Steve Harvey has opened up about the surprising reason he decided to quit stand-up comedy more than a decade ago.
The comedian and Family Feud host revealed that the rise of cancel culture made him step away from the stage.
Speaking on The Pivot Podcast, Harvey explained that it became nearly impossible for him to perform comedy freely without fear of backlash.
“Comedy is too hard to do right now. And all you got to do is look now the way the cancel culture works,” he said.
Harvey, now 68, said he knew early on that the entertainment world was changing.
“That’s why I left stand-up in 2012, 2015, one of them. I left stand-up then because I had so many shows. I had built such a catalog of work. I was making money. I had to let something go,” he recalled.
The father of seven also stressed that his family was part of the decision.
“And if I tour on the weekends, I wouldn’t even have a family. So I let stand-up go because I saw the change coming,” Harvey shared.
During the conversation, host Channing Chowder pointed out how Harvey sometimes appears to hold back jokes on Family Feud.
“I even see you on Family Feud, sometimes, I can see the clock working where you got a joke, but you’re not allowed to say that joke,” Chowder said.
Harvey admitted that was true. “I got it. And see, it’s very hard,” he replied.
“Change is inevitable, and I knew I needed to get out before it was too late. You got to react or participate. So my participation was to get away from it because the cancel culture started becoming everywhere.”
Harvey’s last stand-up performance took place in August 2012 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The two-hour show was broadcast live on pay-per-view and served as his farewell to the comedy stage.
Although he stepped away from stand-up, Harvey has continued to thrive as a television host and producer.
On The Pivot Podcast, he encouraged the hosts to stay authentic.
“Please don’t stop doing the way you do. The problem with people is, they get something that working and then they wanna find something that work better. You ain’t gotta fix it if it ain’t broke.”
For Steve Harvey, the decision to leave stand-up comedy was about protecting his career, his family, and his peace of mind.
