The Three Questions with Andy Richter - Patti Harrison

Episode Date: February 16, 2021

Comedian and actress Patti Harrison shares her experiences growing up in chipotle-mayonnaise Ohio, navigating the comedy world as a trans woman, and how being open-minded has given her unexpected opportunities and friendships. Plus, Patti makes her debut as Chili’s first news correspondent.

Hey everyone, I'm talking to Patti Harrison on the podcast. It had started and you didn't even know it. Hi. Hi. Hi. How are you, Patti? I'm okay. I feel fine. Hi. How are you, Patty? I'm okay. I feel fine.

Good. This is the first time I think I've done a morning. I think this is pretty formally the morning. Yeah, 9.30. In podcast world, that's pretty early. Are you working today? Are you working on a show? Am I getting you out of a writer's room to do this?

No. I have some scattered meetings over Zoom. Nice. And that's kind of it. I have to go pick up some prescription allergy medication at some point. And I have to go pick up shoes that i let someone borrow yeah it's someone borrowed your shoes and you have to go pick them up yeah you need new friends i'm gonna tell that to them when i pick up my shoes and i'm gonna i have a little i have a

little gun and i'm gonna put it in my waistband and i'm gonna flash it it won't gun, and I'm going to put it in my waistband, and I'm going to flash it. It won't be loaded, and I'm not going to draw it, but I'll flash it. And then I'll be like, I need new friends. And then I'll – Just pull aside the smart vest that you're wearing. Look. Oh, yeah. Here's my little friend.

It's my L.L. Bean. It has – yeah, my L.L. Bean vest. They probably have gun pockets in them now, L.L. Bean. It has, yeah, my L.L. Bean vest. They probably have gun pockets at them now, L.L. Bean. I know. They're changing with the times, too. We're in an active shooter culture. There is a demographic, a sales demographic. People forget that active shooters still are a demographic of people that like to shop just like anybody else. active shooters still are a demographic of people that like to shop just like anybody else.

And so L.L. Bean is kind of one of the first companies that is recognizing that, which is really exciting. Right. That's great. Good for you and your little gun. Now, Patty, where are you from? I am from Ohio. I'm from a town called Orient, Ohio, which is like, maybe it's considered central Ohio, maybe 20 minutes from Columbus, which is the capital. A lot of people know Columbus because of the international airport. Sure. And middle Ohio is like, you think of Ohio as the north, but it's in many ways not, is it? Yeah. I always, when I look at a map, which I do more often than maybe I like call my mom, but when I look at a map.

One of my favorite things to do. I see Ohio. I've always seen Ohio as Northeast, but it's Midwest. Oh, it sure is. Yeah. Sorry. Sorry if you're just learning this now, like if you're from the Midwest, you have no choice. See, I'm from Illinois. So there's no so there's no way to even think I'm from anywhere other than the middle. Yeah. The middle. The compromised middle. The can't-make-up-your-mind middle. Wait, where in Illinois? which is about 70 miles west of Chicago, which might as well have been 200 miles from Chicago for as much as we,

you know, took advantage of the major metropolitan area. We were terrified of Chicago outside of Bears games and Cubs games. Why terrified of Chicago? Well, I think because it was the big city and it was scary and I'm sure a big part of it was cause there, it, there were people that weren't white there, um, was probably a big deal, um, to most of the people in my town. Um, but yeah, no, it was just the city terrifies people from small towns, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

And I mean, wasn't everybody worried when you kind of decided that you were going to live in a city? Well, yeah. I mean, my town, the town that I grew up in was pretty conservative, almost all white. I remember seeing on the census one time that the like race breakdown on the census of of our town and it was like it said like zero asian people and i was like is my family not on this census and i were probably like the only asian people but i was like i feel like we should be uh not not a full zero but i think like we were on the outskirts of like this town called Grove city. That was like a strip mall sort of town.

You know, it had all the hits that had, uh, Oh, Charlie's, uh, Ruby Tuesday. No, not Ruby Tuesday. Um, what is Red Robin? Um, Walmart GameStop, uh Robin. Walmart, GameStop. Chili's? No Chili's. No Chili's, wow. No Chili's, yeah. I don't think there was like, I think there was maybe a Chili's in Columbus, but there actually weren't.

I think there's more Chili's maybe in Cincinnati, which is like, you know, that cultural mecca for for chili on spaghetti um they could handle the spice of chilies there well i don't even know if it's really spicy it's it's more about handling just like the full tilt shotgun blast diarrhea that you get like looking at the menu. Yeah. Well, that's why the menu is laminated because of the diarrhea. So you can sit on the toilet when you're going for like seconds if you drop it. You're taking a shit. You can shit all the airborne bacteria. It can just be wiped right off. Yeah.

That's the new diseases. The bacteria. Oh, the new disease. It's so hostile. The environment is ecologically like so hostile that new diseases form at Chili's all the time. I say this as someone who likes Chili's. Absolutely. No, Chili's is reliable, terrible food.

You don't have to go to bat for Chili's. I was on another podcast recording today where I was talking also about Chili's. Really? Like a 6 a.m. podcast? About Chili's. Their official podcast, yeah. Waking up with Chili's. How many kids are in your family?

Are you one of many? family are you one of many uh i am the youngest uh sibling of six other siblings wow yeah and there there is an age gap between like i have a sister who's close in age to me um she's a couple years older and then there was an age gap to my next sibling, which was my brother. So I have two siblings that died. One was my brother, Johnny, and then I had a sister who died before I was born. Oh, wow. I think there's an age gap of 10 years between my sister and my brother,

and then I have three older siblings after that. And then my oldest, the technical oldest sibling is who died. I see. And were you like the spoiled one? Probably. Even though that I would say I had a pretty emotionally rough uh childhood based on how like my siblings used to get treated when they were younger when they were like my age at that time it sounds like uh things went a lot smoother but i definitely you know i think my sister spoiled me i don't think my mom spoiled

me but i think like because i was like a couple years younger than my sister my sister charlene during our childhood like anytime you know and i don't think this is super unique maybe but anytime there'd be a birthday party she'd have a birthday party or something, or she got gifts. I would have to get gifts too, or I'd have like a meltdown. Uh, and yeah, I cried. I cried over everything,

which was really cool. Uh, a really cool choice I made. I cried like when I was apart from my mom, I cried if there was like a toy at the store that I wanted and I couldn't get, which was every toy. Cause we were poor. So I was always crying, which I think is a fair reason to cry. It was like a toy at the store that i wanted and i couldn't get which was every toy because we were poor so i was always crying yeah which i think is a fair reason to cry it was like a kid under standing yeah poverty i think that's actually pretty profound is that a poor a poor kid who

has expensive taste and that's like born to be super rich, which I'm, you know, I'm, I'm super rich. Now I'm, I'm making, I'm making about $900,000 a day. Um, work, uh, promoting Chili's. Um, that's a lot of money. Working for Chili's has changed my life in an amazing way. Wow. Don't spend it all on potato skins. Well, now, your mom is Vietnamese and your dad is regular white guy, right? Yeah. Yeah. And was that, I mean, you said the town was very white. You said the town was very white. Did you and your siblings, like, did you fit in? Did you feel like some sort of like pushback against you or?

It was like a strange, it's strange to explain in, because there's like a lot of feelings about it um me yeah me and my siblings did get you know shit for being asian being like the only asian people um and it was i don't know it was like also i think people in my family have a general good sense of humor. So there were times in school where I was bullied and then there were times I think towards the end of school I got pretty like popular in high school because I was like one of the few kids that was throwing parties. And I was like a good I was good at art and I was good at art and, um, I was good at art. Uh, and that's just, you know, that thing that makes you the homecoming queen.

I did like a 13 foot oil painting. Uh, and, uh, and then I just like, was like getting laid all the time and smoking big gravity bombs. Sure. I know I it was like, you know, not I not an ideal place to grow up. I don't think I realized how stressful things were until I like kind of went to college and then when I went to therapy. I like kind of went to college and then when I went to therapy and then when you have tools, different like tools, I guess like mentally to then look back on your life and kind of assess moments, there are things that you've, that are so normalized to you. You don't process as like,

you know, oh, that wasn't great. Like that was bad or that was trauma. Like there are things, if you don't have the vocabulary for it then it's like in the moment you're like this is just the way things are like um yeah but there were times in my life where i wish i had grown up somewhere else when i first moved to new york i had this like envy complex with like meeting people in new york because i was like embarrassed to like when i would say i'm from ohio people be like oh like ohio and i'd play along with it i thought it was funny like yeah it's like chipotle mayonnaise so that's at best at best um but because i was meeting all these people that it's like you you know, their parents were like movie producers, or they've like, lived in New York their whole life. And like their parents are

artists or something. And that seemed like such a, such a divergence from what I had grown up with. But now when I look back on it, I'm like, I guess I feel a little more proud than like ashamed about it. So you're hearing me kind of like articulate this in real time because I guess I haven't. Lockdown has been a very reflective time, I think, for a lot of people. Or just me, I think, actually. I really want to let everybody know that when you said reflective, you said it and the look on your face was like you were smelling something bad. Like reflection is like, ew. Well, reflection is fucking, it's nasty.

Yeah. It's a nasty thing. It's perverted, kind of. But don't you get something out of it, though, at the end? Don't you feel like it's necessary and don't you feel better for having you know yeah if you're gay on through reflection who uh does your mom know you're gay uh homo says what did your mom know you're gay andy will you please keep it down my mom is in the next room. Who's gay? Are you?

What? Oh, my God. If I was gay, my mom would fucking throw a parade. She'd be thrilled. Finally, finally. My gay son. Why don't you just give that gift to her? You can lie about it. That's the ultimate sacrifice that you make.

Now, you said that you started to get more popular in high school. Did that in any way encourage you to want to stay in Orient or did you, or you were like ready to get out of there? Did you go to college? I don't know. I did. Yeah. I, I think I always wanted to leave Orient for sure. Yeah. You know, I didn't realize I really wanted to pursue any sort of, like, comedy or performing until college.

I went to OU, Ohio University in Athens. And I started doing, like, improv the, like, end of my sophomore year, I think. I can't remember. I was always, you know, trashed, tried number one party school, Forbes, number one party school, 2013,

20, 2012, 20, maybe 2010. Who knows? We're also fucked up back then. Who knew? Yeah.

Gravity bong, gravity bong, like hanging, standing on this, on the roof of a car and a gravity bong coming through the sun. And, um, that was me, graduation jk i didn't graduate i went to college for four years and i dropped out which is really exciting i did too i i pulled up right at the end i had two incompletes i never got

my degree have they since tried to offer you an honorary degree? Have they done that? Have you taken it? They did not give me an honorary degree, but they did give me like an award as like a famous graduate. You know, when I told the guy like, well, you know, I never graduated. He said, if we insisted that people graduate in order to give them awards, we'd never give out any awards because nobody ever graduates. It's Columbia College in Chicago, which is like an arts college. And I was in film school and people kind of drop in. They take a few classes and then they get a job and then they drop out, you know, so. Yeah. My college reached out to me or my university reached out to me through through twitter and they were like their social

media was like hey like we want to feature you on the front page of the university's like website as like a cool alumni or something and i was like so excited about it because it was like cathartic for me and i was like and it's in the twitter you know a twitter dm so I like messaged them back and I was like oh my gosh like that's so nice thank you I would love to do it because I wanted to do like a little interview and like a photo shoot or something or like get photos for it and I was like I mean I feel like I have to tell you that I did go to school. I went to OU for four years and then I dropped out and then they saw it. I saw that they saw it and they never messaged me back.

Oh, come on. Yeah. So that's kind of one of the biggest regrets in my life. Yeah, that's why they're called OU. You say like, O oh you be cool that's why i went is because i heard that and i was like that is so fun that is such a fun little like phrase to say i really wish it was called oh you there be cool campus yeah i'm happy with uh with oh you but anyways yeah i didn't i didn't know that you um you didn't finish school but this is kind of the coolest people i know don't finish school you know i mean

absolutely absolutely fucking graduates or losers can't you tell my loves are growing well i i'm i wonder and i mean i don't you know if you don't want to answer but i you know coming from a small town and getting in comedy is its own kind of uphill battle and being a trans person going through that is that intertwined together like you're wanting to do comedy and and get out of that small town or is kind of your your you know your identity i don't know whether they call it gender identity or sex identity is that they call it your poopoo peepeepee identity. It's actually scientifically referred to as your poo-poo-pee-pee identity, Andy. Your poo-poo-pee-pee identity. Well, that's good.

Yes, thank you. I'm going to use that. If I'm ever talking in public and the subject comes up, I'm going to say, well, as it's called, the poo-poo-pee-pee identity. Yeah, especially if you're addressing trans children and their parents. That's a great way. Yeah, especially if you're addressing trans children and their parents. That's a great way.

You're a little stupid, poo-poo-poo-poo identity is, I think, what they call it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That same. Was the question, did me being trans inform me wanting to both do comedy and leave Ohio? Yeah, did it make it more difficult? I mean, was it all kind of part and parcel of the same, like admitting that you want to do something that isn't that thing back there? Yeah. I mean, when I started doing comedy in college, I like improv, I had not come out as trans. I didn't come out until like I quit school. Uh, and I, it was definitely something that I always like wrestled with internally trying to like figure out what was going on. Cause I didn't necessarily have the

full vocabulary and college was when, when I first met like my first trans people that, and interacted with trans people. And I had a lot of internalized transphobia too. Like I wasn't like, you know, they're amazing. I was like, they're mentally ill freaks. Like I had that in my head,

despite feeling the sense of like deep emotionally, like unsettling gender dysphoria that I didn't have the, the vocabulary to know what gender dysphoria was, but I was deeply unhappy and I was projecting a lot of, I think, jealousy, weirdly. Like seeing, it just felt threatening and bizarre. So comedy definitely felt like a way out. In college, I was like, I'm going to move to New York or Chicago and make

$10 billion a day doing improv and that'll sustain me for the rest of my life. Yeah. My imagination was really stupid about it. when I came out as trans, comedy made it scarier to come out as trans comedy

was a was one of the big things that i thought a lot about when i was considering if i should come out or not because i was like i mean there's at the time too it was like 2013, 2014, 2013. The comedy landscape and the comedy that I was watching, I was like, you know, obsessed with like, it's always sunny in Philadelphia and South Park. And like, I feel like the like formative shows comedically for me are like The Simpsons South Park. Yeah.

Yeah. I think like a lot of comedy at that time and just in general, historically, if trans people are mentioned, it's, it's been as a joke. Yeah. And even the jokes that I was making were like transphobic in college and like,

um, a lot of like internalized, you know, deflecting and self-hatred happening there. But like, uh, it, it seemed embarrassing. I was like afraid to, I felt sensitive and I felt like I was, I'm really sensitive to humiliation and I felt like I would be really embarrassed because I was about to, you know, And I felt like I would be really embarrassed because I was about to, you know, go into a place, an environment where everyone thinks being trans is really funny. It's like a, it's like an embarrassing, funny thing to be. So like, if I'm going to be around comedians, I'm just like having to emotionally prepare to get like railed. Uh, and that was really scary. Um, and what was a big source of friction against me coming out was this idea of like judgment. Um, and you know, like after I came

out, I did come out, I went to a college improv festival at OSU because my friend um my friend mitra who's like one of my best friends now to this day and like she's a comedian too like mitra shuhari is that yeah yeah yeah she uh we didn't go to the same college but we met doing improv in college she went to ohio state and they were having their improv conference and she was like you should come like come because i've been to the conference before like when i was in my improv troupe in college and it was always really fun so yeah um and my college improv troupe was performing there but i was out of school at this point but they like invited me to perform with them which was so nice but like yeah i remember sitting in the audience and there was this troop of like these new york improvisers and it was all guys and they did this like really transphobic like

the whole arc of their improv set their like half hour long improv set was like transphobic it was like all about like transitioning and detransitioning and like like jacking off like and i remember sitting in the audience and like looking around and everyone was like dying laughing and like just like sitting quietly and like watching everyone and being like this is what i'm in for or like if i want to do this this is what i'm in for. If I want to do this, this is what I'm in for for the rest of my life. I felt in those moments, I felt like subhuman because you're in a room like full of people who mind you identify as like progressively minded,

you know, and they're all like taking this great joy and these jokes that are at the expense of the idea that you're like subhuman and that your core existence is a joke to them. It just was really terrifying, but things have changed. Like things have changed a lot. And to answer a part of that question about like, if being trans made it hard to do comedy,

it did. It did at times, you know, I don't think being trans to I guess be really specific. I don't think being trans makes anything hard. I think being trans is like amazing, but it's like the, the way people are conditioned is like what makes things shitty. But I will say that like, I think I was coming up in in New York at a

time and it's I feel like it's still this way where there was like a turn happening in people's perceptions of like you know understanding about like transness and queerness and it gave me like a unique point of view and it gave me maybe an edge that I think definitely has helped my career so I feel really fortunate I'm like really you know happy that I I have you know a not a not despite being from Ohio I have a not mayonnaise point of view I have a POV in life experience that is like a little spicier than chipotle mayonnaise. And that feels really cool. Well, yeah, I mean, you can say it's gotten better. I mean, having been someone that worked on a daily television show that put comedy on, I know there's jokes that we used to make that we wouldn't make anymore. Like, that's not funny anymore.

And I actually, when I was, I mean, you know, I love working on that show and I love being a part of that show. But like there was a time when I was away from it and they used to do bits that were kind of the punchline was, that guy's gay. Yeah. And I, and I, and I would watch it on TV cause I wasn't working on the show anymore. And I would kind of, I mean, to, to blow smoke up my own ass,

I would be like, I would have never let that happen. But, but I, but it was like, I just kind of, you know, and I talked to people about it at the time. I was like, like, yeah, sure. You can have like the, a joke be about like a gay person. That's like absolutely crazy and weird and whatever, but like, but the joke can't just be check out this guy and his love for the same sex huh you know it's just like yeah it doesn't work that way and it should i mean it did work that way and it that's crazy that it worked that way in retrospect yeah i mean to me now to me i think i'm reaching a point where i do think that is very funny i'm like that's great he's gay that's really funny to

me uh so yeah that's violating god's law yeah we're reaching a post homophobia yeah i have become christian uh in lockdown so i'm like kind of understand all these jokes that i used to be like that's so offensive and i'm actually like hey they're onto something. I feel bad. I got a lot of apologies to me. Um, like I said, a lot of the shows that felt comedies, like that felt very formative for me were shows that had like super trans phobic or like racist humor. Like, and it's like,

you know, uh, culturally, uh, humor is absorbed from like our, our zeitgeist, like what's going on at the time. And, and I know it's reflective of that. And so it's been like, interesting to go back through the lens of like an out trans person. And look at these things, like every time I go back and watch something nostalgically

there's like a tranny joke in it or something and it's like that's just something i have i'm like prepared to see like i know that because it was like a different time there's like everything that i love truly like everything that i point to as like pivotal references for me comedically have like trans jokes in them, which they probably made me trans. So that's on them. And I. You're laughing all the way to the bank. The trans bank. The Chili's.

I'm Chili's first trans correspondent. I'm a correspondent for Chili's, which means I go on the street. Yeah, and I report the news. It's not even about Chili's. There's just the Chili's watermark on the screen as I'm reporting a fire, a Bunsen burner fire. This fire brought to you by Chili's.

Yeah. I'm not offended by when TV shows of the past are like not on par with today's because they're of the past

but I actually you know maybe I should be more active about policing the past maybe I'm not policing the past enough because I think we should go back further the roaring 40s. The 1840s. Wait, is it the roaring 20s?

The roaring 20s, yeah. Okay. It should have been the roaring 40s and that's the first place I'm policing. But anyways, go ahead. Sorry to interrupt. Well, it's also hard to, you know, I mean, you do at a certain point kind of give yourself over to comedy. You're like, OK, this is going to be what I do with my time and my creative energy. And I and I do believe this.

Anything can be funny. You know, like at my grandmother's funeral, we were standing, you know, at her graveside. And somebody noticed that the next plot over was a combined family plot of two families. So just this big stone thing, the big marker that marked the whole thing. And the families were the Good family and the Eaton family. So it said, Good Eaton. What? G-O-O-D-E and then slash E-A-T-O-N. But it said, you know, said out loud it was good eating. And so everyone is standing around my grandmother's funeral laughing, you know, just because of the thought of cannibalism, you know.

In the middle of my grandmother's. So it is hard sometimes to think like, oh, every dark shit in the world. And like, and this is how I deal with it. I conquered my fears by making them something that I can laugh at. Or I conquer things that are horrible by laughing at them and saying like, you're a punchline to a joke. And then somewhere in there, then you do have to like realize oh yeah but there are people's feelings and there are words you're going to use that are like hurtful to people and you know that either will matter to you or it won't and you see the comedians that it doesn't

matter to them and you see the comedians that it does and um yeah and like you said everything's poo poo pee pee everything's poo poo pee pee everything's poo poo pee pee but you know there's also sensitivity I don't know if that makes any sense no it does and I think what is kind of an interesting cultural conversation

that we've been experiencing over the past few years and now, and I think it's shifting a lot is, um, I think it's the way that comedy can work in a subversive way. And, you know, I, I've always found like dark comedy, you know, that's where I, those are the things that I think is funny. And it's like, well, and it's great at it. You do so much funny, funny stuff that is just terrible, terrible, naughty things. Thank you, Andy.

Terrible. I love terrible to be terrible. I love to hurt people. I love especially hurting and manipulating people. I love, um, the closer you are to me, the more that I twist especially hurting and manipulating people I love. The closer you are to me, the more that I twist the knife and the more little cuts that I slash you with my tiny little love knife. Comedy is the unexpected and that's unexpected. Yeah. I set up the expectation that like the people that I bring in close, I'm like, I'm going to love you and be like kind to you. And no, no, no, that's not what happens. And that's the joke. Um, I know, I feel like you're like,

of course you're, you're never going to please everybody. Like there's always going to be someone that is offended by something, especially if you're like making jokes that are like subversive. Um, you know, I get, I get people who message me that are offended, like, because I'm someone who's pretty outspoken about like transphobia and comedy and just because that's like my lens. That's like what I experienced. And it is depressing when it happens. And it is more than just like, well, it's people be like, Oh, it's a joke that guy like that comedian who's like a friend of mine who you have to see all the time who makes the you know transphobic jokes he may make transphobic

jokes on stage but he's actually a really nice guy in person and it's like it's not just a joke because he's using his platform to make a joke in the seed of the joke is that like it's not like you can't like you said everything can be joked about i think it's where the the target of the punch line is like what the target of the punch line is and i think people think like you know like you can't you can't make jokes about rape anymore you can't make jokes about this and that and it's like well you you can do whatever you want it's just what what, you, you can do whatever you want. It's just what, what the target of the joke is and what you're actually saying, what the core truth of the joke is. Because I think if you're talking about sexual assault for, for an example,

like sexual assault and rape is a real fear that people live with. I think comedy helps people cope with stress. 100%. I think a lot of comedians use comedy as like an expressive tool to work through things too. And like, it helps other people work through things. And I think you can make jokes about sensitive topics like race and like transphobia and rape. And, but it's like, if the core of your joke is that like, the seed of the joke is that it's funny to get raped or it's not that big of a deal to, you know, rape's not a big deal or something like that. Then it's treads into like, you're passing on

in a kind of subconscious way, this ideology, these like ideas that are harmful to people yeah the stuff that pisses me off because i have people trying to police my jokes too like i have people that come in and are messaging me and they're like hey this joke was not a good look like try better next time hun and it'll be like a joke that i made about fucking a dog. And I'm like, wait, why is this? Why are you offended by it? And they'll be like, because it's about fucking dogs. And that's absolutely disgusting. And it's like, okay, well, you were disgusted by something you saw a joke you saw online. That's about me, me fucking a dog, which isn't something that I'm actually doing.

And I don't believe my joke is going to inspire anybody to like actually fuck dogs i don't think jokes are right and there's also like there's a line where it's like yeah not everything is for you yeah not everything is for you i think people think you know assume because i'm transgender and i am you know and i talk about how that intersects with being a comedian and advocating for people to feel like like they have safe access to the same thing as like non-marginalized people that people think i'm like way more eggshell like they have to be more eggshell-y with me when they talk about um things that are like offensive and comedy and and stuff like that because they think i'm going to get angry yeah like i think you even did it a little bit earlier when you brought up me being trans you were kind of like the you know you don't have to answer it and it's like that's nice it's

nice that you're sensitive to it but i I think like, I think a lot of, I guess this kind of tangent that I'm going on, I feel like there's a lot of stress that's built around this sensitivity that like social media, specifically Twitter and Instagram incite in people because the overcorrection in the rage online

is so much more, like it seems so much more brutal than the actual consequences are in real life. Right. Like because you just have so many people screaming at you and they'll say like the meanest things they can if they, just because you're to them you're like

not a real person online. It's kind of this epitaph of like that they feel like they can get a dopamine boost from dunking on you. I think like you're stupid and I'm right and you're wrong. And you're even though you're a famous comedian, I'm like smarter than you or something like that. Like there's a lot of these other dynamics that actually have nothing to do with like the joke that you made at play. Yeah, no, I know. And there's like, you know, the reason, and the reason that I'm sensitive to it is because I feel like asking you about being trans is includes a whole lot of really personal stuff you know like that just that whole the the question of it like there's it it's all you know it it it covers virtually every bit of your identity and it's

the same way that i would be sort of you know i you know i when i when some when i'm talking to someone who's gay and i you know i like i don't know if you want to talk about how coming out, you know, I don't know if you, like, it's an intensely personal thing. It's, it'd be like, I mean, and it's not exactly the same, but like if somebody were to just in an, if I was doing somebody else's podcast and they were like, tell me about your divorce, I would be like, no, no, I'm not going to tell you about that because it's deeply personal. And, you know, so that's the only, I mean, I just, you know, it, it is a fact of your life, but it is, but like I say, it also includes all kinds of stuff that I can only imagine, you know, how deeply personal and stuff. And I also know how fucking invasive people can be to

trans people, like all the classic stupid questions that people ask so you know i'm trying but i do yeah it's nice no i'm saying it's like a good thing that you thank you but i do and i but i do hear you that there are people that like like too much tiptoeing around it just causes its own problem because then you're like this special delicate creature that can't be treated like other people well i think too it's also what i feel like this is the this like sensitivity that social media like twitter has like conditioned people to feel is like like this whispery like i'm afraid that i can't like talk about this thing because i can't say that i don't know this thing because like i'll get canceled for it or something

like that and i want to specify i don't think social media as a concept is evil. I think what it's turned into is like fundamentally bad for our society and our world as a whole, like because it has become like an advertising base more than anything else. It's like made to move products and like keep us online and agitate, like keeping us online means agitating us and like. Yeah. And using information as a product, as a commodity. Yeah. I think what scares me about Twitter is specifically is that Twitter is like, I think formally was a place where people came to either like see funny stuff or like get the news. get the news yeah and so what that has kind of like combined into is this place where people are incentivized to dunk like roast other people yep and kind of like a lot of decontextualizing is happening like people just like quote tweet you decontextualize what you were talking about

to like fit whatever narrative they have for you they wantextualize what you were talking about to like fit whatever narrative they have for you they want other people to think you're talking about i i i don't know i i just don't feel like it's doing the thing which i joined for which is like you know getting to make jokes getting to make stupid jokes it's like in my tweets, it's like there are people who are so specific that it's like they're searching for any reason in my tweets to decontextualize something I said to make it offensive. Like it's like these people actively trying to find their power, their sense of like power and agency through calling someone else out on something.

And it's like, sure, when someone is doing something that is like remarkably egregious, like exhibiting some sort of like horrible behavior, call it out like sure when someone is doing something that is like remarkably egregious like exhibiting some sort of like horrible behavior call it out sure but it's like if i make a joke about like me like sucking a dog's dick that is like you know offensive to dogs or something and i'm like what at this point like think about how you've unraveled. Can't you tell my loves are growing? Well, let's get back on track to just, you know, what's the big thing that kind of gets you from doing stand up into kind of writing and, and, and, and really making a living at this. I was just doing like character bits in New York on like random comedy shows, variety combination comedy shows and stuff like that.

And my friend Sachi, I wasn't friends with her at the time. I didn't know her her but there was this website called seriously.tv which was like this uh comedy news site through Verizon and like Complex and it was like uh they were hiring and she came to a show that I did at Annoyance um and at the Annoyance Theater which is now closed in New York. And she saw my set and asked if I wanted to, uh, do like a test week at the, at the website, uh, at their office. And I said, yeah, I was like a performer and a writer. Um, and, uh, it was the week of the election. That was like my first official comedy writing job in 2016. Yeah. And, uh, like my second day was election day. So the first day

that I got there, we literally, you know, they had us making all these videos about like, now that we have like our first woman president, like, I don't think a lot of the comedy that was made there was amazing. It was a very specific environment. It was like a corporate news. Also, they owned a conservative news channel to like comedy website, too. So it's like we were the liberal comedy channel and then they also oversaw this channel called rated red that would literally put out videos like i am not making this up i'm not exaggerating for comedic effect they had videos that would be like top 10 guns of the

week and it would just be like a slideshow that would be like mock 10 and it would show like someone shooting like an uzi yeah and it was just like or submachine gun it was just like oh yeah this is not great this is i'm all the money goes to the same place like all the money that we're making is going to the same place but like at the time i was just like so broke and like it was really good money it was like a very fun job because we were all stress bonding because everything had to go up uh kind of to get cleared by like our audience team and which is like this corporate this team of like these really gorgeous men they're like very

beautiful i think they were all probably republican like wall street looking guys that would like be like oh your your one video is performing very well and i'm like you know mouthwatering like please like take all of my rights away great i will do anything i will do anything for money mr uh mr oxford's and gingham shirt. But yeah, that was my first official writing job. I think I was just trying to do comedy at that time to figure any, I didn't really know exactly what I wanted to do. I knew that maybe I wanted to like act or get to write or something, but there was no clear, like explicit goal at that time. It was just like, I'm just going to keep focusing on doing comedy until someone notices and go from there.

And that was it. Yeah. And then, and you've, cause you've worked on some really fun stuff, you know, you've worked on some really fun shows. I mean, I think you, I feel really fortunate. thank you. I feel really fortunate. Uh, I know that's like very cliche or like not inarticulate, but I think originally I moved to New York cause I wanted to do SNL. That was kind of the dream. That was like, I think a lot of people do that. It's like, I was doing it. I think it's pretty common. Yeah. Everyone, like everyone in my college improv troupe was like, you know, doing improv. And then they were like, we're going to move to Chicago. And then we were all like, I was like, we're all going to move to Chicago together and like be an improv troupe.

And then we're all going to get on SNL. And I'm like, that's like your college dream. And then they all, they all kind of did move to Chicago, except for like one person moved to LA. Sam, if he's listening. Hi, Sam. Yeah, no, he is. I think he would enjoy

it a lot to get his shout out. He's an angel. And tomorrow is his birthday. But by the time it comes out, it probably won't be his birthday. It's a happy belated birthday. But yeah, i think by the time i got to the point where i was i think able to possibly like showcase for snl there were

like other realizations that had happened where i was like oh this seems like it would be like a really stressful job it seems like a stressful place to work and it feels like i'm maybe not cut out to do do that and it doesn't have the things that like i actually thought that i like the things that i want out of my my job and my career i don't think it would necessarily do those things and um so that was kind of like a reorienting in terms of like you know okay what what else am i going to do and i think i've gone gotten a lot of cool opportunities by being like open to like ideas like having kind of the bullet points of a plan but being really receptive and open to like change and opportunity and like knowing that like I think the more I try and have like full control over something, the more stress I give up the, the air quotes dream of SNL. Cause one thing I came that I came to realize as I get, you know, started out doing this

stuff and is that it's so much better to make your goal a process rather than a position. Because if you're, you know, if your goal is to like, and mine is kind of like, well, to just get better at things and to see where this goes. And especially now, it's only natural for you to have the thought of like, I'm gonna get on SNL

when you're a young person interested in doing this kind of comedy. If you're a standup, I guess you think I want to get a half hour and then I want to get, I don't know, on a sitcom or something. But if you're a sketch performer, what else is there but like kind of an SNL? Yeah. So it is like that's what your goal is. But then it's all so strange and there's stuff online and there's stuff in, you know, there's all these, you know, streaming services that, you know. It's changed so much. Absolutely. Which is why it's like if you're entering this industry and you're making these goals that would technically on paper take you probably like five or six years to achieve and you're aimed at one thing.

five or six years to achieve, and you're aimed at one thing, it seems like the skeleton of like comedy in terms of like the business of it has changed so rapidly, like so many times over the past couple years that like, it isn't emotionally good to invest in the idea of like, because I think what has been interesting is like like watching the way that paywall services have affected the accessibility and the idea of getting like a 30 minute comedy special. It's like, that was like, I feel like such a huge deal. Like I remember watching like, you know, comedy central presents as a kid or like watching premium blend or like all of these like comedy central shows that were like cut together like those people felt all like super successful famous comedians who have made it they're like on comedy central their stand-up is there that felt very aspirational and like a good

goal to have the way things are right now there are so many different places and paywall services where your comedy can exist it's like you have to be more selective at this time but it's like also so many paywall services just like crash or they they go out of business like after a short amount of time yeah in five minutes yeah it's like not necessarily a sustainable like model. And then you have to like, you know, think about selling your thing to something somewhere else. And I feel like SNL really felt like, oh, if I want to do like character comedy, that's kind of the only option. It seems like now like Netflix is like if you have a special or something on netflix that's where people will the most people will see it if that's what you want um i don't really understand the business side of it i don't really understand like the way that production companies or developers like gauge demand but like

i feel like there were times when i was first going into meetings with TV development people that I really wanted to pitch a sketch show like that. I was like, yeah, that's like I'm a comedian and I do a lot of character stuff. That would be fun. And everyone that I was meeting with, it was clear they wanted me to do like a maybe like Louis or like Master of None style. Like you're a trans comic. It's pretty close to your life. Like, and we're going to go over the struggles and it was something I really didn't want to do. And it's like, now it feels like everyone wants the sketch show. And it was such a short amount of time for that to happen.

And, and I feel like that'll change like by the time this comes out, it'll probably be different. Absolutely. Um, we're getting, I've taken up enough of your time here and, uh, I guess what, what's next for you? What do you got? I saw you got a movie coming out. I did. Um, I did. I said it as an accusation. You acted in a movie. Well, yeah, because it's a very politically offensive porn film. Oh, no. Yeah.

Nothing gets me off like political offensiveness. Yeah, it's called Thanks, Obama, for All the Nuts. And then it's kind of like saying a lot. It's saying a lot. And then, yeah. Oh, wow. And it's six hours long. It's kind of like saying a lot is saying a lot. And then, yeah. And it's six hours long. It's kind of an epic.

It's the thought of a six hour long porno film is fucking hilarious. Well, it's meant to destroy people's genitals. It's like, just kind of like on, on a national level. Yeah. Just turn everyone's junk into pulp.

No, but it's this movie that is written and directed by Nicole Beck with called Together Together. it's right now it's at Sundance. So I don't know when

the actual release would be, but it's at some point I think in the next year, it's like my first movie that I've ever done and, or my first time experiencing Sundance, which this year it's all digital. So that's this weekend. Wow. Yeah. Fun, fun, fun. Yeah. I mean, I wish there is a part of me that wishes i was experiencing it in person weirdly right i wish i was getting like the free you know chase sapphire um tube top right and

wearing wearing everything trimmed in fur yeah the tube the tube, fur trim tube top. Yeah. And drinking, you know, mudslides on like a shuttle. Like just blackout drunk at like 11 a.m. Like just telling Rooney Mara all my trauma. Waking up on a chairlift going around and around and around. And I wake up and I have like an armful of screeners and I don't know what happened. I'm like bleeding and I have all these like for your consideration envelopes. That was good. I've made it.

Well, what do you, the final question of the three questions, which I think you've answered the first two. I mean, I have to check with the judges, but the third one is what have you learned? And I mean, so it's kind of, you know, it can take whatever form you want and it doesn't have to be, certainly it doesn't have to be about comedy. I have learned that, I think, you know, being open, being flexible is, is, is an intrinsic good. I mean, flexible more than just like gymnastics. I know. Um, even though being on a gymnastics team also really changed my life, uh, in the, in

the negatives. Uh. Yeah. Uh, but no, I think like I've had a lot of opportunities that have come to me where like i think on paper they seem tantalizing or like it's like a lot of money and but it creatively is on would be i know unfulfilling and i think that takes time to learn. I think like, you know, sometimes you make decisions to support yourself and that's like completely valid and rock on. Like sometimes you take the, yeah, you have to like support yourself.

And I think like get in where you can so that later on you can make the more interesting, emotionally rewarding creative choices. emotionally rewarding creative choices. But also like, even though, for instance, that, that corporate comedy job, my first writing job, even though I didn't feel like I was getting to make like the best stuff that I could there for sure. Uh, I met like really, really cool people there. And when I look back on that experience experience it's like one of the better work experiences that I've had not because like the job was amazing but because of the people that I got to work with and like I don't know like this movie that we shot is also it's like more of a drama like dramedy sort of and it's really earnest and it's not anything that i ever thought i would do

and like um nicole is like someone who's like super close uh to to my heart now and we talk a lot and that's been like kind of one of my most emotionally rewarding friendships that i've had in like a while i i just never imagined like these opportunities being like what I would be doing. But I think, you know, being open and flexible to the opportunities of like unexpected change can be positive. And things, it's like- Question mark.ian i don't know yeah i don't think

i've learned a lot well in this little this little stinky fucking life i don't i think that's untrue i've learned that most people are pussies and can't take a hit and that i can punch really hard i've learned that i can punch really hard but I can kick quicker than I punch but my kicks aren't as hard as I punch so when fights I kick more but they do less damage but when I come in for that punch after I've kicked you enough and you're kind of like

whoa in a daze I put a lot of people I put a lot of people in the grave I've killed a lot of people with a punch after a series of small kicks you need to save this for when you get uh your kennedy center honor that needs to be your speech there my kennedy center honorary degree yeah yeah no when the kennedy center when they give you like you know the or the presidential medal of freedom that's what well i want the presidential medal of Freedom honorary degree from Presidential Medal of Freedom College.

From PU. From PU. The President's University. Yes. Well, Patty, thank you so much for saying yes to doing this podcast. I mean, you know. Yeah. Thank you for asking me.

All right. No problem. All right. Yeah, thank you for asking me. All right. No problem. All right. Well, thank you all for listening. And we'll be back next week with more of the three questions. Bye-bye. The Three Questions with Andy Richter is a Team Coco and Earwolf production. This has been a Team Coco production in association with Earwolf.