Watch: Comedian Shang Forbes isn’t worried about cancel culture

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Comedian Shang Forbes has been in the game for a minute. He’s been credited on “The Jamie Foxx Show”, “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”, and “NCIS”. Plus, he’s appeared on various networks including Comedy Central, BET, Starz and much more.

TheGrio’s Eboni K. Williams talked to the comedian about his thoughts on cancel culture, his favorite comedians and the balance between being a “conscious comic” and edgy.

The following is a transcript of their conversation:

Eboni K. Williams [00:00:13] That’s comedian Shang. He’s doing a standup set at the Comedy Cube in Los Angeles. Now, this brother’s been in the game for a minute, appearing on various networks like Comedy Central, BET, and Starz, just to name a few. Well, this month on theGrio, we’re highlighting some of your favorite funny people. 

And today, I’m joined by none other than Shang Forbes himself. Shang, thank you so much for being with us, sir. Now you have got millions of fans. But for those that don’t exactly know your backstory, tell us how you got into comedy in the first place. And was this really always the dream?

Shang Forbes [00:00:48] Nah. I was gonna be a stripper at old folk’s homes. That was my plan. But that didn’t work out. I didn’t have enough cocoa butter. No, for me, comedy wasn’t it. I was not actually a social worker like my mom. And then, but I was, like, joking all the time. I was always in the street, like, you know, I was the brother, like, furious Stiles. 

Like, how can I be no Black people on the wall? I was like, the angry light skin dude, like, “Man, I think he gon’ choke somebody.” So, but, it kind of segued into doing comedy, and the comedy ended up doing all right. I haven’t had a day job, and I’ve been doing it 27 years, so I think I’ve done okay.

Eboni K. Williams [00:01:27] Well, that’s how we know you’re successful, right? I think a lot of folks got to L.A. or New York or Atlanta these days, right Shang? And they really try to set some goals around whether or not we can support ourselves doing the thing that we love. And I think after that first year of successfully doing that, it feels good, right?

Now, we know that a lot of comedians, especially lately in today’s culture Shang, have been accused of crossing the line with some of their material, whether it’s homophobic, racist, you know what it is? Cancel culture, as they say, right? What is your take on the ability of comedians to still practice their craft, go to a high level in comedy and still avoid cancel culture?

Shang Forbes [00:02:09] I think that a lot of the audience if they know who you are, they’re going to ride with you. And I think a lot of people are real yogurt-y. There’s a lot of yogurt-y people, you know what I’m saying? A lot of little yogurt-y, fruit at the bottom “Yoplait” people that can’t handle the jokes.

Look, we’re grown folks. I’m going to say every joke is gonna offend somebody, right? You know, if you short, you tall, if you ugly, if you Candace Owens, who I got some good jokes about. Somebody got mad at me, “You can’t say that about Candace Owens!” “Yes, I can.” So, I don’t worry about it. As long as I’m funny and people leave and a little bit of beer come out, they nose and they pee a little bit, I’ve done my job.

Eboni K. Williams [00:02:45] No, it’s just, it’s funny because I think about some of the greats, right? And I can’t even imagine their tolerance for, you know, some of the thresholds that we hold comedians to today.

So, speaking of the great Shang, tell me, who are your biggest role models in the comedy game? Who’s on Shang’s Mount Rushmore of great comics?

Shang Forbes [00:03:04] Oh, here you go. Now, if say it with the comics that’s alive, they’ll be like, “Oh, you didn’t say me, man,” but I would say, Dick Gregory, Paul Mooney, I’d actually say Chris Rock right now, even though, you know, he had to get a slap to get it, but Chris Rock and I say, Chappelle.

Eboni K. Williams [00:03:24] You can leave Eddie Murphy off, dawg?

Shang Forbes [00:03:26] I’m going to leave Eddie Murphy off because I think that Paul Mooney was way more to me, way more. Mr. Mooney, I’m sorry. Mr. Mooney, I apologize.

Eboni K. Williams [00:03:36] Yes, well, actually, I’m glad you brought up Paul Mooney and Dick Gregory. Let’s talk about that for a minute Shang because while epic, iconic comedians, what a lot of us really primarily know them for, myself coming from the academic space, is them as thought leaders right in Black culture, beyond just their comedy.

So, can you talk a little bit about that Shang, about the interconnection of comedians and artists, but also being, you know, academic-like thought leaders in the culture?

Shang Forbes [00:04:06] Oh, no. I came up with, like comics that called Conscious Comics, where you were conscious, and you were still saying jokes and still making people laugh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m real edgy. I talk about religion and race and everything else, but I like the fact that they would drop knowledge, like dropping a little knowledge and then a joke, drop a little knowledge and then a joke.

And I came up, you know, with hip hop, with Public Enemy, Dead Prez, and a lot of hip hop artists that actually were slipping messages and constantly. So that’s what I try to do with my act and luckily, it’s working, and I haven’t got canceled yet. I don’t think I got canceled. I got about 38 new shows coming up, so it might happen because I do have a new joke about the gay zombies that people got a little…Yeah.

Eboni K. Williams [00:04:53] Let me guess Shang? Did they get “yogurt-y” about it? I’m going to use that one. That’s amazing. Listen, we’re really, really proud of you. Congratulations on having an incredible career in comedy. And we appreciate you taking the time to stop by theGrio.

Check out the full clip above and tune into “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” at 6 p.m. ET every weeknight on theGrio cable channel.

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