On Saturday April 9, 2022, Rip Micheals’ annual April Fools Comedy Jam dazzled the capacity crowd of 15,000 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with performances by event producer and host Rip Micheals, Lil’ Kim, Joe Torry, Ronnie Jordan, Jacob Williams, Michael Blackson, B. Simone, Tip Harris, Tony Roberts, DeRay Davis and Moneybagg Yo.
Tip Harris walked on stage to a standing ovation and thanked Rip Micheals for being the first to hire him as a paid comic. However, cheers quickly turned to boos when Tip’s jokes did not land with the tough Brooklyn audience. Tip remained poised and even joked with a White audience member that he will not take the booing from him because gentrification just started in Brooklyn. After Tip left the stage, Rip Micheals praised him for trying something different and asked DJ Envy to play one of T.I.’s many hit songs, to which the crowd stood up, danced and cheered.
On why he is supporting Tip’s foray into comedy when other comedians have spoken out against it, Rip Micheals said, “Everyone, whether they are rich, poor, famous or not, deserves to follow their passions, but not everyone would have the courage to do what Tip is doing. I am proud to be the first person to hire Tip as a paid comedian. I gave him the opportunity to test his skills in a sold-out stadium at my April Fools Comedy Jam at Barclays Center, knowing how tough the Brooklyn audience would be. I commend him for the way that he handled himself. Everyone gets booed. Welcome to the club, Tip! It was going to happen eventually.”
About Rip Micheals:
Now in his ninth season on MTV’s Wild ‘N Out, Mr. “Did I Go Too Far?” Rip Micheals’ comedy TV appearances also include Last Call With Carson Daly, Living With Funny, Starz StaannDUP!, ComicView, P. Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, Showtime at the Apollo, According to Him + Her, Centric Comedy All-Stars, and Shaquille O’Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam.
A true comedy vet, Rip has produced and hosted his April Fools Comedy Jam Tour to sold-out audiences for ten years. In 2019, Rip produced the No. 2 ranking Pollstar tour of the year, Wild ‘N Out Live with 40 sold-out arenas across the country and holds a record in Washington, DC for selling out two arenas in the same night.
Rip Micheals was the Senior Comedy Producer on the daytime talk show “Nick Cannon” on FOX. In April 2022, Rip will also be seen hosting and starring in his new show Urban Eats & Treats featuring appearances by Russell Peters, Nick Cannon, Shaquille O’Neal, Jacquees, Tamar Braxton, and more. Urban Eats & Treats is an LOL Network production with a distribution network reaching an audience of over 100 million viewers via Pluto, Tubi, Roku, Redbox, Vizio, Xumo, Peacock, and more.
