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The brand has moved on. Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez of Desus & Mero fame addressed the split with his longtime creative partner and chalked it up to the two of them growing apart.
About a week ago, the Internets was thrown for a loop when Desus Nice confirmed that the brand was no more which was shortly followed by Showtime announcing their talk show was a wrap. As the days went along, and more details were revealed—allegedly, the cause of the split was a rift with their longtime manager and sides were chosen—Mero remained quiet.
However, speaking to WFAN last night (July 26), he finally addressed the split from his fellow Bronx brethren. “It’s just natural progression,” Mero told WFAN’s Keith McPherson. “It’s like we said on the podcast, ‘It’s Hollywood, baby.’.. You develop strengths and things that you want to explore and do. And then things just happen naturally. It’s like Spike Jonze said on the Viceland show, ‘Everything is finite.’ What’s the corny cliche? Don’t be sad that it’s gone. Be happy that you experienced it.”
Although he didn’t speak specifically on his next moves, Mero kept it classy when speaking of his now former partner, and he didn’t close the door on a return.
He added, “Everybody grows. I’m sure D’s got his things that he wants to do. I got my things I want to do. And they’re very specific to us. We’ve been a duo for a long time. I love everything that he’s done. It’s just natural. I’ve got my life, my worldview, my things going on, and he’s got his. So it’s only right that, instead of just staying like, ‘We’re only going to do this one thing,’ we explore. Let’s break out. Let’s see what we do as individuals, and then form like Voltron later on. Who knows?”
Indeed Desus and Mero both had side hustles to their work as a duo. For example, Mero appeared in the film Vampires vs. The Bronx while Desus shared his BX expertise with the late Anthony Bourdain on Parts Unknown, and more recently is prepping to guest host Jimmy Kimmel Live. So while the brand may be done, Desus and Mero, separately, are not.
Check out the interview below.