There’s nothing like a good roast between friends, and it’s even better when it’s Steve Harvey and musical legend Stevie Wonder on national television.
The two took trash-talking to new heights in a resurfaced clip from the 2002 Essence Awards ceremony at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
No holds were barred between the blind singer and the radio and TV personality during the hilarious parody of Wonder’s hit “I Wish” that today would have jaws dropping and the PC police out in full force. The song explores longing for childhood days, but the pair gave the lyrics a new spin at the Essence Awards show.
When Harvey took the stage, attempting to sing the 1976 hit while playing a little air guitar in front of the packed auditorium, it was just too much for Wonder, who emerged from backstage to take control of the situation. Grabbing the mike, he switched up the lyrics:
“If you gonna sing my song, you better put down some cash.
’Cause you would have trouble, cause you see a blind man beat yo … [a—].”
The crowd erupted in screams and laughter, perhaps realizing that, at this moment, they were witnessing one of TV’s most epic smackdowns. Harvey responds, without missing a beat:
“You think I’m gon’ say sorry just cause you are blind. I don’t give a damn, I’ll still kick your behind.”
Although Stevie Wonder has won 25 Grammy Awards, the most of any male solo artist in history, none of that mattered onstage as he crooned in his warm, familiar voice, “I will beat Steve Harvey’s ass into yesterday,” resulting in screams from the audience. Not one to be intimidated — or put on kid gloves with a blind man — Harvey sang back:
“Careful what you’re saying, I still might slap you.
I don’t care what they say, I do what I wanna do.”
But Stevie killed it with the last verse:
“You have never got whuppin’ with a blind cane … I guarantee it will drive your butt insane.”
With that, Harvey gave the “Superstition” singer a huge hug, and the two were all smiles before Harvey nudged Wonder off stage, saying, “Get your a— on over there.”
The clip, which recently popped up on Harvey’s Instagram page, had a new generation of listeners in stitches, with some in disbelief that anyone would have an issue with this kind of candid roasting.
“I haven’t laughed this hard in days. To all the people taking this seriously please get a life!” one stated. “#wildnout got nothing on these two,” noted another fan, referring to Nick Canon’s battle rap improv game show.
Another user posted, “Steve and Stevie sure know how to play fight don’t they?” while another said, “Did Steve just push him?”
This is not the first time Harvey and Wonder have pranked each other, and it seems the singer, now 73, always emerges the winner. In a 2018 segment called “Rolling with Steve Harvey,” the TV personality recounted a time when Wonder was late to his radio show and called him on the phone from outside. Wonder had managed to commandeer Harvey’s brand new Lincolnwood truck — despite being blind.
“I said, ‘Yo, Stevie where you at, man, you’re supposed to be here.’ He said, ‘I’m here, man. I’m just pulling up.’ I said, ‘Motherf—er, you can’t drive,’” Harvey recalled.
“He said, ‘Oh, yes, I can. Look out the window.’ This motherf—er was in my new truck with the windows down and it was moving real slow and the motherf—er was waving!”
Check out the original version of the song “I Wish,” which was released on Wonder’s 1976 Grammy winning album, “Songs in the Key of Life.”
