TCB Infomercial w. Luenell

Summary

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The Commercial Break – TCB Infomercial w/ Luenell

Podcast: The Commercial Break
Episode Title: TCB Infomercial w. Luenell
Date: March 19, 2024
Hosts: Bryan Green & Krissy Hoadley
Guest: Luenell

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Episode Overview

This lively episode of The Commercial Break welcomes legendary comedian Luenell (“Borat,” “Hacks,” Vegas residency, Broadway), delivering a fast-paced, unfiltered, hilarious conversation. Hosts Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley riff with Luenell on celebrity parties, comedy war stories, the realities of show business, social justice, and life lessons from her “full-circle” career. The result is equal parts comedic chaos and surprisingly heartfelt wisdom from one of comedy’s true originals.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter: Weird Vacation Mishaps & Lawsuits

• Jellyfish/bee stings & parental reactions: Bryan and Krissy open with stories about their own misadventures (peeing on jellyfish stings, getting stung by bees), highlighting their signature irreverent humor.

  • Bryan jokes about leaving his kid to seek help after a jellyfish sting:

    “I was getting a tan. I was like, ah, go get for help. Go look for help.” (03:15)

  • Discussion detours into ridiculousness about the logistics of public urination and saving kids at Disney.

• Scorpion Lawsuit in Vegas:

  • Bryan is incensed at a man suing The Venetian after a scorpion bit him in the testicles, lampooning America’s lawsuit culture.

    “Grow a pair of extremely swollen balls and stop it. This is why this country sucks sometimes.” (08:47)

  • Krissy and Bryan riff on hotel liability and consumer entitlement.

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2. Guest Intro: Luenell

• Bryan sets the stage for Luenell’s appearance, emphasizing her comedic legend status, Vegas residency, and upcoming Apollo Theater headlining show (April 26, 2024).
• Immediate anticipation for her raw honesty and star-studded anecdotes.

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3. Luenell Joins: Party Stories, Comedy Clique, & Famous Friends

• Party Exit Strategy:
  • Luenell admits she’s “more exclusive” with invitations now, preferring stealth departures:

    “My style is to just leave...if you say you’re leaving, you’re 35 more minutes taking pictures.” (13:24)

• Celebrity Party Crew:
  • Reveals an invite to see Madonna with Rosie O’Donnell, Kathy Griffin, Sia, Paris Hilton, and Katy Perry.

    “One of these things is not like the other. I have no business in that clique. But Kathy invited me.” (15:09)

• First encounter with Madonna?
  • This will be Luenell’s first time possibly meeting Madonna—though she doubts she’ll get to, thanks to an early flight and Madonna’s notorious lateness.

    “As a comic, I do not know how they sustain a career not being on time. I think it’s disrespectful.” (16:21)

  • Riffs on chronic-late stars (Lauryn Hill), industry’s lack of accountability, and professionalism.

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4. On Fame & Flying: Air Marshal Luenell

• Incognito Air Travel:
  • Luenell “travels undercover,” rarely recognized except sometimes by voice or nails. When flying first class—

    “90% of the time nobody even speaks to me. They don’t even say good morning, how are you? I think that is required.” (20:42)

  • She’ll invent outlandish stories for nosy seatmates:

    “I say my father’s an heir to a fortune and I’m married to a Lebanese millionaire.” (21:54)

  • On etiquette:

    “Don’t act like you’re not sitting next to somebody, because if something goes down, you’re gonna be grabbing my hand.” (22:20)

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5. Career Milestones & Full-Circle: Borat, Vegas, & The Rock

• Borat & Demographics:
  • “Borat” marked her crossover to white audiences; she jokes about having “two demographics.”

    “My black demographic has known who I am for years. The white demographic, not until Borat.” (23:54)

• Showbiz Credentials:
  • Current role on HBO’s “Hacks,” longtime Vegas residency at Jimmy Kimmel’s club, Broadway “Chicago” (limited run).

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6. Luenell’s “Bank Robbery” & Redemption

• Embezzlement Story:
  • Openly recounts embezzling from a bank she worked at—technically embezzlement, but “it’s bank robbery.”

    “The devil works in strange ways. I was in the vault, she turned her back, and the money was right there. I just grabbed the stack and put it in my bra.” (30:41)

    • After release, her first stop: a comedy club (before seeing her child), because “that’s how much I love comedy.” (26:52)
• Full Circle:
  • Later filmed “The Rock” in the same jail where she’d been incarcerated.

    “You can’t write this. You can’t make this...up.” (28:38)

• Wider Point:
  • Underpaid, undervalued workers are often desperate.

    “If you work two weeks with all this money and get a paycheck that’s only like $235, I got real sick of that.” (29:28)

  • Critiques systemic inequities, corporate greed, and a lack of empathy for the working poor.

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7. Industry Real Talk: Corruption, Late-Night TV, & Streaming

• Corruption at the Top:
  • Luenell: “There’s a lot of government officials that are embezzling and not doing no time.” (33:04)
  • Epstein, cover-ups—“Nobody wants to tell on anybody...protection goes out the window.”
• Entertainment Industry Games:
  • She doesn’t play them.

    “Nobody...would dare [mess with me]...I’m telling, and I don’t care about the fallout.” (34:46)

  • Stand-up and direct-to-fan contacts (social, podcasts) matter more than appeasing “industry.”
  • On late night TV:
    • She’d love to host a show but network TV “will never let me be me.” Streaming is now where the real audience is.

    “No women, no minorities [in late night]. What are we doing?” (36:38)

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8. The Power & Grind of Live Performance

• Broadway Experience:
  • Broadway was a lifelong dream—executed in “Chicago” at the Ambassador Theatre, but “never again” for 8 shows a week.

    “I don’t want to do the Broadway thing. I’m a little bougie now and I think I’ve earned it.” (42:15)

• Respect for Theater Artists:
  • Details the physical risks for Broadway/circus performers versus the more “luxurious” life of a movie star.

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9. Pop Culture & Social Media: OnlyFans, Housewives, & Catfish

• Atlanta Housewives & Reality TV:
  • Reveals friendships across reality TV (“Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Beverly Hills).
• OnlyFans Foray:
  • Started account as a joke after Rihanna’s Fenty show; it was a hit, but expectations got “demented,” so she shut it down.
• Modern Dating:
  • Classic bit about “dick pic catfishing” via Facebook/DMs.

    “Every dick pic that comes my way is gloriously veined...does not belong to the person who sent it.” (46:30)

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10. The Apollo Theater & Roots of Comedy

• Headlining the Apollo (April 26):
  • First time performing after years of dreaming, calling it a career milestone:

    “As a comic...you really ain’t [anything] until you conquer New York audiences.” (48:12)

  • Contrasts the “clique-ish” and segregated LA comedy scene to New York’s tough, honest audiences.

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11. Legacy, Mentor Vibes & Advice

• On First Impressions:
  • “You can’t judge a book. In this industry, the person you think is a hack might be your boss next week.” (50:58)
• Comedy’s Enduring Community:
  • Promotes giving people chances, learning from mistakes, and trusting intuition, but not being closed-minded.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Luenell on party exits:

  “My style is to just leave...if you say you’re leaving now...you’re 35 more minutes in there taking pictures because you have announced that you’re leaving.” (13:24)

• On professional lateness:

  “To be known for being late, I think it’s hugely disrespectful. And costly.” (17:03)

• On being recognized after “Borat”:

  “The white demographic didn’t really recognize me until Borat. Then it was a wash after that.” (23:54)

• On industry hypocrisy:

  “There’s a lot of governmentally [sic] officials that are embezzling and not doing no time...they won’t do any, yeah, right.” (33:04)

• On not playing industry games:

  “Nobody that [asked] me, ‘Have you ever been sexually assaulted?’ I said, ‘They wouldn’t dare...I’m telling that day.’” (34:46)

• On conquering New York as a comic:

  “You really ain’t [anything] until you conquer New York audience anyway.” (48:12)

• On judgment in show business:

  "You may think somebody’s a hack, next thing you know, you’re auditioning for them." (51:21)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Weird Injury Stories & Lawsuit Rant: 00:00–11:40
• Guest Introduction (Luenell’s bona fides): 10:29–11:40
• Luenell on Parties & Madonna Crew: 12:44–18:27
• Luenell on Flying, Fame, and Etiquette: 19:36–23:00
• On Demographics, Borat, and Comedy TV: 23:36–24:21
• Bank Embezzlement Story/Redemption: 26:08–31:34
• Industry Commentary / Corruption: 33:04–36:38
• Late Night TV & Streaming Future: 35:17–37:27
• Broadway/Live Show Reflections: 40:49–43:19
• OnlyFans & Reality TV: 44:42–46:11
• Apollo Headline Announcement: 46:57–48:12
• New York vs LA Comedy: 48:12–50:07
• Legacy & Mentorship: 50:19–52:22

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Final Thoughts

The episode is a whirlwind showcase of Luenell’s wit, hard-earned wisdom, and resilience, with The Commercial Break’s hosts providing the perfect offbeat, conversational counterpoint. Luenell’s career, from embezzlement to movie sets to Broadway and Vegas, is a testament to finding humor (and humanity) even in the hardest knocks. Her candor about respect—be it in life, work, or on airplanes—underlines everything, as does her challenge: to break barriers, stay real, and never let anyone else set your value.

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Where to Find Luenell:

• Instagram: @luenell
• Upcoming shows at the Apollo Theater (April 26, 2024) and Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas.

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(For full episodes and further antics, visit TCBpodcast.com or follow @thecommercialbreak.)

Transcript

[A]

If you, you are the interloper and if you coming in sitting where there was other people who had to allow you in, I think it is your job as a fucking human being to at least acknowledge the presence of the motherfucker that you sitting next to. Don't act like you not sitting next to a whole ass human being. It don't take nothing to say, hi, how are you today? Now that don't mean I want to talk to your bitch ass all the way to Boston. I don't want to see picture of your dog and oh, shit like that. I'm just saying you should speak. On this episode of the commercial break. You know, the devil works in strange ways. And I was just like the Lord and I was in the box and, you know, the bitch turned her back and the money was right there. I just grabbed the stack and put it in my bra. Right? Yeah. So, you know, I had to work the rest of the day sweating money in my bra.

[B]

The next episode of the commercial break starts now. Oh, yeah, kittens. Welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green. This is the luscious liaison of the commercial break, Kristen Joy Hly. Best to you, Chrissy.

[C]

Best to you, Brian, and best to you.

[B]

Out there in the podcast universe, uni universe, have you ever been stung by something that, like, made you swell up really big? Like, like Jeff's DD canters? Do you ever get into the snake pit with Jeff and he just, his snake just bites you and you swell up like a balloon all the time. That's what I imagine's going on.

[C]

Well, what really stings?

[B]

I mean, I be a scorpion.

[C]

Think a jellyfish.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

My kid got stung by a jellyfish one time and not stung by a jellyfish, but ran into a jellyfish. I guess I'm assuming that's what happened. And his poor little leg, just like, he had these little, like whip marks across his leg. It looked like it hurt, but I left him in the water. Guess I had things to do. I had to put on sunscreen.

[C]

He'll be fine.

[B]

I was getting a tan. I was like, ah, go to the. Go get for help. Go look for help.

[A]

Look at all those be.

[B]

Look at all the lifeguards. They don't have something to say about this. What are you looking at me for? Like I know how to handle a jellyfish stick. Come on, kid, grow up.

[C]

Aren't you supposed to pee on something?

[B]

You are supposed to pee on something. Yes, you can pee on it. It's true. You can pee on a Jellyfish. Because apparently it has something to do with like, not vinegar, but base. Right. Acid or base or. I remember in school when you used to learn about acids and bases and acids don't taste good, but bases taste weird or something like that. I forgot how it all goes. Yeah. Because I'm not a scientist, per se. I play one on tv, but I'm not really. But I don't know. He. He survived. Anyway, I'm reading his story.

[C]

I was just contemplating if I would be able to pee on demand, like at the. It was needed.

[B]

Oh, at my age, I can pee on demand. No problem. I can pee on any good at any time.

[C]

I don't know if I could, like at the beach, in front of everybody. I don't know. But it would be much easier for.

[B]

Like, in an emergency situation, I would pee on somebody and. But, you know, you're at the Disney island or wherever you were, and here I am whipping my dick out to pee on a child.

[A]

That's the idea.

[C]

That's what I was just thinking.

[B]

What is going on over there? I'm saving the children. I'm doing it for the kids.

[C]

Anybody else stung?

[B]

Yeah, don't look at it. It gets smaller. Thanks. Anybody else have kids who need to be peed on? No, I'm saving the kids. I got a free pee station over here sponsored by Disney.

[A]

Look at the snowflakes now.

[B]

Peeing on kids at Disney Island.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

No. We went to the lifeguard station and they poured some vinegar on them, or so I forgot what they put on something. Some. Something that actually helped him out. And it wasn't that bad. Like, he, you know, he did. He wasn't even crying when he got the sting. But I could see the whip marks and they were swelling up. And I was like, I better go check that. I better get that checked out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But the reason why I asked this is I've been. I think I got stung by a bee once.

[C]

Well, you had that spider bite.

[B]

I had the spider bite that turned into necrosis. Like my actual skin was dying.

[C]

That was like a year ago.

[B]

Yeah. That was kind of crazy, actually. That's right. I totally forgot about that. I had a bee bite one time where my arms swollen up for, like, I don't know, you know, let's call it five hours. It had like, almost like a half baseball on my arm. And I'm not allergic to bees that I know of.

[C]

Right.

[B]

It really hurt. It's the first time I think I've been stung by a bee. At least as an adult that I can remember. And, man, did it hurt like a son of a. Instantly hurt like a son of a. A.

[C]

Did it just sneak up on you and sting you, or did you. Were you trying to kind of fight it off?

[B]

Had no idea I was golfing with my brother and Hilton Head or something like that. It was a sneak and sting. Here's my kid gets stung by a jellyfish. He doesn't cry. You know, it takes us 20 minutes to get to the lifeguard station because, of course, I don't know where it is. So we're walking in circles. I get stung by a bee, and I'm crying the entire way home. Literally. Like, drive that golf cart faster. It's so bad. The guy I was riding with was like, pete, you're such a ninny. What are you doing? Get over it.

[C]

You'll be okay.

[B]

Here's why I ask, because I just. I was reading a story. Scorpion stings traumatized Las Vegas hotel guest in the testicles. In the testicles. A scorpion sting in the. In the testicles cannot be the best part of your trip to Las Vegas.

[C]

No, of course. Unless you're looking for that.

[B]

Unless you're looking for that kind of thing, you'll find it in Vegas. Trust me. California man has lawyered up. Has lawyered up. God damn it. This is what's wrong with this country. This is what's wrong with this. You're in the desert in Las Vegas. I don't care what kind of hotel room you're in. There are scorpions. They're all around. It's like having roaches in Florida or Georgia. It's like having mosquitoes. You know, when you go to, I don't know, Mozambique or wherever, they have tons of mosquitoes. At the end of the day, you're in their environment. What is. How does the hotel responsible. How can they keep every scorpion out of a hotel? Okay, well, I'll go. I'll get through the story, even though now I'm pissed off. California man lawyers up and is considering a lawsuit after being stung in the testicles by a scorpion that crawled into his bed at the luxury resort. At a luxury hotel in the Las Vegas strip Resort. Around 8am on December 26, Mr. Farace, 61 years old, woke up in his suite at the Venetian. Oh, woke up at his suite. Okay, well, that's different. You paid for the suites, like on the top floor. Yeah.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

That. That scorpion have tail Will travel. He woke up at the Venet to a searing pain in his groin area. You sure it was the scorpion, right? You're 61, dude. According to attorney Brian Vierg, roused suddenly from his sleep. Farace rushed into the bathroom to figure out what's happening, only to spot an orange scorpion clinging onto the front of his boxer briefs. I have been bitten by a scorpion at my groin slash testicles, Farace wrote in an incident report. In it, Farace said he was in bed when he was stung and his symptoms. A lot of pain. He told K L A S that the sensation was like someone stabbing me in my balls. It felt like a sharp. It felt like sharp glass or a knife. Farace, a contractor from Agora Hills, said he was shocked by what happened and couldn't believe it. Farace had the presence. Had the presence of mind, as if. As if he got his arm chopped off or something. The guy got bit by a scorpion. Give me a break. Had the presence of mind to snap several photographs of the scorpion hanging from his underwear, of which there's some. There's some pictures here.

[C]

I would be not focusing on taking pictures right away. If I saw a scorpion on me. I. I would want to get it off.

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, it was hanging on his boxer. So he took the boxers off and then he took. This is stupid. Because he knows he wants a lawsuit now. The Venetian comp. Farace's room for the night. But Vierga says the hotel staffers were very, very dismissive and unapologetic. What did you want them to do? It's their fault that there was a scorpion in your boxers. Couldn't you have picked that up along the way? Like maybe it was on your clothing when you walked into the hotel. Maybe you were sunning yourself earlier. It walked onto your bathing suit. It got in your room. This is not the staffer's fault. You're going to sue them because the staffers weren't apologetic enough? What a douche. Canozle, Mr. Farace, grow a pair of extremely swollen balls.

[A]

Right?

[B]

And stop it. This is why this country sucks sometimes is because you can literally sue anybody for any reason. Reason at any time. And this is one of those ridiculous lawsuits that makes no sense. It was an accident. Happens. They comped your room, a suite at the Venetian in Las Vegas. You're fine. Everything's fine. Stop it. Stop with your bullshit. The staffers aren't supposed to bend hand and knee on foot kissing the ring of Mr. Ferrachi because you got an orange scorpion on your testicles. Stop it. Stop with your testicle balls complaining and move on with life. That's what I have to say. You're obviously doing well for yourself if you're staying at the suite at the Venetian.

[C]

Obviously.

[B]

Either that or you're gambling a whole ton of money away. Either way, you got expendable cash. Move on, leave it alone. And you know what I would ask for? Can I have this room comped? And is it is. Would you mind if doing this again another weekend down in the future? And then I might leave it at that.

[C]

Maybe pay for the doctor visit or something. I don't know what he had to.

[B]

Do, but if the maids weren't running in immediately with ice packs and ready to rub cream all over my swollen testicles, I would sue. That's. That's the kind of. That's the kind of guy I am.

[C]

That's where you.

[B]

That's right. You know who wouldn't sue because of getting bitten in the testicles? Lunel, our guest today on TCB infomercials. Probably because she doesn't have testicles. But regardless, you get what I'm saying. Lunel, extraordinarily funny lady who has been around so many blocks, it's not even funny. Lunel has an incredible and crazy story. You know her from. Probably Borat is where you know her from. She played the prostitute, Borat's prostitute in that movie. But she's a noted comic all over the place.

[C]

She's got a residency in Vegas.

[B]

Yes, she does a residency in Vegas with Jimmy Kimmel every couple of weeks. She is now going to be at the Apollo Theater. The real Apollo.

[C]

Legendary.

[B]

That's right. And let me tell you exactly when that day is. I know when it is, because she. She.

[C]

The 26th.

[B]

It's the 26th of April. You can get your tickets. They are now available. This is the first time that Lunel has been headlining herself at the Apollo Theater. We're excited to talk to her about it today. You can go to Alunel, which is L, U, E, N, E, L, L. I kept saying Lunel, but it's not Lunell. Like I'm adding extra vowels into her name @lel atel on Instagram. She's hilarious. We're super excited to have this legend of comedy on our show today. TCB infomercial with Luna. Get your tickets to that Apollo Theater headlining show on the 26th of April, 2024. In case you're listening to this way in the future, you've already missed it. And what I would like to do, Chrissy, if it's okay with you, if you don't mind, Because I do like to get your permission before we do anything, if you don't mind, do you? I like to think I do.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Pastor thinks the same thing. Yeah. I'm like, but we talked about it. She's like, no, you talked about it. I didn't agree to it. But I think you can agree we want Lunel on the show, right?

[A]

Yes, yes, yes.

[B]

So let's take a short break. Let's get her in here. We're super excited to have Lunel, legend of comedy, on the commercial break. We'll be back.

[D]

I know you're already on your phone, so pull up Instagram and follow us at the commercial break. And then follow us on Tik Tok at TCB podcast. Done. Perfect. Thank you. Since you're at the ready, why not text us hello at 212-4333, TCB? Or if you've got some drama in your life, a little fun story or anything, really. We're desperate for content. Call and leave us a message at 212-4333, TCV. And don't forget to check out TCVpodcast.com because that's got it all. Speaking of having it all, let's listen to our fabulous sponsors and get back to the commercial break.

[B]

And Lunel is here with us now. Hi, Lunel. Thanks you so much. We're grateful for your time today. How are you? Hi.

[A]

I'm good. I'm real good.

[B]

Okay, Lunel, inquiring minds want to know. I have a question for you. You seem like the type of human being that gets invited to all the parties because I just. Your personality as I know it, as a gentleman, looking at you on your comedy specials and your podcast appearances and all that, you look like you get invited to all the parties and that you probably don't turn down many invitations. Like you're out there doing your thing. What is your party exit style? Do you do Irish goodbyes? Do you. Wait, are you the last person at the party? Or do you leave hugs and kisses out the door?

[A]

First of all, you're absolutely correct. I do get invited to a lot of things, but I don't go to as many as I used to because now I like to be a little bit more exclusive. Oh, My style is to just leave because if you say that you're leaving now. Oh, let me get a picture, let me get into. And so now you're 35 more minutes in there taking pictures because you have announced that you're leaving. I just slowly sneak out the door and leave. Is that An Irish. Is that Irish?

[B]

Yes, that's an Irish. Goodbye. And as an Irish. As an Irish. Well, as from Irish descendants, I will tell you right now, we have perfected this, and I think that's. I think you're 100% on the mark. And I'm not famous. No one recognizes me. I have a face for radio. That's why we do a podcast. So I just leave.

[A]

I have a body for radio. But listen, you want to know about the craziest party that I. This isn't gonna air tonight, but tonight, no, tomorrow night, I'm invited to a party. Do you want to know what it is?

[B]

Of course, yes.

[A]

It will have happened by the time this air. So listeners, you, you, you. You have to go on my Instagram. You'll probably see pictures of what I'm about to talk about.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Tomorrow night, I'm invited to go see Madonna.

[B]

What?

[A]

With Rosie o', Donnell, Abby Griffin, Sia, Paris Hilton, and Katy Perry.

[B]

No fucking way.

[C]

That's the crew.

[B]

Lunell, that is like, you are rolling with. That is a straight A list rolling deep, right? No.

[A]

And I have no. You know, one of these things is not like the other. I have no business in that clique. But Kathy and I are comics. Yep. She invited me to her home where I met everybody else. And then Rose was a comic, you know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then Sia took a liking to me. And so I've been in this little. Then this little click ever since. Yeah.

[B]

Do you get. Do you guys go out often or is it just like a group of girls that, like, occasionally you guys say, hey, let's go do this because it's really cool, or do you hang out more frequently than that?

[A]

Well, that whole clique has come to Vegas to see me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

At Jimmy Kim Private jet.

[B]

And holy shit.

[A]

Then I go. We go over Kathy's in Malibu and we go to see us. So we. We do things from time to time.

[B]

Now, have you ever, like, had FaceTime with Madonna or is this your first time being in the same.

[A]

This will be my first time. I may or may not meet her because I know the click is going backstage, but I have a 1:30 red eye.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

If Madge is not on time, she won't. Heard that she. I've heard that she's not, but see, I don't. Let me just say this about that. As a audience member of anything, as a person who came up through the theater and as a comic, I do not know how they sustain a career not being on time. I think it's disrespectful to your audience, her Lauryn Hill, and other people who do that habitually. You know, things happen. And you can be late, clearly. But to be known for being late, I think it's hugely disrespectful.

[B]

Agreed.

[A]

And costly. Because if you go overtime, there are significant fees per minute that the artist is charged for these venues. So I don't see how they sustain a career. I don't. Because we could never.

[B]

You, you grew up in theater, so I think it's referred to as a pregnant pause. Like you pause for effect. Right. You're getting the audience anticipating something. So I can see five, 15 minutes. Yeah.

[A]

That's like two hours.

[B]

And that's crazy.

[A]

And it's like, so disrespectful. How do you maintain your career? I don't, I don't understand it. I wouldn't hire anybody who do that. I don't care how much money they would dry it. I wouldn't work with anybody like that. And I don't give a damn who it is.

[C]

There you go.

[B]

Well, I'm jealous because I, you know, I grew up listening to Madonna and then to be in that group of pretty exclusive human beings going, I'm hoping for you that Madge decides to get her butt on time.

[A]

I hope so, because I got a red eye, bro. I gotta go. So we're seeing her shot. I'm seeing her in Los Angeles. I think the crypto something, I'm. I'm not sure, but I, I, I, I will have the group shot of me and the girls. And then even if I don't get it with Match, I'll get their group shot and explain that I had to go. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

On Instagram. And you'll see, see the, see the results.

[B]

Your Instagram is fantastic, by the way. And I love, I love your constant homages to Prince. Who is a favorite here in the room. I know you have a tattoo. You've taken it to a whole nother level. That's the revolution. I know the artist formerly known as Prince. The symbol Prince Revolution.

[A]

And on my microphone hand. Yeah. But I also have Bad in red. That Michael.

[B]

That's the bad cover. Yeah.

[A]

So I have to have both because I grew up and it was always. They were always pitting one against the other. Pick Michael. A Prince. Michael Prince. Which one is it? It's both.

[B]

I think it's both.

[C]

I was at his last concert here in Atlanta.

[A]

Prince and Michael's no Princes. Yes, yes.

[C]

So sad that he died, you know, very shortly after that. But what a show it was. His piano and a microphone.

[A]

Oh, yeah, he.

[B]

He's such a beautiful artist. And I. My very first concert that I ever went to, like, real concert I ever went to, was the bad tour. My parents.

[A]

Both of you are.

[B]

Yes, that's right. Hey, Lunel, I gotta agree with you about something. When it comes to airplanes, I think one of our intrepid researchers found out that you consider yourself the unofficial air marshal of every flight. Self appointed air marshal.

[A]

Air March.

[B]

I've been saying this on this show since probably episode number one. Airline travel is fucking miserable. Everyone acts like animals when they start getting close to an airplane. And when you get on the flight, please don't. Please don't bother me. I don't need your conversation. I probably don't want your conversation now. You probably don't roll like I do. I would. I would imagine you're a very familiar face, like you've been doing this for a long time. It's hard. It's probably hard to go most places without being noticed by at least a few people, especially an airport. But I just don't want to be bothered. Do you find being a celebrity that people are just bothersome? If you end up sitting next to them on the plane, they're like, oh, Lynn Lunel, tell me your story. I want to hear all about it. Like, kind of like the commercial break kind of like here on this podcast.

[A]

Well, first of all, I'm very undercover. When I go to the airport, I have on a mask, I have on shades, I have on stuff like this, although they may be a little opulent. But, you know, I'm usually undercover. A lot of times it's my voice that gives me away. Or it could be my nails, which I don't have on now because I was doing a project and I had to get rid of the nails. They'll be back when I sit. I travel first class. And as I was saying in the special, 90% of the time nobody even speaks to me. They don't even say, good morning, how are you? I think that is required that you do that. But then as far as you know, I don't want to hear about your lupus treatments and shit like that. I don't, you know, I don't need to know all that. And then sometimes I just lie because I'm never gonna see you again. The minute the bell rings for you to get your bag, we're done. And why should I sit and tell you my life story? You're nobody, you know, unless we're gonna continue a relationship, which we normally don't. So.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I just lie and say my father's an heiress and I mean an heir to a fortune and I'm married to a Lebanese millionaire. You know, I say shit like that.

[D]

That's fun.

[C]

You're the whole character.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because who cares, you know, why are you spilling your life to a stranger? But if I do start talking every now and then, some people can be fun. Or every now and then, people will progressively get drunk. I don't.

[B]

No.

[A]

Or, or, or, you know, but I do think it's required that people say, hello, how are you today? Something like that. And don't act like you're not sitting next to. Next to somebody, because if some goes down, you're gonna be grabbing my hand. Oh, my God, help me.

[B]

So. You know, that's so true.

[A]

You'd be on your own because you didn't even speak.

[C]

You know, get your own flotation device.

[B]

That's right. You get your own oxygen mask, which.

[A]

See that whole scenario play out. If you do watch the Netflix, my Netflix comedy special. I talk extensively about airplane.

[B]

So, yeah, it's so funny. I was. I just watched it last week. When. When do you think? So you're like a. A bonafide celebrity. And I know that you. You probably put on this mask because you just don't sometimes like every human being in the world, and most of us don't have to worry about this. We just really don't want to be bothered. We want to go about living our lives and do our things. Go to the grocery store, go to the wherever without being bothered. When did. When did you really start getting recognized? Was it after Borat or before? Previous to Borat, was that like an inflection point for you when everyone was like, oh, my gosh, you were in that movie, Borat?

[A]

Well, see, I have two different. Different demographics.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I have my white demographic and I have my black demographic. So my black demographic has known who I am for years.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The white demographic didn't really recognize me until Borat.

[C]

Borat.

[A]

Yeah. And then after that, it was a. It was a wash after that. And then now, you know, I do. I've done, you know, like, I'm always sunny, and it's always sunny in Philadelphia.

[B]

You were hilarious.

[A]

I'm on Hacks with Gene Smart right now.

[C]

I love that show.

[A]

I do, too.

[C]

That show is amazing, Gene.

[A]

It is one of my favorites, and it mirrors my life. You know, it's about an Older female comic from Las Vegas. So that's, that's me.

[B]

Yeah. Do you, you're doing the residency at Jimmy Kimmel's in Vegas?

[A]

Yes, I've been there since 2019 actually. But when the doors open. But I just started in 2019, then 2021, we were shut down.

[C]

Right, sure.

[A]

So I came back at the end of 22. No, I came back in 20. He, he didn't even open for almost a year after they said you Vegas could open.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

He, he didn't open because Jimmy's club is not in a casino. It stands alone in the link promenade. And so he had the ability to do or not do whatever he want to.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

So he didn't open immediately. Still paranoid. He didn't want anybody to get covet in his club. So I came back in 2023 and, and I'm continuing on now.

[B]

So do you, you maintain residency, you were telling us before we started maintain residency in Las Vegas. I mean like an actual house in Vegas in la. Do you, which one do you prefer? Do you like being in Vegas?

[A]

Well, I have a bigger, more plush house in Vegas. Because you get more bang for your buck in Las Vegas. The house I have in Las Vegas, if you picked it up and put it in Los Angeles, it'd be 3.5 or more.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I definitely didn't pay that in Vegas. And I'm in a gated community and I have a swimming pool and all that stuff in Vegas. My house here in Los Angeles is in the Crenshaw district. It's an older home. It's still very cute, very cozy, very comfortable. But it's a one car garage. I got a three car garage. You know, I don't have a pool, like a brain, so it's, you know, I like them both. Yeah, I prefer, I prefer the home in Vegas. Right.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, so I, I heard you tell a story and I want, I heard you say something and I want you to tell me is this true? And then follow up, if you could, with the actual story. You robbed a bank once, went to jail for a couple of months for it.

[A]

Technically is called embezzlement.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

But it is in fact bank robbery. And yes, that's true. I was working for a bank, so I actually stole from the bank that I worked at.

[B]

Oh, so you actually were an employee at the bank. So you. So that's why they called it embezzlement.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, and then tell me if this, this story comes full circle. So you go to jail for a couple of months. And then you get out of jail, you go straight to a comedy club to do comedy. Do not pass go. Is that correct?

[A]

Yes. Within days of getting out, because, of course, I had no clothes. Clothes.

[C]

Right.

[A]

Because you go to jail, even if you go to jail for eight months, you're going to be released in the same clothes you were arrested in.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Unless somebody brings you clothes, and nobody did. So I got arrested in my pajamas. So I didn't go straight to the comedy club. I went to my girlfriend's house on the bus in the pajamas, and then she bought me some clothes. And within a few days, I went to the Comedy Store because I felt the need to purge myself. That's how much I love comedy. Before I even went home to see my child, I went to a comedy club, and then I went home.

[B]

Wow. And then is it true that like a year later or some change later, you actually ended up filming a movie at that same place where you spent time?

[A]

Yeah. So this is crazy.

[B]

You have to tell me this. Yeah.

[A]

I did the Rock with Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage.

[B]

Oh, great movie. Yeah.

[A]

And in some scenes in the Rock, they were shot at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, which was brand new. The jail in the girl. The jail in Los Angeles was called Civil Brand. Civil Brand was in the process of closing because it was so raggedy, and Twin Towers was opening in between that time. They filmed some scenes in the Rock. So. But I mean, in, In Twin Towers, they filmed some scenes from the Rock into a tower. So by the time I got arrested and was incarcerated in Twin Towers, the movie had came out. So I'm actually in a movie that was from. In a jail that was. I was incarcerated in.

[C]

That's incredible.

[A]

You can't write. You can't. Can't make this.

[B]

Make that shit up. What a full circle moment. It's like, like, listen, I'm sure that you didn't steal the money because you wanted to go buy a pair of, you know, fancy pants or get a brand new car. I'm sure it was, you know, you, you, you felt like you needed the money. Right. But then, full circle. Now you're filming a movie with the movie stars of the moment at that time, Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage. And you're, you know, one of the actresses in this movie. That must have felt good. Like, it must have been like, wow, this is. I, I did it. Like, I pulled myself out of, out of this moment, and here I am. And I just think that's such a great, like, great full circle. I mean, such A. I don't know, like a graphic representation of a full.

[A]

Well, in full disclosure, I actually did steal the money just because I didn't take it to help somebody and their cancer treatment or any like that. But I felt what it was was the tellers in the bank, which I was one. And I had. I had criminal mentality, you know, that wasn't the only scam I did at the bank. But the tellers at the bank, I feel, are the face of the bank. They're the people who interact with the customers. They're the people who build relationships with the customers, who people trust with their funds and stuff like that. So we're the ones. It's the tellers. Then after this was, you know, 28 years ago, and if you work two weeks with all this money and you get a paycheck that's only like $235, I got real sick of that. And I felt very. I felt really used because I felt like tellers should get more money. So when they told me that I was going to start working in the vault, I didn't even have any thoughts of taking the money. But because you always have two people in the vault. I wasn't in the vault alone.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

But, you know, the devil works in. In strange ways. And I was just like the Lord. And I was in the vault and, you know, the. Turned her back and the money was right there. I just grabbed the stack and put it in my bra. Right. Yeah. Because there really was no camera inside the vault at the time. I'm sure there are now, but there were not then. So, you know, I had to work the rest of the day sweating. No, there's money in my bra.

[B]

Was it.

[A]

And this is when I got it.

[B]

Six hours of your life, like, working through the rest of that.

[A]

It wasn't the most. Incarceration was the most.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But it was pretty stressful. And then, you know, with the money, I. You know, I did a few good things for my parents, which they should have known that. That something was up because I hadn't been able to do a damn thing for them before.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And, you know, I. I blessed some people and bought some. And paid some bills and stuff like that. You know, we were living pretty. Me and my roommate were living in a pretty nice apartment on the beach in Long beach and had got behind in the rent. And, you know, she was a call girl, and I wasn't gonna do that. I'd rather be a thief. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So that's how that happens.

[B]

Yeah. Chrissy And I talk about this often on the show about. It's like, you know, you go to McDonald's, you might get a little attitude. Maybe your burger has the onions you didn't ask for, whatever. And it's like. But if you're working at McDonald's, they don't pay you enough to give a shit. And so, you know, it's like they're. They're the face of the brand, yet the brand who's making billions of dollars can't afford to pay them a couple extra bucks. Now there's a whole nother conversation that goes with that. And I understand it like goes.

[A]

It certainly is. Because like in this Crenshaw district where I am right now, there was a Ralph's, which is a big grocery store chain out here.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

There was a Ralph's over there that everybody in the area went to. The people went on strike to just get like five dollar raise. And whoever owned the grocery store, rather than pay the five dollar raise, they closed the whole.

[B]

No. Really?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh my God.

[B]

Yeah. There are. I think we're back in robber baron days. I mean I. To put it nicely, I think we're back robber baron days. Yeah. To put it nicely.

[A]

And yeah, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and the rich don't have a problem with the poor getting poorer. And you know, there's a lot. I. I embezzled it and did my time. There's a lot of governmentally officials that are embezzling and not doing no time.

[C]

Exactly.

[A]

Right. Okay. So.

[B]

And they won't do any time because they.

[A]

And they won't do any. Yeah, right.

[B]

Because everyone knows where the bodies are buried. And as I have said on occasion before, when you know where the bodies are buried, when each person knows where the bodies are buried. Tech, you know, literally or figuratively, it is mad, mad to get involved in bringing somebody down. It's mutually assured destruction. And no one wants to do that. And that is the balance that keeps some of these people in power. Power and holding the bag of cash. It's just. It's crazy.

[A]

Yeah. That's why the Epstein's got a lot got away with what they got away with for so long and why Galene and you know, the. The gang got a lot got away with what they got away with for so long. Nobody wants to tell on anybody and everybody knows what's going on. So the protection of the children or the protection of women goes out the window. Nobody cares. Or the little people or anything like that. So I'm total You know, activist for the people, you know what I'm saying? I don't play the industry game. Nobody that people had asked me before, have you ever been sexually assaulted or anything like that by anybody in this street? I said they wouldn't dare. That's right, because I'm telling you.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I'm not waiting 20 years to do it either.

[B]

No, no, no.

[A]

I'm telling like that day, right.

[B]

I'm, I'm telling that moment because.

[A]

And I don't care about none of the fallout. No, I didn't have it before I went there. I can clearly live without it. If I never do another movie, TV show or anything like that. As long as I do my stand up, which is people driven, not industry driven, and I do podcasts and things like this, I'm still gonna eat. Nobody gonna stop me.

[B]

So, yeah, we were talking to Tom, Tom Papa. I think you would know who he was.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And yeah, Tom's great. Right. And so we were talking to Tom and I was asking about late night television shows like Jimmy's show and Letterman when he was on and Jay Leno and all this stuff. And he said, you know, I used to get excited about doing that because it would move the needle, but now know it's more about curating your audience and then feeding them directly through podcasting, social media, going live performances. People can.

[A]

Yeah, because I want to be. That's my goal. I wanted to be the next black female with a late night talk show. And everybody that I've known that had a talk show told me that how I am, that it'll never work. Like Arsenio said. Said it's not going to happen. George Lopez said it's not going to happen for network television. Which means they would have to push me over to Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime. Well, I think that's jive because it is late night after all. So the kitty should be in bed so I don't have more freedom. But see, then you got these affiliates and these sponsors and all those people that are pulling the string. So I don't care about that. So I probably will have to do it on the streaming service and I'll probably still get affiliates and sponsors, but they won't be telling me what to do.

[C]

Yeah, well, that's where the audience is moving anyways.

[B]

That's where the audience is.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to break the, you know, no shade, but late night TV is, is lighter than daytime. You got white man after white man after white man after white man. No women yeah, no minorities. So what are we doing?

[B]

Did you, Are you friends with Arsenio? Are you friendly with Arsenio?

[A]

Yeah, we made Coming to America together.

[C]

Yeah, that's right.

[B]

I'm. Did you. I don't know this answer. Did you. Would you ever appear on Arsenio's show?

[A]

Yes, I did.

[C]

I loved that show. That was my favorite.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

I wish the reboot had taken a day, had gone a little bit further because I really think.

[A]

But it's the affiliate and that pulled the string on it, not the people. If that was the case, George Lopez show would still be on as well.

[B]

That's true also. Yeah. Well, George, George got screwed because, you know, the network, who knows, George got screwed. There's no doubt about it that George got screwed. And George Lopez's show was really funny. Speaking of daytime television, you were friendly with Wendy Williams, weren't you? Yeah. Show a few times. Yeah. Feel about what's going on with Wendy.

[C]

All over the news.

[A]

Well, I think that it was some dirty pool filming a physically and mentally ill woman.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I think that they should be ashamed of yourself. And the only reason to have done it would have been to help the case of the family against the guardianship, to show that, oh, these people are abusing my sister. Here's what they're doing. Here's what it is. We, the family are requesting to take control of her, you know, and not to say your family won't rip you off, some of that may happen. But, but you know, her son and her dad who has left and her sister and brother surely should have some say so. And the welfare of their family members, not some guardian that nobody knows that has taken her away.

[B]

Right.

[A]

She, nobody's denying that Wendy should maybe be in a facility and in one where she can't check out when she wants to.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Nobody's denying that we want her to get the best health care that she can get mentally and physically.

[B]

And physically.

[A]

And also she should definitely, even though she don't have access to, to some of the money, she should definitely have access to some other parts of the money, you know.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And to do with what she wants.

[C]

To, she, she did earn it.

[B]

Yeah. I, I wonder if that. I, I think you're right, Linnell. I wonder if that documentary is part of pushing a larger narrative. Right.

[A]

Well, see, she probably had a three picture deal with Lifetime.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

She delivered the first documentary. It was tremendously popular because her name is on as executive producer for this disastrous documentary that was just done. So they probably have a contract that she's got to fulfill. And so there's that one and there may be another one coming, you know, of something, you know, maybe the wrap up or whatever what her name will be on that because clearly she's not in any condition to produce anything.

[B]

No, yeah, she does look. I mean at least, at least what we see on camera at times she looks confused mentally and physically. Not. Well, she does look crazy. And I think you're right. I think she's in a situation where she, she does need help. I'm not diagnosing her, but I'm just saying that I think, yeah, it appears that she needs help and not some stranger managing her affairs and telling her where to go and when to be there, but people who care about her and love her and know her best. Those are the people that are most equipped to help her in this situation. It seems like for some reason it's just, you know, there's. They're an arm's length away and that seems crazy. But let's talk about you. You recently opened on Broadway, is that correct? Chicago for Chicago.

[A]

Did we hear Chicago the Musical? Yes, I, I had just a little limited engagement that was facilitated by my appearance on the Tamron hall show. She knew it was a dream of mine to do theater again because I did theater before I ever started in stand up, which is one of the reasons I've never really had stage fright or anything because I was trained in front of live audiences before I ever did stand up, which I think that can only be an asset to any stand up comedian anyway.

[C]

Definitely.

[A]

So I got a chance to do at the Ambassador Theater on Broadway, not off Broadway, around the corner from Broadway, on Broadway. And a lot of family members came and it was a great experience. I know, I know for a fact though that I do not wish to do eight shows a week like they do.

[B]

Yeah, that's a lot, Lunel. Eight shows a week like we do.

[A]

I've gone from doing six shows a week just doing stand up by myself to. Well, I still do six, but I do four on the road and I do two at home, my residency. But they're not at 7:30, you know, they're not till 9:30 at night and you know, and I'm, I'm up by then and moving around. So I don't, I don't want to do the Broadway thing. I'm a little bougie now and you know, I think you've earned it.

[B]

I think you've earned.

[A]

Well, me too.

[B]

I think you've earned it. I think you.

[A]

So that's why, you know, Broadway actors, soap opera actors, they should get all the props all the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because they really work their hinds off, you know. And if you're a dancer, you know, you have to take class, you have to stay healthy, you have to stay stretched. You can have injuries. You could be out at any moment. You know, all that stuff. It's, it's, it's. It's dangerous. Moving part. Like, I went to go see Phantom of the Opera just by myself. And that, that chandelier, you know, if you don't work it right, you're gonna get clocked in the head. Yeah, dangerous. And so I give all my props to theater actors.

[B]

Me, too. I went to go see Cirque du Soleil recently, and one of the acrobats fell. Right. Now, luckily, they were able to, you know, scoot her off stage and it looked like she was sure.

[A]

I've seen it in Vegas. The Michael show is Cirque du Soleil. And it's very dangerous.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Very, very dangerous.

[B]

Yes. But I thought to myself, like, I want. I hope this person. I hope there's some kind of union involved here where she's going to get paid no matter what, and that she's going to a hospital to get the. Or doctor or ambulance to get the kind of care she needs without having to worry about paying for that. Because, you know, big movie stars, right, they're insured to the hilt. And I'm not saying that their job is easy either. But, you know, they come in, they do bits and pieces at a time. There. There's a. It's a lot of luxuriating that goes on, I'm sure, backstage and in these movies. And then you go to. You see a Broadway player, an off Broadway player, whatever. These are like, they're doing it eight times. Just like a standup comedian, they're doing it eight times. Never know what the audience is going to bring. You never know what's going to be thrown. Your curveball, left ball, people yelling in the audience. It's a whole different animal to do it live and.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Yeah, that's why we're chicken shit. We just sit behind the microphone here in the comfort of our own studio.

[C]

Speaking of bougie, I saw that you had a connection with the Atlanta Housewives. You maybe appeared on a show.

[B]

Did you appear on one of their episodes?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I did Real Housewives of Atlanta.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

One or two times. We're big fans because at that time, Claudia Jordan is my friend. She was on the show. But since then, I've become good friends with Cynthia Bailey. And I know. I know Candy, of course.

[B]

Right? Yeah.

[C]

Right.

[B]

We know Cynthia. Yeah, we. We had a. A live streaming channel once, and they were. They did shows on the streaming channel with us from time to time. And they were off of both of them.

[A]

Yeah. I even know last, like some in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. You know, there's Erica Jane is on that show. She also has her residency in Las Vegas, but her and I were both Savage x Fenty lingerie ambassadors for Rihanna at the same time. So we did Rihanna's fashion show that was on Amazon prime, and we had to do it through during the Corona. So you're half naked, but you got a mask on.

[B]

Didn't you create an only fans page from that? From that. Because you had, like, with this. As the story goes, as one of our researchers found that you. You did the Rihanna lingerie modeling and then you had extra photos left over. So as kind of a lark, you were like, let me put them on Only fans. We'll see if we can make some money. And it ended up becoming pretty successful.

[A]

Yeah. Then they asked for some other things, and I did. I did a little bit of it, but it's like, you know, who you gonna get to photograph you and how you gonna do all this? And then they want more, and they want more, and it's. I don't really. That's not what I do full time, of course. So it was getting a little too demanding, a little too demented. So I shut it down. I shut it down.

[B]

Yeah. One of my favorite bits that you've done, and I think it actually was filmed here in Atlanta, but it's an. It's an old bit. It was like, you know, when Facebook was all the rage. And you talk about how with Facebook and texting, like DM and texting, and you're like, I got catfished by a dick pic. Because every dick pic that comes my way is gloriously vain.

[A]

Does not belong to the person who sent it. They're lying. And if you hook up with them and you meet them, you decide to go to bed, you're like, hey, hey, wait a minute. Where's that mole? Didn't you have a mold?

[B]

All right, so, Lunel, the big announcement is you're doing the Apollo Theater in Harlem on the 26th of April.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And the tickets are available, I'm sure, at Apollo.com@the. And are you excited? This isn't. This clearly is not your first time on the Apollo stage. Right?

[A]

It absolutely is performing. I've been to the Apollo, I've walked the Apollo. I know people who work there, curate the place or curate the place. So I've been all up in the dressing rooms, I've written my name on the wall, I've rubbed the tree trunk, I've done all that. But it was all fake. Cause I was just doing. And then I had to leave. But this is my first time performing there and it's so iconic because, you know, it's a. What do they call it? I think it's a landmark.

[B]

Yeah, Landmark theater. Yes.

[A]

And then, you know, if you look back through the history, especially in the Motown era, and all the, so many, many audience, all the people who performed there and then, you know, held James Brown laid in state there, you know, when he, when he passed away. And it's just unbelievable that, that I am going to get to perform there. But as a comic, and you can attest to this, you really ain't until you conquer New York audience anyway.

[C]

That's correct.

[A]

You, you can be the big deal in Mississippi, you can be the big deal in, in Atlanta, you can be the big deal in San Francisco. But if nobody knows you in New York, you ain't nobody.

[C]

That's right. That's true.

[B]

My wife asked me the other night, you know, because we have guests on, on frequently and they're celebrities and they're, you know, wonderful like Lunel. And she said, you know, some, a lot of them are in LA and a lot of them in New York. Why do a lot of comics choose New York over la? And I told her, I said, because the comedy scene is in New York, they have one in la. But you gotta conquer New York.

[A]

It's very limited. It's very cliquish in la and it's all segregated as well. You know, you got your gay night, you got Latin night, you got black night, you got female night, you got all this kind of stuff. But in New York you can go do any room and everybody is going to give you a chance. You got like five seconds to get to hook em. You better impress them with what you got on. You better impress tonality of your voice and your language and everything you got. You know, you might have five minutes, you might have five minutes maybe, but they'll grow some balls on you. The New York audiences. Not for kids. No joke.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now for television and film, of course, Los Angeles, this is the place for that. But if you're going to do stand up, if you're going to end up being a Lenny Bruce or Richard a Dice Clay, you know, something like that. You've got to go through New York. That's going to toughen you up and, and all that because, you know, regionally you can talk about any kind of little mamsy pansy you want to, but now you can't talk about that. When you come to New York, you got to talk about what the east coast people are familiar with. You know, you got to talk about the. The L train. You got to talk about, you know, what a knish is. Know where to get good. You know, where Canal Street. You gotta. You got to know what you're talking about.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Up.

[B]

What I. I love Lunel. And yeah, your, your frankness, your comedy is so in your face. I love it. I've been a big fan for a long time. I'm.

[A]

That's incredible. You know, you never know who knows you. And I'm all just like. I'm like. With the, with the click that I mentioned before, I'm like, what, what. What in the world does Kathy Griffin know about me to invite me to her home? Well, and now we're very good friends. You know, you just gotta give people a chance. You know, you can't really judge a book. I've been guilty of that. I've been guilty all the time.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

But I learned that you really just can't do that because you don't know. And then the person that you think is a loser and a hack, which, that's my favorite word. That's why I like hack.

[B]

I like hacks.

[A]

I'll tell somebody a hack in a minute. But, you know, you may in. In this town, in this industry, they may write something like a Issa Rain and start off on Twitter, become something on Instagram, go From Instagram to YouTube, YouTube to network. You may think somebody's a hacker. Next thing you know, you're auditioning for them.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

That's true.

[B]

Yeah, I, I oftentimes now. I mean, I was never. I at least to think in my older. As I get a little bit older, I'm less and less judgmental because I realize that first impressions are actually not everything. Right. Because people can surprise the person. I agree.

[A]

You know, because I think even as a comic, we have like a sixth sense. We can read really quick.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So sometime your first impression is who that fool is. Yes, but a lot. But sometimes it's not so it's. It's a crapshoot.

[B]

Well, I've learned to trust My intuition. But give people a second chance. Right, but always trust my intuition because 99 of the time I'm right. But that's just because of life experiences.

[A]

But as a female, she was. We. We can give you a second chance, but we might give you a second chance. Like, yeah.

[B]

Oh, don't I know it. Yeah, don't I know it?

[A]

Yeah, you can get a second chance, but I still got my eye on you.

[B]

All right, Lunette, tell. Tell Kathy and Rosie and Sia. And if you get a chance to talk to Madge, tell her, you know, to get her clock fixed. Tell Mags to get her clock fix. Tell all the ladies we said hello. I hope you have a wonderful time. You'll come back on. I know. We'll have you back on Apollo 26th April. Tickets available. Go get them now. Follow her on social media. She's got so much material out there.

[A]

There. And yeah, just. If you want to see this stuff we're talking about, follow me on Instagram @lunell l u e N E L L. And if you're planning your summer Vegas vacays, plan in a Sunday or a Monday and come see me at Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy club.

[B]

I'm going to be doing a conference later on this year. Like, I'm going to, like, an industry conference later on this year in Vegas. I'm going to see if I can come see you.

[A]

I've got material about conferences, too, but I'm going.

[C]

There's a lot of material.

[A]

Word for let's go sleep with somebody. Exactly.

[C]

Let's get drunk.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Lunell, you're the best. The legend. Lunel, thank you so much for coming and spending time with us.

[A]

Thank y' all so much, so much, so much, so much.

[B]

We'll talk to you soon, Michael and Prince and L. All right.

[A]

Bye, y'.

[B]

All. Bye. Thank you.

[D]

Have fun.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

Bye.

[D]

Well, thank the baby Jesus. Brian took a breath. And now I will use this opportunity to let you know that we've got a brand new phone number. That's right. It's 212-4333 TCB. And you can text us anytime you want, or you can call and leave us a voicemail. And we might just use your message on the show once Brian gets through all the messages he missed last year. Of course. Anyway, you can also find and DM us on Instagram at the commercial break and on TikTok, CBpodcast. And of course, all of our audio and video is easily found on tcbpodcast.com home. Now. I'm going to thank G one more time that we have sponsors. So thank G. And here they are.

[B]

Wow. Lunel is.

[C]

She's a force.

[B]

She is a force.

[C]

I love her so much. And her badass Gucci rhinestone glass.

[B]

Can you believe that? Means she said she's bougie. She is. Right. But she wears it well. I'm telling you.

[C]

Oh my God.

[B]

I've been following her for a while on Instagram and she had like. She's just one of the. She's just these. One of these naturally funny human beings. She takes no. She takes no prisoner. She says exactly what's on her mind.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Be damn. She is literally going to the Madonna concert tomorrow night.

[C]

I know.

[B]

And she is telling Madonna to please be on time because it's rude and unacceptable and she wouldn't hire Madonna to do anything because Madonna is always constantly late. Which is a true story, by the way. Madonna is a notoriously late on these concerts. One time, like four hours. But she's going with Kathy Griffin. Who knew? Yeah.

[C]

I love the. The crew.

[B]

I do love the crew too.

[C]

They came together on that.

[B]

Sia does. Is Sia still wearing her face hair?

[C]

I don't know. I think she's kind of uncovering.

[B]

Yeah. Why I read somewhere that she originally did that because she was a little bit older and she felt like. Like.

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

She didn't want people judging her based on her looks. But then also I think she.

[C]

We like want to get Rick and.

[B]

I avoid the fame. God damn. I should. We should start doing that because I'm pretty sure any day now people are going to start recognizing us somewhere. Like most likely on our Instagram channel.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Where they're there. But anyway, someday we'll get recognized and hot take. She thinks Wendy Williams family has helped to orchestrate some of this documentary to get. Get the public to put some pressure on this conservatorship. And I agree with it. 100.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know that much about Wendy Williams. I would watch her in the afternoon sometimes when I was at home sick like a small child. I put on Wendy Williams, you know, because she was entertaining. Wendy was always entertaining. Yeah. She really was a little too gossip houndy at the show. Was a little too gossip houndy.

[C]

But that was kind of her thing.

[B]

That was her thing. Yeah. But I. I could guarantee it didn't matter. Like it wasn't bothersome to me. I would watch the show and I would love it. It. And Lunel has been on a couple of different times on Wendy Williams. And what a sad, sad thing to happen. Apparently she's got that same thing that Bruce Willis had. Like her family is saying she had the same thing that. That front. Frontoral frontal lobal dementia. And what a sad thing to have happen. Someone needs to get in between that conservator and Wendy and show her some love. And did you watch the documentary?

[C]

No, I haven't watched it, but I've just. It's been popping up in my newsfeed a lot about.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

What's going on and that there's concern.

[B]

There should be so hot take. She's going to see Madonna with Kathy Griffin and Sia and Rosie o' Donnell and Rosie o'.

[C]

Donnell, Paris Hilton. If I think she said, I don't know.

[B]

We just had the conversation. Now I can't remember. I know that's how good my brain is. But most importantly. And as she mentioned, she is playing the Apollo Theater. So if you are in New York or if you're going to be in New York on the 26th of April, you can now get tickets by going to. I think it's the Apollo.com. we'll put a link in the show notes because I'm probably wrong. And that way you can actually go to the right place, get your tickets, show some Lunell, some love. She's also at Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy club in Las Vegas, now reopened apparently for business residency. The residency. And I was just looking, they've got quite a few resident comics and they're all like, they're all notable names. You would want to go there. And it looks like really suave in there.

[C]

I bet you know Jimmy's gonna do it right.

[B]

You know Jimmy's gonna do it right. He's got a little extra money, right. He's got a lot of that extra late night cash. They're still paying those people pretty well, aren't they?

[C]

I think so, yeah.

[B]

He's the last of a dying breed, which makes me kind of sad. I was actually talking to Astrid about this and I'm like, I think podcasting might me be the new late night. It's not that we're like have as many people watching, but we kind of do have as many people listening or watching. And this is where everybody now goes to get their celebrity interviews and it's.

[A]

Just too like diluted and del.

[B]

Yeah. And fractured in order to, they, they come on these things in order to get their press for their tours or whatever it is. We are getting a ton of this Kind of stuff. And thank God for us, right? Thank God for the commercial break. Sad for Jimmy Kimmel, but, you know, I think Jimmy's doing.

[C]

I think he's gonna be okay.

[B]

Do us a favor, photos, some of that money, and we'll. We'll let you take the guests on your own. Here's a good exchange, Jimmy. We'll give you the guests. We'll give you exclusivity. We will not have the same guests that you have on. If you could just give us. I don't know, what do we say? Any money that you make from the comedy club over and above the bills, like, any profit you make, just send it over to the commercial break. It'll be a donation, a charitable donation that you can write off at the end of the year. How's that?

[C]

We're going to incorporate as a 501C3.

[B]

I think we are a 513C. We're going to weather regardless of whether or not we incorporate. Somebody's got to take mercy on us. For sure. Somebody. Somebody. Somebody has to take mercy on us. But I love Brunel. I think she's great.

[C]

Oh, she's so fantastic. Her personality is just amazing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Go check out her socials at Lunell. That's Lu.

[C]

Michael Jackson thing, too.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

I mean, tattoos.

[B]

Yeah. For some of the younger audience, they're going to be like, Michael Jackson. What a creep ball. I understand it's a complicated, muddy situation, and if you weren't alive when Michael was at the height of his powers and fame and musicality, then for you, this is an easy call to make. He's a creep who had some dealings with some children that were not above board and probably, like, illegal and immoral. That doesn't take away, I don't think, some of the music that he left for us to listen to. It's hard to separate it. Is the man from the behaviors or the music from the behaviors sometimes, Because I still do like some of those songs. Yeah. And Prince for kids. Forget about it. Prince. Prince was just a guy. That's what he was. All his sex was consensual. I guarantee you that.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

How do I know that? I don't know that. I just like to think that.

[C]

Yeah. There's been no crazy stories coming out.

[B]

No. And you would think Prince being his fan. I mean, there are lots of crazy stories about Prince, but they don't have anything to do with, you know, inviting you over to ride roller coasters and spend the night with popcorn buckets. Right? Yeah. Gross. I Just think about off. It's just gross. It's just gross. Okay, Chrissy and I want you to be a part of the show. We would love to do some live ask TCBS right here on the show. You be a part of it, you come on and you tell us us your story and ask us the question directly to our faces or through our ears. We would love that. But the only way we can get you on the show is if you text us and let us know you want to be on the show. That's only way we can do this because we record in secret at secret times in secret locations, which means mainly we don't even know what our own schedule is, right? So from day to day, hour to hour, it changes. So in order to catch us, what you got to do is you got to text our hotline, let us know you want to be on the show. You got a question to ask, you need some advice, you got a life story you want to share, we take it all serious, funny, in between, whatever it is, let us know. 212-433-TCB. That's 212-433-TCB. Text us that you have a story or you want to ask for advice and give us a phone number that we can reach you at. And then we will communicate with you to coordinate and then look out for lots of changes because that's how our schedule happens. And then also you can leave us a voicemail if you want to do that. You can leave us a voicemail also on that side. Same number, 212-4333 TCB. Toll free from anywhere in the world. Comments, questions, concerns? Ask Brian's mom. Mom will be back on in the next couple of weeks here she's feeling better from her little injury. So I excited to have mom back in the show.

[C]

I can't wait.

[B]

TCBpodcast.com that's where you go. You find out more about Chrissy and I. You can read all the show notes, all the audio, all the video right there at one location. TCB podcast.com Also, piggy frontier hunting stickers are still available, but they're going fast. So if you want one, go to the contact us button on the page or the contact us page. Hit the drop down menu. It'll say I want my free sticker. Give us your address, we'll send you a sticker. Add the commercial break on Instagram, TCB podcast on tick tock and YouTube.com the commercial break for all the interviews and videos right there at YouTube. Okay, Chrissy that's all I can do today. I think Lunell has been so exciting. She exhausted me. But I love you.

[C]

I love you.

[B]

Best to you and best you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time. Chrissy and I always say we do say and we must say goodbye. I take a dick and keep on making.