He often speaks out on controversial topics during his stances, but Hungary is an extremely conservative society. This is your second time performing with us, do you get lost or do you add some extra jokes depending on the country?
First of all, I’m very excited to be back in Budapest. When we were organizing the European tour, I asked my agent that we should definitely not miss Budapest, because it is a magical and beautiful city. I loved the buildings, the people and the food. Paris and London are amazing, but I’m so excited to be back here. But I don’t change my offer, why would I do that? People pay to see me and my show. If we don’t have our own point of view as comedians, what do we have left? If anywhere, it is important to spread these messages in places where this narrative is suppressed.
There is another Hungarian connection in his life. In Cornell Mundrucho’s drama, Pieces of a Woman, he played the brother of Vanessa Kirby, for whom she was nominated for an Academy Award. Why did you feel it was important to be in this film?
Because the director was chosen. They called me unexpectedly on the phone and asked me to appear in the film. I didn’t know anything about the project or the director, but I felt like I had to take a chance, and it was a really interesting experience. We shot in Montreal with an international crew, everyone speaks English. The director was Hungarian, but other than that, I didn’t hear much Hungarian spoken. However, a few months ago I read a story about a Hungarian woman and learned some Hungarian words. For example, Nagirev. The book is called Angel Makers and it is a true story about Aunt Susie who poisoned her husband (the book is… Tiszazug Poison Mixers Explains its history – Ed.). Of course, this story doesn’t shed the best light on the country, but it was as interesting to read as if you had actually been to Budapest.
In the movie Hot Forever, also available on Netflix, he says: “Life is not a vacuum, you have to take in everything that is around you.” His positions often reflect social phenomena. How do you catch them well? Is there a separate team working on this?
No, I don’t have a team. I am an artist, a creator, and my job is to absorb everything, observe, notice, and create something unified from these elements. I watch social media, I watch the news, I watch pop culture — enough so that it doesn’t make me sick, and then I want to reflect that in a way that you can relate to. And so we live in very crazy times – I always try to understand for myself what the hell is going on. I also do this myself, and sometimes I can convey it with words and gestures in a funny way, and I only hope that in this way others can also fight with this crazy city we inherited. You talk a lot about different generations in your shows, and the phrase you coined “party fabric” has become a favorite among millennials, for example. What do you think is the biggest mistake this generation has made?
Many of us are already in our early forties, and I don’t know if we still have many illusions. Of course, Millennials have received and receive a lot of criticism, but there is also a lot of social blame, because we may have remained children for too long and our adolescence was longer than usual because of the Internet.
But I think the biggest mistake we made was believing when we were told that we would have everything our parents had.
Then there is the housing crisis, the economic crisis, and huge wars. But I hope the world is a better place for Generation Z. Unfortunately, it will be their responsibility – everyone will grow old and die and they will be the boss. I hope this is it Social justice keyboard warrior As energy is actually used.
She calls herself a feminist and is already an important advocate for women. In Hot Forever, you say the anger against women in the world is evergreen – why do you think it is and who can change everything?
Jesus, that’s a great question. Anger against women is at least as old as the Bible. Women are often assigned the role of scapegoat or villain in stories. This goes back to Adam and Eve. Eve was called evil because she gave knowledge to Adam, who was just a happy, silly man. But we can go back to the Epic of Gilgamesh, where the woman is depicted as a seductive serpent. As if women are simply like that, this is how we see the female gender. We’ve all been a little brainwashed. It is important that we learn to think critically so that we have the courage to say what we want to say. There are more and more women who have careers, who are thinking about their own role and changing that narrative. I mean, just the fact that the job I have is more than what our grandparents ever imagined. But things are changing, albeit slowly. It doesn’t matter, just do your job and those sounds will get quieter. When I first started doing stand-up, the criticism was that “compared to the fact that she’s a woman, she’s funny” and that I’m successful because I’m attractive. And here I am 20 years later, not because of these things, but in spite of them.
Speaking of criticism, many found Netflix’s latest special to be too political.
People often label something as political when they disagree with you. I think they said that for two reasons: what I said about abortion, and what I said about abortion. People who are offended by this label consider the show political, but they are wrong. I talk about social issues that are very important to me because they are also very important to women. I am not ashamed of my miscarriage or miscarriage. We should also talk about these topics and joke about them – so other women know that they don’t have to feel ashamed, and they don’t have to be upset. Now, the American may talk about me, but I live by it.
But why is it important to joke about miscarriage?
It’s always helpful to be able to make a joke about some tragedy in your life. But before we joke, let’s get to a place where we can talk freely about any topic. It’s then up to you whether you want to make a joke out of it – of course this is optional. It’s important that when it comes to women’s bodies, we should have the opportunity to have open conversations and not feel shame. I’m telling you about my experiences to show that you can survive, I’m okay with these topics.
Cancel or cancel? Which do you fear most?
I don’t think they’re going to cancel, I think we’re past that. We are past this wave of anger in our society where people are taken down for randomly harming others. So no, I’m not afraid of cancellation. I’m more afraid of stupid people, in general. Of stupid people who don’t handle their emotions well – or barely have any. They’re the ones who can cancel others for nothing, and Incels are just that: stupid people with little emotion. I’m not afraid of anything, but I’m worried about people, because when stupid people blaspheme, dangerous things happen. Wow, we’re talking about very difficult stories, it’s a Hungarian thing.
Sorry.
No problem, you can write that I said so. When I last visited Budapest, I noticed that for some reason Hungarians don’t smile, at least on the street, and yet they are the nicest people in the world. Of course, I know the country is going through a lot, to use a euphemism. But Hungarians are truly distinguished by their defiant and gloomy seriousness. However, if you talk to someone, that person is always nice. The audience is like that: they’re not smiling, but then it turns out they had a good time.
This is true, it cannot be denied. That’s why when we travel to America, we think why is everyone smiling all the time? Are they crazy?
Yes, let’s say you’re right. Everyone here is crazy. And when we travel abroad, you can recognize Americans by their smiles because we are happy that we were finally able to leave the country.
Okay, back to the show. What are difficult feelings?
I don’t know if the expression ““No hard feelings” (Approx. No anger – ed.). The point is that if you offend someone, for example, with a bad sentence, you are expressing that you did not intend to offend.
Although we are talking about serious topics, it will be a light and funny evening. Because, on the other hand, I take it very seriously that the people who spend time and money to watch my show feel as comfortable as possible during the show: they leave their problems behind and laugh uncontrollably for an hour, because that’s what they come here for. .
This is a very clownish, funny and lively show. We’ll talk about everything, strippers, different generations, hot husbands, ugly wives, sexy wives and plastic surgery. So, there’s going to be a lot of topics covered, and so far I’ve seen it important for all people — on any side of the political spectrum, regardless of their age — to identify themselves with the show.
Hard Feelings starts on Thursday 14 December 2023 at 19:00 in Budapest at MOM Sport. More information is On the event’s Facebook page.
