Nicole Byer Recalls Openly Racist Comment At Wisconsin Comedy Club: 'I Will Never Go Back'

The Black actor and comedian was so offended and scared during the incident that she refused to do meet-and-greets after the show.

Nicole Byer will never forget the racism she witnessed while on the road as a comedian.

The “Nailed It!” host had plenty of stories to share about her early days as a struggling Black comic but, while talking to Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Tuesday’s episode of his “Dinner’s on Me” podcast, Byer recalled one particular night in Appleton, Wisconsin, standing out.

“I really hated it there,” she revealed. “I was like, ‘The vibes fucking sucked. Bad vibes!’”

Byer recalled learning that Appleton was a “sundown town,” a community where Black people are allowed to work or travel through during the day but were implicitly or explicitly told to leave by sunset.

“During my show, I had a white host, a Black featurer [or opener], and the crowds were so unruly,” she said Tuesday. “And at one point, my Black featurer was onstage and … a guy in the crowd was like, ‘Smile, we can’t see you!’ And I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ What?”