All About Laughs
It’s absolutely hard to not think of the supporting actors that made up the cast of the show Martin when one thinks of the show. On-screen, the actors all displayed impeccable chemistry which helped prop the show have the lasting affect that it’s had on fans throughout the years. Over the years it has been revealed that such was not the case at times off-screen.
As much as the show garnered praise for the comedic storylines and the cast, it was also plagued with rumors of mistreatment from comedian Martin Lawrence, the show’s lead actor. It was soon reported that Tisha Campbell, who played “Gina”, had filed a lawsuit with claims that the actor/comedian harassed her inappropriately.
Carl Anthony Payne, who played Martin’s dimwitted best friend “Cole Brown”, admitted that all was not what it seemed to be while on an interview with ThisIs50.com back in 2015. According to Payne, things were going well in the beginning with the two initially not having any problems. The actor states that it was a “great place” to work, but that would all change after Martin began to mistreat the actor.
“We had issues,” shared Payne. ‘[Martin] had issues with himself, really. I think he was battling his own demons. I wish him nothing but the best. Hopefully, he’s better now.” The actor also revealed that the rift between the two would continue to grow after Payne started to begin to feel “threatened”. Their issues would extend for over 20 years.
Eventually the two were able to let bygones be bygones as they would reunite years later amid talks of a Martin reboot. “I think people grow,” Payne shared of their reconciliation. At the end of the day, the things you may have been mad about at 20-something […] For me, I was in a whole other space.”
He also added, “As a man, you know in general, as long as we’re on the right side of the grass we’re doing good[…] Imagine if you were in a relationship that ended badly with someone you know. That was then.”
Pictures soon began to surface of the two reunited, as well as the rest of the cast being caught by TMZ cameras to discuss both a potential reboot and the reason they all came together again. Initially, Page Six ran a report that Lawrence was unenthused and unmoved to pursue rebooting the show. The hopes of fans were shut down everywhere when Martin revealed “No, we’ve done everything that we could do. There will be no reunion.”
That didn’t stop the hopes and wishes of fans as they continued to pray that soon they would hear good news pertaining to the show. Lawrence did offer a bit of hope after being caught by TMZ’s cameras following his meet-up with former co-stars Tisha Campbell and Tischina Arnold. “Never say never,” he shared.
While Carl Payne was not present, he did speak with TMZ separately where he shared that he would “absolutely” be down for a reboot. “Why not? I think the people want it,” he said. “I think it’s long overdue, you know what I’m saying? We created magic in a bottle and why not do it again?”
