready to start swinging, quite literally, on those who question his blackness. From what I gathered from previous stories, Brady has long had to battle the notion that his mild-mannered persona is in contrast to the ideal nature of typical black masculinity. Paul Mooney once joked in his classic Dave Chappelle Show Negrodamus sketch that “White people love Wayne Brady, because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.”

In an interview, Brady would reveal that while we all thought it was funny, Brady was less than amused, especially when white kids use Mooney’s quote to get his attention via Twitter. It bothered Brady so much that he would confront both Chappelle and Mooney about the skit and that is what eventually led to the whole classic,  I’m Wayne Brady, B***h sketch.

In the same interview, Brady goes on to say, “I get offended from a bigger level, in the fact of black people, we are one of the only races that I feel, if someone is judged as not being black enough, no matter how well they’re doing, the thought isn’t, “Hey, look how good that brother’s doing, and he represents us, and if he can get in that door, we can get in that door.” People take it to be, “Ugh, look at him. He only got there because white people put him on. Listen to how he talks. He’s not hard, he doesn’t do this, he’s a square.”

I get where Brady is coming from. I hear that same sentiment thrown around casually not only in our communities but also among some white folks, like Maher, who usually say it to express their displeasure that a particular black man is not politically aggressive enough.  In some folks’ mind, it is a given that any black leader is supposed to be reeking with all sort of menacing yet cool anti-establishment aggression, directed towards white people. Black men are supposed to be cool ladies men (and/or pimps) like Black Dynamite. He is supposed to walk like George Jefferson and have the unapologetic righteous bravado of H. Rap Brown.  I’m talking about the kind of black cool which makes old white people cross the street upon fear that they might be on the receiving end of a strong hand just for being white. And those black men, who lack that certain rough and tough exterior, are instantly concluded as non-threatening Negroes.

Of course, like every stereotype, there is some truth to the troupe. In fact there are a number of celebrities and political figures, who have completely bought into the same power structure, which seeks to disempower us as a community, in order to ascend into the higher rungs of society. If we are being honest, there are probably a few people that instantly come to your mind.  However, not every square can be, or should be, considered a non-threatening black man.

When we watch the images of Black men in pop culture, we see clearly how black men have been reduce to a single definition of manhood, which includes how aggressive they are, the size of their balls, and their ability to play cool.  In essence, that perception of black manhood has become the alter-ego to non-black folks across the globe, who, on occasion, fantasize about a contrast to their homogenous existence. And there is no better contrast to white than black. Sort of like a young boy’s fascination with Clark Kent/Superman but instead of a white guy in a red cape, they dream of Shaft.

Folks like director Quentin Tarantino have long expressed infatuation with black manhood, which can be seen in films like Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and yet again in the soon-to-be released Django Unchained.  Even places where the black population probably is mostly reserved to military bases, the mainstream perception of black manhood is very much evident. This too is illustrated in the new Japanese feature film called Afro Tanaka, which is about a Japanese loser with messy hair who only gains respect from his peers after growing a gloriously big Afro and assuming the “traits” of a black man.

As I have mentioned before, what we see in the media does influence reality. And unfortunately, there are many black men who willingly play the role of aggressors because it is what they too have been lead to believe are their roles as men. Real men. The irony in Brady’s situation is that in order to prove himself and have his version of black masculinity taken seriously, he too had to embody the aggressive black man stereotype, down to the threats of violence and the disrespect of black women (i.e., the black hooker remark). I would say that without even opening his mouth, Maher has already won this battle.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2234207 Ken Whittaker

    You didn’t rip THIS blog from someone else did you? I know how you like to plagiarize stuff.

  • For_The_Masses

    Every time Charing Ball writes a so called original piece we must question if she lifted it from someone else, like she did to the young lady at Bougie Black Girl. Ya’ll really need to check her, before you get sued.

  • Soulsis

    Beautifully written article and right on the money. Thank you, I needed this perspective/wisdom.

  • Anon

    Wayne Brady is the type of black man that you feel would be uncomfortable around other black people. That was my take away from Bill Maher. I love Bill he’s hilarious to me, and of course he knows that all black men aren’t thugs. I went to an HBCU and was surrounded by and still am surrounded by many intellectual and professional black men and none of them give off the Wayne Brady vibe. These guys don’t wear a$$ showing pants, they wear suits. These men don’t speak ebonics, they speak like normal… until we’re all hanging out and amongst ourselves (yall know we speak 2 languages lol). But the point is these same professional, cool headed, intellectual, black men never have their blackness questioned…. Wayne Brady just gives off that vibe that he’s not comfortable around black people of any sort, professional or thugs.

  • neka24

    I just read this long article to read your last sentence? Completely disagree. I agreed with you until that last point. Maher is simply stereotyping black men as a whole which makes him ignorant. Also I think Wayne might have been referring to Karrine Steffans, and she in fact is a ho.

  • sean

    as a white person who cannot stand bill maher I thought this comment (bill’s that is) was moronic and racist against all black people when he said it, he was upset that obama wasn’t acting like a thug . . . what the hell? as a fan of comedy and talent I have to say that its not wayne brady’s blackness or whiteness or lack of whateverness that makes him successful, its his ability to instantly create hilarious situations and his ability to off the cuff sing a song about any given topic that makes him successful in his chosen field

  • Cherry Valentine

    please Wayne the “white woman
    lover” Brady can shut the flip up, he wouldn’t know how to be black if
    the book hit him in the face … I watch Bill all the time and he isn’t
    afraid to date black woman like Karrine Stefeans even though Wayne would
    probably consider her to be beneath him, I am really getting sick of
    his non relevant self. He never once before spoke out about being black
    why start now? for attention maybe?

    • Yvette

      not black enough? wow you are part of the problem. Please explain to me what that means?

    • Mrsadkiah

      Wow. Did you even read the post? If you had maybe you would have thought about how Brady and the writer was addressing backwards thinking (such as yours by what this comment displays) and how it creates the problem Brady and other Blacks like him have to deal with

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

      Didn’t he date superhead…but i guess he gets a pass. because he likes black woman… But somehow Kim K get’s crucified…..double standard…..hoes are hoes right? No matter the color……

  • Yvette

    “Without saying a word, Bill Maher won this battle.” What battle? There is no battle to be won. Bill Maher made a statement that pissed of Wayne Brady and Wayne Brady responded letting Bill Maher know not to get it twisted. When Wayne Brady went to Dave Chappelle and Paul Mooney they were able to work it out and did a very funny skit. To me, this is Wayne Brady’s way of working it out with Bill Maher. What was Wayne Brady to do bow down to Bill Maher and go run and hide?

  • Lovely One

    “But the black man part of me would be so satisfied to
    slap the sh!t out of him in front of Cocoa and Ebony and Fox, the three
    ladies of the night that he has hired.”
    —————————————————————————————–
    So its natural for black men to be violent? Sounds like hypocrisy to me.

    Anywho, Denzel Washington, Roland Martin, Colin Powell & TJ Holmes are all professional brothers and appear to be “brothers.” So maybe it’s just you. And for the record, Bill Maher will throw shade at anyone, so I’m sure that his comment wasn’t “personal.”

  • Na Na

    My son is only 5, yet he speaks with the vernacular of an esteemed Ivy League graduate and wouldn’t you know that he faces taunts and shots at his Blackness…… until he looked up at me and said, “Mom they say these things and they’re not even black, one girl was yellow and both of the boys were brown. Well I told them I’m not black I’m kind of red and I speak this way because that is what my mother taught me now beat it!” Needless to say I got a great laugh and the understanding that this foolishness has been embedded into the babies even. If ‘being black’ means living in project housing, receiving sub par education and carrying around bad credit scores and excess body fat…..count me out! I’m African, African-American if we’re being politically correct. My blood line includes Kings of nations and the founders of ancient science and mathematics. So miss me with this “I’m Black Stuff” because we’re not crayons.

  • sammi_lu

    “White people love Wayne Brady, because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.” lol too funny.. I wonder what his reaction was to this, and many other blacks who have taken jabs at his blackness. Is it okay because they are black.. why get upset at Bill Maher..because he’s white he shouldn’t say what everyone else does and thinks?

    • SMH

      Did you stop reading the article after the Bryant Gumbel jab?? It goes on to say, in the very next paragraph, that Brady confronted Dave Chappelle about it – and that’s how the Wayne Brady skit was inspired. Reading is fundamental, people!

      • sammi_lu

        Uhh yes I did..and I as I stated I wonder what his reaction was to it..not how he confronted it. If someone insults me I have an initial reaction before I defend myself or respond. Just like when I read your response..”reading is fundamental…” my initial reaction was negative, but I’m responding back to it with a smile thinking look at the kettle calling the pot black..reading is fundamental honey..but comprehension is just as if not more important!

        • sammi_lu

          *Yes I did read the article in it’s entirety.

  • tiredofthebs

    Ms. Ball, I love your writing!! But I disagree with your last comment. Every time a Black person is angered by a racist comment, it’s as if we’re supposed to take the bigger role in any situation, when we’re the ones who deal with racism on a monumental scale. To me, Brady isn’t resorting to the stereotype of a Black man, but expressing his anger verbally, and just by him stating what he has to lose, proves that he is more than aware that violence is not the answer.
    He did what I’ve seen many men do, regardless of race, and celebrity status, and that’s let another man know that he will knock the shxx out of him, if he crosses him. Why put these double standards on Black men, there’s enough already.

    • Nola

      I agree with you 100% why do we always have to be the bigger person in any situation that to those racists is like a win. I refuse to let one crackhead make racist comments towards while I try to be the bigger person especially now that white people are getting bolder with racism just like during racial segregation.

    • Na Na

      Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

    • For_The_Masses

      I question if she wrote this – she is known in the blogger’s circle for plagiarism.

  • TRUTH IS

    This is coming from a dude who couldnt find a decent black sister to marry?!? At least Bill loves the sisters (maybe not decent)…lol

    • Annette

      So it’s ok to make racist remarks as long as you love the sisters? Wayne Brady dates a variety of different women. I’ve defiitely seen him in pictures dating black women as well as other races, the same as Bill Mayer. The only difference is that most of Bill’s dates are actual w h * r e s.

      Anyway, I’m with Brady on this one. Black people are not monolithic.

  • Anonymous

    I blame us, it started from us, for narrowing being shot five times, thug/gangsta life, being rude and uneducated, highly aggressive as the only persona of black men. White people are simply using what we use against each other to get us riled up. Wayne Brady is adding more fuel to the fire by threatening Maher to prove his masculinity. All he needs to do, is ignore such and prove them wrong, one stereotype doesn’t define all of us. No need to prove anything, if you are secure in who you are as an individual. Most importantly, the ignorant black people are the ones who need to be addressed. To get your point across doesn’t result to violence. The reason Obama is accused on both sides of being too soft is because he’s not overly aggressive, yelling on top of his voice, he’s calm, calculated, doesn’t feed into any stereotypes, he’s just himself and still getting his point across.

    • tiredofthebs

      “I blame us, it started from us.”
      I understand your other points, but completely disagree with the above. Before blaming “us”, the situation that created the current mentality of the “ignorant” ones should be addressed. No one would just wake up one day and say, “Well lets just hate and/or kill each other”.

      • Anonymous

        So, how do we address the situation that created the current mentality? By always talking or letting them know how much effect they have on us. We have a role to play, a bigger one too. Most of the problems in our community is on us now, it’s really up to us to figure it out. Every man for themselves. The truth about life, there will be broken glasses, it’s up to you to pick it up and figure out what you can do with it.

        • lee

          Well I think it started with slavery then the Jim crow days then the 60′s and today black people are still dealing with race issues. I’m not saying rap artists and such are not at taught but it did start somewhere. We are an opressed people who are still trying to get our mind right. We have been feed that black is wrong and white is right for a very long time. Of course we have issues.

        • tiredofthebs

          No, there’s no need to let anyone get a rise out of you, but if you have a human moment, and feel something, you should be allowed to because we’re not machines. With that said, if we addressed what created these situations, many Black ppl who are unaware of what greatness we come from, would finally understand that the self-hatred, and violence that is the norm in many of our communities were created not only by the remnants of slavery, but the from the structural strains of capitalism, and that the media and experiences play a major role in how we perceive ourselves, which explains why a Black child with educated parents, would still choose a White doll over a Black one, why some Black men and women would rather date anyone, but our own, why young Black men kill each other for territory in a place that they would never own.
          It’s too much for me to get into at this moment, but I will say that I will not live my life thinking about what ppl think, no offense, but to me that’s cooning. If someone wants to think something negative about me based upon negative depictions of Black women, that’s their problem, there are too many positive images of Black ppl in the media, starting with two in the White House, so it’s not my job to be a victim too appear “Black” the same way it’s not my job for me to have to this strength to be the bigger person.
          Lastly, I don’t have a victim mentality, so I don’t worry about the “broken glass” I’m too busy working on building my own cup ;)

          • Anonymous

            You are contradicting yourself. You are obviously thinking about what people think of you, so is Wayne Brady. And, it’s a normal thing, everybody likes to prove to people they are NOT what others think of them. You clearly have a victim mentality because you listed some issues in the community and you hold others responsible, and not focusing on what role “WE” as a people contributed in addition to the problems at hand. Of course, we know where it all came from, but how long are we going to continue to whine about that. What I mean by “broken glasses”, I’m referring to the list of things facing our community. I actually have no problem with Wayne Brady’s reaction. My point is, we have to do less talking, more action. Black people can hear the greatness they came from all day, and the same problems will still persist, if they don’t see examples, improvement it will mean NOTHING. The positive images of Black people in the media are people who have chosen to handle things differently. There’s no other man who’s heard the worst racist comments said about them than President Obama and First lady. They ignore some, and when they address it sometimes, they are wise about it. You have to put into consideration what others think, and that will make you process your thoughts better and handle situations better. I will say it again, the solution will come from us. Let’s learn from the Asians. They have earned their respect. I’m not saying, be quiet but fight with wisdom and better strategy.

            • tiredofthebs

              Please feel free to disagree with me, but do not put words into my mouth, or tell me that I’m contradicting myself. I have never stated the opposite of my original point, which is that you can’t address solutions and place blame on “us” without addressing the circumstances that brought our current problems into existence. That’s like a psychiatrist trying to help resolve their patient’s problems, without first learning about them and where they came from. You sound idealistic, which is a characteristic that I’m glad that I do not possess. I stated problems, without a list of solutions, because I was at work. That is not synonymous with me disregarding that some of us contribute to our problems. As for me being a victim, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I will not list all of my stats bcuz I’m not into impressing ppl, but I will say that have accomplished many things in life from continuing to love myself, maintaining stable healthy relationships and my own business, and that is not something victims do, they sit around and blame everyone else, and thinks someone owes them something. You say I care about what ppl think, but you’re the one that stated that we should fight with wisdom, who said that I disagree with that? I love my freedom and life, so it is no one in the world that I will be an ahole for and let them take that from me based upon something that they’ve said to me, and obviously Wayne Brady feels the same way, but you act as if his saying something made him look bad to non-Blacks, and I don’t like that kind of thinking, you see a White man say something to a Black man, and you want the Black man to take the high road, why? He could either say something equally insulting, or ignore him, and after years of him ignoring him, he finally said something, and stated that Bill Maher was not worth losing anything for.Back to work, to be continued. . .

        • lee

          But I do agree that it is up to us to move on and correct things. We can’t have our heads between our legs and act foolish forever

  • ok_dayumm

    I definitely get Wayne Brady’s frustration…It seems almost mandatory that a Black person show their azz at least one time in order to get respect…an that’s sad. And everything he said was 100% truth.

  • Deshae Davis

    Wow…this was sooo on point!

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