Podcast Summary

You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Guest: Jay Pharoah
Date: September 21, 2022

Episode Overview

This lively episode features actor and comedian Jay Pharoah (SNL, White Famous), renowned for his extraordinary impressions and energetic storytelling. Pete Holmes and Jay dig deep into childhood, faith, comedy, family, and Jay’s journey from being bullied to national stardom. The conversation is peppered with dazzling celebrity impressions, personal revelations, and frequent laughter, creating an atmosphere both hilarious and touching.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Icebreakers & Impressions Galore

• The episode leaps in with Jay riffing and the two quickly riffing on everything from “honkin dung” to water brands like "Liquid Death," setting a silly, improvisational tone (10:05).
  • Jay demonstrates his prowess by slipping in and out of impersonations seamlessly, including Smeagol, Eddie Murphy, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Chris Rock, Chappelle, and many more.

Memorable Moment:
Jay’s Eddie Murphy as a car alarm:

“If your car alarm sounded like that, you’d be happy as hell. If you had an Eddie Murphy car alarm, that’d be dope as hell. You’d just be—'beep, beep, beep, beep, motherfucker, beep, don’t you hear me beeping? Move, motherfucker!'”
—Jay Pharoah (23:58)

2. Comedy Roots and Church Upbringing

• Jay describes his childhood in a tight-knit, religious family. His parents met in church, are still together, and their marriage is a model for him (40:44, 41:16).
• Many early impressions and performances came from church, where he would mimic church members and preachers (64:33).

Notable Quote:

“I was impersonating the church members. I was making jokes… I would see, y’all, I saw crackheads. I didn’t know they were crackheads in my church… So, every time I would see [one]… as a little kid … it killed, if I’m being honest. People loved it.”
—Jay Pharoah (65:13)

3. Bullying, Insecurity, and Transformation

• Jay reveals being bullied throughout childhood for being overweight and 'weird,' with the church providing his main sense of acceptance (81:04).
• He opens up about gaining significant weight as a child, being mocked for his size (“husky” as a euphemism for fat), and experiencing depression and suicidal ideation as a teen (104:39, 106:03).
• He describes losing 75 pounds in his senior year as a turning point, motivated out of desperation and a will to change (105:06).

Notable Quote:

“I was depressed from like 12 to probably 17… I was contemplating suicide. And I said, if I don’t change this, I’m going to hurt myself. And I have to get rid of this because this is causing so much sadness in my life.”
—Jay Pharoah (106:03)

4. Family, Faith, and Healing from a 'Cultish' Church

• Jay discusses his experience with a controlling church leader who maintained strict rules and even kept parishioners at church for a week (58:15).
• The church eventually reformed, breaking away from the cultish tendencies under a new, more Bible-centric leader. Jay credits his family and their faith for keeping him grounded (63:31, 115:35).

5. Celebrity Encounters and Impressions

• Hilarious stories about meeting Robert Downey Jr. and Drake, as well as doing impressions “for” the celebrities themselves—often with surprising and awkward results (71:36, 73:15).
• Jay’s nuanced approach to impressions: he dials them up for comedic effect and refines them over time (25:18).

Notable Moment:
Jay recounts Drake flying him and friends to Birmingham and being the nicest host ever (73:15–78:13).

6. Mental Health, Career Pressures & SNL

• Jay talks about the mental toll of SNL, the challenge of coping with abrupt career changes, and his strategy of just "powering through" emotionally until the pandemic forced him to stop and reflect (110:33).
• He admits to self-medicating with alcohol and the importance of dealing with the emotional side of setbacks.

Notable Quote:

“You gotta give yourself time to deal with the emotional part… if not, it’s this corrosive growth inside you that keeps expanding into this black hole.”
—Jay Pharoah (112:52)

7. Near-Death Experience with Police

• Jay details being wrongfully detained by LAPD in 2020—a harrowing incident where his running app eerily told him to “run” as police closed in (120:01–124:32).
• He reflects on the randomness and danger of that encounter and expresses gratitude for surviving:

“I feel like I have a message I’m supposed to leave. I have a big message I’m gonna leave with this world… I’m supposed to help people.”
—Jay Pharoah (126:21)

8. Faith & Meaning Today

• Jay’s faith now is about “getting back to where I was before I got depressed.” He’s focused on aligning life, drawing close to family, drinking less, and seeking meaningful relationships (108:48, 113:00).
• Both Pete and Jay talk about how spirituality shapes their sense of service and self-worth outside of show business.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On genius comics:

  “You just made me realize how much more genius Gerard Carmichael has in him.”
  —Jay Pharoah (12:04)

• On family roots:

  “My parents got a whole bunch of real estate. They rollin’ in real estate. Adele rollin’ in the deep, they roll in the real estate.”
  —Jay Pharoah (37:56)

• On impressions as connection:

  “If I could sound like Eddie Murphy, it makes everything so much... It’s likable, it’s funny, it’s, like, unexpected, it’s surprising.”
  —Pete Holmes (23:51)

• On giving flowers:

  “Gotta say that. Why do I have to say that? Because I have to give you your flowers. A lot of people, they don’t give folks flowers. What we do is we thank flowers, and then by the time we’re ready to give them, folks aren’t here to receive them. So I’m gonna give you your flowers. You’re absolutely amazing.”
  —Jay Pharoah as Kevin Hart (135:06)

• On why black churches are more joyful:

  “Black folks suffer so much. So we always really look forward to the afterlife more than we did this life right here.”
  —Jay Pharoah (44:27)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [10:05] – Start of conversation; wordplay, icebreaking, impressions
• [23:58] – Eddie Murphy car alarm bit
• [40:44] – Story about Jay’s parents’ marriage and meeting at church
• [58:15] – Cultish church leader stories
• [64:33] – Jay starts performing/impressions at church
• [81:04] – Being bullied and not fitting in at school
• [104:39] – Jay’s battle with weight, depression, and transformation
• [110:33] – Coping with career changes, SNL; dealing with emotions and addiction
• [120:01] – Wrongful LAPD detention; near-death story
• [126:21] – Purpose and mission in comedy/life
• [135:06] – Jay as Kevin Hart, “keep it crispy” send-off

Final Thoughts

Throughout, Jay exudes warmth, vulnerability, and lightning-fast wit. He and Pete bond over childhood faith, navigating showbiz, and the alchemy of using pain as comedic fuel. Fans are treated to a masterclass in celebrity impressionism alongside a deeply human story of resilience, transformation, and spiritual grounding.

Jay’s closing words (as Kevin Hart):

“Listen, it’s Kevin Hart. Keep it crispy all day.”
(135:41)

A must-listen episode for comedy fans, impression enthusiasts, and anyone who’s ever wondered about the power of humor to heal and connect.