It’s been months since followers have seen Keenen Ivory Wayans, and the questions surrounding his whereabouts are mounting. Comic Marlon Wayans took to Instagram this week to share an announcement about his upcoming visitor look on CBS’ hit present “Poppa’s Home.” His look on the present reunites Marlon together with his brother Damon Wayans Sr., nephew Damon Wayans Jr., and sister Kim Wayans, who directed the episode.
The comedic household reunion, set to air Monday, March 24, prompted enthusiastic responses from the actor’s 7.2 million followers, although many instantly questioned why Keenen Ivory Wayans wasn’t a part of the gathering.
“What’s higher than 2 wayanses? 3!!! Im on @poppashousecbs MONDAY 3/24 Tune in,” Marlon captioned his submit, highlighting the uncommon on-screen household collaboration.
However amid the celebration, involved followers couldn’t assist however discover the continued absence of Keenen Ivory Wayans, the pioneering older brother who launched the household’s leisure empire.
Feedback shortly flooded Marlon’s submit with variations of “The place’s Keenan??”
“The place’s Keenan??” one individual requested, as one requested, “Y’all making me anxious … the place Keenan at?” another person wrote.
One other took it a step additional, “Now we gone need Shawn Kim and Keenan,” unaware that the sister works on the present.
This sample of Keenen’s public absences, together with his final social media submit being in January 2024, has grow to be more and more noticeable to longtime followers who acknowledge his foundational position within the household’s success.
Comparable issues about Keenen have been raised simply weeks earlier throughout the household’s prestigious induction into the NAACP Picture Awards Corridor of Fame.
9 Wayans members of the family accepted the distinguished honor throughout the Feb. 22 ceremony at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, carrying matching coloration palettes, however Keenen Ivory Wayans and brother Shawn have been noticeably absent.
Their absence sparked fast social media hypothesis, with one fan lamenting on social media, “Would have been nice to have seen Shawn and Keenen.”
Throughout the NAACP acceptance speech, Damon Sr. emotionally recounted how Keenen Ivory Wayans’ bold imaginative and prescient modified their household’s trajectory after watching Richard Pryor’s tv debut on Could 5, 1975. Whereas Damon noticed humor, Keenen noticed his future – abandoning his engineering diploma research at Tuskegee College simply six months earlier than commencement to pursue comedy.
“A comic? I’ve recognized you your entire life; you ain’t by no means mentioned nothing humorous,” Damon quoted their skeptical mom as saying about Keenen Ivory Wayans’ profession selection.
Marlon, the youngest of ten Wayans siblings, mirrored throughout the ceremony on watching Keenen Ivory Wayans’ breakthrough Johnny Carson look on a makeshift tv: “All of us watched on a black and white TV in our kitchen… antenna was damaged so we had a hanger in there for an antenna and a fork to vary channels… From that day on me as a toddler, I sat there and I used to be like, ‘Wow, you imply not solely are you able to dream however you may make your goals come true.’”
In his upcoming “Poppa’s Home” look, Marlon performs Melvin, Poppa’s entrepreneurial little brother consistently chasing get-rich-quick schemes — a personality he personally pitched to Damon Sr., who each stars as Poppa and government produces the sitcom, in keeping with TV Insider.
Talking with TV Insider, Marlon expressed profound admiration for his older brother Damon, calling him “most likely my all-time favourite artist” alongside legends like Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. He credit Damon’s versatility and fearlessness as inspiration for his personal comedy profession regardless of initially feeling intimidated by his brother’s expertise.
Followers are doubly excited, writing, “@marlonwayans This can be hilarious,” one individual mentioned as one other wrote, “This present actually [fire emoji] Leisure wouldn’t be nun with out The Wayans.”
The timing of Marlon’s visitor spot carries further significance, airing virtually precisely 38 years after the March 20, 1987, launch of “Hollywood Shuffle,” the groundbreaking movie co-written by Keenen Ivory Wayans and Robert Townsend.
after we speak about black historic figures, Robert Townsend and keenen ivory wayans ought to undoubtedly be within the dialog https://t.co/iy6INtig6g
— Reggie (@reginal92157107) March 20, 2025
This collaboration marked a pivotal second in Black cinema that continues to resonate, with one Twitter consumer just lately noting, “After we speak about black historic figures, Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans ought to undoubtedly be within the dialog.”
As followers eagerly anticipate the Wayans household reunion on “Poppa’s Home,” the lingering query of Keenen Ivory Wayans’ continued absence from these public household moments stays unanswered — a curious footnote to the legendary household’s ongoing leisure legacy that spans generations.
