Mike Epps turns photographer into punchline

Today, a story I wrote on Mike Epps ran in the Living section. The comedian is here filming "The Better Man" and took some time away from the set to entertain locals at the Funny Bone.

Photographer Val Horvath and I attended the Friday night show to see Epps perform and for an interview afterwords. Val sat with me at a table in the back for a while. She snapped some good photos but was hesitant to walk up to the front to get some other shots.

I urged Val to move toward the stage. It was pay back for the time she told me to dance with a drunk cowboy for the sake of a good story. Worried that Epps was going to make fun of her, Val didn't want to go anywhere near the front. But she knew she had to do it and what happened next was exactly what Val didn't want.

Soon after Val reached the stage and started taking photos, Epps turned his attention to her. He called the audience's attention to her and teased her about taking photos to get child support. Epps did an impression, "See, my man is workin'."

Val laughed and kept taking pictures. A few minutes later, Val returned to our table in the back. The only thing she said, "I told you so." Val's hard work paid off. It was a fun night and ended up being a fun story.