Roy Wood Jr–I'm A Lonely Flower

Summary

Toure Show Episode Summary: Roy Wood Jr.–I'm A Lonely Flower

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of the Toure Show, host Victoria Ray sits down with renowned comedian Roy Wood Jr. to delve into his latest work, personal insights, and perspectives on the current societal landscape. Released on January 15, 2025, this episode offers listeners an in-depth conversation that transcends typical celebrity interviews, providing valuable lessons and reflections on success, comedy, and human connection.

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Current State of America and Political Landscape

Roy Wood Jr. opens the discussion by addressing the tumultuous state of America, highlighting recent events that have shaped public sentiment. He remarks on the escalating tensions and uncertainties, humorously stating, "We've had two terror attacks, a sex scandal of natural disaster, and the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America maybe" (02:21).

Roy expresses his views on President Trump, emphasizing the unpredictability of his administration. He questions the actual decision-making power within Trump's circle, pondering, "Who's running the White House? Is it Trump or the people he has put in place around him?" (03:06). This leads to a broader critique of political accountability and the complexities of leadership dynamics.

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Comedy as Political Satire and Accountability

The conversation shifts to the role of comedy in political discourse. Roy articulates the delicate balance comedians must maintain when addressing sensitive topics: "As a comic, you can't just bash Trump the way we did the first time... It cannot look like what the previous eight years have been" (09:03). He emphasizes that effective political satire should aim for accountability rather than mere criticism, using humor to highlight inefficiencies and broken promises without alienating audiences.

Roy discusses the importance of targeting policies and actions rather than individuals, suggesting that humor can be a powerful tool for social change when used thoughtfully. He states, "The name of the game from a political satire standpoint should still be accountability" (10:00).

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Roy Wood Jr.'s Latest Special: "Lonely Flowers"

Roy introduces his new Hulu special, Lonely Flowers, explaining its departure from his usual politically charged material. He reveals, "I decided not to talk about politics at all in the special... The special is about human connection and the lack of it" (12:07). The special explores themes of disconnection in modern society, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and examines how technological advancements have eroded everyday human interactions.

Through anecdotes and observational humor, Roy illustrates how automation and self-service technologies have diminished the small but significant moments of human engagement. He poignantly notes, "Those little micro moments of interaction with people, I think those moments were an important part of societal levity" (15:18).

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Challenges in Comedy and Joke Writing

Roy delves into the intricacies of crafting jokes that resonate without causing unintended offense. He shares his struggles with creating material that addresses complex issues without alienating parts of his audience. For instance, he discusses a joke about police shootings that he ultimately discarded because it oversimplified the nuanced realities of law enforcement (27:46).

He emphasizes the importance of timing and context in comedy, stating, "Political jokes need to be more immediate... you have to figure out a different way to go at the administration" (11:16). Roy advocates for humor that holds leaders accountable while fostering a connection with the audience, rather than creating divisions.

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Future Projects and Aspirations

Looking ahead, Roy Wood Jr. shares his aspirations beyond stand-up comedy. He expresses interest in writing and acting, mentioning his roles in upcoming films like Love Brooklyn and a Keanu Reeves/Jonah Hill movie scheduled for release on Apple (40:33). Roy also discusses his ambitions to develop sitcoms and podcasts, emphasizing his desire for creative control and the ability to tell diverse stories.

He reflects on the changing landscape of the entertainment industry, noting, "The game is now... if you have an audience, what do you want to do?" (43:29). Roy highlights the importance of leveraging his existing platform to explore new creative avenues and support other artists in the industry.

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Personal Reflections and Human Connection

Throughout the episode, Roy shares personal anecdotes that illustrate his views on loneliness and human connection. He poignantly states, "We're all beautiful people, but if we came together, we would be a beautiful bouquet" (13:27). This metaphor encapsulates his theme of Lonely Flowers, emphasizing the beauty and strength found in collective human relationships.

Roy also touches on the challenges of maintaining friendships and meaningful relationships in adulthood, discussing how societal changes and technological advancements have impacted these connections. He humorously yet thoughtfully explores the nuances of modern friendships, stating, "Poverty has a way of galvanizing a bond... But now, you have to make friends differently" (17:17).

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Conclusion

Roy Wood Jr.'s interview on the Toure Show offers a multifaceted exploration of comedy, politics, and human connection. Through insightful dialogue and candid reflections, Roy provides listeners with a deeper understanding of his creative process, the societal issues he grapples with, and his vision for the future of entertainment. His new special, Lonely Flowers, stands as a testament to his ability to blend humor with poignant social commentary, encouraging audiences to reflect on the importance of connection in an increasingly automated world.

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Notable Quotes

• "Who's running the White House? Is it Trump or the people he has put in place around him?" – Roy Wood Jr. (03:06)

• "The name of the game from a political satire standpoint should still be accountability." – Roy Wood Jr. (10:00)

• "We're all beautiful people, but if we came together, we would be a beautiful bouquet." – Roy Wood Jr. (13:27)

• "Political jokes need to be more immediate... you have to figure out a different way to go at the administration." – Roy Wood Jr. (11:16)

• "The game is now... if you have an audience, what do you want to do?" – Roy Wood Jr. (43:29)

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Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a rich resource for aspiring comedians, entertainers, and individuals seeking inspiration on navigating success and fostering meaningful connections. Roy Wood Jr.'s candid insights and thoughtful reflections offer valuable lessons on leveraging humor for social change and personal growth.

Transcript

[Torre]

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[Roy Wood Jr.]

Victoria Ray show okay, though. Victoria Ray show okay, though.

[Victoria Ray]

That might be the best question I've ever been asked.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You's a phenomenal person.

[Victoria Ray]

I mean, you legendary.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I am a fan of you, my brother. The elimination of most employees, the automation of everything, everything got a kiosk, you got a touch screen your way through to go to a cattle call counter number 43, order 43. You're not interacting. And I really think we underestimated those. Those little minuscule moments. I joke about it in the special, but, like, it's true. Like, there used to be so many employees when you go shop at a store, they could afford to have somebody to follow you around the store. When the last time you got followed around the store. We don't even got racism no more. That's how bad the economy. I mean, silly, but the idea of just, hey, this is my section. Let me know if you need something. I'll be over here. You make your selections and bring your sweaters over. Gone. And so those little micro moments of interaction with people, I think those moments were an important part of societal levity.

[Victoria Ray]

My man Roy Wood Jr. Is back. He's got a new special on Hulu called Lonely Flowers. And I love talking to him about everything and just seeing where his head is at right now. So let's get into it. It's Roy Wood Jr. On Torre. How you doing?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'm good, I'm good. It's a new year. I mean, we've had two terror attacks, a sex scandal of natural disaster, and the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America maybe. So I think we might be buying Canada. I think we're off to a good start. Yo, how has America just like, turning into imminent domain? We're just like, give me Canada, give me Greenland, give me the Gulf of Mexico. You doing that Panama Canal, motherfucker. Get out of here, Mexicans. Sir, I am Panamanian. Whatever. Just out of here. That's my impersonation of Panamanian. I am Panamanian. Why would you do this to me? How you been, man?

[Victoria Ray]

Are you nervous about Trump?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'm not nervous. I'm definitely not Excited, but you should be as nervous as he is competent. The question becomes, who's running the White House? Is it Trump or the people he has put in place around him? Because you see Trump standing with some of these people and you have to wonder which one is really in charge. And this is not just an Elon Musk question. This goes up and down that whole cabinet of people that if he's gullible enough, they will take advantage of him and do really selfish shit at the detriment of Americans. Or they could just be arguing like Elon and Vivek and just never get anything done. Because they're like, this administration could storm out the gate and hit every pothole. Or they could just be the couple that's arguing at a red light. I think best case scenario, you hope for a Trump administration, that's just the couple that's arguing at the red light. When it turns green and they're still going at it.

[Victoria Ray]

I think that they're the couple who's arguing at the red light, but they're also barreling through the red lights. It's both.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

They don't even have the light and.

[Victoria Ray]

It just zooms all of it at once. And they might get hit by another car and keep going. And that didn't happen. That didn't happen. Motherfuckers get assassinated, we get no news about. Or almost assassinated, we get no news about it.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Here's a question. It's been enough time. Why did we call the second assassination an assassination attempt? There was no attempt. He was there. He had guns. We could reasonably deduce that if Trump had been present, there would have been an attempt, but he didn't. Like there was never a shot. There was never an attempt on the president's life.

[Victoria Ray]

You're talking about the second one, not the pension.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Pennsylvania's legit. There was a bullet.

[Victoria Ray]

I know nothing about what happened in Pennsylvania. It seems very strange.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Oh, of course. We know nothing about this guy. Like, normally there's a profile on people who try kill president. Get a documentary.

[Victoria Ray]

What about just a medical discussion of what happened to.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, he was on the roof. We got him. Got him. Patriot Eagle, we got him. I'm not saying that the president's life wasn't endangered the golf course. I'm just saying that Trump masterfully played that second situation. They tried to kill me twice. It's like, Easy, dog. There is conspiracy to commit assassination. Same way this conspiracy to commit murder is not attempted murder.

[Victoria Ray]

Right.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

That's different. You was planning the murder, but you never tried to murder.

[Victoria Ray]

I think it was. I think it was George Clooney in some movie. Like attempted murder is like the worst crime. Cause like you're in jail forever and you failed. You wanted to kill the guy and you, you didn't succeed and you got caught and now you're in prison.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You still in prison. Same as if you killed.

[Victoria Ray]

You didn't even do what you didn't even achieve your goal.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I don't know if scared is the right word. I would say I'm definitely emboldened to have more focus on state and local politics because I think that's where a lot of minuscule change is going to happen. I think that's where the three Card Monty is going to start happening on the American people.

[Victoria Ray]

I don't know if I have enough mental energy for the Trump assault of dumb idea after racist statement after dumb idea after scary idea like.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

But at what point as a voter do you just to the detriment of my CNN show, ignore all of that and focus on what you can change where you. Cause that's really all you can fucking do.

[Victoria Ray]

Oh, such a clutch off season pickup Dave. I was worried we'd bring back the same team. I meant those Blackout motorized shades. Blinds.com made it crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install. No, it's easy. I installed these and then got some for my mom. She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install hall of Fame son. They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Blinds.com is the goat.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Go to blinds.com for 40 doll off site wide blinds.com rules and restrictions may apply.

[Victoria Ray]

You bring up an interesting point cuz you have an interesting show on CNN. Congrats on season two back February 15th baby. See now CNN knows a large portion of the audience doesn't want to hear the news that they are about to start delivering for the next year or two. Trump says this, Trump did that Trump wants to do your show is a respite from that if you don't like what John Berman and Abby Phillip are telling you. Well Roy Wood got jokes and it's apart from that unit so you come watch Roy Wood in them.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

What I love about our show is that one there's a British version that we were derived from that's been on for 30 years. And so the conceit of the show is literally we're just literally talking about the news of the last week, good or bad. And it's not all Trump. Some of it is state and local. Some of it is silly goofy shit. And you crack the joke, you get the information, we keep it moving. So if you don't want the news with the same level of weight or you want to use your other 6 days to listen to an audiobook or a podcast or fucking be a human and go out and touch grass.

[Victoria Ray]

Touch grass.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Then this day, you can get everything in one hour on have I got news for you.

[Victoria Ray]

But you as a comic, you can't just bash Trump the way we did the first time. Cuz people seen him, he's more normalized.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

A lot more welcome. I also, I think that not everybody, if you are in a marginalized group that is in the crosshairs of his policies, this shit ain't funny no more. It ain't funny if you literally don't know what that deportation situation gonna be come March or April when they.

[Victoria Ray]

What about the people who were mezza on the fence about him and moved over to him and voted for him or at least were willing to vote for him? They don't find us attack funny either.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No, of course, because they take them serious. So you have to figure out a different way to go at the administration. And I think for me, you find humor within a policy and the people within this administration are doing or not doing what they're supposed to be doing. I think the name of the game from a political satire standpoint should still be accountability. I would love if you said you was going to deport people and then it started looking like you not because one of your billionaire friends said, hey man, I kind of need some of them cheap motherfuckers. Don't be deporting everybody because you gonna fuck up my money. Okay, well then let's have us talk about accountability of why you didn't deport, why you waffling. That's what you said you was gonna do. Now, as a, as a comic, you have to be very careful about that because you're cracking jokes about literally people's livelihood and. But I think that if we're talking about the base level political satire 101, it is about holding leaders accountable and using humor to slide in the vitamins and the nutrients. So if this is an inefficient administration, that deserves to be pointed out and inefficient, on what grounds you can say, okay, and we're talking about. Because we love to believe that humor is, oh, this could change the mind of the Republican voter. You're not gonna change the mind of anybody that supports Trump. By criticizing him and saying, he shouldn't have done this. He should have done that. What you might have a chance at is going, hey, man, he didn't keep his promise to you.

[Victoria Ray]

Right?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And that's two totally different types of jokes.

[Victoria Ray]

Right?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

But if I go, man, he said he was gonna deport him. He didn't deport him. Man, ain't that messed up. That man lied to you without be pissing off immigrants who go, damn, Roy, you fan in the flames of deportation. And it's like, I'm not. I'm trying to use humor. I think there's an attempt at that. But I think what we've been doing the last eight years as entertainers and just going. Do you not see everything sounds like yelling now? So you can't live like that. I don't think that that's the way to construct how to performatively critique this administration over the next four years. It cannot look like what the previous eight have been.

[Victoria Ray]

Right? Right. What's the new special called?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

The new special is Lonely Flowers.

[Victoria Ray]

Lonely Flowers?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

What is that, January 17th?

[Victoria Ray]

What does that mean? Lonely flowers.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

This special, you know what was wild about the CNN thing? Because I have the CNN deal, and I knew for sure that was gonna go through, and this was before I taped the special. I decided not to talk about politics at all in the special.

[Victoria Ray]

Okay.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

There's like, one or two political jokes.

[Victoria Ray]

Why?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

But because I have a place for that, and political jokes need to be more immediate. We're talking about a special I taped in September to premiere in January on Hulu. I don't care what the Kamala joke was. I don't care how brilliant it was.

[Victoria Ray]

Four or five months later.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

If she won, maybe. But you don't. You're gonna risk your whole edit on an election. So rather than get back into the same political affair, the special is about human connection and the lack of it and how I feel in the last four or five years, especially since COVID that we've just become disconnected as a society. And it's just examples to support that thesis. And times where we are connected and times where you should try to get connected. How I feel about my connection or lack of connection to people in my life. And I just feel like everybody. We're just all beautiful people, but if we came together, we would be a beautiful bouquet. And so that's.

[Victoria Ray]

I totally.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

We are the lonely flowers.

[Victoria Ray]

We are all lonely flowers.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

We're beautiful, but we're alone. And you're just that rose in the concrete. And you just see A flower by itself.

[Victoria Ray]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

But then you put them all together and you're like, oh, that's beautiful.

[Victoria Ray]

No, I feel like that's why nobody.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Buy flowers in the club. It'd be one flower. And you're like, that's ugly.

[Victoria Ray]

Quarantine broke our rhythm of. Of convening, communicating, coming together with family, with second level in your life, third level in your life.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

But even retail, when you look at the way the economy changed post Covid, the idea of someone delivering food like a newspaper and just slinging it at your front door and taking a picture of it and sending it to your food at the door, that changed human connection. The elimination of most employees, the automation of everything. Everything got a kiosk, you got a touch screen your way through to go to a cattle call counter number 43, order 43. You're not interacting. And I really think we underestimated those little minuscule moments. I joke about it in the special, but, like, it's true. Like, there used to be so many employees when you go shop at a store, they could afford to have somebody to follow you around the store. When the last time you got followed around the st. We don't even got racism no more. That's how bad the economy. I mean, it's silly, but the idea of just, hey, this is my section. Let me know if you need something. I'll be over here. And you make your selections and bring your sweaters over it gone. And so those little micro moments of interaction with people, I think those moments were. Were an important part of societal levity.

[Victoria Ray]

You know, do you start by saying, I see this about society, and then write a routine and then punch that up? Or you, like, start to do jokes and you start to see, oh, there's a theme. Let me pull that out. Erase that. And then now. And add to that. And now I have a theme.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

It's that I write jokes. And I'll probably, somewhere, once I have around 75 to 90 minutes of material that I'm swapping in and out every night, like, for a year, I may do a set that's just a series of jokes over the course of an hour. And it's a fine show and people leave, fine. But then you start looking at the pieces, and it's like, imagine if you're creating pieces of a puzzle, but you don't know what the finished puzzle is, but every thought is another piece and another piece and another piece. And then one day you just sit and you look at all the pieces and you go, all right, that Goes with that. Retail goes with that. Put that with the time. I got bad service at the gun store. Cause that's retail. That connects. That goes with the idea that self checkout is even lonelier than having a cashier. Okay, but what about employees? Employees are lonely too, because we're mean to them. Why are employees? And then you look at it and you go, oh, wow, this is about connection. All of these jokes, every piece the through line to all of these is about connection. Damn. Well, am I connected? And then the ideation starts. So now it's okay, I have a 30 minute chunk that's legitimately about how society has become disconnected and rude and non communicative with each other. Okay, well, that's about y'all. I wanna talk about myself. Well, what about me? Well, who are my friends? When do I have friends? Damn, we gotta work hard to make friends. Well, how do you make friends when you're older?

[Victoria Ray]

Hard.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Cause damn. Do you ever notice all your friends are just people you was broke with and you just stayed in touch?

[Victoria Ray]

When you're a kid or early 20s.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Poverty has a way of galvanizing a bond. In this show, I call them struggle friends. But the idea of brainstorming. Okay, well, those are the friends I had. Well, why can't we make friends now? And then you start ingesting everything on Twitter. And now it's people arguing about $200 dates. And the idea that, oh man, this bitch. We went on vacation. Bitch didn't want to split the check. Cause talking about all she had was the shrimp. We all on this vacation together. We split. Well, that's you putting the problem. The difference between friendship and relationships is that in a lot of instances in a relationship, if you have a problem with someone, you will tell them actively. Hey, let's triage this. Whereas with friendship, you don't tell people you have a problem, you just friend less with them. Yeah, I'm just not gonna come around you as much. Cause you always, when you out with you, you. Well, maybe you shouldn't be holding them to the same standards of connection as you did with the person you ate ramen with. Cause it was not the same bond and it's never gonna be the same. So you just start analyzing society. And that's where kind of like the journalistic part of it kind of comes into play. And so then you start making these observations about people and yourself, and you look up and there's no space to talk about Joe Biden being too old or we owe Joe Biden's dog An apology because he knew them Democrats was gonna betray Joe. That dog. Like that's funny.

[Victoria Ray]

But you're onto something deeper, deeper and.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Realer and politics doesn't. So I cannot put that in this special. This is about the state of us, which also to me is a bigger conversation that's still relevant. Five years.

[Victoria Ray]

This is great for you. As far as I am known to be this intellectual discussor talker about comedy.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Reese and stand for the anthem and the military.

[Victoria Ray]

Yes, he'll do a TED Talk and make it funny, but then he can do a conversation about like real human condition.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. Hey, y'all, we're all lonely now.

[Victoria Ray]

We are broadening who we understand you are as an artist.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, we're all lonely. And it's not a coincidence that this loneliness is connected to the fact that we don't really talk and interact in social media and it's easier to yell insult at people. And you know, I said it jokingly, but it's the truth. Like it's not a coincidence that mass shootings went up once we introduced self checkout. It's one less person for crazy people to talk to. And you want to run like it's you're analyzing and just try. I don't know, I just found that interesting. This time I wanted to talk about loneliness.

[Victoria Ray]

After 40, it is easier to find a new spouse than to find a new close friend.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, you don't really. You have friends, but they all kind of become compartmentalized. And I think that's what happens. Like. And I think the mistake we make is that we want these people. We burden these people with being a one stop shop for all different things. You know, I had a friend and. And this is when I didn't know what the hell trauma dumping was. I just thought it was telling you what was going on in my life. But apparently I can't tell you too much bad shit because that's an imbalance because you're, you know, like, it's like, well, when I talk to you, I can only tell you good stuff and one bad thing. But if there's three bad things, I gotta wait till next Thursday to tell you the second. But you just have to accept that that's who that is. And God bless him for telling me that because otherwise you're just gonna be less of a friend. Send me the voicemail more often. I got partners that's got negative vibes. They always on some straight Eeyore shit. I don't wanna talk to you.

[Victoria Ray]

How many men are ever telling you Anything bad when we talk to men, it's like, yo, everything is popping. My team is winning.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

It's good, man.

[Victoria Ray]

Everything is good. I'm all good. Maybe even like, you might be like, yo, my team sucks. Like, that's the most negative thing. My life is shit. Kids are straight, Josh.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, I'm freaking it out. You know, I'm just getting life is hot.

[Victoria Ray]

But like, you know, my team, they dope, they're down, we're up, they're down, whatever. But we don't, we don't share with other people.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No, we don't. And I think that that is part of the issue. You know, I've been talking about that on stage as of recent, just about how even commercials, I don't even think give men space to be man. Like, even when you sell something to a man, it's still a man going, manly voice. And make sure you wear the draws and drive the. Oh, my God, Old Spice. Like, I love Deon Cole and Gabrielle Dennis in the Old Spice commercials. But I was like, damn, why they got my man grouchy that his wife loves him, they're in a loving marriage. And you just keep using my body wash. Well, you can flip it and just make it so, hey, baby, I love you. Here's more body wash. Like, so, yo.

[Victoria Ray]

I had to buy two. Cause my wife likes it so much.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. And so the idea of even how advertisers have chosen to try to connect to men is still wired in a place of. Well, I know complaining is how men kind of commiserate.

[Victoria Ray]

The commercial break is where you will often see the non manly man getting beaten up, like verbally or even physically. Like, he'll be in the corner of the commercial getting, oh, he's a wimp and he doesn't use the product. And we kick sand in his face.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, God damn. And then he like takes a sip of whatever the shit is. Like, yeah, no, Mike's hard Lemonade. Lemonade for the man. Yeah, it's. It's just this idea, man, of we're just not connected. And I thought there's ways to make that point in a funny way. So that's what I. That's what I kind of just kind of, you know, don't get me wrong, it's still a comedy special. It's not a dissertation.

[Victoria Ray]

But you start to see it and then you add to what you're starting to see.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. Because that's what I'm naturally gravitating towards. So subconsciously, without even being aware of what I'M being drawn to my material has now informed me.

[Victoria Ray]

So you're listening to the material and saying, what do you want to be?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, that's God giving you the through line.

[Victoria Ray]

That's beautiful.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Your instinct is your God. That's God texting you whatever you think, your instinct or premonition or intuition and all of that, that's whatever you pray to telling you, hey, this is what you need to be talking about. This is what you need to be putting out there for people to consume. So whatever thoughts I have, I put them together and then eventually those puzzle pieces become something more amazing. Like I could sit here and say to you, bro, all right, my next thing I want to do is a one person show about the lessons I learned from men after my father died. A lot of the values that were instilled in me as a man did not come from my father. He died when I was 16. So what are those? That's what I want eventually. But in the meantime I have to respect the fact that my brain is telling me, you ever notice no one does crack in front of you? Crack must be good because nobody offers it to you at a party. Politicians. I don't believe in term limits, but I believe every politician should have to climb an extra flight of stairs when they're re elected. Let the stairs decide who stays in office. Gambling ads like the idea that gambling is so addictive that literally half of the screen is how to not gamble. Not even alcohol takes up half the screen. It's a sentence at the bottom that just says dream, dream, dream, dream, drink, dream. Responsible. But gambling ads are literally one third of the screen is just, motherfucker, don't you do this shit now. If you live in these states, I'm telling you, call this number, motherfucker. So those are the. I don't know what any of that means. None of that connects. But something from that will go to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. And then I bet 51 of those thoughts becomes a piece in something that is bigger. That might be about what I want the one person show to be, but for now, those are the new thoughts. So that's what I walk on stage with to scratch the itch for performing because that's what, that's what I'm drawn to. I'm sure the gambling stuff is in a bigger sense probably goes with the crack run. And you start talking about the idea of addiction and how addictions are commoditized. And if you look at alcohol versus sugar, man, the fact that sugar does not have a warning as long as gambling on the screen when it should. Well, now we're getting into nutrition. So what do you want to say about that, Roy? What do you feel? So that might just be a slow walk through the grocery store and just observing, just looking. How is this stuff marketed to me? Go and see the world at the granular level. That's the one thing I love about performing on the road. It's just going to the mall. You'll see what people care about. You go to a mall, you go to, like, the black mall and the white mall. The stores that are open, those are the interests of the people.

[Victoria Ray]

Is there a joke that, for whatever reason, didn't make it in that you still love?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'll tell you a joke I could never figure out, okay, how to do without probably getting punched in the face or death threats. And this is from two specials ago. And I tried in my third special to again, go back to this joke. The base thought, and I'm only telling you a thought, I'm not telling you the premise, but the base thought of the point I was trying to make was that if you are a cop and this is about police shootings and killing innocent people and cops just doing what they want and turn off their body cams and all of that, and it's like, well, if you are a person, like, no matter what you love, there is an occupation where you can do the thing, including murder. If you like murder, there are occupations that will legally allow you to. To murder. Cop is not one of those occupations. You occasionally get to murder if the suspect is tripping and he made a move. But by and large, your job is not murder. Your job is not murder. So if you're a cop, if you like killing innocent people, why would you be a cop when the military is right there? And so here's the problem with that bit. The problem with that thought is that I am equating the entirety of our armed forces to killing innocent people, which is not a true statement. So the whataboutism of that joke, I'm gonna lose. I'm gonna lose. The moment that joke goes up, I'm gonna lose. But what I am trying to allude to is that when people in the military do, do kill innocent people, they don't always go to jail. They're not necessarily as publicly scrutinized the same way cops are. So if you want to murder innocent people, it would seem to me that would be the place to do it.

[Victoria Ray]

It's an easier place to get away.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

With that and get away like that. Those are the words that you need periodic. Because, like, you're just talking about the.

[Victoria Ray]

Group of people who want to get away with murdering innocent people.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You're a terrible person and you want to do terrible things in uniform.

[Victoria Ray]

Joining the military means you're killing innocent people.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, but see, now you're begging the audience to like, you like all of that explaining and you can't do that. It's got to be a clear cut. I am making the point about a specific section of the military and I could not figure out a way to do that that did not make the audience turn on me. So I just never put it on stage.

[Victoria Ray]

Because, I mean, you have. Go ahead.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You're not like the idea that. The idea that there's literally so many people in the military who fuck up. The military has its own prison. What other job can you name where so many people did the job wrong? They were like, no, you're going to go to our jail. We're not going to send you to public jail. You're going to Leavenworth.

[Victoria Ray]

And so Google has its own jail.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yes.

[Victoria Ray]

For engineers who fall in.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Only the army and the Philadelphia Eagles have a jail specifically for people who committed a crime in that uniform. The Eagles, you know, the jail at Lincoln Financial. So that's a cool point. But if you are not. There are a lot of people in the military that did the job right. And there's a lot of good that's come from the military. So that joke, and it's that point I'm trying to make in that iteration, it does not work. And now the rest of my act is me digging out of that hole.

[Victoria Ray]

Because you're angry, but, you know, there's probably somebody who served in the audience million percent and may shout out or stand up and say, like, what the fuck, bro?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I got cops and army vets in my family. I gotta go eat Thanksgiving dinner with these motherfuckers.

[Victoria Ray]

Well, that. Right.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

No, that's not different. They got guns too.

[Victoria Ray]

No, but you're in the show trying to do the thing. You try that joke, someone from the military's like, yo, Roy, what the fuck? Now the whole thing has changed.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So whatever your counterpoint is to the point I've made on stage, I need to have a joke prepared to douse that flame. And I could not figure it out. I still have not been able to figure it out.

[Victoria Ray]

You needed the retort to the joke, to the response.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

The joke in itself is me building an argument against the populace So I have to have jokes that address every possible angle that you could. Well, what about this? What about this? It's like the joke I did in the first special about black music where I said that black people don't write original patriotic songs, Right.

[Victoria Ray]

We write about the cities.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

We write about specific cities. So then I go through all the songs that talk about cities, but I know you're gonna bring up living in America.

[Victoria Ray]

What about James Brown?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I know you're gonna bring that up. So I need a joke to cover that. And then I go, yeah, James Brown did sing about America, but at the end of the song, he named cities, right? New Orleans, Detroit City. So therein is the joke. Ha ha ha. You thought it was a song about America, but it was really a song listing the places for black people. So now I've answered your counterpoint. So now you got to sit and shut the fuck up and laugh. And I could not come up with jokes to effectively address the people in the military who do the job the right way and that. So in terms of a bit where I was just like, all right, I can never go there with this. You know, like, even with Daily show, there was no way to. Because there's so much built in patriotism about our military. Even more so than the cops.

[Victoria Ray]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

They're way more infallible in terms of.

[Victoria Ray]

You can criticize the Pentagon, you can't criticize the troops.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Well, because the troops are the ones taking the orders from the fuckheads who don't know what they're doing.

[Victoria Ray]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

At the Pentagon.

[Victoria Ray]

Yeah.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

So they're seen more as more blue collar, whereas the Pentagon is C suite.

[Victoria Ray]

What's the. What's a joke that somebody else does that you're like, that was fucking good.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I think that I can't name a specific joke, but I'd say that nobody's doing stand up comedy better right now, present day, than Ali Siddiq.

[Victoria Ray]

Okay.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Specifically because no matter the joke, Ali knows how to plug into emotion in a way that I have not seen personally since Dick Gregory Chappelle might sit in it a little bit. Chris Rock sat in it some in tambourine when he really got into the divorce and the porn. Yeah, the back half, that was a.

[Victoria Ray]

Long time of Chris not expecting us to laugh. It was a good.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And he motherfucker didn't move either.

[Victoria Ray]

No, but it's compelling as hell.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Chris Rock be stage stalking. But when he got to that shit, the back half of tambourine, that nigga stood still, didn't yell, spoke in a Regular tone.

[Victoria Ray]

Historically, he doesn't usually talk about himself. Right.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

That too.

[Victoria Ray]

And that was like, wow, you are really letting us in on you and what's going on with you. Like, this is different. There's a long, not funny, but compelling period.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And that's part of why I hate the slap, because I really feel like the slap created a dynamic with the next special where, you know, he has to address that, so he has to come out in kill mode and tiger mode. So I'm curious to see whether the next special, he goes back to what he was and gives us a little bit more of what Tambourine was. But Ali Sadiq, Ali Siddiq, you can see him on stage recanting a story and see him getting angry all over again. See him getting sad all over again, like, for the first time, like an actor. Yeah. Nigga on stage crying, baring his soul. And then two sentences later, you an applause break while he wiping a tear. That. So when you talk about what I see, like, ooh, that I wish I could go to that place. But you have to have. I hate to say it, you have to have the same reservoir of pain and betrayal and distrust, and I don't have that. So my comedy inherently is different than Ali's. But if there's somebody that's baring their butt naked soul on stage, every time they touch the microphone, it's Ali Sadiq, man.

[Victoria Ray]

You bring up the slap, though. I think Chappelle and there's one other comedian, and I'm forgetting who it was. It might have been Hart. I don't know. I'm like, two other people have much funnier bits about it than Chris did. And I'm like, I don't think he's.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You going, marlon Wayans. Marlon Wayans did a whole special about the song, Baby. Marlon.

[Victoria Ray]

But I'm like, I'm not used to two other people beating being funnier than Chris about his shit.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah, I think. Well, Marlon's was interesting. I feel like Marlon had the. Marlon Wayans had his special, had the best take on the slap because he knew all three parties involved. And so the special was built around his relationship with Jada, Will, and Chris. And I was like, oh, that's not social commentary. This is a guy who goes, damn, my friends are fighting. Let me make some jokes about it.

[Victoria Ray]

And Chappelle was smarter than him. I'm like, rock is not ready to deal with it to really. Cause his point and his special was, you shouldn't have done that in front of white folks. And I'm like, that's your fucking point.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I guess if that's what he had at the time, that's what he wanted to put out there. But I guess what I'm saying is that the idea that Chris is, by and large, by his own admission, everything I do is to bring more people to my live shows. He's a comedian. So I'm gonna give you what I got at the time on the issue. So I don't know what the therapy journey and working through and all of that shit was about, but I feel like if he goes back inward, that would be ridiculously fascinating. Like, I was really happy to not talk politics this special. You know, I make one quick mention at the top about militias and that's it. I think a Ketanji Brown Jackson mention or something like that, irrespective or not, you know, gotta say that.

[Victoria Ray]

You want to host it? Do you want to. Do you want to do a TV show? Do you want to do a movie?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

You like, script it or like a non scripted.

[Victoria Ray]

No, like a scripted, like Roy Wood sitcom or like the movie starring Roy.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Wood Jr. We'll see. I've sold three sitcoms, but I have little faith in, in that system. You know, I've met with some studios in the last couple months, though, that seem to be very adamant about working with me and putting my ideas out there. You gotta remember, man, I'm low key. Just, you know, I'm coming off eight years of traumatization with. That's not a word. Eight years of trauma from Comedy Central. So the idea from a development side, I'm not talking about Daily show, but the idea of working with people who are serious about taking your ideas and putting them into a sitcom, it always stalled, it always went off the road. It never worked out. So, you know, I got a couple, you know, got a couple scripts in my back pocket now that we're developing. But if they did not happen, I would not be surprised. I wouldn't sit and cry. I think that the real growth is in writing films and writing that stuff. That's where the real power is. I'm in a Keanu Reeves Jonah Hill movie that comes out later this year on Apple.

[Victoria Ray]

Oh, wow.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

And we're going to Sundance with Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie and Dewanda Wise for Love Brooklyn, which I'm also in and that's premiering at Sundance. So it's like when those opportunities present themselves, that was dope. And that was really cool because Andre Holland shout out to another Alabama brother. Oh, man, he gave me the range to comedically be something that was a little bit of a shift than what I normally am. Like, you know, I'm more frantic, not quite cocaine. I'm bad cocaine. Energy. I'm not good cocaine. My energy is very bad cocaine because I. What? What? But he let me be something much more calm that was still funny. And so I thought that was. I thought that was cool.

[Victoria Ray]

But you're getting to a place where you can. I feel like you can kind of dictate what you want, right? Like, a lot of success is happening on a lot of different platforms. And you can go into, you know, Ari Emanuel's office or whoever the fuck and say, I want that. And they'll get it for you.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah.

[Victoria Ray]

So if you're like, okay, in five years, I want to have a network show or a HBO or whatever, the Netflix show or I want to be star. I want to star in a movie. I want to get like, you could do that. So what is it you want?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I don't think movie star is my thing. I don't think that's in the cards. I mean, no more, man. I ain't in shape. You know, after a certain shape, it's different for comedians. After a certain shape, you can't get hired in third on the call sheet. They're not going to put you as a star. It's like, man, what's up with your cholesterol?

[Victoria Ray]

I think the rules are different for comedians, but go ahead.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Probably so.

[Victoria Ray]

But you think you have body for TV?

[Roy Wood Jr.]

I'm being a little self deprecated, but for TV, okay. Cause TVs for regular movie is fantasy, okay. TV is like, oh, yeah, that motherfucker look just like me. I watch the show. So I think that if I had an opportunity to do a sitcom, there's one or two sitcoms I would love to do. But I think in the bigger scheme of things, man, having an opportunity to create something for myself similar to what you have here and get a couple microphones. I definitely feel like there's a different approach I would take to podcasting or creating a show, but I think that would be the thing I would find most interesting right now.

[Victoria Ray]

I mean, shit, nigga, you want to do a podcast, you could do a podcast.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

My pedigree, you know, my pedigree. I'm 15 years morning radio. And so I like talking to strangers. I like talking to people. Like, that's intriguing. And that's something that I could do concurrent while I sell a book and try and flip a book into a television show while I'm out touring and doing standup. My issue with selling scripts and trying to star in something is that the politics of that takes so fucking long that it can become disheartening. But if you have power and you have audience, then you have the control to get anything you want greenlit. And you coming in that bitch like Tyler Perry, and you go, and this what I make. This who going to star in it? And this what we're going to do. And nobody can tell you no on that. So I feel like the idea and the way to get the power to the things that you're talking about, it's not through the system anymore. You gotta go get the streets. Like, I feel like this industry used to be set up in a way where people would come to you and they would say, hey, you're talented. Come with me, and I will help you find your audience. But I feel like the game is now. It's like, oh, you have an audience. What do you want to do?

[Victoria Ray]

Let's jump on it.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

What do you want to do?

[Victoria Ray]

Let's use it.

[Roy Wood Jr.]

Yeah. And so that part of it is what I'm kind of locked in on. And that's really, you know, if I'm being honest, man, that's really why I'm really thankful about the CNN deal. Because, you know, have I got news for you. We get to post up on a Saturday night, and I get to goof off about the news, but I don't have to live in every single joke being rooted in a solution or blame and causation. I can just have a little bit of fun, and I get to be something a little different than what you knew me for. There's a lot of people that only know me from the Daily show don't even know I did stand up since 98. So everything that I'm doing now I look at as an opportunity to reintroduce myself to people. My first two Comedy Central specials were behind a paywall and an app so dysfunctional that I don't. I'm just. And I'm being straight up. I'm not talking shit. They'll tell you. Clearly, they knew. They kept changing the fucking app, so you knew something was wrong with the shit. So this Hulu Special will very well be the first time a lot of people even seeing most of my standup at length. So all of this is just a chance to showcase who I am and what I think. But, you know, in a perfect world, man, if I could write a couple of movies, if I could get on a nice show that fits my ideology in television and then use that leverage to Issa Rae, Natasha Rothwell, that shit and green light other people's stuff and try and get other people in the game. Like that would be the ultimate, man. It's just being able to hold the door open for other people.

[Victoria Ray]

Thanks so much to Roy for a great interview and thanks to you for listening. Torre's show gives you fuel to power your dreams because you can use your dreams like a rocket ship to blast you into a life you never imagined. You can make your dreams a reality and maybe this show can help. You can find me on Instagram, orayshow and on TikTok. Probably orayshow. Torre show's written by me, Torre and produced by Ashley Hobbs. Our editor is Ryan Woodhall. Our book booker is Ray Holiday and we're distributed by DCP Entertainment. And we will be back on Wednesday with more amazing guests because the man can't shut us down.