Pause

"Pause" is the 7th episode of the third season of the Adult Swim original series The Boondocks. It aired on June 20, 2010. The title refers to a practice used to remove any ambiguity after making a double entendre that may be possibly misinterpreted as a claim or implication of homosexual orientation. The phrase "no homo" may also be used instead of or in addition to "pause". Plot Robert plans to audition for the leading male role in Ma Dukes Finds Herself a Man, the latest play by Winston Jerome. Jerome is a superstar African-American playwright, director, and actor whose work, as Huey later describes, is formulaic, Christian-themed, and mostly centers around an outrageous gun-blasting matriarch named "Ma Dukes" (played by Winston himself, in drag). As a former struggling actor in his youth, Robert is excited at the opportunity, and declares his intent to give Winston "everything I've got"; Riley advises him that he has to say "no homo" in addendum because, to Riley, "everything I've got" sounds gay. Robert eventually passes the audition and meets Winston himself, who is revealed to be a devout, closeted evangelical Christian who claims Jesus Christ himself personally inspired him to write. Winston offers him the part of Ma Dukes' love interest and invites him to his compound and inner circle, on condition that he accept Jesus as his savior and renounce Ice Cube and all of his works. At the compound, Winston makes a grand entrance a la Rocky Horror Picture Show, descending on a golden elevator while singing "It's All Right to Cross-Dress for Christ"; from there, Robert quickly realizes Winston leads a cult-like organization, forbidding the compound residents from contacting their family. Forced to abandon his family, Robert suffers through grueling rehearsals and evades frequent advances by Winston, who later reveals that Robert has to kiss him in the play's final act. Despite this, Robert remains hopeful that the play will pay off with fame, riches, and "white women". Huey and Riley eventually attempt to rescue Robert from Winston's cult, but are unable to persuade Robert to leave even though it means kissing Winston on stage; Robert uses a metaphor of contestants on the reality TV show Fear Factor "eating monkey testicles" for a large prize to make his point.