Comedian Dante Nero recently responded to fellow comics who have criticized him for hosting The Beige Phillip Show, a relationship podcast in a similar vein as The Black Phillip Show, which was hosted by the late comedian Patrice O’Neal.
Nero, who served as a co-host on The Black Phillip Show with O’Neal, says his podcast pays homage to his mentor and friend, but some of his peers have accused him of capitalizing off the late comedy great to further advance his career.
O’Neal’s former manager, Wayne Rada was a guest on the show and shed some light on why fans may be in an uproar as Nero blasted his critics.
He issued a statement to Stage Time. “Patrice was my spiritual brother. We knew each other and shared friendship philosophies and life experience. We confided and evolved together. He would believe no one else more capable to advance our philosophies better than me. I was honored to be his friend and confidant as he was mine. No person other than Big Mama (his mother) could dispute that and she wouldn’t.”
Nero didn’t mention any comedians by name, but added that “nothing would please me more than calling these people out publicly. But, the nature of comedians is that they are gossipy school girls. They’ll talk all this nonsense to everyone but you, and then when you call them out, they’ll deny it ever happened…It’s always second party, because nobody has the guts to say it to your face. Even if there isn’t any threat of consequences, they’re just too cowardly…Everyone has a lot to say until you show up.”
Nero said that despite the criticism, the podcast is attracting more listeners. “Whenever you’re doing something great or funny, people begin to see you as threat and that’s when it becomes a problem. If the product we did stunk, nobody would say a word. They wouldn’t even mention it. But because it’s good, and it’s picking up steam, some people have to find some way of tearing it down.
Whoever is more famous is always conceived to be more valid. Patrice was more famous, and thus more valid. But I played a major part in that original radio show and helped create and shape those philosophies about sex and relationships. There were a lot of people asking him why he picked me over bigger names like a Bill Burr or a Robert Kelly. It’s because I wasn’t just a voice on the show. We molded those philosophies together as brothers.
I’m not attempting to take credit for Patrice’s genius, but I’m not going to sit here and let people say I’m somehow just a derivative of his style.”
For Nero, the podcast is a tribute to O’Neal and a vehicle for sharing their philosophies. “This is more than just a podcast. It’s carrying on what Patrice and I started together, and continuing the mission of helping out good men who are in desperate need of advice and direction. It’s legitimately about helping those people out, and in the process we’ve managed to make it funny and a great listen. And that’s something a lot of jealous comedian’s just can’t stand.”
The Beige Phillip Show can be downloaded at http://beigephillip.libsyn.com/ and is available on iTunes.
– Tasha Harris
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