Home Our Cultura Amid George Lopez’s Backlash, Let’s Take a Look at Our Favorite Ralph...

Amid George Lopez’s Backlash, Let’s Take a Look at Our Favorite Ralph Barbosa’s Jokes

Amid George Lopez's Backlash, Let's Take a Look at Our Favorite Ralph Barbosa's Jokes
Credit: LBJ Library from Austin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (George Lopez photo), Instagram (Ralph Barbosa photo)

George López metió la pata. He put his foot in his mouth; there’s no other way to put it. López recently received major backlash due to some ill-tasted comments he made about Latino comedian, Ralph Barbosa.  

A few days ago, the acclaimed Mexican-American comedian jumped on his podcast, “OMG Hi!,” to speak with Steve Treviño, another fellow Mexican-American comedian. During this episode, Treviño mentioned the up-and-coming Texan-native comedian Ralph Barbosa a few times and López wasn’t having it.  

“There’s this kid blowing up right now … Ralph Barbosa,” Treviño said in the “OMG Hi!” podcast. “Kid’s blowing up. And I’m praying for him.” López, who seemed confused as to who Treviño was speaking about asks, “Who is that?” 

However, Treviño doubled down on his comments and expresses the pride he feels for Barbosa. 

“I’m very proud of him. I don’t hate on him,” he said. Not letting López’s lack of reaction deter his admiration, Treviño added that he [Barbosa] is doing great. 

“I’m rooting for him because I want one young Latino to get the pass,” he continued.  

Later in the podcast, López is heard saying, “nobody knows who that motherf— is!” when he referred to Barbosa. He also explained how he doesn’t think it’s the “right thing” for anyone to be looking out for others. Treviño, nonetheless, tried to explain that it’s important for other Latinos to open up doors to younger talent.   

“I don’t think that’s the right thing,” López said. “I don’t think you should be worried about anybody else, especially ‘Jeremy Barbasol.’ I don’t know who he is. I don’t mean no disrespect, but I don’t know who he is.” 

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After the podcast aired, several people, from Barbosa fans all the way to disappointed George López fans, shared the video clips. This, of course, made its way to Barbosa. In less than a day, he reacted to López’s comments on his social media where he wrote: “It’s all good baby, the future is now old man.” 

Since then, López has privately reached out to Barbosa to apologize as reported by the Los Angeles Times.  

“George apologized and acknowledged the hard work Ralph has been putting in on the road,” Barbosa’s manager told the aforementioned publication. “It was a very amicable conversation that Ralph appreciated.” 

Why it’s important to call out López’s behavior

As shocking as López’s comments were, these comments are a constant in the Latine community. I’m willing to bet that we all have a tía or tío who feels the same exact way as George López.  

There is currently a wave of older Latines/os who believe that no one deserves a helping hand in their come-up because they didn’t receive much mercy when they were fighting for their success. And, sure, one can empathize. Their journey must’ve been hard, but there’s no doubt that their younger selves wouldn’t have benefited from some guidance. It’s a hard life out there and there’s already so much against us. From getting paid less to systemic racism, our community can’t afford to be so individualistic. We must channel our collectivist roots and use those values that are so deeply instilled in our community. Helping others, especially our people, should be part of our legacy. 

Though it’s nice to know that George apologized to Ralph, it’s important he understands why his mentality hurts the future of the community. Hopefully, he’s had a change of heart since this situation. 

We must continue to uplift Ralph Barbosa because he deserves it

Whether López knows it or not, Barbosa is on his way up. He’s already had some big gigs The Texan comedian, for example, has headlined multiple HBO comedy specials and even appeared on the “Tonight Show” recently.  

Though he still has a long way to go, he’s got some solid jokes in him already. So, let’s take a look at them! 

For one, he’s super relatable. How many of us didn’t get away with things because we decided to translate things incorrectly? 

We love a resourceful king. 

He’s honest about new roles in his life.  

Barbosa supports small businesses even if his small businesses don’t always appreciate him. 

He’s not only honest about himself, but he’s also honest about his family. 

Barbosa’s future is bright and we can’t wait to see him become a household name — just like George López became one, which was largely thanks to his welcoming Latine/o following. 

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