“50 Million people will be traveling during the holiday season, some will be traveling Delta, others will be infected with it,” says Charlamagne Tha God, in a brand new episode of his late-night TV Show on Comedy Central, “Tha God’s Honest Truth.”
The festive season is upon us and with that comes Charlamagne’s signature take on the do’s and dont’s of the holidays. For those of you not familiar with Charlamagne Tha God aka Lenard McKelvey – he is the producer and host of Comedy Central’s new late-night television show, “Tha God’s Honest Truth with Charlamagne Tha God.”
Raised in Monck’s Corner, South Carolina, Charlamagne has for years been the polarizing voice of popular culture. He began his career interning at radio station Z93 Jamz in Charleston and went on to kickstart the radio show, “The Breakfast Club,” alongside co-hosts Angela Yee and DJ Envy. Marketed as the world’s most dangerous radio show, it has risen to become hip hop’s most successful radio platform and was recently inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
The brand new episode of “Tha God’s Honest Truth” began with our favorite segment, “I call bullshit” in which Charlamagne unravels the growing hypocrisy of American media and politics. The first accused to take the stand in Charlamagne’s court of no-bullshit was Carolyn Bryant, whose lie about a 14-year-old boy, Emmett Till, led to him being brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955. A book published decades later claimed that Carolyn Bryant had admitted to fabricating the facts. However, the Department of Justice recently closed its second investigation into the killing after failing to prove that his accuser, Carolyn Dunham, lied. Upon being questioned by the FBI, she confessed that she did not lie about the facts. Charlamagne called out how white privilege in America is so deeply rooted, that a woman fabricating a fact can lead to the murder of an underage Black boy, with no repercussions.
The second party caught red-handed in the court of no-bullshit was Joel Osteen and his Lakewood Church. An NBC News headline reported that a plumber had recently stumbled across cash and checks amounting to $600,000 behind a loose toilet wall at the church. Joel Osteen’s admission that he had no idea about the money smelled of foul play to Charlamagne and he did not shy away from stating it.
The show then moved on to a topic that is rarely touched upon in mainstream media – the toxic environment family members can create for each other during the holiday season and the importance of boundaries to help you navigate.
“Have you ever spent a significant amount of time trying to reach your best self, doing the work, going to therapy – you’re on your healing journey. Then you come around family members or childhood friends who want you to stay exactly the same. Worse yet, they refuse to see the new you. They say goofy shit like, “look at you acting brand new” or “Boy you gone changed”. Well, why would I not change?”, says Charlamagne when listing out all the reasons why sometimes, distance really does make the heart grow fonder.
Recent studies show that we are more likely now than ever to cut ties with family members if they are toxic, whereas 75% of Americans admit that they need to escape during the holidays. While we do believe that not every family swears by the Lannisters from Game of Thrones, it is true that toxic family members act as a barrier to self-development and progression in terms of mental health. With trauma being passed down from generation to generation, breaking out of the chain can lead to estrangement and ostracization. Charlamagne believes that this owes to the increasing awareness of mental health issues in America.
To join the conversation, Charlamagne also invited the renowned therapist and relationship expert, Nedra Glover Tawwab, alongside comedians Karlous Miller and Rosebud Baker. Karlous and Rosebud were quick to point out how differences could be created between families due to money and having different political affiliations. The mic then turned towards Nedra, when Charlamagne asked her what people should prioritize when going back home over the holiday season. Nedra believed that people should prioritize how they want to spend their holidays, and they should not feel obligated to spend it with people who have a different idea of what that holiday is going to look like. In order to have peace, at times you may have to change long-held traditions.
Nedra also expounded more upon material boundaries. Sometimes people may want what you have because they were there and they feel that they should be a part of it financially. However, your financial worth is not their financial worth, and you should get to decide whether you want to share it or not. Rosebud then brought the conversation to a lighter note when she compared bringing a Black man home as a White woman, versus visiting a Black household with a Black man. In her true words, Black mothers and White fathers were tough nuts to crack during holiday dinners.
To end the episode, Charlamagne sat down to chat with the singer, songwriter, and actress, Chlöe. Both individuals who are also relatives spoke about their views on how family members never want you to change. Although Chlöe agreed with the mutual understanding they had, she believed that the problem could be approached in a different, that was more empathetic to family members and their reasons for not wanting change. She also mentioned how grateful she was for having her career, money, and the time to do what she wanted. Charlamagne could not help putting up a mock protest when she spoke about how she was okay with sharing money and giving back.
Finally, Chlöe spoke about the toxic effects of social media and how she recently deleted Twitter due to the barrage of comments she received on a daily basis. To her, everyone in their early twenties goes through a process of self-discovery, however, her journey takes place under the microscopic lens of her fans and followers.
To watch this episode and more, you can visit the website here. Episodes premiere weekly exclusively on Comedy Central.
