Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil
Episode: Kurt Braunohler & Felipe Esparza
Date: August 21, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode of Wrong Turns, host Jameela Jamil is joined by comedians Kurt Braunohler and Felipe Esparza for a hilarious and cringeworthy reveling in life’s most mortifying moments. With the show’s signature irreverence, the trio dives into stories of embarrassment, public failures, and personal disaster—no lessons learned, no inspiring morals, just pure commiseration in human ridiculousness. As always, Jameela calls out the silver linings and instead invites her guests (and listeners) to simply accept and laugh at the chaos, reinforcing the show’s ethos: “where dignity goes to die.”
Key Discussion Points & Memorable Stories
Luck vs. Disaster Tendencies
[02:04-03:19]
- Jameela opens by asking if her guests are “lucky or unlucky.”
- Kurt: “Lucky.” (02:13)
- Felipe: “Very lucky.” (02:15)
- Both acknowledge that, despite their luck, disaster seems to follow them, especially Felipe, who jokes about being a magnet for police pull-overs when with other comics:
- Felipe: “If you have comedian Felipe Esparza in the car, you’re gonna get pulled over, even though there’s nothing wrong with the car. He attracts the police.” (02:35)
Micro-Humiliations: Early Embarrassing Moments
Kurt’s Teenage Surfing Shame
[03:26-05:22]
- Kurt tells a vivid story from age 18, surfing in New Jersey. In his excitement, he trips over his own board leash, faceplants in the sand—only to realize hundreds of people (obscured by a surf competition tent) just witnessed his fall.
- Kurt: "I just started running...tripped over my leash...face first on the sand, right before the water so the water comes and touches you almost rudely.” (04:00)
- Jameela: “You ran through hundreds of people just watching you run and then trip and hit the ground.” (04:56)
- Kurt: “I just walked and got out my car and I did not go." (05:22)
Jameela’s School Can Catastrophe
[05:29-07:20]
- Jameela shares a brutal school story: she tripped over a discarded SlimFast can on ancient stairs, broke both legs, and spent months using crutches.
- Jameela: "I tripped over someone’s Slim Fast can...fell backwards, broke both of my legs, and then had to...use crutches to get up and down the stairs.” (05:45)
- Kurt teasing: “How big was this SlimFast can that you tripped over?” (06:19)
- Jameela: “In the 90s it was a meal replacement. How fucking dare you, Kurt!” (06:27)
Felipe’s Public Pantsing
[07:40-09:47]
- Felipe, trying to stand up to his parents as a teen, is suddenly pantsed by his brother mid-argument, exposing everything to his family and ending his rebellion.
- Felipe: "My brother got behind me and pantsed me in front of everybody. Everybody saw my pee..." (08:54)
- Jameela: "You can’t go back to rage from there." (09:47)
When Your Wrong Turn Gets Dark
Jameela’s “Ultimate Lateness” Horror
[10:32-13:17]
- Jameela recounts a mortifying moment when, furious that a friend is hours late, she leaves a series of “mean messages”—only to find out her friend had died.
- Jameela: “Her daughter picks up the phone and she’s died. My friend has died.” (11:46)
- Kurt: “Yeah, the best reason to be late.” (11:49)
- “I’d left so many mean messages...everything that you wish you had never said to a friend as the final words.” (12:11)
- Jameela: “Now I just sit patiently and quietly and just pray when anyone’s late.” (12:39)
Main Event: Guest “Wrong Turns” Spotlight
Kurt’s “Fake German” Sasha Baron Cohen Audition
[14:55-28:07]
- Kurt’s Story:
- Flies to LA, manager asks if he speaks German—he does not. Still, gets sent to a film audition and fakes a terrible German accent.
- At the audition for the Sasha Baron Cohen film "Bruno," he flat-out lies about speaking German, improvises nonsense “German,” and finds himself performing in front of Sacha, Jonah Hill, and a roomful of producers.
- Unaware that both Sacha and some producers speak fluent German, Kurt’s bluff is quickly revealed, but he doubles down by confidently smiling after his gibberish.
- Jameela: “You just did the...you out-bullshit his bullshit.” (24:32)
- Kurt is then asked to improvise. He finds comfort here, but his improvisational choice—licking Sasha’s glasses to “clean” them—causes Sacha to break character and instruct him to sanitize the glasses.
- Jameela: “Isn’t he the guy that got someone to stick their finger up his ass? What is going on?” (27:20)
- The humiliation is complete: “My comedy hero. I left with the disdain of my comedy hero.” (27:59)
- Has been in the same room as Sacha since, has never approached him: “I have never gone up to him and said, ‘Do you remember this?’” (28:07)
Felipe’s Rotating Stage & Naked Escape
[32:00-41:41]
- Felipe’s Story:
- Gigs at Phoenix’s round, rotating Celebrity Theater (half-empty, amplifying his insecurity after seeing Diana Ross sell it out the night before) (32:06–33:39)
- Invites a friend to the concert; after, they go to her house, start having sex.
- Suddenly, pounding at the door: her ex shows up, breaks glass, attempts forced entry.
- Felipe, “still deep in it,” tries to finish, but flees naked when things get out of control—revealing a glow-in-the-dark condom (37:06).
- Hides in the bathroom as the ex tries to break in with a knife, eventually runs into the police with only the glowing condom for “modesty.” (38:43)
- Both ex and woman try to explain; chaos abounds. “So I’m still naked, man.” (40:27)
- Jameela: “It brought back a childhood trauma...your dick is always out when you most need to defend yourself.” (41:20)
- Felipe: “Thank you.” (41:36)
Listener Stories & Shared Community Humiliation
Listener “Naomi” Pretends to be Blind
[41:41-42:48]
- Listener recounts being mistaken for blind, plays along to avoid embarrassment.
Jameela’s “Fan Encounter” Shake-Up
[43:02-46:17]
- Meets a comedy idol while cold and nervous, appears as though she has a disability; receives special treatment and free merch, never able to clarify.
Notable Quotes & Moments
- Felipe, on luck and disaster:
- “He attracts the police.” (02:35)
- Kurt, on micro-humiliation:
- “I just walked and got out my car and I did not go.” (05:22)
- Jameela, after tripping at school:
- “I spent many a month hobbling around the school, being 25 minutes late to every single class.” (07:08)
- Felipe, post-pantsing:
- “They saw my dark ass balls, bro, from Ikea.” (09:07)
- Jameela, on the lateness disaster:
- “Now I just sit patiently and quietly and just pray when anyone’s late.” (12:39)
- Kurt, on the Sacha Baron Cohen audition:
- “He just looks at me like almost with a tilted head, like a dog who’s heard a whistle.” (21:38)
- Felipe, on the glow-in-the-dark condom:
- “I ran, dude, I was butt naked... I look down, I had a glow in the dark condom.” (37:06)
- Jameela, summing up:
- “It brought back a childhood trauma...your dick is always out when you most need to defend yourself.” (41:20)
Important Segments & Timestamps
- 02:04 – Lucky or unlucky: The guest’s “disaster” quotient
- 03:26 – Kurt’s humiliating surfing story
- 05:29 – Jameela’s SlimFast school injury
- 07:40 – Felipe’s childhood argument and pantsing
- 10:32 – Jameela’s “ultimate lateness” disaster story
- 14:55 – Kurt’s “Fake German” Sacha Baron Cohen audition (full arc)
- 32:00 – Felipe’s “rotating stage” show to naked, glow-in-the-dark escape
- 41:41 – Community/Listener story: Pretending to be blind on a bus
- 43:02 – Jameela’s nervous, misunderstood “fan” encounter with celebrity
Conclusion
Wrong Turns once again delivers a cathartic blend of deeply awkward laughs and shared schadenfreude, with Jameela, Kurt, and Felipe going full-tilt into tales of public faceplants, sexual escapades gone wrong, and the moment when your entire world seems to collapse—only to realize it’s just another disaster to add to the pile. No lessons, no redemption—just potent proof that everyone, even the pros, is a walking disaster sometimes.
Where to Find the Guests:
- Kurt Braunohler:
- [Podcast] Bananas
- [Special] Perfectly Stupid
- [Website] kurtcomedy.com (47:09)
- Felipe Esparza:
- [Netflix Special] Raging Fool
- [Podcast] History for Fools
- [Website] felipeworld.com (47:22)
Submit your Wrong Turn:
- Email a voice memo to personaldisasterstories@gmail.com
“Continue to go out to the world, create havoc. Come back and tell me more.” – Jameela Jamil (47:53)