Now, I understand some people are against the appetite suppressions.
You know, that's cheating. It's cheating. I'm not playing Major League Baseball.
I'm just a fat guy trying to not die.
You have it.
He is my next guest. He's a three time Emmy Award winner, an eight time Grammy nominated comedian, actor, writer and producer, and a two time New York Times best selling author. He is out with his eleventh stand up comedy special called The Skinny on Hulu. Please welcome to the Steven A. Smiths Show. They're very funny. Jim GAFFICKT what's going on, Jim?
How are you? Man? How's everything good? I'm good. Thanks for having me, man.
Please, the pleasure is all mine. I have to tell you something right now. I mean, I've watched you, and I know how funny you are, but you took it to another level when you were imitating the vice president, the the Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States.
Tim Wolves. What was that like for you?
What has that done for your career? In your estimation?
Wow?
So it was, Uh, I don't know what it's you know, XNL is hard to kind of calculate what it does for your career really, so it's like, has it uh, you know, it's just the awareness that is so enormous, Like when you're on SNL, it's not just people watching it, it's the clips. And so it was kind of the fact that everyone saw that I was playing Tim Walls.
That was the most wild thing.
But I don't know if it contributed to ticket sales or or you know, my IMDb number.
I don't know. I don't think it affected any of that.
I guess what I'm asking is this, when when when when they first went When when it was announced that Tim Walls was going to be the vice the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States.
Does place like.
Saturday Night Live come to you? Do you and your agent go to them and you say, hey, look me, I look just like the God. Oh I look a little bit like the God could pull us off. How does that work exactly?
Yeah, Well, it's it's it's all kind of Lourene Michaels, right. So, and it's SNL has this tradition of you don't really campaign for things, it's you let the process play out.
And I was aware of that.
So I was very kind of hands off, and you know, obviously I wanted to do it, but I knew that, you know, me posting impressions of myself doing Tim Wallace wouldn't move the needle and might annoy some of the people trying to make the decision. So but it was weird because I, you know, there is my manager and
my agent were pitching me. And there came a time when I was in the UK, I was working on a movie, and I got a call at eleven o'clock you know England time, and they're like, hey, so we've been telling the SNL people that you've been sending us funny videos of you doing an impression of Tim Walls and I hadn't. And I was like, well, that's that's
an interesting approach, I guess. And they're like yeah, and now SNL is asking for those videos, so if you could pull some of those together, And I was like, you.
Mean now, and they're like yeah now.
So I just essentially went back to my hotel and kept changing my code. You know, my Tim Walls impression is essentially me pretending to be my brother, you know, my brother Mitch, because I'm the midwestern guy. My brother Mitch like Governor Wallace is a very sincere and energetic and sentimental guy.
So I was just kind of doing my brother Mitch.
Well, you did a great job, no question about that. And I got to ask you about this. You had a tongue in cheek segment on CBS this morning recently that seemed to be about the election, but then ultimately it was about the Jets losing season. Okay, first of all, are you a Jets And secondly, how are you feeling about them damn Jets, especially since you talked about them with a CBS this morning.
Yeah.
Well, you know, I take these CBS Sunday Morning things, and you know, I take that a couple of weeks ago, where it was it was more insightful, It was more raw, the reality of the Jets with this you know, compiled team that should really be unstoppable, the reality of them.
Not making the playoffs.
Now it's like a foregone conclusion, but it was pretty raw a couple of weeks ago. But you know, some of it is I don't have control when they Eric, and I just thought it was interesting the contrast of the kind of you know, people processing the election and people processing the reality that the Jets weren't getting in and yeah, no it is. But it's I've lived in New York for thirty five years. I you know, I'm I am also a Colts fan. I grew up of Bears and what was then called the Redskins.
You know.
I but like the Jets, it is it's a really brutal existence rooting for the Jets because every at the beginning of the season, there are so many elements where it might work out, and then there's a cruel ending, right, and so it seems a little sato masochistic really being a Jets fan.
Do you find yourself in a situation as as a comedian, as somebody that's paid to make people laugh and being quite successful at it? I might add, do you find yourself in a situation looking at certain things, Let's say, for example, let's use the New York Jets example comedic material. What a team like that provided for you? Or are there some teams that you doesn't this so said, this so pathetic. I'm struggling. I'm struggling on figuring out how to laugh at them.
Yeah, I well, yeah, it's just I mean, well, what you do is kind of find some of that too right. It's some of it is like the tragedy of the Panthers is almost it's so heavy, right, and versus like some of the the drama of the Cowboys or even the Browns is is more palpable. Right, It's more interesting from a storyline standpoint. But I don't know, you know, like it's with sports.
I mean, I love it. I'm I'm not.
Nearly as informed or up to date on some of the knowledge of it, particularly compared to even some of my brothers. So it's I definitely, you know, I would I wouldn't necessarily include it in my standout back because it's also it's it's it's not evergreen, so it's kind
of like if I'm writing jokes about you know. And then there's also kind of people are very protective, so like we might be able to laugh about the Jets, but there are some people it's a very raw mode ocean where you know, I wouldn't want to make them feel bad.
Well, I mean, I have to admit you, I have to confess I totally agree with you, except for when it comes to cowboy fans have no sympathy.
For them whatsoever.
I love seeing them misery I love seeing them miserable. I love seeing them crying and.
Stuff like that.
But it has gotten to a point where I look at Cowboy fans and I'm like, Damn, y'all are taking all the fun out of this because y'all ain't even competitive. You're not in a playoff picture. I like them to sit up there and rise and tease their fan base before they come crashing down. And they've taken that joy away from me. Jim, how can I get that back? Can you give me some advice on how I control Cowboy fans moving forward? Could you do that?
Well?
It's yeah, no, I mean I it's just well, some of it is also that cowboys are kind of like they're like the good looking people in high school, so like their downfall is a little bit more enjoyed. You know, I'm in the you know, I've lived in New York for thirty five years. It's how people feel about the Yankees, right, So when the Yankees don't make it, you know, if you're you know, a Mariners fan, it's a little bit you know, the Yankees losing is in some ways a
victory for you. So it's like, I don't know, people sports are weird, right, I mean, it's just and then you know, it's just it's just one of those things where we go into it just to and we end up feeling these raw emotions.
It's like, all right, I'm just.
Gonna ruin my Sunday, or like, you know, just rooting for a team, you're inevitably going to be disappointed.
You got to shake it off.
You know, Fox NFL Sunday I forgot. I didn't forget about this either. I remember Fox NFL Sunday. They had a series of hilarious segments of you as a therapist consulting, and I wrote the teams down here consulting the Saints, the Raiders, the Bears, and Jets fans on being playoff delusional. I don't think anybody will accuse the Jets fans of being playoff delusional because that ship is sealed. Nobody's gonna accuse the Raiders of that, Saints and the Bears.
What are your thoughts about that?
Well, the idea of that actually came from a friend of mine, Matt Owens, who is He's from New Orleans and he is a huge Saints fan. And so the Saints winning the first two games and by you know, ninety eight points. That's an actual quote of him, you know, what he would say, and so that kind of inspired some of it. And then also, you know the Bears, it's just that division's just too hard, you know.
And so but like even when they.
Were, you know, really doing well, the Bears, I was like, there, it's just not likely.
It's just too hard of a division. Man.
Listen, I got to transition to you and what's going on with Hulu. You've done ten stand up comedy specials. I believe You're eleventh is coming up on Hulu and it's called The Skinny. I'm told it was inspired by you losing fifty pounds fifty pounds using a weight loss drug Monegero.
Is that true? Yeah? Yeah, I mean well it's also the Skinny.
Of like kind of my take on what it's like being a parent of teenager. I mean, that's what it's so fun about stand up is it just it's kind of this chronicling of your.
What's recently happened in your life.
And so I did, you know, like a lot of people, I went on these appetites of pressants and it worked, you know, like it's I mean, but it's not like earth shattering. I just now I just eat like a normal pig, as opposed to like an out of controlled glutton.
You know.
So it's now I'll just have one box of triskets instead of three, you know what I mean. It's but you know, I you know, I eat like I'm an offensive lineman, you know what I mean. But on Manjarro, I eat like, you know, maybe I'm a quarterback.
So you don't change your taste buds, don't necessarily change the things that you want. Like, you don't stop liking. You just don't eat as much excess as you used to. Is that what you're saying?
Yeah, that that notion of Well, they have some kind of peanut butter chocolate cake on the dessert menu. I have to try it. Then I'm like, all right, you know when I'm on an appetite suppressed that, I'm like, I don't need that. So it's like I'm normal, I'm like a human.
And you talked about being a dad to teenagers, Well, guess what you're talking to somebody that's got two of them. I mean, I mean, we could share stories all day long. Let me see if there's anything that we got in common with one another. What's one of the things that you're gonna you're gonna illuminate with your stand up comedic special. I mean, when you're talking about your teenage children, what are you gonna say?
You know, I mean, I don't even the material just is non stop when you're the parent of a teenager, right, it's and I essentially have well I have three teenagers and one twelve year old and a twenty year old, so I'm essentially living in a mental ward right.
And they are just it's just chaos. You know.
It's like this isn't even in the special, but like you know, I'm essentially I'm like a repo man for Verizon. All I'm doing is just trying to get phones and take them and then I return them. It's just bananas. But like anyone who has a teenager, it's just they kind of look like they've just walked away from a car accident. You know, they're just always kind of, you know, a little shaken up. Everything a parent of a teenager
says kind of sounds like a lie. They're like, we're great, things are great, you know, like they're in a hostage video. The kids are treating us. Well, you know, it's just it's insane. But we signed up for this, right.
But I don't know if we did. Jim. I mean, listen, man, you know, as a dad, just sitting up there and you go like this, you're gonna have beautiful kids and they're gonna go up and they're gonna be teenaging. They're gonna love you so much, they're gonna worship the ground that you wore card. They're gonna listen. I mean, none of it, None of it's true. Now maybe it's gonna be true, damnit. But when they're teenagers, you're the worst person in the world. You don't know anything.
You need to listen to.
Them because they're always right. You're just a parent. You're never wronged, and your only purpose in life is to provide them with their wants and needs, and damn it, you're gonna do it because it's your responsibility. They didn't ask to be here, You brought them here. That's what I got at home?
Is that similar to you? Absolutely? I mean I talk about it.
It's it's even made more cruel because when you know you have this sweet twelve year old and then boom they become satan. You know, you can literally witness the curiosity and wonder transform into poor judgment, right and body odor.
It's I mean, you.
Love them, but like there's you know, there's a reason why alcohol exists, right, and that's because the teenagers.
Because they sued, They sue the emotions and everything like that. And I remember you got something here your father, tim Bourbon. I want you to talk about that. I mean, how much of an inspiration were.
Your kids to that? Absolutely?
I mean that's you know, like the bourbon thing is really and I you know, I know I'm considered a celebrity, but it's not really. Some of it is just like a hobby that I wanted to undertake. And I've gotten into bourbon since the pandemic, but yeah, I mean it was during the pandemic my wife and I would have the occasional bourbon every night and it really kind of
helped us kind of get through it. And you know, it's weird because my twenty year old she was like, you're never even drag for fifteen years and it's like I never really did. And so all the time bourbon, that's just like a fun project because that's in the bourbon. You know, you just want to aft and come up with your own story because there's just so much history and story behind urban So it's just so fun.
By the way, when you and your wife are drinking the bourbon that night, did you find a private place to do it where the kids wouldn't bother you or couldn't find you or anything, or would they constantly interrupt just because they could?
Yeah, I mean I think they constantly. And that's the thing. It's like when people have younger kids. Those younger kids will eventually go to sleep, but when they're teenagers, they sleep during the day. They essentially are owls, right, so then they're awake all night, so you have no privacy. And so that's where you know, you got to break out,
you know, a cocktail. And some of it is just it's like it's you know, you're struggling to like, you know, this life partner who's you know, going through hell herself. It's just nice that you can share and kind of regroup. I'm an advocate for everyone to become an alcoholic. I don't know if that's politically correct thing.
It's not, but who cares? Who cares? You know?
I was almost suggested you should give it to your teenage kids. Maybe that'll make them go to sleep.
That's what I was doing just but I don't want to do that.
But listen, I got to ask you about Jerry Seinfeld and you hitting up y'all, y'all set to hit the road in twenty twenty five. Talk about that a little bit. How did that materialize on what your expectations?
Yeah, I met Jerry when he had me as a guest on his show, Comedians and Cars getting coffee, and we are very like minded in our pursuit of stand up. We really loved the mechanics and the nuts and bolts and just nerding out and talking about structure and philosophy surrounding it. So this tour, which is amazing, and we've done it, you know, I think we did like six cities before and we're doing ten cities this time.
Some of it it's great for the audience, but it's also selfishly.
I get to just hang out with a friend and talk comedy, you know, because that's what happens with comedians. The more successful you get, the less you get to hang out with some of your friends. So when you can do you know, a dual headline set, you know, with Seinfeld, it's great.
How's he feeling about comedies these days? And how are you feeling about comedy? In light of how times have changed and a heightened level of sensitivity this society seems to have adopted to the point where I imagine it's far more difficult now for comedians than it was in the past, and in my estimation, far more difficult for comedians than it should be. Damn it, you're supposed to make us laugh. So what if it's that.
Other people's experience from toime to toime that happens all the time, It's always happened in my estimation, how are you guys feeling about the comedic world in the comedic industry at this particular moment in time.
You know, I can't speak for Jerry, but I could, I would say that, you know, for me, it's you know, each comedian has their own point of view, which and and that point of view is you know, unique to each comedian. So like some people pedal in kind of reverence, some people, you know, it's just like you have some bodies that you know that will pick on you, that's how they show affection.
And but like some.
Comedians, I don't really kind of like, I enjoy some you know, roast comedy, but it's not really my cup of It's not in my wheelhouse. I mean, I've done it occasionally, but I'm much more of I don't particularly like topical stuff.
I'm much more of.
You know, and I'm not you know, like there is always some surprise in all comedy, but I'm not all about the shock. I have friends that are really good at it. But and you know, I tried to do that when I first started to stand up. But you know, with stand up you have to kind of be authentic to who you are as a comedian. In the end, I'm just a guy from a small town in Indiana. So if I tried to, you know, curse like I'm from Brooklyn or South Philly, it would just be anauthentic.
Listen, man, all the best to you. You were absolutely hilarious. I loved watching you on Saturday Night Live. I'm looking forward to seeing you with Seinfeld. I'm definitely gonna take my eyes on the Skinny to night. I'm gonna watch that tonight. I can't thank you enough for