George Lopez has apologized to fellow stand-up comedian Ralph Barbosa after the recent backlash he received for comments he made about him on his podcast.
According to reports from the Los Angeles Times, who communicated with Barbosa’s manager, Lopez “called Ralph personally and they spoke about what happened.”
“George apologized and acknowledged the hard work Ralph has been putting in on the road,” Barbosa’s manager told the Times. “It was a very amicable conversation that Ralph appreciated.”
Clips of Lopez’s latest podcast, OMG Hi!, went viral when Lopez and fellow comedian and guest Steve Treviño talked about Latine representation in comedy and whether veterans like themselves had a responsibility to forge an easier path than they had for up-and-coming comedians.
When Treviño mentioned Barbosa’s name as someone he would like to support, Lopez was a little too adamant and blunt about not knowing who the young, Texas-based comedian was. Many people online found Lopez’s comments to be condescending and rude.
“But nobody knows who that motherf—er is! Why are you saying his name?” Lopez said. “Is it wrong to say, ‘Why you keep bringing his name up if nobody knows who he is?’ I don’t mean it mean.”
Barbosa responded to the clip soon after: “It’s all good baby,” he posted on social media. “The future is now old man.”
Last month, Barbosa made his late-night talk show debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Hopefully, things are now behind them because comics like George Lopez and Ralph Barbosa should be playing on the same team. Maybe the former can make it up to the latter by giving him a one-episode turn on Lopez vs. Lopez.