So True with Caleb Hearon - Lea DeLaria Paved The Way

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

Welcome back! Our guest this week is the legendary Lea DeLaria! Lea and Caleb talk her trailblazing career as the first openly gay comedian to appear on late night television, getting arreste...d, a certain harrowing night with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and so much more! Check out Lea’s Jazz Brunch show! https://54below.org/artists/lea-delaria/ Join our Patreon for an exclusive extended interview with Lea and other bonus content! https://patreon.com/SoTruePodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink  Follow Lea! @realleadelaria Follow the show! @sooootruepod Follow Caleb! @calebsaysthings Produced by Chance Nichols @chanceisloudGo to www.hims.com/SOTRUE for your personalized ED treatment options.There’s no replacement for human connection. Better with people. Better with Alma. Visit www.helloalma.com/SOTRUE to get started and schedule a free consultation today.Make Any Day Payday! Thanks to Earnin for sponsoring the show! Transform your living space today with Cozey. Visit www.Cozey.com, the home of possibilities, made easy.About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1  » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum  » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum So True is a Headgum podcast, created and hosted by Caleb Hearon. The show is produced by Chance Nichols with Associate Producer Allie Kahan and Executive Producer Emma Foley. So True is engineered by Casey Donahue and engineered and edited by Nicole Lyons. Kaiti Moos is our VP of Content at Headgum. Thanks to Luke Rogers for our show art and Virginia Muller our social media manager.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is a HeadGum Podcast. McCrispy strips are now at McDonald's. Tender, juicy, and its own sauce. Would you look at that? Well, you can't see it, but trust me, it looks delicious. New McCrispy strips, now at McDonald's. Because you were getting x-rays, we need to make sure that you weren't pregnant. I could have solved that problem for you. Because you were getting x-rays, we need to make sure that you weren't pregnant.
Starting point is 00:00:26 I could have solved that problem for you. What I said was, honey, honey, if I'm pregnant, I'm changing my name to Mary and taking to riding donkeys is what I said. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Starting point is 00:00:41 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And about six months ago, I pulled out all my late 90s sunglasses. I've been wearing them ever since. It's back baby. Happily.
Starting point is 00:00:52 Well, Leah, I'm so glad that you're here. Thank you for doing this. Thanks for having me, Caleb. It's so exciting. I'm such a huge fan. Who named you Caleb? Who named you Caleb? Well, you know my mom who was into the Bible.
Starting point is 00:01:01 Of course, because I mean, that's the only place you're gonna find a Caleb. And that and seven brides for seven brothers. Uh-huh. Well, she says she picked it because it means bold, which we'll take. And she's a nice lady. But she, I grew up in Missouri. Where? Chill Coffee, up north.
Starting point is 00:01:20 Oh, I'm from St. Louis. We're from Belleville. Well, I'm from Belleville, which is, yeah. Outside. But you say St. Louis because people are like if you say Illinois people automatically go to Chicago. Yeah yeah yeah they take you to Chicago but in fact you're from just outside St. Louis. Right. And you spend a lot of time there right in St. Louis going is that where you were like hanging out when you were growing up? I left so fast no I was I I was I left
Starting point is 00:01:43 home when I was let's see that would it be in I was, I left home when I was, let's see, that would have been 22. So yeah, I left home when I went to San Francisco in 1980. But yeah, as a little gay kid, yeah, I was growing up in St. Louis. Yeah. And you went to San Francisco when you were 22 to do comedy. I just, it happened. It wasn't that I went there to do comedy. It just sort of happened. And mostly because the Valencia Rose was this club that was opened by Ron Lanza and they started doing this thing.
Starting point is 00:02:15 They were gay comedy night. Like they had a little open night that was for queers. So the Valencia Rose was definitely a kind of a queer community house. It was just so many things happen there. There was art, there was all this stuff. It was it was queer people hanging out, you know, before we really had community centers. So they started doing this Monday night gay comedy night and so I was like, oh that's interesting, because I was writing plays at the time and they were
Starting point is 00:02:43 comedies of course and I so I went, I'm gonna go take a look at that, right, and it was like, where are the comics? They were like, they were like lesbians with acoustic guitars, and like, there was a fucking mime. There was a fucking mime. Why would a mime show up anywhere where people wear T-shirts that say silence equals death? Yeah. So it was like, I mean, what the fuck?
Starting point is 00:03:13 So I was like, you know, there was one comic, his name was Tom Ammiano, he was the host of the show. Tom was very good. And I just thought, fuck this. And you could see him, he's like, ugh, it's mine. So the next week I went and I just tried out some material. And all my peers say, no you didn't, I killed. The first time I read it. I think you did, I bet you did.
Starting point is 00:03:41 All my peers, every comic of my generation, from Dave to all of us that we all know each other, they all tanked the first time they did it. Yeah. And Rosie O'Donnell went so far as to actually be stealing Jerry Seinfeld's material the first time she was on stage, because she didn't know that was a no-no. Yeah. She didn't know you weren't supposed to.
Starting point is 00:04:01 A lot of people do that when they start out. They'll just do their favorite jokes up there. Imagine. It's like all these comics going, you suck. You fucking asshole. With like, she talks about it openly, so I'm not like letting it out or anything. But yeah, I fucking killed.
Starting point is 00:04:20 They were, you weren't supposed to do, you're supposed to do like no more than, I wanna say six minutes or something, and when it was close to the time, they would, instead of bringing out a hook or whatever, they'd say telephone call, telephone call. And they let me just stay on stage for 15 minutes. I just, I did fucking 15 minutes.
Starting point is 00:04:39 You did 15 minutes the first time you got up there? Good God. It was insane. That's nuts. Yeah. So then after that you just did you just start doing stand-up kind of all over the city or what was the? What happened then was then Tom went you want to host this with me? So I hosted it with him and then I said to Tom we should do we are now starting to get all these comics that are pretty fucking good and we need to do another night that's not an open mic where nobody's getting paid except us
Starting point is 00:05:10 because we were the hosts, that where we can pay these comics and so we started doing, so we had gay open mic comedy every Monday and gay comedy night every Saturday night at the Valencia Rose and he and I would switch off hosting. Although we would, you know, tag team Monday. We would tag team Monday, that we did together. And basically, I did, you're gonna love this,
Starting point is 00:05:35 it was April 20th, so it was 420, 1980, the first time I did that 15 minutes. That was so long ago, we didn't even call it 420. 420 wasn't a thing, right? You know what I mean? It wasn't a fucking thing. But it was 420, and by September of that year, I quit my day job and was supporting myself solely
Starting point is 00:05:55 as a stand-up comic. So from April doing your first set, 15 minutes, which is psycho, to September, you're full-time doing comedy. Yeah. That's nuts. Yeah. What the fuck? So I haven't had a day job since September 1980. What is, what are you,
Starting point is 00:06:12 how, how are you paying? What is, okay. What is paying your bills full time with comedy at that time? What like, are you mostly in San Francisco or you were on the road by then? I was in San Francisco and on the road. So I mean, I didn't, the problem with San Francisco was that was it. You know what I mean? There weren't that many places. I performed at a lot of dyke bars and a lot of bars
Starting point is 00:06:29 and a lot of cabaret kind of places. The kind of material that I was doing, it wouldn't go, comedy clubs just didn't work. It just didn't fucking work. I tried, but you know, I'd be like, having to deal with people heckling me because I was wearing a tie, you know what I mean? And anybody that's ever seen me do stand up, you are so fucking stupid if you try to heckle me.
Starting point is 00:06:52 That is just, you are just asking for death. Are you fucking kidding me? I mean, I got a mouth, right? And that's the other thing, my comedy, that's how I was able to do 15 minutes. It's all very improvisational when you see me. I mean, I know I'm gonna talk about something and then I just start talking.
Starting point is 00:07:10 And so that was how I got to 15 minutes. It wasn't like I even had material that I was planning on doing. I just knew I was gonna talk about this, this, this, and that, that's how it went. So at a comedy club, it'd just be me dealing with the insults and it's like, can I, I'd like to do a set.
Starting point is 00:07:26 So I found that if I went to the queer bars and the cabaret kind of houses, that'd be great. Then I went to, what happened was I came to New York City and I did a set at Don't Tell Mamas and a woman who owned a nightclub in Provincetown, Massachusetts, was in the house and she walked up and she said, "'We don't really have any lesbians.'" In P-Town, no shit. Well, we didn't. We didn't, we didn't then.
Starting point is 00:07:53 Now there's a ton. Back then, she goes, "'We don't have any real, "'there aren't really a lot of lesbians.'" There were actually a lot of lesbians who went there. There were just no lesbian performers. But I don't know if it'll work. You wanna come try it. So I don't know if it'll work. You want to come try
Starting point is 00:08:05 it. So I came and the first show I had, there were two people in my audience, right? It's like, fuck it. We're just, we're going to work this out. So those two people told their friends. And then by honestly, after a couple of weeks, I was selling out every show, a hundredkes and n****s are coming to my show. Every show. And everybody at that time, so we're talking 1982, right? So that was the place that everybody went for, if you were queer, you went to Provincetown. So that really made me kind of a household name with queers in Canada and America and that's when I was really touring. I went on a major tour and then it was 93 that I did the Arsenio Hall show. The first openly gay comic to do late night. Yeah well actually television
Starting point is 00:08:56 period in America. We pushed the late night because it's more prestigious. It just is. But the reality was is that I was the first openly gay comic on television in America. And then once I did that, that set me on the road all over the world, every English speaking country in the world. Yeah. And so that happened. You know, what? Not to ask you a what was it? How was it back then question? But I am going to. Oh, please do. You you know, being gay is such a huge, I don't think about it much, it's just my, it's just what I talk about up there.
Starting point is 00:09:28 Yeah, you bitches, you bitches. I knew it. You should fuck you and get down in your hands and kiss our fucking feet. I knew it. For what we've given you, you fucking assholes. Here she goes. Just once, I'd like you to get a little bit
Starting point is 00:09:41 of the discrimination that I had to fucking deal with. You climbed uphill both ways in the snow. Yeah, motherfucker, but I did. I know you did. You fucking, I didn't even start this shit. They have like gay clubs in high school, you know. I had a club in high school for lesbians, it was P.E. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha You got arrested you got arrested for open notorious homosexuality in my home state, Missouri and in Illinois What the hell does that mean? So what happened? You were just lesbian in public?
Starting point is 00:10:13 In Illinois I got busted for I was holding a girl's hand You criminal In Missouri I was doing a whole lot more than holding her hand What they walked in on you eating pussy? What's going on? We were by a lake, that's all I'm going to say. Where in Missouri was this? Columbia.
Starting point is 00:10:36 Oh, come on. You were allowed to be gay over there now. Oh, it's Stevens College? Yeah. OK, so here's the skinny. I'm not Stevens College. No, here's the skinny. Here's the skinny. So my not Stevens College, come on. Here's the skinny, here's the skinny.
Starting point is 00:10:45 So my best friend went to Stevens College, right? I did not go to college. Well, you went for five minutes, right? I went for five minutes and left. It was boring, it was too boring for me. So what I would do is I would go visit her basically every weekend. So I basically was a student at Stevens College. I mean, if you are what you eat, I was a student at Stevens College.
Starting point is 00:11:11 Yeah, I bet you were real popular at Stevens College. I gobbled those girls down, man. It was so much fun, which is why I was there every weekend, every weekend to visit my my best friend and she never saw me, I just dropped the suitcase. See ya Sunday night! Good lord. So you got arrested in Columbia. Did they take you to jail? Yeah, I was bailed out the next morning.
Starting point is 00:11:38 It was not a crime that I got a major fine for, I didn't have to go in front of a judge or anything like that. Did you at least get a cool mugshot out of it? I hope so I assume so. God don't remember. We got to find it. We tried to find the record we tried to find some of these records and these records are so old that a lot of no ones and the one that happened in Illinois the it burnt down like the courthouse where all these records were burnt down. Jesus.
Starting point is 00:12:06 So that was gone. That one's out of there, yeah. Yeah, that was gone. Good Lord. Did the other girl get arrested? Oh yeah, we were both arrested. Oh nice, okay, that's fair. We were both arrested.
Starting point is 00:12:14 We got... They put us in separate cells though, like they thought, what am I going to continue eating her pussy in prison? We got to put us in separate cells. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was smart of them. Yeah, fucking ridiculous. That is so funny. Well, I have been a huge fan of yours for such a long time,
Starting point is 00:12:33 but I knew you before Orange is the New Black, but Orange is the New Black was where I really spent a lot of time watching you. Yeah, that's when everything exploded. I've had, like I said, I've had three feeding frenzies in my life The first one was our Senio and the second one was on the town That was when the whole Broadway world opened up for me
Starting point is 00:12:51 and I became that I was the toast of New York for a while and then Orange is a new black which and I you know, I've been moderately famous my entire life I've always said for me. It was a long climb to the middle. Yeah. Right? You know? And then Orange is a New Black. Explosion. Yeah. So I can't, yeah, I can't go anywhere without getting my picture taken a thousand times. Did you ever imagine when you were growing up in Belleville were you like yeah I'm gonna be a big famous comedian someday? Yes I did. I knew it. I knew it. Not a comedian, but I always want but I'm doing what I wanted to do my whole life, was to perform.
Starting point is 00:13:28 In whatever way that may be. It just so happens that comedy took me there. Yeah. You know, so great. So after Arsenio, you start kind of this, that's Arsenio's 93. Yeah. And you start touring around all over the place.
Starting point is 00:13:39 All over the place. I did like the Edinburgh Festival and won Best of the Fest. And then they have another festival in Wellington, New Zealand. I won Best of the Fest there. I did a big tour of Australia. I've been to Australia a bunch of times and do the five cities. And England, and I actually did live in England for about a decade. I had a place in England and a place in New York. I was going back and forth constantly. You were in London? In London, just outside of London, and a place in England and a place in New York. I was going back and forth constantly. You were in London or where?
Starting point is 00:14:05 In London, just outside of London, and a place called Northwood, which is west of Wembley. Most people know it because it's next to Pinner, where Elton John was born. But I like Pinner because there's a pub there called the Queen's Head, and it has different ales every Friday. So I was there usually every Friday
Starting point is 00:14:24 trying one of the new ales. Nice. Why'd you stop doing that? Why'd you stop the back and forth? Well, first, because my girlfriend and I split up. So she lives in the house that we own together. And God bless her. Enjoy her life.
Starting point is 00:14:39 You know, we're dykes, so we're friends. Yeah, of course. Talking on the phone every day, sitting flowers. It's culturally a lesbian thing. You know the phone every day, sitting flowers. It's culturally a lesbian thing, you know, you keep your exes around. That way you can borrow a backpack in any color to go with any outfit. It's funny how those things, nothing has changed. Every lesbian I know, fucking 20 year old lesbians, 70 year old lesbians, some of those things are just like, that's how it is with y'all. Y'all are over there being friends with your exes
Starting point is 00:15:07 in a crazy way. I know, I had this young guy come up, we were going into the cubby hole, and she started to go in and then she turned around and she goes, I can't go in there. And I said, why? And she said, my ex is in there. And I went, bitch, let me know when 10 of them are in there.
Starting point is 00:15:22 And I walked in, I was like, you gotta be kidding me. One X is in there? Jesus. Level up, Rookie, that's crazy. Crazy, come on, let's go now. Yeah, I have that conversation with, I've always been the bad girl dyke comedy. I think everybody knows that.
Starting point is 00:15:39 I've always been kind of the badass. Kate Clinton was always the good girl. Kate and I are really good friends, by the way. So I've always said, Kate, why don't you please just just be like you are off stage, on stage once. Just do it once, just be mean once. But we, Kate had a party and it was all these like dyke performers that were there.
Starting point is 00:16:01 And they started talking about how many times they'd had sex with how many different people. And my head was exploding, because they were like, oh, I think I've had sex with six women. What? I've had sex with more than six women in two hours. Are you kidding me?
Starting point is 00:16:22 I know, and then Kate, because I guess I must've been making quite a face, because Kate looked at me and she said, it's in the thousands, isn't it, Leah? And I went, yeah, Kate, it is. It's like. And you were dodging the cops while you were doing it. That's nuts.
Starting point is 00:16:36 Right, thank you. Yeah, we gotta put some respect on your name, I understand. I'm gonna start spreading the word. Leah was really about it. That is so funny. So you were, okay, when help me understand the timeline. You're in San Francisco in the 80s. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:49 And then how long do you stay there? And then where do you go? Well, once I started doing Provincetown, let's see, we were we were kind of we were in San Francisco, we went to Provincetown to do the gig there. Then we kind of said we liked New York so we were we were in New York for a minute and doing Provincetown and then the my comedy partner was actually my girlfriend we split up so she went back to San Francisco and I basically did Provincetown Boston.
Starting point is 00:17:22 Gotcha. Yeah but only for a couple years cause 93 was when I went to LA after Arsenio, I was in LA. Yeah. Fucking hated it. And I'm just very East Coast. Yeah, far too East Coast for LA. I just, you know, drives me fucking crazy. What about it?
Starting point is 00:17:39 A lot of white people with dreadlocks. Yeah. I just, you know. I think they've all moved north now, you might be safe these days. Yeah, I might be a little safer. They're in Seattle and Portland now. I don, you know. I think they've all moved north now. You might be safe these days. Yeah, I might be a little safer. We're in Seattle and Portland now. I don't know, it's just a little, also, I'm just,
Starting point is 00:17:50 I don't have, I remember going into the New York bagel place that's there on Santa Monica Boulevard. What was it? I think it was literally called New York Bagels. Wasn't that the name of it? I don't know. It was a bagel joint, and I went in there and I was kind of in a hurry and I went,
Starting point is 00:18:05 I went, eh, eh, duh, duh, duh. And the guy by the counter was like, it looks like such a nice day today. It looks so nice out. Is it nice out? It looks really nice. And you go make that fucking bagel. And I basically, put that fucking bagel in a bag!
Starting point is 00:18:21 God! You know, so. No time for politeness. I just, yeah, I'm not, that's what I mean. I fit in here so much better. You know, it's, and I'm kind and nice to people. A lot of people think I'm not, which is interesting if you talk to me for more than a couple of minutes. You know, I'm actually a pretty decent person and a nice person.
Starting point is 00:18:41 I'm not mean unless you deserve it. And if you deserve it, I'll come at you so fast. Yeah, I know. I can feel it. Yeah. I'm scared of you. You can't be afraid of you. No, I'm not. You can't be afraid of me. I'm not. But no, I just want you on my team. I want you on my side. If something, if some shit goes down and you're in the room, I go, please let me let her be on my side. Oh hell yes. Yeah. I don't want to be. I don't want to be on your side. I, hell yes. Yeah, I don't wanna be, I don't wanna be- I'm already on your side. I don't wanna be against you. Cause you're a bear, right? Sure, why not?
Starting point is 00:19:06 I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. Sure, why not? Because, you know, I just always say I'm bear adjacent. I mean, if I was a, I'd be a bear because, you know, all they wanna do is eat, fuck, and laugh. And that's just my life right there.
Starting point is 00:19:22 Wait, that is what I wanted to do. Wait, hold on. You're a bear. You're a bear. Wait, hold on. You are a bear. Hold on. Were you hanging out with a lot of gay guys in San Francisco? Always, yeah.
Starting point is 00:19:31 My best friends are still all gay guys. Yeah, are they all here? No, no. Well, I think famously people know that Jesse Tyler Ferguson is my best friend. And yeah, and he and Justin, and I have a ton of gay boyfriends like here in the city that I hang out with.
Starting point is 00:19:46 All the boys at Titanic are gay, every stinkin' one of them. Oh my god, I just outed Andrew Keenan Boulder. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um.
Starting point is 00:19:56 Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um.
Starting point is 00:20:03 Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. Um. at a game night for Dan Levy's birthday last year. There was like, you know, maybe eight of us. And I, God, it was so humiliating. I misunderstood. We had played a game where, maybe it wasn't quite charades, but we had played a game where you say out loud
Starting point is 00:20:17 what the thing was and then someone else acts it out. Basically, there was a part of the game where you say out loud the clue. What? Celebrity? Maybe? There are three rounds and the same clues. Yeah. Celebrity.
Starting point is 00:20:28 Okay, so there's one where you're supposed to say it and one where you're not supposed to say it. Yeah. Well, I thought I was doing the say it round when I was actually supposed to be doing the quiet round. And I got up in front of everybody and I so confidently just yelled out the thing. And everyone in silence is like, and I ruined the game, of course. And everyone in silence.
Starting point is 00:20:43 And then Dan just goes, honey, that's not this round. And my reaction was to sprint out of the room. I sprinted to the kitchen, and then of course everyone's laughing at me, and that was the first time I had hung out with Jesse. So Jesse, if you're watching, please don't think less of me. It was humiliating. It was humiliating.
Starting point is 00:21:02 Trust, I can tell you stories that would humiliate the fuck out of Jesse. Oh, tell can tell you stories that would humiliate the fuck out of Jesse. Oh, tell one. Come on, tell one. What's it going to hurt? This is a real, this is a reader's digest. I, again, used to live with Jesse.
Starting point is 00:21:19 When I had my place in England, before I got my apartment here, I was in England a lot of the time. So whenever I had to come to New York to do a play, to do a reading, to shoot a television show, whatever it was, I stayed with Jessie. So it was Jessie, me and Montego Glover, who's a pretty well-known Broadway actress. We all lived together and that was a time.
Starting point is 00:21:43 So I was coming to town because I was doing a reading of a new musical called Drowzee's Chaperone and Jesse met me for lunch. He was in Spelling Bee at the time. So, was it Spelling Bee, Jesse? Yeah, he was in Spelling Bee. So he, sorry, he meets me for lunch,
Starting point is 00:22:02 we're sitting there, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and he's like, okay, I've got to go, and I was like, I've got to go to rehearsal, and I stand up and immediately fall to the ground. I had wrenched my back picking up my suitcase. What happened was I was very, I'm always very careful about that because my back isn't great, but it was one of those moments where somebody went, oh my God, you're lethally area. As I was picking up my suitcase, it distracted me and I went, oh, that hurt. But it was fine. I sat in the car, I went there, blah, blah, blah. Stood up from lunch, fell to my knees. Jesse had to take me to the emergency room because I mean, I could not move.
Starting point is 00:22:37 He goes, okay, I don't have to be at the theater for a couple hours, so let's get you to the emergency room. He gets me to the emergency room and they're like, we need you to pee in a bottle. Pee in a cup, and I was like, I can't bend over. Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Bless his heart. My gay, gay, gay, gay boyfriend. Held a fucking cup. While I peed in it. While you pissed in it?
Starting point is 00:23:06 No! While I pissed in it. Jesse was like, if you piss on my hand. Did you? No, of course not! And while it was happening it was Jesse, please don't make me laugh.
Starting point is 00:23:22 It hurts so bad to laugh. So we're like, and we're laughing. So then we come back and we come back, we're waiting. I'm like in this room waiting. And the doctor comes in and goes, I'm really sorry. You're gonna have to do that again. Something happened and I had to do it again. So poor Jesse had to do it twice.
Starting point is 00:23:42 No. Wait. Oh my God. So he comes back, he comes back after doing Spelling Bee, at this point I'd done all the things that I was supposed to do, and they told me that I strained my back and basically gave me Tylenol. They just gave me Tylenol.
Starting point is 00:23:59 Well, it's like no shit, that's why I'm here. I know I strained it. I strained my back. Yeah, of course. I'm like, I'm having muscle spasms. Just take this tile and I'll go to sleep and you'll be fine. So I'm in... So I'm in Jesse's bedroom, in his bed.
Starting point is 00:24:14 Jesse is on a futon that when I stay there, I would stay in his bed. He would stay on the futon and I have to pee. By the way, I sleep naked. So, oh, this is important. I sleep naked. I always sleep naked. Oh, I have to pee. By the way, I sleep naked. So, oh, this is important. I sleep naked. I always sleep naked. Oh, I have to pee.
Starting point is 00:24:29 I kind of pull that and I can't get up. No, I can't get up. It's bad. So I went, Jesse. And he goes, what? And I was like, I really have to pee and I honest to God cannot get up. And he goes, okay.
Starting point is 00:24:44 So he comes over and Jesse weighed 30 pounds soaking wet at that time when he was a zygote little guy he was really skinny little guy may never so he's trying to pull me up it's not working and I'm naked and I'm and I'm like screaming and he goes, what should I do? And I said, I think we have to call 911. So yes, we have to call 911. So he calls 911 and I'm laying there in bed
Starting point is 00:25:15 and he's like running around. He's like putting on clothes. He's fixing his hair. I'm like, what are you fucking doing? He goes, Leah, firemen are going. The whole thing, yes, two big firemen come in and they're like, I'm naked. Jesse's in a French maid costume.
Starting point is 00:25:54 Yeah, basically. He's like, she's in there, boys. I mean, so funny. So they're like, they, firemen are able to get me up. But I really, again, I really have to pee. So Jesse has to help me into the bathroom to help me pee because I can't get myself down. And then he has to dress me.
Starting point is 00:26:18 And then they put me on a gurney and they take me to the next hospital where once again, I'm asked to pee in a car. Stop it. So now this is the fourth asked to pee in a cup. Stop it. So now this is the fourth time that Jesse has had to deal with urination for me. Do they not have nurses in these fucking hospitals? Well, that was what I'm like, somebody, I can't do this. Somebody has to do it.
Starting point is 00:26:38 And they looked at him and said, can you do it? It's like they didn't have a nurse or something. Do we have a fucking LPN in this hospital? Good Lord. Fucking crazy, right? So we go through the whole thing and the doctor says, you were horribly misdiagnosed. You have sprained your back.
Starting point is 00:26:53 It is bad. You'll have to sleep sitting up. These are the pills you're gonna have to take. I had to leave. I couldn't do drowsy chaperone. I didn't even make it to the first fucking rehearsal. I had to like, I'm out of drowsy chaperone. I didn't even make it to the first fucking rehearsal. I had to like, I'm out of drowsy chaperone. I can't move.
Starting point is 00:27:08 Jesse's now sleeping in his bed. I'm in the chair, the futon that he was in because I have to sleep like sitting up and everything. Like all this is happening. And just before we leave the hospital, I say, why did I have to pee in a cup so many times? And they said, because you were getting X-rays
Starting point is 00:27:30 and we need to make sure that you weren't pregnant. I could have solved that problem for you. Well, what I said was, honey, honey, if I'm pregnant, I'm changing my name to Mary and taking to riding donkeys is what I said. Jesse almost peed his pants. He was so pissed about the at first. Then when I said that, Jesse almost peed his pants. Meanwhile, this is the this was the day he went in that very fucking day. He was going in for the class. He was auditioning for the class that day.
Starting point is 00:28:06 And like he, instead of he being, getting his sleep or whatever, he stayed up with me all night. He went and he got just did the audition and got the part as we all know. But the best part is we get home, we're going like Jesse's, we've got the medication. He gets me in the chair he
Starting point is 00:28:25 puts up the Montego wakes up with a little eye mask on walks in her little baby doll pajamas which is another reason why I love staying at that apartment. Montego walks in with her little baby doll pajamas on her little eye mask and she's like this, oh how are you guys? What did you sleep well? There was a fucking ambulance out front there were firemen in here I was screaming like I was being murdered by an axe murderer and you slept She goes there were not firemen in here She slept through the whole fucking thing nuts right that is completely insane crazy story And you know what?
Starting point is 00:29:05 Jesse doesn't come out looking so bad and all that. He looks like a really good friend. Oh, he's one of the best friends I ever had in my life. But knowing that he held your piss cup is a little embarrassing for sure. Oh, absolutely. More than once. Yeah, multiple of your piss cups.
Starting point is 00:29:18 And got me dressed. Yeah. And put me on his toilet, I mean, while he was fixing his hair because the firemen were coming. I love that so much. Oh, so funny. But that was, it was like when we went,
Starting point is 00:29:29 Leah, firemen are coming. It was like, please wait. It hurts so bad. It hurts so bad. Oh, that is so funny. I can picture the two of you. Y'all know how much I love a comfy couch or a comfy chair. Having the right furniture is a key ingredient to turning a house
Starting point is 00:29:46 into a home. So I want to talk to you about my friends at Cozy, whose motto is everyday home furnishings made easy. Cozy is built for real life. Their pieces are modern, adaptable, and worry-free, and they're designed to make your day-to-day feel a little lighter just like me, with functional innovation at every step and if you're like me and can barely assemble a house of cards let alone a coffee table don't worry Cozy provides easy assembly easy mix and match and versatile multi-functional style that adapts to you. Cozy helps you open up new home possibilities furniture shopping should be an exciting experience Cozy helps make the whole process from shopping to purchasing to set up an absolute breeze.
Starting point is 00:30:27 Cozy is dedicated to the idea of easy everything and offers modular design options so your furniture can change with each season that life brings you. Mix and match different styles and colors, swap out the old and add in the new with stylish selections and design assistance to help you as you explore new options on your personal interior design journey, transform your living space today with cozy visit cozy.com that's C O Z E Y.com the home of possibilities made easy. Okay. We are back and better than ever with our friends at Alma. Today's episode is brought to you by Alma, a regular advertiser here on our program. We love and respect y'all. Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high quality, affordable
Starting point is 00:31:09 mental health care. Alma has built a community of over 20,000 diverse therapists, therapists on the platform offer both in person and virtual care. While online tools and resources can be a useful starting point or supplement, human relationships are an irreplaceable part of mental health care. Alma can help you find someone who will work with you on your specific needs and goals and support you in making real progress and improving your mental health. Alma also makes things real simple to find a therapist. Some people turn to impersonal online resources like forums or chat bots because they think finding a therapist is expensive and difficult. The directory makes it easy to find therapists that take your insurance and meet your unique needs
Starting point is 00:31:47 with filters like gender, race, therapeutic approach, and more. Know the cost of your sessions upfront using Alma's cost estimator tool at Alma. 97% of therapists except insurance, including United, Etna, Cigna, and more. Some of my favorite brands in the healthcare space for real y'all better with people better with Alma. Visit hello Alma.com slash. So true to get started and schedule a free consultation today. That's hello. Al ma.com slash S O T R U E. Thank you guys. The you high. It makes sense. You hang out with gay guys because you have one of my favorite jokes of all time. I don't know the lot of lesbians listen to the show and I don't know how many of them are familiar with this fact, but you have one of my favorite jokes of all time. I don't know, a lot of lesbians listen to this show and I don't know how many of them are familiar with this fact, but you have one of my favorite jokes of all time, which is
Starting point is 00:32:27 what does a lesbian bring to a second date? A U-Haul. And then the follow-up, what does a gay guy bring to a second date? What second date? Yeah. I mean, that is so fucking funny. And you originated the fucking U-Haul joke. That is, yeah, I wrote the U-Haul joke and we keep trying to get U-Haul to hire me to be the face of U-Haul. Just you like this on the side of every U-Haul truck. They will, you know, just let me do a U-Haul commercial. Let's do it. I can do it on my Instagram. I've got like well over a million followers. Let's do a U-Haul commercial. Come on, you all. Let's do it. Just for gay pride. Let's do it you all commercial. Come on you all, let's do it. Just for gay pride, let's do it for gay pride.
Starting point is 00:33:07 Just pop up in the back, a bunch of lesbians run out. It'll be fun. Oh my God, so funny. But yeah, that's a joke. It's like, fuck me, I wish when you wrote a joke you got residuals, that's all I'm gonna say. I wish they sent you a check in the mail every once in a while.
Starting point is 00:33:21 Well the oranges knew black residuals have to be pretty good, no? Are they not? You know we went on strike over this, right? They're not sending you good residuals for that show? They never did. Shut up. Oh my god, this was so famously a part of the strike.
Starting point is 00:33:36 I'm so surprised you don't know this, Kayla. I know the residuals, but I just assumed a show as big as y'all's that y'all were getting something. No, no, no. When Orange is the New Black started, we started filming in 2012. Nobody knew what this was going to be. We all knew it was the future, but we didn't know how it was going to look. So basically, Netflix used us, and all the other streaming services, then handed it over to all the other streaming services as a template on how to fucking screw the actors so that so that the streaming service and the company that they and the men who are the presidents and blah blah blah got all the money
Starting point is 00:34:15 from these shows we got doodly squad we were told that we weren't eligible for residuals that they weren't necessary under a side contract. Because like the new media shit. Because it was a new media. Yeah. Yeah. So- I mean, I knew we were all getting fucked. I just thought that maybe y'all got in before that or something.
Starting point is 00:34:35 No, and then- No, you were the original getting fucked. We were the original getting fucked. Geez. We literally, that was- Because I assure you that Robin Wright and those guys were getting paid. Yeah. And they were getting their residuals, but we weren't. It was like a show that was women, and that's also part of it. And a lot of non-white women.
Starting point is 00:34:56 Yeah. Also part of it. So, yeah, they used that, and then they shared it. And a lot of other, that's why we struck. And it was over the residuals of streaming services. That's one of the major reasons why we struck. Yeah, and I knew that, but I guess I just thought, I mean, I thought maybe that that was something
Starting point is 00:35:13 that had changed, because I think about like, you know. $24.27 was my last residual check from Orange. Jesus Christ, that is nuts. And it's still watched by over 200 million people in 190 countries. Yeah that's fucking nuts. And some people who don't who are not actors or don't work in the business might understand how might not understand how crazy that is but if that had been a network show in 2010 or 2009 or whatever you'd be buying fucking multiple properties off just the residual checks. Absolutely. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:35:42 As Jesse can attest. Yeah, no shit. Because his show was a network show and mine was streaming. Yeah. And it's just that we talk about it all the time. They really fucked us over. And you know, you have a thing is if you're in this business, you get it. I just got to hit show.
Starting point is 00:36:00 Yeah. I'm never going to have to worry about money again. I never have to worry about work again. I'm never going to have to... A lot of people who were on Orange now have day jobs. Lots. Yeah. I mean this this is why so many of us do this now. It's like I was in writers rooms. Writers rooms don't really pay anymore. This is the shit that pays now. It's like we have to go make our own thing.
Starting point is 00:36:21 Yeah. I always feel that the writers and the actors get screwed more than anybody else in our industry. Yeah, it's horrible. That's why when the writers went on strike, I walked the picket line with the writers. We hadn't gone out on strike yet. Yeah, but I was very vocal about we need to join the writers on this strike. Yeah, and I was out there with the writers. I have a ton of, yeah, tons of friends who are television writers, so out there walking with them. Yeah. Yeah. And then are ton of, yeah, tons of friends who are television writers, so out there walking with them. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:46 And then are you spending more time, I mean you're doing Titanic right now. Yes. Which is so fun. And then I'm also working on my, I'm working on my tour for the Outrage Tour, I'm calling it. So Titanic's done and we're starting to book that so the rest of this year is gonna be me Doing that and then I had a hysterectomy last summer a full hysterectomy, and I'm writing I'm kind of Writing a show about it. Yeah, is that is that the outrage tour? Is that no outrage is about what the fuck is going on in our country right now?
Starting point is 00:37:21 That's going on, but while I'm doing the outrage tour I'm putting together this special that I in my mind is gonna be probably an off-broadway musical called Leia de la Ria is hysterical. Yeah. So Outrage, is it gonna be an hour of stand-up? Is that the... It's an hour? Yeah, but you know, I do music too. So that when I do a show, it's always everything I do combined. So yeah it's gonna be it's music and it's comedy and it's yeah fun. Great. So when is that gonna start? I think well I just I actually did it in San Francisco in
Starting point is 00:37:59 January like that was the first one and I then went, okay, so I fix this, I fix this, I fix this. You know, that's what I do. And then I did it in Florida. When was that? March, I guess March. Sorry, I had COVID, just in case anybody wants to know. I had COVID really fucking badly. So I'm still dealing with COVID brain. I've actually got long COVID now.
Starting point is 00:38:22 I can't believe it or not. I can't taste a goddamn thing No way you're looking at me. It's going Leah's lost a lot of weight. Leah has lost a lot of weight because I'm not eating I have no appetite. I can't remember things. Yeah, so I'm being sent to a long COVID specialist Luckily, it hasn't affected me in the show much Yeah, and it hasn't affected me as a stand-up on stage at all. Yeah, but as a human talking to you I can't put two fucking sentences together. You're like, March, was it March? What was it?
Starting point is 00:38:49 Yeah, and I did it there in March. And I'm booked in Provincetown in August. And yeah, that's like the first major booking. And then we're gonna shoot from there and go to a bunch of other places. Yeah, you brought up weight loss, and I wanted to ask you, and we can absolutely cut this if you
Starting point is 00:39:06 don't want to talk about it. I don't give a fuck. I figured you didn't. But you were fat for a very long time in the industry. And it is a nightmare to be fat in the industry presently. But I'm wondering if you've seen a I'm still fat in the industry. Yeah, well, most thin people are fat in the industry.
Starting point is 00:39:23 I mean, everyone's fat in the industry. No one's allowed to be really, truly thin but what have you seen any shift in that or what was it? Like when you were starting out or just like yeah, what's that been like? Well, you know, I the thing Yeah, there hasn't I'm gonna just say there's not a lot of shift, you know what I mean? Yeah, I think exactly what we just said points points to it That I'm always gonna be the, I'm a fat chick. Even though I would say that I'm more chubby than fat now, but you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:39:51 There doesn't seem to be any about it. Like my fiance is stunning. And she went to LA, I would have, see if we had known each other then, I would have said, no, no, no, no, no, no, stay in New York, get some credits, then go to LA. But she went to LA, she's absolutely fucking stunning, and she had a meet with the agent,
Starting point is 00:40:12 and the agent was like, you need to lose 20 pounds. I think she weighed, at that time, 121 pounds. Jesus. You know, and she's about a half an inch taller than me. Why would she have to lose? And she's womanly, you know, she has, yeah, Dahlia, I'm talking about you. She's got tits and ass, you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:40:34 Because I love women and I don't want, if she lost 20 pounds, I'd be with a fucking teenage boy. I don't know, what the fuck? You know, let's have the tits and ass please. And so yeah, the industry I don't think has changed at all. There was a minute there where Lizzo kind of did some stuff. You know what I mean? But now especially with the weight loss drugs
Starting point is 00:40:57 and all that shit. And you know, FYI, I take Ozempic because I'm a diabetic. You bitches that are taking it to lose weight are making it impossible for me to get Ozempic without which I will die. Yeah. Well, but if they don't lose 20 pounds for swimsuit season, they might die.
Starting point is 00:41:17 Exactly. You have to be considerate of that. You know what? If I don't get my Ozempic, I will fucking kill them before Swim Season even fucking starts. Hey, life doesn't happen bi-weekly, so why should payday? The money you earn can be in your hands today with Earnin'.
Starting point is 00:41:34 Earnin' is an app that gives you access to your pay as you work, up to $150 per day with a max of $750 between paydays. Just download the Earnin' app, verify your paycheck, then access up to $150 a day as you work and leave an optional tip. Any money you access plus tips are automatically repaid from your next paycheck. Anytime I get a little extra money I wasn't expecting to have I always try and treat myself with like a fun dinner
Starting point is 00:41:53 with a friend or stopping by my favorite store and snatching up that new shirt I've had my eye on. Hey, earning can make moments like that possible for you maybe make earning a part of your financial routine and join earnings over 4 million customers who say things like, when I think about earning, I think about financial stability, security. It gives me a lot of peace of mind. Download earning today spelled E a R N I N in the Google app, Google play or Apple app store. When you download the earning app type in so true with Caleb Heron under podcast, when you sign
Starting point is 00:42:21 up, it'll really help our show. So true with Caleb Heron under podcast. When you sign up, it'll really help our show. So true with Caleb Heron under podcasts. Earning is a financial technology company, not a bank cash outs are based on your available earnings. Standard cash outs take one to two business days with no mandatory fees option to expedite your transfer for a fee. Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service. See the cash out user agreement for details and read that user agreement. I would say everybody probably service is not available in all States. Okay. Earning. Thank you for advertising with us earning what's up everybody. It's me Caleb and we just want to shout out our advertiser Hems. Thank you guys so much for advertising on the show. It means the world to us and
Starting point is 00:42:56 we are so brand loyal to you. If anything ever happens with my junk and getting hard and whatnot y'all know I'm coming to him's folks. I'm going to be honest with you. If he is getting you down, you need HIMS to help get your confidence and other things back up. HIMS provides access to treatments that can help you stay hard and last longer so you can be ready whenever the mood strikes. HIMS is changing the healthcare industry
Starting point is 00:43:16 by providing you with access to affordable sexual health treatments from the comfort of your couch. Don't bother with a pesky doctor. HIMS provides access to a range of doctor-trusted ED treatments like chewable hard mints and Viagra and Cialis and their generics for up to 95% cheaper. The process is 100% online, so there's no need for uncomfortable doctor's visits. I hate going to the doctor and telling them about my junk. My thing- my thing-aling.
Starting point is 00:43:40 Just answer a series of questions on their site and a medical provider will determine the right treatment option. It prescribed your medication ships directly to you for free. No insurance is needed and one low price covers everything from treatments to ongoing care with hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. Hems can help you find the ED option that works for you. Start your free online visit today at hems.com slash so true. That's h i m s dot com slash so true for your personalized ED treatment options. Hems dotcom slash so true. That's H-I-M-S dot com slash so true for your personalized ED treatment options. Hims.com slash so true.
Starting point is 00:44:09 The featured products include compounded products which are not approved nor verified for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA. Prescription requires the website for details, restrictions, and important safety information. Price varies based on product and subscription plan. Oh my God, I killed that. It's not getting any better.
Starting point is 00:44:22 Yeah, that's what I suspected, but I was like maybe I don't know something, but yeah, it's not a lot of fun. No, no, no, no, it's not it's not getting any better. It's yeah, it's that's what I suspected, but I was like, maybe I don't know something but yeah No, no, no, it's not it's it's when I started to lose weight when I was I was shooting orange and So this is the opposite I started to lose weight because I was diagnosed as a diabetic Because the medication that they put me on did help you. It just was a side effect. At the time, nobody knew it because I was actually a part of the study that came up. I was one of the 1,000 people that was in the study
Starting point is 00:44:53 that gave us Wigovia and Ozempic and those things, right? So I was taking Victoza at the time, which was another, you know, that same thing. I changed my eating habits. My mother was a diabetic and I didn't want, you know, I was like, I'd like to stick around. Life is really good right now. So I'll change my eating habits. And then the last piece of the puzzle is the Metformin
Starting point is 00:45:16 that diabetics take, Metformin, which has what I call the Willy Wonka effect, so named after the chocolate waterfall. So, so the three, those medications and me changing my eating habits, I was dropping weight really quickly. And for that season, they actually had to put me in kind of a fat suit for one particular episode. But they called me at the producers and they went,
Starting point is 00:45:41 you know, you're playing a character called Big Boo. I was like, well, you know, there's nothing we could do about this guys. You know, well, I'll just still be Big Boo. And that's why they added the first episode of the next season where my character said that she got a parasite in the lake. And that's how they explained that I had lost all that weight. Because, because I got a parasite in the lake Also fun to imagine Hollywood producers asking you to stay fat. I'd love to have that I was they were like is there any way we can slow it down? It was like I I don't know I don't know what to tell you
Starting point is 00:46:13 This is I mean they were very sympathetic about it, but it was like it was a becoming incredibly apparent on camera Yeah, what season was that? Well, let's see season two is when we were in the lake. So yeah, so season two season three Yeah, season three is when I just kind of went holy shit. Yeah Yeah, I was one of my better ad-libs on this show cuz that Nick who wrote the episode I said something about the parasite and had y'all who was my roommate and, and also my really good friend just as a human, said, oh, I wish maybe I can get one of those, and I turned ad libbed.
Starting point is 00:46:50 Why are you tired of sticking your toothbrush down your throat? Oh! And Nick came out, and he goes, okay, we're gonna shoot that again. Leah say that every time. And I was just like... I love that. We asked people on this show, I don't know if they told you,
Starting point is 00:47:12 but we always ask people what's so true to you. That pineapple does not fucking belong on pizza. You really are so strong on that. I'm really fucking strong on that. You're gonna tell me you haven't had pineapple on a pizza and ever enjoyed it. I'm gonna tell you that if I saw a pineapple pizza, I would pick it up and throw it out a window
Starting point is 00:47:27 before I'd let anyone eat it. Leah. I fucking hate it. It's disgusting, pineapple does not belong on fucking, okay, pizza's Italian, pineapple is Hawaiian. There aren't pineapples in Italy. It's frankenfucking food. There's frankenfood, frankenfood, frankenfood.
Starting point is 00:47:46 People that do this fucking duck breast and pesto on pizza. Are you fucking kidding me? You don't like a fusion? No, it's frankenfood. I think I'm making that clear. You're being very clear. I'm being very clear and I love food. I fucking love food, but I am very strict
Starting point is 00:48:07 about the way food works. I don't drink iced coffee. Coffee is meant to be drunk hot. You have lost the goddamn plot, Leah. You've come into the wrong room. I have not lost the goddamn plot. You have come into the wrong room. I'll tell you what, you bring a pizza with pineapple on it
Starting point is 00:48:23 and you sit it right here and see what happens. You don't drink an ice latte ever? No, I don't drink a fucking ice latte. I will have a Coke Zero. Okay, you're real as fuck for that. But an ice latte, you're friends with so many gay guys and you're telling me you're out here being anti-ice latte? I also don't suck dick.
Starting point is 00:48:41 Come on. I'm friends with so many gay guys that I suck dick. What? Come on. Don't be fucking ridiculous. And iced latte is a delicious treat on a hot day. You're mad at me. Come on. Computer says no. We finally got Leah to go on the record that you don't suck dick. People were wondering. I know they that was a hardcore wonder there for people. That was a big question mark for people. Yeah, yeah. Wow, that's so funny. About Leah's bisexuality.
Starting point is 00:49:10 The bisexuality allegations, you've been up against them for years and today, Hanso True, we're beating them right now. Wait, what was I gonna ask you? Oh, I was gonna do, we have a segment for you. We do this game, it's a true-false game. It's, basically I'm gonna read you 15 statements. We do this game, it's a true false game. Okay. It's, basically I'm gonna read you 15 statements.
Starting point is 00:49:27 Okay. You're gonna tell me as quickly as you can if you think what I said is true or false. Okay. If you get 10 or more correct, we're gonna give you 50 US dollars. This is the game. 50 bucks, that's a big cab ride to nowhere.
Starting point is 00:49:38 I feel like these are impossible questions, but go ahead. No, no, no, we'll see. Okay. Oh, I'm no, we'll see. Okay. Oh, I'm looking at the wrong page. I was like, that's just a fact about Leah. Okay. Okay. Here we go. Pink Floyd only won one Grammy Award.
Starting point is 00:49:56 True. That is true. Sharks do not have bones. That is true. That is true. Tums, you're killing it. Tums were invented in 1989. What? Tums the shoe? T? Tums. Oh, Tums. Tummy medicine, yeah. True. False. 1930.
Starting point is 00:50:13 Whitney Houston was an avid Dungeons and Dragons player. That's false. That is false. That is the stupidest question I've ever been asked. The letter Z does not appear in any U.S. state name. True. False. Arizona. The letter Z does not appear in any US state name true false, Arizona People do and for good reason I can believe it an ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain False it's true. I went back and forth so long Belleville Illinois sister city is in France true false it's Paterborn Germany well oh that's right German settlers I forgot
Starting point is 00:50:54 yeah it would take 19 minutes to fall to the center of the earth what apparently this is calculable it would take 19 minutes to fall from where we are now to the center of the earth What apparently this is calculable it would take 19 minutes to fall from where we are now to the center of the earth Falls true. That's so crazy. That doesn't feel right to me. That doesn't feel but I believe it Sunday in the park was doing so good you were doing and honestly this one feels Sunday in the park with George's original broad Broadway run was 604 performances true. That is true. The letter a is the most popular letter in the English language False false. It's e E. I know. Let's go!
Starting point is 00:51:27 Okay. Vietnam is the world's second biggest coffee producer. I don't know why you would ask if it wasn't true. It's true. True. 40% of the population is left-handed. Yeah, it's the same. False. False. It's 10%. 10%. Same as us.
Starting point is 00:51:48 I was like, wait, it's the same as queer people. We're 10. The origins of the word jazz are unknown. That's false. That's true. Ooh. Netflix still offers their DVD delivery service. Why? False. False. They stopped in 2023. San Francisco's
Starting point is 00:52:13 official motto is golden peace, iron and war. Isn't it city of brotherly love? Sorry. Um. Ha ha ha ha! Gold, say it again. Gold in peace, iron in war. I'm gonna say true. It is true.
Starting point is 00:52:36 How'd she do? Nine. Oh, shit! No! You were so close. I'm still hung up on your coffee take. That really hit home with me. That was personal for me.
Starting point is 00:52:46 Fuck, I'm hung up that I didn't get 10. I'm so mad. I know, you were so close. You were so close. And it's really not the Belleville one. It was that goddamn fall to the center of the earth is what. Well, also the Belleville one. France and Germany, that's pretty close.
Starting point is 00:53:00 I think we ought to count it. I think we ought to give it 10. To fall to the center of the earth, now how do we know that? No one's done that. You can calculate just like, we know the distance from the crust to the core. Yeah. And like the weight of like, you know, of the human and the... But what about the magnetic core?
Starting point is 00:53:20 Wouldn't that make a difference? I mean we're not just calculating, that has to be part of the equation Don't you think yeah, I'm also I'm thinking I'm kind of dumb because I was thinking 19 minutes is too short But I'm like 19 minutes is a long time to fall. It's a long time. I mean, I was actually thinking it might be shorter I said false. Yeah, I was thinking it was and I was also going to make net a core Yeah, it has to do something. Yeah, I mean thinking it was too short. And I was also going to make Nettacore. It has to do something. You know what I mean? So there you go. Damn. But almost 10. Almost 10. Okay, I wanted to ask you. You have had, you've been in so many fucking cool productions and shows. Is there a moment in your career that you look at and go, oh, that was like
Starting point is 00:54:01 a real pinch me like holy shit moment. Wow. I've had a, I've had. You've had a lot I feel like. I've had a lot of those pinch me holy shit moment. I think the real pinch me holy shit moment was when I met Meryl Streep. I think that was probably the big one. Where'd you meet Meryl Streep?
Starting point is 00:54:22 I was doing As You Like It, and Gwyneth Paltrow was the lead, and she had just won the Academy Award. So, it was a big production in, oh fuck me, where's the theater festival? Is it Williamsburg? Williamstown? Williamstown, yeah. And they always have a big festival there every summer. And so this was a production that they were thinking would come to New York, and there was a lot of great people in it. And Mark Lynn Baker was my touchstone, and I was Audra the Shepherd.
Starting point is 00:54:56 It was great. And every day, they would be, this is who's coming. Because you know, because she'd just won the Academy Award. It's like Steven Spielberg, blah blah one day one day this stage ran okay and I said who's coming today all the living presidents I mean it was just like it was insane but it was Meryl Streep and it was that was just amazing and with Blythe Danner and they were they just kind of With Blythe Danner, and they were, they just kind of got Blythe there to see her daughter, of course, Meryl came to see the whole thing.
Starting point is 00:55:29 And I was, she introduced, so I got introduced through Blythe to Meryl, and I started to kind of shake her hand, and it was such a pleasure, I'm such a huge fan. And then I just became me, and I got down on my hands and knees, and I was like, oh my God! I'm so, I'm so unworthy! Blworthy, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I went, and then I just kind of switched and went,
Starting point is 00:55:50 you know, as long as I'm on my knees, Meryl, is there anything I can do for you? You know, that's why I like you, Leo, you always make the small choices. It's subtle and understated. Right? And then I saw her again. And then we, that's what, like, we came on a first name basis
Starting point is 00:56:18 through that. And then we did this event together for the Public Theater. And it was like, it was me, Meryl Streep,ep and Natalie Portman who I've had a crush on for a minute. You know I love Natalie Portman. So they're both standing there and I brought the fucking house down. I did what I did and I kind of stopped the show and I came off stage and I said something to them and they both like Meryl kissed me. Natalie took me by the hand and was kissing me on the hand and Meryl was kissing me on the cheek and I did not wash my cheek or my hand for a year. I can tell you it was amazing. And then the next time I saw Meryl was Jill Clayberg was doing a Broadway show. We went to,
Starting point is 00:57:04 Next time I saw Meryl was Jill Kleberg was doing a Broadway show. We went to. We went to Barcentral. I went to Barcentral. I was doing a different Shakespeare play, right? So I was doing Midsummer Night's Dream. And afterwards I went to Barcentral and Meryl and Jill Kleberg were there. I was shitting myself because I already met Meryl and I knew that I could get an intro to Jill Kleber because she was sitting right there.
Starting point is 00:57:25 I walk up to them. They were so drunk. They were so drunk. And I met Jill, which was my thing. And then they were like, you know, we're going to go now, Lee. And I went, I'm going to walk you out to the cab. And Meryl said, are we that drunk? And I went, yes.
Starting point is 00:57:42 So they both started laughing. So I put them in a cab. I gave the cab driver $20. And I said, this is royalty. You take good care of these women. Right? And then we saw each other at the Emmys and the SAG Awards. And when all that happened for Orange, it was just, you know,
Starting point is 00:58:01 hey Meryl, hey Leah, how's it going? Blah, blah. It's insane. That's so cool. But when I first met her, it was like, I'm gonna shit myself. Yeah. Yeah. Two legends, you and Merrill, hanging out.
Starting point is 00:58:11 I'm serious. People feel that way about meeting you too. That's crazy. Oh, it's nuts. That's nuts. What, is there a role or a thing you haven't gotten to do yet that you are like dying to do? I'm dying for somebody to write me an original musical.
Starting point is 00:58:25 A part, you know, for me, something for me. Yeah. Just original that doesn't exist right now. That I'm dying for. And I have played every type of thing. I mean, I just played a fucking elf on Norah from Queens. You know what I mean? I've done all of that shit.
Starting point is 00:58:45 I have never played a gay man. I played tons of straight men. I have never, and tons of straight women, tons of lesbians, fantastic creatures, stuff like that. I have never been cast as a gay man. I would love at some point for somebody to cast me as a gay man.
Starting point is 00:59:02 Okay, interesting. I would like that. Oh, I don't mind, again, I played so many men. I don't mind playing men. It's fun to create a character, but to play a gay man, so much fun. Yeah, I think your take on a gay man would be, I actually need to see that.
Starting point is 00:59:17 I need someone to step up. Maybe the musical. Maybe somebody needs to write you an original musical where you play a gay man. Where I literally play a gay man. Yeah, that'd be good. That'd be good, That'd be good. That's Tony Bates.
Starting point is 00:59:26 Take that, Cola Scola. Sorry, Cola. You're over, honey. It's Leah's turn. I would love that. I would love that so much. So original musical for you, and you'd like to play a gay man. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:59:37 OK. That's it. Hollywood needs to get to work. Let's go, kids. Let's go. We're going to make it happen. Is there anything you want to, obviously, Titanic, your upcoming tour? I'm'm sorry and a Hallmark Christmas movie. Yeah, what do you want to play?
Starting point is 00:59:51 Play the play the evil the evil businessman who comes and shuts down the Christmas fair or whatever Is there anything you want to plug tell the people about tell where to find you Titanic but I'm only in that until the 25th of May, so I don't know when this is gonna air. I do the second Sunday of every month at 54 Below, Brunch is Gay, which is, the whole concept is I do a different show every month, I have a different guest every month, and there's a different theme.
Starting point is 01:00:20 So we're always, especially the guests, we're doing things we don't normally do. So there's lyric sheets in front of us and mistakes are made and lots of jokes flying and people have, it's so loose and it's so much fun. So brunch is gay. I'm doing, let's see, the Carlisle, I forgot about that, that's part of the outrage. The Carlisle, the Friday of Gay Pride Weekend, they they're doing a bunch that whole gay pride week they're doing a
Starting point is 01:00:49 bunch of different you know queer performers and I'm one of them. Nice. And let's see movies God have made a bunch of movies so Holy Irresistible is currently on Amazon. And shit. Outerland, filmed in San Francisco, just hit the festival circuit, getting much, much heat. So look for Outerland. It's a really interesting story. And my friend Asia Dillon is lead and Asia's doing some of the best work they've ever done in this particular movie. Really good. I mean there's a lot to plug. I keep I just can't keep it all straight. Yeah. Yeah. But follow me on Instagram. That'll help. That will help. And go keep up with everything and we come to the brunch
Starting point is 01:01:37 shows. Just come. They're so much fun. And then go to the outrage tour. Yeah. Hell yeah. Rock on. Well thank you for doing that.. Where you get to sing Donald Trump is a bitch with me. Of course. And we've always wanted to do that. Oh. Easy. That's one of my dreams. It's so cathartic.
Starting point is 01:01:50 Yeah. It's so cathartic. And the audience really loves it. You know, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, he's a fucking bitch. Yeah. Thanks for doing it, Leah. Oh.
Starting point is 01:02:00 Thanks for being on. Hey, my pleasure, Caleb. Have me back. That was a HeadGum Podcast. Hey, I'm Have me back. That was a HeadGum Podcast. From the entire cast of New Girl to Michael Cera, Andy Samberg, Jimmy Kimmel, just to name a few. So do me a favor and come check out an episode and then bounce around our catalog. We're over 150 episodes so far, so there's plenty of stories for you to discover. Subscribe to We're Here to Help on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday, and bonus episodes drop on Wednesdays.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.