Handsome – Episode Summary

Episode: Lukas Gage Asks About Cringeworthy Moments
Hosts: Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, Mae Martin
Release Date: October 21, 2025
Special Guest: Lukas Gage (voice memo question)

Overview

In this lively and freewheeling episode of Handsome, comedians Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin dive into the theme of “cringeworthy moments and desperate stunts for attention.” Actor Lukas Gage (The White Lotus, Smile 2) submits the week’s question, prompting the trio to share their own embarrassing stories, reflect on attention-seeking behaviors, and, true to form, meander into hilarious tangents about growing up, comedy, and household quirks. The group also celebrates each other's current projects and drops tidbits about their daily lives post-tour and in between gigs.

Episode Highlights & Discussion Points

1. Life Updates: New Homes and Homebody Vibes

• Fortune shares her recent move: downsizing to a cozier house, recounting the speed of the process, and delighting Mae (03:00–08:08). She jokes about “going full bachelor,” with almost no furniture but retaining her beloved arcade machine.
  • "I'm like going full bachelor in this house. No furniture and an arcade game." – Fortune (07:35)
• Mae discusses planned bachelor pad games and invites Fortune over; Halloween party plans surface but Tig demurs due to travel (08:16–09:07).
• Tig reflects on enjoying the “normalcy” of her life—daily routines, doing laundry, caring for her kids—after years of touring and filming (27:17–28:29).
  • “I love doing the podcast… it feels like that balance of, like, I’m podcasting, doing shows, and running around, but really being in my life and not just cramming it in between tours.” – Tig (27:41)

2. Mae's TV Stardom & On-Screen Nudity

• Fortune and Tig celebrate Mae’s Netflix hit, Wayward, noting its lingering popularity and Mae’s "heartthrob" status (10:15–12:13).
• Fortune describes Mae’s infamous nude scene on the show:
  • “May’s partner on the show is like ‘come over here’... and then May starts crawling... takes their shirt off... somehow turns over... here comes the ass, hands down.” (11:32)
• The group muses on the tastefulness (or not) of the scene, internet reactions, and exposure. Mae confirms she wore nude “grannies” during filming (13:34–13:55).
• Meta moment: They riff on how Mae “wrote” the scene for themselves—“So May wanted us to see their ass.” (13:09)

3. Tangents: Friendship, Therapy, and the Dance Plague

• Therapy Retreat: Mae is about to embark on a five-day therapy retreat without a phone; everyone jokes about a new, zen “personality upgrade” (19:40–21:41).
• Historical Oddity: Mae (again) shares the story of the “1518 dancing plague” and Frau Troffea, sparking chaos and jokes about “crazy bread” (22:10–25:30).
  • “Why were people like, yeah, I can’t stop, won’t stop dancing until I die?” – Fortune (24:42)
• Beauty Gadgets Gone Wild: Mae displays a new infrared LED face mask, prompting running jokes about “vibrating your face” and “getting the f--- out of my face” (32:33–33:17).

4. Listener Question: Lukas Gage Asks About Desperate Stunts for Attention

▶️ Timestamp: 37:25

• Introduction: Fortune introduces the week’s guest question from The White Lotus’s Lukas Gage:
  • “What is the most desperate stunt that you've ever pulled just to get attention? Talking next morning, you wake up and you cannot believe you really did that.” – Lukas Gage (37:30)
• The hosts dish about Lukas’s infamous TV moment on The White Lotus (“He ate a guy’s ass on TV,” Fortune, 38:21), leading to a (very) frank debate on the difference between "rimming" and "eating ass," much to Tig’s mock horror (39:02–40:17).

Host Cringe Stories

• Mae:
  • At 13, pretending to be a Scottish character, Mae spit on a stranger’s shoe to get a laugh and was mortified:
    • “The world stopped turning as soon as I—I’ve never...” (43:02)
    • Mae’s guilt lingered for years: “Everyone was just like, you’re unhinged... I was just trying to be funny.” (45:51)
• Fortune:
  • Faked having a retainer at school with a paperclip for “cool points.”
    • “Did you have embarrassment or shame the next day?” “More of just like, what was that?” (47:13–47:36)
• Tig:
  • At age 6 or 7, covered both legs in Band-Aids for her class photo, thinking it looked cool, then was mortified when her mom got the photos.
    • “I thought it looked so cool to have all these injuries on my leg... So I get my picture taken... My mother sees it... and I was so embarrassed.” (49:40–51:12)
• Mae again:
  • As a kid, Mae and friends would give each other “eye hickeys” to look like they had black eyes because they thought it looked cool. (51:49–52:09)

5. Lukas Gage’s Own Mortifying Story

▶️ Timestamp: 52:24

• Lukas recounts his most cringeworthy attention-seeking moment:
  • At a Hollywood “Vanity Fair” party post-pandemic, he spotted Fortune at the valet, got overexcited, and leapt onto the hood of her car, shouting her name as if they were old friends. Next morning, cold-sweat regret ensued. (46:33–47:08)
  • "The next morning, I woke up in a cold sweat, and I could not believe I did that." – Lukas Gage (53:35)
• Fortune recalls the moment: “Obviously I didn't hit him with my car, but they kind of threw himself on the hood of my car. I didn’t think twice about it. I just thought it was a funny bit.” (54:08–54:22)

6. Comedy Circle: Meg Stalter’s Lunacy and Lukas’s Reality-TV Wedding

• Mae and Fortune rave about comedian Meg Stalter’s dedication to absurd comedy, and her epic Instagram livestreams (55:54–56:39).
• Fortune shares that Lukas Gage married Kardashian's hairdresser Chris Appleton on reality TV (56:00–57:07).

Notable Quotes

• "I'm like going full bachelor in this house. Like no furniture and an arcade game." – Fortune (07:35)
• “That's what I'm up to. Thank you, even if that's not sincere.” – Tig (28:31)
• “May shows ass. Yeah, I do show ass.” – (10:44)
• “You're a famous comedian.” – Mae to Tig, on why everyone gets Tig’s humor (15:31)
• “I thought it looked so cool to have all these injuries on my leg... I was so embarrassed.” – Tig (49:40)
• “I spit at the couple, and it landed on their shoe... I was like, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that.” – Mae (43:02)
• “It was a paperclip... for some reason I thought that would make me cool.” – Fortune (47:05)
• “The next morning, I woke up in a cold sweat, and I could not believe I did that.” – Lukas Gage (53:35)

Memorable, Ridiculous Moments

• Tig answering the phone in the middle of podcasting for a doctor call (09:37–10:02).
• Fortune’s home security alarm going off; she steps away mid-podcast to check it (44:15–45:13).
• Lengthy digression into the difference between rimming and eating ass, much to Tig’s chagrin (39:41–40:17).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fortune’s house move/bachelor life: 03:00–08:08
• Halloween party shenanigans / Mae's “Twinkerbell": 08:16–09:16
• Mae’s Wayward nude scene and discussion: 10:15–12:13, 13:09–13:55
• Therapy retreat / prepping for a new “Zen” personality: 19:40–21:41
• The dance plague tangent: 22:10–25:30
• Lukas Gage’s question and White Lotus story: 37:25–38:43
• Hosts’ embarrassing stories: 43:02–49:40
• Lukas’s embarrassing story (voicemail): 52:24–53:40

Closing and Plugs

• Mae announces their big US/Canada tour, asking for fan support (58:01–58:30).
• Fortune plugs upcoming shows, including Chicago, San Jose, Fresno, Charlotte, St Petersburg, Orlando, Vancouver, Seattle (58:42–59:24).
• Tig highlights her appearance at the Montclair Film Festival with Stephen Colbert and TV/film promo events (59:24–60:38).
• Merch and social plugs, with Fortune hyping “ghost crew necks” and “handsome zip hoodies.” (57:23–57:45)

Summary

This Handsome episode is a showcase of the hosts’ chemistry and comedic improvisation, charting highs and lows of seeking attention in youth and adulthood. The guest question from Lukas Gage sets everyone off down memory lane—and body humor tangents—yielding confessions about spitting on strangers, fake retainers, and over-the-top party antics. The episode is punctuated by the hosts’ authentic affection, self-deprecating humor, and a healthy dose of chaos, making it a joy for fans and newcomers alike.

For more Handsome, subscribe and check out merch at handsomepod.com, and if you’re having a cringeworthy moment—know you’re in good company.