On The DL

Hughley's not sorry

by A.D. Amorosi

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DL Hughley tackled the sitcom, hosted his own talk show, performed in The Original Kings of Comedy and was a stand-out member of Aaron Sorkin's ill-fated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. With that kind of success, there's bound to be some controversy. The former Bloods gang member came under fire last year after jokingly agreeing with Don Imus' comments about the Rutgers ladies, and recently took to the stage mid-strike for January's Critics' Choice Awards. He's not taking back any of it on his Unapologetic tour, so it might just be best to adopt his sense of humor.

City Paper: How does it feel to have hosted the one trophy show that had attendees this year?

DL Hughley: A little weird, mostly because of the event's energy. People were tentative about coming as well as being seen on camera. But I was there to just keep it moving along.

CP: The hell of a strike aside, is there a particular level of finesse one has to have for hosting?

DH: I think so. For instance, it would have been better had we had writers. But in lieu of that, you just got to be a good bullshitter. And I got that covered.

CP: As a comic embracing acting, were you looking to further how people viewed you or how you viewed yourself with Studio 60?

DH: There's probably evidence of both. I really just wanted to see if I could work with top-notch talent beyond comedy. I really wanted that challenge. That was a Murderers' Row of television. I wasn't sure that I was enough or that I had enough, but I wanted to work hard.

CP: Do you feel as if Spike, Bernie, Steve, Cedric and yourself should get some form of residual every time a bunch of comics get together to capitalize on your Kings thing?

DH: [Laughs] Not money. Imitation's flattery, right? What I don't like is that they tend to try to devalue us: "If you think you like them, you'll dig us." They try to blow out our candle to make theirs burn brighter. Besides, "Kings of Comedy" was never our phrase. The marketers turned it into a slogan, the rumble in the jungle of comedy. Still, there's a level of hubris that people have when they think they want to better us. That I don't like — people should be successful on their own.

CP: You still get criticized for not supporting black America when you joked about the women of Rutgers. How impossible a task is that — trying to uplift one's culture while insisting on being funny?

DH: I said what I said and I meant it. It was a joke and it was funny. The truth has no manners. But people are uncomfortable. Just like what Hillary Clinton said about Dr. King's dream not being able to be realized until President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. It's fucking true. [Laughs] Every dream a black man had, a white dude had to sign off on back then. [Laughs] The truth is hilarious, isn't it?

DL Hughley

Sat., Feb. 2, 8 p.m., $38.50, Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside, 215-572-7650, keswicktheatre.com