Joe Rogan Experience #1305 - JD & John Witherspoon

John Witherspoon is a comedian and actor. JD Witherspoon, John's son, is also a comedian and actor. You can see John on his YouTube cooking show "Cookin' For Poor People" (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJF-73OaZ-Cr0k9_-lpcaXQ). Also check out JD's channel "runJDrun" (https://www.youtube.com/runJDrun).

John WitherspoonguestJD WitherspoonguestJoe Roganhost

May 30, 20191h 44mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

150 min read · 30,003 words

0:00 – 15:00
... one take. …
1. JWJohn Witherspoon
  ... one take.
2. JWJD Witherspoon
  I do this all the time.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  We're live, ladies and gentlemen. What's up?
4. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs)
5. JRJoe Rogan
  It's hilarious seeing the two of you guys together.
6. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs) Yeah, my boy.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  When your son told me, when he told me he was your son-
8. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs)
9. JRJoe Rogan
  ... first of all, he instantly became my friend.
10. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs)
11. JRJoe Rogan
  And then, the second of all, I was like, "What is it like having John Witherspoon as a dad?"
12. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs)
13. JRJoe Rogan
  That has gotta be crazy.
14. JWJD Witherspoon
  But mind you, I only told you 'cause he was asking me, 'cause I go to the clubs all the time, hanging out and what not, you know, just kicking it with friends. And he said, "Who, who's at the club now, Baby?"
15. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) The impression's perfect.
16. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs) He's like, "JD," he, he's g- he was telling, he's like, "JD, who, who is it that, uh..."
17. JWJD Witherspoon
  (laughs)
18. JRJoe Rogan
  "Who's, who's, who the bringer there? Who the funny one? Who the one's..."
19. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (laughs)
20. JWJD Witherspoon
  (laughs) And I was like, I was like, "I mean, there's a bunch of 'em." He's like, "You know, Brennan, this, that and that." I said, "Joe's always there, he's got a bunch of people that comes to his show." He's like, "Joe Rogan?" I'm like, "I know Joe, that's my man, my man, Joe."
21. JWJohn Witherspoon
  We used to, I, we worked together when I was at the Comedy Store.
22. JWJD Witherspoon
  And then, yeah.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
24. JWJD Witherspoon
  And he told me to say hi.
25. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Many years ago.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
27. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah. So I-
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Last time I saw you, I think it was Caroline's in New York. We were doing-
29. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Oh, yeah.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  ... I was doing like the 8:00 and you were doing a 10:00 or something like that.
15:00 – 30:00
But a lot of…
1. JWJD Witherspoon
  But a lot of companies are still there, it's just the much...
2. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Not, not like it used to be.
3. JWJD Witherspoon
  It's just the... But the... But, like a c- a lot of car companies, you know, like Ford, right?
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
5. JWJD Witherspoon
  General Motors.
6. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Not like it used to be.
7. JWJD Witherspoon
  GM.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
9. JWJohn Witherspoon
  You'd be surprised.
10. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  They're still there, but they're there in a much more limited-
12. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Yeah.
13. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  ... role. But it's weird that-
15. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Limited role.
16. JWJD Witherspoon
  Or they're kinda like the, the, the, what? Like the base or kinda like the warehouse, or maybe they moved that, too. Maybe they're...
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, you know that show Top Gear?
18. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  They, they do a new show called The Grand Tour. They do it on Amazon, and they did one episode where they went to Detroit.
20. JWJD Witherspoon
  Mm-hmm.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  And, uh, they were in Detroit. They bought a house for like two grand.
22. JWJD Witherspoon
  Oh, yeah, you can get a, a good house...
23. JRJoe Rogan
  A whole house-
24. JWJohn Witherspoon
  So you can get 600 and...
25. JRJoe Rogan
  ... for $2,000. (laughs)
26. JWJD Witherspoon
  600 for 2,000.
27. JWJohn Witherspoon
  I think, I think two thou-
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Like a fucking whole house, like a house-house.
29. JWJD Witherspoon
  That's crazy.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Like you could live in it, like...
30:00 – 45:00
Bill Bellamy does that…
1. JWJD Witherspoon
  saying like, "Hey, I'm gonna be here this weekend," you know?
2. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Bill Bellamy does that all the-
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, yeah.
4. JWJohn Witherspoon
  ... all the time.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Everybody does it.
6. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah, cut it, cut it, cut it in half, cut the time in half.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah, you get, you don't have to do that get up in the morning stuff.
8. JWJohn Witherspoon
  But they want to see me.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
10. JWJohn Witherspoon
  These radio DJs.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Right. These radio DJs.
12. JWJohn Witherspoon
  They wanna see Pops. They wanna-
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
14. JWJohn Witherspoon
  ... see Pops. "Oh, man, this is legend coming in." And so I'm, "I ain't no damn legend, I just needed some money."
15. JWJD Witherspoon
  (laughs)
16. JWJohn Witherspoon
  That's why I'm, I'm a comic, I'm... I go out and work all the time 'cause I'm, I need money.
17. JWJD Witherspoon
  Definitely explain that, 'cause I did have a question when I first started doing standup, and I was like, "Hey, Dad, I..." (laughs) From a, from a motivational standpoint, I was like, "Hey, Dad, what, what got you into standup? What is it that, like, motivated you to wanna do it?" He looked at me and said, "Motivated me? Uh, I was broke." (laughs)
18. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
19. JWJD Witherspoon
  He's like, "I was broke, and someone told me I was funny, so I went to California and got on stage and just started making dollars." I was like, "So then what are you doing here? You don't even like this?" And he's like, "I mean, it's aight. I, I do my thing, you know?"
20. JWJohn Witherspoon
  I'm not, I'm not a comic who just loves to make people laugh. I, I'd rather be a-
21. JRJoe Rogan
  What do you love to do? What do you love to do?
22. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Count that money.
23. JWJD Witherspoon
  (laughs)
24. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
25. JWJohn Witherspoon
  (clapping) Count that paper.... my god, let me tell you about ... Sometime, sometime-
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh.
27. JWJohn Witherspoon
  ... on the way home, see, if I had a good week, 'cause some of them clubs pay a lot of damn money. They pay over $30,000 for six weeks, six nights, four, I mean, four, six shows on, uh, a weekend. And I don't count the money. But I, when I do one-nighters, they, you know, they have to pay you half of the money upfront and, and give you money just before you go on stage. So I, some night I might have $14,000, $15,000 in my pocket. Brother, I'll be on that plane feeling that, feeling that money. (laughs)
28. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
29. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Ah. I get me a glass of wine. I get me a-
30. JRJoe Rogan
  These-
45:00 – 1:00:00
Yeah, that, that's the…
1. JWJohn Witherspoon
  I... That's when I knew her, when she was like that. She was... She's a-
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, that, that's the picture right there, yeah.
3. JWJohn Witherspoon
  There she is right there.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, that's the picture he used.
5. Mm-hmm.
6. JWJohn Witherspoon
  She was a smart lady.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Sure was.
8. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Let me tell you something, brother. She was a whip. She was... She had her ways.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. She was, she was definitely eccentric, but she's-
10. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Yeah.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  ... one of the most important people ever in comedy.
12. JWJohn Witherspoon
  In comedy.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
14. JWJohn Witherspoon
  And people don't realize that.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
16. JWJohn Witherspoon
  A lot of people don't realize it. Mitzi was the shits. She...
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep.
18. JWJohn Witherspoon
  And that little Paulie with his crazy ass-
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep.
20. JWJohn Witherspoon
  ... running around there, that little baby.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
22. JWJohn Witherspoon
  I knew, I knew him all. I know people know Paulie since he was a baby. I know him all. Mitzi, Mitzi said, "Johnny, you gotta come back. We don't have nobody to work the door." I'd get up and go over there. So I'm at the door. I got, uh, eight o'clock show. You know eight o'clock show. I'm emceeing and, and working the door and everything, and, and hosting the room and all that. So I'm up there on stage, um, put the c... You've got a little rope you put across the door and close the curtain. And, you know, people come up in the m... The original room, they come up the steps there. You know the original room?
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
24. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Yeah.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Sure.
26. JWJohn Witherspoon
  So she's in the booth taking money, taking pic- taking money and get... Selling tickets. She and I the only one there working. And the, and the bar is in b... In the back. So, uh, Mitzi, "I'm on stage." Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Now, I got 10 people in the room, so... So she said, "Just go ahead and not get them... Uh, get the... Give me the cover and, and you go ahead and put the rope back." So now I'm up there about... I got 15 minutes. She said about three minutes, four minutes into my act, "Johnny! There are people in line." (laughs) "Come down here and let 'em in. You cannot do any more. No more material. Come on, Johnny." I said, "Mitzi, I'm trying to finish my act." "Johnny, come on. I wanna get this money." (laughs) That's what I learned from her, too.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
28. JWJohn Witherspoon
  "Get this money be- before they turn around and go home." (laughs)
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, God.
30. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Uh, that was the funniest. She's the funniest lady. She's the funniest lady, let me tell you. She was hot. She was tough. Mitzi was tough. She told me, "You stick with me, I'll make you a rich man." I said, "Mitzi, I come here to be a comic. I ain't coming here to be no rich man. I'm coming to be a comic." But she was too much trouble, too much eccen- too ecce- eccentric. Too eccentric. I didn't wanna hang around her too long. Argus is still there out of his mind, see? He's-
1:00:00 – 1:02:54
Cooking for Poor People,…
1. JWJD Witherspoon
  we can do something random." He's like, "Maybe we can do this cooking idea I got." And I said, "Sure, let's do it." We create the channel, we make it, and it's called Cooking for Poor People.
2. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Cooking for Poor People, because when you're hungry, everything tastes good.
3. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yes.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
5. JWJD Witherspoon
  And his channel is, uh, TheJohnWooden-
6. JWJohn Witherspoon
  So I eat a bunch of crap.
7. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah.
8. JWJohn Witherspoon
  I, I cook a bunch of crap.
9. JWJD Witherspoon
  But he, yeah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Like what kind of food?
11. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Chicken feet and rice. (laughs)
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Chicken feet?
13. JWJD Witherspoon
  Chicken, we did chicken feet, pig feet, ox tail. Uh, it's-
14. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Oh, I've had, um, uh-
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Chicken feet? What is chicken feet like?
16. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Tough. Uh, you, you got to be, you got to be ... But, you know who eat it?
17. JWJD Witherspoon
  He tried to- (laughs)
18. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Asian people eat it.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Do they?
20. JWJohn Witherspoon
  Chinese people eat it, eat it every day.
21. JWJD Witherspoon
  He tried to feed it to our dog and our dog ran away from him. So that's like a clip from the video.
22. JWJohn Witherspoon
  He don't know what a delicacy it was. That's what that was.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
24. JWJD Witherspoon
  Yeah.
25. JWJohn Witherspoon
  And then I recommend wine. I had wine, a tall glass of Mad Dog 20-20 with the chicken feet. (laughs)
26. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
27. JWJD Witherspoon
  (laughs)
28. JWJohn Witherspoon
  With them chicken feet.
29. JWJD Witherspoon
  And Thunderbird, Thunderbird wine.
30. JWJohn Witherspoon
  I had Thunderbird wine, uh-

Episode duration: 1:44:53

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... one take. …

But a lot of…

Bill Bellamy does that…

Yeah, that, that's the…

Cooking for Poor People,…

Get more out of YouTube videos.