Donnell Rawlings Says Larry Wilmore “Not Hood Enough to Pull off ‘My Nigga’”

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This past weekend, comedian and The Nightly Show host Larry Wilmore hosted the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, where he made a bunch of stuffy, powerful people stare awkwardly at their dinner plates for twenty two minutes minutes straight. The comic, while visibly uncomfortable at times (at that event with that crowd, who can blame him?) did well for himself, delivering some devastatingly honest and brutal critiques of everyone from President Obama to Ted Cruz (a.k.a. The Zodiac Killer,) Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

The big topic of discussion from that night, however, was Wilmore’s closing statement. After taking a second to acknowledge how honored he was as a black man to be giving his speech during the tenure of America’s first black president, Wilmore ended his set by doing one of his signature bits, Keep It 100, and addressing President Obama honestly, saying “Yo Barry, you did it my nigga.”

The admittedly poorly-delivered line got a smattering of awkward applause, and was followed in the days to come by debates between folks online about whether Wilmore crossed a line in calling the Commander-in-Chief “the n word.”

As it turns out, one person who thought Wilmore didn’t pull it off was former Chappelle’s Show star Donnell Rawlings. Speaking to TMZ, Rawlings said that “Everybody can’t deliver that line, that line is not for everybody. I’m not saying that he’s not black enough, but I will say that Larry isn’t hood enough to pull off ‘my nigga.’”

According to Rawlings, Wilmore’s line felt forced. The line was especially surprising to Rawlings because it was preceded by “Barry,” which Rawlings says is the name white people used for the president “when they couldn’t pronounce Barack.”

Rawlings doesn’t seem to harbor any ill-will toward Wilmore, saying “Larry’s a good guy, he’s a funny guy,” and that he’s “not mad at the message, just the messenger.”

What do you think about Rawlings’ appraisal? Check out the video and leave a comment below.

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler

Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.