Relax, everyone, Craig Robinson isn’t retiring from comedy, probably

After announcing his retirement from comedy last week, Craig Robinson appears to be overselling the bit.

Relax, everyone, Craig Robinson isn’t retiring from comedy, probably
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Our long, national nightmare is over. After a week of fretting over whether or not Office star Craig Robinson is actually retiring, Variety reports that a series of billboards announcing the comedian’s retirement have begun popping up around L.A. So either this is either a marketing campaign aimed square at the hearts of every red-blooded American or a last-ditch effort to sell tickets for the year of stand-up dates Robinson has booked. The billboards, which read, simply, “Craig Robinson is quitting comedy,” began appearing in Los Angeles last week, when the “retired” comedian posted on Instagram: “Life update: I’m officially quitting comedy to focus on my true calling. Stay tuned. I’m working on something huge.” As Variety notes, Robinson has spent the last year appearing in advertisements for the telecom conglomerate AT&T, posing as the company’s Chief Technology Officer. While that job likely pays better than “Comedian at Comedy,” it’s more likely that this is a part of a new promotional campaign for AT&T’s world-class service and support.

Of course, being a comedian, Robinson is also a bit of a prankster, and The A.V. Club and the editors of Robinson’s Wikipedia page have been punked by the best of them. Though, as noted in our initial report, there was plenty of reason to doubt Robinson’s intentions, namely because he had the aforementioned whole year of stand-up dates booked, which, as far as we know, isn’t the type of retiree behavior we’ve come to expect from people exiting comedy. Usually, they just become pseudo-public intellectuals complaining about the woke mind virus.

Since announcing his retirement, however, Robinson has continued to play into the idea. Last week, he posted a video asking for tips on getting his small business started. “Hey guys, big shoutout to all my small business owners,” he says in the video. “Hey, you guys got any advice for me while I’m trying to get my business afloat. I’ve hit a few bumps in the road, and I sure would appreciate your guys’ tips.” If this is a joke, we do wish it were a little funnier or more committed. Right now, Robinson is stuck somewhere between brand ambassador engagement bait and first-day grindset guy engagement bait. Craig, what kind of engagement bait are you going for here? We’re engaging, so please write to The A.V. Club as soon as you can clarify.

 
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