Source: John Lamparski / Getty
When I first heard that Desus and Mero would not be returning to Showtime for a fifth season—I an’t gon’ lie—my heart sank. I was in a salty mood for most of that day. You have to understand, they were heroes of mine. They reminded me of me and my boys sitting in an apartment front room cracking jokes at each other or at anything in sight while watching TV and enjoying—well—smokable refreshments of the recreational variety.
These two Black men made it all the way to a late-night show on a premium cable channel—a platform historically reserved for white men and people of color who are palatable for white consumption—and they did it without code-switching. In the American entertainment industry, that’s a monumental feat.
So yeah, the end of the Bodega Boys makes me sad.
What makes it even worse is that the reason the brand is no longer strong appears to revolve around one man: Victor Lopez.
From Vulture:
Now, thanks to new reporting from Puck, there is additional information about what fueled the split behind the scenes. “Five separate sources” confirmed to Puck that the inciting conflict was related to a disagreement the pair had over the conduct of their longtime manager, Victor Lopez, who had been asked by Showtime to “no longer attend tapings or appear in meetings.” Two of Puck’s sources indicated that “several formal complaints had been made.” Lopez was accused of “asshole behavior, including bullying, screaming and generally making people on the show feel bad,” per the report, which claims Desus agreed with the Showtime decision but Mero “felt loyal” to Lopez, whom he had worked with for years.
Come on guys—you couldn’t get rid of one (alleged) a—hole to keep the brand strong? SMH. First, the Fat Boys break up…
Anyway, according to Variety, Desus is scheduled to guest-host Jimmy Kimmel Live! later this summer. Hopefully, Both Desus Nice and Kid Mero keep making moves apart from each other, but this is sad, man.
First, the Fat Boys break up…
