It’s no secret “The Boondocks,” one of Black America’s most iconic and outrageous animated shows, took inspiration from real life events to bring to light on television. But what happens when art imitates real life a little too well?
In the case of one of the show’s producers, Carl Jones, he took his pain and turned it into one of the most recognizable episodes in the show’s history. The writer stopped by the “Effective Immediately” podcast to spill some tea on the show’s creation, but when he was asked what real life events inspired “The Boondocks” episodes, Jones told a story that’s guaranteed to leave your jaw hanging.
We all know that one scene in the show where R&B star Usher comes to town and completely seduces Tom’s wife right in front of the poor man’s eyes. Well, it turns out, it was directly inspired by a moment between Jones and his ex-wife.
According to him, it all started when Jones, his ex-wife, and other creatives from the show went out for a celebratory dinner. “We were celebrating the pickup of season two,” Jones told hosts DJ Hed and Gina Views. “The R. Kelly episode came up and my ex-wife, she hated that episode,” he said.
“She got like really mad and was kind of like protesting at the table,” Jones said. But his ex quickly turned her frown upside down when the one and only Usher skated into the spot.
Jones told the podcast hosts “her whole attitude changed.” Coincidently, the singer was seated just a few tables away from Jones and his crew. “The remainder of the dinner, she’s turning around at Usher, making goo-goo eyes and stuff. Trying to get his attention,” Jones continued.
The whole thing made Jones uncomfortable but things took a turn when they all started heading for the door. “We get up, and we get to the front of the restaurant, and I look back and she’s at the n****a’s [Usher’s] table.”
Jones explained his ex began motioning for their crew to join Usher at his table. Eventually Jones and the other producers go and join his wife and Usher, but if you think this story has a happy ending, you’d be sadly mistaken.
“She starts introducing everybody... She’s like ‘um—so Usher, this is Aaron and this is his fiance,’” she apparently began. But when it came time to introduce Jones as her husband, she choked. “‘This is my— Carl,’” she continued. After the embarrassing encounter, Jones said “It was a long ride home.”
When the producer came to work the next day, the writers told him they just had to include last night’s Usher incident in the show. The episode titled “Tom, Sarah, and Usher” premiered in 2007, and is now a certified classic, and still sparks memes and reactions eight years after it aired.
And so the rest was history. Ironically, Jones voiced the waiter in the scene that approaches Tim and says “wouldn’t let that sh*t happen to me though,” even though it did in fact happen to him. In the ex-wife’s defense, who wouldn’t be stoked to sit so close to the “Good Kisser” singer? But We guess we now know why they filed for divorce.