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The Jefferson Fisher PodcastThe Jefferson Fisher Podcast

If You're Torn Between Raising a Family and Following Your Passion, Watch This

There’s no expiration date on your purpose, and sometimes the best things in life happen when you least expect them. In this episode, I sit down with comedian and actress Leanne Morgan for a conversation about marriage, motherhood, chasing your dreams, and finding success later in life. Leanne shares how she spent over 20 years pursuing a career in comedy, the moment she almost gave up, and how everything changed when she finally found her audience. We also talk about navigating marriage when you and your spouse communicate differently, learning to ask for what you need, and the guilt that comes with pursuing your own dreams while raising a family. Leanne is as funny as she is genuine, and her story is a reminder that you don't have to have everything figured out right now. Sometimes the most important thing you can do is keep showing up, stay true to who you are, and trust that your time will come. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Order The Next Conversation Workbook: https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/workbook Want a FREE communication tip each week? Click here to join my newsletter. https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/newsletter Thank you to our Sponsors: AG1. Visit https://drinkag1.com/jefferson. Save an extra 20% on your first subscription order of AG1 Next Gen, AG1 Pro, or AG1 Essentials by going to https://drinkag1.com/jefferson and using code BACK2ROUTINE. BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/jeffersonfisher for a discount on your first month of therapy. Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review! Order my new book, The Next Conversation, today! https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/book Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/topic Join my School of Communication. https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/membership Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jefferson_fisher Follow me on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@justaskjefferson?lang=en Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffersonfisher/

Jefferson FisherhostLeanne Morganguest
Oct 27, 20261h 12mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 0:39

    Balancing motherhood with a calling: “Do it… but the kids come first”

    1. JF

      What would you say to the mamas out there that are torn between raising a family and, and following a passion?

    2. LM

      If it's something that you feel like in your soul and heart you really need to be doing, I think you should do it. Now, I think, I don't want people to be mad at me for saying this, but you've had these children, they go- they come first.

    3. JF

      Yeah.

    4. LM

      They come first. But yeah, d- do this side hustle or-

    5. JF

      [laughs]

    6. LM

      ... whatever you gotta do-

    7. JF

      Yeah

    8. LM

      ... until it's your time. Yeah, I think-

    9. JF

      I think-

    10. LM

      ... women need to do that because, um, because one day they're gonna be grown and they're not gonna need you as much.

    11. JF

      Yep.

  2. 0:39 – 2:02

    A later-life career surge and the drive to keep creating

    1. LM

      And this, look what has happened to me. I'm 61, these, you know, my kids are 33, 30, and 28. They're wa- they're watching this happen-

    2. JF

      Mm-hmm

    3. LM

      ... with me. They get to participate in all this. My mom and daddy still see, are here to see it. But um, but do, I do, I get to, I feel vibrant, I feel alive, I feel like I'm working my brain. I'm achieving, um, you know, I'm learning a script every week when I'm shooting a series.

    4. JF

      Mm-hmm.

    5. LM

      I, I'm on tour, I get to see these people. I'm, I'm running a corporation-

    6. JF

      Yeah

    7. LM

      ... for the first time in my life. You know, I got 25 people on my team.

    8. JF

      Mm-hmm.

    9. LM

      I, it's crazy.

    10. JF

      Yeah.

    11. LM

      But I love it. I love it. My little daddy will say every once in a while, "Aren't you tired? Don't you wanna stop this?" You know, 'cause I'm from working people.

    12. JF

      Right.

    13. LM

      Farming people. My mom and daddy had a meat processing plant. When they retired, I think when you work so hard, la- manual labor and everything, you think, "Well, we need to retire and sit down because we've worked so hard physically all of our lives." I don't, I don't know that I'll ever stop. I think I could be 80 and be like Betty White. I always loved her. You know, and just-

    14. JF

      Yeah

    15. LM

      ... even if I'm peddling-

    16. JF

      [laughs]

    17. LM

      ... at the end. I just wanna stay-

    18. JF

      That's a wonderful way to-

    19. LM

      ... active and do, you know?

    20. JF

      Yeah.

    21. LM

      I think it's important for people to keep learning and keep doing and keep creating.

  3. 2:02 – 4:21

    Early stand-up beginnings: saying yes before being ready

    1. JF

      I agree. I think that's, um, I think that's wise advice. What was it like when the first time you tell Chuck Morgan, "Hey, you know, I think I'm gonna go do this standup thing for a s- I'm gonna go to this club, go s- you know, do five minutes there"?

    2. LM

      You know, he just always was like, "Okay."

    3. JF

      [laughs]

    4. LM

      And I don't, I think he kind of thought of it as that's her thing, like, that's her-

    5. JF

      Right

    6. LM

      ... thing she's doing. Um, but he was always supportive of it. And I know that it would, he would be nervous for me because the first time I ever really, um, I did an hour in my Sunday school class in Morristown, Tennessee. We were all very close and we all had young babies. You know, we-

    7. JF

      Mm

    8. LM

      ... did everything socially together and all that. And I, I had a good friend in that that was in the Kiwanis Kapers, and he said, "Leanne, you're kind of a ham. Do you wanna get up and MC this thing?" And I was like, "Yeah, I do."

    9. JF

      [laughs]

    10. LM

      And in the high school gym, and I must have dazzled enough that a guy that was in the audience and said, uh, this was while I was selling jewelry, he said, um, "You know, I've got bands that come to my sandwich shop. If you wanna do standup or if you wanna come and do your thing"-

    11. JF

      Yeah, yeah.

    12. LM

      And I go, "Yeah, I do." And he goes, "Can you do an hour?" I was like, "Yeah." The first time I ever got up, I mean, before, that was probably before Z- I mean, at Zanny's was after that. Um, I did an hour, and I wrote it down, like, just bullet points on my five-year-old's kindergarten tablet. You know, when you're learning how to write?

    13. JF

      Yeah.

    14. LM

      Uh, that's all, uh, notepad I had. I put the, his kindergarten tablet, and I said it and did an hour, and I think somebody filmed it, and I still, like, sweat at like 3:00 in the morning thinking, "That film's gonna come out sometime."

    15. JF

      Somebody's gonna release that.

    16. LM

      'Cause I'm sure I sucked.

    17. JF

      [laughs]

    18. LM

      It's awful. And no telling what I said.

    19. JF

      Yeah.

    20. LM

      But um, but Chuck, I remember there was a big glass in the sandwich shop, and I was sitting there and people saw Chuck driving by in the minivan with three children, like, looking out the door just to make sure I was all right-

    21. JF

      Mm

    22. LM

      ... in this glass. So he always, I'm sure he was nervous for me.

    23. JF

      He had to have been.

  4. 4:21 – 5:25

    Marriage logistics: support, money pressure, and why she wouldn’t get a “regular job”

    1. LM

      But I don't know if, he would say at times, like, when we needed money and stuff, like, "You need to probably get a job." And I'd be like, [laughs] "I can't. I'm a comedian." I mean, like, I can't, Chuck, if I go out here and get a job, people are not gonna take me seriously and think that I'm really a comedian-

    2. JF

      Yeah

    3. LM

      ... 'cause, 'cause we, and now we're back living in Knoxville, and I do all these corporate private things for people that kept me going for 20 years. And, um, b- breast cancer fundraisers, ovarian fund-

    4. JF

      Mm-hmm.

    5. LM

      So I go, if I'm g- over here working at Target, which I've always said I'd love to work at Target back in the day.

    6. JF

      Who wouldn't?

    7. LM

      Who wouldn't love to be in back there with that bed and you put it on the shelf?

    8. JF

      Yeah, you, you let Target tell you what you need.

    9. LM

      Yeah.

    10. JF

      Yeah, that's how that goes.

    11. LM

      Um, but I always thought, "Well, if I get a job, then I'm not gonna be legit as an artist."

    12. JF

      Hmm.

    13. LM

      And of course, you know, he's practical and an MBA. He probably, you know, thought, "Oh my gosh, Leanne." But he would always say, "Okay." And w- somehow we did it, honey.

    14. JF

      [laughs] So, so-

    15. LM

      Somehow we did it. And it took him a long time to figure out how big this was, and I still-

    16. JF

      I bet, yeah

    17. LM

      ... think he's figuring out how big this is.

  5. 5:25 – 8:06

    Why Chuck doesn’t watch her perform—and their different conflict styles

    1. JF

      Was, were you nervous the first time he actually watched you?

    2. LM

      Oh, I don't let him watch me.

    3. JF

      [laughs]

    4. LM

      I don't let him watch me.

    5. JF

      He's never seen you.

    6. LM

      And I tell him, I swear-

    7. JF

      Yeah

    8. LM

      ... Chuck Morgan, 'cause if I do, like, the Ryman here or something-

    9. JF

      Yeah

    10. LM

      ... special like that, like the Bridgestone-

    11. JF

      Sure

    12. LM

      ... he'll come. But I go, "You better be up at the merch table or in the concession stand-

    13. JF

      Get outta here

    14. LM

      ... and don't you dare." Listen to me, Chuck. It's something about it, because I'll tell you why. He's a detail person, and we'll be at a social gathering- And I'll start telling a big yarn, and he'll say, "It wasn't Tuesday, Leanne, it was Wednesday, and it was at 3:00. It wasn't at 2:00." And I'm like, "You're ruining my story."

    15. JF

      Come on. [laughs] Yeah.

    16. LM

      Yeah. I don't want... I feel him, like-

    17. JF

      Has to be a little embellishment. You c- I mean-

    18. LM

      Yeah

    19. JF

      ... yeah.

    20. LM

      And I forget details.

    21. JF

      For sure. [laughs]

    22. LM

      So he, um-

    23. JF

      Yeah

    24. LM

      ... but he's a detail, he goes, "Details matter, Leanne." So I'll say, "You can come, but do not watch me, Chuck." And he, I think he respects that. I'm sure he's snuck in and seen a couple of things, but he's watched me film my television series.

    25. JF

      Yeah.

    26. LM

      He's been on set for that.

    27. JF

      Have y'all ever argued about your comedic career? Early on.

    28. LM

      About what I was gonna say, or just?

    29. JF

      When you were first starting out, you know? Of, was there ever a time that he was against it, or has he always been supportive of it?

    30. LM

      He's always been supportive of it.

  6. 8:06 – 10:36

    Empty nest, fame, and the strain of changing roles at home

    1. LM

      ... in what you want. So I'm, in this time of our life, with these children gone, honey, when these children went to college, I took to the bed.

    2. JF

      [laughs]

    3. LM

      And did not cope well.

    4. JF

      Yeah. Oh, I, I can, I can imagine.

    5. LM

      It's awful. You're like, "Why did you give me these children?" And then they have to go to college. Um, and grow up and get married, and all that. Of course, then you, well then you have daughter-in-laws that you love and, you know-

    6. JF

      Yeah

    7. LM

      ... and whoever they're gonna marry-

    8. JF

      New family

    9. LM

      ... then it's just more love. It's just more love. But, um, but Chuck Morgan, I really think it's important, especially with this happening to me, this is a weird thing, what's happening. How many people go through this, where now there's fame-

    10. JF

      Mm-hmm

    11. LM

      ... and there's security-

    12. JF

      Mm-hmm

    13. LM

      ... issues, and there's, I'm gone. He's at home now. I mean, he's still working a big job and running a division of that big Berkshire Hathaway company. But he, um, he travels some, but not as much as I do. He was the one that traveled every week of the world. Now I'm the one traveling. He's at home in that house with a beagle.

    14. JF

      [laughs]

    15. LM

      Who is yummy, but she's deaf and can't hear thunder.

    16. JF

      Yeah. [laughs]

    17. LM

      Can't see. And, um-

    18. JF

      He can bark. Yeah, yeah.

    19. LM

      Uh-huh.

    20. JF

      Yeah.

    21. LM

      And I, so I have said, you know, we need, let's get help navigating this.

    22. JF

      Yeah.

    23. LM

      This is a lot, Chuck. And it's hard for him to emote, and it's hard, he's not a talker. He's introverted. You know, it's hard for him to tell his feelings. Um, I can talk all day about my feelings. I love therapy. Oh, I love therapy.

    24. JF

      You're the external processor.

    25. LM

      Mm-hmm.

    26. JF

      And he's the internal processor.

    27. LM

      Uh-huh. And it's hard for him to say, "I miss you."

    28. JF

      Mm-hmm.

    29. LM

      "And I need, I want you to just be here-

    30. JF

      Yeah

  7. 10:36 – 14:04

    Chuck’s character: loyalty, volunteering, and being intensely frugal

    1. LM

      Man of very little words. But, like, if you said to him, "I got these two babies, and we, and Sarah and I have gotta go to the Smoky Mountains, Chuck. Can we drop 'em off at the house and you tend to 'em? And by the way, I've got a flat tire." He would be your ride or die-

    2. JF

      [laughs]

    3. LM

      ... and tend to those babies.

    4. JF

      He'd be right there.

    5. LM

      And he would be right there.

    6. JF

      Yeah.

    7. LM

      Like, he is a loyal, um, he's a helper.

    8. JF

      Mm.

    9. LM

      And he wants to, to help people. He cuddles drug-dependent babies. Did you know that?

    10. JF

      Mm-mm.

    11. LM

      Chuck Morgan, there is the, a protocol in East Tennessee Children's Hospital in which Dolly Parton now, it's called the Dolly Parton Hospital 'cause she gave-

    12. JF

      Yeah

    13. LM

      ... generational well. My middle child started volunteering there at 16, and then was in nonprofit there and over large gifts and raised money. Chuck loves a baby, honey, and a dog.

    14. JF

      Mm-hmm.

    15. LM

      And he found out about the drug-dependent, we have the protocol, people come from all over the United States because there was the opioid and meth problem in the Appalachians.

    16. JF

      Mm.

    17. LM

      So people have their babies, and these babies go through withdrawals, and somebody's gotta be able to hold them and know the sensory issues-

    18. JF

      Yeah

    19. LM

      ... and how to calm them down going through withdrawal. Chuck Morgan is one of those people.

    20. JF

      Mm.

    21. LM

      And does it every week of the world. He's done it for 10 years.

    22. JF

      He's a big softie.

    23. LM

      He is a big softie. Not on the outside.

    24. JF

      Yeah, no. [laughs] Not on the outside of it. I can't imagine.

    25. LM

      He's a lot of, you know, "Who left the garage door open?"-

    26. JF

      Yeah

    27. LM

      ... kinda dad.

    28. JF

      Yeah. The thermostat

    29. LM

      The thermostat

    30. JF

      [laughs] Yeah, I can only imagine. Did, do, um-

  8. 14:04 – 15:58

    Spending vs. saving: how their money personalities shaped the family

    1. LM

      Yeah.

    2. JF

      You know, that it's like, you, you have it, and it's, um, and it'd be like-

    3. LM

      The weekly deals

    4. JF

      ... exactly. And it'd be like, oh, uh, you know, uh, ground beef is 50 cents a pound or something. Like, you know, we were just like, "Oh, this is good. Something's a few cents off." That was, I, I got really good at scouring deals that w- [laughs] early on. So I think Chuck and I would definitely re-

    5. LM

      Yeah

    6. JF

      ... re- relate to that

    7. LM

      And that's responsible. And see, I'm all, all-

    8. JF

      [laughs]

    9. LM

      And Honey, I was like, you know-

    10. JF

      Yeah

    11. LM

      ... in a McDonald's parking lot telling jokes. These kids, you know, were sitting in the back of an SUV selling, I was selling CDs out of the back of it. Honey, ripping and doing. I, I piddled money away.

    12. JF

      [laughs]

    13. LM

      I've never been a... And Chuck went, "You gotta watch your pennies, and they'll become dollars," and all that mess.

    14. JF

      Yeah.

    15. LM

      I came from, I mean, my mom and daddy have been very frugal, very frugal. But they didn't teach us how to be frugal. My sister and I probably, you know-

    16. JF

      Probably

    17. LM

      ... cheap chops.

    18. JF

      Yeah.

    19. LM

      I, I'm more of a let's go to Chick-fil-A.

    20. JF

      [laughs]

    21. LM

      You know? And I'm-

    22. JF

      Yeah

    23. LM

      ... p- TJ Maxx-

    24. JF

      Yeah

    25. LM

      ... has got pumpkin towels out.

    26. JF

      Let's go.

    27. LM

      Yeah.

    28. JF

      Let's go.

    29. LM

      I piddle money away. Chuck Morgan will save for something big, you know, like a vacation and all that. If I didn't have Chuck Morgan, I would've been living in a hole.

    30. JF

      I believe it. [laughs]

  9. 15:58 – 21:01

    Family and friends are last to understand: recognition, travel, and early doubts

    1. LM

      You're going over and talking to people in New Zealand?

    2. JF

      We did. Yeah, we spent a month over there. It's-

    3. LM

      Did you ever think this, Honey?

    4. JF

      No, no.

    5. LM

      Did you ever think this?

    6. JF

      No. And I definitely had, uh, I can remember Sierra going, "Okay, go do your [laughs] little thing." And so that became, I, I, I have friends-

    7. LM

      I didn't even think of that.

    8. JF

      I have friends that didn't even, who still don't really understand what... Because it's like you and I, you, it's like I, I understand because I'm there, and you understand because you see it, but it doesn't mean some of your closest friends and family-

    9. LM

      Yeah, they don't see it

    10. JF

      ... see it.

    11. LM

      And I have a, okay, a friend-

    12. JF

      Yeah

    13. LM

      ... who went into therapy that's famous comedian, who said that his therapist said, "Your family and your friends are the, and everybody's the last to catch up."

    14. JF

      Oh, that's so true.

    15. LM

      They don't understand what's happening. Now, my baby child is my makeup artist and is in the union for television and film.

    16. JF

      Yeah.

    17. LM

      A real true. She sees it 'cause she's with me. She knew what was happening.

    18. JF

      Yeah, she sees it.

    19. LM

      Uh-huh. And she had to tell everybody. And Chuck Morgan would be like, "This could blow up tomorrow."

    20. JF

      [laughs]

    21. LM

      I don't know what he thought I w-

    22. JF

      Yeah

    23. LM

      ... but he goes, "This it. Don't you dare spend a m- a bit of money." And I'd be, and I told him-

    24. JF

      Right

    25. LM

      ... I go, "I think we need to move. Like, I can't be living in this neighborhood anymore."

    26. JF

      Yeah.

    27. LM

      He goes, "Oh, good Lord."

    28. JF

      Yeah. [laughs]

    29. LM

      You know, it took him a long-

    30. JF

      Yes

  10. 21:01 – 24:11

    Bombing, self-talk, and persistence—and the near-quit moment in her early 50s

    1. LM

      Oh, many times, honey

    2. JF

      ... and y- yeah, and you just go, "Maybe I should just..."

    3. LM

      I didn't think that.

    4. JF

      You didn't?

    5. LM

      I would be down, and I would wanna give my money, the money back and feel this big.

    6. JF

      Yeah. How did you-

    7. LM

      After bombing

    8. JF

      ... what did you say to yourself?

    9. LM

      I would, um, I would go through my mind of everything I think I could have done better, and I would wanna give money back, and I'd feel bad. But I have a g- the, or God sent me Karen Mills. We met 20-something years ago. She's a female comedian who'd done it longer than me and was single, so she was out on the road and in clubs and, and doing that real, that road dog kind of-

    10. JF

      Yeah

    11. LM

      ... comedy. And I had her to call and go, "I just bombed," and I'd maybe, I mean, we would kid and say, "Maybe I should quit." And she'd go, "No, you're not gonna quit." And then she'd call me and say, "I bombed. I'm gonna quit." And I'd go, "No, you're not gonna quit."

    12. JF

      [laughs]

    13. LM

      I never thought about really quitting.

    14. JF

      Yeah.

    15. LM

      But I would feel so bad. It's so gut-wrenching. And Jerry Seinfeld's become a good friend of mine and has mentored me.

    16. JF

      Oh, how cool.

    17. LM

      I know. And he's, uh, to this day, he told me the other day, last week, he goes, "I had a show. It didn't go well, and I, or it didn't go as well as I wanted it to. And it, and it stays on my mind." And he goes, "Leanne, that's just who we are."

    18. JF

      Mm.

    19. LM

      "That's just who we are." And so there's a blessing to all this, but there's that curse-

    20. JF

      Yeah

    21. LM

      ... of, because you're up there by yourself. You're only depending on yourself. You're not in a band. And you-

    22. JF

      It's you. It's all you

    23. LM

      ... yeah. And if people are paying you, and you want them to have a good time, and you see one man-

    24. JF

      [laughs]

    25. LM

      ... sitting, going.

    26. JF

      Mad that he's there.

    27. LM

      Uh-huh. Or just not a laugher. Like Chuck-

    28. JF

      Yeah

    29. LM

      ... I've watched him at comedy clubs and stuff. Chuck will be, you know, thinking about it and not laughing. Sometimes I do that. And you think, "Is he not having a good time?"

    30. JF

      Yeah.

  11. 24:11 – 37:05

    The turning point: investing in social media, viral success, and finding her audience

    1. LM

      But yeah, I never thought, I, the only time I thought, "This isn't going well, and maybe I should let it go," and it was r- it, I was in my early 50s.

    2. JF

      Mm.

    3. LM

      And I had done a dry bar special. Dry bar is a clean- ... thing online. We didn't even understand what in the world it was. My manager at the time said, "There's this thing called Dry Bar. They want you to shoot a special. They're gonna give you a little bit of money." And when I say a little bit of money, I mean a little bit of money. And, um, he said, "We'll find, we'll m- get clips out of it where you can get more breast cancer fundraisers and Chamber of Commerce luncheons." Yeah, yeah. And that, and that's all, that was all sweet and kept me going for 20 years, but that's not what I wanted. Yeah. I wanted to be like Jim Gaffigan. Oh. I wanted to be working in theaters. Yeah. I wanted to be... I saw what he was doing, I wanted to be that. And, um, so I did this Dry Bar 'cause I was so desperate. That nothing was going right, and I was doing these, you know, these gigs that I'd been doing, and my money wasn't going up, and it was just felt like I was at a dead end. That came out. It got millions of views. Mm-hmm. Millions. Mm-hmm. Like, things went viral from it. But I wasn't selling tickets still, and I was doing a few clubs, and they were like, "We li- we love her. She doesn't get drunk and fight in the parking lot, but we're not having her back." And I would just be devastated. Yeah. And then, um, I was getting little corporate things, but they were not good, and I was... You know, now I'm getting in my early 50s, and I'm like, I'm in an Uber with somebody high on marijuana in California to go do this gig where they're putting me up at a, a motel on the side of the road. What am I doing? You know, I, I did that for 20 years. Yeah. And it's fun when you're starting out and you're like, "I don't care if I have to wear my heels in the bathtub 'cause it's so nasty." [laughs] I'm doing standup. But, but then- Yeah ... it got where, oh my gosh, is this sad? Mm-hmm. And am I gonna get raped and killed out here? And this, you know, I just got so down and out, and I thought, "I, this is not going well. I don't know." There wasn't any television deals coming and all that, and I thought, maybe I should give it up. I knew Charlie was having my first grandbaby, and in the country, we take care of grandbabies. Yeah. And that's a lot of guilt I have, 'cause I should be helping with those babies. But, um, I thought- You're a big, uh, caretaker. You're, you, you- I'm a nurturer. Mm-hmm. And honey, I c- I wish I... I begged Chuck Morgan for more babies. You're a big nurturer. I loved breastfeed ni- I raised them in the bed, honey. Yeah. I, they all slept in the bed, that big family bed. I'm very kumbaya when it comes to that kind of stuff. Yeah. Child development, my degree. I mean, I loved babies. My mom, I got a good mama. I, I think everybody oughta have a bunch of babies. I think you're a mama to a lot of people. I do. I do like to... I think I'm getting though an old crotchety woman where I'm telling everybody. [laughs] Like, "Everybody needs to get off of this, or g- Yeah ... don't do this." Yeah. "Everybody needs to r- get out and ride a bicycle." Yeah. "And not be in the basement." Yeah. Um, but I, um- Get off these screens ... get off these screens and get out here and ride a bicycle. Yeah. [laughs] And eat Oreos and some, you know- Cheetos ... some, uh, Cheetos, and some, um- Some puffed Cheetos ... grape Kool-Aid that hadn't been chilled. Yeah. [laughs] But I- Yeah ... um, really got desperate and felt my... And I went out to eat with Chuck Morgan, and I started crying, and I said, "I just don't think anything's gonna happen, and maybe I should give up." It makes me wanna cry now, 'cause I know- Yeah ... God was with me. And he said, "No." Hmm. "You gotta keep going." Mm-hmm. Chuck Morgan said that. And I said, "Okay. Well, I'm..." I said, "I've been watching Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargatze." I knew Nate. I'm close to Nate. But I saw Nate starting to sell out clubs, and then he was going into small theaters, and I was watching what they were doing. They had the same social media people. Hmm. And I thought, they've got social media people. And I was doing social media, but I was putting up pictures of a dachshund. You know, I didn't know what I was doing. And I told Chuck, "I'm gonna..." And I never invested in myself like I should have. If I made money doing the breast cancer fundraisers, I went and got the kids haircuts, their uniforms. Hmm. I spent money. That was the kind of an unwritten, unspoken thing with me and Chuck Morgan, that that money was to help run the household. I had, like, three headshots in 25 years, which was stupid. But I thought, I'm gonna find social media people, because they've got 'em, and I'm gonna try it, and if, I'm gonna give it three months, 'cause it was expensive. I'd never spent that kind of money on myself, and it made me feel guilty. Um, and I thought, I'm gonna give it that, and if that doesn't work, then I know that's God's way of telling me it's time to get out, and that'll be my last d- ditch effort. And I was moving that baby. She'd gone to college, and then she came to us and said, the other two were out of college, and I, she said, or maybe one was still at UT, but, but, uh, she said, "I'd like to go, I would like to be a makeup artist for television and film." So we found this school in Manhattan. We were moving her in that day. My social media boys, who I love, who got me, and they had a Christian mama. They understood me. They got my voice, which is unusual. Mm-hmm. You know? Hard to do. Hard to do. And, um, it was a God thing how I found them. And anyway, they put out a video, and I wish I had journaled. It was either the first video or the second video. We were moving Tess into her, uh, student housing, and m- one of them called me and said, "This is going viral," and we'd never seen anything like it. And, uh, you could see just thousands, and on Facebook, thousands and thou- And I'd gone viral from the Dry Bar thing, but it really didn't translate into success. Hmm. And honey, overnight, I, I did, it was a video about me taking Chuck Morgan to go see Def Leppard in Journey, and how everybody looked sick and had plantar fasciitis. [laughs] And people could relate to that. Yeah. And then started saying, "Well, who is that? And where, what else does she have?" So then they started looking at all my other stuff, and over, it felt like- It, within a week, comedy clubs were calling my manager saying, "Can we get her?" Because people saw the video and go, "Is she ever coming to this club?" So they were in, you know, Tempe, Arizona saying, "We want Leanne Morgan at this club." Yeah. So then- [clears throat] ... I started selling out all over the United States within weeks. It's like somebody turned a light on in a dark room, I'm not kidding. And I could feel it. And the day we were moving to SN, I felt electricity going through my body. Hm. And I, I swear, I, I feel like God was saying, "Okay, we got this last one taken care of." She had had cancer. Mm. Had thyroid cancer, had been operated on, got well enough then to go to this school. I feel like God said, "We got her, this last baby is taken care of. She knows what she wants to do. Let's roll." Mm-hmm. Yeah. [laughs] I feel like that's what he's saying. Yeah. "Let's roll. You got these babies raised. It's time." And I feel like all that work I'd put in, and I worked hard. Of course. You know, I'll say, "Oh, shucks, how'd this happen?" Yeah. But there w- there was a lot of work that went in and a lot of bad gigs, and a lot of good gigs, and a lot of, you know, sacrifice, and a lot of nos, ups and downs. Mm-hmm. Where nobody cared, I couldn't get arrested. Comedy Central didn't want me. You know, I wasn't edgy. Like I, you know, just a lot of rejection, a lot of work, and I feel like it all came together when social media was getting big. And, um, I found my audience. You know, I'd been looking for them. I kept thinking for 20 years, "There's gotta be mamas out here that are talking about the same thing I'm talking about, about how their pants fit, they're going to Weight Watchers." Yeah. "They wanna kill their husband because he didn't hear the baby cry in the night," or, you know, you're on a budget, whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought, "They gotta be out here," but I couldn't find them, 'cause I didn't have... I had television deals, but they hadn't made it. I wasn't on Comedy Central. I, you know, I wasn't getting- Right ... I, there was no way to reach them, 'cause... So then I've got them, and then this happens. Yeah. And there was nobody like me talking about- Mm-mm ... this stuff. There isn't. On this level. They're o- they're out there, but they're- Sure ... not on this... And it was just, it's gr- bigger and crazier than anything I could imagine, but I felt it. I knew it was happening. And Chuck, I remember saying, "Something's happening, like, I think this is going viral, and I, I can feel something." And they were like, "Our Uber's here." [laughs] "We gotta get these suitcases in the- Right ... we gotta get to Brooklyn." Right. And, and nobody understood. Yeah. But I was saying it. Mm. And then I would be in these clubs and women would say, "My husband left me. You got me through it." Yeah. "I'm going through chemo. You got me through it. My little daddy died." Mm-hmm. "You got me through it. I watched you. You're, you're married the same man I'm married to. My boy's an old soul." Yeah. "My, my daughter used to hit me- Yeah ... in the back of the head with a backpack in the- Yeah ... you know, 'cause she needed a piece of cheese- Yeah ... after the pickup line." And it, it became, and then, okay, so then COVID hit. Yep. I got my first deal, The Big Panty Tour, 100 cities. COVID hit, couldn't do them. Had to wait till, you know, that all loosened up. But I just sat on my back porch, and I don't know why I did it. I just felt like it was natural to... M- my little mama'd had a stroke, had been in Vanderbilt. It was a t- debilitating stroke. I was going and taking care of them. I feel like during COVID that it, at least the blessing was I could take care of my elderly parents that were- Mm ... going through a terrible time. Yeah. And Mama couldn't eat solid foods. And I started doing videos on the back porch, no makeup on, saying, "I'm gonna make my mama a chicken noodle casserole," or, "I'm gonna do this." She m- she loves a Jell-O salad. She can eat it, and she can swallow it. And it became, like, a community. Yeah. And it got, it got bigger during COVID. And I would say, "Don't watch the news. You know, everything's gonna be all right." But I felt that in my heart. N- none of that was put on. Right. And I was worried to death about my mama. Mm. And going through that with her, and I was, you know, everybody was scared to death and didn't know what to do, and all that with COVID, and I think I was a calming v- people tell me I was a calming voice d- during that. Mm. Which is sweet. Yeah. I get that all the time. People say, "You got me through COVID." But I was just talking about recipes, and my mom and daddy keep the thermostat on 75, and I was going through menopause at the same time. And, and it really connected with people. So it, and then, so by the time the first tour was able to launch, after COVID loosened up, it was nuts- Yeah ... and crazy. [laughs] And then Netflix gave me a special. And then- Netflix came in, which is the stamp. Yep. Which is the stamp, say you're legit. Yep. You know? And then it was Katie Bar the Door. Katie Bar the Door. Yeah. So I've, I've got one more special to shoot with them. They gave me a two special deal, so it'll be three specials with them. Mm. They gave me a sitcom, been in some movies, wrote a book. God thing. All of it. I see His work in all of it. Yeah. Makes me wanna cry when I look at you- Yeah ... 'cause you're so precious. [laughs] You got a sweet spirit. [laughs] Thank you. You're just a- Thank you [laughs] ... sweet doll from heaven. You're sweet. But I do, I see Him- Yeah ... in every bit of it. 'Cause I would have television deals, and they wouldn't make it, and I would be so devastated, and think, you know, well, I thought, th- you know, all this hype, and then nothing would happen. But, but I got to raise my children in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mm. It, they j- it just wouldn't have been, they wouldn't have become who they were supposed to be. Yeah. And I have this material, this full life of raising children, and cooking, and cleaning, and doing-

    4. JF

      Yeah

    5. LM

      ... and Chuck Morgan, and grandmamas, and everybody that people can relate to now. This, this... You know, if I'd have been out in Hollywood-

    6. JF

      Yeah

    7. LM

      ... you know, I wouldn't have all these experiences that I've had that people relate to.

    8. JF

      Yep. Now, now they can relate to exactly the, the grandmama life.

    9. LM

      The grandmama life.

  12. 37:05 – 41:39

    Guilt, self-care, and the “Shawshank” metaphor for slow progress

    1. JF

      So many God things. There's somebody listening right now who doesn't feel like they can do them, they can do things for themselves without feeling guilt. And what would you say to the mom out there who feels like they can't do a thing for themselves 'cause they just feel too guilty?

    2. LM

      I know what that feels like, God love 'em. But I do think if you're fulfilling things that God has put in your imagination-

    3. JF

      Mm

    4. LM

      ... if you, if there's something that you feel so strong about, you feel like God's telling you that if people say that's their gut or whatever, I say it's God for me. If, whatever, if you feel like that is, you are being pulled to do that, if you... I do feel like you'll be a better mama if you take care of yourself. I look back, and when I was young, I loved exercise, and I would feel guilty, 'cause I'd think, "If I go to the gym, everybody's gonna get a stomach bug. Everybody's gonna have to go sit in this, you know, and everybody's gonna get germs and do all that." But if, but I should have, and I did exercise, and I did try to take care of myself, but it, but I look back on it and I could've done better. And when you, when you are taking care of y- of yourself and your mental, you know, of what you feel like you're called to do, you're a better mama, a better wife, a better partner, whatever, a better daughter, if you are doing the things that, that make you happy. But I also say, I mean, that, that mama, being a mama comes first, you know, and a daddy.

    5. JF

      Sure.

    6. LM

      Being a mom and daddy comes first.

    7. JF

      Sure.

    8. LM

      You have those babies-

    9. JF

      Yeah

    10. LM

      ... that's the priority. But you can still do these things that fulfill you. And, you know, even if you're not getting to do what you wanna do because you are, you wanna s- be there for your children, it's almost like, a therapist told me this a long time ago, like Shawshank Redemption.

    11. JF

      [laughs]

    12. LM

      Remember in Shawshank-

    13. JF

      Yeah

    14. LM

      ... Redemption, he starts, he's in that cell, and he starts chipping away to make that tunnel.

    15. JF

      Right.

    16. LM

      And it may take five years, but in his mind, that first chisel, in his mind, he's free.

    17. JF

      Yep.

    18. LM

      It may take five years to do that tunnel, but in his mind, he's free. So if, if you're doing just that little chisel to start whatever it is you wanna do, if you wanna become a yoga teacher, if you wanna go back and get your undergraduate degree, if you wanna go-

    19. JF

      Yeah

    20. LM

      ... and start a non-profit, if you wanna, if you wanna make jewelry and start a business, whatever it is, or go, you know, start a new career or whatever, in your mind, if you're working toward it, even if it's not what you think you want it to be at, you know, in the, at the pinnacle of it, in your mind you're doing it.

    21. JF

      Yeah.

    22. LM

      You're doing it. And that's how I would feel when I was doing, you know, so many comedy clubs a year, not many, but I was doing, you know, fundraisers or corporate things. It wa- I knew that wasn't this, what I'm doing now, but in my mind, I'm getting there, I'm getting there. But I s- I, but I'm still, these, I got these babies and everything. We're doing it. We're all doing it.

    23. JF

      Yeah.

    24. LM

      You know? I, I hope that's helpful to people.

    25. JF

      Yeah.

    26. LM

      Because in your mind, you, you know, you're working toward it. And I do th- women feel so guilty in that.

    27. JF

      Yeah.

    28. LM

      But this time with your babies goes by so quick, and I'm looking, I'm reflecting on that a lot lately, 'cause I'm turning 61, and I'm watching them raise my grandbabies, and they're doing a wonderful job, and I think, "Man, it goes by fast." So when you're in it, you think, "Oh, my gosh, am I ever gonna get..." I remember sitting in a yard with a bunch of kids-

    29. JF

      [laughs]

    30. LM

      ... crawling over me, and seeing a airplane go over and k- thinking, "Where are they going?"

  13. 41:39 – 54:14

    Parenting differences: boys vs. girls, kids’ emotional worlds, and comedy instincts

    1. JF

      I know. Our kids are very different, though. Is it different raising boys than it is girls?

    2. LM

      Oh, yeah, yeah. My boy, and I, and my kids will go, "Well, he's your favorite." No, nobody's my favorite, but they're, but he was so easy. But little boys to me are just so easy. You know, just, you know, like, "I'm just gonna go shoot this BB gun, um, at this tree."

    3. JF

      [laughs] Yeah.

    4. LM

      And, you know, just happy.

    5. JF

      And they're good. Yeah.

    6. LM

      Uh-huh. And then the girls are emotional.

    7. JF

      Yeah.

    8. LM

      And they, you know, my girls are 20 months apart, and they, you know, one would starfish one in the back. One was, used words to hurt. One would use physical, and they'd fight. Me and my sister would fight, and we are too sissy. Honey, she was in pageants, and we, you know, we didn't fist fight like that.

    9. JF

      Yeah.

    10. LM

      We didn't fist fight like that.

    11. JF

      [laughs]

    12. LM

      But girls are more emotional-

    13. JF

      Mm-hmm

    14. LM

      ... and, and volatile, but they can't help it. But that was what makes them so special. Women feel, you know?

    15. JF

      Yeah.

    16. LM

      But Charlie would just be out, you know, when we lived on 281-

    17. JF

      Yeah

    18. LM

      ... I had a bit about how I would get in the v- minivan, and I would watch my kids come out, and- My girls would be tickled and happy in front of their teachers and then get in the minivan, and that middle one would take her backpack and sling it and hit me in the back of the head with it.

    19. JF

      [laughs]

    20. LM

      And say, "Don't you have a piece of cheese in this car?" 'Cause she needed-

    21. JF

      Yeah

    22. LM

      ... a snack. And then Charlie would, she would be, you know, hysterical and just on the verge of tears and tired. And Charlie would say, "There's a, they're building a new Home Depot up on 281."

    23. JF

      Yeah.

    24. LM

      Like, staring out the window.

    25. JF

      [laughs]

    26. LM

      You know, tickled. And then the baby, the m- baby child would be in the back going, "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama."

    27. JF

      Yeah.

    28. LM

      And I go, "What?"

    29. JF

      [laughs]

    30. LM

      And, um, asking me questions like-

  14. 54:14 – 1:03:31

    Her TV series: sitcom choices, collaboration, and relatable conflict

    1. JF

      Calming. Yeah, I love it. Speaking of your show, season two.

    2. LM

      Season two.

    3. JF

      Congratulations.

    4. LM

      Thank you, my darling.

    5. JF

      It's amazing.

    6. LM

      Thank you. I, I'm proud of it. I thought-

    7. JF

      And one.

    8. LM

      Um, I think it, I think it's so funny. We talk about elderly parents moving in, which nobody's talking about that on TV.

    9. JF

      Yeah.

    10. LM

      The people who play my parents are magic, Celia Weston and Blake Clark. Your children, I'm sure, have watched Toy Story.

    11. JF

      Yes.

    12. LM

      Blake Clark is Slinky.

    13. JF

      Oh, yes, yes, yes.

    14. LM

      The Slinky Dog.

    15. JF

      He does the voice for Slinky. Yeah, he is.

    16. LM

      Oh, honey, he's in Adam Sandler movies.

    17. JF

      Yes.

    18. LM

      And then Celia Weston's been in every-

    19. JF

      He's got that gravelly voice. Yeah

    20. LM

      ... gravelly voice-

    21. JF

      Yeah

    22. LM

      ... and is brilliant. And Celia Weston plays my mom, who is, uh, a doll and, uh, been o- over 100 movies, and, uh, award-winning actress, Christian Johnston, Ron Stiles, Tim Daly. They put the best around me.

    23. JF

      Yeah, you have an all-star Also agree

    24. LM

      ... uh, and you know, they ba- it, when I, we went in to talk to Netflix about a show, I wanted, I'm a big Parks and Recreation and Office fan, and I, I d- I grew up on sitcoms and I love 'em. But I thought, "I wanna do a single cam." And they were like, "You know, they're expensive to make. It's like making a movie every day." And they said, "We think you can bring the multi-cam back." And I was like, "Don't put that burden on me," because I thought, you know, we, we-

    25. JF

      Mm-hmm

    26. LM

      ... just don't have multi-cams like we used to.

    27. JF

      Right.

    28. LM

      But people miss 'em. And so they said, "If you'll do it, Leanne, we'll buy it right now and we'll do a multi-cam." And so Chuck Lorre and I talked about it, and we decided to do it. And of course, he's king of sitcoms.

    29. JF

      Right.

    30. LM

      Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, all that.

  15. 1:03:31 – 1:12:45

    What’s next, plus Southern stories: tours, Bell Witch, and faith as a throughline

    1. JF

      I sure will. It resonates, uh, resonates with everybody. I want everybody who's listening to watch, we got season two-

    2. LM

      Season two

    3. JF

      ... of Leanne.

    4. LM

      Mm-hmm, and I'm gonna be out in a movie-

    5. JF

      Yes

    6. LM

      ... in February 27 with Glenn Powell, a Judd Apatow movie called The Comeback King.

    7. JF

      That's gonna be awesome.

    8. LM

      And I think it's gonna be hilarious, hilarious.

    9. JF

      Glenn Powell is, he's a, he's a, um, Longhorn, UT Austin.

    10. LM

      Oh, yeah, he is. Oh, yeah, he was at the UT Tennessee game the other day.

    11. JF

      That's right.

    12. LM

      And I didn't get to go.

    13. JF

      Sorry.

    14. LM

      Chuck Morgan met him.

    15. JF

      I watched the game. I'm a, I'm a, uh, we went to University of Texas.

    16. LM

      I know.

    17. JF

      So.

    18. LM

      And Honey, Arch Man and that dog.

    19. JF

      I know it.

    20. LM

      If we can't win, I want y'all to win. I thought we did pretty well against y'all. Y'all number one.

    21. JF

      But, uh, but y'all did good.

    22. LM

      We did.

    23. JF

      I, I would say, I would say.

    24. LM

      We did. I was, I wasn't so torn up as I thought I was gonna be. But yeah, s- and Peyton Manning, God love him, 'cause he's mentors that baby, Arch.

    25. JF

      That's right. That whole family-

    26. LM

      You know that was hard for him-

    27. JF

      No, it had to be

    28. LM

      ... and little Darling.

    29. JF

      That whole f- yeah, for sure. But yeah, I think you're gonna, uh, I've not met Glenn, but I've heard he's-

    30. LM

      Darling

Episode duration: 1:12:45

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