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African American comedian Godfrey believes that the word "racist" has lost its original meaning, being used way too often by people who may be afraid to hear the truth from comedians.
In a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital, the comic of Nigerian ancestry – whose full name is Godfrey Danchimah Jr. – said he believes that the word "racist" is used so frequently that it has lost its meaning.
"That word is used too loosely," Godfrey said while in Austin, Texas for the SXSW Comedy Festival.
Stand-up comedian Godfrey speaks to Fox News Digital about his comedy style and how some people are too offended by jokes these days.
The veteran stand-up comic, who has been in the industry for almost 30 years, stated that people will accuse him of being racist for jokes in which he mentions the race of a person, or for jokes about certain racial stereotypes.
"They go, ‘You’re racist!’ I go, ‘Well, I can’t be. I didn’t stop you from going to school. I can’t be a racist.' Just because I talk about a race doesn’t mean I’m racist. You see what I’m saying?"
He continued, "If I go, ‘Well, White people do this a lot. White cops do this to Black –‘ They go, ‘You're racist.’ No! They're racist because they were stopping me – stop and frisking Black people."
Godfrey said those critics are just "mad because I'm telling you the truth. I'm just describing a White person," explaining that people will often whip out the accusation of racism just because he says the words "White" or "Black."
He further explained the difference between making jokes about certain groups and discriminating against them.
Godfrey gave advice on how to tell risky jokes in a creative way.
"You know, racist is when you stop people from buying houses, ‘You can’t come in our neighborhood,’ you know? ‘You can’t have this job 'cause [of] the way you look.’ That’s racism," Godfrey declared.
"It’s an actual institutionalized method to stop people from progress. Just because I go, ‘Oh, there’s a White guy, there’s a Black guy’ – it’s not racism. I’m just describing. You see, there’s a difference? It’s a thin line."
Godfrey said he believes that the accusation is used to deflect tough truths people don’t want to hear.
"But that's [a] deflection from when you're telling the truth, because people hate the truth. If you tell an alcoholic that hasn't got any help, ‘You're an alcoholic’ – ‘No, I'm not, you know, screw you!’ You know, ‘But you're an alcoholic. I'm just telling you.’"
Later in the interview, the stand-up and social media star mentioned that he is a fan of getting a little political with his comedy, and claimed that the people who want him to keep quiet about politics are soft.
Godfrey poses outside a comedy venue in Philadelphia in November 2020. (Gilbert Carrasquillo / Contributor)
"Sometimes they’ll tell me, ‘Oh, stick to comedy, not politics.’ I go, ‘Well, politics affect me. I pay taxes. What do you mean stick to comedy?’ Because they’re mad at my opinion."
"So many people are moist nowadays," he added, describing sensitive people.
The comic offered advice for those looking to push the boundaries with their comedy and risk offending people, saying it’s all about how "creative" you can be while delivering a risky line.
"Like, if you do racial jokes about specific people, be artistic with it," he said. "Don’t just say it just to be, ‘I wanna be racist, so I’m going to make an excuse behind comedy.’ Well, it wasn’t funny. Be creative."
Describing his own mindset, Godfrey added that there's "art" in being able to perform jokes in front of all types of people.
"How am I going to do these jokes in front of all these people and talk about what I don’t like about them, but make it funny?" he said. "That’s the art in it."
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Fox News' Laura Carrione contributed to this report.
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
