Bernie Mac wasn’t the only comedy legend in the hot seat as Spears critiqued Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, and The Wayans Bros.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
September 4, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Aries Spears said he “just doesn’t get” Bernie Mac’s appeal because the late comedian’s distinctive voice and cadence distract him from the jokes.
- Spears also called parts of Martin Lawrence’s comedy borderline “buffoonery” and said Tracy Morgan and The Wayans Bros. never fully connected with him.
- He framed the takes as personal taste, saying he prefers shows like The Cosby Show, A Different World, and Roc that mix “highbrow” comedy with edge.
Aries Spears is well aware that questioning Bernie Mac’s comedy credentials is close to sacrilege in some circles. He said it anyway.
During an appearance on Live From The Green Room, Spears was asked to name acclaimed comedians whose appeal he has never quite understood. Bernie Mac was the first name out of his mouth, with Spears admitting that Mac’s famously distinctive delivery actually gets in the way of the jokes for him.
“I just don’t get it,” Spears said. “The voice makes you lose. It’s hard for me to buy into the jokes ’cause I’m so caught in the—” He compared listening to Mac to hearing the adults in Peanuts, suggesting the late comedian’s cadence overwhelms the material for him.
Spears knew immediately that the admission wouldn’t exactly be universally embraced. Before naming names, the MADtv alum joked that his choices would be considered “blasphemous by the Black community because we hold these people and these institutions to such high regard.”
And Mac wasn’t Spears’ only potential third rail.
Spears also took aim at Martin, arguing that some of Martin Lawrence’s comedy went so far over the top that “it bordered buffoonery.”
He specifically pointed to the sitcom’s famously chaotic rat episode and some of Lawrence’s recurring characters, while contrasting Lawrence’s character work with Eddie Murphy’s performances in movies such as Coming to America.
Tracy Morgan also landed on Spears’ list—not because Spears questions his talent, but because his surreal style isn’t always for him. “I certainly will not say that he is not talented,” Spears said, before describing Morgan as “hard on the palate.”
He similarly said The Wayans Bros. never connected with him from a sitcom or writing standpoint.
Spears ultimately framed the entire conversation as a matter of personal taste rather than an attack on any of the performers. “It’s an opinion. Why can’t I have an opinion?” he said. “Just because it goes against the grain, it’s viewed as hatred.”
He also offered a pretty clear explanation of what works for him, naming The Cosby Show, A Different World, and the Charles S. Dutton sitcom Roc among his favorites. “I like things with a certain amount of highbrow to it,” Spears explained, “along with some edge.”
His Bernie Mac take arrives as Mac’s legacy continues to be revisited nearly two decades after his death. Mac, who died in 2008 at 50, went from Chicago’s comedy circuit to Def Comedy Jam, The Original Kings of Comedy, The Bernie Mac Show, and major Hollywood films.
Mac’s daughter, Je’Niece McCullough, recently offered a far more personal look at that legacy on the Dead Talks Podcast. McCullough discussed her father’s long battle with sarcoidosis and recalled one of their final exchanges, when an intubated Mac briefly regained consciousness and mouthed, “I’m dead.”
