One of the handful of great things about working on a Saturday is that I can freely listen to NPR as loudly as I want, including This American Life.  This week, there was a particularly interesting story:

Former TAL producer Jonathan Goldstein with a story about what it’s like to date Lois Lane when she’s on the rebound from Superman. 

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Needless to say, the dynamics of dating a girl that used to date a superhero sound daunting at best.  This makes me feel a degree of pity for anybody that is dating any girl I’ve ever dated.  

[For those of you that think I'm the cockiest bastard in the solar system, realize that I'm kidding.  I don't feel a shred of pity.]

When I saw the headline for this story on NPR, I knew I had to give it a listen.  Mostly, I was curious if “Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch.”

To be honest, I was a bit stunned.  Brady comes off as cocky, defensive and insulting.  At one point (just past the 7:00 mark), he refers to MadTV cast member Aries Spears as being “very unfunny.” Wow, nothing like supporting other black actors.

 

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The most ironic part is around 4:30 when he is trying to debunk the myth that “Wayne is white” [culturally].  He tells the interviewer Farai Chideya, a black woman, that “I think you’re far too smart and well spoken to be as ignorant as some people that have thought that.” Doesn’t Brady realize that being “well spoken” is in fact, a phrase commonly used by white people as a backhandled compliment to minorities?

Add to this, the context that being “well spoken” is not a trait that would be relevant to comprehending him as a person, and I’m not sure Wayne Brady did much to ingratiate himself to more of the American public.

Cringe-scale: Excellent.