Speaker 1: Callaroga Shark Media. Hi there, I'm Johnny Mack with your
daily comedy news and daily briefing on stand up comedy,
comedians and the comedy industry. We're gonna get a little
political today. Dave Chappelle did that big interview with NPR
and they asked him about the Ria to Comedy Festival.
Dave said his concerns faded when you looked at the
broader relationship between Saudi Arabia and American entertainment. Dave said,
the United States government does business with the Saudis. Netflix
does business with the Saudis. The Saudis finance tons of movies.
Dave said, as soon as a black man can make
money off the plantation, they try to tell you the
money is dirty. NPR host Michael Martin pressed Dave Chappelle
on weather taking money from the festival conflicted with his
public image. Dave said, if you want to be that
pure about money, then stop driving your car, stop eating,
don't use your cell phone. Everything's tethered to something that's
just terrible. Jimmy Kimmel called out comedians who have supported
Donald Trump. Jimmy Kimmel was on the Michelle Obama podcast. Michelle,
the wife of former President Barack Obama. Kim All believes
there are comedians who are pretending to be something other
than what they are in search of an audience. You know,
you look at some of these comics, you know, maybe
they're not doing so great, and they think, I got
to pick up this maggot sorch and maybe people will
support me just because of that. Michelle Obama agreed, saying
it's important for people to know that for some of
these folks, this is a game, this is a hustle,
you know, more than you would think. Kim All added
more than not. Michelle said, we saw it in the
White House, especially around the holidays, and there'd be a
set of people who would demonize my husband on TV
and then be in line for a picture with their grandchildren,
essentially saying, my granddaughter loves you, and you know, if
you believe in some of the things that you believe,
I believe this is about someone I wouldn't get in
the line. So there's a lot of wink and nodding
that goes on. Kim Will said, on some levels it's
hard to understand, and others it's easy to understand because
when it comes down. People make their money, they seem
willing to compromise in a lot of ways. Worries me
most is when comedians warp their sensibilities for whatever reason.
Kim All thinks because he didn't start out as a
political comedian, that's why he gets more blowback. He explain,
I think I get a little more backlash than somebody
like maybe John Stewart, who came out of the shoot
as a very outspoken liberal, because I didn't talk about
politics because it wasn't really part of my act. I
was doing sports jokes and this kind of stuff. I'm
mostly in The Man Show, and people were like, well,
you betrayed us. I've always been like this, whatever your
parents are, usually that's what you are. And my parents
were very liberal people, you know, very very liberal people,
and I've always been I've never voted for a publican
in my life, said Jimmy. Kimmel has just always been
of this mindset, and I think people wore just shocked
to hear because you assume somebody you like thinks like you.
Jimmy said, I have some very close friends who think
very differently, and I'm okay with that, and I understand
that people have different life experiences and believe things. I know,
I personally believe things to be true for a long
time in my life and realized that they weren't. You
have to allow for that. I posted something on Instagram
about some of these, primarily podcasters, who are now having
second thoughts about who they endorsed for president, and I'm
grateful for them to being honest. It's the coward normal
rule of Maggott and never admit when you're wrong. First
of all, it's the opposite of Christianity. I mean, the
basis of the whole faith, you know, was asking for forgiveness,
and that seems to be cast aside. But I welcome
those people. I don't think there's any way forward if
we don't send your letters to Jimmy Kimmel. Radar Online
wrote about the upcoming end of star trek runer Stephen
Colbert's Late Show. By the way, I was on LinkedIn
and I saw somebody posted like, hey, I just got
a production assistant job at the Late Show, and I
screen grabbed it and I sent it to Mike from
the Letterman pot and I'm like, should we tell her?
I mean, I guess it's good to have five weeks
experience than none, but I'm happy for you. I digress.
A network insider tells Radar Online the grim realities of
winding down a major production like The Late Show or
playing out in a pretty dark way. It's all created
a dark, toxic vibe of the show and on the set.
Because these network back writing and producing jobs are hard
to come by in New York City, people stay in
them for decades if they can. You can practically smell
the misery and pain that hang in the air. Radar
Online said there was a rumor That's star trek runer
Stephen Colbert, had signed a thirteen and a half million
dollar deal with Netflix for a seven episode series. That
would just be insane. Roteen and a half divided by
seven is like almost two million, not quite lazy math.
That's insane. Why would you do that? There's no reason
to do that, and that's why it's not true. John
A source said Stephen hasn't yet outlined a plan for
what he's gonna do after the show ends and who
on the staff will come with him. There's been chatter
for a while that he can start a podcast and
even transform himself into a left wing answer to Chucker Carlson,
but that's not what Stephen wants. I feel bad for
the guy. Starfleet Academy got canceled and he can't do
that wonderful job he was doing. Is the voice of
the computer. Radar Online quotes a source talking about Steven's reps.
They were just as shocked by the cancelation last year
as Stephen was. Now Steven needs to face the reality
he's gonna have to completely reinvent himself if he wants
to avoid the fate that James Corden suffered, which is
a total loss of relevance among American audiences when his
show went off the air. Meanwhile, John Oliver he's worried
about the future of Last Week Tonight because of the
pending merger between Warner Brothers, Discovery and Paramount Skideans. Oliver
was at the twenty twenty six Garden of Laughs All
Star Comedy Benefit, and he said, I'm worried about my
show all the time, regardless of mergers. Mergers are gonna
have to get in line in terms of the constant
anxiety that I have. I'll get to you when I
have some time, corporate overlords. I got a lot of
self loathing to go through first around, the show's not
political enough today. I know. That's why I'm going to
tell you about w camal Bell. He's on the Who's
with Me tour? Come ou said, I'm termally online. I'm
an information junkie. I keep up with the state of
the news. I've been on stage and out of my
phone go off his news broke and be like, did
everyone else see this? I've developed a style and enacted
a point of view and a brand, and if I
don't talk about the news, people are going to be like,
what happened to come out? Did Eve a stroke? He
talked about last year when he was supposed to play
the Kennedy Center and things one sideways. He said, the
funny thing is I was in DC proper at a
place formerly known as the Kennedy Center the day after
Trump announced he was taking it over. The new tenants
hadn't moved in yet, but everybody was preparing for it,
and so when I was there. The thing that was
so interesting about that shows a lot of people were
wondering if I was going to cancel it, and I
did the show. Because I was on the plane, I
found out who was taking over but as a comedian,
we're in the best place to do the show in
a place like that because we can talk directly to
what's going on. Looks on people's face as I left,
because people they were mourning for what was gonna happen
with the Kennedy senator going away. James Austin Johnson visited
Notre Dame. His trip was recapped by the NDSC Observer
You're home for comedy News. James said, I was on
a tour of the campus. You could suddenly see like
these biblical statues, which makes you lean. One way that
I learned Joe Biden had been here for a wedding
last year, so I'm confused. James then riffed on Trump's
attempts to cast Biden as the wocus person ever, saying,
I don't know about you, guys, but when I imagine
the wocas person ever, a ninety seven year old white
grandpa is not what I envision. He talked about SNL.
He thought SNL was made up of liberals, but according
to James, the people behind the show are all kinds
of people, a true cross section of America. As for looks,
he joked, I hate when comics are handsome. Comics are
supposed to be ugly. If you're hot and thing of
doing comedy, please just go in to finance comedies for
ugly people. I know I'm hot, but it's the exception
that proves the rule. Not sure what's going on here,
but there was a press release. Comedian Paul Eliah's stand
up special good Son is being released on Watermelon Plus.
Now you think I'm making up Watermelon Plus, but I
am not. I was unfamiliar with Watermelon Plus, but I
was also unfamiliar with Paul Elia. Watermelon Plus on their
website says we champion fearless cinema and deliver powerful, entertaining
storytelling without compromise. Apparently it cost eight bucks a month.
Let's see what's on this thing? Oh? I clicked shop
thinking I could see some specials and they want to
sell me a hat. I don't want a hat. I'm
going back to the story, all right. So here's what
I know. What's really going on. Good Sun is going
to be released on Watermelon Plus. In the wake of
promotional restrictions, Paul faced due to a brief mention of
Donald Trump. So as the news goes here, Originally only
planned as a YouTube special. The premiered April eighth. The
self financed hour long special features a Trump impression followed
by a joke about Paul's family support for the president.
The inclusion limited the promotional of the special, but rather
than edit the material, Elia chose to also release it
on Watermelon Plus. According to what is in front of me,
Paul said, While I'm hugely disappointed the Google decided to
restrict my special from paid promotion, I'm very proud of
partner with Watermelon Plus, who have been very consistent in
their mission of freedom of expression? Is that a thing?
If you tell a pro Trump joke, YouTube won't take
your buddy. I'm not sure what's going on here. I'm
confused by this. Anyway, go to Watermelon Plus find out
for yourself. In Good Sun, Paul explores what it means
to balance cultural expectations with personal freedom. A first generation
a rocky Assyrian Paul Iliad delivers a sharp and hilarious
hour of stand up navigating identity, family dynamics, and the
challenge of forging an individual path while stay connected to
one's roots. Happy Earth Day Zach Alfanakis is hosting a
series on Netflix about gardening. It is titled This Is
a Gardening Show. It debuts today with six episodes, of
each episode between fifteen and twenty minutes. This Is a
Gardening Show is described as a refreshing and whimsical take
on gardening, blending comedy and an earnest appreciation for the
planet all the people live on It. No quote from Zach,
but one of the producers said, I kind of think
as gard was struggling. You'll see a grown man honestly
gas when shown the proper way to plant the seed.
This is peak TV in Los Angeles tonight. It is
Comedy gives backs Alt Comedy All Stars. You have to
read that sentence slow. There's just something weird about the
a's and the season that sentence. That's right. It is
Comedy gives backs Alt Comedy All Stars. I think the
s's are a problem there too. At Comedy gives backs
all to Comedy All Stars. It's John Hamm and David Cross.
They join a hilarious lineup featuring Star Trek Ruiner, Patton Oswalt,
Bob Odenkirk, Brian Posain, Mary Lynn, Rice Cub, Doug Benson,
and a bunch of others. It's at the Montalbon Theater,
named after Ricardo Montlebon, who, of course was Cohn who
helped make Star Trek great and now Star Trek Ruiner
Patton Oswald is performing in the theater. Hmm, maybe Shatner
will come by. I don't think Shatner is going to
come by, but maybe he will. You never know. Comedy
Gives Backs Alt Comedy All Stars seven thirty pm tonight,
All pro Seeds Benefit Comedy Gives Back. Ticket prices start
at fifty bucks. One hundred percent of ticket sales support
the organization's mission. That's great. A good news from Jeff Ross.
He says he's doing beautifully after recovering from colon cancer.
He told NPR my health is one hundred percent. I
just had my chemo port removed. It's really important for
people to know that I'm doing okay. I'm better than
doing okay, he insisted. People don't worry about me at
least right now. I feel very fortunate. And to the
people listening who are going through chemo, you can do it.
That is your comedy news for today. Coming up on Thursday,
it is the twenty twenty six Comedian Draft. Five teams
of comedians will be drafted. It's like the NFL Draft,
but different