Retired rapper Joe Budden made headlines earlier this week after he went on a tirade during an episode of his “Joe Budden Podcast,” which ultimately ended with Joe firing his co-hosts Rory and Mal.
There had been a lot of tension between the three cast mates, which was made public when Rory and Mal went on a month-long hiatus. Though Joe maintained that their issues had nothing to do with finances, and the guys returned for a reunion episode, it was ultimately revealed that a large portion of their feud was because Rory and Mal were inquiring about dealings of the business. Joe didn’t take that too lightly.
As fans of the show may remember, Joe said Rory felt like “he has so many options here” and that “he feels like he’s entitled to more” before proceeding to fire his friend on air. Social media was left in shambles. The cast had been together since early 2015 as “I’ll Name This Podcast Later,” and to hear that things had officially ended left many fans disappointed who voiced their opinions — and chose sides — on social media.
During his next episode, it appeared that Joe had taken some accountability after previously acting unfazed on social media over the demise of his podcast. On the show, which featured a guest appearance from Joe’s therapist, the former rapper revealed that after “seeing all of this feedback and all this — I do need to apologize to Rory, as well. Maybe Rory and Mal, too, but definitely Rory.” The 40-year-old acknowledged that “things sound a lot spicier in the go-out.”
The podcaster admitted that he initially wanted that portion of the show to be edited out of the final cut. He also wanted to clarify some statements he made in the previous episode, stating, “everything I say comes out wrong.”
“When I say I didn’t ask you to do sh-t for me — ’cause I don’t ask y’all to do sh-t for me — but that’s a man thing to me. You just don’t ask men too much sh-t, but when I said I didn’t ask you to do something, it don’t mean I’m not appreciative. It don’t mean I’m not grateful. It just means I never asked.” He continued, “When do you say that and not sound like a d-ckhead?”
Regardless of the matter, Joe admitted that he was wrong to approach his co-host in that manner, claiming it comes from his dislike for authoritative figures. If he had to pinpoint where things started to derail, he said it began with his leadership skills. He reiterated that he didn’t want his internal issues to “affect people I love, which is why I’m going to apologize to Rory because me and Rory have so many fly n-gga moments together.”
Elsewhere, Mal and Rory had a sit-down of their own, titled “I’ll Name This Response Later,” a bow to the first show they were on together. The pair addressed the podcast debacle in an hour-long discussion.
The video was only available through Vimeo for $2. The two former co-hosts gave fans more intel about what took place behind the scenes including revealing that they were actually business partners and had a percentage-based contract. Meaning they relied on accounting to make sure what they were making added up. Their tone about the situation was also reportedly calmer than that of their peer.
“So basically Mal and Rory didn’t even want more money. They just wanted to see the books so they knew if their percentages were right after there was an accounting error,” wrote one user.
“If a nigga got an issue with something as simple as that it tells you all you need to know.”
