Richard Pryor's youngest son was booed off the stage during his first televised comedy routine, the Huffington Post notes.
Mason Pryor chose the notoriously critical Apollo Theater audience to test his comedy chops, and his famous last name didn’t save him from the chorus of boos that interrupted his routine.
He started the performance by admitting he was nervous and saying he could hear his father in heaven yelling “Boy you better not mess this up!”
He proceeded–and messed it up.
His routine began with a quip about Russia being Donald Trump’s side chick; it was met with a quiet crowd. In the middle of a weird Trump impression, the crowd began to boo. Pryor put on a brave face and demanded respect from the crowd.
“Have some respect,” he yelled over the boos. “Sit down, sit down. Y’all not gon’ boo me.”
Backstage, cameras caught horrified stares from co-hosts Adrienne Bailon and Steve Harvey.
To make matters worse, the performance ended with a visit from the Sandman.
Pryor retreated backstage; Harvey came out to smooth things over with the crowd, asking them to take it easy on the young comedian out of respect for his father. While Harvey was playing damage control, Pryor admitted his performance was subpar.
“I bombed when I shouldn’t have,” he said while backstage. “I wasn’t funny.”
Pryor came out again to finish his bit and it appeared to get a better reception. Harvey later admitted on his radio show that Pryor got booed again, told a heckler, “Shut up, B,” and dry humped the tree stump performers often rub for good luck.
Pryor opened up to TMZ about his experience, and said other comedians have reached out and offered advice. He added that the performance has made him stand out.
“I went from being, ‘Wait, you’re that one guy’s comedian son? What?'” he said. “Now, it’s like, ‘Wow, this dude is not funny, but he’s here!’ That’s an upgrade!”