PG / Splash News

Steve Harvey Says He Wants A Career Like Oprah Or Tyler Perry But Would Rather Vacation Than Run A Network

Ya boy Steve Harvey is the subject of an in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he reveals he may be ready to return to his comedy roots.

Peep some of the best excerpts below:

ON GETTING BACK INTO STAND-UP

I’m gonna be honest with you, man. I’ve been really seriously thinking about it. I got a special in me that’s so funny. It’s just about my life, the stuff that I’ve been quiet about on social media. I’ve been quiet about the beating I took about my divorce, which was in 2005 and has been ongoing in social media because somebody just won’t let it go. I’ve been quiet about the visit to [Donald] Trump. I kept my mouth shut about the Miss Universe thing [Harvey mistakenly announced the wrong winner at the 2015 pageant]. I kept my mouth shut about the memo that got out in Chicago. I just kept it all. Well, I may have kept it long enough. But I’m only looking for business opportunities now. I don’t need a one-off. I probably want to do what Rodney Dangerfield did, introduce a lot of really, really tough comedians that I know around the country.

ON POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND KEEPING SPONSORS HAPPY

That’s the one hesitancy I have with going back to stand-up. I’m in a sponsor-driven business, and they keep moving the line of political correctness. It keeps getting closer and closer to where you can’t open your mouth negatively. Throw away freedom of speech. That’s out the window now. The Ku Klux Klan and the skinheads can get a permit to walk down the street to bash Jews, gays, blacks, immigrants, anybody. But if I tell a joke, Procter & Gamble pulls. Once Procter & Gamble pulls, Mercedes gotta pull. Then Kool-Aid. That’s an ugly place to be in. But you can get a permit and put a hood on your head to walk down the street. Really? Regardless as to what our president said, there’s not good people on both sides.

ON THE #METOO AND TIME’S UP MOVEMENTS LASTING EFFECT ON STAND-UP COMMUNITY

It’s something that needed some light to be shined on it because so many people, so many women were suffering without being able to say it. The sad part is there are people who are jumping on the bandwagon with fake stories. It messes us up for the women who really have issues. It’s funny, though. In the political climate, if you get an accusation, you get a congressional hearing. In this business, you out. Donald Trump is the president. Billy Bush outta work. I heard the tape. Why Billy is outta work is beyond me. But why Donald Trump is in the White House is beyond me, too. (Laughs.)–

Hit the flip for some hilarious artwork from The Hollywood Reporter along with some hints about what Steve is headed toward next