Iliza Shlesinger
speaker
495 appearances
4 recordings
3 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard Apr 2025
Iliza Shlesinger’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
And I, on October 7th of this year, I just, I just think about, when we think about horrible things in history, whether it be slavery, I know that these two always get compared, or the Holocaust, or anything awful that happens to a group of people, we always years later are like, well, I would have done something. I wouldn't have had slaves. I would have hidden Anne Frank.
I wouldn't have, I would have said something. But there's so much groupthink involved and I just have to be, A, I have to express myself as an artist, number one, I have to, I have to be heard. And I cannot look back at this and say that I said nothing.
And so for this whole year, I always tried, like there's no receipts on me saying bad things about everyday Muslims, like my heart is not there, but I continue to stand against, in a way that I did against Asian violence, the war in Syria. you know, brutalizing black people in the streets. I always, you stand up for these things.
And so what I think has been particularly hurtful about this is that you, we turned around this last year and the people that you thought were with you weren't.
So I felt it important on that day to just say something versus just reposting a yellow ribbon or something like that to kind of draw a line in the sand, which I knew would cost me fans, but I do think you also gain people who understand an intelligent argument.
Yeah, I mean, I will say, you know, when you come to see me, there's zero politics. You know, it's a social I mean, you know how I think about pro choice and things like that. But it's a very it's a raucous fun in your face hour. We don't talk about politics. I don't even take jabs at Trump like that's all left at the door. And I have a lot of.
everything from liberal to conservative trans gay like everything they just come in because they've been coming to me for so long for comedy so it's not you know it's not new that we find out that i'm jewish it's not new that it turns out a human being doesn't feel that they should be murdered for their religion so none of the things that i'm saying are particularly revelatory uh and
I just, from my soul, you know, I didn't change the world. I didn't do anything. And I try to engage in an intellectual way and I try to be specific versus just constantly participating in every campaign and bleeding for every cause. Because I think smart people find you, but it is scary.
A, in this economy, because across the board, with the exception of like a handful of like major acts and people like Taylor Swift, everybody that performs has seen like a little dip in ticket sales. Just economy-wise and just people, you know, at the same time, people are consuming art in a way that they never have, but there's so much. I can't compete with Taylor Swift, you know? And so...
I don't know, I guess in the moment I felt, you get these moments where you feel emboldened and then you do it and then you're like, okay, I'll just sit this out for a little bit.
Needed to get this out. Like if you want to scream and especially as a woman, you're afraid if you scream too loud, you will be called crazy. And we all know what happens when a woman in show business gets called crazy. The phone doesn't ring. And so it is a measured scream.
Yes. I can't say that for the tickets we don't sell, I can't equate it necessarily with that. I can equate it with followers. I can watch the thing dip, but it always goes back up because at the end of the day, the things that I'm saying are bulletproof.
you know it isn't um i'm not up there saying hurtful things about people like i'm actually giving facts and so i always try to err on the side of like having a clear head and i actually do it because some people out there are too afraid to say anything and i think if you see someone like me doing it perhaps it emboldens you a little just a little bit more whoever you are
to realize like no freedom of speech goes both ways like you can say the thing you need to say and if enough of us do then maybe it won't be so scary but i by no means want to lead this charge i don't want to be a figurehead i would you know i want you want to make people laugh you want people to have a good time around uh to to enjoy your company that's what i want
But for the other 23 hours a day when I'm not on that stage for an hour, I'm a human being and I have children and I have a religion. It's not even that I am so passionate about being Jewish. I ate on Yom Kippur and I don't care who knows that. I ate a lot of shrimp and I drove to the desert and I did my hour at a casino.
I know we're supposed to say sorry on that day, but I feel like a lot of people owed me apologies. But it's my culture and you can't stand for people mercilessly hurting people.
What are the other options?
Well, there was struggle. I definitely have to put that out there. You know, Netflix didn't exist for a very long time. So that was a lot of me and my suitcase and my duffel bag of T-shirts schlepping from, you know, Giggle Hut to Giggle Hut.
Oh, okay, fair. I was like, let me tell you the story of me using a square to sell six t-shirts. I think the anxiety is less about my ability as a mother, because, you know, you have a baby, you're just like, why don't I?
um but it's more about the world that she's in and just you know is she gonna die is that am i gonna die and all mothers do this i don't know if fathers do this in the same way but like you sit there and you think you like fantasize isn't the world so like anti-fantasy nightmare about like and if i die and then she's in my arms and then she has to get home does she know her address like it's so dark
Showing 381–400 of 495 · page 20 of 25
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