After months of Akaash Singh‘s absence from the Flagrant podcast, Andrew Schulz finally addressed his departure directly on the show.
Schulz opened the conversation by directly acknowledging the situation fans had been speculating about for months. “We got to address the elephant in the room, no pun intended,” Schulz said. “As I’m sure you guys are aware, our boy Akaash, he really went through it earlier this year.”
He quickly shifted focus to Singh’s recent success in stand-up comedy, praising the momentum his longtime co-host has built over the past several months.
“Showed amazing resilience in, you know, selling out Radio City recently, setting records in Toronto, just crushing standup around the globe, and literally just like living the dreams that he would tell me about at 2 in the morning when we’re eating egg sandwiches,” Schulz said.
Schulz then confirmed that Singh has officially decided to leave the podcast in order to fully dedicate himself to stand-up.
“The experience has put things in perspective for him and he has made the decision to focus all of his energy on standup,” Schulz explained. “He is going to be stepping away from the pod. It is bittersweet. You know, we wish that he did not want to do that. But at the same time, you know, it’s very hard not to root for your friend, you know, literally living his dreams. And if he feels he’s got to give everything to that, then that’s exactly what he’s got to do.”
He also clarified why the announcement came now rather than earlier.
“Akaash hasn’t been on the pod for a while,” Schulz added. “We thought it was time that we, you know, talk to you guys about it.”
Alex also reflected on how long they had all been building the podcast together. “It’s bittersweet because this is my brother. I love him,” Alex said. “I was here day one of this podcast and it’s like we were started together and together. Bad boys for life.”
He also spoke about watching Singh headline Radio City Music Hall and seeing the audience reaction firsthand.
“I’m just so proud,” he continued. “Being at Radio City and just seeing like just everybody was animated like they loved it. I’m just proud of him.”
Mark Gagnon then recalled one of his earliest conversations with Singh after first moving to New York, saying Singh had been talking about this exact goal long before it became reality.
“I remember even like when I very first came to New York riding in an Uber with him and he was talking about this exact thing, you know?” Mark said. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, man. Like the pod’s cooking, but like I want to be that guy.’ And then now he’s doing all the stuff that he said and uh yeah, it’s just really exciting.”
Mark added that everyone on the show understands why Singh would want to fully commit to stand-up at this stage of his career.
“Like as a comic, I think we can understand,” he said. “It’s like, yeah, dude, you have an opportunity. I mean, he’s going to be in MSG like soon. Go get it.”
The episode ended with one final message directed at Singh. “One more shout out to our boy Akaash,” Schulz said. “Make sure you go check him out. Love you, brother.”
