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Whitney Cummings
B, B, B.
Cat Cohen
Are we on? Rolling.
Whitney Cummings
Are we on?
Cat Cohen
When you told. When you invited me on this podcast, I was gagged because you're a legend. You're an icon. You mean so much to me and all the girlies my age.
Whitney Cummings
That's wild.
Cat Cohen
You're literally top tier queen of comedy.
Whitney Cummings
Come in here believing in gender. What's your age?
Cat Cohen
The what?
Whitney Cummings
Toxic.
Cat Cohen
First of all, girlies is for anyone of any gender.
Whitney Cummings
Okay, good point.
Cat Cohen
I don't care.
Whitney Cummings
Fair, fair, fair. Okay, so I'm woke, but just not cool.
Cat Cohen
Turns out.
Whitney Cummings
That's nice.
Cat Cohen
It's true. You're crazy. You live in a compound in Hollywood. Come on.
Whitney Cummings
This is not Hollywood. How dare you. Don't. Oh, my God. You just looped me into a file ring. I am not in Hollywood, to be very clear.
Cat Cohen
But as a New Yorker, everything everywhere is Hollywood to me when I come back.
Whitney Cummings
Correct, correct. Wherever I go is Hollywood.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
If I'm there, it's Hollywood. But.
Cat Cohen
Yes, but.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah, that's really nice.
Cat Cohen
You know that kind of. Let me tell it to you then, because you're living the dream.
Whitney Cummings
I appreciate that. I need to get off Reddit. It.
Cat Cohen
You cannot be on Reddit.
Whitney Cummings
Sometimes. Sometimes.
Cat Cohen
Are you name searching?
Whitney Cummings
No, I don't go on there often. I actually do, like, look. Yeah, I'm an anthropologist first and totally. Okay. I'm like, I gotta see what's going on out there. If there's a new dating app I'm on, I gotta see what they're to. Just for the witness.
Cat Cohen
Research.
Whitney Cummings
Research, of course. And then I'm like, on Reddit, like, you know, I got to see what everyone's talking about. I got to see who's mad at who.
Cat Cohen
Oh, no.
Whitney Cummings
You know what I mean? And then sometimes I'm like, I get in there. You dabble. But I think that as a comic, maybe I just have this thing that's like, you cannot ever think you're anything because then you'll stop being funny or, like, you'll stop being ambitious or.
Cat Cohen
It's a delicate balance because it's not.
Whitney Cummings
An imposter syndrome thing at all.
Cat Cohen
No, I don't have that.
Whitney Cummings
I don't. I don't have that. I believe I deserve more.
Cat Cohen
Me too. You know, I say that in this special to reference my own work.
Whitney Cummings
Amazing.
Cat Cohen
I say I think I deserve more stuff. Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
100. I'm ready. Yeah. You guys don't get ready for my.
Cat Cohen
Compound outside of Hollywood.
Whitney Cummings
And. But here's the thing. When I do see negative comments about me, I'm like, oh, no. You just haven't seen enough. You just. You.
Cat Cohen
That's nice. Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
You didn't watch all the specials or, like, 100%.
Cat Cohen
I'm like, if you knew what I was really doing, you'd be addicted.
Whitney Cummings
It's like, with.
Cat Cohen
For real, though. Right?
Whitney Cummings
Which is. By the way. You'll get to it. I didn't. I mean, I was a red licorice person at first, and I didn't. Black licorice. I kind of. And then I really. And I was like, this is better.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
But it takes a second to evolve and be mature enough to get me.
Cat Cohen
It's. We're a sophisticated, acquired taste.
Whitney Cummings
You guys take your time.
Cat Cohen
Take your time.
Whitney Cummings
You can take your time.
Cat Cohen
You don't like me yet. Take your time.
Whitney Cummings
Because once you do get obsessed, there's no going back. It's all consuming.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
So I just. You will be in the prison of obsessed. So just, like, take your time. Yeah, but I.
Cat Cohen
No rush.
Whitney Cummings
It's weird because I'm. Let's talk about you.
Cat Cohen
No. No.
Whitney Cummings
Okay. Good call.
Cat Cohen
That's not what I came anywhere. I came here to psychoanalyze you.
Whitney Cummings
I was just straight up doing a hard Google and there was an article that said that you were looking for a Hollywood mentor.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Would you like to.
Whitney Cummings
I volunteer as tribute.
Cat Cohen
I'm so honored. I put that out. There I go. Somewhat There I go. The right person's going to see this.
Whitney Cummings
I can mentor you very easily through a business that no longer exists. What do you need?
Cat Cohen
I need so much help.
Whitney Cummings
Me. What?
Cat Cohen
I just think, like, the more you try and make happen in this business, you get so discouraged and you need someone on the other side to be like, keep going. But would you say I should stop?
Whitney Cummings
No. I just like, you might not be enough of a masochist and you might not be delusional enough.
Cat Cohen
I agree. I think I'm a little bit of both. For sure.
Whitney Cummings
My thing is, every time there's a disaster or, like, something doesn't happen that breaks my heart. I'm like, one no closer to a yes.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I go, this will be a great talk show story.
Cat Cohen
I do feel the same way. I do feel in my mind. I'm like, wow, something major is coming my way. And you have to keep that line of thought.
Whitney Cummings
Totally.
Cat Cohen
But, you know, it can be difficult.
Whitney Cummings
What do you want that you don't already have? And what do you not understand about the business?
Cat Cohen
Oh.
Whitney Cummings
Or about what we do? Being an artist today, because you are very much an artist to me.
Cat Cohen
That's really nice.
Whitney Cummings
I have been really enjoying watching you do your thing and. And stay like, cool. Sorry. But like, you're like, very cool.
Cat Cohen
That's nice. I don't feel cool.
Whitney Cummings
If this was 10 years, no cool people feel. That's why you're cool. Anyone that's like, I'm cool. You're like, loser.
Cat Cohen
Well, that's because I'm alone in my house. So I want you to know. Okay, yeah.
Whitney Cummings
If this was 10 years ago, you would have been this star that like, popped in all these movies as like the super funny, like, yeah. Fresh special friend and then some sitcom would have got. I would have. I would have.
Cat Cohen
I'm ready.
Whitney Cummings
Stole ya.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I actually think this is a great time for you. I think that, like, that, that, that your kind of generation is like, there's no work anymore. There's no TV anymore. It's like, yeah, but you would have taken some $30,000 a week paycheck to be on some bad show for eight years and no one would have ever seen you again.
Cat Cohen
Damn.
Whitney Cummings
And that would have been your. But now you get to do you.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, I'm playing the long game.
Whitney Cummings
Find your people.
Cat Cohen
I'm patiently awaiting the. Right.
Whitney Cummings
But what do you. You have specials. You have. Another special just came out. You. What?
Cat Cohen
There she is. What do you. Horrible.
Whitney Cummings
Okay, now I'm turning on you. What do you want? What kind of.
Cat Cohen
Well, first you. I'm sick, obviously. And.
Whitney Cummings
Well, that's why we get along. But what.
Cat Cohen
What you have is never enough.
Whitney Cummings
How much more do you want?
Cat Cohen
I would love. I would love.
Whitney Cummings
You have a. You're hilarious.
Cat Cohen
You greedy little bit.
Whitney Cummings
By the way, we were in a movie together. She's in every scene. I'm barely like.
Cat Cohen
That was fun.
Whitney Cummings
That was really fun. They.
Cat Cohen
Okay, but we overlap. We didn't get to hang.
Whitney Cummings
I'm the icon, legend. I fly to New. I fly to Mexico.
Cat Cohen
Oh, not even New Mexico. I'm there full Mexico.
Whitney Cummings
I'm there for 24 hours. They're like, well, shoot. She's there for a month in every scene. I'm acting alone with a phone in the corner of a cafe. I'm not even acting with any cast.
Cat Cohen
I can't. I can't engage with this.
Whitney Cummings
I didn't even get to meet you.
Cat Cohen
You're out of your mind.
Whitney Cummings
And then I fly down to Mexico to go see the movie. I'm in it for 30 seconds and you're in every scene.
Cat Cohen
I wish. I wish I could have been there. That was fun.
Whitney Cummings
So you're.
Cat Cohen
I would Love to be in more movies. I would love to be in a show that people watch.
Whitney Cummings
Okay.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. And the classic things and everything.
Whitney Cummings
You.
Cat Cohen
What do you want? You already have everything.
Whitney Cummings
I mean, it's. It. What you want will always change. Have you created your own shows or you want to?
Cat Cohen
Yeah, I tried to pitch my own show a few years ago. You know, it was. Obviously, everyone was obsessed. Obsessed enough to say no. Amazing. But yes. Maybe I'll try that again.
Whitney Cummings
Can I ask what it was about?
Cat Cohen
I thought it was really good. It was about. So I sing in my act. So it was about a singer who loses her voice and has to figure out what she wants to do with her life.
Whitney Cummings
Love this.
Cat Cohen
And then she kind of sings in her fantasies. So there's still some musical element.
Whitney Cummings
I love this.
Cat Cohen
It's cute, right?
Whitney Cummings
Huh?
Cat Cohen
Shout out to the networks. But we'll try again. Let's revisit this with that. I was very like, okay. It'll come back around. Like, whatever.
Whitney Cummings
But also, the way you sell things is changing a lot. Like. Did you write the pilot?
Cat Cohen
No.
Whitney Cummings
I think you would have sold it.
Cat Cohen
Really? But that's hard.
Whitney Cummings
I have never. Everyone's, like, winning successful. It's only because I have such bad OCD double Virgo till I die. Overachiever.
Cat Cohen
Pick me.
Whitney Cummings
Dork. Every show I have sold, I wrote the pilot ahead of time.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. You said, here's everything.
Whitney Cummings
Because if you pitch to a bunch of executives.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
That, like, have trust funds and went to business or, like, law school. Who are. Who are these people? And what do you know about television? And what do you know about writing? And why am I begging you?
Cat Cohen
It's crazy.
Whitney Cummings
It's. I'm going to pitch it to you, and in your mind you're going to come up with the bad version in your head.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
You know what I'm saying? I'm not going to let you come up with the bad version. I'm going to write it all out. So you are very clear on what this is.
Cat Cohen
So you're for a go. For a go.
Whitney Cummings
What? Virgo. Virgo. Leo Rising.
Cat Cohen
You know I'm Leo. Virgo. Pisces.
Whitney Cummings
Really? What's your reading?
Cat Cohen
And a kindred. August 11th.
Whitney Cummings
It's weird. Oh, I. In a weird way. Like. Like. I guess it's because it's not you. I believe all the Virgo stuff is right, but all the other stuff doesn't check out.
Cat Cohen
I know what you mean.
Whitney Cummings
You know what I mean? Because everything people say about Virgos, I'm like, that's me. That's me.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
And then someone's like, I'm an Aquarius. I'm like, that's not real.
Cat Cohen
Like that I can't really do.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah, I do. You have a funny thing about astrology.
Cat Cohen
I. I'm always. I'm always trying to find something that will, like, explain something to me about myself.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah. But I think you. I have a theory on astrology. I'm happy to repeat it for the 500th time. I don't think it's about the stars in astrology. I do think astrology is right, but not because of the constellation. I think it's right because our personality develops in response to seminal holidays.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
And how close our birthday is to other holidays. So it's like, my birthday is September 4th. So for all Virgos, back to school. Back to school.
Cat Cohen
You go, let's fudgeing.
Whitney Cummings
Go work.
Cat Cohen
You're born. You go, I'm ready.
Whitney Cummings
My birthday was on the first day of school on a Tuesday. I got a Lisa Frank, Trapper Keeper. We're at work. It's like, what a rush.
Cat Cohen
What a rush. School supply.
Whitney Cummings
So I. I learned, like, you work. That's your thing.
Cat Cohen
Yes. You know, I'm cuspy, so I'm. I'm about. I'm getting ready for school. I'm like, summer's over. It's August. Summer's over. It's time.
Whitney Cummings
This is your last room, Springer.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, exactly.
Whitney Cummings
But also, like, be ready, stay ready.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Always be fun.
Whitney Cummings
But what's happening, though? I feel like you have this thing that. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
Cat Cohen
Oh, good.
Whitney Cummings
I was never, like, chosen. I was never like a chosen. What's the word? When you're like. You're just like this special thing. Everyone universally is like, she's the girl. I was never that.
Cat Cohen
Really.
Whitney Cummings
I was. If you.
Cat Cohen
That's. That's crazy to me as someone who was like, in high school, in college, being like, do women do stand up? And it's like, of course, Whitney Cummings. Like the name, literally.
Whitney Cummings
But I was like, I was psycho about it. I wasn't like, you were prepared.
Cat Cohen
You were. You're ready. Yeah, yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I was like, what about this one? I had four scripts written the first time I had like a. Yeah, that's great. Option for a deal. But I've mostly heard no. That's the other thing is that.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
In order to. When you're successful. You've mostly heard no.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, yeah.
Whitney Cummings
So when I hear no, I'm like.
Cat Cohen
That'S you know, it's so easy to hear no for auditions. It's harder to hear no about, like, your own ideas and your own things that you're like, but this is amazing.
Whitney Cummings
It's like when you go, like, you know, I got a no on that. I'm like, that's what I wanted. That's what I wanted. And then you just go, like, I'm gonna force what I want. And then I'm gonna. That was gonna be the show that someone was a creep or someone that's gonna. You know what I mean? Right.
Cat Cohen
Not meant to be.
Whitney Cummings
I've also been on a bunch of things that were like, oh, my God, this is the best thing ever. Hashtag Roseanne. And then you're like, oh, you know what I mean?
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
You're like, oh, that was gonna. Because most things, like, end up, like, kind of being a disaster.
Cat Cohen
So nose are gifts because they're not meant to gifts.
Whitney Cummings
Rejection has got.
Cat Cohen
I love action. That's so true. And you think everything happens for a reason.
Whitney Cummings
I think thinking that way is better.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's better than the alternative.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah. It's like vitamins. Like, do vitamins work? Like, placebo effect doesn't affect.
Cat Cohen
Like, placebo is so real.
Whitney Cummings
Doesn't matter why, you know?
Cat Cohen
Right, right.
Whitney Cummings
But I do think, how about this? My favorite artists, Hollywood doesn't. Didn't get really? Or doesn't consistently, like, get.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
Does that make sense?
Cat Cohen
Yeah, of course.
Whitney Cummings
I'm trying to think of an example. I'm good on going, like, it's not my place to weigh in on that. I'm not sure. Let me ask someone who does know. And when an executive is, like, just kind of like, well, if any guy had any notes on your story about a girl who lost her burn in hell, I mean, I didn't Just, like, the audacity, you know? But the irony is they have the delusional confidence that we probably should have.
Cat Cohen
But first of all, can I say, do you know today is an auspicious day? My 11:11.
Whitney Cummings
I like it. I like a little can't hurt. Like a little witchcraft can't hurt.
Cat Cohen
I'm all. I'm like, I'll take it if that's good. If those numbers are good. I love that. Like, let's do it.
Whitney Cummings
Do you have a religion?
Cat Cohen
God. I love God. Whatever that is.
Whitney Cummings
Big fan.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, I'm half. Half Jew, half Catholic. An amazing mashup. Went through a phase of the Titans. Yeah. For real. Went through a. I'm from Texas, so I was really involved in, like, my youth group.
Whitney Cummings
That's not.
Cat Cohen
I know.
Whitney Cummings
That surprised me.
Cat Cohen
I know. But I don't think I would be where I am if I was just like, some New York City.
Whitney Cummings
No, not in the States.
Cat Cohen
No. I was in Texas being like, get me the hell out. And so I've been Virgo clawing my way out.
Whitney Cummings
Sure, sure, sure.
Cat Cohen
Wanting people to like me for years.
Whitney Cummings
Family still in Texas?
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
You go back. Love H. Town. Yeah, let's go.
Cat Cohen
Exactly.
Whitney Cummings
I love someone who was, like, in Houston, who was like, I belong abroad.
Cat Cohen
Like, a hundred percent.
Whitney Cummings
Like, when was the moment that you were like, that I belong out?
Cat Cohen
Day dot, day dot.
Whitney Cummings
Are things starting to get clearer to you as you've, like, been through the grind of this business, as you've heard no's, as you've had big wins and as you. Sometimes the big amazing wins, you're like, that's not what I thought. Whatever. It is almost always, what are you like, what. Where are you right now?
Cat Cohen
I think it's exactly what you're saying. It's all that matters is the work. All that matters is, like, what I think is funny and cool and great and it'll reach the right people. And that's why I love doing live stuff, because it's like. Because I haven't. I finished my tour at the end of August, and so I feel like I've been like, I love that you're touring a little bit. It's so hard.
Whitney Cummings
Why?
Cat Cohen
It's so hard. It's hard doing. It's hard with doing the music. And like.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah, that is a lot.
Cat Cohen
You're right.
Whitney Cummings
You're right.
Cat Cohen
For a while, I was, like, bringing my guitar and meeting up with a pianist in different cities, and that was not it. So. But it is so much fun. I mean, you get your. The whole point. The whole drama of getting there is hell. And then you're on stage and you're like, I'm in heaven.
Whitney Cummings
Talk to me about music right now. What's going on? What? It's just like, what's going on? Because, like, I. Your songs. What do you like, are so funny to me.
Cat Cohen
Thank you so much.
Whitney Cummings
That is the moment. Music is so ridiculous.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
At this. The fact that anyone after music has been around this long thinks. Thinks they're going to reinvent the. I mean, I only want to at this point. I'm neurobeats. I'm edm. This is new.
Cat Cohen
Okay, okay. Edm.
Whitney Cummings
Edm. Yeah.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. That doesn't speak to me, but I.
Whitney Cummings
Don'T want it to speak to me. I don't have time. I don't have time. I didn't enter into a conversation with you. I need to focus on what I'm doing. I need something to kind of like. Like, take my OCD away. And, like, I just need to be listening to something that's not too distracting without having a bunch of thoughts and emotions.
Cat Cohen
Music is like, so is your ocd like, ruminating thoughts? Like, yes.
Whitney Cummings
Or like, if I hear a song, the worst thing is good music. How dare you ruin my day. Because then I'm like, she's on me. And I'm like, I can't. Good music is way too distracting for me because it's all I want to do, and it puts me in, like, too good of a fun of a mood. I'm like, why am I working? I should be dancing.
Cat Cohen
You should be dancing at the beach.
Whitney Cummings
Out there expressing myself. Like, why am I, like, God forbid, Robin, come on. While I'm working. It's over. I've retired.
Cat Cohen
Music is too fun.
Whitney Cummings
It's too fun. Like, you know, so I don't need this. Who am I doing this for? Like, we only have one shot at life. Like, we got to do this. So, like, I just am at the point where I'm like, music has to. Comedy's evolving in a really big way. Like, podcast has made comedy evolve, right? Because people are hearing us talk all day. So by the time I see they see us on stage and we're doing jokes, they're like, why are you trying so hard?
Cat Cohen
I know. Yeah. How do you feel about that? How has it changed what you do on stage?
Whitney Cummings
You just laugh with your jokes. Like, awkward. So pick me. I know. I wrote these jokes and memorized them.
Cat Cohen
They're, like, awkward.
Whitney Cummings
So I think that because of the conversational nature of this, and they know us so well now.
Cat Cohen
I know.
Whitney Cummings
So. And the crowd work clips are so big that, you know, as comics, we all have to evolve and go, like, okay. And we also have to do things that are different than what people can consume for free all the time.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
This was a shock to comedians. Not to me so much, because my family was always really funny. And that's part of how I had to get funny, like, to defend myself. But, like, memes. Like, I've seen memes that are funnier than any standup joke I've seen a hundred percent. And like, this guy that works at H and R Block who made this meme.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
Is funnier than.
Cat Cohen
I'm in tears over Tiktoks of people in the Midwest. This guy singing at a drive thru.
Whitney Cummings
Who's this guy?
Cat Cohen
Yeah, they're this guy. Funnier than all my friends. Funnier than any comedian I know.
Whitney Cummings
And then why aren't they famous? Oh, because they didn't have such a bad childhood that they need to entertain. They're not strange, they're not mentally ill. Oh, they. I'm like, people could just be funny without making it their job.
Cat Cohen
Like, I can't imagine us all realizing.
Whitney Cummings
Like, oh, there's other funny people out there besides us. Like a shocker. So I think that when someone's coming to see a show now, they're like, they've looked at comedy all day. They've looked at funny memes, They've been on Twitter. They've, like, seen funny tick tocks. They've listened to a bunch of podcasts. Like, by the time they get to the show, it needs to be something different. They need to see a point of view that they're not going to see anywhere else. You know, you need to, like, change them in some way. So it's definitely changed the way that I, like, write and think about live shows.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. That's why I try and bring the razzle dazzle. You have to dancing, the costumes.
Whitney Cummings
You gotta do it.
Cat Cohen
I try and make it really feel like something, a real event.
Whitney Cummings
You have to.
Cat Cohen
That's the goal.
Whitney Cummings
And I think people really want to see delusional confidence.
Cat Cohen
Yes. That's what I bring to the stage.
Whitney Cummings
It feels like you have this.
Cat Cohen
That's what I. Yeah, you're like. You feel delusional.
Whitney Cummings
You.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, you have to be.
Whitney Cummings
Why you have to be. And I think that that is really cathartic for people, you know, because I think there's this new thing of, like, we have to be self aware and we have to, like, it's like, no, just be out of your mind.
Cat Cohen
I know. Yeah, you have to just be like, we're gonna have a good time tonight and this is what's up. And I'm the best.
Whitney Cummings
Who inspired you? Like, who are your.
Cat Cohen
Who inspired me? I mean, I was like a theater kid and I would, like, watch snl. I was, I was just talking about how much I love, like, Molly Shannon doing superstar like that just, like, talk about confidence and like, the grotesque, like, in like, a nasty. A gross, like, girl who's just like. And, like confident and sexual and, like, obsessive. Like, that's my thing. Like, that's who I try and channel on stage.
Whitney Cummings
And then what were you like in high school. Theater dork.
Cat Cohen
No. I would say I was like, medium. Never popular. No.
Whitney Cummings
Boy, you strike me as someone that is just like. You're friends with everyone.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Yeah, a little bit.
Whitney Cummings
Everyone loves you. Everyone wants me.
Cat Cohen
I don't know if everyone loves me, but. Because boys didn't like me. And that's why, like, we're here today.
Whitney Cummings
If I boys didn't like you, you were doing something, right.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Yeah. So no one want to date me. So that is still. I'm still obsessed with that. But I always had friends, but never popular, never cool. Chubby, obviously. Obviously overweight, forever. Up and down my whole life, shout out to society. But what were you like in high school?
Whitney Cummings
I was like. As soon as I realized how. Because. And I don't mean to be like, white woman in my trauma. Like, I came from, like, alcoholic home. Like, bad. Bad.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
And then so, like, middle school and stuff, I was like, I can't wait to get to school. Like, there's going to be food there and there's going to be, like, people there and there's gonna be, like, juice boxes. Like, I love school. Yeah. When your home life is a nightmare. Like, there's organization and people are on time and there's a bell. And, like, I loved how organized it was. It was like, so good for my ocd. And then I got to. And it was like, I don't know how to play these games. And I was like, there's, like emotional warfare in my home. But by the time. And I'm so just growing up with Varian. This is a comedian thing. And you're probably like, this too. I grew up in alcoholic home where I could not stand, like, lying. And I. I didn't. I mean, I was talking about it, like, diagnosed with autism and all this stuff because I never could understand what was happening because. But it was. Turns out everyone was just lying. Everyone's like, no, I'm fine. Nope, everything's good. Yeah. And I was like, I couldn't unders. Because your brain is like, this is. I can tell she's not fine.
Cat Cohen
Right?
Whitney Cummings
And I can tell I'm being lied to. I guess I just must not be able to read social cues. I just must be dumb or crazy enough. Get it. You know what I mean? So by the time I get to high school, it's that. Dude, high school is an alcoholic home where it's just like, this girl's fighting with this girl because he likes it. And everyone's being indirect and it's a lot of like, okay, no, sit with us. You can sit with us. And you're like, am I allowed to sit with you? Like, I don't get that. No, sit with us. See what happened? Like, I didn't.
Cat Cohen
I didn't know what happened.
Whitney Cummings
I didn't know how to do it all. I didn't know how to play the.
Cat Cohen
I never had too much subtext.
Whitney Cummings
I never had the shoes that everyone. I never had the bracelet. I know.
Cat Cohen
Sneaker.
Whitney Cummings
I always had head lice. I, Like, I could.
Cat Cohen
Constant lice.
Whitney Cummings
I had lice. I was that guy. I. I didn't have, like. Like, we have money, so I didn't have the field trips. I was always just the weirdo.
Cat Cohen
Were you sporty?
Whitney Cummings
I was very sporty sport, like, that. Basketball was, like, my whole life. I loved it. Again, rules, merit. I get it. You know, but again, I. I couldn't. I couldn't navigate the social.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I couldn't navigate, like, if you sit next to this boy and talk to him, that girl's gonna be mad at you. And I was like, we. I didn't. No one else will talk to me. So I talked to him. And that's your boyfriend. Like, Like, I was always in trouble. I always had a pit in my stomach in high school. And so by, like, sophomore year, I was like, I'm out. I'm out. And I started, like, working, and I started taking theater classes at, like, a. The fact that my mom let me do this is insane. But in a, like, an outside acting class, started getting groomed by my theater teacher.
Cat Cohen
Incredible.
Whitney Cummings
And I'm like, I'm gone. I am another person. I started wearing. I got at Anthropologie on Sale, a sweater. It was a cape. It was. Had a big collar, the Craft till I Die to the floor. And I really. I was like, I'm done. A friend of mine is Kate Siegel, who I went to high school with. She's on Haunting of Hill House.
Cat Cohen
She's a.
Whitney Cummings
And I had her on the podcast because we were kind of like, high school nemeses, like, because we were both, like, the theater kids and, like, wanted to, like, make it. And she says that she was like, you were done. Like, you were famous when you were a sophomore. I was like, I'm out of here. And I just. I just disassociated the rest of high school.
Cat Cohen
Wow.
Whitney Cummings
I was like. I was friends with one girl, Lee Stitzer. Shout out. The super hardcore goth girl.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. That's cool.
Whitney Cummings
And then we just would, like, hang out together. And, like, that was It.
Cat Cohen
And you had your poncho. You didn't need anyone.
Whitney Cummings
Whoa. That wasn't appropriating. It was a cape.
Cat Cohen
I'm so sorry.
Whitney Cummings
I am done. I also had brutal acne and really brutal.
Cat Cohen
How is it like glass? Tell me how it's like glass.
Whitney Cummings
How it's like glass Now Accutane twice.
Cat Cohen
Okay.
Whitney Cummings
Highly recommend. Does cause suicidal thoughts still recommend. I will be the face.
Cat Cohen
Wouldn't change a thing. But here's the thing.
Whitney Cummings
Like. Like acne also causes poison. And so I was always like. Had the noxema and the toothpaste and the cake duck. We didn't have the star stickers. We didn't have.
Cat Cohen
It wasn't cute. Sorry.
Whitney Cummings
We didn't have stickers on our face. Like, we were like a. Like a trapper keeper. Like. And so I. Yeah, so I was like super embarrassed about my face. I also had clear braces. Horrible.
Cat Cohen
Which is yellow.
Whitney Cummings
So they're whatever color the food you were.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, instant.
Whitney Cummings
Didn't do the. The metal ones. And so I was just like, so embarrassed all the time.
Cat Cohen
Okay.
Whitney Cummings
I was just like in a state of embarrassment. And then I'm like, I'm out of here. And I worked really hard. I was like, I'm gonna be friends with the teachers because they're gonna write me recommendations and I'm gonna get. I was like, I'm gonna blow this joint.
Cat Cohen
And you did.
Whitney Cummings
I'm gonna get out of this Podunkton.
Cat Cohen
Bye, bitches.
Whitney Cummings
I just. I could not do it.
Cat Cohen
Wow.
Whitney Cummings
I did. Like, I didn't understand how to play all the games and I. That's the other thing is like, dude, high school is so traumatic.
Cat Cohen
It is. It's horrible.
Whitney Cummings
If you're a highly sensitive person, like, prom would roll around homecoming and like the pressure and the fear, like, I just. It shut me down.
Cat Cohen
Ask me who asked me to prom.
Whitney Cummings
Who asked you to prom?
Cat Cohen
No one.
Whitney Cummings
Ask me who asked me to prom.
Cat Cohen
Who asked you to prom?
Whitney Cummings
A 38 year old man who I went with.
Cat Cohen
No.
Whitney Cummings
No one thought it was weird. No.
Cat Cohen
Teachers were like, ah, from acting class?
Whitney Cummings
No, from where he pretended to own a fast food restaurant.
Cat Cohen
It was like in the parking lot waiting for you.
Whitney Cummings
It was a different time.
Cat Cohen
That's so crazy.
Whitney Cummings
It was a different time.
Cat Cohen
Sure.
Whitney Cummings
Okay.
Cat Cohen
Well, I went with no one, so.
Whitney Cummings
Okay.
Cat Cohen
Wow. I went with a. Yeah. Pick your poison.
Whitney Cummings
How do you manage your creative energy? Like your days? That to me is the most important part of everything.
Cat Cohen
Well, that's my. That's my main thing. I need mentorship on okay. Because every day I wake up with a panic run to where I'm supposed to go clench through the day and then. And then go to sleep.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Cat Cohen
So I need routine. I don't have. There's nothing in my life that is.
Whitney Cummings
A routine except putting the jewelry on.
Cat Cohen
Well, I did tell you earlier, off camera, in confidence, that I'm using jewelry as a tool. Because I saw a girl on TikTok say that her acupuncturist said jewelry can be a tool to make you feel better. So I'm using jewelry as a tool.
Whitney Cummings
Did acupuncturist sell jewelry?
Cat Cohen
Yeah, yeah, at her studio. And by chance, she's a jewelry designer. It was so weird.
Whitney Cummings
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Cat Cohen
Constraints are good for creativity, I find. So if I, I almost feel like when I had like a day job it was easier to write stuff. Cause I was like, I have to do it in this hour before I go to work or whatever. And now that I have more time, I'm like, okay, well I need to rest first so that I can think straight.
Whitney Cummings
The biggest, the biggest assault on artists has been the glorification of self care. We are not meant to care for ourselves. We are not. No one cares about us. We shouldn't. I mean this whole thing where it's like, and then I have to go to this, and then I have to go to this yoga class and then I have.
Cat Cohen
I know, but I do need massage.
Whitney Cummings
You've done nothing today.
Cat Cohen
I need massage.
Whitney Cummings
That, yeah. I have justified months of procrastinating by changing it as this is self care. I've worked too hard. I'm a workaholic. This is actually progress that I'm not working right now. And like this chair is not ergonomic. I shouldn't even be working right now. Like, yeah, the games my brain will play with me to justify not getting the work done I want to get.
Cat Cohen
I will say the only care anyone really needs is sleep and water, which I think is real. And if I, if I don't sleep, I can't function.
Whitney Cummings
Oh, yeah. No. I mean, I'm. To me, it's that line of what is going to make me optimal and then what is just me making an excuse for writer's block and procrastinate.
Cat Cohen
I know I'm. I'm in a place of needing to start working on my next show, but I haven't done it. It's been a few months.
Whitney Cummings
Your next live show?
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Well, I got to get back up there.
Whitney Cummings
Well, I also just go, like, the muse will hit me. I have to just, like, open to the muse. I have to go for a walk. I have to buy this tank top.
Cat Cohen
You sit down at the table.
Whitney Cummings
I'm a tank top person now. I will literally go, like, the muse won't come to me until I need to. I need to update my wardrobe. I know to be this next person.
Cat Cohen
I was telling you that's my greatest distraction is searching for the item that will fill the hole. And now the item. The item that will fill the hole.
Whitney Cummings
So you buy a lot of tampons.
Cat Cohen
Title of that. Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
And demonetized.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
I, I again, tell me if I'm justifying. I believe there is a biological basis for women in our shopping addiction. It's like gathering. It's. It's, it's hunting, it's gathering.
Cat Cohen
It's taking care of the. It's.
Whitney Cummings
We're getting the thing. The winter's coming.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Yeah. I'm sweater.
Whitney Cummings
I need sweaters. I need the scarcity. I will never stop hugging you. Yeah.
Cat Cohen
It's.
Whitney Cummings
A man inappropriately touches you in that. It is your fault that. That sweater is.
Cat Cohen
This is me asking for it.
Whitney Cummings
Someone touches.
Cat Cohen
I was really asking. Begging for it.
Whitney Cummings
Public property. If you wear something that cozy.
Cat Cohen
I know.
Whitney Cummings
In this economy.
Cat Cohen
I love her.
Whitney Cummings
And so I, I. There's. My brain goes like, this is what. This is. You're doing this. You're. You're getting ahead of it. You're getting all this stuff now so you don't have to shop for six months.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
And that six months? Never. Hiatus never happens.
Cat Cohen
No.
Whitney Cummings
It is a bottomless pit.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
But also, I'm on camera and I need a different shirt every time I do a podcast and I have press coming up. And I'm a performer.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. And I need stuff for the stage. Custom jumpsuit. Shout out to Kelsey Randall, who designed my jumpsuit.
Whitney Cummings
So good.
Cat Cohen
She's amazing.
Whitney Cummings
How would you describe your style?
Cat Cohen
La la, la, la. Just like, over the top, like anything I would have liked to wear as a little girl dressing up like A little princess. I'm returning to her. I'm returning to that purity, to that fun, to that sense of play in my wardrobe now on stage. So I always got to bring the looks, but, yeah, it just makes it, like, fun for me. If I didn't get dressed up, it wouldn't feel like a real show.
Whitney Cummings
I think it is our job to be entertaining before we speak.
Cat Cohen
A hundred percent.
Whitney Cummings
If you walk out and you're not entertaining, you already lost them. They're like, why am I.
Cat Cohen
It's an event when you walk out.
Whitney Cummings
This is my whole. Everyone's like, why do you wear sparkly every. When I walk out and someone in the front row is better dressed than me, I want to put a bullet in my brain. I'm like, what is this thing where comics are just in, like, hoodies and Adam Sandler love you. You get a pass. Like, what is this thing where we're all just like, I hate myself? Like, I used to kind of do that. I used to, like, because when I.
Cat Cohen
First started, it was the thing. It was the trend when I started, it's changing.
Whitney Cummings
I was really trying to neuter myself when I started. I was like, no one wants a girl. This is a guy's name. I'm just going to be a guy. And then I see Katherine Rya over in England, and I'm like, that's. You can do that.
Cat Cohen
She always turns a look.
Whitney Cummings
I can do that.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
Great. You know, I think that we don't realize they already think we're nuts.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. It's over.
Whitney Cummings
Do you know what I'm saying? Like, why not just be nuts? Like, everyone that I'm a fan of, I'm like, that person is nuts.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
I will spend 200 to see them. Will never let them alone with my child. But I want to watch that person perform, you know?
Cat Cohen
I know.
Whitney Cummings
So tell me what special hour, Special out touring. Tell me everything.
Cat Cohen
Well, I got to start. So this is special number two. It's crazy. It's going to bed. Good night. Goodbye. And so now I'm starting fresh. And, yeah, I'm going to just try and write and do some. I have some new songs coming out on my album. I have an album that's, like, coming up Friday. Shout out. It's called Overdress.
Whitney Cummings
Mm, excellent.
Cat Cohen
Half kind of Spotify. They'll be all the hits and then have some new songs that maybe we'll make it into the next show. But, yeah, I need to get in my routine shit and start churning it out.
Whitney Cummings
The singers today, all look like cyborg. Stunning. Totally 22. Whatever. Phil Collins. I mean, Michael Bolton. Like, these men are, like. They overcame something with their voice. They were. Our pop stars were hideous.
Cat Cohen
I mean, they were sex.
Whitney Cummings
I mean, they were. I mean. And I'm not Sheryl Crowe. Melissa Etheridge. Right. Like, these were. Those were sex symbols.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
They were in their 40s. No Botox, Bonnie Raid, Gray streak. And then, like, when did they all.
Cat Cohen
Become, like, beyond gorgeous?
Whitney Cummings
Beyond. Like, what is all this? Like, it's. We can have some of those.
Cat Cohen
I know a mashup will be nice.
Whitney Cummings
I just, like. It's like our male pop stars. Just like. I'm like, what is that? Where are the.
Cat Cohen
Who are the male pop stars, though? I guess, like, Harry Styles.
Whitney Cummings
Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Justin. That's a good question.
Cat Cohen
It's all about the girls right now.
Whitney Cummings
It really is.
Cat Cohen
The girls are. Yeah, Troy.
Whitney Cummings
I think there may be more country.
Cat Cohen
They've gone country.
Whitney Cummings
That's my main advice to you.
Cat Cohen
Go country. But that's where I came from. I can't go back. You have to. Growing up, I was like, if I hear a country song, I'm, like, gonna blow my brains out. And now it's, like, so trendy. I'm like, okay. I'm like, y'all weren't at the rodeo, by the way, getting ignored. Y'all weren't getting ignored at the rodeo. It's true.
Whitney Cummings
If Ignored at the Rodeo isn't a number one hit next year, I. There is no bigger hit than Ignored it. You are the Robin of rodeo. I am at the rodeo on my.
Cat Cohen
Own at the rodeo.
Whitney Cummings
I'm telling you. You know what I mean?
Cat Cohen
It might work. Yeah. I'm putting it in.
Whitney Cummings
It's over. You just.
Cat Cohen
You're gonna get me to go into the mainframe.
Whitney Cummings
I think you just stumbled upon this. It is. We get everything we want when we just go back to being who we were this whole time.
Cat Cohen
First of all, I have full body chills, and I'm about to start crying because that's so beautiful.
Whitney Cummings
There's something so fascinating about someone that comes from Texas and then goes to New York and, like, has this. You know, has been on both sides, like, this country that then goes. You know, it's like, yeah, ignored at the rodeo. Is it.
Cat Cohen
It's number one.
Whitney Cummings
If you don't do it, I'm going to.
Cat Cohen
I would be honored.
Whitney Cummings
That's the whole thing. Like, you're. You're. I love it. Like, you were already a city girl, like, in. In Texas.
Cat Cohen
I really was. Like me.
Whitney Cummings
I love the idea that you were at the rodeo, like, and I just want to dance. Like, we're not.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, that's it.
Whitney Cummings
Your footloose. I mean, I don't know what to tell you. You reverse Kevin Bacon. Like, you're the.
Cat Cohen
People are always saying that to me.
Whitney Cummings
We're spending all this time to try to build who we are into, like, some identity, and we already have one.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
It's like, why not just do that?
Cat Cohen
And it's so simple.
Whitney Cummings
So simple.
Cat Cohen
It's the same stuff I've been talking about since I was, like, 15 that I still talk about today. It's like wanting people to like me being horny. That's kind of all I'm doing in all of this.
Whitney Cummings
Horny at the rodeo.
Cat Cohen
Horny at the rodeo.
Whitney Cummings
I mean, that's the thing.
Cat Cohen
For the net, for the second chorus, it builds. Ignored. And on top of that I'm horny is the horrible combination of things.
Whitney Cummings
I'm riding the bull.
Cat Cohen
Ignored and horny.
Whitney Cummings
I just broke my. So now I can't do anything about how horny I am.
Cat Cohen
My bro. Two broke. Reboot. Reboot.
Whitney Cummings
I mean, strawberry wine. I don't know.
Cat Cohen
17, hot July moon, everything.
Whitney Cummings
You know what I mean? I just. I say go for goosebumps, not for, like, oh, my God, she's so.
Cat Cohen
For goosebumps is a great catchphrase. Go for goosebumps. Copyright it.
Whitney Cummings
And that's where it.
Cat Cohen
Do you write every day?
Whitney Cummings
I do. When in something or other.
Cat Cohen
And do you have, like, a set routine?
Whitney Cummings
No.
Cat Cohen
Because you're traveling so much.
Whitney Cummings
I am. I always try to write on the plane. There are ways to write where you're not sitting at a computer. There are times where I'm like, I need to get away from this computer so I can actually write. Because I think the hardest part. Part is not breaking the jokes. It's breaking the premise or the insight. Right. The jokes come easy once you're up there. But I'm right now in, like, a bigger picture. Like, what do I want to say? How do I want to make the audience feel? And I do come up with the title of my next special before I've written it.
Cat Cohen
I am obsessed with titles.
Whitney Cummings
Like, for a script, the hardest thing is the. What is it?
Cat Cohen
Scripts are. So I. I don't really do that. I struggle with that.
Whitney Cummings
I write a finale first. Finale of season one.
Cat Cohen
Finale of season one first. Yeah. Because you're building.
Whitney Cummings
And then back into it. Then back into it.
Cat Cohen
Genius.
Whitney Cummings
Because normally people do. Pilots is they'll do the best story in the pilot or they'll do some great story in the pilot with a great ending. And then you read it and you go, the ending of this should be the ending of the season. And then make the pilot the whole series. Like you put too much in a pilot.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
You know, but I think like for you, you're so specific and you're so special and you should be in everything that you do. Like you're such a singular talent that it's, it's, I mean it's, it's true. But like you, you don't, there's no one to compare you to. You just have to make what you make and then if people get it, they get it. And we're now in the era of like self finance your thing and. But I think we all want like the glamorous days of like how it used to be.
Cat Cohen
Totally, totally. You come to LA and they give you a deal and you're doing. Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I think the worst thing I can say to someone who's in your position is like, do what I did. Because that path doesn't exist anymore.
Cat Cohen
I know it's so.
Whitney Cummings
It just doesn't exist anymore.
Cat Cohen
Where is the money?
Whitney Cummings
Where's the money?
Cat Cohen
What do you think? Real estate, My sex tape.
Whitney Cummings
Real estate, my sex tape. You get to go directly to your fans. It's this, it's less work. It just isn't as glamorous, I guess.
Cat Cohen
How do I get more fans is my question. My sex tape drops November 15th on Spotify.
Whitney Cummings
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Cat Cohen
Totally. And shout out to Veeps for producing this special.
Whitney Cummings
We love Veeps.
Cat Cohen
A new. Another new streamer.
Whitney Cummings
That's it. In the mix news. No one cares what you're on. They just Google Cat Cohen new special and then click on the thing.
Cat Cohen
You're right, you're right.
Whitney Cummings
You know?
Cat Cohen
Yeah, yeah.
Whitney Cummings
No one cares.
Cat Cohen
That's nice to hear.
Whitney Cummings
To be. Call me. See, so I don't know.
Cat Cohen
I'm ready.
Whitney Cummings
Who be fubu. You also have to be okay with being like, Some people that I respect might think I'm corny because of this, but don't worry, they've muted us. It's fine.
Cat Cohen
Oh, totally.
Whitney Cummings
And here we are.
Cat Cohen
I think. Yeah, I've had to numb out to that a while ago with just constantly pushing dates and stuff. It's like, I'm like, this is my job, you know? And then you see your peers doing it. I'm like, we're all doing it. We're all trying to mine those that mind.
Whitney Cummings
They don't matter. And if you think I'm corny for, like, trying to make people laugh in other cities, like, you're.
Cat Cohen
You're sick. You're mentally ill. How do you deal with negative comments.
Whitney Cummings
They're usually trying to be funny or flirting.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Or.
Whitney Cummings
But think about how awful your life is that you go out of your way to do that. I know you have to have compassion.
Cat Cohen
I want to send y'all love and light.
Whitney Cummings
You know what I mean? That's all you can do.
Cat Cohen
100 million people.
Whitney Cummings
Nothing is more annoying than a sore winner when someone's like, I have everything I want. I have two specials. And, like, this comment hurt my feelings. It's like, you know, I would. Most people, like, I would give anything to have someone call me, say, my special wasn't funny. That means I have a special.
Cat Cohen
It's a privilege to be disliked, you know?
Whitney Cummings
Thank you. Also, you're a female comic. We are the most hated.
Cat Cohen
We're begging for it.
Whitney Cummings
Did no one tell you this?
Cat Cohen
I know. I don't know how I got.
Whitney Cummings
We are the most hated species of human on the planet.
Cat Cohen
It's unbelievable.
Whitney Cummings
Because we are safe to hate. And people also think we're way tougher than we are.
Cat Cohen
I'm sorry. And they think you fragile.
Whitney Cummings
And I came from the roast where everyone's like, you. You're ugly. You're this. It's like, I taught people to treat me this way.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
In a way. Do you know what I mean? So it's like, just make a song out of the comments. Like, totally. Everything is, like, sublimated into something positive. Make it serve you. Like, use it.
Cat Cohen
I love it.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah. Just, like, do a song about reading all your comments.
Cat Cohen
Are you spiritual?
Whitney Cummings
Make money out of it. I am in a 12 step program.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
And so I have a higher power. I'm all in the higher power thing. I'm totally down with God. I don't give a. There's a certain point where you. And what I say to sponsors is like, you know, you don't have to believe in God. You just have to believe that you're not God.
Cat Cohen
Yes.
Whitney Cummings
What do you lose from believing in God? I believe we all have a God sized hole and you're gonna fill it one way or another. And I filled it with addiction for a long time. And I see a lot of people filling it with, like, Soul Cycle or Scientology or I'd like, God works better than the other ones so far.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
Why not?
Cat Cohen
Totally. I mean, everything happens for a reason. Sure.
Whitney Cummings
Why not?
Cat Cohen
Beautiful.
Whitney Cummings
Like. Like, atheism is a religion.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. I agree.
Whitney Cummings
They're like, I don't believe in God. It's like, well, then that's your thing.
Cat Cohen
I agree.
Whitney Cummings
That's Your religion.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
You know, I also think not believing God is kind of, like, elitist. Like, people need babysitters.
Cat Cohen
Like, oh, my God.
Whitney Cummings
Church is, like, a place to go.
Cat Cohen
No. 100%.
Whitney Cummings
I also love the, like, drama. Like, I love.
Cat Cohen
Like, it's so intense.
Whitney Cummings
I love. And also just, like, the stained glass window.
Cat Cohen
Yes. Like, it's so g. On my knees in prayer. Like, that feels good.
Whitney Cummings
Like, just the. Like, the.
Cat Cohen
The.
Whitney Cummings
The wine and the thing and the songs. I love gospel music, by the way.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
So I'm like, I am so addicted to Kanye Sunday service. Kanye West. Sunday service is so good. I can separate the art and artist. You guys, I think the happiest people today can. I'm just gonna have to.
Cat Cohen
They're not making it easy.
Whitney Cummings
I've already downloaded every. All the toxic predators. I'm not buying. I've already bought it, so. I'm not giving them money. It's in. They're in the bank. I'm not giving them new streams.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
Isn't that clean.
Cat Cohen
That's huge.
Whitney Cummings
Clean.
Cat Cohen
Yeah. Beautiful.
Whitney Cummings
What are you doing the rest of the day?
Cat Cohen
My boyfriend's coming to town today.
Whitney Cummings
Well, I want to hear about this real quick. Your boyfriend is a. A car guy.
Cat Cohen
He has a podcast about Formula One called the Red Flags podcast that's, like, taken over our lives.
Whitney Cummings
Amazing.
Cat Cohen
I'm so proud of him.
Whitney Cummings
Have you been to a race or has he been.
Cat Cohen
He's been to a lot of the races, but I want to go. He's been to the ones in America. I want to go to Monaco.
Whitney Cummings
He's been in NASCAR races or F1 races?
Cat Cohen
Both.
Whitney Cummings
Okay.
Cat Cohen
He's all over. He's all over the place. He's going to Vegas. They're going. They did Austin, like, all those. They look really fun. He has a great flag.
Whitney Cummings
I don't know if he knows me. I waved the green flag yesterday in Phoenix, and it was the most thrilling experience of my life. It was my. Whatever it is, ocd, whatever neurodivergence. I realized my add, ocd, all of it. I found out what it takes for me to be in a present moment.
Cat Cohen
All you need is a NASCAR race.
Whitney Cummings
I was literally right above the cars. My body was shaking.
Cat Cohen
Oh, my God.
Whitney Cummings
It was so scary and so overwhelming and so loud. I was like, is this what it's like to be present? Like, it was. I wasn't distracted. I wasn't thinking about. I didn't know where my phone was. I didn't care. I was like, this is. It was so thrilling.
Cat Cohen
More therapists should prescribe this.
Whitney Cummings
It's also for whatever loop. I mean, I'm on Prozac, but, like, watching things just.
Cat Cohen
Do you think it works? I just want to say.
Whitney Cummings
You went off Prozac.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, I was like, whatever.
Whitney Cummings
Do you think it works?
Cat Cohen
I'm like, knock, knock. Is anyone home?
Whitney Cummings
That's why I didn't work. Oh, you. You're not channeling the power of placebo.
Cat Cohen
I try. I try. You know, I. You actually. I thought that it worked so hard that I couldn't come.
Whitney Cummings
Come. Yeah.
Cat Cohen
So then maybe.
Whitney Cummings
No, you're just having sex with a man that has a NASCAR podcast. That's why you getting older is the best.
Cat Cohen
I'm excited.
Whitney Cummings
It is the best. You start just going like, that's not helpful. That's not helpful.
Cat Cohen
You said. You said you're off Botox. You don't like it.
Whitney Cummings
I. Look, I'm not off it forever, I'm sure. I. I'm not saying.
Cat Cohen
I just have one line I'm thinking about.
Whitney Cummings
I'm not saying. I just. For me, I. I always had such a hard time communicating with people and getting my point across, and I didn't, and it was, like, driving me nuts. And I do think, like, micro expressions serve a purpose.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Whitney Cummings
You know what I mean? Like, I was just like, why does this person not understand me? And it's probably because I just never had any emotion on my face. But I. I looked at the sort of, like, root of why I got it in the first place, and it was a TV show told me that I look tired, and so I was like, oh. And then it was a lot of. You have to get Botox to get ahead of things.
Cat Cohen
And then I think that's a myth. Like, preventative.
Whitney Cummings
Preventative.
Cat Cohen
That's a myth, right? Preventing what? Like, what do you. It's anyone's.
Whitney Cummings
It's anyone's. We don't know.
Cat Cohen
Okay.
Whitney Cummings
I don't think we know, because, number one, good Botox, you don't notice.
Cat Cohen
Right.
Whitney Cummings
You know, bad work, you notice. Good work, you don't notice.
Cat Cohen
Good point.
Whitney Cummings
So many people have good work. I just felt like. I think that wrinkles are a sign of youth at this point.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I see, like, really young girls with, like, no lines, and you're like, you look 50.
Cat Cohen
I know. You know, it's like an ageless age.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah. And I have a kid now, and I want him to be able to, like, read my face. And then I also was kind of like, what am I? I also don't want to attract. Like, I want to be with a man that's into a, you know, a hundred men. My thing is, I never want to look younger than my age. I just want to look my age.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
So I did a couple lasers, and then I don't know, I might. I get crow's feet here. But my whole thing is, like, when I.
Cat Cohen
First of all, I love crow's feet.
Whitney Cummings
Why not?
Cat Cohen
No, Yeah, I know.
Whitney Cummings
If. If a person didn't have crow's feet, you'd be like, so you just think nothing's funny.
Cat Cohen
I know.
Whitney Cummings
I go, so you've just never laughed.
Cat Cohen
I go, where's the joy?
Whitney Cummings
Yeah.
Cat Cohen
So just where is the joy?
Whitney Cummings
No one's funny to you?
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
You know, and as like a comedian, if I don't have crow's feet, they're like. So you don't think other comics are funny? You don't watch other comic specials? You know what I mean? So I kind of was just like, I just took a break. I think there's. I think there's times where you have to just, like, stop down and update your software on yourself and be like, everything I'm doing, let me just, like, stop and see if I'm still. If I'm still just doing a bad impression of who I was five years ago.
Cat Cohen
Full body chills again. The advice is hitting.
Whitney Cummings
And I'm just like, what am I doing? Why do I not want revenue wrinkles here? Like, why do I not want to look? Like, why do I want Elon Musk to fall in love with me? Why do I want to look like an alien? Like, who's this for?
Cat Cohen
Let me ask you something so important.
Whitney Cummings
Anything.
Cat Cohen
What did you wear to wave the flag? Girl. So I was there, like, was there, like, a uniform?
Whitney Cummings
I just did denim dress.
Cat Cohen
Cute.
Whitney Cummings
Denim dress. Long sleeve denim dress. Kept it simple, no wrinkles. Timeless. That was it. And then sneakers with no socks.
Cat Cohen
Sneakers, no socks.
Whitney Cummings
That was it.
Cat Cohen
This kind of sneaker.
Whitney Cummings
This kind of sneaker. It was. It had a bedazzle.
Cat Cohen
I mean, we're not a showman.
Whitney Cummings
I mean, I just need to bring the glitz.
Cat Cohen
You're an entertainer.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah. I just wanted to make it, like, super simple and not think about it. So I just, like, button down, denim dress.
Cat Cohen
Great.
Whitney Cummings
I mean, and then it was magical, wonderful. It was. I'm going to go to Daytona too. Your guy should come.
Cat Cohen
He would love to come. That's so fun.
Whitney Cummings
But I did. NASCAR was very soothing for brains that are on. It was just like, I didn't have.
Cat Cohen
To wonder how long are they racing?
Whitney Cummings
I didn't wonder where we're going to go.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
I was like, but what if they. I know where they're. It goes on for like five hours.
Cat Cohen
That's crazy.
Whitney Cummings
It's so cool.
Cat Cohen
But why is it so long?
Whitney Cummings
Because it's 400 miles, I think.
Cat Cohen
Okay.
Whitney Cummings
It goes on forever. Because the idea is the endurance of the car. Right. More of an endurance race.
Cat Cohen
I am learning about this, but also.
Whitney Cummings
The pit crew is my. I am so obsessed. It gives me chills. When I watch the pit crew, they do everything they do in nine seconds. Oh, it's gonna make me emotional. And it does make me. This kind of teamwork and sportsmanship makes me so emotional, so beautiful. And the way that they come out and work together and they're the least, you know, they get the least shine, you know, like the driver kind of gets all the shine. But these are kind of. I'm obsessed with sort of the unsung heroes of, like, you know, who really makes things happen. And so I just love watching the pit crew. I love watching people be the best at what they do and not. Not need glory for it necessarily. And I also. Maybe this is just like Twitter. Watching men be useful is my kink.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
Watching men be great at something so hot is just so hot to me. They're not like, can a postmate do? No one was like, is there a task rabbit? It was, can we get a handyman? It was just men being like, this is what we're good at.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
This is what I want to do. I don't want to start a podcast. No one had a podcast. Everyone was like, I'm the wheel guy. I'm the gas guy, I'm the windshield guy.
Cat Cohen
Totally.
Whitney Cummings
I just love watching like a well oiled machine like that. It just like gives me goosebumps.
Cat Cohen
Did you watch Drive to Survive on Netflix?
Whitney Cummings
No, I.
Cat Cohen
Formula one. You would tell me about it. Oh, my God.
Whitney Cummings
Can't wait.
Cat Cohen
It's so good.
Whitney Cummings
I just love the heart of it. I love the, like, danger of it. I love the cars I love. I just. And I also don't have an explanation for why I love it so much. And I don't have to because I feel like I've spent my whole life being like, I listen to this podcast because I'm going to learn something. And I listen to this because I'm going to watch this show so that I see this actor's work or I'm gonna. And it's just like, I just love this. And it doesn't help my career at all.
Cat Cohen
Well, I was gonna say, do you have lots of hobbies? Cause I. I'm like, that's my problem. I feel like I need some hobbies.
Whitney Cummings
I don't. For art to imitate life, you have to have a life. And it's really hard to have hobbies. I turn every hobby into a job. I'm like, I'm knitting. I should have an Etsy store.
Cat Cohen
I know, I know. Okay.
Whitney Cummings
Hobbies are really.
Cat Cohen
Well, you have your horses.
Whitney Cummings
I do have the horses.
Cat Cohen
And that's like. Gives you life content.
Whitney Cummings
What? Yes, sometimes it does that. That really helps me. But hobbies are important and I'll. Let's work on that.
Cat Cohen
Yeah, Yeah. I want to garden.
Whitney Cummings
Oh, by the way, I do do that.
Cat Cohen
Oh, you do my.
Whitney Cummings
I don't even think of this hobby. It's just like my, like medicine. I love it.
Cat Cohen
Oh, my God. Amazing.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah.
Cat Cohen
And then you're really into fitness.
Whitney Cummings
Yeah. My thing with fitness is like, I don't want to think about my body. I've spent too much time. I just want to be strong.
Cat Cohen
Yeah.
Whitney Cummings
So that I can like run with my kid if I need to.
Cat Cohen
Are you weightlifting? What are you. What are you into?
Whitney Cummings
I do mostly bodyweight workout. I don't like. I do push ups. Just constantly alone. And then I do like lunges with weights and like squats with weights.
Cat Cohen
Amazing.
Whitney Cummings
I love you. I end these very awkwardly. I know. We have to get you out of here.
Cat Cohen
No, no.
Whitney Cummings
Thank you so much. I have been wanting you to come on for so long. We finally did it.
Cat Cohen
This didn't really feel like a pot. I was just actually getting good advice.
Whitney Cummings
Oh, I hope so.
Cat Cohen
I needed it.
Whitney Cummings
I hope you are my friend.
Cat Cohen
I am your friend.
Whitney Cummings
Be my friend.
Cat Cohen
I love your. I love your beautiful house, your career, your life, your vibe, your energy. You're so amazing.
Whitney Cummings
Oh my gosh. It's.
Cat Cohen
And, and please, like, you're such an icon. Thank you for having me. It really means a lot to me.
Whitney Cummings
I'm glad you're meeting me. Now I'm crying. This is with its.
Cat Cohen
What happened?
Whitney Cummings
Oh, no. I mean, we're. It took a while to get here.
Cat Cohen
Really?
Whitney Cummings
It took a while to get here. Okay. Don't ride elephants. Love you guys. Cat Cohen.
Cat Cohen
Thank you.
Whitney Cummings
He's a genius.
Cat Cohen
Oh my God.
Whitney Cummings
Wait.
Cat Cohen
I should accidentally grabbed this.
Whitney Cummings
Oh yeah, that's a robot.
Cat Cohen
That's beautiful. Oh, my God. Thank you.
Whitney Cummings
Wall.
Podcast Summary: Good For You with Whitney Cummings
Episode: Cat Cohen | EP 264
Release Date: November 15, 2024
In this engaging episode of "Good For You," comedian Whitney Cummings interviews fellow comic Cat Cohen. Their candid conversation navigates through topics ranging from the challenges of the comedy industry, personal struggles, creative processes, to the intricacies of maintaining authenticity in a rapidly evolving entertainment landscape. The episode is peppered with humor, insightful exchanges, and memorable moments that offer listeners a deep dive into Cat Cohen's life and career.
Whitney opens the episode with playful banter, emphasizing Cat's admiration for her work.
Whitney responds humorously about her presence in Hollywood, highlighting the exaggerated perception of her lifestyle.
The conversation shifts to Whitney's engagement with Reddit and the broader comedy landscape.
Cat discusses her challenges in the comedy industry, expressing a desire for mentorship.
Whitney shares her perspective on handling rejection, viewing "no" as a push to persist.
Cat opens up about her tumultuous high school years, dealing with an alcoholic household and social challenges.
Whitney relates her own experiences of feeling isolated and navigating social dynamics.
Post-ad break, Whitney and Cat delve into the importance of routine and self-care in the creative process.
Whitney critiques the overemphasis on self-care, arguing it sometimes serves as an excuse for procrastination.
They discuss balancing work and personal well-being, sharing strategies to stay productive.
The dialogue shifts to the transformation of comedy in the digital age and how live performances must adapt.
Cat emphasizes the necessity for comedians to offer unique experiences that can't be consumed for free online.
They explore the intersection of comedy with other interests, such as music and NASCAR, highlighting how diverse passions can enrich a comedian's persona.
As the episode nears its end, Whitney and Cat discuss handling negative feedback and the importance of staying true to oneself.
Cat offers wisdom on using negative comments as fuel for creativity.
Whitney concludes with a heartfelt acknowledgment of Cat's contributions and their newfound friendship.
Cat Cohen ([03:05]): "I just think, like, the more you try and make happen in this business, you get so discouraged and you need someone on the other side to be like, keep going."
Whitney Cummings ([09:28]): "So when I hear no, I'm like, that's what I wanted. That's what I wanted."
Whitney Cummings ([26:18]): "The biggest assault on artists has been the glorification of self care."
Cat Cohen ([40:42]): "It's a privilege to be disliked."
Throughout the episode, Whitney and Cat explore the evolving nature of comedy, emphasizing the need for adaptability in an era dominated by digital content. They highlight the personal challenges comedians face, from handling rejection to maintaining mental health, and the importance of authentic self-expression. Cat's candid recounting of her high school struggles provides a backdrop for understanding her resilience and dedication to her craft. Additionally, their conversation underscores the significance of community and mentorship in sustaining a successful career in comedy.
Listeners are left with a profound appreciation for the complexities of a comedian's life, the relentless pursuit of creativity, and the enduring bonds formed through shared struggles and triumphs.
This episode offers a blend of humor, vulnerability, and practical advice, making it a must-listen for fans of comedy and those interested in the behind-the-scenes realities of the entertainment industry.