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 "Yo momma is so ugly, that God had to revoke her right to look up and pray." No one expects a person as intelligent-looking as Richard Esquivel ’10 to spit out a yo momma joke and pull it off. However, when the casting call for MTV's hit show Yo Momma came to Oglethorpe University, the freshman discussed signing up with a few of his friends and decided to go for it.
"People seemed more surprised about the situation than I was," Richard said. "Humor is a big part of me. It was fun getting to prepare jokes and join a forum to do so. Those I've talked to said that the contrasting nature of my character and yo momma joke talent opens up avenues for humor."
After quite a few auditions, the producers decided that Richard was qualified enough for the show. Before the taping, Richard said, "I have a pretty good chance. I have a certain format that I will be taking. My yo momma jokes, with perfect annunciation, will add a flavor to anything I say. I think the main reason that I will be on the show is because I'm smart, and smart people do really weird things."
While taping the show, Richard was not able to make it past the first round of the competition. The freezing weather seemed to weld his mouth shut, keeping many jokes from escaping.
Richard said, "The show was pretty professional. People came with different levels of preparation. Everyone around school was asking me about it. People I didn't even regularly know would come up and ask if I was going to be on the show."
Richard said that his experience was a lot of fun. "I'm glad I did it and I'm looking forward to poking fun at myself once the episode airs!" [Richard’s episode is schedule to run in March.]
Richard is involved with the Thalian Society and serves as president of Amnesty International. He also enjoys playing the guitar. He is double majoring in mathematics and philosophy.
He chose Oglethorpe because of the small classes, its location in Atlanta and the weather. "I wanted to go for a change of weather from Florida. Sweltering heat and 90+ degree humidity is not attractive at all."
-By Marla Osti '10
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