Arnett also detailed a sit down with another comedian who “asked us to not air her episode” because she “thought that she was up-and-coming” and feared her career might suffer.

Will Arnett reveals ‘very famous’ comedian was kicked off Smartless podcast after 10 minutes: ‘You’ll be blown away by who’

Arnett also detailed a sit down with another comedian who "asked us to not air her episode" because she "thought that she was up-and-coming" and feared her career might suffer.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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February 2, 2026 9:00 p.m. ET

Will Arnett at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival in 2025. Credit:

Cindy Ord/Getty

Will Arnett has bitingly harsh words for one of his fellow comedians. But don't expect him to name names.

During his Jan. 26 appearance on *The Romesh Ranganathan Show*, got quite candid about a "very famous comedian" who was recently scheduled as a guest on the *Smartless *podcast he cohosts with Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman.

Arnett described the unnamed comedian as such a "f---ing rank a--hole" that he, Hayes, and Bateman "cut him off after 10 minutes and said, 'thanks so much,' and ditched him."

Sean Hayes, Will Arnett, and Jason Bateman, the hosts of 'Smartless'.

Stewart Cook/CBS via Getty

Arnett told Ranganathan he'd "tell you after" who the comedian was, but humorously continued to note, "You'll be blown away by who it is. Because you'll be like, 'How did you get Bill Cosby!'"

That wasn't the only *Smartless *episode to be scrapped after it got off the ground, either.

"We had a guest, a comedian, and she asked us to not air her episode," Arnett shared. The *Is This Thing On? *star explained that the request wasn't taken lightly, as producing episodes of the podcast "costs us money." But the second comedian "was worried because she thought that she was up-and-coming" and feared her career might suffer if her quotes were taken out of context.

Arnett again vowed not to disclose her identity "until we're absolutely cut," but slyly ribbed that she probably had nothing to worry about, where the "up-and-coming" question was concerned: "We were like, 'You're good.'"**

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Arnett's cryptic references to the pair of comedians have generated ample discussion online, with listeners shifting into amateur sleuth mode to uncover clues about their identities.

But one name can already be scratched off the list: Matthew McConaughey. Not because multiple episodes of *Smartless *featuring the actor have already aired, and not because he's not primarily known as a comedian, but because the *Smartless *guys have already gone on record about one disastrous attempt to record with him.

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When McConaughey appeared on a 2023 episode of the podcast, the actor and the hosts laughed, recalling their epic failure of a previous recording session.

"Matthew came on the show a couple of years ago, and he was ready to go, and Jason was having some tech difficulties, shall we say," Arnett recalled.

Bateman then grudgingly assented to playing a recording of his "full meltdown" after a straight half hour of technical difficulties. "I don't see it here on the sound thing, so let's cancel," Bateman stammered in the clip. "Let's just reschedule this thing. I'm in a total f---ing tailspin."**

You can watch the Arnett's full interview on *The Romesh Ranganathan Show* above.

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