Comedian Carlos Mencia is Cancel Free and Coming to Connecticut

You know him from countless stand up comedy specials and the Comedy Central sketch-show 'Mind of Mencia", Comedian Carlos Mencia.

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Carlos went from the peak of the mountain, to the clearance rack and now he's back with plenty to say. After years of answering the same questions Carlos Mencia has a fresh new perspective on comedy and career. One thing is for sure, Mencia is not afraid to hear what you think of him.

The comic is out on his "No Hate, No Fear" tour and bringing the act to the Ridgefield Playhouse on Friday, April 19th at 8pm. We spoke to Mencia on the Friday (4/12/24) edition of the I-95 Morning Show to promote the gig. We talked about the Joe Rogan incident, P.Diddy, his crazy tour schedule and his massive family.

It's great to talk to you man, there is a lot going on over there. 

Carlos: "Listen, it's been a crazy year; I've never been busier. All the kids who were between 8-12 when 'Mind of Mencia' came out are now of age, so they are coming to see the shows. It's like a resurgence; it's been amazing. Plus, comedy right now needs voices like mine that tell everybody comedy is meant to be funny. If you don't get that, get out of here. I don't care anymore about the canceling; if you got offended, I don't want to hear it. If the worst thing that happened to you today is that I told an inappropriate joke, you should be glad, not angry. If you're that kind of person, I don't like you, and don't come to my shows."

The tour is called "No Hate, No Fear," and it's coming to the Ridgefield Playhouse on the 19th. I love that you said your schedule is crazy because I looked at your tour schedule, and it's not fair to you. You need a day off.

Carlos: "Bro, and yesterday I got a phone call from a big hotel in Vegas who was like, 'Hey, we want you to do a residency.' I'm like, 'I'm already booked every weekend.' They were like, 'No, we want you to do Sunday and Monday, and then we'll grow from there.' I was like, 'Man, I don't know that I can be doing that. That would be Sunday, Monday, take off Tuesday, fly out Wednesday, Thursday through Saturday!? That is a bit much, bruh. Listen, I know my name is Mencia, and I'm an immigrant, but I'm not THAT much of an immigrant, bro. I'm not working that hard; I've got my papers, you know what I'm saying? You've got to give me legal-type work."

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You famously come from a family of 17 siblings, Carlos?

Carlos: "My mother had 18 children; our favorite thing to say in my family is, 'My mother never had periods; she just had people.'"

You were probably the first, at least the first comedian, to get canceled in the social media era. It was the infamous scene where Joe Rogan came up to you and started screaming about stealing jokes. Just last year, comedian Aries Spears came out and defended you and said, 'Look, you destroyed this guy's career for a time period.' How did you get through all of that?

Carlos: "I wasn't doing what they said; I wasn't plagiarizing or anything. The interesting thing about that is, I went up on stage while Joe was on because he said something about me when he was on stage. So, he said, 'Hey, this next guy opens up for Carlos Men-steal-ia,' I think that is what he said. So, I went up on stage and I was like, 'Hey bro, you keep saying I steal jokes, what joke did I ever steal of yours?' Of course, he never had an answer for that because I never stole any jokes from him. He's never accused me of taking a joke from him, but I said to myself, 'If one person thinks you're a d---, that's one thing. If everybody thinks you're a d--, everybody is mad at you for some reason.' So, I had to look into myself and find out what it is that I was doing to these guys to hurt their feelings. Basically, what I found out was that when I was a kid coming up as a comedian, we called it paying your dues. You would have a spot, and you get excited, and then all of a sudden Robin Williams came in and bumped you. All of a sudden Richard Pryor came in and bumped you. All of a sudden some celebrity, Martin Lawrence, came in and bumped you. Dice Clay came in and bumped you, and that is the way it was. So look, when you get a TV show, then you can do that. So, I started working with a guy named Rick Rubin who told me, 'You've got to go on the road, cultivate this, make this thing yours. You've got to go out and really experience life.' I started doing that, and I was gone for about five years doing the road. By the time I came back to the Comedy Store and I got 'Mind of Mencia,' those kids were the participation trophy kids. They were the new generation of, 'I don't want to get hazed to get in the club. I don't want to have to pay my dues. I'm on the schedule already; why are you guys putting someone else on the schedule?' I had to kind of look inside and go alright, who am I? What am I? I hurt a lot of people's feelings is what it is basically, to boil it down."

Get your tickets to see Carlos Mencia at the Ridgefield Playhouse

You can listen to our complete interview below:

Part 1: We spoke about his success in the early 2000s, comedy groupies, cancel culture, and his experience with P. Diddy.

Part 2: In the last segment, we spoke about the Joe Rogan incident, paying dues, and how Carlos plans to open the show at the Ridgefield Playhouse.

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify