With fans still reeling from the announcement that comedy duo Desus and Mero have split and their Showtime talk show will not continue, one of the guys is finally giving a few answers.
A report from Puck News suggests the split resulted from management differences between the pair and Showtime. The cable network banned their manager, Victor Lopez, from tapings due to “asshole behavior” including “bullying, screaming, and making people on the show feel bad.” Things seemingly broke down when Desus allegedly agreed with Showtime, while Mero backed Lopez.
After the Puck News story came out, Mero appeared on New York’s WFAN on Tuesday to discuss the break up with host Keith McPherson.
“It’s just natural progression,” Mero said. “It’s like we said on the podcast: ‘It’s Hollywood, baby.’ You develop strengths and things that you want to explore and do. And then things just happen naturally. It’s like Spike Jonze said on the Viceland show, ‘Everything is finite.’ What’s the corny cliche? Don’t be sad that it’s gone. Be happy that you experienced it.”
Mero seemed to hint that things were amicable between he and his former partner. A notion that gives the bodegahive hope for a future reunion.
“Everybody grows,” Mero said. “I’m sure D’s got his things that he wants to do. I got my things I want to do. And they’re very specific to us. We’ve been a duo for a long time. I love everything that he’s done. It’s just natural. I’ve got my life, my worldview, my things going on, and he’s got his. So it’s only right that, instead of just staying like, we’re only going to do this one thing, we explore. Let’s break out. Let’s see what we do as individuals, and then form like Voltron later on. Who knows?”
Fans were shocked, but maybe not 100 percent surprised, when Showtime announced earlier this month that Desus and Mero would be “pursuing separate creative endeavors,” and that their talk show would not be back for another season.
In addition to cutting back to once a week, there was a weird tension in the latest batch of episodes. I could be overthinking things, but it didn’t feel like they had that familiar Desus and Mero comedic vibe. It felt a little forced.
Regardless of how Desus and Mero ended, it’s nice to hear that the door is still open for the duo to possibly reunite down the road.