Life is all about timing. Especially when you're telling jokes that many might view as not funny, and that even more might find downright offensive. Thus, Lisa Lampanelli, the self-proclaimed Queen of Mean, who stars in her first HBO comedy special which premieres today, picks her moments carefully very carefully.
Nicole Powers: Most people get into comedy because they were picked on in the playground, but you have a particularly brutal brand of humor that could potentially solicit as many beatings from bullies as it might stave off. So where does your humor come from?
Lisa Lampanelli: I know, isn't it weird? I wasn't even corn handled as a child or anything. You'd think someone as angry as me would have had to at least been twiddled by their uncle. But no, I had a pretty normal upbringing in an Italian house with a big loud mom, and a sort of strange pussy of a dad. So basically I had no excuse really for what I do today.
NP: A lot of your humor focuses on race? Why is that? How has racism impacted your life?
LL: I luckily have not been a victim of racism other than black men have beat up my private parts quite a bit, and I don't think that was 'cause it was a racial thing, I think they just like the white punany. But I've never been caught up on being a chubby white girl Italian, I'm not the racial profile, but I like to do that in my comedy because it makes everyone feel at the same level.
NP: Talking of everyone being on the same level, I agree with the principle that you run on, which is that you can't laugh at others unless you can laugh at yourself, but are their any other lines you draw in comedy?
LL: Oh, absolutely not. I mean you'll see on my HBO special, it's pretty much fair game...If you're in the audience it's fair game, and any subject can be made funny. If you're good enough you can make AIDS, rape, cancer, corn holings, you can make it all humorous, but you have to do it right.
NP: You use many words that many consider to be racial slurs. How do you decide what words are acceptable for you to use? Is 'spick' OK? And if so, what about the 'N-word'? What criteria do you use to make such distinctions?
LL: Well, I just do which ones flow off the tongue easiest for me because the audience seems to accept every word I say. So if I use the 'N-word', that does flow off the tongue quite nicely in some jokes. And I like 'spick' a lot better than 'wetback' because the 'c' sound at the end of 'spick' is a lot funnier and crisper than 'wetback'. 'Wetback' is kind of boring. The two syllables water it down. Now with 'homosexuals' I mean there's so many...It's just impossible to decide, so pretty much, because I have a nice gay following, I do them all.
NP: I have to admit as a white anglo-saxon, your comedy makes be feel incredibly uncomfortable. However, I can see that your audience, which is made up of minorities of every race and creed, are clearly laughing along with the insults that you hurl at them. Do you think that your show almost serves as group therapy?
LL: That certainly wasn't my intention. Believe me, I'd love to sit there and say that, "Oh yes, I strive to bring people together." I just like cursing at people and calling them names, and suddenly it started paying off and taking on a different tone. So, what I think is they don't get therapized, I think what happens is they all feel like they're all on the same page and everybody's equal when they come out of the show. And I get a lot of emails saying, "Oh, wow, you really helped me and my boyfriend stay together." Or "Oh, you turned me on to the black men," and this is from chubby white girls who meet black men. So even if I'm not trying to, I'm still helping people.
NP: Because in your performances you use the very same insults your audience are assaulted with in their everyday lives, and it's almost like your shows serve as a safe, controlled and cathartic environment where the sting of such insults is therapeutically replaced with laughter. Do you see that?
LL: Yes, absolutely. But on a serious note, I can get away with it because I'm a nice person, I have a warm personality, my intention is good behind it. The thing is, people sense when you have the least bit of anger or hate towards a group that's why you never make fun of people you don't like so I usually leave the British out of it.
NP: [laughs full disclosure: I'm a Brit.]
LL: You know what? You people think you're big shots. And do you remember, we won the war, OK. That's why we're a superior country. But you and I will not get into fisticuffs. I call a truce
NP: I think we just let you have the country back because we looked into our crystal ball and saw what was coming.
LL: My god! You British really have to learn how to let go.
NP: Your love life is also a fountain of inspiration for your humor. How's that going?
LL: Well let me tell you something, I actually took a year and a half off of dating because I was very co-dependent and needed to be alone for a while to see what kind of men enjoyed me and I them. So I took some time off...So what happened was, now that I have better self-esteem, I started attracting men with jobs and like decent jobs. I'd say like about 2011 I might equal, and I'd say it'd be a hot chocolate daddy who's a lawyer or something.
NP: Or Barack Obama, I hear he's got a good job.
LL: Ooh, I'd love that. But you know he's very racist. Did you notice he's got a black wife What's the fuck is that all about? Hello!
NP: In your comedy special you're very honest about the fact there are a couple of jokes you have to work up the courage to air. Have you had many instances where the moment a joke left your lips you wish you'd been able to suck it right back?
LL: No. Because I wait until I'm ready. It's like losing your virginity you really should wait until you're ready...There is one joke that's pretty hardcore...So that joke is a very racist joke, but yet, I don't know why, black people email me about that joke all the time and say, "Thanks for going there." So they know I mean it in an ironic sense.
What happens is, I kind of sense when the audience is open enough, when I'm scared enough to do it, and bomb! When the two coincide then I can get away with anything.
NP: What's the best and worst reactions you've had?
LL: Standing ovations on the way in, on the way out, that's a pretty fun reaction. That's hot.
NP: And what's the flipside of that? What's the worst reactions you've had?
LL: Well, here's the problem, or maybe actually it's good really, I have my assistant delete any negative emails I get from fans so I can delude myself into thinking everyone loves me. So basically, I'm not really sure if anybody out there doesn't like me, but from what I hear I'm fantastic.
NP: You've appeared a lot on Howard Stern's show. As the Queen of mean how would you describe your relationship with the King of All Media?
LL: Howard Stern is my hero first and foremost because he is a First Amendment advocate and he's just fantastic. I don't know who else anyone would listen to for four or five hours straight everyday single day. So Howard is my hero. But when you meet your hero you're hoping they'll be really nice. And thank god, he is such a gentleman, he's so nice. Every time I go on there he laughs, and he's happy to see me, and he says such nice things after work. Because I know he's worked on himself a lot. He's made no secret that he goes to therapy four times a week, and I go to therapy a lot, so we have like this little bond. I'm saddened, because we'll probably never be buddies that go out on the town because I'm still too in awe of him. But were just meant to have a nice business relationship, and I love it. He's the fucking best guy in the business for my career.
NP: How did that start out? How did you come to Howard's attention?
LL: Well, what had happened was, what I did was, all my career I'd said, I gotta get on Howard Stern but I'm not going to do it until I'm ready." Again, I never to anything until I'm ready. Like this year I was ready to do the HBO special, but not before that. So I said with Howard I had to wait until I had something specific to talk about that he'll be tickled by. So, I'd just done a Chevy Chase Roast on Comedy Central, like seven years ago, and Chevy asked me to go on. He said Howard's going to love to hear this stuff, because Howard loves gossip. So I said, OK, because that combined with the fact that I'd just started dating black guys, I figured he'd really be into it. So I went on, and it wasn't on Sirius Satellite Radio yet, and so it went great on the regular radio, and then when he got satellite I ended up really getting into it and becoming pretty much a regular every few months.
NP: You've Taken It Like A Man and been a Dirty Girl for Comedy Central and now you're HBO's Queen of Mean. How does doing comedy specials for the two compare?
LL: Well the only difference is that HBO has absolutely no editing. They don't make you take out all the language, no matter what time of the day it's on, and Comedy Central, unfortunately, because they're not a paid channel, they have to have different standards for censors and things.
So it's less of an argument before hand. Because with Comedy Central we'd go through ten hours of editing and going, "Oh, can I do this? Can I get away with that?" But with HBO they were like, "OK! Unless there's legally something wrong, you can leave it in." So really, it was a two-minute discussion with HBO, which for a comic is great, because I don't have to change anything, I'm allowed to be who I am. It allows you the best format to be exactly the person you wanted to be.
NP: So this is the raw, uncut Lisa lashing out.
LL: Oh, yeah. This is just like anything goes. In fact, we taped two shows because you have to tape two shows by the contract in case the cameras screws up or whatever. So we taped the first one and HBO were like so happy, and they were hugging me, and they were like, "Oh my god! We've never seen anything like this." And then when we taped the second show and I was like, "Gees, I don't even have to do a second show, it's in the can. But then, I was even looser, so the second one came out even better. So we pretty much used that as the one...and that one just had the craziest audience, so that was like the perfect night. Every minority in the room stood up. It was just beautiful.
Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen premieres tonight on HBO at 10 p.m. EST/PST.
Nicole Powers: Most people get into comedy because they were picked on in the playground, but you have a particularly brutal brand of humor that could potentially solicit as many beatings from bullies as it might stave off. So where does your humor come from?
Lisa Lampanelli: I know, isn't it weird? I wasn't even corn handled as a child or anything. You'd think someone as angry as me would have had to at least been twiddled by their uncle. But no, I had a pretty normal upbringing in an Italian house with a big loud mom, and a sort of strange pussy of a dad. So basically I had no excuse really for what I do today.
NP: A lot of your humor focuses on race? Why is that? How has racism impacted your life?
LL: I luckily have not been a victim of racism other than black men have beat up my private parts quite a bit, and I don't think that was 'cause it was a racial thing, I think they just like the white punany. But I've never been caught up on being a chubby white girl Italian, I'm not the racial profile, but I like to do that in my comedy because it makes everyone feel at the same level.
NP: Talking of everyone being on the same level, I agree with the principle that you run on, which is that you can't laugh at others unless you can laugh at yourself, but are their any other lines you draw in comedy?
LL: Oh, absolutely not. I mean you'll see on my HBO special, it's pretty much fair game...If you're in the audience it's fair game, and any subject can be made funny. If you're good enough you can make AIDS, rape, cancer, corn holings, you can make it all humorous, but you have to do it right.
NP: You use many words that many consider to be racial slurs. How do you decide what words are acceptable for you to use? Is 'spick' OK? And if so, what about the 'N-word'? What criteria do you use to make such distinctions?
LL: Well, I just do which ones flow off the tongue easiest for me because the audience seems to accept every word I say. So if I use the 'N-word', that does flow off the tongue quite nicely in some jokes. And I like 'spick' a lot better than 'wetback' because the 'c' sound at the end of 'spick' is a lot funnier and crisper than 'wetback'. 'Wetback' is kind of boring. The two syllables water it down. Now with 'homosexuals' I mean there's so many...It's just impossible to decide, so pretty much, because I have a nice gay following, I do them all.
NP: I have to admit as a white anglo-saxon, your comedy makes be feel incredibly uncomfortable. However, I can see that your audience, which is made up of minorities of every race and creed, are clearly laughing along with the insults that you hurl at them. Do you think that your show almost serves as group therapy?
LL: That certainly wasn't my intention. Believe me, I'd love to sit there and say that, "Oh yes, I strive to bring people together." I just like cursing at people and calling them names, and suddenly it started paying off and taking on a different tone. So, what I think is they don't get therapized, I think what happens is they all feel like they're all on the same page and everybody's equal when they come out of the show. And I get a lot of emails saying, "Oh, wow, you really helped me and my boyfriend stay together." Or "Oh, you turned me on to the black men," and this is from chubby white girls who meet black men. So even if I'm not trying to, I'm still helping people.
NP: Because in your performances you use the very same insults your audience are assaulted with in their everyday lives, and it's almost like your shows serve as a safe, controlled and cathartic environment where the sting of such insults is therapeutically replaced with laughter. Do you see that?
LL: Yes, absolutely. But on a serious note, I can get away with it because I'm a nice person, I have a warm personality, my intention is good behind it. The thing is, people sense when you have the least bit of anger or hate towards a group that's why you never make fun of people you don't like so I usually leave the British out of it.
NP: [laughs full disclosure: I'm a Brit.]
LL: You know what? You people think you're big shots. And do you remember, we won the war, OK. That's why we're a superior country. But you and I will not get into fisticuffs. I call a truce
NP: I think we just let you have the country back because we looked into our crystal ball and saw what was coming.
LL: My god! You British really have to learn how to let go.
NP: Your love life is also a fountain of inspiration for your humor. How's that going?
LL: Well let me tell you something, I actually took a year and a half off of dating because I was very co-dependent and needed to be alone for a while to see what kind of men enjoyed me and I them. So I took some time off...So what happened was, now that I have better self-esteem, I started attracting men with jobs and like decent jobs. I'd say like about 2011 I might equal, and I'd say it'd be a hot chocolate daddy who's a lawyer or something.
NP: Or Barack Obama, I hear he's got a good job.
LL: Ooh, I'd love that. But you know he's very racist. Did you notice he's got a black wife What's the fuck is that all about? Hello!
NP: In your comedy special you're very honest about the fact there are a couple of jokes you have to work up the courage to air. Have you had many instances where the moment a joke left your lips you wish you'd been able to suck it right back?
LL: No. Because I wait until I'm ready. It's like losing your virginity you really should wait until you're ready...There is one joke that's pretty hardcore...So that joke is a very racist joke, but yet, I don't know why, black people email me about that joke all the time and say, "Thanks for going there." So they know I mean it in an ironic sense.
What happens is, I kind of sense when the audience is open enough, when I'm scared enough to do it, and bomb! When the two coincide then I can get away with anything.
NP: What's the best and worst reactions you've had?
LL: Standing ovations on the way in, on the way out, that's a pretty fun reaction. That's hot.
NP: And what's the flipside of that? What's the worst reactions you've had?
LL: Well, here's the problem, or maybe actually it's good really, I have my assistant delete any negative emails I get from fans so I can delude myself into thinking everyone loves me. So basically, I'm not really sure if anybody out there doesn't like me, but from what I hear I'm fantastic.
NP: You've appeared a lot on Howard Stern's show. As the Queen of mean how would you describe your relationship with the King of All Media?
LL: Howard Stern is my hero first and foremost because he is a First Amendment advocate and he's just fantastic. I don't know who else anyone would listen to for four or five hours straight everyday single day. So Howard is my hero. But when you meet your hero you're hoping they'll be really nice. And thank god, he is such a gentleman, he's so nice. Every time I go on there he laughs, and he's happy to see me, and he says such nice things after work. Because I know he's worked on himself a lot. He's made no secret that he goes to therapy four times a week, and I go to therapy a lot, so we have like this little bond. I'm saddened, because we'll probably never be buddies that go out on the town because I'm still too in awe of him. But were just meant to have a nice business relationship, and I love it. He's the fucking best guy in the business for my career.
NP: How did that start out? How did you come to Howard's attention?
LL: Well, what had happened was, what I did was, all my career I'd said, I gotta get on Howard Stern but I'm not going to do it until I'm ready." Again, I never to anything until I'm ready. Like this year I was ready to do the HBO special, but not before that. So I said with Howard I had to wait until I had something specific to talk about that he'll be tickled by. So, I'd just done a Chevy Chase Roast on Comedy Central, like seven years ago, and Chevy asked me to go on. He said Howard's going to love to hear this stuff, because Howard loves gossip. So I said, OK, because that combined with the fact that I'd just started dating black guys, I figured he'd really be into it. So I went on, and it wasn't on Sirius Satellite Radio yet, and so it went great on the regular radio, and then when he got satellite I ended up really getting into it and becoming pretty much a regular every few months.
NP: You've Taken It Like A Man and been a Dirty Girl for Comedy Central and now you're HBO's Queen of Mean. How does doing comedy specials for the two compare?
LL: Well the only difference is that HBO has absolutely no editing. They don't make you take out all the language, no matter what time of the day it's on, and Comedy Central, unfortunately, because they're not a paid channel, they have to have different standards for censors and things.
So it's less of an argument before hand. Because with Comedy Central we'd go through ten hours of editing and going, "Oh, can I do this? Can I get away with that?" But with HBO they were like, "OK! Unless there's legally something wrong, you can leave it in." So really, it was a two-minute discussion with HBO, which for a comic is great, because I don't have to change anything, I'm allowed to be who I am. It allows you the best format to be exactly the person you wanted to be.
NP: So this is the raw, uncut Lisa lashing out.
LL: Oh, yeah. This is just like anything goes. In fact, we taped two shows because you have to tape two shows by the contract in case the cameras screws up or whatever. So we taped the first one and HBO were like so happy, and they were hugging me, and they were like, "Oh my god! We've never seen anything like this." And then when we taped the second show and I was like, "Gees, I don't even have to do a second show, it's in the can. But then, I was even looser, so the second one came out even better. So we pretty much used that as the one...and that one just had the craziest audience, so that was like the perfect night. Every minority in the room stood up. It was just beautiful.
Lisa Lampanelli: Long Live the Queen premieres tonight on HBO at 10 p.m. EST/PST.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
couz1:
Lisa is a great talent and I`m glad she is coming into her own.She funnier than hell and you can`t fake talent.She`s gonna be huge.
presence:
love her. total cuntheart....errr sweetheart. Works the crowd like a champ.