On the latest episode of “Drink Champs,” N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN sat down with talented actor and comedian Marlon Wayans to discuss God Loves Me, Tupac supposedly putting his testicles near Omar Epps’ face, possibly returning for White Chicks 2, and much more.
Born in New York City, Marlon is a part of the renowned Wayans family, which has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. Marlon, along with his siblings, has been involved in various aspects of film, television, and stand-up comedy throughout his career. He first gained widespread recognition as a cast member on the iconic sketch comedy series “In Living Color,” which was created by his older brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans.
Marlon’s career took off as he starred alongside his brother Shawn Wayans in the groundbreaking sitcom “The Wayans Bros.,” which aired for five seasons on The WB. The duo went on to create and star in a series of successful films, including Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, Scary Movie, and White Chicks. Marlon has also made a name for himself as a solo performer, starring in films like A Haunted House, Fifty Shades of Black, and Naked.
In 2021, Marlon ventured into dramatic acting with his acclaimed performance in the film Respect, where he portrayed singer Aretha Franklin’s first husband, Ted White. That same year, he released his critically acclaimed special You Know What It Is after inking a deal with HBO Max in 2020. This past month, he delivered another hour-long special, aptly titled Marlon Wayans: God Loves Me with the majority of it being centered around Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during last year’s Academy Awards.
REVOLT has compiled a list of nine interesting facts we learned from Marlon Wayans’ “Drink Champs” interview. Keep scrolling to read them and watch the full episode here.
1. On God Loves Me and Chris Rock making him quit stand-up comedy
Among several other highlights, Marlon’s new HBO special God Loves Me delves into his decision to quit stand-up comedy for 20 years after being heckled by fellow comedian Chris Rock. He joked about how Hollywood only allows one Black man to succeed at a time, and how he missed his chance after Will Smith held on to the role for so long. N.O.R.E. remembered tweeting about the special for it to only gain comparisons to Rock’s Selective Outrage, released that same week. Marlon responded, “I would’ve for sure retweeted that s**t. What he gon’ do? Really, n***a. What is he gonna do? That’s the last thing he needs to be worried about.”
According to Marlon, “That n***a heckled me at The Lab Factory. Chris heckled me so bad, I quit stand-up comedy for 20 years. Now how badly do you think I bombed that night when I quit for 20 years? That’s what I said in the special.”
2. On not getting invited to the Roc Nation Brunch
Later in the interview, Marlon jokingly expressed his confusion regarding why he didn’t receive an invite to JAY-Z’s Roc Nation Brunch. He also mentioned that he declined an offer from Terrence J to help him get in, saying he wants to attend when he has something to say. The comedian stated, “You know what’s f**ked up? Terrence J was like, ‘I’ll get you in.’ I said, ‘N**ga, how the f**k you get in?’”
“[JAY-Z] won’t even let me in the godd**n Grammy party,” the comedian shared. N.O.R.E. interjected, letting him know that it was an Oscars party, to which Marlon replied, “I can’t get in there either.” He went on to add, “I f**k with JAY. I haven’t gone to those things because I feel like I want to go when I got something to say.”
3. On racist jokes in comedy
In the past, comedy often relied on racist jokes to provoke laughter; however, today’s talent must navigate a new landscape where such humor brings about serious consequences. When it comes to notable names like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, and Trevor Noah, the comedy that helped them rise to the mainstream has now become a hotbed for cancel culture. “Part of the reason that I address racism in my comedy is because race is too often seen from a place of hate, and hate breeds fear,” Marlon wrote in a think piece for NBC back in 2018.
According to the actor, “That’s when it’s fun. People think that you can’t talk about race. Everybody is so sensitive. I grew up in a neighborhood where it was a bunch of Black people of different shades.”
4. On Donald Trump getting arrested
Earlier this week, Former President Donald Trump was arrested after being charged with 34 felony counts for falsifying New York business records, which included an alleged “catch and kill” scheme to hide damaging information before the 2016 election. The case revolves around alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, former Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Pivoting from their conversation about whether or not Trump is racist, N.O.R.E. asked the comedian how he felt about the arrest.
“I’ve seen people arrested for worse. I don’t know, it’s not for me but honestly, I know Obama is going to be like, ‘Yuh.’ He’s going to have that quite sinister white laugh,” Marlon joked. “It’ll be interesting to see.”
5. On his late mother
Midway through the conversation, Marlon Wayans fondly remembered his late mother, Elvira Alethia, and revealed that she cursed out his father every day for 60 years, adding that she was able to come up with a different joke every day when looking at him.
“My mother cursed my father out every day for 60 years; the n**ga never said the same joke twice. Do you know how funny you gotta be to look at the same n**ga and have a different joke every day? That woman is brilliant.”
He continued, “If she knew I was here around you people smoking this f**king weed, she’d be so mad at me.”
6. On Tupac supposedly putting his testicles near Omar Epps’ face
Actor Omar Epps appeared on “The Daily Show” last year with Marlon, where the latter shared an embarrassing prank that the late Tupac supposedly played on Epps when the two co-starred in the 1992 film Juice. The rapper is said to have taken out his testicles, putting them near Epps’ mouth while he was sleeping, which angered Epps at the time, but both actors laughed about it on the show. Marlon recalled that night, revealing there’s a photo of the two somewhere out there in the world.
“Omar was like, ‘This n**ga.’ I’ve known Omar since I was 14 years old. That’s my best n**ga. He knows it happened. Have him on here, he got a Marlon story for you,” he revealed. “Omar sleeps with his eyes open, so we was all up in the Bronx hanging out. Pac is a jokester, so when he was sleeping, Pac was like, ‘Watch this. Take this picture.’ So you just see Pac’s balls.”
7. On T.I. doing stand-up comedy
During the 2022 April Fools Comedy Jam at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, T.I. struggled with his stand-up skills and was booed off the stage after telling a joke that fell flat, but continued the show despite the adverse reaction. After a disappointing set, he bounced back and displayed his resilience by taking the stage in his hometown of Atlanta. Marlon revealed that he spoke with TIP after his debut in New York. The entertainer shared, “He started a little further ahead in stand-up than I did. I went further back than he did. I had a billion dollars of box office under my belt and when I started doing stand-up, I would go to coffee houses, open mics, dive bars, and people was like, ‘N**ga, you got Scary Movie out.’”
“When he bombs, I call him up. I want to be the bigger brother like, ‘I know it hurts.’ He’ll be on the plane, he’ll have his hoodie on. I still feel the heat from the temperature of the room at Madison Square Garden. They booed the hell out of him, but he understood,” the comedian later mentioned.
8. On being open to returning to White Chicks and the Scary Movie franchise
Two of Marlon’s most notable film appearances, 2000’s Scary Movie and 2004’s White Chicks, both helped solidify his career as an actor. The long-awaited sequel for the latter has been teased for several years now, serving as a cult favorite depicting two Black men disguised as white women. While most of Marlon’s pushback came from the strenuous makeup process, he said that he would be open to returning to the film.
“If we do White Chicks, it gotta be me and Shawn… we’ll see. I don’t throw that into the universe because I don’t control it. But I would do a White Chicks 2. I think that, and I would return to the Scary Movie franchise,” he noted.
Regarding Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s ownership of the franchise, Marlon also revealed, “They’re out. That’s why I returned to it now. I think that it needs a reboot, and the only story that people want to hear is the Wayans are back.”
9. On Ben Affleck offering him the role in AIR
Closing the interview, Marlon Wayans revealed the moment Ben Affleck called to offer him a role in the movie AIR: Courting A Legend. Released in theaters this month, the film documents how the Air Jordan sneaker came about and ultimately helped Michael Jordan become the richest basketball player ever. Affleck directs and stars in the movie, which also features other big names such as Jason Bateman, Matt Damon, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis.
“Ben Affleck called me. I don’t know how this n**ga got my number. Then I realized he’s Batman, so of course he can get my number. I thought I was being pranked,” Marlon shared. “Forty-five minutes, Ben is on the phone talking to me about this part. I said, ‘N**ga, you had me at ‘Hello, I’m Ben Affleck.’ I don’t care if it was a porn movie, show me which b**tch to f**k.’”