10 Things We Learned Listening To Jesse Ventura On Steve Austin's Podcast
7. Jesse Was Censored For Calling Koko B. Ware "Buckwheat"
One of those WWF superstars that Jesse would throw insults at while on the mic was Koko B. Ware.
Jesse had come up with an idea for something he wanted to say on commentary about Koko, but Jesse wanted to get Koko's approval first due to its controversial nature. After discussing it with the Birdman, Koko told Jesse, "Body, you say anything you want about me because anytime you talk about me, I make money."
So with Koko's blessing, Jesse went on the air and asked Vince McMahon if he knew what the "B." in Koko B. Ware stood for. Jesse then jokingly revealed it stood for Buckwheat, calling Koko Buckwheat's grandson.
Buckwheat was a controversial, racist character from the Our Gang/Little Rascals show of the 1930s and '40s, who often portrayed negative stereotypical behavior. Buckwheat had again become popular in the '80s thanks to Eddie Murphy's portrayal of the character on NBC's Saturday Night Live.
After Jesse made the comment, the NAACP came down hard on the WWF and McMahon gave in, censoring Jesse much to his chagrin. Why could Eddie Murphy continue to reference the character, on the same network as Saturday Night's Main Event no less, but he could not? Ventura claims to have lost some respect for Vince that day.