Faizon Love under fire for saying Nicole Byer got Netflix special for being ‘unfunny Black woman’
Byer commented on Love's Instagram post, writing: "Thank you for thinking for me and posting and having so many people check out my special."
Actor-comedian Faizon Love is getting some serious pushback for his criticism of the new Netflix stand-up comedy special from Nicole Byer.
Nicole Byer: Big Beautiful Weirdo debuted last week on the streaming service — the first Netflix stand-up performance for the New Jersey native. It was recorded at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City, where the 35-year-old star got her start in comedy.
In a post on Instagram, Love, 53, posted a picture of himself side by side with Byer, writing, “So after very long consideration I felt the only way to get a Netflix special is to become a unfunny black woman…my new name is Nicole Byer…this is my transformation.”
The post garnered hundreds of comments, including several from other comedians, including DeRay Davis, who wrote: “but I think Nicole is funny, Faiz…I’ll rock with you on a couple others tho.”
Byer herself also commented, writing: “thank you for thinking for me and posting and having so many people check out my special.”
Byer, who hosts the Netflix hit reality competition series Nailed It, is also an actress and author. Her book, #VERYFAT #VERYBRAVE: The Fat Girl’s Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini, was released last year.
The issue gained even more traction on Twitter, where Byer shared a link to an article about Love’s post and captioned it, “This is nice and fun!”
“‘Clout chaser tries to criticize successful black woman’ isn’t new, but it does suck,” one fan replied.
In one now-viral tweet, a user wrote, “When I worked as a debt collector, Faizon Love owed $6000 to AT&T Mobility. I know this cuz I had to call him.”
“Faizon Love made a whole career being on the cusp of funny, he got a lot of nerve,” added writer Jamilah Lemieux.
Best known for his turn as Big Worm in the 1995 comedy classic, Friday, Love has most recently been appearing on podcasts telling stories about his past. In a July interview with former NBA player Kwame Brown, Love claimed that he and actress Gabrielle Union once kissed at a nightclub.
According to The Atlanta Black Star, he said that while Union was dating former Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter, the trio were out together, adding, “Everybody know about the infamous Faizon Gabby tongue down.”
Union’s husband, Dwyane Wade, trolled Love, posting a photo of his wife and himself with a picture of Love’s head — wearing the infamous Big Worm hair rollers — superimposed on his own body. “What almost was ???,” Wade started in the caption. “@faizonlove thank you for this forever material I now have on my wife! #Wetsloppykisses #pettylevels.”
Some fans have trashed Love’s recent comments about Byer as “hating,” with one user writing, “Faizon love more known for complaining about comedians than being one these days.”
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