1 00:00:16,851 --> 00:00:19,479 -I do love walking in Paris. -Oh, my God. 2 00:00:19,563 --> 00:00:22,232 Do you remember we used to tell so many knock-knock jokes? 3 00:00:22,315 --> 00:00:23,984 We told a million knock-knock jokes. 4 00:00:24,067 --> 00:00:28,947 I was, like, endlessly amused by, "Knock-knock. Who's there? 5 00:00:29,030 --> 00:00:30,532 Banana. Banana, who?" 6 00:00:30,615 --> 00:00:32,909 "Knock, knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange, who? 7 00:00:32,993 --> 00:00:34,452 Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" 8 00:00:34,536 --> 00:00:37,664 -I thought that was the funniest joke. -Well, your kids do too. 9 00:00:38,248 --> 00:00:40,292 You and Grandma were very patient 10 00:00:40,375 --> 00:00:42,752 with my repeated telling of that joke as a child. 11 00:00:44,045 --> 00:00:45,964 -Hello. -Look at this one. Very brave. 12 00:00:46,047 --> 00:00:47,591 That one is very determined. 13 00:00:47,674 --> 00:00:50,635 Totally unfair thing to say, but the little head is so menacing. 14 00:00:50,719 --> 00:00:52,137 Yeah, but the head movement is like 15 00:00:52,220 --> 00:00:53,972 one of the exercises we did at clown school. 16 00:00:54,055 --> 00:00:55,265 You know, back and forth-- 17 00:00:55,348 --> 00:00:58,310 Front and back, and front and back, and front and back. 18 00:00:58,393 --> 00:01:00,729 -Circles. -And circles. 19 00:01:00,812 --> 00:01:03,356 We traveled from Paris to Philadelphia 20 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,526 to meet with some of the funniest gutsy women we could find 21 00:01:06,610 --> 00:01:11,615 and discover the unexpected ways in which laughter can change the lives of women. 22 00:01:16,912 --> 00:01:18,872 Madam Clinton, you're doing great. 23 00:01:18,955 --> 00:01:20,373 Call me Hillary. 24 00:01:23,543 --> 00:01:25,128 Hillary, your nose. 25 00:01:25,212 --> 00:01:27,464 I thought it was gonna be women, You know? 26 00:01:27,547 --> 00:01:31,092 When it's a dick-mergency, they've got it covered, so… 27 00:01:31,176 --> 00:01:33,178 -Keep it classy. Keep it classy. -I mean, you know. 28 00:01:44,898 --> 00:01:46,983 Namaste, New York City! 29 00:01:49,402 --> 00:01:51,905 A little about me. I'm an immigrant. 30 00:01:51,988 --> 00:01:55,242 I came to America with $9 in my pocket. 31 00:01:55,909 --> 00:01:58,411 10,000 in the bank, but nine in the pocket. 32 00:01:59,871 --> 00:02:01,289 No, I'm not gonna be poignant. 33 00:02:01,373 --> 00:02:05,627 That's not the point for me tonight. Just this outfit is why I came out here. 34 00:02:06,795 --> 00:02:09,213 I'm from Jersey. My town is super diverse. 35 00:02:09,296 --> 00:02:13,635 33,000 Italian Catholics and six Muslims who are all my family. 36 00:02:13,718 --> 00:02:15,387 'Cause they've lived in both worlds. 37 00:02:15,470 --> 00:02:18,098 Trans women know stuff that we cis women don't know. 38 00:02:18,181 --> 00:02:21,393 Like, they know how much we're supposed to get paid. 39 00:02:22,644 --> 00:02:24,646 When we first get on stage, a lot of times, as women, 40 00:02:24,729 --> 00:02:27,148 what I've noticed is-- The men don't have this as much. 41 00:02:27,232 --> 00:02:29,025 You'll have a bunch of guys who are like this. 42 00:02:29,109 --> 00:02:30,527 And the energy just drops. 43 00:02:30,610 --> 00:02:32,487 -So I already gotta come on… -Yeah. 44 00:02:32,571 --> 00:02:34,823 "What's going on? What's wrong with your hands? 45 00:02:34,906 --> 00:02:36,283 You don't wanna clap? All right." 46 00:02:36,366 --> 00:02:38,326 So then, now, I'll do my set here. 47 00:02:38,410 --> 00:02:40,954 A woman gets on the stage and they're like… "Whoa." 48 00:02:41,037 --> 00:02:43,248 And they just watch you for, like, a minute. 49 00:02:43,331 --> 00:02:45,709 You don't think they're listening to you. They're sort of watching you. 50 00:02:45,792 --> 00:02:47,627 Yeah. It's almost like your first joke is wasted 51 00:02:47,711 --> 00:02:50,046 -because they're just like, "A female." -Everything. But-- 52 00:02:50,130 --> 00:02:52,465 And this is why a lot of women, even with their outfits-- 53 00:02:52,549 --> 00:02:54,342 I used to wear blazers all the time 'cause I was like, 54 00:02:54,426 --> 00:02:55,886 "I don't want anybody to see my breasts. 55 00:02:55,969 --> 00:02:58,847 I don't want other women in the audience to think I'm trying to entice their man. 56 00:02:58,930 --> 00:03:00,932 -I don't want this guy to be like--" -All that stuff, yeah. 57 00:03:01,016 --> 00:03:02,183 We think about all these things, 58 00:03:02,267 --> 00:03:04,686 and guys literally just pick whatever they got in their closet, 59 00:03:04,769 --> 00:03:07,272 -"If we have time." Yeah. -Yeah. Mustard-stained T-shirts. Yeah. 60 00:03:07,355 --> 00:03:09,024 And when I started doing comedy, 61 00:03:09,107 --> 00:03:11,776 you had the rule of, like, one woman on every show. 62 00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:13,570 I'm surprised we even know each other. 63 00:03:13,653 --> 00:03:14,821 There's so many female comics. 64 00:03:14,905 --> 00:03:16,656 I would see their headshots at clubs and go, 65 00:03:16,740 --> 00:03:18,116 "Why can't I know you?" 66 00:03:18,783 --> 00:03:19,868 We're not allowed. 67 00:03:19,951 --> 00:03:22,704 How many times have each of you done this comedy club? 68 00:03:22,787 --> 00:03:24,998 -I can't even count. -At least 200. 69 00:03:25,081 --> 00:03:26,541 -Holy moly. -Wow. 70 00:03:26,625 --> 00:03:27,459 Yeah. 71 00:03:27,542 --> 00:03:29,628 I love that my mother still says "Holy moly." 72 00:03:32,589 --> 00:03:35,425 Why do you think there's so few knock-knock jokes about America? 73 00:03:35,508 --> 00:03:36,509 I have no idea. 74 00:03:36,593 --> 00:03:38,053 Because freedom rings. 75 00:03:42,015 --> 00:03:44,809 That is kind of clever once I had a think about it. 76 00:03:46,895 --> 00:03:48,396 Would you ever do stand-up? 77 00:03:49,356 --> 00:03:52,442 You know, I had a different experience with comedy in some ways 78 00:03:52,525 --> 00:03:54,736 -than I think than a lot of people… -Oh, no. 79 00:03:54,819 --> 00:03:57,989 …'cause I was made fun of so much as a child 80 00:03:58,073 --> 00:03:59,574 by people who were professional comics. 81 00:03:59,658 --> 00:04:00,659 -Yeah. -Oh, yeah. 82 00:04:00,742 --> 00:04:03,954 And also horrible political talkers, like Rush Limbaugh and that. 83 00:04:04,037 --> 00:04:06,873 But that was different, right? 'Cause Rush Limbaugh already hated us, 84 00:04:06,957 --> 00:04:09,459 and, like, hated everything that you and Dad stood for. 85 00:04:09,542 --> 00:04:12,879 So that was actually quite easy to be like, "That's not about me." Right? 86 00:04:12,963 --> 00:04:14,339 But when SNL made fun of me, 87 00:04:14,422 --> 00:04:18,093 I was like, "Wow. Like, a group of adults sat in a room…" 88 00:04:18,175 --> 00:04:19,177 Right. 89 00:04:19,261 --> 00:04:21,805 "…all decided that this was a good idea." 90 00:04:21,888 --> 00:04:25,225 Nobody thought, like, maybe we shouldn't make fun of children. 91 00:04:25,308 --> 00:04:28,395 I was, like, "I just don't think I think that's funny or okay, 92 00:04:28,478 --> 00:04:30,897 so I just don't think comedy's funny or okay." 93 00:04:30,981 --> 00:04:34,025 -That's totally understandable. -Yeah. I make fun of kids all the time. 94 00:04:34,109 --> 00:04:35,527 I've had parents take offense. 95 00:04:35,610 --> 00:04:38,321 I talk about peanut allergy. I had a woman get very upset with me. 96 00:04:38,405 --> 00:04:40,991 And I had to say to her, "Listen, this is my truth." 97 00:04:41,074 --> 00:04:42,617 You know, about the peanut allergies. 98 00:04:42,701 --> 00:04:45,954 It's nuts, but it's my truth. 99 00:04:47,247 --> 00:04:48,790 You just made the crew laugh. 100 00:04:50,458 --> 00:04:51,835 What comics do you love? 101 00:04:52,335 --> 00:04:55,797 -I don't really know the answer to that. -I'm gonna take you to Comedy Club. 102 00:04:55,881 --> 00:04:58,383 Totally. This is now an intervention I didn't know I needed. 103 00:05:05,932 --> 00:05:10,896 Chelsea, do you know what happens if you drink too much tea in Paris? 104 00:05:12,814 --> 00:05:14,900 -No. -European. 105 00:05:17,569 --> 00:05:21,156 That is beneath you. No pun intended. 106 00:05:28,705 --> 00:05:30,498 Some comedians are using comedy 107 00:05:30,582 --> 00:05:33,376 to shine a light on previously taboo topics, 108 00:05:33,460 --> 00:05:36,463 such as the normal operation of women's bodies. 109 00:05:36,546 --> 00:05:39,174 Kenya, I wanna try some tea that I have never tried before. 110 00:05:39,257 --> 00:05:41,218 -Do you like caffeine? -I love caffeine. 111 00:05:42,385 --> 00:05:44,763 My personal favorite is gonna be the Indian chai. 112 00:05:44,846 --> 00:05:45,680 You got it. 113 00:05:45,764 --> 00:05:49,100 -I would love to get the Alice's tea. -Amazing. 114 00:05:49,184 --> 00:05:50,477 Could I get some coffee? 115 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,314 -Wow. How dare you? -I know. I'm sorry. 116 00:05:54,397 --> 00:05:56,274 -I'm with you. I'm with you. -Thank you, Kenya. 117 00:05:56,358 --> 00:05:59,194 I have to tell you how great it is to see you, 118 00:05:59,277 --> 00:06:01,988 -and how healthy and happy you are… -Yes! 119 00:06:02,072 --> 00:06:07,077 …after getting through this incredible experience with endometriosis. 120 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:09,788 And, I mean, look, we wanna talk about comedy, 121 00:06:09,871 --> 00:06:12,540 and we wanna talk about what it is to be a comic, 122 00:06:12,624 --> 00:06:14,000 and all that you've gone through-- 123 00:06:14,084 --> 00:06:15,502 Let's not pretend you're not a woman too. 124 00:06:15,585 --> 00:06:18,713 I also, on stage, I bring my ovaries with me whenever I perform, 125 00:06:18,797 --> 00:06:20,465 so it's good that we're talking about this. 126 00:06:20,549 --> 00:06:22,676 I don't drop them at the door, right? No. 127 00:06:24,427 --> 00:06:28,056 I've always had, from my first period, debilitating cramps. 128 00:06:28,557 --> 00:06:30,517 Like, I'd be vomiting from the pain. 129 00:06:31,101 --> 00:06:33,603 And I was kind of just to-- 130 00:06:33,687 --> 00:06:37,524 Said to me, like, "Women get cramps. Suck it up." Yeah. 131 00:06:37,607 --> 00:06:40,360 And then later in life, they're like, "Go on birth control. That should help." 132 00:06:40,443 --> 00:06:42,487 Like, these little Band-Aids. 133 00:06:42,571 --> 00:06:45,824 And it's tough to diagnose endometriosis unless you have surgery. 134 00:06:45,907 --> 00:06:47,867 You know, my joke about it is like, when I was like, 135 00:06:47,951 --> 00:06:49,828 "I'm-- I got a diagnosis, so what do we do?" 136 00:06:49,911 --> 00:06:52,080 They go, "We're so sorry, we haven't been able to study it, 137 00:06:52,163 --> 00:06:54,165 because it only happens to women." 138 00:06:54,249 --> 00:06:57,586 -Yes. -But there is chewable Viagra. 139 00:06:57,669 --> 00:06:59,462 So, yeah. Yeah. 140 00:07:00,046 --> 00:07:03,675 If it's a dick-mergency, they've got it covered. 141 00:07:03,758 --> 00:07:05,093 Sometimes it's hard to take a pill. 142 00:07:05,176 --> 00:07:07,721 They don't want men to ha-- You know, what if they choke on it? 143 00:07:07,804 --> 00:07:12,392 So, it tastes good, it's chewable. Isn't it sick? 144 00:07:21,318 --> 00:07:22,485 -Hey, Wanda. -Hi. 145 00:07:22,569 --> 00:07:24,446 -Oh, my gosh. -Look how great we look. 146 00:07:24,529 --> 00:07:26,823 -Do I call you Madam Secretary? -How about Hillary? 147 00:07:26,907 --> 00:07:28,408 -I'd love that. -Do you see? Like, look at her shirt. 148 00:07:28,491 --> 00:07:31,202 In case you forget our names, they're written right there. 149 00:07:31,286 --> 00:07:33,580 -These are hilarious. -Purple Laverne and Shirley-ish. 150 00:07:33,663 --> 00:07:35,206 -I like it. -I love that about it. 151 00:07:35,290 --> 00:07:37,542 -You ready to-- Let's do some bowling. -Yeah. 152 00:07:37,626 --> 00:07:39,252 -You have to pick out a ball. -Pick out a ball. All right. 153 00:07:39,336 --> 00:07:41,838 -Did you bring your own ball? -I have my own ball. Yes. 154 00:07:41,922 --> 00:07:45,842 -That is, like, way serious. -Yes. Chelsea, I have disposable income. 155 00:07:46,593 --> 00:07:48,428 -My shoes. -You what? 156 00:07:48,511 --> 00:07:51,056 I think we are here under false pretenses. 157 00:07:52,849 --> 00:07:53,975 Oh, my gosh, Wanda. 158 00:07:54,059 --> 00:07:57,896 I'll tell you something you did that I thought was really wonderful, 159 00:07:57,979 --> 00:08:00,899 and that's when you talked about what it's like to be postmenopausal. 160 00:08:00,982 --> 00:08:03,693 -Oh, yes. -Because nobody talks about it. 161 00:08:03,777 --> 00:08:06,655 You're living in the body you had for, you know, 40, 50 years, 162 00:08:06,738 --> 00:08:07,948 and all of a sudden, 163 00:08:08,031 --> 00:08:09,950 -it's like, out of your control. -Right. 164 00:08:10,033 --> 00:08:12,744 -You named your belly, I think? -This is Esther. Esther Roll. 165 00:08:12,827 --> 00:08:15,121 Esther Roll. She's near and dear to you. I know that. 166 00:08:15,205 --> 00:08:16,331 She is, yep. 167 00:08:16,414 --> 00:08:18,917 I knew what I was experiencing and it's like, 168 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,211 there should be a whole conversation about this. 169 00:08:21,294 --> 00:08:24,005 I think when it really hit me, was when I went to my doctor, 170 00:08:24,089 --> 00:08:27,425 and I was like, "This-- These hot flashes are unbearable. 171 00:08:27,509 --> 00:08:31,096 I'm trying to work and all of a sudden, I have to shut down filming for a minute 172 00:08:31,179 --> 00:08:33,847 'cause I'm, like, sweating like crazy. You have to give me something." 173 00:08:33,932 --> 00:08:35,517 And then she said, "Okay, well, right now 174 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,936 they're giving, like, a Xanax or something." 175 00:08:38,019 --> 00:08:42,606 But it says a lot about women's health care and how they value us 176 00:08:42,691 --> 00:08:44,651 if the only thing that they can come up with 177 00:08:44,734 --> 00:08:46,861 is like, "Give these bitches a crazy pill." 178 00:08:46,945 --> 00:08:49,614 -We're back to the hysterical women trope. -It's-- Exactly. 179 00:08:49,698 --> 00:08:53,618 As a comedian, you can sort of pierce the darkness 180 00:08:53,702 --> 00:08:55,620 and say, "You know what? We're gonna talk about it." 181 00:08:55,704 --> 00:08:57,372 That helps women not to feel alone. 182 00:08:57,455 --> 00:08:58,957 I'd love for you to do more on that. 183 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,626 I will, 'cause I'm still going through it. 184 00:09:02,252 --> 00:09:03,670 Okay. Let's bowl a little. 185 00:09:03,753 --> 00:09:05,630 -Get, like, a bowling name. -A bowling name? 186 00:09:05,714 --> 00:09:09,634 -Yeah. I'm gonna go with "Sprinkles." -"Storm." 187 00:09:09,718 --> 00:09:10,927 I like the weather. 188 00:09:11,011 --> 00:09:12,470 I'll be "Whisper." 189 00:09:14,973 --> 00:09:20,103 -Quiet, but potentially deadly. -"The Whisper." Okay. "The Whisper." Okay. 190 00:09:21,396 --> 00:09:24,107 We have for you a little Mad Hatter stand. 191 00:09:24,190 --> 00:09:25,525 -Amazing. Thank you. -Wow. 192 00:09:25,609 --> 00:09:27,444 You keep bringing delicious-looking things. 193 00:09:27,527 --> 00:09:30,322 -Wow. -And then we got some scones for you guys. 194 00:09:30,405 --> 00:09:33,867 Look at the size of that. Those scones are illegal. 195 00:09:33,950 --> 00:09:36,369 Hold that. That is, like, really a special-- 196 00:09:36,453 --> 00:09:38,955 And now that my hands have been all over it, probably it's mine? 197 00:09:39,748 --> 00:09:42,375 When I told somebody that I was going to see you today, 198 00:09:42,459 --> 00:09:43,793 the response was, 199 00:09:43,877 --> 00:09:49,341 "I admire her so much for being so honest about how difficult pregnancy can be." 200 00:09:49,424 --> 00:09:51,551 In movies, you just see a woman pee on a stick 201 00:09:51,635 --> 00:09:53,762 and then she's, like, in overalls painting a barn, 202 00:09:53,845 --> 00:09:57,140 like, you know, like, laughing, like, so happy, and that's it. 203 00:09:57,224 --> 00:09:59,768 And then in my experience, like, a living hell. 204 00:10:03,438 --> 00:10:04,522 Help. 205 00:10:05,315 --> 00:10:06,858 Fucking love being pregnant. 206 00:10:06,942 --> 00:10:08,151 It's the shit. 207 00:10:13,448 --> 00:10:15,200 No one listens to women. 208 00:10:15,283 --> 00:10:17,494 Serena Williams almost died during her childbirth. 209 00:10:17,577 --> 00:10:20,205 You're not gonna listen to Serena telling you she knows something's wrong? 210 00:10:20,288 --> 00:10:22,040 -It never stops, does it? -Right? All the time. 211 00:10:22,123 --> 00:10:24,751 I know. I can't believe these women who are now out there 212 00:10:24,834 --> 00:10:26,836 protesting for their reproductive rights. 213 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,005 They must be like, "You gotta be fucking kidding me." 214 00:10:29,089 --> 00:10:30,799 And you see some of the older women 215 00:10:30,882 --> 00:10:32,759 who have been at the marches with these signs. 216 00:10:32,842 --> 00:10:34,803 "I was here, like, in the 1970s." 217 00:10:34,886 --> 00:10:37,097 Yeah, I know. I thought we handled that. I thought that was over. 218 00:10:37,180 --> 00:10:39,432 I passed this big dude walking around in circles 219 00:10:39,516 --> 00:10:42,185 with a picket sign, talking about, "Stop abortion." 220 00:10:42,269 --> 00:10:44,980 I said, "Motherfucker, when was the last time you was pregnant?" 221 00:10:45,063 --> 00:10:46,398 I grew up loving Whoopi… 222 00:10:46,481 --> 00:10:48,441 There are other people there that got this funny… 223 00:10:48,525 --> 00:10:49,526 …and Gilda… 224 00:10:50,694 --> 00:10:53,113 …or it's like a hole or it curls around, 225 00:10:53,196 --> 00:10:55,865 or it's like a little knob on it like a door. 226 00:10:55,949 --> 00:10:57,701 Voilà. 227 00:10:57,784 --> 00:10:58,702 …and Joan. 228 00:10:58,785 --> 00:11:00,537 Any of you that are flat-chested out here. 229 00:11:00,620 --> 00:11:03,957 This is called the push-up shove-over bra. It-- 230 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:06,126 No, it pushes from here. Everything. 231 00:11:06,209 --> 00:11:07,544 And it just push, push, push. 232 00:11:07,627 --> 00:11:11,298 All the skin has just been moved up. My belly button is right here going-- 233 00:11:11,381 --> 00:11:15,176 Margaret Cho was, like, such a huge influence. 234 00:11:15,260 --> 00:11:17,095 I'm not really allowed to say the word "vagina" 235 00:11:17,178 --> 00:11:19,764 because I don't even use mine, so… 236 00:11:22,934 --> 00:11:23,977 Does anybody want it? 237 00:11:25,812 --> 00:11:28,148 You could put, like, books in it, or something. I don't know. 238 00:11:29,524 --> 00:11:31,234 Use it like a planter. 239 00:11:31,318 --> 00:11:32,611 Moms Mabley. 240 00:11:33,570 --> 00:11:34,738 …Jackie "Moms" Mabley. 241 00:11:34,821 --> 00:11:40,118 She would dress in an old house coat, and no teeth and a dust rag on her head. 242 00:11:40,201 --> 00:11:46,041 As a young girl seeing this Black woman just, "Here I am." Really stuck with me. 243 00:11:46,124 --> 00:11:48,460 You should remember, I did you a favor. 244 00:11:48,543 --> 00:11:50,337 I gave you my name. 245 00:11:51,004 --> 00:11:53,798 I said, "Yes, and I've got some names for you." 246 00:11:55,217 --> 00:11:58,053 From the age of five, I wanted to be on General Hospital, 247 00:11:58,136 --> 00:12:00,096 like most Muslim girls in Jersey. 248 00:12:00,180 --> 00:12:02,349 And Hollywood shuns disabled people. 249 00:12:02,432 --> 00:12:05,769 So, like, where I saw people who looked like me was stand-up comedy, 250 00:12:05,852 --> 00:12:07,312 especially Richard Pryor. 251 00:12:07,395 --> 00:12:09,689 So, I was like, "I'll take a comedy class, 252 00:12:09,773 --> 00:12:12,525 I'll become a super famous comic and then I'll be on TV." 253 00:12:12,609 --> 00:12:16,613 Now, to be fair, if this makes it to TV, it'll be the first time that worked. 254 00:12:18,573 --> 00:12:21,451 Please make so much noise for Maysoon! 255 00:12:31,002 --> 00:12:33,296 Okay. For those of you who don't know me, 256 00:12:33,380 --> 00:12:35,006 I am not drunk. 257 00:12:35,507 --> 00:12:40,428 But the doctor who delivered me was, so my brain is damaged, but it's okay. 258 00:12:40,512 --> 00:12:44,516 I got 99 problems and palsy is just one. 259 00:12:46,017 --> 00:12:48,853 In the Oppression Olympics, I'd win a gold medal. 260 00:12:48,937 --> 00:12:53,525 I'm Palestinian, I'm Muslim, I'm a woman of color, 261 00:12:53,608 --> 00:12:57,487 I am divorced, I am disabled, 262 00:12:57,571 --> 00:12:59,489 and, are you ready? 263 00:12:59,990 --> 00:13:01,032 I'm from Jersey. 264 00:13:03,785 --> 00:13:06,454 Richard Pryor was a filthy, filthy man. 265 00:13:06,538 --> 00:13:10,250 And so, like, I went on stage, and I was, like, "How offensive can I be? 266 00:13:10,333 --> 00:13:13,044 Okay. I'll be a Muslim girl that tells Virgin Mary jokes." 267 00:13:13,628 --> 00:13:15,213 I didn't realize at the time at all, 268 00:13:15,297 --> 00:13:19,384 people with disabilities are so infantilized and asexualized, 269 00:13:19,467 --> 00:13:21,887 so when I got on stage and talked about sex, 270 00:13:21,970 --> 00:13:22,971 people were like… 271 00:13:23,054 --> 00:13:25,056 "It's a Muslim talking about sex, 272 00:13:25,140 --> 00:13:27,392 and it's a disabled Muslim talking about sex." 273 00:13:27,475 --> 00:13:29,561 And it kind of, like, blew their minds. 274 00:13:29,644 --> 00:13:33,315 Single people, nobody ever warns you about the fact 275 00:13:33,398 --> 00:13:36,735 that your spouse's habits get annoying super quick. 276 00:13:36,818 --> 00:13:40,488 The habit that he had that just drove me bonkers, 277 00:13:40,572 --> 00:13:43,992 and it was, like, the end, was the constant breathing. 278 00:13:44,075 --> 00:13:47,704 It was like, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. 279 00:13:47,787 --> 00:13:50,332 I was like, "Can you just stop for five minutes? 280 00:13:50,415 --> 00:13:52,709 I did at birth, and I'm totally fine." 281 00:14:01,676 --> 00:14:03,887 You know, I love all these old storefronts. 282 00:14:03,970 --> 00:14:05,180 You know, 283 00:14:05,263 --> 00:14:08,391 this fromagerie had a terrible explosion. 284 00:14:08,475 --> 00:14:09,684 How did you know that? 285 00:14:09,768 --> 00:14:11,853 All that was left was debris. 286 00:14:14,022 --> 00:14:16,608 Was I supposed to laugh? Sorry, I didn't think that was very funny. 287 00:14:17,525 --> 00:14:21,821 But Chelsea and I didn't just come to Paris to make cheesy jokes. 288 00:14:22,405 --> 00:14:25,283 Paris is renowned as the home of clowning. 289 00:14:25,367 --> 00:14:28,745 And we came to meet with the master clown, Philippe Gaulier. 290 00:14:29,329 --> 00:14:32,123 Philippe's been training clowns for over 50 years. 291 00:14:32,207 --> 00:14:36,711 His students include Emma Thompson and Sacha Baron Cohen. 292 00:14:38,547 --> 00:14:40,173 It was a disaster. 293 00:14:41,508 --> 00:14:43,426 Nobody was laughing. 294 00:14:45,136 --> 00:14:46,388 Disaster. 295 00:14:48,390 --> 00:14:51,893 Philippe, how did you come from a family of a pharmacist 296 00:14:51,977 --> 00:14:56,439 to end up as being one of the premier comedy clowning experts? 297 00:14:56,523 --> 00:15:00,944 People, they never know why someone is idiot 298 00:15:01,361 --> 00:15:04,656 -and crazy in a family. -And that was you? 299 00:15:04,739 --> 00:15:06,575 -Yeah. -No. 300 00:15:06,658 --> 00:15:08,910 Yes. I was very, very bad boy. 301 00:15:08,994 --> 00:15:10,328 You were a bad boy. 302 00:15:10,412 --> 00:15:14,082 It's good to remember clown is a mistake. 303 00:15:14,165 --> 00:15:15,750 -Yeah. -A beautiful mistake. 304 00:15:15,834 --> 00:15:16,835 Beautiful mistake. 305 00:15:16,918 --> 00:15:20,714 Many mistakes are not beautiful, but this one is beautiful. 306 00:15:20,797 --> 00:15:23,717 To get a taste of the Clown School experience, 307 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:25,635 we took a class with Lee Delong, 308 00:15:25,719 --> 00:15:31,016 who has taken clowning all over the world, including to war zones. 309 00:15:31,516 --> 00:15:34,561 Isn't it very fitting that here we are, 310 00:15:34,644 --> 00:15:37,230 on the stage of the Moulin Rouge, 311 00:15:37,314 --> 00:15:40,567 where some of the first female clowns ever performed? 312 00:15:40,650 --> 00:15:45,655 Cha-U-Kao, La Goulue, La Môme Fromage. They were here. 313 00:15:46,156 --> 00:15:50,577 All of those women, who ended in poverty, neglected and forgotten, 314 00:15:50,660 --> 00:15:54,873 they were the forerunners of what is clown in France for women today. 315 00:15:55,457 --> 00:15:57,959 We are about to embark on a voyage. 316 00:15:58,543 --> 00:16:04,466 This is a voyage into our authenticity, our naïveté, our vulnerability. 317 00:16:04,549 --> 00:16:07,761 Where we learn that our weaknesses are strength. 318 00:16:07,844 --> 00:16:09,012 It's the world of the clown. 319 00:16:09,095 --> 00:16:13,516 And we are going to do that little journey with the aid of this. 320 00:16:14,017 --> 00:16:16,269 The tiniest mask in the world. 321 00:16:16,353 --> 00:16:17,771 Put your noses on. 322 00:16:18,605 --> 00:16:20,315 Hillary, your nose. 323 00:16:21,524 --> 00:16:23,485 What a bunch of clowns. 324 00:16:39,167 --> 00:16:40,210 She's taking notes. 325 00:16:40,293 --> 00:16:41,461 Hillary. 326 00:16:46,007 --> 00:16:47,217 That was bad. Oh, yeah. 327 00:16:50,178 --> 00:16:54,808 If you're doing stand-up, you are out there all by yourself. 328 00:16:54,891 --> 00:16:56,017 It's you. 329 00:16:56,101 --> 00:16:58,311 And the audience is not always on your side. 330 00:16:58,395 --> 00:16:59,229 No. 331 00:16:59,312 --> 00:17:02,190 And in fact, some people are rooting for you to fail. 332 00:17:02,274 --> 00:17:04,359 So, being a comic, in general, 333 00:17:04,441 --> 00:17:08,112 but certainly being a woman, who is putting herself out there, 334 00:17:08,612 --> 00:17:11,283 -I just think that's gutsy. -It does take courage. 335 00:17:11,366 --> 00:17:12,409 -That is gutsy. -It is gutsy. 336 00:17:12,492 --> 00:17:14,035 That's how I got on this show, I think. 337 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:15,829 -Almost. -Yeah. You got it. 338 00:17:16,287 --> 00:17:20,041 'Cause I did go through ten years of being, like, majorly trolled. 339 00:17:20,125 --> 00:17:21,668 You won't be able to relate to this. 340 00:17:21,751 --> 00:17:24,838 -No, not at all. -Majorly trolled on the Internet. 341 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,674 And you just-- I just got so numb to it. 342 00:17:27,757 --> 00:17:30,176 You had no right to be a funny woman. 343 00:17:30,260 --> 00:17:32,596 -No, I really used to think-- -And certainly not in public. 344 00:17:32,679 --> 00:17:34,097 You guys know this more than anyone. 345 00:17:34,180 --> 00:17:36,016 It's like, we want this other version of women. 346 00:17:36,099 --> 00:17:40,020 We want you to be pretty and quiet, and effusive, and you-- 347 00:17:40,103 --> 00:17:41,730 And only a supporting cast member. 348 00:17:41,813 --> 00:17:43,398 -Absolutely. -Yeah. Absolutely. 349 00:17:43,481 --> 00:17:46,067 Lucille Ball had some quote, like, "If you're alone out there, 350 00:17:46,151 --> 00:17:48,945 there's no way to take it except for highly personally." 351 00:17:51,948 --> 00:17:54,284 People always think of birthday clowns 352 00:17:54,367 --> 00:17:56,494 -and, like, the white face paint and-- -Yeah. 353 00:17:56,578 --> 00:18:00,332 So I think people don't really know what clown is, 354 00:18:00,415 --> 00:18:02,626 but when they're watching it, they'll enjoy it. 355 00:18:02,709 --> 00:18:05,754 Well, fine. You're doing splendidly. 356 00:18:05,837 --> 00:18:07,464 Speed it up a little! 357 00:18:08,632 --> 00:18:10,842 Like Lucille Ball, she's a clown. 358 00:18:11,468 --> 00:18:13,803 When she's shoving a bunch of chocolates in her mouth, 359 00:18:13,887 --> 00:18:15,055 like, that's a clown bit. 360 00:18:15,138 --> 00:18:17,557 -Wouldn't you say? -No, no. I am okay. 361 00:18:17,641 --> 00:18:18,892 Yeah. Yeah. 362 00:18:19,768 --> 00:18:23,563 Philippe, what's the difference for a woman in comedy 363 00:18:23,647 --> 00:18:24,981 than a man in comedy? 364 00:18:25,065 --> 00:18:26,483 Can they do the same thing? 365 00:18:26,566 --> 00:18:30,654 Comedy is okay but clown is more difficult. 366 00:18:30,737 --> 00:18:31,613 Yes. 367 00:18:31,696 --> 00:18:35,325 Because if you are young boy, 368 00:18:36,076 --> 00:18:41,331 you come home, your costume is completely dirty, your-- 369 00:18:41,414 --> 00:18:43,458 Your mother still love you. 370 00:18:43,541 --> 00:18:44,584 Yeah. 371 00:18:44,668 --> 00:18:50,006 If you are a girl, it's not sure your father still love you. 372 00:18:50,090 --> 00:18:52,008 So, for a woman, 373 00:18:52,092 --> 00:18:57,597 it's more dangerous to be idiot like for a man. 374 00:18:57,681 --> 00:18:59,766 And we can see when you teach, 375 00:19:00,684 --> 00:19:04,479 woman wants to be charming clown. 376 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,984 But I knew some women. A monster. 377 00:19:09,776 --> 00:19:12,112 Fantastic, but not so many. 378 00:19:12,696 --> 00:19:14,239 I think I'm more of a monster. 379 00:19:21,913 --> 00:19:26,751 When my mom watches my shows, she's always upset that I'm not ladylike. 380 00:19:27,252 --> 00:19:28,712 -Still? -Yeah, yeah. 381 00:19:28,795 --> 00:19:32,132 You are a naughty girl, no? 382 00:19:32,215 --> 00:19:35,093 -I'm a bad girl. Very bad. -Yeah? Yeah. 383 00:19:37,762 --> 00:19:40,307 Your latest piece is called Nate, 384 00:19:40,390 --> 00:19:43,894 which is the masculine version of your name, right? 385 00:19:43,977 --> 00:19:46,021 Yeah. I'm in drag. 386 00:19:46,104 --> 00:19:49,065 I use discomfort with the audience to create tensions. 387 00:19:49,149 --> 00:19:50,859 I'm playing with the idea of consent. 388 00:19:50,942 --> 00:19:56,114 -I reach out towards somebody's breasts. -Don't scare me. 389 00:19:56,197 --> 00:19:57,032 I-- 390 00:19:57,866 --> 00:19:59,367 -Are you scared? -I'm sure-- I'm not scared of you. 391 00:19:59,451 --> 00:20:00,994 -You can reach toward me. -I'll reach for it. 392 00:20:01,077 --> 00:20:03,163 -I reach toward somebody's breasts… -Yeah. 393 00:20:03,246 --> 00:20:04,956 -…very slowly. -I feel like I've met you. 394 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:06,041 Yeah. 395 00:20:06,124 --> 00:20:07,584 -What happens? -This is a moment. 396 00:20:07,667 --> 00:20:09,211 -And then I say… -We're having a moment. 397 00:20:10,503 --> 00:20:12,088 May I? 398 00:20:16,301 --> 00:20:18,094 -May I? -Sure. 399 00:20:18,178 --> 00:20:19,429 And then… 400 00:20:21,097 --> 00:20:22,098 You little twap. 401 00:20:22,182 --> 00:20:24,309 And then I grab her breasts. 402 00:20:24,392 --> 00:20:26,144 First person since my husband to touch me there. 403 00:20:26,228 --> 00:20:28,021 -We just had this moment. -We did. 404 00:20:28,104 --> 00:20:29,814 All you gotta do is ask. Thank you for letting me. 405 00:20:30,482 --> 00:20:31,566 Solid. 406 00:20:34,569 --> 00:20:36,238 All you gotta do is ask. 407 00:20:37,530 --> 00:20:39,908 When you create tension with stillness, 408 00:20:39,991 --> 00:20:42,744 or people are scared they don't know what you're gonna do, 409 00:20:42,827 --> 00:20:44,496 it's easy to break it. 410 00:20:44,579 --> 00:20:45,997 But you know the person? 411 00:20:46,081 --> 00:20:47,624 -No. -No, I know nobody. 412 00:20:47,707 --> 00:20:49,876 -We met yesterday. -But people is laughing, 413 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:50,961 or are scared? 414 00:20:51,044 --> 00:20:53,255 People laugh. And then this gets a laugh too. 415 00:20:53,338 --> 00:20:58,593 So, I'm like this for the boobs, and then I go like this for… 416 00:21:00,679 --> 00:21:02,305 -Yeah, I would be scared. -You know. 417 00:21:07,394 --> 00:21:09,938 My son, when he was ten, I decided I was going to read him 418 00:21:10,021 --> 00:21:12,023 The Diary of Anne Frank. 419 00:21:12,107 --> 00:21:14,150 Because I was like, I want a female protagonist. 420 00:21:14,234 --> 00:21:15,986 I want him to learn some history. 421 00:21:16,069 --> 00:21:19,698 And as it turns out, ten years old is way too young for that book. 422 00:21:21,032 --> 00:21:23,994 A lot happens in that book. First of all, she gets her period. 423 00:21:24,953 --> 00:21:27,122 And my son goes, "What's a period?" 424 00:21:27,205 --> 00:21:30,000 And I go, "Well, you know, when girls are Anne's age, 425 00:21:30,083 --> 00:21:31,251 they start to menstruate. 426 00:21:31,334 --> 00:21:34,713 And that means once a month, blood flows uncontrollably 427 00:21:35,422 --> 00:21:39,175 out of their vaginas for four to 15 days… 428 00:21:41,553 --> 00:21:42,888 depending on the girl." 429 00:21:44,472 --> 00:21:49,019 To watch someone hear that information for the very first time-- 430 00:21:50,395 --> 00:21:51,771 He went into a panic, 431 00:21:51,855 --> 00:21:54,190 one hand right to the crotch, 432 00:21:54,274 --> 00:21:57,068 'cause he thought it would start bleeding uncontrollably. 433 00:21:57,152 --> 00:21:59,738 And the other hand went up to block more information. 434 00:21:59,821 --> 00:22:04,618 So, it was like a two-handed dance for, like, a minute, right? 435 00:22:04,701 --> 00:22:07,037 And then he calms down and I pick up the book again, 436 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:10,832 and he goes, "Wow, I hope no more bad things happen to Anne Frank." 437 00:22:14,127 --> 00:22:18,131 You're breaking barriers with race. You're breaking barriers with disability. 438 00:22:18,215 --> 00:22:20,091 And you're breaking barriers with death. 439 00:22:20,675 --> 00:22:22,594 I mean, how funny is that? 440 00:22:22,677 --> 00:22:25,889 Well, people kept dying on me, so I didn't-- 441 00:22:25,972 --> 00:22:28,850 Believe me. I don't want that to be my specialty. But-- 442 00:22:30,227 --> 00:22:33,897 My mom died from COVID, and I tell the audience, "Look…" 443 00:22:33,980 --> 00:22:37,901 'Cause they all kind of gasp a little bit. And I'm like, "My mom, ha-ha." 444 00:22:37,984 --> 00:22:38,818 And-- 445 00:22:39,527 --> 00:22:41,446 Yeah. You like the Anne Frank stuff. 446 00:22:41,529 --> 00:22:43,156 I think you can handle it. 447 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,159 So I say, "Look, my mom died of COVID. I'm a stand-up comic. 448 00:22:46,243 --> 00:22:48,245 I'm telling jokes about it. Buckle up, pussies." 449 00:22:48,328 --> 00:22:49,412 And they go, "Okay." 450 00:22:49,496 --> 00:22:51,414 And it may be comedy has moved a little bit. 451 00:22:51,498 --> 00:22:53,792 I think people are more comfortable with edgy topics, 452 00:22:53,875 --> 00:22:56,878 maybe a little bit more than they were, like, five or seven years ago. 453 00:22:56,962 --> 00:22:59,923 My mom was a Trump supporter who died of COVID, 454 00:23:00,006 --> 00:23:02,217 so the coroner ruled her death a suicide. 455 00:23:19,734 --> 00:23:21,736 Excuse me, did I laugh? 456 00:23:24,155 --> 00:23:26,241 There was a moment where you realized, 457 00:23:26,324 --> 00:23:28,952 "What I'm doing is a failure. 458 00:23:29,035 --> 00:23:32,872 Nobody's la--" And that is where you need to go. 459 00:23:32,956 --> 00:23:34,416 The flop. 460 00:23:34,499 --> 00:23:37,502 In clowning, unlike any other art form 461 00:23:37,586 --> 00:23:40,881 that I'm aware of, the flop is necessary. 462 00:23:40,964 --> 00:23:42,591 The flop is really important. 463 00:23:42,674 --> 00:23:47,470 You do something, you think it's funny, nobody laugh. 464 00:23:48,179 --> 00:23:50,181 Nobody. It's a silence. 465 00:23:50,265 --> 00:23:55,478 Either you commit a suicide, or you save the situation 466 00:23:55,562 --> 00:23:58,899 and you do another thing you think is funny. 467 00:23:58,982 --> 00:24:01,610 If people laugh, you save the flop. 468 00:24:01,693 --> 00:24:03,904 Everybody love you again. 469 00:24:03,987 --> 00:24:06,990 -Yeah. -They applaud, and you carry on the show. 470 00:24:07,073 --> 00:24:08,491 Poof, another flop. 471 00:24:09,618 --> 00:24:13,038 Clown is like finding the gold in the failures. 472 00:24:13,121 --> 00:24:16,666 That's a part of why clown is so difficult for some people to break into, 473 00:24:16,750 --> 00:24:22,172 because they have to allow themselves to fail in order to get to the part 474 00:24:22,255 --> 00:24:24,257 where you have to save-- to save it. 475 00:24:24,341 --> 00:24:27,010 'Cause if you don't flop, there's nothing to save. 476 00:24:27,093 --> 00:24:29,095 -Such a metaphor for life. -It really is. 477 00:24:30,180 --> 00:24:32,057 -More? -You tell me. 478 00:24:36,478 --> 00:24:38,813 Is this what you-- This what you want? 479 00:24:41,107 --> 00:24:42,150 Okay. 480 00:24:48,990 --> 00:24:54,079 A lot of people, and especially women, you get knocked down. 481 00:24:55,038 --> 00:24:57,749 -You fail, but in public, right? -Yeah. 482 00:24:58,583 --> 00:25:01,586 You wanna just never do that again. 483 00:25:01,670 --> 00:25:05,674 And we are afflicted with what I call the perfectionist gene. 484 00:25:05,757 --> 00:25:07,342 -Too many women… -I have that, yeah. 485 00:25:07,425 --> 00:25:09,010 -…young women, particularly, -So do I. 486 00:25:09,094 --> 00:25:12,264 they have to be perfect. They have to look perfect. 487 00:25:12,347 --> 00:25:14,975 They have to act perfect. They have to speak perfect. 488 00:25:15,058 --> 00:25:19,604 But when you teach clown, you learn, "Don't be perfect." 489 00:25:19,688 --> 00:25:21,481 -That's right. -Never. 490 00:25:21,565 --> 00:25:24,317 -That was terrible. -Okay. That's not good. 491 00:25:24,401 --> 00:25:25,819 That was not good. 492 00:25:25,902 --> 00:25:27,654 You're bowling under Sprinkles. 493 00:25:27,737 --> 00:25:31,157 Sprinkles should not have to carry that terrible performance. 494 00:25:31,241 --> 00:25:33,118 Trust me, I will change that. 495 00:25:33,201 --> 00:25:35,579 -I got-- I gotta get closer-- -You have this. 496 00:25:35,662 --> 00:25:37,872 Does she? It's unclear to me. 497 00:25:38,456 --> 00:25:40,625 Don't fall in the gutter, please! 498 00:25:40,709 --> 00:25:43,211 -Hell, I got-- -It got further down. 499 00:25:43,295 --> 00:25:44,254 I'ma help you out. 500 00:25:44,337 --> 00:25:46,298 -Show us what you've got. -I need you to focus. 501 00:25:46,381 --> 00:25:48,842 I'm not promising anything. I haven't bowled in a while. 502 00:25:48,925 --> 00:25:50,802 Oh, come on. Look at her. 503 00:25:51,636 --> 00:25:52,637 Oh, come on. 504 00:25:52,721 --> 00:25:54,514 Even your, like, foot is in good posture. 505 00:25:54,598 --> 00:25:56,766 Always look like you know what you're doing. 506 00:25:56,850 --> 00:25:58,768 That is true. I got to work on that. 507 00:25:59,644 --> 00:26:01,521 -Wanda, when you write comedy… -Uh-huh. 508 00:26:01,605 --> 00:26:05,275 …are you at all thinking about whether you can use comedy 509 00:26:05,358 --> 00:26:07,819 to make a change about something you really care about? 510 00:26:07,903 --> 00:26:10,363 It's more about can I start a dialogue, you know? 511 00:26:10,447 --> 00:26:12,324 -Which could lead to change? -Exactly. 512 00:26:12,407 --> 00:26:14,534 I don't believe that I'm gonna say something 513 00:26:14,618 --> 00:26:18,330 and it's gonna lightbulb go off, and people go, "Oh, she's right." 514 00:26:18,413 --> 00:26:19,873 It's just more about, 515 00:26:19,956 --> 00:26:21,708 -"Let me think about that." -Yeah. 516 00:26:21,791 --> 00:26:24,461 I love that I can advocate for something through a joke, 517 00:26:24,544 --> 00:26:26,588 but people don't want to feel like they're being taught. 518 00:26:26,671 --> 00:26:28,715 So it's, you know, shaved carrots in the brownies. 519 00:26:28,798 --> 00:26:30,550 I mean, some stuff is just silly. 520 00:26:30,634 --> 00:26:32,844 Like I'm talking on stage about how it's stupid to have a pet bird. 521 00:26:32,928 --> 00:26:35,513 That's not helping anybody. That's not saving a life. 522 00:26:35,597 --> 00:26:37,515 But then, everything I say is 523 00:26:37,599 --> 00:26:42,145 trying to mostly make people, but women, laugh and feel better. 524 00:26:42,229 --> 00:26:43,897 I'm gonna drink to that. Here you go, my dear. 525 00:26:43,980 --> 00:26:45,357 Cheers. 526 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:50,904 I like the idea of going in where I think there's potential backlash waiting for me. 527 00:26:50,987 --> 00:26:55,492 I think for American women, the best decade was the '70s, you know? 528 00:26:55,575 --> 00:27:00,705 Like in 1974, we got the right to have a credit card in our own name. 529 00:27:00,789 --> 00:27:04,459 And a lot of people don't know that-- this is-- the reason we got that in '74, 530 00:27:04,542 --> 00:27:07,879 is in '73 we got the right to have an abortion. 531 00:27:07,963 --> 00:27:10,715 And women in '73 started having abortions, and they were like, 532 00:27:10,799 --> 00:27:12,926 "You know what? I'd like to start putting these on a card." 533 00:27:15,929 --> 00:27:18,640 It's the challenge of a comic to try to convert people, you know? 534 00:27:18,723 --> 00:27:21,017 And when you go up and you get this, it's like, 535 00:27:21,101 --> 00:27:23,478 I want the arms down by the end of my set 536 00:27:23,562 --> 00:27:28,275 and get people to laugh at stuff that I think they wouldn't normally. 537 00:27:28,358 --> 00:27:31,570 We are already fighting enough battles just being women. 538 00:27:32,779 --> 00:27:34,197 I don't want to add anything else. 539 00:27:34,281 --> 00:27:37,158 If you don't get it, you don't get it. If I can't change you, I can't change you. 540 00:27:37,242 --> 00:27:38,702 'Cause, guess what? For the most part, 541 00:27:38,785 --> 00:27:42,789 a lot of people who are ignorant on race or disability, they've been taught that. 542 00:27:42,872 --> 00:27:44,416 They gotta unlearn that shit themselves. 543 00:27:44,499 --> 00:27:45,500 Hello? 544 00:27:46,084 --> 00:27:47,752 Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty. 545 00:27:50,255 --> 00:27:53,592 Shit, he can grab me in the pussy, 'cause my pussy grab back. Okay? 546 00:27:54,759 --> 00:27:57,095 He'd have put his hands down here, I be, "Cuckoo." 547 00:27:58,221 --> 00:28:00,390 I'd have crab-walked that nigga all the way to the White House. 548 00:28:00,473 --> 00:28:03,143 "You together with me now, nigga. We got four years." 549 00:28:05,228 --> 00:28:08,982 I'm doing a lot of, like, Trump material, and they're in places where I'm like, 550 00:28:09,065 --> 00:28:11,568 -"Okay, maybe I shouldn't be doing it." -Yeah. 551 00:28:11,651 --> 00:28:13,528 But it's also just fun. 552 00:28:13,612 --> 00:28:14,821 When I tell the crowd, I'm like, 553 00:28:14,905 --> 00:28:18,700 "Well, we allow white men to be in spaces that they don't deserve, 554 00:28:18,783 --> 00:28:20,452 so this is how he became president, 555 00:28:20,535 --> 00:28:21,620 but everybody's shocked." 556 00:28:21,703 --> 00:28:23,747 Like, this is the first time you're identifying 557 00:28:23,830 --> 00:28:25,749 that a white man can do whatever he wants in this country? 558 00:28:25,832 --> 00:28:27,292 "Hello. Welcome to our world." 559 00:28:27,375 --> 00:28:28,877 Right. Where have you been? 560 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:31,421 It's also for the Black people that are in the audience 561 00:28:31,504 --> 00:28:33,256 that are tired of all the shit. 562 00:28:33,340 --> 00:28:35,592 And it's like somebody's finally saying something to them 563 00:28:35,675 --> 00:28:37,344 without worrying about a barrier. 564 00:28:37,427 --> 00:28:39,846 When I tell white people about themselves, they get uncomfortable. 565 00:28:39,930 --> 00:28:41,723 It's gonna be okay. 566 00:28:41,806 --> 00:28:43,850 This is not the first time 567 00:28:43,934 --> 00:28:48,980 we've elected a racist, sexist, homophobic president. 568 00:28:49,064 --> 00:28:54,778 This-- He ain't the first one. He's just the first confirmed one. 569 00:28:54,861 --> 00:28:56,780 We were at the Garden right after the election. 570 00:28:56,863 --> 00:29:00,408 You followed other comedians who were making jokes about Trump, 571 00:29:00,492 --> 00:29:02,702 and the audience responded to the others. 572 00:29:02,786 --> 00:29:03,828 -Well… -Right? 573 00:29:03,912 --> 00:29:05,413 -…the straight white males… -Yeah. 574 00:29:05,497 --> 00:29:07,123 …who were making the jokes. Uh-huh. 575 00:29:07,207 --> 00:29:09,167 -And you got up and, basically… -Yeah. 576 00:29:09,251 --> 00:29:11,086 -…also made some jokes. -It was nuts. 577 00:29:11,169 --> 00:29:13,922 How can you say he's not sexist? 578 00:29:14,005 --> 00:29:16,591 How can you say he's not racist? 579 00:29:16,675 --> 00:29:19,261 How can you say he's not homophobic? 580 00:29:20,470 --> 00:29:22,597 The crowd just divided. 581 00:29:22,681 --> 00:29:23,932 Like, half were booing me. 582 00:29:24,015 --> 00:29:27,143 The other half was telling the other half to, you know, to shut up. 583 00:29:27,227 --> 00:29:29,604 And there was, like, physical fights broke out… 584 00:29:29,688 --> 00:29:31,731 -You're kidding. Oh, my gosh. -…in the audience. Yeah. 585 00:29:31,815 --> 00:29:34,025 I mean, some were shouting the N-word at me. 586 00:29:34,109 --> 00:29:35,944 -I mean, it was ugly. -Oh, my gosh! 587 00:29:36,027 --> 00:29:39,281 I was like, "Okay, I got to bring this back together somehow." 588 00:29:39,364 --> 00:29:40,865 I knew I wasn't gonna walk off the stage. 589 00:29:40,949 --> 00:29:43,451 -No way in the world. Like, screw it. -No, never walk off the stage. 590 00:29:43,535 --> 00:29:45,328 And said some few choice words. 591 00:29:45,412 --> 00:29:47,289 And I even started calling out sections. 592 00:29:47,372 --> 00:29:49,040 "F you, section 220!" 593 00:29:49,124 --> 00:29:53,962 F you, you, you, you, you. All of y'all. 594 00:29:54,045 --> 00:29:56,006 Then I was like, okay, let me bring it back together. 595 00:29:56,089 --> 00:29:59,134 And so I was like, "Hey, look, we're here for an amazing cause." 596 00:29:59,217 --> 00:30:01,344 -"Hopefully we all agree on that still." -Yeah, right. 597 00:30:01,428 --> 00:30:04,431 And then I shared with them of my breast cancer survivor story, 598 00:30:04,514 --> 00:30:06,391 and then I-- And I had jokes about that. 599 00:30:06,474 --> 00:30:09,394 And we kinda got back together and then said good night. 600 00:30:09,477 --> 00:30:12,022 My wife runs out on stage, which she never does, 601 00:30:12,105 --> 00:30:15,066 and gives me a big kiss. And she throws up the peace sign. 602 00:30:15,150 --> 00:30:16,943 Of course, I'm a little less classy. 603 00:30:17,027 --> 00:30:18,820 I didn't seen the peace. I only saw one finger. 604 00:30:18,904 --> 00:30:20,447 I'm like, "Yeah, baby. Let's--" 605 00:30:20,530 --> 00:30:23,074 And I was like, "Okay. All right. Yeah." 606 00:30:23,158 --> 00:30:25,869 But, of course, the front page was me, you know… 607 00:30:25,952 --> 00:30:28,204 -Keep it classy. Keep it classy. -I mean, you know. 608 00:30:28,288 --> 00:30:29,289 Keep it classy. 609 00:30:29,372 --> 00:30:31,249 But sometimes, you gotta fight fire with fire. 610 00:30:31,333 --> 00:30:32,334 Yeah. 611 00:30:32,417 --> 00:30:35,712 You know who I think has made great use of humor? 612 00:30:35,795 --> 00:30:39,799 Her work at the highest levels, who you know very well, 613 00:30:39,883 --> 00:30:43,178 is former Secretary Madeleine Albright, our dear friend. 614 00:30:43,261 --> 00:30:47,224 I must have done fairly well as the first woman Secretary of State 615 00:30:47,307 --> 00:30:51,895 because these days they hardly even consider men for that job. 616 00:30:53,355 --> 00:30:55,690 She mastered the art 617 00:30:56,358 --> 00:31:01,863 of literally speaking and making points, often humorous ones, 618 00:31:01,947 --> 00:31:03,698 with the pins that she wore. 619 00:31:07,369 --> 00:31:10,455 This started after the first Gulf War, 620 00:31:10,538 --> 00:31:14,751 when one of Saddam Hussein's henchmen called her a serpent. 621 00:31:15,460 --> 00:31:20,173 And so the next time she went to see Saddam Hussein, 622 00:31:20,257 --> 00:31:23,093 she wore a big serpent pin, 623 00:31:23,176 --> 00:31:27,639 which was an elegant but smart way of making the point. 624 00:31:27,722 --> 00:31:29,683 "Look, I'm listening and I'm watching." 625 00:31:29,766 --> 00:31:34,646 Going to negotiate with the Russians over an anti-ballistic missile treaty, 626 00:31:34,729 --> 00:31:38,108 she found a pin in her collection that looked like a missile. 627 00:31:38,191 --> 00:31:40,485 Which she just happened to have lying around. 628 00:31:40,569 --> 00:31:42,737 -She had so many pins. -As one does. 629 00:31:42,821 --> 00:31:44,030 She used to wear pins just-- 630 00:31:44,114 --> 00:31:46,157 What do I have that looks like a nuclear warhead? 631 00:31:46,908 --> 00:31:48,368 One of the Russians said, 632 00:31:48,451 --> 00:31:51,496 "So, that one of the missiles you have aimed at us?" 633 00:31:51,580 --> 00:31:53,873 -Rather pointy. -Exactly. 634 00:31:53,957 --> 00:31:55,667 She goes, "Yeah, well, you just better watch it." 635 00:31:55,750 --> 00:32:01,506 I like to think, kind of, that gave other people comfort 636 00:32:01,590 --> 00:32:04,634 in figuring how to take something that maybe was meant as an insult… 637 00:32:04,718 --> 00:32:06,386 -Right. -…and turn it around… 638 00:32:06,469 --> 00:32:08,430 -Right. Right. -…to maybe something beautiful, 639 00:32:08,513 --> 00:32:11,558 maybe something provocative, maybe something funny. 640 00:32:11,641 --> 00:32:13,268 To kind of reflect and deflect. 641 00:32:13,351 --> 00:32:14,978 That's exactly right. 642 00:32:17,188 --> 00:32:19,774 I have one question. It's the debate. 643 00:32:19,858 --> 00:32:22,694 It was a surreal experience, 644 00:32:22,777 --> 00:32:24,029 as he's stalking me… 645 00:32:24,112 --> 00:32:26,948 -Yeah. -…and leering and looming over me, 646 00:32:27,032 --> 00:32:30,911 do I turn around and say, "Back off, you creep"? 647 00:32:30,994 --> 00:32:35,248 Or if I try to make a joke out of it, I could just see the pundits 648 00:32:35,332 --> 00:32:37,125 -who are predominantly men, all saying… -Yes. 649 00:32:37,208 --> 00:32:40,962 "How can she stand up against fill-in-the-blank leader? 650 00:32:41,046 --> 00:32:43,715 Can't take somebody stalking her on a stage." 651 00:32:43,798 --> 00:32:46,176 It's like what you were describing from Boston. 652 00:32:46,259 --> 00:32:50,096 It becomes your responsibility to try to bring everybody back together. 653 00:32:50,180 --> 00:32:52,849 Right. And it's just so tiring, 654 00:32:52,933 --> 00:32:55,310 the mental hoops that we have to jump through 655 00:32:55,393 --> 00:32:58,521 to say what we feel instead of having to think about, 656 00:32:58,605 --> 00:33:02,275 "Wait a minute, how is this gonna go over? I'm a woman. How is this gonna go?" 657 00:33:02,359 --> 00:33:03,777 Where men never have to do that. 658 00:33:03,860 --> 00:33:05,862 Was there a good joke I should have come up with? 659 00:33:05,946 --> 00:33:07,364 I think a joke would have worked. 660 00:33:07,447 --> 00:33:12,244 'Cause you're right. If I turn around and tell him he's being creepy, 661 00:33:12,327 --> 00:33:13,536 they would've jumped all over you. 662 00:33:13,620 --> 00:33:16,206 Like, "Yes, Donald, it is all mine." 663 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,709 "I know you're back here, trying to see what's happening with my hair. But…" 664 00:33:19,793 --> 00:33:21,211 "But, unlike your hair--" 665 00:33:21,294 --> 00:33:22,921 "…unlike yours, Donald, this is all mine." 666 00:33:23,004 --> 00:33:24,965 To turn the clock back. That would have been good. 667 00:33:32,222 --> 00:33:35,350 White women love me 'cause they think I'm their spirit animal and also Lizzo. 668 00:33:37,852 --> 00:33:40,480 My daughter's a freshman at Stanford University. 669 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,569 So I told my mother not to flex, and she said to me, 670 00:33:45,652 --> 00:33:48,572 "How good can the college be if it's taking so many girls?" 671 00:33:50,782 --> 00:33:54,077 If I catch my son watching porn, how I will handle it is 672 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,621 I will sit down and watch it with him. 673 00:33:58,039 --> 00:33:59,207 Not a bad idea. 674 00:33:59,291 --> 00:34:03,086 What better way to deter him from ever watching porn again… 675 00:34:04,963 --> 00:34:07,299 than the memory of me commenting on it? 676 00:34:09,843 --> 00:34:11,344 My mother likes Lifetime. 677 00:34:14,639 --> 00:34:17,559 How many women watch Lifetime, by round of applau-- Okay. 678 00:34:18,727 --> 00:34:19,853 I just want you to know, 679 00:34:19,936 --> 00:34:22,646 y'all are the reason why women can't move forward, okay? 680 00:34:25,650 --> 00:34:29,028 A joke that I thought was very important to do here, 681 00:34:29,112 --> 00:34:31,530 it started from my mother and I watching television together, 682 00:34:31,615 --> 00:34:34,617 and my mother loves The Bachelor and Lifetime. 683 00:34:34,701 --> 00:34:38,204 I just feel like I'm adopted 'cause we just don't like the same things. 684 00:34:38,288 --> 00:34:42,959 And my mother is so absorbed in it as a real woman. 685 00:34:43,043 --> 00:34:45,003 I look at my mother. My mother is a real woman. 686 00:34:45,086 --> 00:34:48,215 I'm watching every part of this, like-- This is why women are failing. 687 00:34:48,298 --> 00:34:50,090 This is why women are failing. This is wrong. 688 00:34:50,175 --> 00:34:54,346 So, I really talk to women. Like, yeah, what he said is wrong, 689 00:34:54,429 --> 00:34:56,181 but also what are we doing? 690 00:34:56,264 --> 00:34:58,892 What do we hold important? 691 00:34:58,975 --> 00:35:02,020 Why do we need to be validated in these ways? 692 00:35:02,103 --> 00:35:03,688 "A network for women." 693 00:35:03,772 --> 00:35:08,485 Right, it sounds good in the air, right? 694 00:35:08,568 --> 00:35:11,404 I thought it was gonna be a lot of women empowerment movies on there. 695 00:35:11,488 --> 00:35:15,033 You know what I'm saying? Like women free-bleeding on the grass. 696 00:35:16,201 --> 00:35:18,328 You know, chopping niggas' dicks off and shit. 697 00:35:18,411 --> 00:35:21,081 Like, I thought it was gonna be women that-- You know? 698 00:35:22,082 --> 00:35:23,333 I didn't know it was gonna be 699 00:35:23,416 --> 00:35:26,586 the same goofy bitch over and over again, acting confused. 700 00:35:30,382 --> 00:35:33,093 Please be careful, anyone in the way of this ball. 701 00:35:33,176 --> 00:35:38,139 Okay, okay, okay. One, two, three, four, five, six! 702 00:35:40,809 --> 00:35:42,269 Wait a minute. Did you really do this? 703 00:35:42,352 --> 00:35:44,271 -I did. Honest to goodness. -She did. Very impressive. 704 00:35:44,354 --> 00:35:46,231 You sure Secret Service didn't shoot 'em down? 705 00:35:46,314 --> 00:35:48,316 No, she was great. All her. 706 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,111 -But I did wait till your back was turned. -Good job. 707 00:35:53,071 --> 00:35:55,156 I think it's harder to do comedy now. 708 00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:57,742 All of the things that you can't tell jokes about 709 00:35:57,826 --> 00:36:00,370 or you shouldn't joke about, or you get in trouble if you joke about. 710 00:36:00,453 --> 00:36:03,707 As someone who, you know, was the brunt of a lot of jokes as a child, 711 00:36:03,790 --> 00:36:05,625 -I'm thrilled there are things… -No, I'm all f-- 712 00:36:05,709 --> 00:36:06,918 …that are off limits. 713 00:36:07,002 --> 00:36:08,211 Call me politically correct. 714 00:36:08,295 --> 00:36:09,296 This is my take. 715 00:36:09,379 --> 00:36:11,673 I know what's right for me and what I'll do, 716 00:36:11,756 --> 00:36:15,802 and what makes me feel good, and what's off limits for me. 717 00:36:15,886 --> 00:36:20,098 But I am not gonna tell another comic, "Hey, you can't do this or can't do that." 718 00:36:20,181 --> 00:36:22,475 But for me, I do have a line. 719 00:36:22,559 --> 00:36:25,562 -But your line has shifted, hasn't it? -Oh, yeah. It's-- Yeah. 720 00:36:25,645 --> 00:36:27,439 I used to be out there a bit. Now… 721 00:36:27,522 --> 00:36:30,817 I forgot the-- Which comic, but they'd said something about, 722 00:36:30,901 --> 00:36:32,110 "Hey, if my kid was gay, 723 00:36:32,193 --> 00:36:35,113 I would bash him in the head with a dollhouse" or something. 724 00:36:35,196 --> 00:36:38,992 And I took offense to that because I've worked with LGBTQ kids 725 00:36:39,075 --> 00:36:40,076 who have been abused, 726 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,203 who have been kicked out of their house for being gay. 727 00:36:42,287 --> 00:36:46,082 And I'm like, "Hey, man. That's not cool," you know? 728 00:36:46,166 --> 00:36:47,167 "It's not even funny. 729 00:36:47,250 --> 00:36:50,253 You're giving permission to so many people who would do that." 730 00:36:50,337 --> 00:36:53,006 And I said, "So let's just think about that," you know? 731 00:36:53,089 --> 00:36:55,425 I grew up watching Dice and Eddie Murphy, 732 00:36:55,508 --> 00:37:00,096 so my early comedy was all, like, slurs, misogyny, fat jokes, whore jokes. 733 00:37:00,180 --> 00:37:01,348 Like, that's what I did, 734 00:37:01,431 --> 00:37:06,228 and it wasn't me trying to be a man. It was me trying to be a comic. 735 00:37:06,311 --> 00:37:08,230 -Interesting. -Like, that's what I watched. 736 00:37:08,313 --> 00:37:11,191 Then one day, this chick came up to me and she said, 737 00:37:11,274 --> 00:37:15,278 "You know, I came to laugh today, and your pedophilia joke was so dark, 738 00:37:15,362 --> 00:37:17,864 it invoked the worst moment of my life." 739 00:37:17,948 --> 00:37:20,617 And I changed everything I did because of that. 740 00:37:20,700 --> 00:37:24,871 The comedians that I look up to and love, like the George Carlins and all, 741 00:37:24,955 --> 00:37:27,040 you're supposed to attack up, you know? 742 00:37:27,123 --> 00:37:30,001 -That's a really good point. -That's the thing. 743 00:37:30,085 --> 00:37:31,419 Speak truth to power. 744 00:37:31,503 --> 00:37:33,755 -Why am I gonna pick on someone-- -Some with problems. 745 00:37:33,838 --> 00:37:35,549 Some poor person who's just struggling? 746 00:37:35,632 --> 00:37:38,134 It's not-- That's not what comedy is supposed to do. 747 00:37:38,218 --> 00:37:39,761 -You're supposed to uplift. -Yeah. 748 00:37:39,844 --> 00:37:41,972 Give people who don't have a voice-- 749 00:37:42,055 --> 00:37:43,223 -Give them the voice. -Yeah. 750 00:37:43,306 --> 00:37:45,642 And point out hypocrisy. 751 00:37:45,725 --> 00:37:47,852 That's-- To me, that's the comedy that I love. 752 00:37:47,936 --> 00:37:49,563 -You gotta puncture it. -That's what I do. Yeah. 753 00:37:49,646 --> 00:37:51,940 -When I throw rocks, I'm throwing them up. -Yeah. 754 00:37:58,613 --> 00:38:01,741 So often, unfortunately, what people laugh at 755 00:38:01,825 --> 00:38:05,036 is when the comedian is making fun of someone else. 756 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:06,121 Right. 757 00:38:07,455 --> 00:38:10,792 I think clowning, at least as I now understand it, 758 00:38:10,875 --> 00:38:14,254 at its funniest, is when clowns are the ones being vulnerable 759 00:38:14,337 --> 00:38:15,881 and making fun of themselves. 760 00:38:15,964 --> 00:38:19,134 -Inviting you in to laugh with them… -Right. 761 00:38:19,217 --> 00:38:22,220 …instead of provoking laughter towards someone else. 762 00:38:22,846 --> 00:38:25,223 Probably this would be helpful to almost anyone. 763 00:38:31,438 --> 00:38:33,231 Okay, I gotta-- Okay. 764 00:38:33,315 --> 00:38:36,568 I gotta tell you, this is some of the worst bowling I've ever experienced. 765 00:38:36,651 --> 00:38:38,153 It's above par for me. 766 00:38:38,737 --> 00:38:42,365 Okay, come on. We're losing all of middle America and Chicago right now. 767 00:38:42,449 --> 00:38:44,159 -Come on. -Yeah, well, yeah, that does happen. 768 00:38:44,242 --> 00:38:46,411 -Okay. Here we go. All right, you two. -Come on. 769 00:38:58,048 --> 00:39:01,092 Explaining jokes is like dissecting a frog. 770 00:39:01,593 --> 00:39:05,597 You may learn something from it, but the frog dies in the process. 771 00:39:06,139 --> 00:39:08,934 I just was on the train coming up from Washington. 772 00:39:09,017 --> 00:39:10,810 -Okay. -And the conductor asked me 773 00:39:10,894 --> 00:39:12,062 if I wanted a wheelchair, 774 00:39:12,145 --> 00:39:15,690 and I said, "No, I'm going on Colbert to kick ass."