The comedy legend Damon Wayans Sr. on Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast embraced honesty. It acknowledged what had long been an under-the-radar tale: yes, he used to date his nephew's ex-girlfriend.
The revelation came after Sharpe threw a playful curveball, asking if Wayans had ever "done the Jackson 5," an oblique reference to the infamous real-life story of Jermaine Jackson marrying his brother Randy's former partner. Wayans, 64, didn't skip a beat and took advantage of the moment to set the record straight.
"I was in love with her, that's what," he confessed, without remorse.
Wayans, known for his quick wit and razor-sharp comedic timing, turned serious as he detailed how the unusual relationship came about. He said the romance blossomed a couple of years after his 2000 divorce from Lisa Thorner, his longtime partner and the mother of his four children. He was healing then, rediscovering himself, and, it turns out, tumbling into a connection he never anticipated or grasped.
Wayans said he did not even know the woman had dated his nephew. That detail, he said, did not emerge until the emotions got involved.
"I was already in deep," he suggested, "by the time I knew."
It's a scenario that sounds like the premise for a Wayans family sitcom, except here, where it was all genuine. And in true Wayans fashion, he did not hold back when it came to the moment's awkwardness. There was no significant explanation, no flimsy reasons, just a straightforward, human moment from a man who has spent a lifetime making people laugh while charting his twisted course outside the public eye.
The internet, of course, had fun with the moment, but Damon's calm, candid delivery spared it from getting too ugly. He wasn't boasting or puffed up, but he was being Damon: imperfect, irreverent, and disarmingly candid.
Wayans gave us something real in a world of celebrity gossip often shrouded in smoke and mirrors, a sign that love, timing, and family dynamics don't always follow the rules.
So, did Damon Wayans Sr. do a "Jackson 5"? Sort of. But, more than that, he served up a slice of life that felt messy, human, and very on-brand for a man whose career has thrived on telling the truth, even when it makes us wriggle just a little. It's just another chapter in the always entertaining, sometimes cringey, and constantly engaging life of one of comedy's most authentic voices.
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