George Lopez, an American comedian, was chastised online for making disparaging statements against 26-year-old comic Ralph Barbosa. The 61-year-old was interviewed by Steve Trevino for an edition of the OMG Hi! the podcast that aired on February 6, 2023. The two discussed themes such as Latino humor, TikTok trends, Latino dads, and LGBT sons, among others.
Trevino referenced Ralph Barbosa and talked about assisting people to become acknowledged in the industry while praising Lopez’s legacy and self-made success. However, the inclusion of the young comedian’s name in the discourse did not sit well with George Lopez, who dismissed Barbosa.
Trevino said,
“Ralph Barbosa, there’s this kid blowing up right now? And I feel as though I’m praying for him. I don’t despise him. I want the youngster to have an easy time because we [*] such a difficult time.”
In response to this, George Lopez stated:
“[I’ve never heard of him]” I’m not sure who he is. What country is he from? But no one knows who that motherf*cker is, so why are you mentioning him?”
He then asked others around him whether it was inappropriate for him to say that and added:
“Why do you keep mentioning his name when no one knows who he is?”
He even asked someone off-camera whether he was being harsh to the 26-year-old comic.
George Lopez was chastised by fans for claiming that no one knew who Ralph Barbosa is.
When Steve Trevino, who seemed troubled by Lopez’s remarks, expressed a desire to watch out for others, Lopez stated that everyone must look out for themselves. Following the virality of George Lopez’s statements regarding Ralph Barbosa, Twitterati chastised the comic for making such remarks. Several people reminded out that Lopez should not forget how he built his own profession from the ground up. Others chastised him for failing to promote the emerging Latino comedian and were upset by his remarks.
Man George Lopez hating on Ralph Barbosa is a prime example of old heads not respecting new school talent. Ralph is literally making a name for himself and he’s funny. You know how many unfunny comedians have sketches on HBO it’s a lot. You gotta put people on!!! pic.twitter.com/CmkYfKzCwA
— justhugenet (@Justhuge469) February 11, 2023
That homie Ralph Barbosa is comedy, sad to see one of my favorite comics George Lopez undermine him and his recent success. You’d think the older generation would want to push the Latino community since there aren’t that many Mexican comics out there. I hate to be that guy but
— MCMXCIV_SZN 🌵 (@ChrisAyala15) February 11, 2023
Ralph Barbosa is a comedian noted for his laid-back humorous delivery.
On February 9, Ralph Barbosa responded to Lopez’s remarks by posting the identical video footage on his Instagram account.
He captioned the video with laughing emojis:
“People continue to give me this initial video. It’s all right, sweetie, the future has here.”
Ralph Barbosa was born in Dallas, Texas in 1996. He is considered one of the “shyest attention hogs” and is well-known for his relaxed humorous delivery. The rising comic won the 2019 Funniest Comic in Texas category as well as the 2021 New York Latino Film Festival Stand-Up competition.
He gained prominence most recently after participating in HBO Max’s Entre Nos: The Winners 3. He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and shared his first Instagram photos. George Lopez has yet to reply to the outrage over his statements as of this writing.
