It’s no secret that a few radio hosts at opposing stations (HOT 97 and Power 105.1) have remained at odds. Both sides haven’t shied away from voicing opinions that get the masses talking, like today’s statement from Ebro Darden.
The veteran radio host took to HOT 97’s morning show (May 26) to clear the air on a story Charlamagne Tha God revealed during an appearance on the Joe Budden Podcast. Earlier this year, the Black Privilege author and Ebro attended a Know Your Rights Camp held by Colin Kaepernick.
HOT 97 midday host Nessa, who was also a part of the event’s establishment, approached Ebro to ask him to take a picture with Charlamagne. The Beats 1 leader obliged and thought the picture would do more good than harm, but following recent events, the latter seems apparent.
Per Ebro, he approached Charlamagne and said: “‘Hey, Nessa would like us to take a photo together.’ He says, ‘Nah, I’m not taking a photo with you.’ I said, ‘What’s your problem? We’re here for the event. It’s bigger than us, let’s do the photo.’ [Charlamagne said] ‘Nah, you called me a coon, I’m not taking a photo with you. We’re not cool.’ I was like, ‘Well, you were cooning, you do coon things, but if you can’t see above this back and forth and you can’t see that this is bigger than us, then it is what it is.”
On Charlamagne’s side of the moment, he said he declined to take a picture with Ebro because of past comments he’s allegedly said about him in public settings. “I’m like, ‘You slander me on the radio a hundred miles per hour, you call me a coon, an Uncle Tom and you want to take a picture?’ And he was like, ‘Nah I’m just saying, I never said you wasn’t talented. I just said that I didn’t like what you did with Tomi Lahren.’ He asked me to take a picture, bro.”
That revelation begins at the 46:50 mark.
Nessa shared that she had a conversation with Charlamagne following the incident and said that it was her idea for the pair to take a photo together. Ebro then chimed in, stating, “And by the way, haven’t brought this issue up on the air, haven’t talked about it, right? Now you go on the podcast with Joe Budden. You bring the story up, you don’t even tell that part of the story dude. That’s why you’re a piece of sh*t, bro. That’s why he’s a piece of sh*t.”
For Ebro, he saw the picture as a harmless gesture, specifically since Charlamagne was able to sit down with Budden after he reportedly called him a “woman beater.”
“You went on the radio multiple times and accused someone of a crime and y’all are doing a podcast, but you can’t stand next to me for Colin Kaepernick’s movement and you’re there,” he said. “And you’re only there because I was comfortable with you being there, fam. I put all my ish aside because it’s stupid. The stuff we do on the radio is dumb, it’s for fun. I make fun of you for fun. That’s it, it’s not that deep.”
Listen to Ebro’s full recollection below.