Comedian Desus Nice Says Having Brand Deals That Align With His Values Trumps Big Checks — 'That Should Never Be The Reason You Take A Deal'

Following his initial rise on social media, the comedian and TV personality leveraged his influence on the platforms as fuel to pivot into the broader entertainment business. From collaborating with MTV to building his own lane in television with “Desus & Mero” on Viceland and Showtime, Nice has learned the ropes of what it takes to hold your own in cutthroat Hollywood, especially through the support of business guidance.

“Your relationship with your agents and your lawyer, it has to be almost intimate,” Nice explained to AFROTECH. “You have to know that they are advocating and lobbying for you even when you’re not in the room. If you can’t trust your agent, your lawyer or your manager, you can’t go anywhere in life. You guys want to be aligned on the vision for the future. You wanna make sure that they know where you want to be in the future and they have the same common goals for you. If you don’t have that, then it’s gonna be kind of scattered and a lot of random noise, and they’re gonna be bringing you stuff that you’re just like, ‘Hey, this is not what I want to do.’”

He emphasized, “You do need lawyers, you’ll think you know it all. And if you ever walk into any room in Hollywood thinking you know it all, you’ve already lost. You have to go in there humble and learn, and learn from other people’s experiences.”

Having an agent and lawyer in his circle, along with consistently taking note of small yet key details in the entertainment business, has kept Nice afloat. What’s more, it’s helped him learn how to handle endorsement deals and brand partnerships. For instance, Nice doesn’t allow big checks to cloud his judgment. As aforementioned, authenticity always takes the front seat.

“Sometimes you’ll get an offer, and the check is just so big. You’re like ‘this is a no-brainer,’ but that should never be the reason you take a deal,” Nice said. “If you take a brand deal and it’s not something you do, your fans are gonna be like, ‘Yo, what’s going on there?’ And if anything, that builds resentment. People are gonna be like, ‘Yo, this person has no morals, no ethics, no nothing. Like they’ll just take any cash grab.’”

He added, “If it’s a product that you actually use and believe in, you can talk about it freely. You don’t have to be media-trained and you don’t have to be like, ‘How do I say this or this?’ It’s important. That authenticity, that leads to future partnerships because people will see that you actually use these products.”

Staying true to himself and tapping into organic connections has led to Nice having a new partnership right up his alley. He has teamed up with Tums for its partnership with “DraftKings: TUMS Prop Bites,” according to a press release shared with AFROTECH. The free-to-play game allows football fans and foodies to make free food picks during the Super Bowl season. In addition, Tums and DraftKings are giving away a share of $10,000 to winners, the press release details.

Becoming the official Tums Prop Bites Tipster is a full-circle moment for Nice as Tums has always been a staple in his household, he says. He described the partnership as “a big honor.”

“I told my parents about this ad and they were so excited because if you go in their cabinets right now, they’ve got TUMS,” Nice shared. “They’ve always had TUMS growing up. That’s something I’ve always used. I have the gummies in my house.”

Fans can make their food picks up to Feb. 11. To learn more about “TUMS Prop Bites,” click here.