The Lenard Report

 Rapper TI, comedian Tommy Davidson, and Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson debate the week’s top stories with Charlamagne Tha God. Plus, Stephen Colbert stops by for a candid conversation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey, thank you, Trevor. Welcome
to the hell of a week I go by the
name of Charlemagne the God. We're fast approaching Halloween, so
please sit back, make sure your Jeffrey Dohma wig is
on tight. Hopefully the edible is kicked in and you
can relax as I lead you on a guy that

(00:21):
tour through this weekend. Hell hey man. First up, Kanye West. Uh,
he's lost his billionaire status after being dropped by Adidas
Balincia Yaga see a A the gap Kim Vogan more
due to his anti black, anti semitic outburth CEOs of

(00:42):
bawling up Kanye contracts and shooting him into the trash
like Kobe. All right, but some of your fronting Okay.
Foot Locker announced that they'll be removing easy from their shelves,
but let's keep it on hunting food Locker ain't never
had no Easies on the damn shelves, and t J
Max says He's brand will not be sold at their store.
I would think that was the time that Yeezys end

(01:04):
up in TJ Max because t J Max is went
clothes go to die? All right? Sorry, j next, and
I can't believe some of y'all think this is all
some strategic, evil genius plan from Kanye. Yesterday he showed
up unannounced and uninvited the sketches. I'm assuming he's looking
for a new deal. But guess what, genius The company
is owned by Jewish people. Yeah, that's a real great strategy,

(01:28):
all right, If this is the plan, what's the plan?
B because plan ain't hitting on ship? All right. Tucker
Carlson is rip roaring mad that people think his son
Buckley got a job just because he's Tucker Carson's son.
My question, who the hell named their son Buckley Carson?
All right? That sounds like a clinic that treats Chronic

(01:49):
East infections, the Buckley Carlson Chronic East Infection Center. And last,
but not least, making Marco revealed on her podcast that
she is forty three percent Nigerian's with all the Nigerians
out there, alright, fortise people sitting Nigerians. Okay, Now she's
almost as blackest Cloy Kardashian. Okay, you can check her

(02:10):
out in the new movie Baige Panther. Well Canada forever,
all right, But you know, it's for real because Megan's
newfound cousins have been what'sapping her for money ever since.
So now if you get an email from a Nigerian princess,
it really might be legit. All right, We've got a
lot more things to talk about, like gun laws and
loyal friends. Queen il let's talk the show. That's right.

(02:40):
He's a legendary comedian from the Iconic Shows and Living
Color and The Proud Family. You can catch him at
MSG's Hulu theater alongside Cat Whims tomorrow night. Makes him
noise y'all for the legend. Tommy Davison is hell right.
She's a CNN contributor and she hosts the trend Line
with Kristin Soultis Anderson, a serious x M. Kristin Sulzis

(03:01):
Anderson is here and he's an entrepreneur, philanthropist, rapper, activists
and walking to source tell and later in the show
The One and On SKEEPI Phobell will be joining us.
But here's what I want to talk about Topic one
Dave Reviews. Over the weekend, Dave Chappelle showed up in

(03:22):
the screening of Will Smith's new movie Emancipation. Even though
David has been performing with Chris Rock, a man who
once had Jade's name in his fucking mouthful. All right,
y'all know this guy didn't quote from the great philosopher
c Murder the mother and words I ride from my
n words. But what does one do when the other
n words is your and words too? How do you
pick sides in this one? To legendary talents? Is easy

(03:46):
to pick between two bumbass friends. Ain't much to lose
if one gets salty. But man, Tommy, if you're Chris Rocke,
you upset by this? Can you just go out and
kick it with your man's like that? Oh? I get
this one, all right? Well they both my friend and
but but Chris is a comedian, you know what I'm saying.
So I don't know, Dave, you're working with him? You

(04:06):
know guess what? Last night I was hanging with the
person that smacked the ship out of you. You know
what I'm saying, So that that's different. But I wish
somebody would have smacked me because Chris's money went out,
you know what I mean? But I I couldn't take
that smack from Will Will came at me. You know,
we'll drop to smack you before well, I don't know
what he was gonna do. We'll try to fight you

(04:26):
before they listen, he made that walk you know this,
So when this is when when I was doing Woo,
the movie Woo, you know, and um, he was walking
at me, you know the walk. So I started walking
to you know, like, let's let's let's do this. And
Jada was like, no, no, no, I said, when you
tell him him, Oh Jada broke y'all? Oh yeah yeah,

(04:48):
yeah yeah. Let me move on, Kristen, what do you think, Kristen?
Can you kick with your your people's ops. Look, I
don't think you're a bad friend necessarily for going and
hanging out with Will Smith if you're Dave Chappelle in
that situation. As long as Chris rock has said it's okay,
I think it's fair game. I feel the same way
that I did about the slap. I feel like, you know,

(05:09):
we can only be is upset is Chris Rocky is
about it? You know what I'm saying. So if Chris
rock ain't jumping up and down and saying that about it,
didn't what the hill is it for us to say.
He's had a lot of material about it. If you've
seen his latest stand up, he actually does discuss it.
He don't sound happy about it right right now, and
Dave knows that first angle there on the road together.
But if he invited me to a premier, I will did.

(05:30):
I would go if I wouldn't cost money. Say, hey, man,
you know who smacked you lately? I'm gonna be here, Yeah, hey,
who go to who goes to a wheel? Now? Man,
I ain't Kenny? Yeah yeah, I ain't gonna be there.
And how long are we supposed to hole the grudge?
And why are we holding the grudge? I mean, Chris
Rock is a distant cousin of mine, but I'm not

(05:50):
like my last name is not Rock for me to
be still upset with will after that. So you don't
have to pick a side in this situation basically, No,
I mean, I think I can remain new to I'm
cool both m I respect both of them. Is legends
and um phenomenal talents, is gift, is gifted black man,
and I will go and see Chris Rock can celebrate him.
It's like, I go, see this this, what's the celebrate wor?

(06:12):
But I'm I'm actually I'm actually happy for both of them,
you know what I mean. Chris Chris just to do
what he does and Will get to see what he
needs to fix that. That that's that's an opportunity to
explaining that explain on that well. You know, um, I
don't know if that was the best judgment on his part.
He'll tell you that. But at the ofstice man, no,

(06:37):
but you know we we everybody has that one thing
that you need to get get through, you know, and
if you're given that opportunity to do that, that's two
lives in one man. Not that only works in the
industry though, right, because if you're in the street, you
see your your your with somebody's supposed to be your man. Man,
I mean, you'd be surprised nowadays, ain't know the rules
is at the window, yeah, which right here? Yeah, But

(07:02):
I think, man, I think that you know, there can
be no good with that bad, no bad with that good.
I think what Will went through, Uh, it gave him
a certain freedom because everybody was expecting Will Smith to
be this perfect image of perfection, That's what I mean.
And now he has the freedom of knowing even if
he sucks up again some kind of way, he'll never

(07:22):
sunk up that bad, you know, so he'll get a
little more grace now. Yeah, it does make you think though,
because Will had this stellar record all these years. He
makes one mistake and now all of a sudden, Oh yeah,
we just starting Will Smith. And he's so iconic. I mean,
I can't find my keys in the morning, but I
can remember every word to like the Men in Black

(07:43):
theme song. I mean, he's Christian. I don't even realize
you with white though. Just now, just just hit me
that that parents just don't understand the meaning black. Next wish, Hey,

(08:05):
this Willow never fall off through his fan base is
to look. Ain't nobody passing up Thanksgiving with the Smiths?
Are New Year's with the Rocks? All Right? People can
judge Dave all they want to, still hanging out with Will,
but y'all know y'all would do the same thing for
Instagram picture. Okay, my panels, still hanging out for Stephen
Kobe is coming through a hell of a week. In
just a minute, welcome back to hell of a week.

(08:39):
We got Tommy Davidson, Kristin Sultis, Anderson t I, and
Stephen Kobe is coming up. But now it's time for
topic too kind of a son. Following last year's shooting
out of Michigan High School, the school district has been
hit with multiple civil suits, and now to shoot his
parents are getting charged to Apparently the killers can't take
is ignored subtle warning signs like him bringing live ammunition

(09:01):
and the seven head of a bird to school boy
go with uh, Kristen. I know some folks don't like
the idea that folks can get charged for another person's crimes.
But if I can sue because I slipped him fell
in the seven eleven, shouldn't I also be able to
sue a negligent results in the school shoot. Well, another
good way to think about this would be if someone
comes up to you and they're obviously really drunk, and

(09:21):
they say I want the keys to your car, and
you give them those keys and then they go and
they kill someone. Yeah, you should be responsible for that.
You could have stopped something terrible for happening. What worries
me about this case is like, this is clear cut right.
These parents knew that something was wrong with their son,
and they were not just allowing, but encouraging him to
have access to firearms. So it seems obviously irresponsible. But

(09:42):
you've also got a lot of troubled young people out
there whose parents may not be able to get them help.
They're not taking them to gun ranges and things. But
if their kids, you know, does something terrible, where do
you draw the line where a parent is or is
not responsible for their kids actions. That's what I worry
about a little bit. This is a clear cut case,
but not everyone's going at the year not tr You
know a thing or two about children? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

(10:04):
we're responsible for our children. But at what point do
the sense of the child not become the parents responsibility? Um?
I think man for life, we will always bear some
level of responsibility for our children and their actions. Will
it should it yield jail time? I feel like exceptions
are made for exceptional circumstances. This seems to be an
exceptional set of circumstances. Uh. They started buying this young

(10:27):
man guns and and and taking them shooting at a
very young age. So I don't know if they should
be arrested for the murders that were committed, but they
should definitely be arrested for negligence in offering a child
this time this kind of uh weaponry without the proper

(10:49):
guidance and without everything else that should come along with it.
Just never give a little white boy a gun and
he dangerous. You know. Yeah, I'm afraid. I'm afraid of
a blood in the crip, you know what I mean?
I am afraid of black people with a gun because
we don't practice. First of all, yeah, a little white
buys show the first day of school? Is this the cafeteria? Yeah? Yeah,

(11:12):
You bringing up a good point because like if the
school administrators and parents are on the table the beachas,
shouldn't we be able to hold gun manufacturers accountable as well?
I think the gun manufacturers is a step too far
because again there are there are guns that are purchased legally,
that are made for good reasons and so in the
same way that you know the analogy Poplows uses the car, right,
Can you hold forward responsible if somebody takes far and

(11:34):
hurts people? Can you hold a liquor company responsible if
someone drinks themselves to death? I mean there are there
is a limit to where I think responsibility needs to end.
I think the manufacturers is too far, So what about
the stores? And then, because if I like to your
point about the keys, right, if I'm a kid and
not going there to buy an a K forty seven,
shouldn't somebody behind the counter ask some questions? Well, and
especially if you, as a store have not followed the

(11:55):
rules that are in place, then I think there needs
to be a big crackdown on that. But to the
extent that there aren't rules in place that say you
need to be doing good betting off people, make sure
they're good rules that say you need to do good
betting of people. I would love to experience this level
of freedom because I knew if I go into a
gun store and ask for any type of fire your ammunition,

(12:15):
people would be notified immediate record though, is it? Yeah,
have you had a police record? I think they wouldn't
bother you. Maybe you think personally, I say, yeah, you
should put some blame on the parents. Like if your
kid tells you he's hallucinating and draws pictures of folks
getting shot, maybe cross that red rod at a K

(12:37):
forty seven office Christmas list? All right? Hell, you know
without the one that signs the number one thing that
should disqualify your kid from owning a gun. Is a
kid really wanting the gun? What do you need a
gun Bull. I'd like to thank my panel t I Kristin,
Soldiers Anderson's and Tommy David said for that wisdom. When
we come back, Stephen Tobey, I'll be joining us well,
Hell of a Week in just a minute, Welcome back

(13:08):
to Hell of a Week. My next guest is a
multiple Emmy, Grammy, and Peabody Award winner. His work on
The Daily Show in Kolber Reports set new standards for
American satire. These days, you can find him hosting TV's
number one late night program, The Late Show, and on
top of all that, he's the executive producer of this show,
Hell of a Week. Give it up for my guy.

(13:29):
See the Tolbert. What's up? My brother say, South Carolina
all day? That's right. You know I used to work
in this building. I heard. Yeah. Last time I was
in this building, tr L was still on and they
were very excited because Hansen was stopping by. Damn. That
was a long time ago. Down Now you are the
king of late night, uh Prime minister, minister, because it

(13:52):
could be gone tomorrow. But there's a lot that's that's
it's funny you say, because there's so many questions about
late night nowadays. Yeah, I want to start with the
topic of diversity because folks always say that Late Night
is too white and too male, and how do you
with a white male I feel about that critique, Um,
I take it personally. Uh, listen, sure, absolutely, That's why

(14:16):
I'm excited about this. So so to Lad's tell you
what the one of the one of the things that
I thought was missing in Late Night was not enough
people from South Carolina to let's go go That's right. So,
so the lack of diversity is one of the reason
you wanted to ep this show. Well, what I want
to ep the show is because you used to come
on my show. I mean you still sometimes do. But
you come on my show and you're a great guest.

(14:39):
The audience loved you. You have a different perspective. You're honest,
you're shocking, you don't mind upsetting people, You're funny. And then,
and if I'm not mistaken, you came to me that
you'll be interested in working together, and I did. And
how many it was like three years? I think three
years ago we first started talking about this. So I
don't I was just excited to produce something and what

(15:01):
better person to do with? And somebody that already knew
in respected. Hey we're here now, you know, um cope, pope,
pope report. Uh. I think some of y'all might have
heard of it, right, Would it be possible? That's about
the size of the audience that was about would it
be possible to do that type of show today, because
it's still you know, so much funny with fox holes now,

(15:21):
but it stakes too high to even satire it. Well,
here's the thing is that you have to that I
was a shadow, like you know, like that that show
was satire and that it was it was it was
my name, but it wasn't me. It was me modeling
my behavior on other people I saw in the media
and the people I see in the media now. I
wouldn't want to model that like even then, even back then,

(15:42):
which gosh, it was eight years since I did that show.
You had to like watch it every day, We had
to watch it every so often, so you had to
sip a little bit of that poison to have it
in your system, you know, tight traded a little bit,
so you kind of spit it back at the audience,
and I can't watch it. So I don't think I
could do it because I don't have the source. But
I can't watch you know, the blokes on Fox News anymore.
It's it ain't fun any me anymore. You don't find

(16:03):
took the cars and hilarious. I'm not sure who you're
talking about what. I love this. I love this, by
the way, how how how filled have you gotten this
so far? Because this is a party couch. I feel
like we should have bottle service here. Why why are
you acting like we don't talk about this stuff? But
I've never liked I saw myself. It was your idea.

(16:27):
I thought it was a good one. I saw all
the players everything, but I've never actually sat here. I
like it. I'm on the crack. I'm riding the crack. Yeah.
What what is the cold Beert reported today? Is there
something out there? Maybe tuning out the news? Maybe I
think it's tuning out the news. And again I produced
that too, so I don't I don't have too much
objectivity here because it it makes fun of the style
of news people. The people just say, oh, I like

(16:49):
the coldberta poor. I don't watch the news, but I
watch you, and I would say, well, then you're only
getting half the joke because we're doing jokes about the story,
but we're also doing jokes about the way the story
was told you today, the particular of their way in
which you were emotionally manipulated or sometimes outright lied to.
And that's where that's where you know, it's not my show.
I'm not writing it, but that's what that looks like

(17:09):
to me. James Smartwood, the host of Big News, he's
a lot like the old character, and that he's He's
a well intentioned, poorly informed, high status idiot who is
embodying the worst of the news while he tells you
what happened today. Wow, way to talk about one of
your host Steve Yeah. Wow. A lot of questions about
the networking Smartwood, You're you're animated. I'll suck you up?

(17:31):
Can you say fuck you up? What can you say?
What can you say? I'm sorry? I know it's your show,
but what can you say here? Can I say ship?
You're asking? Is there a producer our fail standards and presses? Yes,
Josh says, I can say ship. Can I say fuck
you up? No? I can you gotta believe that? Sorry?
I apologize. You know a lot of questions about this
network that you helped put on the map Comedy Central.

(17:53):
There's been article that say Comedy Central is unfunny. You
ep a couple of shows here before. The most part
the network is for the South Parking Office reruns. What
do you think Comedy Sins were doing right? What do
you think they're doing wrong? I hear good things about
eleven thirty two nights a week. Yeah yeah, um, I uh,

(18:14):
I don't. I respect Trevor enormously and as long as
he's as he's in that chair, they're gonna be fine. Well, well,
they got nothing to worry about as long as Trevor's
hosting the Daily Show. Okay, Okay, that's what I'm saying.
That's what I hope you take away from this. Well,
I don't know if this is true, but I've heard

(18:36):
I've heard he won't be doing that much long ago. Yes,
that's what I've heard. He only started in two thousand
and fifteen. That's when I started. He just got there
December eight. I'm here to his last day. I don't
believe it. If you had to predict who the next
holes to the Daily Show, who would it be? Or
do you care? What do I care? John Stewart's available? Um,

(18:57):
he only does like ten shows a year over at Apple.
He could do with the Daily Show at the same time.
I don't know. Who do you think? I don't know.
I like Roy Wood Jr. Okay, you're several people enjoy
him as well. In this room. What a black black woman, Well,
I don't know if she wants it, but Jessica Williams

(19:17):
I thought she would be great. I've heard Ruffians now
all Harry Potter, she's got all that cash. I'm not
sure if Comedy Central can afford her. What about Amber Ruffian.
I've heard Amber ruff She's got a gigg already. She's
got a good gig over Peacock and she she'd be great,
don't get me wrong, but she's already. I'm thinking of
somebody who's really good who doesn't presently have a nightly
show or like a regular gig. You and John Stewart

(19:38):
y'all known to have a legendary friendship. You have to
have real disagreements, like real arguments. What's the last thing
y'all arguable? I suppose um sometimes I'll tell you when
he would come on my show. He's coming on fairly
soon to talk about his show heron Apple. But he
should come on more often, be under the desk and
come out and everything. And one night, you know, I

(19:58):
would help him. I'd work on scripts that he was
going to do along with some of my writers. And
one night he goes, this is so good, this is
such a good monologue for do from they why don't
you want to do it? And I'm like, well, because
you get all this fun, you get to like Halo,
jump in from low orbit and pull out your shoe
at the last minute and tell these jokes, and then
you you jetpack out, you know, and then you're gone.

(20:19):
You know, your your special forces. I'm the first army.
I'm here tomorrow night. I got to grind it out
day by day, and so I'm building. I'm building the
thing I want to say about any subject on a
daily basis. So I don't actually want to take out
the guns and shoot up the I don't want to
shoot up the room every night. And so that's not
a disagreement. But but I've I've discovered I have a

(20:40):
different role than I used to have at the old show.
This is much more about hanging out with the audience
and tell them how I feel about what happened tonight
and it's a little less. It's a little less. I
don't know, comedy ninja chopping up the place. Okay, I'll
get what you're saying, do you, because I'm not sure
if you don't want to, you don't want to nuke
to place every night. That's right, that's right. I mostly

(21:02):
am throwing a party. This is an after party. People
have been out all night and they're coming by. They're
coming by for a last drink. That's right, that's right. Now.
You made a joke earlier this year about your old
showrunner Chris Lee, who's now running Seen, and he believe it.
You know, you know Chris does. He helped develop the

(21:22):
works we we did together, and yeah, I can't believe
he went back to news. He had a really good
job I have to do it paid really well, and
he got twelve weeks off a year. And now he's
over there at CNN, and you know, everybody's got all
these suspicions about what he's doing. I happen to know
that he is doing everything with the best of intentions,

(21:42):
and he's got just a really long plan and nobody
believes him. Did he really like call you looking for
help and reshape and seen it. No, No he didn't.
He just calls me it says, can I come back?
How many times those people aren't nice? Over news? We're
really nice? Are we nice people? Over? How many times
did he called you? Asking? It is old talk? Every week?
We talk every week, so every weekend this interview will

(22:04):
be a text from him saying, please, can I come back? Obviously,
obviously I am just Joe. No, that's gonna be the headline. No, Steve,
thank you for coming back. Pleasure, Stephen, come back. Everybody, Well,
hell of a week when we come back. Hey, welcome

(22:36):
back to hell of a week. Now, before we go,
I want to talk about someone who was a bad friend,
specifically Matthew Perry. He's an actor who starred on a
TV show called Friends. I never saw it, but people
tell me it was like living single, but for white folks.
So Matthew just came out with a memoir because that's
what everybody does these days, and in it he mourns
some of the brilliant people he's known who died, and

(22:57):
this is how he did it. He wrote, why how
is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and
Heath Ledger die but Keanu Reeves walks among us. First things, First,
Keyana Reeves is phenomenal. Okay, the Matrix. One of my
favorite movies is That was Advocate Bill and Ted is Dope.
The list goes on and on. Second, original thinkers like
River Phoenix and Heath Fledger are dead, sadly because they

(23:20):
weren't very original about their drug addictions. All right, they
really were great actors. For dying of an overdose is
the oldest cliche in Hollywood, and that's certainly not Kiano's fault.
Why do people have to work so hard to be negative? Matthew?
One question? Could you be more of a douche fact?
My name is Charlemagne the God. See you next Thursday,

(23:47):
So be sure to listen to Hell of a Week
with Charlemagne the God wherever you get your podcast. This
has been a Comedy Central podcast.