John Mulaney Seeks the Truth While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

chewing and chewing all around the mouth of the chicken goes no opinion on the taste and then suddenly it's like hey we have a consensus [Music] hey what's going on everybody for first week Feast I'm Sean Evans and you're watching hot ones it's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings and today we're joined by John mullaney he's an Emmy award-winning writer and comedian who Rose to prominence during his time at Saturday Night Live and the time since he's done everything from the claim Broadway show to a children's Musical and a number of beloved comedy specials including his latest Baby J which is now available to stream on Netflix John Mulaney welcome to the show Sean thank you for having me do you let viewers know that it's 11 A.M you know it sometimes it comes up a long way you know okay but and that for some this is their first anything that they've tasted for the day you and I both are having hot sauce for breakfast and you're right I think it is important to be transparent about that fact to the audience watching maybe or maybe not I mean I just it just it's it's of note thank you [Music] [Music] foreign did you ever have braces no never my life oh I did so I'm very conscious of eating in public because like in high school you would go right don't worry John we're going to be very kind in the edit John will be very kind in the end I appreciate that I appreciate that but I still have to do my due diligence yeah make sure I don't have chicken in my braces which I haven't been there for 20 years [Music] very tasty does intense scrutiny or intense media scrutiny of a comedian's personal life is that a force of good or force of evil when it comes to writing new material you know some people it doesn't take media scrutiny for uh sometimes we comedians just start to eat our own tail and uh you know our new jokes refer to our old jokes or a lot of it is stories about being a comedian um so it not so much media scrutiny but more just uh just um cannibalizing your own life as a comedian I think can be dangerous Waylon Jennings I heard you know those Outlaw country guys yeah yeah they had a lot of songs about being Outlaw country guys you know are you sure Hank Done It This Way or don't you think this outlaw business has done got out of hand yeah yeah um and someone said to Waylon Jennings once you know you guys used to sing about my life but now you just sing about your own life I thought that's kind of the the Peril of of autobiographical comedy sometimes Curry Verde what does that mean green curry I thought it meant true Verde for a second I thought meant truth I was like oh what an interesting name James green curry very very nice there we go two for two over two so as a teenager I understand that you spent many a weekend pouring over archival TV footage at Chicago's Museum of broadcast Communications did you have a favorite exhibit or curiosity like did you ever find yourself marveling at Bozo the Clown memorabilia or take a moment to visit Edward R murrow's plaque at the radio hall of fame um I did see all those exhibits um they also had stuff from like the very first uh broadcasts ever and they had these puppets called kukula Fran and Ollie which I guess you know were the original cocoa melon this was like the hottest children's programming and they're the rattiest little jive ass 1951 puppet you can't imagine that this was a show but it was um they just look like socks or like the leather thing you put over a golf driver um that stuff was interesting to me I went into the archives though because um my parents got me this thing that was the best of Johnny Carson so it was like a video and it had all these famous clips of Johnny Carson on it so I was really interested in that as most 10 year olds are um so I went down just to watch full episodes of Carson just like a full episode from a random day in 1971 and see what it was like and it was interesting because they're not that good like they're not all you know not every people look back on that sort of uh you just you pick I mean if you're on the air for 30 years and you have five good bits a year you've got you know endless reels of the best of but it was nice to see just sort of Meandering interviews bad monologues it's really comforting in a way it was comforting in a way yes as I began my career as a broadcaster type they're not all they're not all hits [Music] what does that mean lemon pepper it means uh green curry it means Curry of Truth is this a light flavor yeah we're still in sort of a delicate touch kind of oh no I assume I assume uh from how many we have that you have to make yourself but also just in general this is a little even lighter than yeah the last one yeah we're pulling yeah yeah we're moving uh some levers we're pulling some levers over here yeah psychological games shades of light and dark yes that's very good no need to name names but what's the worst reaction you ever recall getting from an SNL celebrity host to a sketch that you've pitched them in [Music] Brolin you said name names right no no Josh Brolin went well this isn't funny as I was writing something and I started to walk him through it and he went yeah no but that but that's not funny and it was so a matter of fact I wouldn't even call it the worst I found it it's actually like valuable feedback completely valuable and it was early enough on Tuesday night that I didn't proceed with it it actually was I I I'm not answering your question because it was such a gentlemanly exchange of ideas hey Josh Brolin do you like this idea let me see no that's not funny that I I actually he did me quite a service um there were others who uh I remember we had a joke when Mick Jagger hosted that was uh uh hey everyone I'm Mick Jagger so mothers lock up your daughters and daughters lock up your mothers um and he listened and he went no I don't like that and uh I actually remember I made Seth Meyers read that one because I was going over a bunch of jokes and we got to that one it was it was uh it was let me redo that the joke was uh I'm Mick Jagger so mothers lock up your daughters or should I say daughters lock up your mothers and when we got to that one I just handed it to Seth and was like and then there's that one you could read that one [Music] what is this one so this one right here Chile lengua de Fuego don't ask me what it means I have no idea the curry of Truth in the Latin what do you remember about performing at the note and Wicker Park was that like the first place that you ever tried stand-up yes uh I was 18 I did uh sort of like um there was a variety show at the note um I remember being very frustrated that I wasn't way way better immediately after watching comedians for 18 years I really wanted to begin at that level I yes and I I really had no tolerance for my own level at that moment and uh but it was it was very fun it was one of those things where and this is a lot of early comedy the audience is the other people performing and then in the very very beginning it's often a bunch of people that you invited uh family and friends who you're then quite resentful are there once you get up and it's not going that great you're like and why all these [ __ ] God damn it well look at you now John look at you now look at me now 11 A.M pounding chick [Music] how long does it take taste to hit your brain I would say I'm like 30 seconds I would put 30 I would put it I'm surprised how long some of these it's um you take a bite you think you're in there I'm chewing I'm chewing I'm chewing no opinion is forming on the tastes chewing and chewing all around the mouth the chicken goes no opinion on the taste and then suddenly it's like hey we have a consensus laughs this is really nice so earlier this month more than 11 000 TV and film writers went on strike marking the first stoppage of its kind in the streaming era let's say this thing stretches until like November or December what does that actually mean for the people who love TV and movies in your opinion ooh um it'd be interesting to see uh now if I were to be uh a touch cynical um there's a lot of content already out there um and you know I feel like we've all been saying that for years like God there's so many shows there's so many shows there's so many shows and uh now we'll see how many there are you only have the ones you have um if everyone's just gonna continue watching streaming TV I I wonder when it will hit a point where you go oh there's not it's as a viewer it's frustrating that there's not new stuff what to you like if you take money out of the equation like what do you think is the most important wedge issue that's like at stake in this negotiation because so much has changed since 2007 in the last one it's interesting on the picket line I've heard more and more about AI which I thought was um I thought was not a fringe issue but kind of off to the side but maybe as a comedy writer like maybe you're sort of insulated because I don't imagine AI being like funny okay um I also am very confident that there is something about uh the that there is a profound difference between knowing you're hearing a joke from a person and knowing you're hearing it from Ai and the audience isn't just looking for the actual like a mechanical of the mechanical yeah um but I have famously terrible instincts and I um I I've never known what's gonna happen in the future so what do I um but uh I have heard AI jokes that are solid and or or they're solid sorry there I wouldn't call them crossing over into good but they're solid um so maybe AI could replace that you know that 15th joke in an award show monologue that's fine and it acknowledges you know when they have to acknowledge a movie that's nominated or something but like the joke isn't that good maybe AI could provide well only time will tell I guess only ready to move on here to the back half John yeah absolutely so this is the spicy shark here in the sick spot spicy shop work born in New England famously spicy place known for its indigenous chilies indigenous chilies curries and paprikas [Music] yeah I can already feel it yeah you know what it is as it hits the back of the top or it tastes like a sweeter sauce that's gone bad oh this is a nice flavor oh but it it's been out in the sun it was sitting on the dashboard while we were parked in a Target parking lot so in 2020 you were nominated for a pair of Emmys for your musical special the sac launch bunch a project you've described as being as satisfying as anything I've ever done what's the origin story of Grandma's got a boyfriend clearly a song very much shaped by an enthusiasm for musical theater Grandma's got a boyfriend uh came from my nana having a boyfriend a wonderful guy named David they began dating I think when I was 10. it was just if I knew immediately as a kid I go this is a funny predicament um you know that's my grandma's boyfriend it just was funny right away then you get to see your mom and aunts and uncles grown people um having a sort of you're not my dad uh reaction which I'm being very general and I'm glossing over tons of nuance in terms of my own family and how they uh appreciated and loved David um but there there was that you know in some ways um just because it's new uh it was so funny to me I did and they they had so many opinions on it and uh I remember my grandma's boyfriend uh I remember my grace my grandma's boyfriend called the house once and my aunt picked up not my nana and uh she went hello and he went well swam on Sherry and she was like what David and everyone made fun of me thank you adobo Loco that means craziness I'd actually say this is this is seven this is quite good wow is it your favorite one so far uh a little bit in that I like the base flavor the most okay interesting interesting like it is that smokier taste there's a little bit of barbecue sauce has a feeling of a Worcester sheer sauce has a slight steak sauce feel I like that there we go talk about a crazy Abode they're not lying they ain't lying change as crazy as a bodes I've ever walked in absolutely crazy people kind of don't remember that these shows like best week ever actually had really funny people like you and Michael Che on them did you find that to be like a good way to drill comedy or are they kind of different skill sets no best week ever was a great training ground especially for Saturday Night Live you just you have these you know rather dry prompts of something that happened in the news and you have to come up with five jokes for it but in general um I liked assignment writing I still like assignment writing like if I write a joke for someone's award show monologue and they do it watching that I think I think that's the most satisfying thing still really you're like you'll watch someone else hit the Home Run and and then whoever I'm with I go that was my joke that it really is it it really is fun does it does it no it's also funny when it doesn't work yeah that's what I was gonna very funny when it doesn't work do you imagine because they trusted you it has a missile on it and it's called the bomb and it's called Beyond insanity for a consensus I feel like on that one it was when it got here I knew it was gonna be bad yeah and that's saying a lot I've done a lot of damage to my synapses and I could tell right away okay first impressions yeah it's very hot right goes without saying it's a hot sauce system huh it's beyond insane some might say um it's not good it's not good food you understand yeah yeah it doesn't make food better I follow um I'm not trying to damage their business not a good product I think this is their business and product is missing the Target that much but you're kind of like straight face well taking it to the Dome it's kind of interesting amazing to behold honestly but please I I appreciate that but as we both know neither of us likes compliments um certainly hot but it is I'm more struck by the flavor isn't the flavor's metallic and poisonous kind of it just sucks yeah it's just not a thing where you go you know I'm gonna get I'm gonna put a little debomb on this yeah do you have a Mount Rushmore of comedy albums the top four of all time ooh and tears are coming down my face now I feel me too yeah shared suffering right here sure okay Florida chisel into the stone there we go uh strategic Grill locations Mitch Hedberg it felt at the time like there were lots of Hedberg imitators but I think in large part they've Fallen away and now you're just left with this totally singular voice I mean at one point he just says I wish I had a briefcase handcuffed to my Wrist all right like that there's no joke either it's just a fun thought that he had that that was always very inspiring to me sometimes you can just say things that aren't even like set up punchline I've never cried this way yeah where I'm not actually feeling if they're just rolling down the side of my face bring the pain Chris rocks bring the bank very very unique very against the grain in late high school I got I think all of Eddie izard's albums up to that time uh Dressed to Kill um I can't remember the one where he does the Old Testament and the New Testament great great album um Dave Attell skanks For The Memories that's just the Best comedian to ever perform in clubs at the absolute top of his game it's just a great great record um record sounding like it's the sauce you know 80 year old man yeah it's aging you it's aging me a lot yeah Alchemy [Music] I should slow down because something might hit me that I'm not aware of yet but at first I wasn't gonna get in your way I just like letting the runaway train go you know I'm just trying to keep up tastes like fish food oh you know what I've do you taste that yeah well I've only ever smelled fish food but I'm actually I'm making the connection right now thank you let me be clear it tastes like how fish food I know why I'm so uh defensive like if I eat fish food that's fine that's my choice um did you ever have goldfish no never in my life really in my life no yeah here's the problem when you were a kid is especially if you like taking care of people um you want to feed them more but that you're not supposed and it's you're like you're like you guys and I know there's only one thing I ever give you and I gave it to you already today but you're still there and I want you to like me and I want you to tell other fish that I'm a good guy so I'd love to feed you again and again and again but you can't you can't do that it's really hard I think it's a very beneficial owner it's a very good test for people pleasing children can you can you have a boundary with this fish right and it's food and it's hard because if you know but the results of that you could kill the fish it's really stressful I know I know it's [ __ ] up actually I I relate I relate let's find a new way to feed fish where you can do it multiple times yeah you don't have to be supported emotionally are in these flakes where if they have it twice they die sounds like uh it's a problem with the food manufacturer these are questions not enough people are asking John you know no one's asking no one's asking that's like that you know that's Chris Rock really inspired me I say the [ __ ] everyone think of it yeah they're afraid to say it but they're just afraid to say it they're afraid I face the stage and I take down fish food one flake at a time do you recommend just one tap this is a nice little tap you see yours [Laughter] okay how do you feel about that I feel that looks great okay that looks great I don't want the comments to be like that's no tap get a good close-up I don't know why I'm trying to do this you really don't have to I know it's like with fish though you just want to explore please them okay Cheers Cheers John what a ride this is called the last dab Apollo Tangy this is still food though right exactly the bomb is something else a cologne Maybe yeah maybe just all right like I'm still eating this I know I can see that and actually it looks like you've cleaned pretty much the whole plate now this is the bomb I believe whoa no they're not going back yeah yeah no I'm not going back but that one I did not do too much damage but you know what for 11 in the morning that is wreaking havoc right there and to close things out John we have a little bit of a surprise for you all right so you can close out your special with this eight minute long autopsy for an interview that you did with gq's Frasier Tharp yes Frasier Tharp used to work in this very building he walked these very halls and thankfully his contact information is still active so we reached out to Frazier to give you the final wingten question so this is the Fraser Tharp with a wingten question for you all right my question to you is at what point did you realize when you were writing uh from scratch and will become Baby J that you wanted to take our interview and make it not only a big part of the special but the grand finale it's good to see Frasier he's just like I remembered him the first time I got on stage after being um away in a rehab for a couple months was in May of 2021 at the City Winery in New York on the West Side Highway and I don't know if I opened with the interview but I um got to it pretty quickly maybe the fourth or fifth night I was doing City Winery Chris Rock came by he said you should walk out and immediately open with the intervention and I did for a long time um and so I did that that night so I had to put the interview because it had such big laughs by that point last to close the show so it started closing the show in May of 2021. it was very I I remember when it came out the interview I was in rehab and I was reading it and it was a very bad time in life um I did think to myself this is very funny well John yes [Music] the wings of death a distant memory that we can look back on like old Johnny Carson episodes yeah you have lived to tell the tale and now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you this camera this camera this camera let the people know what you have going on in your life oh thank you I didn't know this was part of it hi it's me from all the wings uh amazing to be part of a 21st season of something um it uh it's an honor to have been here um it was very interesting to go through these um you they really paced them out in a way that uh you think you're safe and then they kick you again like it's not just easy to hard it's not a perfect curve I have a special called Baby J on Netflix um I'm very proud of it I've enjoyed all my comedy specials but this one I think is the best I've done I hope you check it out and I hope you enjoy it but more importantly I hope you check it out because that means uh it gets streaming ratings that I will never uh get any information on um I also uh have nothing else coming up there's a writer's strike um I'll be picketing maybe Warner Brothers at some point come out and bring us water or something nice like that um and that's it oh I'll continue being a comedian thanks thanks John and that's the hot ones experience that was amazing I might have already kind of burned off some taste buds like I don't know how good this is but I did think to myself like this is actually something I would have again well you know what we're gonna pack it up and and you can have it hey well then if I'm taking it home yeah yeah you might want to figure out how to put that on dang this was awesome Sean thank you you had a good like you had a good time great oh thank you you're the best researcher you didn't ask me anything I've ever been asked before thank you everybody hey what's going on hot ones fans this is Sean Evans if you've ever watched hot ones and wondered to yourself how hot are those sauces really I could get through that with no water or milk well now is the time to put your money where your mouth is the hot ones season 21 lineup is now available in its entirety at heatness.com heatness.com that's heatness.com to get your hands on the season 21 hot Ones hot sauce lineup milk not included be careful around the eyes and get them while they're hot London

Channel: First We Feast

Views: 2,951,574

Keywords: First we feast, fwf, firstwefeast, food, food porn, cook, cooking, chef, recipe, cocktail, bartender, craft beer, complex, complex networks, spicy food, foodie, burgers, food documentary, john mulaney, john mulaney snl, john mulaney baby j, big mouth

Id: W78ChV1ZE-A

Length: 26min 7sec (1567 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 29 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/innumerable_gibbons]

“If I ate fish food that’s fine. That’s my choice”

[u/idkman1000]

Much like college he didnt drink water the entire time. Alot of us greatly underestimated his hot wing eating ability.

Also the stuff about feeding pet fish is very random but very accurate.

[u/theywereonabreak69]

High praise for Sean at the end! Didn’t ask John anything he had been asked before!

[u/Rebloodican]

I wonder if John and Michael Cera have a "unexpected white guys immunize themselves to hot sauce" club.

[u/thnkngabthippocampus]

Loved the mixup of verde and verdad lol

[u/SimpleRickC135]

Holy shit his reaction to Da Bomb was like it was nothing!

"I mean, I don't wanna put down their business, but this is not....good?" and that's like the whole thing.

Didn't touch the water, don't think he even glanced at the milk.

I think for this one we can all say "HEY look at that MAN". Not a tall child in this one. He still looks like he could use some rest though.

[u/botoros]

no wayyy that he just killed it...or is it one of those things where he says he can present very well under hardship lmaoooo

[u/traveladdie]

I just finished watching his episode. The show was every bit as wonderful as I had imagined. I am so glad to see him doing so well. Success and stability agree with him. I truly adore watching him in just about any venue.

[u/shallowhuskofaperson]

Man, he is buttoned up. What a poker face...that’s the kid I want next to me while explaining to my father (infuriated in pajamas) why we’re 5 hrs late for curfew.