In January of 2022, the comedy podcast Flagrant 2 released their normal weekly episode, characteristically full of jokes, nonsense, and the kind of aggressive banter only experienced in the presence of seasoned New York comedians. On the episode, hosts Andrew Schulz, Akaash Singh, and AlexxMedia discussed a clip from a video that had gone viral at the time: a clip of podcast hosts Walter and Myron (of Fresh&Fit) cracking jokes about how they “don’t date Black women,” though they are both Black men.
On Flagrant, each host had a different reaction to the clip: Schulz gave them the benefit of the doubt, saying that it could’ve been intended as a joke that just “seriously flopped;” Singh observed that it was dishonorable and “corny” to not support and love the women of “your kind/culture” (he gave the example of being an Indian man supporting Indian women); Alexx emphasized the simple and blatant racism of their comments. Overall, the friends on Flagrant 2 agreed that the statements made by the phonies on Fresh&Fit were racist, distasteful, sexist.
Two days after this episode was released, a bonus episode was dropped: the Fresh&Fit guys had reached out to Flagrant 2, hoping to have a conversation in which they could have the opportunity to explain their perspective and the context of the clip.
I was in my car driving to Grand Rapids from Chicago for the weekend. I’m not used to seeing a new Flagrant episode drop on a Thursday, so it was a fun surprise that I figured would entertain me for at least half the drive.
I’ve been listening to the Flagrant 2 podcast for quite a while—since 2018—and it’s very much geared towards men. Though I don’t exactly fit in their “targeted demographic,” I’m a big fan of Schulz and Singh largely because of their multi-cultural content in both their comedy. While the show can be pretty obnoxious, crude, and vulgar, it’s still quite entertaining and often gets a chuckle out of me. Yet, in all my years listening to Flagrant, never before has an episode of this very “bro-ish” podcast made me actually tear up with appreciation—as a woman.
On Flagrant, the hosts of Fresh&Fit exposed their alarmingly immature perspectives on women and relationships. The purpose of their whole Fresh&Fit platform is to “prepare” and “educate” men on self-care and the dating scene, which seems positive, except for the central point on which they craft their material—which is “pimp or be pimped.” Fresh&Fit teaches their male listeners that they need to have the “upper-hand” in relationships by seeming more aloof and removed, which (apparently) constantly keeps the woman on her toes, and encourages men to constantly be suspicious of how the woman might be taking advantage of them. According to Fresh&Fit, woman are manipulative, petty, and will screw you over if given the opportunity.
Yikes, right?
Schulz and Singh remained extremely composed while listening to the men explain their position—they asked questions, made clarifications, and were honest about where they disagreed. Schulz said very simply, “we do not hang out with the same women.” He insisted that women are not at all like what Fresh&Fit suggests, and defended that women crave genuine relationships, want to be treated with respect, and live authentically just like many men do. He went on to say that he believes most women are actually bored with men, and that they want to be intellectually engaged and emotionally intimate, which is a level of depth and fulfillment that he says many young men aren’t capable of offering, at least not in a society where young men are conditioned to be “alpha” and “macho.” And so, according to Schulz, Fresh&Fit should be educating their male audience on how they can foster character-building traits like self-discipline, respect, and goal-setting, rather than teaching them to use fear, suspicion, and entitlement to emotionally manipulate women to maintain a perceived “power” in their dynamic. This kind of behavior and mindset doesn’t promote positive, healthy, trusting, and authentic relationships; in fact, it guarantees the opposite.
Additionally, Singh and Alexx emphasized their disappointment in Fresh&Fit’s choice to not support the women of their own demographic. They asserted that there are already deep-seated stereotypes about Black women in our society, and that Walter and Myron, as Black men, should be at the forefront of defending Black women, supporting them, and not perpetuating the obstacles minority women already face in our country. Whether Walter and Myron personally date Black women or not is irrelevant—the way they speak about them on their dating platform, which is intended to be used as a dating resource for men, fosters a divisive, sexist, and racist mindset in their audiences towards Black women.
By the end of the conversation (in which no minds were changed), it was made more than apparent that Fresh&Fit’s content was offering harmful advice in the realm of dating and fostering toxic relationships between romantic partners. However, I was immensely impressed by the hosts of Flagrant 2 for taking seriously the opportunity to defend the humanity and characterization of women—both as relational partners and as individuals. Though this episode was released two years ago (almost exactly to the day), it was especially interesting to revisit it in light of today’s social and political climate, and to be reminded that, even on a rowdy, wild, and crass comedy podcast, the disrespect and dehumanization of women is never a joke.

Sophia (‘19) double-majored in theatre and religion and insists that her life is a “storybook.” She lives in an apartment above a flower shop in downtown Chicago and has multiple roles working across the arts in comedy, music, theatre, film, and visual art—though her greatest passion is writing. Her work includes stage plays, screenplays, and articles, focusing mostly on cultural trends, comedy, reviews, and religious satire. She loves road trips, visiting her family in Grand Rapids, hunting for the perfect latte, and rescuing plants from the flower shop’s dumpster.