Nicole Byer shares racist experience at a comedy club that made her vow never to return: 'Blew my mind'

An incident at a Wisconsin show was "scary," the "Nailed It!" host told Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Nicole Byer described a "scary" racist incident she experienced at a comedy show in Wisconsin on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's August 6 Dinner's on Me podcast.

"I did shows in Appleton, Wisconsin, which I talk about in my special, and I really hated it there. The vibes f---ing sucked," the comedian and Nailed It! host recalled. "During my show, I had a white host, a Black featurer [introductory act], and the crowds were so unruly, and at one point, my Black featurer was on stage.... A guy in the crowd was like, 'Smile, we can't see you.' I was like, 'What the f---?'"

After the audience member made the racist remark, Byer "walked out on the floor and I, like, looked at a se?rver. I was like, 'You're not going to say anything?' And she was like, 'What?' I was like, 'Oh my god.'" she said. Ferguson joined in her shock, exclaiming, "Oh my God, Nicole."

Byer then detailed the aftermath from the event: "I refused to do meet-and-greets, even though it was sold with the tickets. I told my agent, 'I'm just not meeting these people. I'm sure that there's nice people in this crowd, but overall garbage. Bad people, bad vibes.' I couldn't believe that man said that."

Related: Nicole Byer on the audition that changed her career, why filming Nailed It! season 1 'felt like a trick'

A friend later explained that Appleton was what's known as a "sundown town." The history of sundown towns stretches back to the early 18th century, when the towns enforced de facto anti-Black segregation, whether or not segregationist laws were on the books. "Sundown" refers to the fact that Black workers were allowed to hold jobs in the towns during the day but forced to flee by sundown or else face violence without recourse.

The worst part about the whole experience for Byer and her featurer was that there were "no repercussions...it just blew my mind," she said, describing the experience as "scary" and one that made her vow: "I will never go back to Appleton, Wisconsin."

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Byer has previously discussed the obstacles Black performers must overcome and abuse directed at them for simply being Black in the entertainment industry.

In a 2018 Twitter (now X) thread, Byer listed horrific experiences she's endured under the heading "Being Black in America." These experiences included having a production assistant tell her "I don't know if you belong here," having to do her own hair because hairdressers don't have the proper tools for non-white hair and wigs, and having cast and crew be rude to her before realizing who she is.

In 2022, Byer also recalled the time a casting director told her to "be Blacker" during an audition.

Related: How the producers of Nailed It! and Top Chef highlight diverse stories in Hollywood

Byer is one of the busiest working talents in Hollywood today. Along with hosting Nailed It! since 2018 on Netflix and co-hosting Wipeout since 2021 with John Cena on TBS, Byer voiced Blythe Rogers in the animated Max series Velma and had a main role in the NBC sitcom Grand Crew, which ran for four seasons. She also hosts four podcasts, and appeared in two films already this year, Thelma and The American Society of Magical Negroes.

Byer next will appear in two upcoming series: Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael's DINKS and Elizabeth Banks' Flintstones series Bedrock.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.