Charlamagne Recalls Shading Kelly Rowland On Wendy’s Orders

Charlamagne Tha God is reflecting on his early days in radio, when he reportedly felt pressured to shade Kelly Rowland on air after Wendy Williams encouraged him to act as an “attack dog” toward celebrities.

The veteran radio host and media mogul appeared on the Dec. 22 episode of Angie Martinez’s IRL podcast, where he reflected on his time working with Wendy Williams at WBLS in New York City. As Williams was preparing to launch her celebrity gossip–driven daytime talk show, Charlamagne recalled how her push to secure the TV role shaped his on-air duties in ways he says “compromised” his personal values.

“Wendy was the one because I got with Wendy, I was really compromising myself for a position,” Charlamagne said in a clip captured by The Neighborhood Talk.

“Like, I was really the pitbull. Like purposely, that was my job, and she would be like ‘Get get get them. I want you to get that person.’”

Charlamagne believes Williams pushed him to antagonize celebrities because “she was trying to make the transition” to television, he said. However, at the same time, the then-rising radio host struggled internally with how he was being pushed to treat the people he targeted on air.

“It would be sometimes where, like, my conscience would be like, why?” Charlamagne shared, recalling his first on-air encounter with Kelly Rowland, where he purposely shaded her to see her reaction.

“Like, and the one I always remember is Kelly Rowland. Like, she was like, ‘Get her.’ And I’m like, ‘Kelly Rowland? Like, why?’ Like, what did Kelly Rowland do?” he said.

Martinez asked Charlamagne how he tried to provoke Rowland, and he said he did so by referring to her as Beyoncé’s “sidekick” in Destiny’s Child.

“I think I came up with this angle. Like, we both know how it feels to be sidekicks. So I’m a sidekick to Wendy. She’s a sidekick to Beyoncé,” he recalled.

Charlamagne now says the remark was “stupid, disrespectful sh-t for no reason,” with both he and Martinez acknowledging how nice and friendly Rowland is. Fortunately, the two later made peace after Charlamagne apologized.

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