Update, October 25, 2023: Tragically, Comedy Central did not heed our advice to reunite the Bodega Boys for one last go-round on the DJ Envy-Is-an-Herb carousel, but on the October 24th episode of The Daily Show, guest host Desus Nice seized the hot seat to go at the alleged scamfluencer solo and did a more than serviceable job stirring up their old feud. “Now, I’m going to give you some important financial news,†he began, barely able to contain himself. Then a series of news clips played detailing DJ Envy’s alleged involvement in a Ponzi scheme, which Desus commented on with statements like, “It’s definitely not funny. There’s certainly nothing personal that makes it funny to me!†Check out the full clip here:
Original story published October 24, 2023, follows:
In his first show behind The Daily Show desk on October 23, this week’s guest host, Desus Nice, reunited publicly with a beloved Bronx native he’s been on TV with in the past. Unfortunately for longtime fans, this reunion was not with his former Desus & Mero co-host, The Kid Mero; it was with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC and Desus’s conversation was entertaining enough — they chatted about important issues like the House Speaker election and the roadblocks in the way of immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. But you know what didn’t come up during their chat? Not even once? DJ Envy, who is all over the news this week owing to his possible involvement in a Ponzi scheme. This is where only Mero could have been of service. Desus and Mero have a storied history with the radio personality, and given the timing of Desus’s Daily Show guest-hosting stint, a reunion is needed now more than ever.
To recap: In 2018, DJ Envy and his wife Gia Casey went on the daytime talk show The Real to talk about the radio personality’s history of infidelity, and on their Viceland late-night show, Desus and Mero — as they did with everything — took this opportunity to crack a few jokes. (One half-hearted barb about Casey being with Envy for his money struck a nerve.) A month later, Desus and Mero went on DJ Envy’s radio show The Breakfast Club to promote an upcoming tour, and Envy introduced them to the show’s audience as “Dickhead and Pussy,†demanded an apology (which Desus gave), and eventually stormed out of the interview to the astonishment of his co-hosts.
On their Viceland show that same night, Desus and Mero hosted a play-by-play recap of the footage of Envy ambushing them and storming out, called him “the Bisquick bandit,†wondered why Envy didn’t just call them privately instead of engineering a viral confrontation on-air, and laughed about how all of this could have been prevented if Envy simply hadn’t gone on a nationally syndicated show to air out his dirty laundry in the first place.
A year later, Desus and Mero buried the hatchet. Envy mentioned on The Breakfast Club that the duo had sent him a gift, and Desus and Mero later explained on their Showtime show that the grand gesture Envy was referring to was an Edible Arrangement that said “Happy Anniversary From Dickhead and Pussy.â€
To be clear, this is not a plea for Desus and Mero to get back together permanently. They had their reasons for breaking up, and we respect that. This is a plea to Comedy Central: Throw whatever money is necessary at Desus and Mero to set aside their differences for one night. Watching them impersonate DJ Envy’s reaction to finding out his iHeartRadio office was being raided by federal officials would be must-see TV. It would hoist The Daily Show back onto its perch atop American culture’s pyramid (without the aid of a DJ Envy scheme) and remind the world of how people can come together, despite everything, for the greater good. Please, Comedy Central, we need this.