Charlamagne & Andrew Schulz Debate Tony Hinchcliffe & Ari Shaffir’s Kobe Jokes

Much of the appeal behind the latest episode of The Brilliant Idiots podcast with Charlamagne Tha God and Andrew Schulz was for Russ, who just released his brand new studio album Shake The Snow Globe. The self-produced rapper joined the conversation later in the show to speak about his new project but, before he arrived, the two hosts debated some hot topics in pop culture, including the jokes being made about the death of Kobe Bryant. Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant tragically passed away this weekend in a helicopter crash and fans have been remembering his legacy ever since. His loss has been hard to stomach, and the fact that his 13-year-old daughter and seven others lost their lives as well is just disheartening. Comedians Tony Hinchcliffe and Ari Shaffir have both tried to make light of the situation and, in the general public’s eyes, only one of them actually succeeded. Charlamagne and Andrew Schulz debated on why that is on the new episode of the podcast.

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“Kobe passing? Never…” was the joke that Tony Hinchcliffe told about the late sports hero who was notorious for hogging the basketball. While some would consider it “too soon” to be laughing about this situation, Schulz and Charlamagne argue that, because the laughs are embedded in Kobe’s legacy, this one is alright. “The joke is about legacy,” explains Schulz. “If the joke is about what we remember about Kobe, it’s not making light of his death.”

As for Ari Shaffir, Charla went on to pick him apart. “Your man is lame though,” he started, speaking to his co-host. “It wasn’t a fucking joke! You can’t hide behind the guise of a comedian when it wasn’t a joke. There was no joke. There was no set-up, there was no punchline. You got on motherfucking Instagram and you were like, ‘A fucking rapist died today,’ or some shit like that. There was no joke. You made a statement.”

Charlamagne suggested that Shaffir be “banished” from the comedy community for making such a statement, which Schulz initially disagreed with. However, he noted that there was literally no attempt at a joke in Shaffir’s video. 

Do you think it’s alright to try and laugh about tragedies like this one? Watch below at the 32:50 mark.