"Homey Don't Play That" - In Living Color 's Homey D. Clown's Birthday Party Comedy Sketch

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information and comments about the saying "Homey don't play that" (spoken as "Homey don't play dat".)

This post also showcases a YouTube video of the first comedy sketch of Homey D. Clown that was featured on the 1990s television series In Living Color. Selected comments from that video are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for linguistic, cultural, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the writers, actors, and actresses that were involved with this showcased Homey D. Clown segment. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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Click for the related pancocojams post
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-real-meaning-of-saying-comey-dont.html "The REAL Meaning Of The Saying "Comey Don't Play That" (with source information & examples)".

Some of my editorial comments that are given below are also found in that post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE TELEVISION SERIES "IN LIVING COLOR" AND THE CHARACTER "HOMEY D. CLOWN"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Living_Color
"In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990,[1] to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television and was taped at stage 7 at the Fox Television Center on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The title of the series was inspired by the NBC announcement of broadcasts being presented "in living color" during the 1960s, prior to mainstream color television. It also refers to the fact that most of the show's cast were black, unlike other sketch comedy shows such as Saturday Night Live whose casts are mostly white. It was controversial due to the Wayans' decision to portray African-American humor from the ghetto in a time when mainstream American tastes regarding black comedy had been set by more upscale shows such as The Cosby Show, causing an eventual feud for control between Fox executives and the Wayans."...

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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_In_Living_Color_sketches
"Homey D. Clown � Damon Wayans plays an ex-con who works as a clown (real name Herman Simpson) for his parole agreement, but lashes out at anyone (usually by hitting them on the head with a sock full of pennies) who attempts to make him perform the standard antics of the role - "I don't think so! Homey don't play that!". His goal in life is to get even with "The Man", a personification of the white males who are "holding him down". Near the end of most sketches, Homey would lead a group of children (played by the cast members) in a call and response sing-along, which would end with him degenerating into a rant, then intimidating the children into repeating after him. Homey was also the first, and only, In Living Color character to get his own video game.[2]"
-snip-
The letter "D" in the name "Homey D Clown" stands for "da" = "the".

This comedy sketch that is showcased below is a parody of a children's birthday party whose paid entertainment is a clown. The clown is supposed to entertain the children by doing magic tricks, singing, telling stories, and engaging in other activities. The video shows how those expectations are turned upside down when Homey is the clown.

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In Living Color's Homey D. Clown character served as the inspiration for the name of The Simpsons character Krusty The Clown.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homie_the_Clown
" "Homie the Clown" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 12, 1995. In the episode, Homer becomes a Krusty the Clown impersonator, but is mistaken for the real Krusty by the Springfield Mafia. Joe Mantegna returned as Fat Tony, while Dick Cavett and Johnny Unitas guest starred as themselves.

[...]

Cultural references
The episode's title is reference to the character Homey D. Clown from the sketch comedy show In Living Color.�...

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WHAT "DON'T PLAY THAT" MEANS
"[Person's name] don't play that" is a statement that is made regarding a suggested action which is rejected because acting that way would be contrary to or beneath that person's values, lifestyle, image, and/or dignity.
-snip-
Hat tip to this urban dictionary poster for this definition of which helped me conceptualize what "[person's name] don't play means:
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=homey%20don%27t%20play%20that
"homey don't play that

A disagreement or protest to a suggested idea or action.
Carlton said, "Let's watch American Idol!", and Will was like, "Homey don't play that."
by colin April 05, 2005

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[MORE SPECIFICALLY] WHAT THE SAYING "HOMEY DON'T PLAY THAT" MEANS
"Homey don't play that" (also given as "Homey don't play dat") is the signature saying for "Homey D. Clown", a recurring character on the 1990s African American sketch comedy television series In Living Color. The full saying that Homey D. Clown used was "I don�t think so. Homey don�t play that."

Homey D. Clown responds with that saying when he is asked to do something that he considered beneath his dignity or his lifestyle as doing those things would make him look or feel foolish.

Here are three selected lines from the first In Living Color sketch that features Homey D. Clown hired to entertain children at a birthday party (video below) which illustrate this point:

Machinegod88 in 2010 "lets get something straight, homie may be a clown, but i dont make a fool outa myself".

freshprincess in 2012) "Let's get something straight kids. Homey may be a clown but he don't make a fool outta hisself.

Cameron cole, 2014
"girl: Do a silly clown dance for us!!!
Homie: Degrade myself huh. *Smacks girl* I dont think so. Homie dont play that! LMFAO!!!"

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AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH TERMS AND GRAMMAR IN THIS SAYING
The saying "Homey don't play that" (also given as "Homey don't play da.") uses African American Vernacular English grammar and vernacular.

"Homey" is a form of the words "home boy" which means a male from your neighborhood or, by extension, a male from your city, state, or nation. "Homey" could also be used for females (i.e. "home girl"), although it appears to me that this feminine usage was/is much less frequently found than the masculine usage.

The word "don't" is used in these African American Vernacular English constructed sentences instead of the standard American English word "doesn't".

In the context of both the sayings "Homey don't play that" the word "play" simply means "to do" [something]".

Another African American Vernacular English ways of saying "I don't play that" is "I'm not down with that". "I'm not down with that" later was shortened to "I'm not with that".
-snip-
The saying "Comey don't play that" (as a reference to former United States Assistant Attorney General and former FBI Director) is an adaptation of "Homey don't play that". However, unlike Homey D. Clown, other people and not James Comey himself have used that saying (as the titles of news articles and videos or within news articles and videos among other usages).

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SHOWCASE VIDEO

[WARNING: Although many children watched the television series In Living Color, some of the content of this series, including some of the content in this showcase Homey D. Clown" video may not be suitable for children.]

Introducing Homey D. Clown



Alexander Ross, Uploaded on Dec 20, 2007

Here's Homey!

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SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments are given in chronological order based on their publishing date, with the oldest comments given first, except for replies. Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.

A number of these selected comments quote what Homey D. Clown says in this comedy sketch.


2009
1. oRuTRa45
"This is still funny after all these years lol. And those story illustrations were excellent, I never noticed that yo."

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2. Imucknukchuck
"I don't know about the audience but how did the cast manage to keep straight faces? God that musta been tough."

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3. BalugnugJones
"We were at the taping of this. This clip was actually the 5th take of the skit. They had to keep doing it over and over because we, the audience, were laughing too hard.."

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4. Kristen DeVore
"homy dont play dat that dude is funny i wonder if they follow the play by script or just make it up as they go"

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Reply
5. mleonsmith
"that was a real smile at 4:34!! then he had to improvise with the " you made homey smile after all" line"

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6. SinnMaschine
"the best moment:
"Why did you become a clown then?"

"I guess it's because I have so much love to give." - and that face expression! :D"

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7. freshPrincess626
"homey is a classic. what 90s kid DIDN'T know the phrase "homey don't play dat"?"

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8. professorlip
"I've put this comment on another video but I have to say it again...

Homie D Clown is one of the greatest and most unique TV characters ever created. Whoever would have thought to create a militant, Afrocentric, anti- establishment clown? That's pure genius."

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9. IHeartYYH
" "Fall down, bust my skull open and have my blood abd brains ooze out on the carpet so you can get a couple of cheep laughs huh? I don't think so." "

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10. vibrantone220
"So I can degrade my self? (BAM) I don't think so! Homey don't play that!!!!
LMAO"

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2010
11. Machinegod88
"lets get something straight, homie may be a clown, but i dont make a fool outa myself"

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[The following two comments refer to the story that Homey D. Clown tells the "children" at the birthday party about when he went to a fancy white [people's] restaurant named "Chez Whitey"]

12. Thradix
"he tells him that "a tie is required in order eat in this establishment" so homey says "man get them damn ties outa my face before a kick yo ass!" LMAOOOOO!!!!"

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13. George Stickle
"...but unfortunately Monsieur Snowflake didn't quite hear Homey correctly, so Homey had no choice but to keep his word. The end."

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14. cocopatrice
"Crazy when i found out paul mooney penned this character. He's a genius. From Richard Pryor to Dave Chappelle, he's been behind some of the funniest stuff ever made. And Homey don't play dat!!! LMFAO!"

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15. Adamguy2003
"LOL! Good old Homey!
The Homey the Clown shorts were such a bad influence for my brother and I when we were really little (Much younger than the intended audience for the show)! We used to make our own versions of that black jack thing that he uses on everyone (Usually by taking one of our socks and putting something hard in it, like a plastic or metal toy or something), and smack each other in the head with them! Fortunately, we never did it hard enough to really hurt.
Good times, good times."

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2011
16. D Walker
"A prison work-release clown! Genius!"

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17. optimusidol
"best skit everrrrr...btw u knoe a skit is great when the characters have to hide that they wanna laugh"

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18. Kev J
""I think you got it backwards son."

/kick

"Now how do you feel about yourself?"

Kid: "totally dissed Homey :("

LMFAO!!!"

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19. ~bekah~
"homey: who got a dollar?
kid:i do homey! (gives him the dollar) here you go homey!
homey: alright i fold it once.
kids:ooooooh
homey: twice
kids:aaaaaah
homey:now it's gone ta-da XD"

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20. rang3r34
"Man, this takes me waaay back! I even had a Homey D. Clown T-shirt! Man, this is from the days when there STILL was good tv on..."

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2012
21. MrEasy12
"This is the Funniest Homie the Clown Skit"

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22. dhom100
"homey the clown was one of the best characters of this show."

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23. freshprincess
"Let's get something straight kids. Homey may be a clown but he don't make a fool outta hisself."

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24. Kayla Monos
"god i remember watching this when i was little i even had a homey the clown shirt XD but whats sad is my parents LET me watch it lol"

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25. morgan Sanders
"lol my favorite part."WHO WANTS TO SEE A MAGIC TRICK.WHO GOT A DOLLAR...NOW I FOLD IT ONCE TWICE AND NOW ITS GONE!!!"

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26. Domino G
" "y did u become a clown then?"
"i guess its because i got so much love to give, and its part of my prison work release program so i got about 5 more years of this clown crap!" "

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27.Dustin Pearson
"Its been 22 yrs. It came out n 1990"

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28. missystar013
" "Now how do you feel about yo self, son?"
"...totally dissed, Homey."
"That's why Homey don't play dat." "

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29. Cash Crop
"Tommy Davidson is wearing some cement Air Jordan 4's ......sick"
-snip-
"Tommy Davidson" is one of the In Living Color's stars that is playing the role of a little boy in this segment. This is just one of a number of commenters in this discussion thread who are sneaker collectors commented on these sneakers. #31 is another selected comment about those sneakers [tennis shoes].

"Sick" means "very good".

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30. T Davis
"One day Homey will break all the chains
then he'll fly away
but until that day
Homey don't play...I said sing the damn song!!
very good children, you actually put a smile on Homey's face
LOL!! By far THE best show of the 90's when it came to comedy, no doubt!!"

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2013
31. jay trix
"that kid in the striped shirt has on the orginal air jordan cement 4s owwwwww"

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32. Matt Lipton
"Thumbs up if you looked this up after seeing this on the Fox 25th Annversary special."
-snip-
The "In Living Color" series aired nationally on the Fox channel.

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33. freshPrincess626
"lol, yup, exactly. we used to say it all the time at school, too."
-snip-
This comment refers to the "Homey don't play dat" saying.

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2014
34. Superman hero
"Homey the clown is played by damon wayans"

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35. Shaun1gza
"HOMEY HOMEY HOMEY HOMEY HOMEY....(BOOOMM)...u betta sit down. I fell to the floor laughing my ass off. The funniest tv show ever."

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36. tt336100
"Why are the actors playing the children adults?"

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Reply
37. Vicki EastVan
"If you've watched any episodes of "In living in colour" you'd understand why kids are not part of the show lol.

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Reply
38. KC DA MOST
"And it wouldn't sit well with adults to see little kids hit in the head with a tennis ball filled sock that's why they have adults playing the kids"

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39. Cameron cole
"girl: Do a silly clown dance for us!!!
Homie: Degrade myself huh. *Smacks girl* I dont think so. Homie dont play that! LMFAO!!!"

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40. skbwolverine
"I had a 'Homey don't play dat' t-shirt when I was a kid. Oh, the memories. lol."

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41. burx18
"The good ole days I remember stayin up late with my bro watching this show"

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42. Justin Widle
"This one single sketch is better than most anything SNL has done in 25 years. #BringHomieBack
-snip-
SNL = long running United States comedy sketch series "Saturday Night Live"

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2015
43. Mojebi
"This is racist as f&&k*...thumbs up anyway made me laugh hard. "
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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44. MusicFanatic1958
"115 people feel totally dissed by Homey"
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"115 people" probably refers to the number of people who gave that video a "thumbs down" rating as of the time of that comment's posting. Here are the statistics for this video as of June 6, 9:30 pm EDT [around the time of the publication of this pancocojams post:

2,357,775 [total number of views]

thumbs up - 9,221; thumbs down- 264

total number of comments - 790

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45. sluggotg
"AAAH yes, I remember the introduction of Homey D. Clown..... I knew exactly what I would be hearing the next day, from My Black Buddy who worked for me in The Navy... and yes he, (Legaurd), Hammered me with Homey D. Clown references from then on. But it was all in good fun! I miss this show and my friends at SIMA Alemeda! Absolute Classic TV!"

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46. Lindsay W
"Is it sad I only know of homie the clown because of Drake? Lol."
-snip-
Drake is a Black Canadian rapper.

Read comment #49 below that also refers to Homey D. Clown being mentioned in rap music.

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2016
47. Nick Diel1
"Homey for president"

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Reply
48. Tyrone Thompson
"Nick Diel heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell yeah! better than trump! cause homey don't play dat! he sho nuff don't play dat!"

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49. Yoda on DMT
"This explains a few rap verses that reference this for those of us that didn't get american channels or internet back then."

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Ryan Laustsen
"homey da man"
-snip-
"Da man" (the man) probably means something like "the ruler"/"the best".

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