Earlier this week, comedian Todd Glass was a guest on LNJF and talked to Jimmy about a few things - stand up comedy, touring with other comedians, and a recent announcement he made on Marc Maron's WTF podcast. Recently Todd went on WTF and came out of the closet. It was a great, thought provoking episode and you can listen to it here if you haven't already. We sat down with Todd (and his friend comedian Rory Scovel who was hanging out backstage) after his interview with Jimmy to see what the reaction has been since his WTF interview. Check it out.
LNJF: How was it doing the show today?
Todd Glass: It was fun. I’ve never done just straight panel [talking on the couch]. Usually I’ll do stand up then panel, or I’ll do a bit and then go to panel, but it was fun walking out there and just doing panel. I like doing it and Jimmy’s great. He’s very conversational and I didn’t do any bits. It’s nice when somebody what I call ‘Regis Philbin’s’ it. You go out there and you talk. As a comedian your instincts are always to think ‘was I funny enough?’ But it’s like when you listen to Howard Stern, you hope, I’m not being self indulging, they’re just privy to an honest conversation. Sometimes genuine comedy comes out of it, which is good, as opposed to when you watch Comics Unleashed, and they’re just asking them ‘What do you think about ferris wheels?’ and here comes the ferris wheel bit you’ve been doing for 20 years.
Rory Scovel: [snoring sound]
TG: Shut the f**k up—you’re staying in here. I want this on record, I know this is a written interview, but Rory‘s trying to leave the room. I want you in here.
RS: Its awful.
TG: You’re awful. My interview’s that bad you have to leave?
RS: I…just want to see Nick Jonas.
TG: Oh, do you really? Well, he doesn’t want to see you. Alright, go ahead—I don’t mind doing this at all. If anything I’ll probably want to talk longer than you. I look at this as therapy.
LNJF: You just talked to Jimmy about your WTF Podcast interview. In the WTF interview you and Marc Maron talked about what would happen after that podcast was released. What has the response been like?
TG: You know what, I thought it wasn’t going to be that much of a weight off of my shoulders. Because, hey, I’m a full-grown adult and I was comfortable with who I was, I just wasn’t open about it. But, I thought it’s not going to be that big of a weight off of my shoulders, but people said it would be and I just thought 'Oh, that’s what you think you’re supposed to say.' But it was, obviously. Being honest, little things. It’s not one major thing, its just 15, 20 little things that happen throughout the day where now you can be honest with somebody instead of making up lie after lie after lie. Some days there weren’t any lies because it wouldn’t come up, but when it did come up, you’re just lying. Not major lies but little things here and there. So, it’s better, it’s much better.
LNJF: Has it changed your stand up?
TG: Not yet, not yet. That’ll take a long time probably. I was telling Rory – [to Rory] I’m trying to get you in this interview so you don’t leave - it’ll probably be one night -
[Rory starts typing on his iPhone]
TG: Rory, how come you can’t be interested. I’m interesting.
RS: I was doing another interview...about this interview. [to LNJF] How’s it going with Todd?
LNJF: It’s going okay, it’s dryer than I thought, but we’re getting there.
TG: Oh my god, you’re doing an interview about my interview while I’m doing an interview?
RS: I’m not going to disrespect another journalist while he’s interviewing you, I should stick to talking directly to him.
[Laughter]
TG: Anyways, it’s all very positive and it’s good. I’ll probably get it in my act eventually. I think one night when I was at the Acme Comedy Club, the only joke I made is a girl walked through the crowd and she had, like, gigantic [breasts]. And I was like, “Yeah, there you go, that’s what I’m talkin’ about” and then I looked at the crowd and I was like, “Yeah, that’s what the crowd’s thinking, 'is that really what you’re talking about?'” And that’s what I said. And then I talked about [female genitalia] for a half an hour to get the crowd back on my side. This has to be clean, doesn’t it?
LNJF: Well, we can edit. Have you talked about it in your podcast? Had you totally come out on your podcast?
TG: No, I never mentioned it on my podcast ever. The only time I mentioned it was after I did Marc Maron. My podcast that followed that, I talked about it for an hour then did a regular show after it. And then, since then, maybe I talk about it here and there but it doesn’t come up all the time. If it comes up I talk about it, but most of the time it doesn’t - as it doesn’t in my regular life. But if I come across it now, like if there’s something going on in the news, now I can talk about it from an honest place.
LNJF: You said in your WTF interview this wasn't going to change your stand up persona, this is who you are and this is just about you being honest to everybody else in this public forum. And it seems like that’s been the way that everything has carried on since you did that interview.
TG: Yeah, yeah, and I’m sure something funny will happen eventually and I’ll work it in. I’m not going to be - [to Rory] I’m going to mention you again, Rory. Look at you, eating Doritos. How are you not obese?
RS: Are you the one who made the joke about Tig Notaro. How she’s going to go on Marc Maron and come out that she was straight? Was that you?
[Laughter]
TG: Oh yeah. No, no…but, what were we just saying? Yeah, how I’m not going to do the stereotypical jokes that you’ve heard a hundred times. When every other kid was playing with GI Joes, I was playing with Barbie dolls. Because I wasn’t playing with Barbie dolls. But I think when it happens—I’m sure it will happen—that when it happens it’ll be funny, it won’t just be jokes people have heard before.
LNJF: Is there anything else you want to say after this, the first TV performance after [the podcast]?
TG: This, for me, is a whole new thing. Always in the back of my head I’m paranoid what my peers will think, but this wasn’t 10 years ago, it wasn’t a year ago, and it wasn’t 8 months ago, it was very recent. So, doing this on TV I had last minute jitters. I was like, maybe I should just not talk about it, just go out and be funny. And then I said to myself, are you not doing it because you’re scared or you think its overkill? And I thought, you’re not doing it because you’re scared, because it’s not overkill. Who’s going to say, oh he talked about it on Marc Maron and then he talked about it on his podcast…once for three minutes, and then he goes on Fallon –
RS: Dressed like that.
[Laughter]
TG: So I thought, you’re just trying to think of a way to get out of it, but the bottom line was I wanted to talk about it because I think it does help people, especially when they’re younger to see someone that just was funny for six, seven minutes that had nothing to do with it. Then they find out, oh, that guy’s gay. Oh, okay, that’s cool. He seems like a regular guy. So I think that it’s good that I did it.
Jimmy came into my green room and he was like, “No, we’ll talk about it.” So the way he said it he relaxed me. He just said, “Yeah, we’ll get out there, its cool you did it.” But I did get a little bit of a stomach ache this morning, thinking about it. Like, maybe I should just say no or tell Jimmy, yeah, we don’t have to have to talk about it. If Jimmy would have not wanted to talk about it, or left it up to me, I probably wouldn’t have, but I was glad that he said it. I get it’s the right thing. I get it. Every time someone is just honest about who they are because some people have said it’s a shame you even have to say it. Why is it even an issue? But I get that it is, I almost defend that it’s an issue. I get it.
And when someone says that they’re being incredibly open-minded. They’re like, ‘God it's so weird that you have to announce that.' But you do because I hid it. If you hide it publicly, you have to come out publicly. And not that I’m John Lennon or…why do I come up with the worst examples? Not that I’m…give me a good one because I don’t want you printing that. Not that I’m David Letterman coming out of the closet, but for the public, for the audience that I have, I hid it from them. So now I have to come out and do it publicly. So it makes sense.
RS: I like the idea of the guy who always goes to John Lennon so he has little arrogance - like, ‘Look, I’m not John Lennon…’, but its always John Lennon.
TG: But that’s why I did it. Because any time a kid at home—I keep saying kid, but it could be like a 40 year old too. When I was younger a baseball player came out, when I was about 21, and I remember that really making me feel good because I was like, he’s a normal guy. And I was like, that’s cool. It made me feel better. But there weren’t that many people. It was either they were flaming—not that there’s anything wrong with that—it made me scared.
TG: So we’re all good?
LNJF: We’re good.
Catch up with Todd and learn about his podcast, The Todd Glass Show, at www.toddglass.com
