As if it wasn’t an odd enough fit that a nutty sports talk show like The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz would interview the Wu-Tang Clan during a live show leading up to the Super Bowl, it got even more off-kilter when Le Batard asked a question to an absent member of the legendary hip-hop collective.
Doing his best to go around the group and get answers from all of Wu-Tang’s rappers, Le Batard asked a question about who else in hip-hop was on the Clan’s level when it comes to authenticity. The only problem was Le Batard directed the question at U-God, one of the group’s original members who was not actually on stage at the Circa Resort & Casino where the Le Batard Show is broadcasting this week.
“Who? U-God ain’t here,” Method Man retorted, looking around the crowd in a joking attempt to find the rapper.
Le Batard, it seems, mistook Cappadonna, who joined the group in 2007, for original member U-God.
To be fair, when he initially welcomed Wu-Tang to the stage, Le Batard mentioned U-God, and no one corrected him then. But that doesn’t make up for the tension that flowed through the interview when Le Batard failed to identify the rapper to whom he was directly asking a question (“I feel terrible,” he said immediately).
Method Man played it cool, joking with Le Batard about the flub.
“Newton Wayne will be here later too,” he joked. “Not Wayne Newton, Newton Wayne.”
Even on a show known for its gaffes and jokes, this one immediately goes into the pantheon. Le Batard, a seasoned journalist, is not typically the one who makes such mistakes.
Considering Le Batard is a purported hip-hop fan as well, it didn’t take a detective to realize the host was extremely embarrassed. Fortunately, Wu-Tang being the veterans they are, took it in stride and stuck around for 20 or so more minutes of great conversation.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.