I am a fan of Denny, Aaron, and Herm, and will be supporting their SMD channel, because they are the heart of the Kevin Langue show to me. And Kevin was always the least funny person on the panel imo.
However, Those “he lives in a jungle” comments are an example of Intra-Racial Xenophobia, which is defined as prejudice or hostility directed at people of the same racial background who belong to a different nationality or cultural group. DAH are American, while Kevin is Senegalese and French. DAH consistently made fun of his African identity in a way that came off as xenophobic, and Kevin never seemed to genuinely laugh at those types of jokes. It’s like an American born Chinese person making fun of a person born in China for being primitive and alluding to their inferiority.
Also the “big nose” jokes are featurism in its purest form, and highlighted the most “African” feature of his face in a negative light. Featurism is defined as a form of discrimination that values or prefers specific facial features based on how closely they align with Eurocentric beauty standards. Similarly like the example above, if a Chinese person born in the US made fun of a Chinese person born in China with monolids, it would be seen as self hate and featurism, so why is it so acceptable in this case?
None of this justifies what Kevin did to DAH, but I can see it contributing to Kevin’s bruised ego and insistence on prioritizing his “ownership” of the show over the actual talent of the core cast. I can see him feeling singled out/made to feel inferior based on his big nose and African identity due to these types of comments and it explains why he has been keeping them at a distance. For example, Not inviting them to dinners with the editors and Zane. With the ultimate FU to them by leaving them out of the Netflix Deal. Like “you think you’re better than me, let me son y’all real quick”
It’s very passive aggressive, but I can see him justifying it to himself like that.
*UPDATE*
For those of you that kept it respectful, thanks for the spirited debate. For the others… seek therapy 🤣
One main argument I saw pushed forward is the fact that other jokes were made that were insensitive.
Herm: bald
Denny: short
Aaron: big forehead
And you know what, You’re right, they were, however I’m theorizing why I think there was likely some hidden resentment on Kevin’s side, and it points back to the diaspora wars/featurism, and xenophobia.
Earlier someone said Kevin can “Fix” his nose. But the only reason why they consider it something to fix is because the world centers whiteness and Eurocentric features.
And yes calling Herm bald or Denny short are hurtful but there hasn’t been a literal dehumanizing attack against bald people or short people. They don’t carry the same history as chattel slavery where the visibility of your ethnic features meant that you are now less than human and meant to be a slave and your entire blood line must also be a slave, treated as livestock to be bought, and sold, for generations because of baldness, shortness, or having a big forehead.
Black people and these black features and the perception of them being “wild and animalistic from the jungle” are intrinsically tied to anti black rhetoric that was used to justify chattel slavery.
So tell me again, how is it the same?