Name: The Backlash Whitney Cummings Received Over Her Sitcom
Uploaded: 2022-07-29T17:16:45.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Backlash Whitney Cummings Received Over Her Sitcom' from PowerfulJRE on Comedy Buff. Published 2022-07-29. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Backlash Whitney Cummings Received Over Her Sitcom' from PowerfulJRE on Comedy Buff. Published 2022-07-29. Transcript available.

the Joe Rogan experience the mat the amount of backlash and shit I got when I
started and had a show out was brutal it was brutal I didn't know you then I
met
you at the Laugh Factory I remember I met you at the Laugh Factory I had
already been kicked out of the comedy store and that was it was during my time
where I was doing other clubs so it was somewhere around like 2007 ish or
something like that upstairs I met you so I don't remember where I met you but
I
remember crying yeah it's so weird to think that because I was at the comic
store when you were not and you were still such a big presence there in a way
that it's because Ari was there you know it just was I don't know I felt like I
knew you maybe before I knew yeah that was a weird time it was a weird time for
you too because like there was a lot of people hating on you because your show
because it was so big like you had these giant billboards and your face was
everywhere you know that's just one of those things where that fucking green
envy
monster pops out of people and they get so mad
but it's also I'm a comic I know what you're making fun of if there was a show
called you know you know Rita with some girl holding a beach ball right like
like
being sassy I would make fun of it too it was like you know I was young and and
you
know it's like as a comedian you get an offer like that how old were you when
you
got Whitney 27 27 damn that's crazy you have your own show at 27 and I wanted
to
hire all my friends I fought really hard even though I had no power you know I
wrote the part for Chris D'Elia you know and I said I don't want to do this
without him not that I even had any of that power at the time you know of
course
they want to cast like these actors that have been on nine shows right that
have
been on a bunch of failed shows you're like why do I want someone that's the
a mirror or people have voted they don't want to see what year was it that you
started
doing stand-up 2004 so you were only doing stand-up for a short period of time
how many
years before you got your show six that's why that's wild wild I was doing the
roast I
was a writer for the roast and then I was on the roasts and I Comedy Central
did not I
never got premium blend or I never got Gotham I never got new faces in Montreal
which really quick just a joke that you might appreciate that I wrote for Joan
Rivers at the Joan Rivers roast but didn't tell this is kind of an inside
comedy thing Joan Rivers has had so much work done on her face every year she
books Montreal new faces and so then I did the Joan Rivers roast and I did so
well
that comedy central offered me a half hour and then I just was like I wanted to
do it to do an hour
because you know they said no to me so many times right as soon as I had
leverage I just was like right use
this yeah because also then on when when comedians complain about their clips
being you know broken up on
Instagram or their stand-up being broken up I always try to go like remember
when we were on
comedy central and they would break up our specials seven minutes and then a
four-minute commercial and then five minutes
they would just arbitrarily break it up anywhere and you only actually had 42
minutes to actually do stand-up yeah and your set was fucked up because like
sometimes those bits would continue after the commercial
break and people would forget with the fucking premises and if people were just
tuning in they had no idea they didn't give a shit
they just shove those commercials in there I remember my it's like an Adam and
Eve and you're like cool like I remember I used to my second comedy central
special I remember trying to time it
seven minutes punchline killer as and do like three mini sets with little closers
instead of one big set yeah because of the way they would cut it up to be 27
and you have your own show is so crazy crazy it's so
it's so like so much pressure that must have been like really overwhelming and
weird
but it's also I didn't realize how um you know it's interesting the way that
you know whether it's our business or just people in general they look at comedians
as kind of these children that need to be babysat instead of these mature
adults that have gone all around the country and you know comported ourselves
actually we act like silly gooses sometimes but we really have our shit
together it's what we do is not easy so
going in and when they were making the billboards and stuff I was like you guys
this is this looks like a cheesy sitcom from the eight this looks like
Veronica's closet like this looks like a Fran Drescher show from the 80s it was
like because it was multicam it was like purple font and
I didn't know what I was doing they do those photoshoots with you and they're
like you know make this face like do this and I'm like me me me me and I was
like
It's what we do is not easy. So going in and and when they were making the billboards
and stuff
I was like you guys this is this looks like a cheesy sitcom from the this looks
like
Veronica's closet like this looks like a friend dresser show from the 80s
It was like because it was multicam. It was like purple font and I don't know
what I was doing
They do those photo shoots with you and they're like, you know, make this face
like do this and I'm like
I was like painted is like the finger wagging like annoying girlfriend
The show was like a role reversal. It was a girl about me someone who had come
from three divorces and was actually commitment
Bobic but in love with someone and trying to figure out how to like, you know
Like someone who's kind of feral trying to be domesticated to be in a normal
relationship
And yeah, you know, and it was people loved it. I just they couldn't get past
the multicam of it
And which is weird because I feel like multicam is so respected in one in one
way
Cheers and well explain what to people what that means means you did it in
front of a live audience
Sure, like when you shoot show in front of live studio audience Roseanne. So
who couldn't get past show?
What do you mean they couldn't get past that? I think people would just were so
mad that I like existed that
They couldn't it was like well, that's a laugh track. They're mad that you
existed. Look, maybe
That's interesting. So it's just who are these people? I don't know. I like
critics or other comics
Like what do you know? It was I think I also it was a multi can I did two multi
camps that year shows in front of a live studio audience
The Whitney show and then two broke girls two broke girls was on CBS
It was beloved and ended up going for six seasons. That was a show that had
other multi camps two and a half men big bang theory
Mike and Molly so that was so the network was already sort of set up for that
and anyone watching that network is already king queens
Yeah, I follow the office and community on oh
I see so they were used to single cam things being shot kind of like a movie
I think the inside cool kids club was like what's this like I got news for you
that club sucks
And those people that are in that club are all cunts
The inside cool kids club those are assholes pretending to not be assholes
They're douchebags pretending to be kind and considerate and the irony is like
they all it's a lot. It's a lot of harvard guys
It's like harvard lampoon guys. Well, some of the best writers. Yeah, I've met
a lot of great writers from harvard
It's kind of amazing how many good like a lot of the guys from news radio were
harvard guys
Oh interesting that Lampoon thing, right? Well, they're just you know really
smart guys who
became
You know that that you got
Sort of ushered into this group
And it was a great way to like use that intellect and that love of comedy and
comedy writing
And it was already like a clearly established path
You know like Paul sims had come through there and all these different and when
they came through
It's like there was other ones that had already paved the path. It was like, oh,
I'll just go on to write for sitcoms
Right, and then I you know, hey, this guy's really funny. We'll hire him
He was also in you know, the Lampoon, but you're not better than me because you
went to harvard. We're both telling dick jokes
We're both doing dick jokes here guys, you know
I mean that that is always a part of harvard right a part of ivy league
education is that you know some people
Are gonna feel like they're elite
Which is fine if you're doing elite work, but there's a lot of people that were
just not
You know and but they had the attitude