Interview With Carlos Mencia
I recently caught up with Carlos Mencia as he shopped for clothes at A&F. We talked a lot. Here’s what the rising star had to say.
HungLikeHuang: Hey, first of all, thanks for giving me the opportunity to do this. I hope I am not keeping you away from anything important.
Carlos Mencia: No, just shopping for the fall season.
HLH:I heard you’ve been up to a lot lately, is that right?
CM: Yeah, actually I have been doing quite a lot. I just finished my second season of Mind of Mencia, so I am getting started on “new” material for next season. It’s really hard to push the same old tired jokes about race, religion, and retards; but especially about race. It’s really hard to be offensive and not funny, you know? Not everybody can yell out “beaner” or “nigger” as well as I can.
HLH: Yeah, I here ya. Like, seriously, how do you do it?
CM: Well it’s really not that hard, I probably exaggerated a little bit. I mean, because, it’s really easy not relating to any of the people that I make fun of. Since my real name is Ned Holness, I knew I had to do something about that if I wanted it to work. Ever since I could remember, I’ve liked saying the word beaner and making racist jokes. I knew that I had to deceive the general public. You have to make them believe you’re one of them in order for it to work. And so, Carlos was perfect for that. It’s been butter ever since. I’m starting a new trend, I think.
HLH: Oh, your real name is Ned? I never knew that.
CM: Yeah, not many people know that.
HLH: But you were probably born in Mexico then since you associate yourself with beaners.
CM: Well actually, I’m half Honduran and half German. But that’s what makes my comedy edgy and funny. That’s why beaners like me so much; I tell it like it is.
HLH: How did you decide to get into standup comedy?
CM: I was always really good at making my friends laugh with my ability to stereotype. Like whenever I would be around my friends and a black guy walked by, I would say something to the effect of: “Oh, I bet that black guy just stole something.” Something I still use on Mind. Plus it’s really easy ripping and reworking Dave Chappell’s material. I took his time slot, why not his material? So what if I don’t understand satire?
HLH: You have a lot of critics out there that say you’re just a guy who makes racist comments. A guy who isn’t even a half-decent standup comedian. A guy who is considered, by many, a plagiarist. A guy with, almost, obsessively narrow material. In short, you’re considered a hack. How do you respond to your critics?
CM: All I have to say is that nobody understands beaners. Anybody who says that is either racist, or a retard. People dislike me and make up rumors about me because of my poor delivery style and awful jokes. I’m not very good at what I do. But I do know one thing, and that is that people love me.
HLH: Thanks for your time.
CM: No prob. Wanna hang?
HLH: No.
CM: Beaner.











