George Lopez Apologizes to Comedian Ralph Barbosa After Podcast Comments
Recently on his podcast “OMG Hi!,” George Lopez interviewed another comic named Steve Treviño, who used Ralph Barbosa as an example of the role Lopez played in his career.
Lopez turns a compliment into an insult
Treviño explained how influential Lopez was in his own career and pointed to 26-year-old Barbosa, who made his “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” debut a month prior. However, instead of acknowledging Treviño’s comment in a positive way, Lopez immediately started asking who Barbosa was.
“You said that kid is blowing up — I don’t know who he is,” Lopez said after Treviño brought him up in conversation as a rising star. The conversation died down eventually, but Treviño mentioned him again later in the show. At this point, Lopez’s comments become a bit more aggressive.
“But nobody knows who that motherf—er is! Why are you saying his name?” At this point, Lopez turns to his off-camera team and asks them if they know who Barbosa is. Lopez begins laughing when he hears their answers.
The comedian is becoming the thing he hates most
Treviño tries to redirect the conversation to a larger point about uplifting Latino comedians, but Lopez disagrees. “I don’t think that’s the right thing,” Lopez said.
He continued, “I don’t think you should be worried about anybody else, especially ‘Jeremy Barbasol.’ I don’t know who he is. I don’t mean no disrespect, but I don’t know who he is.” Fans of Lopez and Barbosa alike slammed the comedian for becoming the very thing he swore to destroy early in his career.
When Lopez was just 17 years old, a chance encounter with comedian Erik Estrada sparked a fire in him that continues to burn today. The comedian reportedly blew him off by refusing to shake his hand. From that point on, Lopez vowed to never do to anyone what Estrada did to him.
“That experience made me nicer to people, but also drove me to say, ‘I’m going to be successful,'” he said to HuffPost in 2015. Fans immediately pointed out the irony of the situation by reminding social media how his decades-long feud with Estrada acts as a perfect parallel to his situation with Barbosa.
However, Lopez ultimately did the right thing
It seems that, in spite of himself, Lopez will not stoop to Estrada’s level. Instead of doubling down on his comments, he reached out to Barbosa privately to offer his apologies, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The outlet reports that in an email a representative for Barbosa confirmed that Lopez “called Ralph personally and they spoke about what happened.”
Barbosa’s manager said, “George apologized and acknowledged the hard work Ralph has been putting in on the road. It was a very amicable conversation that Ralph appreciated.”
The two Latino comics probably won’t become best friends anytime soon, but it’s always a nice thing when game can recognize game. Especially when that means bridging a gap between the old and new school.
