The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Makes BBLs More Pricey, Crushes on a Reporter & Shields His Belly From Iran | Youngmi Mayer
Episode Date: July 11, 2025Ronny Chieng weighs in on Trump’s international affairs: a hike in tariffs to help his Brazilian doppleganger stay out of prison, an Iranian threat to his sunbathed bellybutton, and a light refreshe...r on the pause in aid to Ukraine. Plus, Josh Johnson reflects on Trump’s understanding of African culture, from their languages to their love languages. Troy Iwata finds one job that AI can't do: human carpet. Performance artist and professional human carpet Georgio shares examples of his work and gives Troy a crash course in letting people walk all over you. Writer and comedian Youngmi Mayer sits down with Ronny to discuss her memoir “I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying.” They talk about growing up in Korea under the influence of pro-American propaganda, learning her Korean family history from her “certified yapper” mom, getting bullied for being biracial in Korea, and how she embodied the Korean practice of laughing through trauma in the book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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You're listening to Comedy Central.
From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central,
it's America's only source for news.
This is The Daily Show with your host Ronnie Chan. Welcome to the Danny Show. I'm Roy Chen. We got so much to talk about tonight.
Trump gets standing advice on Iran.
He will not be getting that Brazilian wax.
And he learned that African is not a language.
So let's get into Trump's foreign affairs.
In our ongoing segment, Donald Trump engages in respectful international diplomacy.
We should go to war with them. Let's kick things off with Trump's favorite way to
ruin everyone's day. Terrorists. Up until now Trump has justified the terrorists by
saying it's to balance trade or protect national security or some other stuff he
absolutely doesn't understand.
But now he's just using it to help Brazilian Trump
stay out of prison?
A major escalation in President Trump's global trade war
with the president releasing a letter
announcing a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil
starting August 1st.
Mr. Trump specifically pointing to the ongoing prosecution
of one of his longtime allies,
Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro.
A show of support for the far right politician
facing charges for an alleged coup
to overturn his 2022 election loss.
The president calling Bolsonaro's trial
before the Brazilian Supreme Court, quote,
a witch hunt that should end immediately.
Yo, what the f*** is this?
So Brazilian Trump gets arrested for trying to do Brazilian Gen 6
and now I have to pay more for coffee?
That is not how it works, Mr. President.
If you have a disagreement with the South American government,
you don't impose tariffs.
You do things the American way and have the CIA overthrow them.
And it's not just Brazilian coffee
we're gonna pay tariffs on.
There's Brazilian orange juice, nuts, jujitsu moves,
and don't forget, Brazilian butt lifts.
That's right, with 50% tariffs,
there's gonna be a lot of people in America
walking around with just one giant ass cheat.
You know what?
I'm gonna go ahead and say that.
I'm gonna go ahead and say that.
I'm gonna go ahead and say that. I'm gonna go ahead and say that. I'm gonna go ahead and say that. You know what?
I think I prefer this.
And Americans might be wondering why Bolsonaro is in trouble in the first place, but let
me explain.
You see, in other countries, they actually arrest leaders who try to coup.
I know, I know. It's a different system.
It's like how the rest of the world has a metric system,
and America has feet and pounds,
or however the f*** you measure,
how much beef you're shoving into your fat faces.
But let's move on to Russia's war in Ukraine.
Because if you remember, one of the accusations Trump has leveled against Joe Biden is that
he had no idea what was going on in his own administration.
And I mean, yeah, probably.
Yes.
But now people are starting to wonder if Donald Trump doesn't know what's going on in his.
Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine.
Have you since been able to figure that out?
Well, I haven't thought about it because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions,
but I have no, I have not gone into it.
What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without
you knowing?
Uh, I would know if a decision was made, I will know.
I'll be the first to know.
In fact, most likely, I'd give the order,
but I haven't done that yet.
OK.
So you don't know who did it, but you
would be the first to know.
And it was probably you, did it, but you would be the first to know, and it was probably you,
but it wasn't you.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Listening to Trump speak feels like you're doing a magic eye for your ears.
It's like, if I listen hard enough, I'll see a dolphin.
Let's move on from the war Trump is trying to stop to the one he's trying to stop, the
one with Iran. They've been real pissy at Trump just because stop to the one he's trying to stop, the one with Iran.
They've been real pissy at Trump
just because he dropped the world's biggest bomb on them.
Okay, get over it, that was like two weeks ago.
And now some Iranians are suggesting
that they could strike back in a very specific way.
A senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader
now issuing assassination threats against President Trump,
reportedly telling local
media quote, Trump has done something that he can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago as
he lies there with his stomach to the sun, a small drone might hit him in the navel,
it's very simple. Let me be clear.
This isn't just an attack on Trump.
It's an attack on all of America.
Because now we all have to picture him with his bare belly glistening in the sun. Okay. No, no, no, no, no, I'm just kidding.
You don't have to picture it.
I'll show you.
It's beautiful. I think I prefer this.
Is this really a threat though?
What, you're gonna hit his navel with a small drone?
Like Iran went from building a nuclear bomb to we're gonna turn his Audi into an Innie.
Are they threatening to assassinate him or poke him like he's the Pillsbury doughboy?
Also, Iran, are you the only people in the world that can't tell Donald Trump uses spray
tan?
He's not in the sun, okay?
Are you looking at pictures of him like, damn, this guy must have spent all week at the beach? But still, a threat is a threat, and President Trump had a very strong response.
Do you think that's a real threat?
And when is the last time you went sunbathing anyway?
It's been a long time.
It's been a long time.
I don't know, maybe I was around seven or so.
Wow, I didn't think a threat like that would unlock his core childhood memories.
Maybe keep asking him about this stuff.
Like he might have an emotional breakthrough.
Like yeah, last time my son bathed was when I was seven and my mom said she didn't love
me and I forgive her.
Oh, my God, I'm healed!
Let the immigrants stay!
Yeah!
Yeah!
Yeah!
And finally, yesterday,
Trump hosted African leaders at the White House.
Trump pressed them on important issues
like migrant deportations and how Scar was actually the White House. Trump pressed them on important issues like migrant deportations
and how Scott was actually the good guy.
And you're never going to believe what happened
when Trump got in a room with a bunch of African presidents.
He made it awkward.
At the White House on Wednesday,
Donald Trump praised the president of Liberia
for his, quote, good English,
even though English is the official language
of Liberia.
We just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.
Well, thank you.
I said, good English, such beautiful.
Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?
Were you educated where?
In Liberia.
Yes, sir.
Well, that's very interesting.
Oh.
Trump was totally blown away by this guy speaking in Liberia. Yes, sir. Well, that's very interesting. Oh. Oh.
Trump was totally blown away by this guy speaking his national language.
And, where'd you learn to speak English?
Like, what, Liberia?
Oh, oh, oh, we call them libraries.
To be fair to Trump, the last African he was friends with
was totally incomprehensible.
And now he's like, is this what Africans sound like when they're not on ketamine?
Now, Trump may not have Googled the president of Liberia before the meeting, but there was
one African reporter who he definitely knew.
Do you want to ask any questions, please?
Where's my reporter from Africa?
There you are. How are you? I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. President. Do you want to ask any questions please? Where's my reporter from Africa? There
you are. How are you? I'm fine thank you Mr. President.
She's very famous in Africa. Thank you.
Look at that smile! Someone's got a little crush! And by way, this wasn't the first time he met her.
He's been trying to get close to her since last week.
Why don't you come up here and talk so they can see?
Sure.
That's great. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. President.
It's a great honor.
Thank you, Mr. President.
He told me President Chisake, he's very thankful for what you're doing,
for what your administration is doing.
That's so nice, boy, and that's so beautifully stated.
And Caroline said, number one, she did say, and I shouldn't say this because it's politically
incorrect, she said, she's beautiful and you are beautiful.
I'm not allowed to say that, you know, that could be the end of my political career, but
I said anyway.
Well, well, well, it appears Trump's war on the press is softening.
Well, hardening.
Trump loves this African reporter so much,
he's like, should we maybe not have canceled
all their food for their kids?
I mean, I didn't know they're gonna grow up to be this hot.
Resume aid.
Now, obviously, you don't have to be black
to see how deeply offensive Trump's behavior here is to black people.
But just to be safe, let's talk to a black person to make sure.
Let's go to the White House with our own Josh Johnson!
CHEERING
Josh! Josh!
What's your take on Trump's meeting with these African leaders?
Ronnie, this was a meeting between Trump and a table full of Africans.
This went as good as it could have gone.
Trump didn't ask to touch anyone's hair.
He didn't try to hit anyone with a...
I was...
I was pretty sure he was gonna say the phrase, national geographic titties.
So compared to expectations,
I would say that this one was one of his best performances.
No, no, come on.
He's the president.
He told the leader of an English speaking country,
he speaks great English.
And he's right.
He does speak English well. For once, he speaks great English. And he's right, he does speak English well.
For once he's not lying.
Like, it's not like he told RFK Jr.
he speaks beautiful English.
Like, that would be offensive, all right?
It was a compliment.
I compliment people's abilities
to speak English all the time.
You ever go to Florida and hear a complete sentence?
That shit is impressive.
Okay.
Look, I don't know, man.
I'm just saying, if that was me,
I would have walked out.
Yeah, that's because you're Asian.
What, what, what?
You're saying Asians get offended easily?
I'll kill you.
Chill, chill.
Chill, I'm just saying black people
have been through too much to get offended easily.
Like black people, we keep our cool.
You know, we were brought here for slavery
and then invented jazz.
The Liberian president knew that getting angry at Trump
doesn't get you anything, but flattery does.
If he was really smart, he would have said,
oh, I learned English from watching your speeches,
Mr. Trump.
You're a real one. I call it Tesla 2. Trump. You're a real one.
I call it Tesla 2.
Okay. Okay, fine.
Point taken. But what about that reporter, though?
That was kind of gross.
Was it sexist? Yes.
Did Trump act inappropriately? Yes.
Did he cum in his pants? Of course.
All right?
No one's saying it wasn't a huge load.
All right? But on the other hand, Trump, for the very first time,
is excited about Africa.
Just look at Trump and that reporter.
Tell me that doesn't look like a Bob Hart's
Abba-shola reboot, all right?
There's an old African saying,
if you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, don't think too hard
about what that white guy just said.
You know what, Josh?
You make some valid points.
That's very articulate.
Whoa, whoa.
Articulate? What in the name of National Geographic?
Titties, what are you trying to say?
Aha, you do get offended.
I'll kill you.
All right, Josh Johnson, everyone.
When we come back, we find out the worst job of all time.
Don't go away.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
Sometimes it seems like there's no jobs left anymore, but maybe you're just not looking
in all the weirdest places.
Troy Wada has more.
Jobs.
They're the foundation of the American economy.
But today, more and more workers are being crushed by outsourcing, AI, automation, and
whatever the f*** this is.
So now, some gig workers are turning to even more niche parts of the service industry.
I went to meet one of them.
Hello?
Hello.
F*** Chris.
Oh.
Hi.
Giorgio makes his freelance income as what he describes as a human carpet.
Giorgio makes his freelance income as what he describes as a human carpet. I would describe what I'm providing as a performance art on the naughty side for people to stand,
pose, walk, and dance on me as they please.
Make a party more exciting.
You know, sometimes when I'm at a party and it's a little boring, I think to myself, I
wish there was a man just lying there that would really liven it
up. Yes I do that at many events and parties. A human carpet. It's not what
Hannibal Lecter has in his foyer but actually involves getting wrapped in a
carpet, laying on a floor, and letting people walk all over you but without any
self-esteem issues. I do a lot of birthday parties or bachelorette parties.
Those are popular.
Gothic and vampire parties, yes.
I've been honored to be the platform, actually, for at least two weddings.
Yeah.
Would you do a bar mitzvah?
Sure.
Would you do a baby shower?
Sure.
A quinceañera?
Yep, sure.
Would you do a wake?
Uh, no.
We found a boundary.
Yeah, out of respect for departed ones.
Do you have a black carpet, just in case?
I do.
And if you thought stepping on someone inside a carpet might also be some kind of sex thing,
well, you're right.
I've been in kink parties and I've had people have sex on me.
For some reason that doesn't surprise me at all.
I've been a mattress for them.
You must be an expert on getting stains out of a carpet.
I have many types of stain removers that I use.
Of course after a while it gets hopeless and I have to get of stain removers that I use. Of course, after a while it gets hopeless
and I have to get a new carpet.
But the cost of carpet cleaning and replacement
is just one of the factors that affect
Giorgio's narrow margins.
May I ask what your fee is for your services?
I would probably ask around $250 plus tips.
Talk about passive income.
I've done marathon events for seven or eight hours.
Wow.
It gets to you sometimes, but still,
if the crowd is into it, that's what matters.
The joy of having a human carpet at your event,
that's pretty priceless.
It is.
But as with most creative work,
money is only part of the reward,
as Giorgio has often found himself
only a foot away from stardom.
The peak of my career, I would say,
was a retirement party where Randy Jones
and the village people performed on me.
No way.
Yeah.
Did they do the YMCA on you?
Absolutely.
So all of the village people were standing on top of you?
No, no, just Randy Jones,
and he did not have all the village people.
Oh, all right.
That's not as cool as I thought.
Not everyone.
Finally, it was time for me to experience
Giorgio's unique occupation from the inside of a carpet.
Should I be doing anything?
No, not really.
Just, you're doing great.
I guess I'm ready to give this a go.
Son of a...
Stay calm, relax, it'll be okay.
I feel gas going down.
Uh, take a little break and get into the mental state of it.
Get into the mental state of it?
Well, you know, concentrate, like, try to enjoy the adventure.
Excuse me.
You're okay.
Alright, get off.
Get off.
I quickly realized that I didn't have the patience, or tolerance for internal bleeding,
required to be a human carpet.
And beyond that, the liver and kidneys aren't the only organs affected by this job.
It also takes a toll on the heart.
The human carpet gig has always gotten in the way of personal relationships.
Even the more we progress, the harder it became for them to accommodate it.
I don't know what's so difficult about it. You're just lying there.
For them, it just takes so much of my time and passion.
Can't they just sit
next to you? In a major event, no. Have you ever considered the possibility of
inviting someone into the carpet with you? Yes, actually a few people have asked
me for that and I gladly let them do it for a bit and some of them couldn't take
it anymore. With all the isolation, downward pressure, and dust inhalation that comes with Georgio's career,
I had to wonder, is human carpeting sustainable?
After almost 30 years of doing this, you still enjoy it?
Absolutely, I still enjoy it, yeah.
That's beautiful. Carpet DM.
Thank you, Troy. When we come back, Young Me May will be joining me on the show, so don't go away!
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-♪ Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
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Welcome back to The Daily Show.
My guest tonight is a writer and comedian whose memoir is called I'm Laughing Because
I'm Crying.
Please welcome the one and only Young Mi Mayor. I'm so happy you're here. I'm so happy you're here. I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here.
I'm so happy you're here. I'm so happy you're here. What was the DM? We'll edit this if it's bad. Well, first, my agent was like, do you know any celebrities
can you send the book to?
And I was like, oh, I kind of know Ronnie
Chang from this comedy show.
So I DM'd you like, hey, can I send you a free book?
And you were like, no.
Do you remember that?
And then I was like.
But did you continue the fucking message?
And then later, you were like, no, I I'm just gonna buy it so I can support you.
But you like...
Yeah.
Aw.
You almost, no, you almost left that s*** out.
No, there was like, I feel like there was a pause.
There was like a few minutes before you sent that.
No, but my standard policy is when
people who are struggling ask me to buy their book.
No, when people ask me to buy their book,
when friends ask me to buy their book, I, sorry,
when friends want to send me their book,
I say don't say it to me, I'll buy it,
because I think that helps the algorithm
actually promote it more.
No, that makes sense.
And it's worth way more than sending it to me
and then I just throw it in the garbage.
I'd rather just buy it and throw it in the garbage.
Thank you.
But I got scared for a second.
Oh, okay.
Well, in this case, I actually bought it
and then I read it and it was actually great.
And then you said,
So congratulations.
Thank you.
No, it's a really good book.
No, no.
No, I know like the Illuminati makes me say that
every single time we have a book on the show, but in this case,
it actually is super funny.
I was reading it and every page was making me laugh,
but what was also, it's also how much tragedy
is in this book.
You go through a lot of shit, a lot of heavy shit.
Like there was like, you know, there was family trauma
growing up in Korea, there was physical, emotional abuse.
You take meth at one point.
You have no money.
Did I? No, I didn't.
Wait.
Maybe that was another book.
I'm sorry, I might be crossing books.
And then there was-
I don't even remember.
I might have.
And then you started, you had no money,
and then you got married, and you started a restaurant.
Then the restaurant became super successful.
Then the restaurant failed, and then you got divorced.
And then now you have back,
I couldn't even keep up with how much. Are you okay?
Um, I'm fine.
I still work at the restaurant.
Well, give it a plug. What restaurant was it?
Oh, it's Mission Chinese Food.
Okay, Mission Chinese. Yeah, yeah.
I love that restaurant, but I never knew you were part of it.
Yeah, I was the wife, the stay-at-home wife.
So that's part of the story, I think.
Right.
So, like, I...
Well, let's start from the start.
Let's start from the start.
So, born in Korea.
Well, let's begin 100 years ago.
Well, yeah, I do talk about, like, the very beginning, you know, as far back as I know,
which is my grandmother's story.
And I know so much of my Korean history
because my mom is a Yapper, like a certified Yapper.
What does that mean?
It's just, you know, Yapp in a way.
She has a lot to say.
I thought it was like a Korean vocation or something.
It sounds like, yeah, it does sound like
the second person in the K-pop band, the Yapper.
Yeah.
But no, she's a Yapper.
And so she's told me like my entire family history.
And what I realized was I included it in the book,
obviously, because I'm like, oh, this
is why I'm so crazy, because this happened to my family
and I'm marrying them.
But then I think that's why it's become
kind of popular among Korean-American immigrants
because, or like children of immigrants, because they are always like, you know, I ask my parents
about the old country, which is Korea, but they'll never talk about it.
And which makes sense because, you know, like immigrants, I'm sure have a lot of trauma
and like, dot, dot, dot, like assimilation.
Yeah. Well, I mean, one thing is that you're not just the kid, a child of trauma and like... Sure. Dot, dot, dot, like assimilation. Yeah.
Well, I mean, one thing is that you're not just the child of immigrants because you were
born there.
Yeah, I'm not.
So you only came to America when you were like 20, right?
I'm an immigrant.
Yeah, you're an immigrant, yeah.
It's complicated because I was born in Korea, but I was born already an American citizen.
Right.
My mom...
Congratulations.
Yeah, thank you. Really. I thought
I was lucky until I don't know, 10 years ago or so. Well this is interesting because I
also grew up in outside of America in a different part of Asia, Singapore. So we kind of, I
think we grew up. We're enemies. We're enemies first of all. In the old world we're enemies.
In the new world we're forced to band together to fight tyranny. But back in Asia, we f***ing each other.
We have one month to share with the Pacific Islanders.
Yes.
Who we go on ice with.
We know, like, we both had a view of America, right?
Growing up, living outside of America.
In my view, I don't know what your view of America was,
but like, it's weird.
The 90s, outside America, looking in in in my ignorant non-american eyes. It was like it was like rose-tinted glasses
Yeah, it was awesome. Yeah, it's like back to the future. Michael Jordan is there right?
Yeah, TLC are to park. Yeah, it looked great
And and so those were the things that made me want to come to America. It wasn't the Iraq war.
You know what I mean?
No, no.
When we got like, yeah, let's go to America,
it wasn't because you want to participate in the war.
It was because of all this other cultural,
you know, great cultural stuff.
I don't know what you were experiencing in Korea.
Yeah, I guess it's like the difference being Korea is,
you know, still has a heavy American military presence.
And there's a lot of pro-American propaganda. So I grew up in that era and they were still very
much... Oh there's a lot of propaganda in America too. Oh there is? There's a lot of
pro-Korean propaganda here if you ask me. But then like so in Korea there's
like all this pro-American propaganda. But you like, it's like the truth is so nuanced, right? Because
South Korea was helped by America, right? I'm not going to get into that. But so I had
a similar experience. Like they thought very highly of America. But then I had kind of
a traumatizing childhood because of the way like biracial people are seen in Korea,
which because I'm half white, you would think you would think I would have white privilege, but
in the 80s they were like you're obviously the leftover child of like a U.S. military man.
So your mom is poor or whatever and so that became the reason I got made fun of,
which is funny that I make fun of for being white
and very different than Asian Americans that grew up here.
It's like the opposite experience.
It's also different in Singapore
because half white, half Asian people in Singapore,
they leaned more white.
They're just like, we're white people.
Yeah, they leaned away from it mostly.
But you, half white, half Asian, who, like, you,
I guess you, I'm not sure by choice,
but you lean, you lean more Korean.
Like, there's parts of this book where you write in Korean.
You introduce Korean culture.
You can speak Korean fluently.
And you know the cuisine and the culture.
So you're culturally very Korean.
I'm culturally very Korean,
even though the Koreans do not want to accept me.
Oh, that's not true.
It is true.
It is true.
Are there Koreans here right now?
Are there any Koreans here?
She made fun of me.
There's no Koreans here?
No, they're scared.
They're like, we're not with her.
I told you, Romani, I told you.
That's not true.
Look at the comment section.
The comment section will be very supportive of you.
Yeah, I think...
I see the Koreans out there.
They're like, we don't know her.
No, no.
But this book, I mean, this book is very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,
very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very I'm sure she'll be very supportive of you. Yeah, I think... I see the Koreans out there.
They're like, we don't know her.
No, no.
But this book, I mean, this is a lot of trauma
for a kid to take.
I don't think it's that much trauma, is it?
Is it a lot? I don't know.
I read this, I'm like, look, okay,
the beatings I get, because Singapore...
We're Asian.
Yeah, I'm Asian, the beatings, that doesn't faze me.
I was gonna go in for a fist bump, but then I thought that felt really inappropriate. Yeah, beatings, the beatings that doesn't phase me. I was going for a fist bump but that felt really inappropriate.
Yeah beatings, beatings is good. But the, I mean at one point you end up in a meth house.
That's kind of traumatic right? I was in a house where everyone was doing meth. I didn't do meth.
Ronnie Jesus, oh my god, my mom's watching. Okay, I'm sorry, you didn't do meth, you just hung out with.
I did heroin and cocaine.
Oh.
Oh.
All right.
So.
Thank you.
That's a little bit, yeah.
So, but, and you recommend that over meth, basically, right?
I've never tried meth.
All right.
Yeah, no, I don't recommend any of it.
Okay.
For legal reasons, please tell the camera you don't recommend that.
And then when you came to America, did the propaganda in Korea work?
Did you think America was cool and then you came here and did it match your expectations?
Oh my God, this isn't even part of the book, but this is a big part of my upbringing.
So my dad is white, he's American, He's from Jersey City, and he, like,
has not lived in the States in over 40 years now.
And he was... -"Jersey, best airport in the world."
What? -"Newark, baby."
-"Newark Airport."
Fuck yeah, it's so good. -"Represent."
Yeah.
Sponsored by Newark International Airport.
So, but my dad is really interesting.
He's, like, very anti-American.
So I didn't even write about that in the book. That could be its own book, it's really weird.
And so all the Koreans would be like,
and also my dad is from Jersey City,
but he dresses like a cowboy.
This is a whole f***ing story.
But like, sorry, I cuss.
No, it's okay, we can cuss on this.
F***.
You talk about taking cocaine.
Saying f*** is the least of our problems on the...
Yeah, this is gonna be like a bunch of beliefs.
Anyway, so my dad was like really anti-American,
so like the old Korean people would be like,
you're from America, yeah!
And he'd be like, it sucks.
It's bad.
Like the guy from like, Board on the Fourth of July,
like, no, let me tell you.
Like, he was like that.
Wow. So I had anti-American propaganda at home.
Oh, so he balanced out.
Yeah, balanced out.
So now I'm neutral.
I have no feelings about America.
Did he ever move back to America?
No, he's still in Korea.
Oh, he's still in Korea?
My mom, yeah.
Like he's the white, he's a Korean white guy in Korea,
just speaking Korean.
In Pangeuri.
Wow.
Nobody knows where that is.
OK.
If you were Korean, you would have laughed.
It's like a farm country, like town.
It's like very small.
He's a Korean farmer.
Your white dad's a Korean,
your Jersey white dad became a Korean farmer.
I don't think he's doing any farming,
but he does live in the farmland.
This is a triumph of multiculturalism, really.
This book to me felt like a lot like therapy.
Was like going through therapy for you.
Cause again, it is very heavy.
It genuinely is very funny on every page, but it's a lot of therapy. Was like going through therapy for you? Because again, it is very heavy.
It genuinely is very funny on every page,
but it's a lot of heavy stuff.
Was it difficult going through these memories,
you know, when you were writing this?
I think I have this thing where I just kind of like
blur things out and then like four months later
I'll cry on the subway.
I'm like, no, this is fine, I love this.
And then I was just like, out of nowhere, I'm like, I can't get I love this. And then I'm just like out of nowhere I'm like I can't get out of bed. I feel like I just pummeled through
it. But I think the way that it's written I credit to my Korean culture because this
is how all my family talks. They're like Korean country people. Everything is a joke. And
they've been through a million times worse things
than I've been through, which is, you know, in the book.
And it's just like how my brain was like,
I think culturally trained to think about stuff.
And so even when I was writing it,
I would just be like, crying like,
oh God, this is horrible.
And then I would be like, you know, I'd be like, anyway,
I'm a damn bitch.
No, no, no.
And I would start laughing.
Right.
So I think my brain does that automatically,
like when it gets too sad.
Right.
I mean, a lot of people do that, right?
It's like the self-suggestion.
Sure, you use comedy to kind of walk through the trauma.
Yeah.
That's what you did.
And it feels really good, honestly.
I think what I was setting out to do with the book
was to replicate the feeling of like when you go,
when something really bad happens to you
and you go to your friend's house,
and then like let's say somebody broke up with you
and you're like, yeah, he's bald and ugly or whatever.
And then your friend will say something like,
you know, remember that time he ripped his pants and you saw...
Never mind.
I almost got a little carried away.
Like, remember when he ripped his pants and everyone laughed at him?
And then you start laughing really hard when you're crying.
Like, I'm trying to replicate that feeling in the book.
And so...
And I got to say, I definitely think you succeeded in that.
Really? Oh, my God. Thank you.
Yeah, because I was feeling...
I was laughing as I was like, if I had emotions you succeeded in that. Oh, really? Oh, my God. Thank you. Because I was feeling, I was laughing as I was like,
if I had emotions, I would cry at this, but...
I could tell it's a very sad story.
But, I mean...
LAUGHTER
But thanks for writing the book,
and thanks for surviving, persevering through it,
and thanks for teaching people how to use comedy
to work through trauma.
And I hope you can...
I hope the new restaurant venture succeeds
and you can stop working with your ex-husband.
Is that...
It's not as bad as it sounds, but I hope that, too.
Okay, okay, okay.
Everybody, hey...
I'm laughing because I'm trying.
It's available now.
Hey, Jean-Mimére, everybody.
We're gonna take a quick break.
We'll be right back after this. I'm laughing because I'm trying. It's available now. Hey, Jean-Mimére, everybody.
We're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back after this.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Hey, that's our show for tonight.
Now, here it is, your moment of zen.
When did you learn to speak so beautifully?
Okay, that was awkward.
That is what you get when our nation's diplomat-in-chief
has no idea what he's doing.
I think the praising people's English
and diction is fantastic.
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