Episode 237
Get Your Giggle On: Whitney Cummings Live This Saturday!
Yo, grab your coffee and buckle up, because we’ve got the legendary Whitney Cummings on the line, and she’s spilling the tea about her upcoming show at the Walton Arts Center this Saturday! 😄 We dive into all the juicy bits about her comedy evolution—from relationship giggles to the chaos of motherhood and therapy. Whitney shares her hilarious fears about flubbing city names on stage, and trust me, you won't want to miss her wild story about accidentally calling Houston “Dallas.” 😳 Plus, we chat about her new dating show, “Marriage Market,” where families play matchmaker—because why not let your relatives pick your future spouse, right? 😂 So, if you’re ready for a morning full of laughs, insights, and some seriously relatable moments, tune in and let’s get this party started! 🎉
Takeaways:
- Whitney Cummings spills the tea on her biggest stage fears and hilarious blunders, like calling Houston 'Dallas'—oops!
- We dive into Whitney's evolution from dating jokes to raw motherhood truths, and it's a rollercoaster of belly laughs!
- Expect a wild time at the Walton Arts Center as Whitney brings her 'Big Baby Tour'—only a few tickets left, so grab 'em!
- Whitney's new dating show 'Marriage Market' is an arranged marriage twist—because who needs swiping when your fam can pick your soulmate?
- She shares the secret sauce of stand-up: it's all about authenticity and crafting that perfect punchline, baby!
- The chat is a perfect blend of comedy and heart, proving laughter really is the best medicine—especially when discussing life’s chaos!
Transcript
Good morning.
Speaker A:It's Haystack and just absolutely thrilled this morning to be joined by one of the biggest guests I've ever had the chance to chat with.
Speaker A:She's coming to the Walton Art center on Saturday.
Speaker A:The legendary Whitney Cummings joins us on the phone this morning.
Speaker A:Good morning, Whitney.
Speaker B:My God.
Speaker B:Good morning.
Speaker B:Thanks for having me.
Speaker A:Hey, thanks for being on, guys.
Speaker A:I'm telling you, there's only a couple of dozen tickets left, so go to Walton Arts Center.org and snag your tickets right now.
Speaker A:Whitney.
Speaker A:Bringing the big baby tour to the Walton Arts center on Saturday.
Speaker A:And, Whitney, it's just a thrill.
Speaker A:You've been doing standup for.
Speaker A:For more than 20 years now, right?
Speaker A:So what gives you that adrenaline rush Like.
Speaker A:Like, after all this time, what still gives you an adrenaline rush when you walk on stage?
Speaker B:Ooh.
Speaker B:Ooh.
Speaker B:It's usually the fear that I'm going to step in a hornet's nest and, like, say the wrong thing about, like, a team that the city has, or say the wrong.
Speaker B:Saying the wrong cities.
Speaker B:My biggest, biggest fear, because sometimes I'm just, like, torn so much.
Speaker B:One time, oh, my God.
Speaker B:I was in Texas.
Speaker B:This was during the pandemic, and weed had just become legal.
Speaker B:So look, we were all a little hungover from edibles, and at all times.
Speaker B:And I just come from Dallas.
Speaker B:Houston.
Speaker B:No, Dallas.
Speaker B:San Antonio.
Speaker B:And then Saturday night, I was in Houston, and I just got on stage, and I just.
Speaker B:It was like, what up, Dallas?
Speaker B:And I was in Houston, and it was just like, no, it was like I heard in my.
Speaker B:In my head, I was saying Houston, but my mouth just said Dallas, because I had been saying Dallas that I before.
Speaker B:And it was like, that's my nightmare of just touring so much and being in so many cities that, like, you just get discombobulated.
Speaker B:Like, I was wearing a Houston Astro shirt.
Speaker B:Like, I had.
Speaker B:It was just.
Speaker B:And then saying the wrong, like, team or, like, saying something special and specific about a city and getting it wrong.
Speaker B:Like, I was in Boston once, and I said, the Boston Patriots.
Speaker A:Oh, goodness.
Speaker B:Oh, goodness.
Speaker B:Why is it.
Speaker B:I still don't get why it's so bad, but I was like, oh, no.
Speaker B:I mean, like, New England Patriots.
Speaker B:Like, same thing.
Speaker B:I didn't.
Speaker B:And they were like.
Speaker B:It took me, like, 15 minutes to get them back.
Speaker A:So you're.
Speaker A:So you're trying to localize now In Northwest Arkansas, we're home to the University of Arkansas and our legendary Hog call in college sports.
Speaker A:Are we going to get you to go whooping suey on stage?
Speaker A:And call the.
Speaker B:Wait, hold on.
Speaker B:Pig Suey.
Speaker B:Is that it?
Speaker A:That's perfect.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:So great.
Speaker B:I. I feel like it has to be a higher pitch.
Speaker B:Like, but how long is the.
Speaker B:Woo.
Speaker A:Woo.
Speaker A:That long?
Speaker A:I didn't count, but that's how long it is.
Speaker B:That's longer than I thought.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's like six seconds maybe.
Speaker B:How so the six second three times.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:You go, woo.
Speaker A:Pig Sue.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Stewie goes up.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Got it.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:I love how serious you're taking this already.
Speaker B:I just know I. I love touring because every state is, like a different country, and you have to, like, learn their language.
Speaker B:And something that works the night before in a different.
Speaker B:In a different city in the same state could get you in trouble in another town.
Speaker B:Like, I love what makes a city a city and what their thing is, but the danger of that, I think most comics just go to a city and they're like, well, then they just get like, I really try to understand the city and, like, spend time there as if I was, like, sort of living there for when I'm there.
Speaker B:And getting it wrong is like.
Speaker B:You know, it's like people worry about, like, getting canceled for, like, their Halloween costume 10 years ago or, like, saying the wrong thing on Twitter.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Mine is, like, getting canceled in a city because I said the wrong, like, tea mascot.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:Look, you're.
Speaker A:The Walton Art center is right on the bar strip near campus, so everybody's going to be drunk anyway.
Speaker A:You'll be fine.
Speaker B:Okay, great.
Speaker B:Well, no, that's when people seem to know the chance.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker B:When they have the.
Speaker B:They won't.
Speaker B:They won't drop it.
Speaker B:Like, there is criminals in Hollywood that, like, are back after being canceled.
Speaker B:You never come back from saying the wrong teammate.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:They'll never have you back.
Speaker A:That's absolutely true.
Speaker A:Now you're, you know, over the years, your comedy has.
Speaker A:Has absolutely evolved.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So you did a lot of dating stuff, relationship stuff, and now you're talking about motherhood and therapy and modern life.
Speaker A:And do you.
Speaker A:Do you consciously make it a point to evolve, or is it just because you're talking about your life and that naturally happens?
Speaker B:A little bit of both.
Speaker B:You know, you can't be bored up there of yourself.
Speaker B:You can't be sick of yourself.
Speaker B:You know, I think, to me, I.
Speaker B:As you said, I've been doing comedy for quite a while now, and I really, you know, when people come up to me and they're like, I watched your first special, and I've been.
Speaker B:I'm like, oh, there's people that have known me since then.
Speaker B:You know, the thing with comedians is we.
Speaker B:We're like the insecure narcissists where we hate ourselves and we assume nobody listens to us.
Speaker B:But then you're like, hold on.
Speaker B:I need to do this just for the people who, you know, have known me this long, and I can't.
Speaker B:You know, I. I've grown.
Speaker B:I want to show them the person I'm evolving into.
Speaker B:And, you know, so I think a lot about the audience and what they expect.
Speaker B:And, you know, I also, you know, I think comedians and the reason people appreciate us, the ones that do, like, know that we don't lie.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And we, not the good ones, aren't fake.
Speaker B:So wherever I am, I'm just gonna be there because the audience will smell it anyway.
Speaker B:I like, you know, and I feel false and phony and.
Speaker B:And, you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's goofy.
Speaker B:We're lied to enough these days.
Speaker B:Like, everyone's lied to.
Speaker B:I think people come to see comedy for better, for worse, just to be like, at least you're not.
Speaker B:I know you're not lying to me.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:The news, you know, the news and the media is like, everything feels so fake now that I think it's just a breath of fresh air.
Speaker B:I disagree that no one can be around someone they disagree with.
Speaker B:Or I think people come to see comics because they're, you know.
Speaker B:You know, intelligent people that understand two things can be true at once, and they can be like, oh, yeah, I don't agree with you, but, like, you believe that.
Speaker B:So, okay, there's something.
Speaker B:There's a relief about that, and you.
Speaker A:Have to respect that authenticity, and I love that.
Speaker B:Dude.
Speaker B:Look, I'm about to step in it right now, just as I said I was trying to avoid before.
Speaker B:But, like, I'm an Eagles fan.
Speaker B:Philly, I know if you're going to refund your ticket, fair if you've already got it, but when I'm at an Eagles home game and there's a Dallas fan, I'm like, you know what?
Speaker B:I like.
Speaker B:You like the fact that you came here, right?
Speaker A:You've got to respect that.
Speaker B:Even.
Speaker B:Even though we disagree, we're basically the same person.
Speaker B:So to me, if someone I disagree with, as long as they believe what they believe, I'm like, I can't disrespect that, you know?
Speaker B:Like, you know, so I think that those are the type of people that like to come see Comedy, you know, this whole.
Speaker B:It's in the antithesis of what we see on the Internet all day.
Speaker B:People disagreeing and saying, I don't agree with you.
Speaker B:You're trash.
Speaker B:And not talking to their parents because they just, you know, one Facebook post, like, that's.
Speaker B:I think people that come see comedy, they want to hear a different opinion.
Speaker B:They want to hear something that they don't, you know, hear every day, that they want to step out of their echo chamber and, you know, be surprised and shocked and provoked and, you know, inspire, you know, all the.
Speaker B:All the things.
Speaker B:So I, I just get excited to get in there with the kind of people who come see comedy because they're the opposite of the people that are just, like, on the Internet, squabbling and trying to go out of their way to intentionally misunderstand something just so they could justify being offended.
Speaker A:You're going to get all of the above Saturday with Whitney Cummings to the Walton Arts Center.
Speaker A:Tickets@waltonartscenter.org Whitney, I need to play some tunes, pay some bills, play some commercials.
Speaker B:Come.
Speaker A:Can you stick around for just a few more minutes for another segment?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:Back in just a moment with Whitney Cummings.
Speaker A:Good morning.
Speaker A:It's Haystack, back with a very special guest this morning.
Speaker A:Whitney Cummings is on the phone with us.
Speaker A:She's going to be at the Walton Arts Center Saturday night.
Speaker A:Waltonartscenter.org is the website, and we were talking about authenticity in your material a little bit ago, and I wanted to ask you, you've built this career with.
Speaker A:With obviously a legendary standup career.
Speaker A:You've co created Two Broke Girls, one of the best sitcoms ever.
Speaker A:You've got this hugely popular podcast.
Speaker A:You've done directing, you've done producing.
Speaker A:You're now going to host this new show, this new data show.
Speaker A:I can't wait to talk about that.
Speaker A:But first, across all these various media touch points, what feels most authentically, most creatively you.
Speaker A:Is it the podcast?
Speaker A:Is it the standup?
Speaker A:What is it?
Speaker B:Oh, it's probably gonna be the stand up.
Speaker B:And me, you know, podcasting, I love doing it, you know, but it's something you, like, churn out once a week and, you know, stand up.
Speaker B:Like, you really get to spend a lot of time incubating on it.
Speaker B:You get to sort of like, really craft jokes and callbacks, and you get to spend more time cooking it.
Speaker B:Whereas, like, podcasting is more like, here's my first, you know, instinct about this.
Speaker B:Like, it's.
Speaker B:I think what people like about it is it's not super thought through.
Speaker B:It's just kind of.
Speaker B:This is my first raw take, and it could be, like, kind of, you know, wrong, you know, but that's.
Speaker B:There's also an.
Speaker B:And, you know, then the next week, I go, hey, so turns out I found out this.
Speaker B:Because this happened the next day.
Speaker B:And now I think this.
Speaker B:But that's.
Speaker B:I think people are so afraid to say their gut reaction about things.
Speaker B:Like, you know, when that shooting, the.
Speaker B:Whatever, assassination attempt the other night, like, at the correspondence dinner, like, when I first saw it, like, my first reaction was like, this looks like a community theater production.
Speaker B:Like.
Speaker B:And then you learn more and you're like, okay, maybe this was real.
Speaker B:Is it fake?
Speaker B:Is it real?
Speaker B:Like, people are afraid to kind of just say that.
Speaker B:Comics, we're totally fine with just kind of saying our first instinct about things.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:But we used to do it in green rooms, and now we're doing it on podcast publicly.
Speaker B:So, you know, I think it's.
Speaker B:It's fun to kind of the people that want to go along with your thought process and your reaction to things, because I think they have those too, but they're not allowed to say it out loud, you know.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:And going on a journey of, like, figuring it out.
Speaker B:I don't love doing that, though, because I'm like, oh, I want to have thought this out more.
Speaker B:I want to have researched this more.
Speaker B:I want to have, you know, but that's what stand up is.
Speaker B:And I can always leave knowing, like, you know, I. I had a chance to really cook that and think it through and be sort of more insightful and weave things together, and it's more of an art instead of kind of just like, puking up.
Speaker A:So you're a very.
Speaker A:You're a very.
Speaker A:What's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker A:You're a very iterative performer.
Speaker A:Like, you try to really tweak your material.
Speaker A:You'll go, okay, I'm going to tweak him.
Speaker A:So you're.
Speaker A:You're.
Speaker A:You iterate a lot on what you do.
Speaker B:Oh, well, yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, people are paying money.
Speaker B:Like, you're.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:You're going to see sort of the.
Speaker B:You know, you're going to see the best version of, you know, like a.
Speaker B:It's almost a play, you know, stand up, like it should feel.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:It's performance.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So you co created 2 Broke Girls, which has become this massive sitcom, one of the most massively successful sitcoms of the modern era.
Speaker A:Did you have any clue at the time that it would be such a Huge thing.
Speaker B:You know, I knew that if it was on, I would watch it.
Speaker B:And I'm like.
Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:I guess on some level, I just.
Speaker B:I was like, I'm so sick of watching these shows about girls, and their only goal in their series is to meet a guy.
Speaker B:Like, I don't know anyone girl in their 20s like that.
Speaker B:Like, they're trying to start businesses.
Speaker B:Like, they're putting their feet on only fans.
Speaker B:Like, I don't know.
Speaker B:Like, I can't relate to any of this.
Speaker B:And I'm such a weirdo that I was like, I guess this is going to be like, no one's going to get it.
Speaker B:Like, I kind of was like, no one's going to get it.
Speaker B:It's two girls, like, trying to start a business.
Speaker B:Like, is that even, you know, interesting to anyone?
Speaker B:So it was definitely a shock to me that a show that wasn't just about girls obsessing over guys and relationships and getting married would be so big, because we also, you know, went to one of the networks, said, can it be two boys?
Speaker B:Can you change it?
Speaker B:They were like, yeah.
Speaker B:And I was like, okay.
Speaker B:I guess no one wants to see two girls being funny.
Speaker B:Like, okay.
Speaker B:You know, so there was plenty of.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's plenty of, like, industry feedback even that made me think, like, okay, like, people were like, who wants to watch two waitresses, like, be funny and poor?
Speaker B:And I was like, well, everyone I know that the waitress is hilarious.
Speaker B:Like, this is where I, you know, this is how all my friends, like, back in Virginia that are waitresses talk and live.
Speaker B:And so I think that Hollywood is so elitist that there was a lot of feedback that people wouldn't get it.
Speaker B:But I also grew up watching Roseanne, and I was like, this is like, you know, Roseanne meets kind of Laverne and Shirley.
Speaker B:And I know the effect those shows had on me, so we'll find an audience.
Speaker B:I didn't think it would be as big as it is.
Speaker A:I never even put those two together.
Speaker A:That's perfect.
Speaker A:That's absolutely what it is.
Speaker A:And it's so relatable because so many people have worked in the service industry and understand that struggle, and it just makes it so relatable to common folk.
Speaker B:That makes me so happy.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:That that was the goal.
Speaker B:And we also stayed away from, you know, I knew that there would be.
Speaker B:I knew there's people out there that want to watch shows that aren't lecturing them how to vote.
Speaker B:And, you know, if you want to be an activist, be an activist, that's fine.
Speaker B:I just am not going to do that in my, you know, TV shows.
Speaker B:I don't think anyone wants to be lectured, right?
Speaker B:In their TV shows about politics, you know, and sociopolitical things, that's, you know, a different thing.
Speaker B:So we were like, we're just gonna be funny.
Speaker B:Is that cool?
Speaker B:And everyone was like, yeah, yeah, cool.
Speaker A:Speaking of tv, you just announced a new Fox dating show called Marriage Market.
Speaker A:Can you give us a quick rundown of how the show works?
Speaker A:And this thing has to be chaotic, I'm sure.
Speaker A:And I want to.
Speaker A:I want to kind of hear your thoughts on why you're excited for this.
Speaker A:This particular chaos.
Speaker B:Oh, God.
Speaker B:I don't know if I'm allowed to say exactly how it works, but I will tell you what I know I can say, which is like, I.
Speaker B:What I first heard, like, this is a show about arranged marriage where, you know, families.
Speaker B:It's not always parents because some people, you know, have lost parents.
Speaker B:It's brothers, sisters, cousins, you know, godmothers, whatever are.
Speaker B:They're the ones that are basically interviewing slash kind of dating the potential single for their daughter, sister, brother.
Speaker B:And they choose.
Speaker B:Like, they choose, and then they're engaged and never having met.
Speaker B:And I was like, this is so crazy.
Speaker B:And there's a little part of me that goes like, is this backwards?
Speaker B:You know, and like, hold on.
Speaker B:What is more backwards than being reduced to a photo that is, like, swiped on, you know, there's nothing more demoralizing than the way that people are currently trying to meet people.
Speaker B:People just, like, text for months without even meeting in person.
Speaker B:Like, the whole thing.
Speaker B:And these people, like, we've tried everything.
Speaker B:Like, let's just try this.
Speaker B:Because in your 20s, you're not, you know, looking for a husband or a wife.
Speaker B:You're kind of dating boyfriends and girlfriends, right?
Speaker B:And the wrong type of people.
Speaker B:The people that aren't really emotionally available available.
Speaker B:So this is like your parents or sisters, brothers.
Speaker B:They're going to pick someone who is like a husband, who's a wife.
Speaker B:We say we want a husband, a wife, and then we end up dating boyfriends and girlfriends and people that aren't emotionally available.
Speaker B:So it's almost like, you know, we don't love ourselves enough in our 20s to pick one that will treat us well, but our family loves us, so they're going to pick what I learned.
Speaker B:Kind of the right person.
Speaker B:And sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves.
Speaker A:That's so true.
Speaker A:And there are entire cultures and societies that have worked wonderfully for centuries based on arranged marriages.
Speaker A:So I don't think people should just dismiss the idea completely.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:It's, it's.
Speaker B:And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
Speaker B:It's just, it's an experiment.
Speaker B:It's, it's really fun.
Speaker A:It's called Marriage Market.
Speaker A:It's going to be on Fox.
Speaker A:Whitney Cummings is going to be the host.
Speaker A:That's just hot off the press news.
Speaker A:I wanted to get in there, but the big headline is that Whitney Cummings is going to be at the Walton Art center on Saturday and there are still a couple of dozen tickets left.
Speaker A:So you got to hurry up.
Speaker A:Head over to Walton Arts Center.org get your tickets to see Whitney Cummings Saturday.
Speaker A:Whitney, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:It's early for me, so sorry if I'm a little delirious.
Speaker B:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:I understand.
Speaker A:Thanks for coming on, Whitney.
Speaker B:Okay, talk soon.
Speaker B:See you soon.
