“Fresh & Fit” podcast host Myron “Fit” Gaines has incited new levels of outrage and demands for his controversial show to be canceled.
Inflammatory clips of a Black female guest named Nia McKenzie being racially demeaned and attacked by show handlers have been circulating since Nov. 16, resulting in a massive roar of online backlash.
Gaines and co-host Walter “Fresh” Weekes have hosted the show since 2020. Their discussions have been hallmarked by the open use of racial slurs and misogynistic views, especially those regarding Black women.
At one point, the men’s pandering to a volatile sector of viewers garnered them the support of 1.49 million subscribers on YouTube, but their success was quickly derailed by criticism of their content.
Last year, as a result of their track record of provoking violent outbursts between guests and the hosts, “Fresh and Fit” was suspended from YouTube’s Partner Program, resulting in the demonetization of their videos on the platform. They have since broadcast their program with zero pushback or censorship on Castle Club, their independent hosting site that requires a subscription.
The episode featuring McKenzie, who is a singer, and three other women — two of whom were not Black — has been promoted as a “fight with Black n—garilla” on the website. In Gaines’ tweet promoting a clip of the melee, he described it as “Ratchet 304s behaving like ratchet 304s for 2+ hours starting fights with everyone in the studio to include other female guests…A fist fight broke out.”
The four-minute video showed him and McKenzie locking horns after a debate about whether or not Black people can be racist and her reasoning for voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.
This was moments before the BS. The hate some black men have for natural black women, is ridiculous. I am truly 1 of 1. pic.twitter.com/Xg5jh3F7Si
— Ophiuchus (@MelMUSIC__) November 17, 2024
Throughout the heated episode, McKenzie verbally hit back, oftentimes in her own defense, against commentary painting her as an angry Black woman after being accused of treating the non-Black guests in a racist matter. Tempers climaxed when Gaines booted McKenzie off the show, saying, “Get the f—k up outta here, you fat b—ch.”
A female show handler and casting coordinator, Aaron Pogson, quickly move to stand between the two as their spat continued on. Weekes followed them, recording the ordeal on his phone.
The other three women remained in the studio. “You stupid n—ger. Get the f—k up out of here, b—ch,” said Gaines as he trailed McKenzie to an elevator. At several points, he even warned, “This is Florida. Stand your ground,” making mention of the state’s law allowing legally armed citizens to shoot a perceived threat.
Oh look blax doing blax things. What's new? https://t.co/Nq7WpULyXq
— Myron Gaines (@MyronGainesX) November 16, 2024
When the young lady voiced her intention to sue the show, McKenzie was reduced to being called a “stupid b—ch” and repeatedly told she was ugly and fat. Upon entering the elevator, she threw her purse towards Gaines and was immediately manhandled by two women handlers, one of whom placed her in a headlock and struck her multiple times.
The problematic host eventually broke up the scene as McKenzie scrambled to gather her belongings off the floor. At one point, you could also hear Gaines yelling for someone to “Grab her purse” though it’s unclear why.
“How can we cancel him for good??? Can we all report him as a collective…to take him off all platforms,” a fed-up viewer tweeted.
Someone else wrote, “She was roasting his a– and he got emotional. Then after he calls her every disrespectful name he can, including the hard r, and s–t got shaking, he switched to ‘yo chill’. This dude is a joke.”
As the viral clips circulated online on Nov. 17, McKenzie tweeted, “Okay so tomorrow we gonna talk about this s–t. Idk if ima do a space or what but I have to get up for class in the morning yall. Thank you for the love everyone who got my back rn I’m praying yall have a VERY productive rest of the year!!!”
Aside from exploiting “the blax” with the the footage to generate views and engagement, “Fit & Fresh” has not issued a formal statement.
