*In its close to a decade run on the small screen, “The Boondocks” introduced memorable episodes that are still reflected on by viewers to this day.
One of those episodes featured an animated version of Usher, who becomes the reason Sarah and Tom call it quits after he unexpectedly appears at a restaurant where the couple is celebrating their anniversary. As a result, Tom enlists the help of A Pimp Named Slickback to help save his relationship.
Although the Season 2 episode, titled “Tom, Sarah and Usher” was a standout and favorite among fans, little did anyone know that it was inspired by a real-life situation, according to Vibe.
Carl Jones, a producer on “the Boondocks,” confirmed the situation was sparked after the show was renewed for its second season on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.
Looking back, Jones described how humbling it was for him to be the Tom in the situation, which also stemmed from his ex-wife being upset at the show’s infamous season 1 R. Kelly episode.
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“We were celebrating the pickup of season two,” Jones told DJ Hed and Gina Views during a recent interview on “Effective Immediately.” “The R. Kelly episode came up and my ex-wife, she hated that episode…She got like really mad and was kind of like protesting at the table.”
Jones’ ex may have been heated, but her tone noticeably switched when she saw Usher sitting behind Jones. From there, the woman showed no shame in her attempts to get on the singer’s radar, “turning around at Usher, making goo-goo eyes and stuff.”
“We get up, and we get to the front of the restaurant, and I look back and she’s at the [Usher’s] table…,” Jones recalled.
“She starts introducing everybody… She’s like ‘um—so Usher, this is Aaron and this is his fiancé, this is my— Carl.’”
The incident was a low point for the couple. According to Jones, it was “a long ride home” and the catalyst for what became the second episode of season 2.
In addition to the Usher episode, Jones revealed how much of his and “The Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder‘s life was put into the popular show, the end of its four-season run after 55 episodes and the rift afterwards between himself and McGruder.
“My last season was the third season…there are two things that contribute to this. I started developing ‘Black Dynamite’ at the time and I don’t think Aaron was too happy about it because I think he was trying to keep me under his wing for as long as he could. But I was at the point where I was starting to grow and expand…and do my own thing. That didn’t mean I was walking away from The Boondocks…but I was also producing other things…and that really rubbed [Aaron] the wrong way,” the Peabody Award-winning producer shared.
The cause of the split was rooted in animating DJ Vlad for “The Boondocks,” a major point that led to his departure from the cartoon. Once McGruder saw the illustration of Vlad, things weren’t the same as Jones recalled the cartoonist unloading on him over it.
For Jones, it wasn’t the fact that he shared the design with McGruder, but that Jones “was starting to do my own thing” and it “kind of unraveled from there.”
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