The Breakfast Club - Chelsea Handler Speaks Out, Kevin Hart Stays Quiet & Quinta Brunson Revives Betty Boop

Episode Date: May 21, 2026

Loren LoRosa is back with another episode of The Latest, diving into all the pop culture conversations shaking the room right now. This episode, Loren opens up about family visiting, adulting, home dreams, and officially entering her “auntie era.” Then the hot topics kick off: Chelsea Handler is going viral after calling out racist jokes from a recent comedy roast, and Loren breaks down why the conversation around Kevin Hart, comedy culture, and accountability is still heating up online. Plus, Quinta Brunson is stepping into her Hollywood mogul era with a brand-new Betty Boop movie — and Loren explains the powerful Black history behind the iconic cartoon character that many people never learned about. From Baby Esther to modern Hollywood, this story runs deep.  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the ice. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your 20s can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly,

just kind of lonely. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the psychology of your 20s is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face. I was six years into my career, the 80-hour weeks, and just the first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out. There was a large chunk of my 20s that I, like, was just so wanting to, like, be out of that phase out of my skin and I just like really regret not living in the present more.

You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shunker, a cognitive scientist and hosts of the podcast, a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long.

long the need to change. We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions. You can have like a strong stance. And then there's your body

having its own program. Listen to a slight change of plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a homeguard that knows a little bit about everything in everybody. You don't know if you're going to lie about that, right? Lauren came in hot.

Hey y'all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is another episode of the latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations that shake the room, baby. Now, y'all know we always kick off our episodes here at the latest with Lauren LaRosa with a check-in behind the scenes of the grind. Back on the grind. Checking in behind the scenes of the grind today, I am preparing for family to come in town.

Y'all know how that goes. Like, whenever you're hosting, you just, I feel like you think about everything that could possibly, like, not go the way it normally goes when you're home alone. But when family comes in town, it's like things just pop up. And you know, when people come in town and you're hosting them, you want everything to be, like, smooth. You want them to be comfortable. You want them to have a good time. So I mean, I did the grocery shopping thing, things clean. Like, I've done all the things last week when I had the time, knowing that this week would be kind of crazy.

But I'm still sitting here thinking of like little things that I'm not for sure if I, like, have or if I have set up or if I have ready. So just a little anxiousness around that. And I don't even know why I'm anxious about that because some of my family that is coming up, they're, excited they want to go to watch the Breakfast Club tape. But some of my family that is doing that, they've already been here to my home. So, yeah, I don't know. It's just first, it's like jitters. I was going to say first time jitters, but again, it's not first time, but it's just like jitters a little bit. But I'm excited, though, to even be able to be at the place where, like, you know, I'm back home, close to the family and able to have family come up, spend the night, get the

experience. Like what a day in my life is like what a day in my world is like, that was like always something for me that when I was living in L.A. that I really, really missed and not even missed because I had never had it. Before I moved to L.A., I was right out of college. So it's not like I had, you know, apartment homes set up people could come to and all that. I was figuring out life. But I just knew that it was something that I wanted being a person that's like so family oriented and family like, you know, like I rely a lot on my family. but I've always wanted to be able to host them, have them come up, come over.

And that's why I'm actually looking forward to buying a home. Somewhere in the New York area, I am really excited to get started on that. Every time my family is talking about coming to visit me and stuff in my apartment, it makes me be like, all right, this is amazing. But like, wait until I buy a home and I could do like the family cookouts at my house and stuff like that.

And as I was thinking about all this today, I'm like, girl, you are really, an adult now. Like you are like getting excited to buy patio furniture so that people can sit out on the patio and like have a good time. And you know like that type of thing. I'm like sister girl, you're getting old now. Like it's just there.

Like the time is there. Oh my God. You're 34. Wow. And there are some people listening to this that I probably like, girl, you are a baby. But I don't know. In my mind, 34 in the way I thought about. it like in 35 it was really 35 for me like I remember being younger and thinking about what I would

be doing and what I would have happening at 35 like I thought I was going to be married by now children in a home like it just felt so grown when I wasn't when this age like when I was younger and now I'm this age and I don't feel like an adult yet like I feel so not fully responsible and still putting the pieces to the puzzle, but I'm doing wrong things. So, yeah, today I was going down that whole rabbit hole, like, oh, you really don't auntie. You're going to be showing them with box wine next, okay?

Now let's get on into the latest. Let's talk about some things, okay? Now, let's get right into it. So Chelsea Handler, a comedian, talk show host, a podcaster, actress, sat down with Dionne Cole, also comedian, actor. You all know Deon Cole. Funny to Know You, which is his podcast that he does.

And in this podcast, I really love his show. It's a sit-down, one-on-one segment. It's very chill, though. He has a variety of guests, everybody from comedians to actors to musicians, to just friends of his in the business and the industry. They sit on the couch, reflect through moments. But I feel like on this show, the moments that are the best are when he, He has comedians there, number one, but comedians of a certain era or genre.

So Chelsea Handler, when I saw her on the show, I wasn't surprised to see her, but I was interested to see how the conversation was going to go because I think the pocket I love to see Dionne Colton is when he talks to like the Tashina Arnold. I love to hear him in that pocket of like, you know, like that deaf comedy jam, old school, like, you know what I mean? I think I get so much out of his guest because they're not guest to him, even though they are, their colleagues. And they share stories differently.

Like, it's just like a really good conversation. Sometimes his show to me is like, it's the Black OG comic sit down version of like what drink champs is to hip hop. If that makes sense. You know what I'm saying? Okay. But anyway, Chelsea Handler's on the show. Deion can talk to anybody. He's one of those people who can talk to anybody.

So the conversation was great. Go check it out. have not already. But she got into the roast. And she talked about the fact that she did not like the racist jokes at the roast. And, I mean, she's a white comedian. So let's take a listen. I mean, did you like the shit they were saying out there at all?

No. I mean, it was ick. It was gross. There's not, I don't find those jokes to be funny. Junk's about lynching black people or like lynching is not if Joe is not, that's worse than Rake. Like, you're not joking about rape, are you? Are you saying, I'm going to go rape you? You know, you can't do that, but you can say lynching.

Like, I find that to be, I don't know, you know, people are like, it's a roast. You go for it. I'm like, you can go for it without being gross. Like, I find that to be gross. I found them making fun of Cheryl Underwood's, like, dead husband who committed suicide. Like. A skin and cold. You know, she's fine with that.

If she says she's fine with that, she's fine with that. I wasn't fine with that. I thought that was disgusting, too. But there was so much disgustingness that I knew it was going to be such a gross vibe than I would be able to elevate it, no problem. And that's what I wanted to do.

I don't know if I was surprised to hear her say that or not. Like a part of me wasn't surprised to hear her say that because I don't know how to describe it. Like I saw some people in the comments of this post when it started to go viral. Like Chelsea Handler has always been invited to the cookout. And I don't be knowing how folks, about that whole cookout invite thing. I feel like

sometimes we just let people do things a little bit too much and that's how we end up in situations where people are joking about things like George Floyd and his death. But Chelsea Handler has never given me like all right, so you got like white, like all right, there's white people right? Like y'all know.

It's the white people in the world. You got white, white people who are very oblivious to what is happening outside of their bubble of whiteness and privilege. Chelsea Handler has never given me that. I mean, not just because she didn't have a couple black men run through her. That's not shade.

She talks about it openly and they joked about it at the rose. But she's just never giving me like, you know, to be a person opposite black culture who isn't aware of the fact that she enjoys our culture, that there's a respect level that should be there for a culture, but also that she understands she's a white woman in the world and what that comes with. And you know what I mean? All those things, right? So I wasn't surprised because she's always struck me as that.

But I was surprised because I don't know, I'd be feeling like when it comes to like white entertainers or not even just white entertainers, but non-black entertainers in mainstream media spaces, one of the things I feel like they do very well is like they don't have to like ever be like caught out about anything to the point. point where they feel like they have to actually answer to it. I mean, and if they do, they have this, they have this way that they maneuvered through the world and through society where it's like, I mean, when Louis C.K. was canceled, when Kevin Spacey was canceled, right? Like, statements were put out, things were said, but like, they still maneuvered through the world as if somebody owed them something. And so hearing her just volunteer the fact that like, oh no, they were on bullshit and should be held accountable for it. I don't know.

I just didn't expect to hear that because of that notion, especially in Hollywood, because of all of the powers that being. You don't know that whole conversation about, you know, what is the minority and the majority in Hollywood. I don't know. I just, it kind of, it just surprised me a little bit just to hear her call them out, but it didn't surprise me at the same time. Now, they didn't get into a conversation about how she felt seeing black people laugh at the joke. Kevin Hart included, let's take a listen. When you see other black people laughing at that,

does it make you thought, all right, whatever, or do you think to yourself, what the fun of they laughing at that for? I mean, I'm not here to tell black people what's funny. I know about black jokes. Like, no, I'm not here in the world to do that. Like, I know enough to just, that's my opinion. I don't like that. I also don't like the N-word, but I have plenty of black friends who toss that around all the time.

It's not my place to say, oh, that word makes me feel uncomfortable. You know, black people are allowed to do whatever they want. If Kevin thinks that's funny, he thinks that's funny. I don't think it's funny. But her answer was brilliant. Stay in your lane. Understand what you can and can't do. Why not?

You know, I love it. M-la, chef's kiss to her understanding, that ain't none of your business at all. We appreciate an ally, but we don't need to. the white savior. And that is not what she's on. And that's why I appreciate, you know, the way that she went about this. Now, I will say, I'm very interested to hear from Kevin Hart. No one has heard from Kevin Hart in any of this outside of the thank you that he posted the day after the roast, where it kind of talked a little bit about the backlash he was receiving for some of the racist jokes that were, jokes that were made about the white comedians. Let's take a listen.

That, my friend, is what the fucking is supposed to be. It's goddamn, hard-hitting relentless jokes and no consequence. Shrots out that every comedian that came on that stage because they all understood the assignment man. There's no emotions attached to a rose. You tell you f***ing jokes

and we understand that they're gonna come with some fucking heat. It's all in the efforts of being funny. It's that simple. I love you. But this was literally like the day after the roast. The roast is almost two weeks old now and we're still having a conversation about it and no one's really heard

anything directly from Kevin Hart So I'm interested to hear how he feels because it seems like a lot of the people literally there on the stage were just as uncomfortable as some of the people watching it. But I mean, but there are people that are like jokes or jokes. You know what I'm saying? So yes. Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast and IHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. First people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was...

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast. We could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, Nell's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their

between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself.

I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she won. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can

win on any surface, because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Moving on, right? Speaking of Hollywood, the mainstream, the conversations, it was announced that Krinta Brunson, my girl,

ooh, he got money. She didn't came a long way from that viral video. She is going to be starring in and developing a new Betty Boop movie that is going to be coming to theaters. Now, she's her and her production company called Fifth Chance Productions is partnering with Mark Fleischer, who is the grandson of Betty Brup creator Max Fleischer in Fleischer Studios on the project. Now, this is important because Max Fleischer, some many, many, many years ago was actually a part of the legal proceedings that went down when the original Betty Boop idea was being contested in court about where the inspiration came from. Now, a lot of you guys are, you know, are probably sitting here like, wait, what? How is Quinceau Brunson going to be the Betty Boop character?

Wasn't Betty Boop? A white girl? Baby, no. This is a, I love this because I feel like the history behind Betty Boop, the history behind the conversation of Betty Boop will actually get, it's just due in a theater. So Esther Jones, aka Baby Esther, is a black woman who is literally known. as the inspiration for Betty Boot. But sadly enough, not known amongst the masses as this.

So Esther Jones or baby Esther, she was a child performer and she would do the cotton clubs within like the 1930s era, right? And when she would go into the Cotton Club, she had this like baby scat that she would do. So that infamous, the Betty Boot Boop, like that whole thing literally came from her actual performance. And she was known for all of the scatting that she did around Harlem, the her. her look, everything, right?

And some years ago, there was a Betty Boop play on Broadway. I believe this was like a year or so ago. There was a Betty Boop play on Broadway that actually attempted to give Esther Jones her flowers, but again, still not as widely talked about. But there was a black woman named Jasmine, Amy Rogers, who played her. And even then, she talked a lot about how people would come to the play, and it would be twofold. It would be like people would either come and be like, oh my God, I didn't know Betty Boot was inspired originally by a black woman, a black jazz singer, or there'd be people who would come, especially people of a certain age generation that would come and be like, we are so happy to see one of us up there telling this story because this is the original roots of Betty Boop.

Now, some years ago, I mentioned the legal proceedings that the Fischer family were involved. because there was a white woman named Helen Kane who had always alleged, and even to this day, still alleges that she was the original inspiration for the Betty Boop character, and she actually sued Max Fleischer, who is the grandfather of the guy that Quince of Brunson is going to be doing this movie with.

And when she sued him, she sued him when it was one of the original Betty Boop cartoons that came out. She sued him because she said that her likeness was being used against her will. She sued, she tried to sue for a ton of money. Now, during this trial, you know, baby Esther, she, of course, was not in court. During the trial, though, it was always reported as if she was alive during the time,

but she just didn't come to court. Her manager ended up coming to court, though, and testified about, you know, the actual origin of Betty Boop, how this woman, Helen Kane, had actually come and saw Betty Boop, or Esther actually performing in Harlem at some of the clubs and then took the style and kind of created it in her own way and ran with the narrative that she was the person and inspired this. There was some sort of screen test that is now like lost and can't be found that was shown by the defense in court to prove that, you know, Esther Jones and Betty Boop was a whole conversation or baby Esther was a whole conversation prior to this woman named Helen Kane.

Now, the Supreme Court at the time of this threw this out. They said that there was not enough evidence for her to show what she was claiming and threw this whole thing out. And it's been reported that Esther Jones passed away and never got her just due. So that court case happened. She passed away and never got a just due. But now the movie is coming.

Now, there is no word on the specific storyline of the movie. But it is said that, you know, Quinta is, going to be able to talk about the impact on culture for nearly a century. She gave a statement to variety. She said, Betty Boop is one of the nation's most beloved character cartoons, yet somehow still remains presently niche. She has had a quiet but undeniable impact on culture for nearly a century after Aaron and I met with Mark and learned more about his grandfather's creation of Betty. I realized there was a much deeper story to tell, one that could be explored in a way that feels refreshing, submersive, and timeless, much like Betty herself.

So Mark Fleischer, who was, again, the grandson of Max, who went through that whole original court case and, you know, actually got his inspiration from Esther Jones, says, when Quinta first approached me with the unique concept of a movie about the relationship of my grandfather, Max Fleischer, and his creation, Betty Boop, I was breathtaking. Quinta so embodies Betty's love of life, intelligence, humor, sassiness, and compassion,

that the relationship between her as Betty and Max burst into life at its mere mention. So I'm looking forward to this. Shout out to Quinta. She is having a run. I mean, Abbott Elementary is a hit on ABC. And this comedy, Abbott Elementary, made her the first solo black woman to win an Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series and the first to earn three Emmy nominations in a single year for writing, acting, and producing in the comedy. category. She later then went on

and won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Comedy actress for season two of the show and she became the first black woman to earn that honor since 1981. So, you know, if you were following Quinta Brunton from the early internet days when she was just going viral out of Philly, living in

LA and then she went on over to BuzzFeed and did work there. Just everything she's been able to accomplish. Like, I was watching her the other day on houseguest and I was like, man, I am so proud of her like so proud of her let's take a listen to her on house guest

she's talking about you know what the come up has been like for her and that even when my mom didn't necessarily get it she got it right? Because I left school and was like yeah I'm moving to L.A. She was like yeah

we're going to need more information. She was like we're not just leaving school with full-rise scholarships talking about we just leaving school to go to L.A. My mom was not having it. She was like, what do you do?

Until Abbott. And, you know. What? She was not having it. Because she didn't understand the internet. Even with like the BuzzFeeds pop-a-off. She didn't know what BuzzFee was. She was asking me up until Abbott.

And I'm not even kidding. What do you do? When are you going back? If you are stripping, let me know. You are stripping? Because she didn't understand. She didn't not understand how I was paying my rent. The internet made no sense to her.

Right. She's like, I'm logging on the internet. Nobody's sending me a check. She didn't, exactly. And so that was confusing. I didn't let her. watch a black lady sketch show. That didn't exist.

You know, Christian woman. She doesn't like that. You know, she'd rather HBO not exist. Like, that should not be a channel on television. Listen, goals, okay? Quince, you better get in them studios and run up that money, graw. Okay? I'm Lauren the Rosa, y'all. This has been

another episode of the latest with Lauren the Rosa. This is your deli dig on all things, pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the conversations that shake the room, baby. I'll see y'all in my next episode. Because I tell you all every single episode, y'all could be anywhere with anybody. But y'all chose to be right here with me every episode.

And I appreciate y'all so much. I'll see y'all. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what?

We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is, getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it is, getting a new one put up in its place. I'm Akela Hughes, and Rebel Spirit season two is about both of the. those things. As I was watching these statues come down, I was thinking about what it meant that I grew up

in a majority black city in which there were more homages to enslavers than there were to enslave people. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do. Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.