This is no joke.
A white comedian claims he was rejected by a Big Apple management company because of his skin color.
In October 2020, Brooklyn comedian Tyler Fischer, 35, was first associated with AGI Entertainment Media & Management, a Manhattan company representing comedians Samantha Bee and Colin Quinn, TV host Julie Chen and journalist Natalie Morales.
“I was ready to sign the papers…that’s when the conversation took a turn,” he said.
AGI assistant Alex Brizel said, “‘We love you. Everyone here loves you and thinks you’re a star, but we’re not going to take you in because you’re white. That’s when my stomach goes down,'” Fischer said. He is now suing the company for discrimination in the Brooklyn Supreme Court.
When Fischer and Brizel spoke for the first time, everything seemed fine.
“He said, ‘Do you want to audition’ to curb your enthusiasm?’ All these shows that I love, so it sounds like they want to collaborate [me],” Fisher told The Washington Post.
Months passed and nothing happened, Fischer said, saying he was “just waiting on the phone.”
Then AGI finally called.
“My therapist always said, ‘Make sure you record things’, so I hit ‘record’ when I was on the phone in his podcast studio”.
“I think I said, ‘So you guys like me, you want to work with me, you know what I need, but the only reason is because I’m white?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.'”
Fischer performed at the Brooklyn Comedy Club and appeared on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” alongside “Younger” and “Chicago Med,” and has 100,000 Instagram and 146,000 YouTube followers. He also has a weekly podcast, “The Tyler Fischer Show.”
in a tweeted May 17, He told his followers, “I’m currently suing a talent manager who told me they won’t work with me because I’m white. They’re just asking how much I want to settle out of court.
“Update: I won’t fix it. Even if I don’t get a dime, I’ll go all the way. This ‘legitimate’ racism must end.”
Fischer did not elaborate on the alleged settlement offer.
“I’ve had countless people reaching out to me privately saying, ‘This happened to me. I’m too scared to speak up. I had an acting agent the other day who said, ‘You don’t know how bad this is. They didn’t hide it,'” He said.
His attorney Lawrence Spasojevich said: “Mr. Fischer’s lawsuit seeks to reinforce the idea that individuals should be judged by their qualifications. Not because of their race, gender, gender identity, religious beliefs Or any other innate trait. The idea needs to apply equally to everyone or it loses legitimacy.”
A source close to AGI said, “Since this incident, more than half of the people they have signed up are white.”
Fischer has since hired manager Jon Fatigate, who helped him book a role in the Daily Wire film “Terror on the Prairie” with actress Gina Carano.
Fischer, who is seeking unspecified damages, said: “I hope this draws attention to why we’re putting race, gender and pronouns and all of that before who’s qualified for the job. “
Brizel could not be reached. An AGI spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we are proud to represent the list of artists we work with based solely on their aptitude.”
