In an interview on the radio show Effective Immediately, The Boondocks producer Carl Jones explained how a true story inspired the infamous Season 2 episode that featured Usher.
Around the 28:30 mark of the interview, which can be seen above, Jones was asked if there were any "real-life scenarios" that influenced the writing process on the beloved Adult Swim series.
"A lot of these stories in The Boondocks they were inspired by something real," he said. "At the time, like, World Star Hip-Hop started popping, VladTV started popping. So we were pulling a lot of things from that, but one episode in particular—the Usher episode—that was actually based on something that happened to me in real life."
The episode, "Tom, Sarah and Usher," sees Tom Dubois' wife Sarah get seduced by Usher when he visits town.
"This is a crazy story, too ... It's not really crazy, but it's funny," he continued. "So we were celebrating the pickup of Season 2, so we went out to Mr. Chow's. It was me, my ex-wife, [series creator] Aaron [McGruder], his fiancée, and Aaron's assistant and his girlfriend.
We're out eating, right, and for some reason the R. Kelly episode came up. My ex-wife, she hated that episode. She always felt like, 'That's not funny, it's not funny, he's peeing on a girl!' ... It is funny, it's hilarious. I know what you mean, but it is hilarious. ... So she got really mad, and was kind of like, protesting at the table. She wasn't going to eat anything. And I was like, 'This is really uncomfortable because we're trying to celebrate, right?' And then Usher walks in."
He said that when Usher showed up, his ex-wife's "whole attitude" suddenly changed.
"He sits like a little ways behind us and so for the most of the reminder of the dinner, like, she's turned around and making goo-goo eyes and trying to get his attention," Jones said. "He's waving, licking lips and stuff. So I'm looking crazy at the table, 'cause everyone sees it. Then it's time for us to leave, right, so we get up and we get to the front of the restaurant. I look back and she's at the n***a's table."
Jones said his ex-wife gestured for them to come over to the table, and when they did she started to introduce them to Usher.
"She's like, 'So Usher, this is Aaron, this is his fiancée, this is, uh, my... Carl,'" he explained, "'Hrm, I'm Carl now.' ... It was a long ride home. I come in the office the next day, and they was like, 'N***a, you know that's going in the show.'"
Jones has a voice cameo in the final episode as a waiter approaches Tim DuBois and tells him, "Wouldn't let that shit happen to me, though."
He previously explained the inspiration for the episode in an interview with DJ Vlad last year, in which he admitted that he knew the incident "has to" go in the show. Check out the full interview with Jones above.
