During episode 617 of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, Shane Gillis revealed that he had only recently realized how massive the reaction to his Netflix roast had become. That realization came after he discovered that Dr. Umar Johnson had publicly commented on him.
“I didn’t realize how massive the roast was until this morning,”co-host Matt Colwell told Shane. “I saw a super cut of every single person. I’m like, oh, this went around the world.”
Shane agreed and replied, “Dr. Umar called me a Neanderthal.”
Rather than sounding offended by the remark, Gillis quickly pivoted to one of Dr. Umar’s most-discussed projects: the long-promised Frederick Douglass Marcus Garvey Academy.
“Tell him you want to see the Frederick Douglass Marcus Garvey Academy open and then you’ll talk,” Matt joked. “Ask him about the school. I try to get him on. He charges like ten thousand bucks to come on.”
Despite the back-and-forth, Matt made it clear that he genuinely enjoys Dr. Umar’s content and personality.
“I actually, to be honest, I like Dr. Umar,” Matt said. Gillis agreed and said, “So do I.”
Shane then states, “When he reads his live chat and he blocks people, it’s aweson. He has to know it’s funny because he reads what they say.”
Addressing the “Neanderthal” comment directly, Gillis admitted he found the insult more amusing than upsetting. “I think it’s funny getting called a Neanderthal,” he said. “I was all right with it.”
Gillis then added that if Dr. Umar had genuinely been offended by the roast, he meant no disrespect.
“I don’t know if he’s trying to be funny,” Gillis said. “If he’s actually upset, I apologize to Dr. Umar.”
The conversation then shifted into more outrageous territory as Gillis floated a provocative joke about buying Dr. Umar’s school himself.
“I was thinking about purchasing his school and naming it the Robert E. Lee School for Whites Only,” Gillis said. “I’m going to name it Neanderthal Robert E. Lee, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon Academy.”
After continuing to workshop the idea live on the podcast, he landed on another version of the bit.
“The Robert E. Lee, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon School for Higher Learning,” Gillis said, before adding, “and then actually dumping a ton of money in it and making it really successful and actually helping the community, just is a bit, dude.”
Colwell immediately approved of the concept. “That would be a good bit,” he responded.
Matt eventually returned to a more sincere tone, reiterating that he genuinely wants to see Dr. Umar’s school become a reality.
“I just want to see it open, man,” he said. “I’m not trying to break the guy’s balls. I’ve been hearing about the school for a while.”
Shane then asked, “Yeah, what happened to the school?”
Matt replied, “It’s never open. It’s been like ten years. He’s got to open the school, especially before he starts coming at, you know. He shouldn’t be watching the roast. Get the school going, bro.”
