Iliza
Shlesinger
May 2, 2014
"I like the chance to show people repeatedly – and you have to keep proving this – I'm just funny. I'm just as funny as all the other guys up here so it almost doesn't matter that I'm a girl."
– Iliza Shlesinger
Guy MacPherson: Miss Shlesinger.
Iliza Shlesinger: How are you?
GM: I'm good, how are you?
IL: I'm good. I have to have you
on speaker phone because I'm driving so I hope we can hear each other.
GM: I have you on speaker, too,
because I'm recording. Where are you?
IL: I'm in very warm and
very sunny Los Angeles going to the park for a second time today. So that is my
life.
GM: Just for a walk?
IL: First one was for a hike
and now I'm going to go meet a boy.
GM: Oh, congratulations! Is this
a new fella?
IL: I don't know. It's our
first date but I don't want to go on a date. I wanted to do it in the daylight
with animals so it couldn't be misconstrued as anything in case he's the worst.
GM: He must be cute because I
know physical attraction is a big part of your criteria.
IL: That's so funny. A lot
of people say that. Yeah.
GM: Well you say that!
IL: Yeah. Yeah. So we'll
see. We'll see how this works.
GM: I heard that you don't like
hikes. You don't like nature.
IL: The bit that I did,
which is where this all comes from, is how girls always – and I pretty much
named War Paint after this bit, my last special – girls always
say they like hiking. And we say it because it makes us sound healthy and
outdoorsy and it's something we do to attract guys. But the truth is no one
really, if you live in a city, we're not really hiking. Like today I went on a
hike but what really happened was I brought my dog, I went with a friend,
Blanche got over-heated ten minutes in, and my friend had to hold her and walk
us back to the car. That's not a hike. That was just a schlep in shorts and I
was sweaty. There were no trail sites, there were no walking sticks, there were
no snacks, there were no lesbian mountain rangers. It was not a hike.
GM: You're kind of proving your
own bit there. You probably told the guy, 'Hike! Great!'
IL: Well, the hike was just
with a friend. It was our LA way of trying to get some sun and some exercise,
but really it was too fucking hot.
GM: It's been hot up here this
week in Vancouver.
IL: Good! You guys need some
heat.
GM: Congratulations on War Paint.
IL: Thank you.
GM: That came out within the last
year, right?
IL: Yeah, it came out in
December. Or November, I think. So yeah, it hasn't even been out a year yet.
GM: It made it to a lot of
people's Top Comedy Specials of the Year lists.
IL: It did. I was very proud
of it. I really put a lot of heart and soul into it. It made iTunes top 10
albums for editors pick last year. So I kinda got in right under the gun. That
kinda made me happy.
GM: Did you feel validated, not
that you didn't before?
IL: Yeah, you are right. I
mean, as a comic, I don't think we ever feel validated. But I definitely...
Like, I know that's a good special. And I think that it really resonated with a
lot of people. And I think for comedy it was very important for me to do it on
my terms. I wanted to do the cover my way for specific reasons, my jokes, my
point of view. I put out albums before but this one was a wide release and I
really feel like I came out of the gate being like, 'I'm a girl, this is what I
feel, I'm not afraid to say it, and I don't have to do filthy, horrible,
low-hanging-fruit jokes to get the point across.' And I think we got the
authenticity of it regardless of how popular it was. I think that's what really
resonated with people. And I'm topless on the cover.
GM: And bottomless.
IL: And bottomless. Let's
not forget the bottom.
GM: Apart from that exposure –
literal exposure – has it given you a lot more exposure just for work?
IL: Yup. I mean, clubs fill
up a lot quicker. People have watched it. And then just even on a day-to-day
level, just having fans be able to go like, 'Oh, I've seen your hour.' People
that are like, 'I didn't know who you were and then I was watching Friday
Night Standup and I found you.' It was huge. Netflix is a great outlet
and they really took a chance. It's just great to be able to share your art
with people on that great of a scale – I know it sounds so hippyish. It's a
very special thing.
GM: Guys like seeing nude women.
But did you get flack for doing that cover?
IL: I really didn't. One,
because I don't think I'm famous enough for anyone to care. And it isn't like
I'm Gloria Steinem doing it. But if anybody decided to challenge me, if anybody
cared enough to wage that battle, which is a blessing and a curse if they
don't, my answer is this: Look, I took that picture for two reasons. One,
because I could. I feel like our society wants women to be ashamed of their
bodies and be insecure, and I was like, 'What? Society told me to be in shape
so I'm in shape. And now I can't show it off?' So I did it because I could. But
I did it also for marketing. Simply that I don't have a billion fans and I
don't have a huge TV show behind me and I don't have a PR team so if you're a
guy sitting on an airplane with your iPad and two comedy specials come up and
one's a dude holding a microphone and one's me like that, you're gonna click on
mine 99% of the time for nothing else out of curiosity. And I like that the
material's strong enough to once you click on it and you're mildly disappointed
that I'm in fact clothed, you'll stick around because the content is great.
GM: Or maybe in the hopes that by
the end you'll have them all off.
IL: Yeah, maybe, but that'd
be dumb.
GM: Sex sells but you have to
have the content to back it up otherwise people are going to be shutting off
pretty quick.
IL: And I think that's where
people get annoyed when girls are sexy or showy or something. You know, a lot
of female comics do, like, the sexy thing but then their comedy is whatever.
Men don't rely on it as much. But people like to look at women's bodies. We
like looking at men's bodies but women are the fairer sex, women are the more
beautiful sex. I think it's a double standard where society objectifies women,
wants to see your boobs, wants to see your body, wants to see all this, but
when you do it on your own terms, all of a sudden it's not okay. Well, fuck
that. I'll walk around topless if I want, when I want.
GM: Did you enjoy the process of
posing? You didn't show anything but in I always wonder about the other people
in the room.
IL: They were all women. One male
writing guy who I made turn around. But I've heard Playmates say this, by the
end of the shoot you're not even thinking about it. And I had my hair covering
my boobs. But even without that, it was a room full of women. At first I was
really uncomfortable but by the end I didn't care. I mean, I'm not going to let
anyone tell me that I have anything to be ashamed of. I have enough
insecurities and my body doesn't get to be one of them.
GM: I just watched your Grantland
piece. When was that filmed?
IL: We did it a couple months
ago. I'm good friends with the guys over there. We've got a project that's kind
of in development. They'd done a couple of these Inside Joke pieces. They asked
me so I suggested a typical night for me does include doing all three clubs,
very harried and running around and hanging out. So I'm like that should be the
theme of my piece is doing these three clubs. It was cool and I really respect
Grantland as a website and an entity. So I was excited to be part of that.
GM: Yeah, they're great. They
started out mostly sports and some pop culture. Just because of the quality of
the work they do, that's gotta help comedy in general.
IL: Definitely. Comics love
sports, and sports are fun to make fun of, and they do good work. And it's a
legit site. It's not a horribly-run site by like one nerd that's like an
Angelfire-built website. It's good and the writing's good. Like you were saying
about the special, the content backed it up. So I was proud to do it with them.
I probably wouldn't have done it with another website, like chucklechuckle.com
or something.
GM: You said you like being the
only girl in a comedy lineup. Is that usually the case? When you're on the
road, you're the headliner.
IL: Right. I've had female
features and I've brought women to feature for me. If I bring someone, it's
because I trust them. On the road, I don't care if a girl's on a lineup. My
thing is this: There are plenty of horrible male comics that have opened for me
that I've worked with that are just bad, but I get a special kind of cringe
when I hear the typical female 'I'm a whore' kind of joke, which so many women
do. So many women go blue so fast without even giving themselves a chance. But
I'm an upperclassman now, I'm not a baby that just won Last Comic
Standing. I like the chance to show people repeatedly – and you have to
keep proving this – I'm just funny. I'm just as funny as all the other guys up
here so it almost doesn't matter that I'm a girl. I take it as a compliment
when it's me and a bunch of heavy-hitters or comics that are more successful
than me. Would I like to share a lineup with Sarah Silverman? Absolutely. She's
great.
GM: You like Lori Gibbs in
Calgary.
IL: Lori who?... Yeah, I love
Lori. When I'm in LA and it's like a Saturday night and they have all
headliners, I usually am the only girl because there aren't a lot of female
touring headliners. And that's the God's honest truth.
GM: You make fun of women in your
act. Does that hit in the heartland? Or is it a typical Hollywood-type vapid
woman you're making fun of?
IL: No, it hits. I'm sitting up
there talking about LA stuff, because that's a huge mistake of a comic, talking
about your hometown. My things are universal truths. Male-female interaction,
the way women think. It doesn't matter what kind of woman you are. I try to tap
into what makes us women versus an LA woman vs a Vancouverian woman or
something. And I think that's why girls like it so much because I'm letting
them know all those crazy thoughts you thought were just in your head, they're
in my head, too. It's okay. Let's all take a breath.
GM: In the Grantland piece, you
say if you do poorly on a given show, everyone will think that the winner
of Last Comic Standing did poorly. And you use it as a
motivator to bring your A-game. Is that problematic if you can't try out new
things and fail?
IL: Truthfully, I don't think
about it anymore. Had I won it last week and they saw me... I think I've
accomplished enough. You're always proving yourself. I can't not grow because
I'm worried about making sure everybody just needs the best bits that I can do
over and over. At a certain point you gotta be like this set on a Tuesday night
at 8 pm, this one's for me. But then on a Saturday night at 9 pm, that one's
for the crowd. And you gotta just take it when you can and when people don't
get it, that's fine. I'm probably never going to go up there and just
absolutely eat shit. We're all professional comics. As a funny person, you'll
dig yourself out of it. I've definitely had sets that weren't that great but I
think we make a mistake as comics of thinking it means so much to the crowd.
These people will laugh. They might remember you, might not. Might take a
picture. But in a week, it's not something they're still thinking about. Once
you've wrapped your head around that – that your set actually doesn't matter;
they're going home and their lives don't revolve around it like they do for us
– it kind of makes it easier to take your punches and move on and grow. That's
all you can do.
GM: Totally. And an audience
member can like somebody and still not like everything they did in that set.
IL: Absolutely. I've had fans
come and they're so excited to see me and I'm working out stuff. And they're
just kind of quiet. But then afterwards they want to buy everything and take
pictures and they freak out. So you never know how somebody's going to
appreciate your set.
GM: You're not going to lose
sleep over a less than sterling set at this point.
IL: I learned that lesson a long
time ago. It so doesn't matter. Not unless you go up there and have a Michael
Richards meltdown does it actually matter.
GM: I read you're doing a pilot
for a talk show, is that correct?
IL: Um... that was a while ago.
We're always doing pilots. I think the thing that people don't get about comedy
and entertainment in general is that you're always doing stuff. And if it
doesn't come to fruition, they're like, 'Oh, where have you been?' It's like,
'I made four pilots this year!' I have to wrap this up because I have to get
out of the car. Is that okay?
GM: I guess that's okay if that's
all you got time for.
IL: I'm meeting someone and
they're here and I feel bad now. Hold on one second. (to her date) I just need
one minute. (to me) Okay, we can keep talking.
GM: About that talk show thing,
that was a pilot you did. I know you've hosted a similar show online and the
dating show on TV. Is hosting something that really interests you?
IL: I've got my eyes set on a
late-night spot. The people that work with me, we have our teeth and they're
slowly sinking into a very specific late-night spot. This has been the goal.
I've made four late-night talk show pilots with major networks, had my own
webshow, so you have to involve yourself in the conversation with these
networks. And it's a goal we work toward. And in the meantime I've got my
standup and I've got my special and the objective is to just keep doing what I
love and growing your fan base and keep making these pilots. People think that
all your celebrities that you love come out of nowhere and they don't. It's
years in the trenches. Say something hits and it's like, 'Oh, where did that
person come from?' They've been working.
GM: Craig Ferguson's leaving.
IL: Um, yes. These are all
conversations that are had behind closed doors. But fingers crossed.
GM: They need a woman on there.
IL: I agree. We have room in the
late-night landscape for two men with brown hair named Jimmy but women aren't
allowed. Got it. Okay.
GM: I'll let you go on your date.
Good luck with that. Hope he's nice.
IL: I do, too. He seems very tall
so fingers crossed. I'll be in Vancouver in a couple weeks. Am I going to see
you?
GM: Yes, you will see me. Maybe
you'll do my show again.
IL: I would love to. I had such a
good time last time and I love Canadians and I love that you always want to
interview me. That makes me happy.
GM: And this is the first time
for print.
IL: Cool. I like that. Well, I'm
sorry I rushed.
GM: Tell me all about your date
when I see you.
IL: Okay cool. Thanks, Guy.
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