Don’t mess with the “SmartLess” men.
Will Arnett revealed that a “very famous comedian” who he described as a “f–king rank a–hole” was recently kicked off Arnett’s hit podcast that he co-hosts with Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes.
“We cut him off after ten minutes and said, ‘thanks so much,’ and ditched him,’” Arnett, 55, said on the Jan. 26 episode of “The Romesh Ranganathan Show.”
“You’ll be blown away by who it is. Because you’ll be like, ‘How did you get Bill Cosby!’” the “Arrested Development” actor jokingly added.
Arnett revealed that a different “SmartLess” episode also had to be scrapped because of another comedian.
“We had a guest, a comedian, and she asked us to not air her episode at all, which we were like, ‘F–k, it costs us money, you guys. We all have to do it,’” Arnett recalled.
Again, Arnett wouldn’t disclose the identity of the star who, according to Arnett, “was worried because she thought she was up and coming.”
“But we were like, ‘You’re good,’” Arnett said.
Arnett has been co-hosting “SmartLess” with Bateman, 57, and Hayes, 55, since 2020.
The podcast was originally run by Amazon’s Wondery until SiriusXM acquired the rights in 2024 in a multi-year deal worth over $100 million.
Recent “SmartLess” guests include Macaulay Culkin, Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Lawrence and Leanne Morgan.
The hosts spoke about the success of their podcast last year in an interview with People.
“It’s already been five years, which is crazy to us even,” said Arnett, 55. “But it doesn’t feel like that long. You might be exhausted by listening to us, but we’re not tired of doing it yet.”
Bateman, 57, added, “It’s fresh each week because the guests are always new and they’re always at the top of the zeitgeist, and it’s really interesting for us to be able to talk to these people, most of whom we didn’t know before.”
Hayes, 55, explained how the trio’s longtime friendship began.
“We met in the hallways of Hollywood,” he shared. “And then when ‘Will & Grace’ started in 1999, we started playing poker every Tuesday with the Tenacious D guys.”
“SmartLess” was recently nominated for the Golden Globes’ inaugural best podcast category, losing to Arnett’s ex-wife Amy Poehler’s podcast, “Good Hang With Amy Poehler.”
Before the award ceremony, Arnett predicted that Poehler, 54, would be the winner.
“He’s [Hayes] written Amy’s acceptance speech already,” Arnett joked to People.
