Joe Rogan Experience #1490 - Jimmy O Yang

Jimmy O. Yang is an actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. Check out his new special "Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal" available to stream now on Amazon Prime.

Joe RoganhostJimmy O. Yangguest

Jun 11, 20202h 29mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

150 min read · 30,010 words

0:00 – 3:22
Comedy during COVID: club shutdowns, Zoom shows, and Chappelle’s outdoor workaround
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Um, hey, what's up, brother? How are you?
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  What's up, Joe?
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Good to see you.
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's great seeing you. It's great seeing a fellow comedian that I, I don't think I've been inside a comedy club or seen any comedians for two months now.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  It's weird. It's like they're trying to get it out of our system, like they're trying to, like, uh, like, if we were junkies, if we were comedy junkies, we've gone through a rehab. Y- you have to live like a regular person for months.
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's tough. I mean, I've gotten past the phase of, like... 'Cause back in the day, if I didn't do standup for a week, I would get depressed.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  'Cause there's nothing else going on i- in my life. But now, I got other stuff going. I can do writing, whatever. But I feel bad for, like, the road guys. And, and-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, yeah.
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... and the open mic'ers that just coming up.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, yeah.
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And I'm sure you've gotten this. Are a lot of people inviting you to do virtual, virtual standup comedy shows on Zoom?
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, they can eat shit.
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Th- that is the worst idea on the fucking planet.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Bro, even great comics look terrible on those.
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And, and they can record you forever.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Exactly, exactly. And record you looking terrible, bombing. Just, it's just not the right place. It's like, uh, let's play basketball underwater.
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. (laughs)
19. JRJoe Rogan
  No, that doesn't work.
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  But that shows you how desperate people are.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I- they would put their whole material on the line, uh, to do virtual, no real people audience, just to get their rocks off.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Dave Chappelle's got a very unique solution. He's doing some shit in his backyard. He sent me... Well, not his backyard. His friend has a wedding pavilion.
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Ooh.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  So, he set up this thing at a wedding pavilion. All of it is, uh, COVID-safe. Look at that. That's Dave on stage in Ohio at a wedding pavilion. (laughs)
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh, wow, dude. That's awesome.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  So, that, that's be where people would get married, and Dave's up there doing standup.
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. Well, he's so good, he doesn't need, like, um, a low ceiling-
29. JRJoe Rogan
  No.
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... you know, packed seats.
3:22 – 6:47
Killing in bad rooms: the Improv Lab ‘room of death’ and club design mistakes
1. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) Well, I remember the first time I saw you was at the Improv.
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  I saw you kill in that little tiny room of death. Tha- that lab is death. Everybody eats shit in that lab.
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  That is the worst. Ev- ever since they remodeled it-
5. JRJoe Rogan
  It's terrible.
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... that la-... Half the room is a bar-
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... and then there's pillars in, in the front of the stage.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  And right next to you is where the door is.
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  So, people are coming in the door. There's all this chitchat and talking-
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and buying tickets. It's right there. But you were killing. And I was like, "Damn, this dude's legit funny."
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh, thanks, man.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  'Cause you have to be legit funny-
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  ... to kill in that bizarre envi-... I've seen a l-... I ate shit in that room. I've seen a lot of people eat shit in that room.
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It, it, it's a tough room. And sometimes, um, you, you wanna start in that small room and then do another set in the big room, so you go home happy.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  I did the wrong way.
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh, that is the worst feeling.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  I murdered in the big room, then I came to the little room and it was like 10 people in there and I ate shit. (laughs)
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. (laughs) And then your first set, you, you're completely forgotten.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And then you're just like, "Well, I'm a piece of shit."
25. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  "And I can't do standup."
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Not only that, I strolled in cocky 'cause I just killed. I'm like, "I know how to kill."
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah, yeah.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  "Come on, I'm a fucking professional here." Went up and then bombed. Yeah, it's a, it's just a terrible setup. They know it, though. They've remodeled that Improv more than any other fucking club I've ever even heard of.
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Why? The old setup was fine.
6:47 – 9:43
Openers, energy, and ‘music comics’: lineup strategy and why some combos doom a set
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, th- that's the thing about, like, the open mic community. There's always some dude who's got some kind of a bringer show that they're putting something together and it's always ... it's ... usually it's okay. It's good at seasoning. You get on stage, you do a little set. Y- you know, at any, any stage of the game, it's always good to get on stage in weird crowds.
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  But the problem with a lot of those shows is you'll go on after, like, two or three people that are death.
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  There is no comedy left in life, and you'll be convinced that nothing is funny. It's impossible to be funny.
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Do you know what I'm saying? Like, you see someone-
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  ... really, really, really bad and you ... like, there's nothing to comedy. Com- comedy doesn't work.
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  'Cause there's so many, I guess, (sighs) approach to this, right? Like, I think there's one that's, like, right ... you know, you don't wanna follow someone that's too strong. Like, if, if I go on stage after Chappelle, kind of fucked, you know?
11. JRJoe Rogan
  He's both strong and super famous.
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  It's a double hammer. (laughs)
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. Like, people will be leaving-
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... you know, the store or whatever.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  But also, there's a ... the other side of it, it's you want to ride a wave.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Yes.
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  If somebody that's doing well, you wanna go in there and ride that wave. But then the opposite of it is if somebody is bad, you can go on, you can kill it, and then the crowd believes in you. But if somebody is too terrible, then it's dead. Like, you have to ... you spend your first five minutes just doing crowd work.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  One of the signs of a terrible headliner is when they bring really bad openers-
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  ... just so that they look really good.
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  They don't want anybody stealing any of their thunder, so they bring, like, just complete scrubs.
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  That fucks me up though.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  You know?
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. Me too.
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I ... for me, my opener is more about energy. I want somebody's energy that matches my level-
9:43 – 15:06
'Urban' as a code word: race, comedy club audiences, and culture-specific expectations
1. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's ... I remember, um, I used to do a bunch of, like, urban clubs and, uh, J-Spot. You remember J-Spot?
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Isn't that a funny name, Urban?
3. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Urban. Well-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  All, all clubs urban.
5. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... I guess ... should I say black club or should I just say-
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. It's a bl- ... I guess it's a black club.
7. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I g- uh, urban may be more offensive. I, I don't know. But they, th- they call themselves urban clubs, though.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  I know. But isn't that weird?
9. JYJimmy O. Yang
  That is weird.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Why urban?
11. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's a code word for black, right? Like, urban?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  It's a weird code because it also means a city. Like, all clubs are in cities. When the fuck was y- ... you ever done a club in the woods?
13. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (laughs)
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Right?
15. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Well-
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Clubs aren't rural.
17. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It, it's l-
18. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
19. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... the word urban and inner city for some reason.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Huh.
21. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Like, right? It, isn't that kind of the same thing?
22. JRJoe Rogan
  But I mean, like, there's urban clubs in LA that are just downtown.
23. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Right? Isn't that that one ... what is that one club?
25. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Um, Garrett Morris' club back in the day?
26. JRJoe Rogan
  No, there's a club downtown that's, uh, a black club that's supposed to be real good.
27. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Ah, I don't remember.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  But I mean, just the, the term urban is just very weird.
29. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I remember, um ... so when I did the J-Spot ... I, I don't know if it's still there. The J-Spot, it's, uh, opened by Jay Anthony Brown. I was pretty ... very green, you know? And, uh, it was on top of a Yoshinoya, but it's a popping club, right? And I remember the DJ come up to me. Uh, my set was, like, 15 minutes. He was like, "You got any music cues?" I was like, "No. Just play whatever." He was like, "Are you sure?" I was like, "Yeah. No, I don't have any music." He was like, "You don't, you don't want me to play anything in your set?" I was like, "No. Why would you do that?"
30. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
15:06 – 17:38
Representation and language: ‘Oriental,’ ‘Asian hierarchy,’ and Hong Kong identity tensions
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Isn't it funny that Oriental became like taboo, like the term Oriental?
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's (laughs) it's a weird one.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  I mean, and people that say Oriental, they never mean harm.
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  No, they're just-
5. JRJoe Rogan
  You know?
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... old.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  They always, they're old like, "It's my buddy's, uh, uh, father's in high school."
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  They're like-
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Right, right, right.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  "So you and your Oriental parents, you guys..."
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (laughs)
13. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's like they're trying to be so PC.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's like when people call black people African Americans 'cause they're too careful, you know?
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And, and that's like kinda weird, you know?
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. I don't, I don't love it.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, it's just a, I mean, what do you... Well, Jamaicans are te- like someone who comes from Jamaica and lives in America, I guess technically you'd be an African America 'cause Africans went to Jamaica first.
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Right.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  And then to America.
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (sighs)
25. JRJoe Rogan
  It's odd.
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  It's all weird, man. It's all... The... But just the, like, for Asian folks, like also people get upset if you can't make the distinction.
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (laughs)
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Right?
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes. Asians have a lot of beef amongst each other.
17:38 – 20:55
Hong Kong autonomy, Communist Revolution stories, and Western romanticizing of Mao/Che
1. JRJoe Rogan
  How does, how does it... Like when you're seeing what's going on with Hong Kong right now where they're losing their autonomy to China, (exhales loudly) does that freak you out? Is it crazy?
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Well, it, it, yeah, it's, it's very disheartening. Um, but I think my dad saw that coming.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  You know? We moved here when I was 13, uh, the year 2000. Uh, that was three years after the British gave Hong Kong back to China after the hundred-year treaty, you know?
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I guess (laughs) they're like nice colonizers.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  They're like, "We're gonna colonize you, but just, just 100 years and here you can have it back." You know?
9. JRJoe Rogan
  It seems like it's going downhill. The riots in the streets, or excuse me, the protests, 'cause they're extremely polite protests.
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's-
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Like the way they part the street for an ambulance is amazing.
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It's tough. And, and I think that's one of the main reasons, aside from education and all that, just more opportunities in America. That was probably one of the main reasons why my family wanted to move out of Hong Kong-
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm.
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... you know, to America.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  They saw it coming.
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  They saw... 'Cause my dad grew up 50s, 60s communist revolution. Motherfuckers would kick down your door and take everything. Both of my grandparents went to jail.... from both sides because they were intellectuals. Uh, I believe my, my father's father, my grandfather, uh, was, uh, like, a chemistry teacher and he was considered an intellectual and he went to jail.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  What? So they j- put him to jail just because he was an intellectual?
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I believe so. I don't know the exact story, but then I know uncles that were, like, talking shit that also went to jail. A lot of people went to jail, dude.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  So, went, they went to jail because they were complaining?
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I think it's, it's a mixture of things, yeah. You just, they just fucking throw you in jail and they kick down your door and take your shit.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Fuck.
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Look, now, now I've said that I can never do a movie in China anymore. I'm sure I'm banned. (laughs)
23. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) 'Cause you just said that?
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. But who knows? But it's, it's ... I, I get ... Look, I, I don't ever try to get political in my standup or whatever, but I get mad when I see hipsters in their house having Chairman Mao posters.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Or, like, wearing Chairman Mao T-shirts and shit. Chairman Mao killed a lot of people, man. That's like, on the other side of the spectrum, you having, like, a fucking Hitler poster in your house, but somehow that's cool.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Right. Right, right.
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  You know? Like, it wasn't 'cause all I know, I don't know history that well, but I know the stories that my parents told me during the Communist Revolution, how they got fucked over.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  There's something about Mao that's, like, it's intriguing for people that just look at it on the surface, right? Like, uh, same thing with Che Guevara, like, he looks cool.
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Right.
20:55 – 27:53
Surveillance, protest policing, and Trump’s rhetoric: privacy as a slippery slope
1. JRJoe Rogan
  I mean, it's just, it's a weird sort of slippery slope as sort of, as laws and all your different rights get eroded, you get closer and closer to the government being in control of things. Like, these new laws that they've passed recently where the government can just look into your internet searching with no warrant whatsoever. This was something that, I don't know if you know about this, part of the Patriot Act, that, um, this was one of the things that was, people were furious at Senator Sanders. 'Cause-
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Uh-huh.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  ... Bernie Sanders didn't, he wasn't there, he didn't show up for the vote. And if he had shown up and voted the other way, it wouldn't have passed.
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Why didn't he show up?
5. JRJoe Rogan
  He won't comment.
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh, wow. Huh.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  He won't, he's been reached out for, uh, to comment on it, he won't comment on it. But it's very disheartening and a lot of people who are progressives are furious at him and they, they-
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Hmm.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  ... feel very, very betrayed by this. Because now, no one even knows. Like m- you didn't know, right? Most people don't know.
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  No.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, the government can now look at all your dirty little searches.
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I don't care about that though. Like-
13. JRJoe Rogan
  But, but you should care.
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... I, I, it's a slippery slope, right? Is that the fear?
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, here's the fear. The government is just people. Y- you know, I don't want any ... I don't, I don't think, like, I should be able to just go look into Jamie's search. Like, uh, just for whatever reason. I, I know J- Jamie's at home. What if I have some code I can go just look, "What, what is Jamie looking at?"
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  "What'd he, what is he, what are you searching for?" That's, that's creepy, right? It's creepy. Like, privacy is privacy. It's important. You should, we should be able to reveal what you wanna reveal.
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  And if the government, which is just a bunch of people, can peer into your life but you can't peer into their life-
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  ... it sets up abuse. It's the same, it's the sa- like, it's power. It's the same thing you see with cops, right? All the shit that you see with cops, for sure racism is involved, but you know what else is involved? Power.
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  When you see that, that old man get thrown to the ground.
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  The one that Trump said is faking it.
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  That bashed his head, yeah.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Bleeding out of his fucking head and Trump's like, "He-"
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Very good actor, by the way.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah.
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I mean ... (laughs)
27:53 – 39:13
Twitter mobs and cancel culture: processed information, anonymity, and the Shane Gillis debate
1. JYJimmy O. Yang
  It, it's interesting, even... Like, I stay off Twitter, all of that stuff.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
3. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I don't, I don't to- a lot co-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Thank you.
5. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I, uh... It's just, it's, it's tough. I think I'm gonna delete my Twitter account.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  It's so toxic these days. I'm in a, um, a tweet thread, or a, um, text thread rather, with a couple comedians and they'll send me the most egregious, ridiculous things that are going on on Twitter where people are arguing about all kinds of crazy shit. And I'm like, "Man, this is toxic." Like, you're, you're reading into these... A l- these, a lot of these people have, like, severe depression and mental health issues, and they're lashing out at people. And they, and they, they have these, like, like, witch hunts, and they-
7. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Dude.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  ... go after folks for jokes from 14 years ago and attack them-
9. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh, yeah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and put up screenshots and, and they think they're somehow or another, like, doing something positive.
11. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Did you do a tw- Twitter scrub of, like, old tweets?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  No.
13. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Deleting... I did that. I'm, I mean, I see every day actors getting fired and shit. None of my stuff was, like, terrible, but it was just, like, bad jokes maybe.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, the problem is, with us in particular, we say the most ridiculous shit to each other all the time.
15. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  And then Twitter was, like, a lot of it was, like, trying jokes out.
17. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  And a lot of it was, like, you had a hot take on something that was ridiculous and you knew was offensive-
19. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  ... but you were only saying it for fun.
21. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  And then people take those things out of context and they pretend that it's, like, your real feelings and thoughts. Like, these are jokes. People say ridiculous shit that they don't really mean because they wanna get you to laugh.
23. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (sighs)
24. JRJoe Rogan
  That's all it is. And if you take those out of context, it can look pretty bad.
25. JYJimmy O. Yang
  If... I'm... Like, you're, like, a pretty pure comedian, you know? I, I have to kinda, you know, I, I, I, I-
26. JRJoe Rogan
  You act.
27. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I act and stuff-
28. NANarrator
  Yeah.
29. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... and that-
30. JRJoe Rogan
  That world sucks.
39:13 – 42:08
Asian male representation: Bruce Lee, dating app stats, and the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ effect
1. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Being an Asian, like, I say this in my stand-up. It's like people coming up to me, "Hey, thanks for representing Asians." I love i- ... I love Asians.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
3. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I love I represent Asians, but it wasn't a choice. When you wake up Asian-
4. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) Yeah.
5. JYJimmy O. Yang
  When you wake up Asian, you can only represent Asians in there's some kind of responsibility, so ...
6. JRJoe Rogan
  I was talking to Steve Aoki about Bruce Lee.
7. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  You know, I'm a giant Bruce Lee fan, and we were talking Bruce Lee stories. And he was saying that, like, when he was a kid, it's like, Bruce Lee was like finally, like, Asians had this representative-
9. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yes.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  ... this badass representative.
11. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  You know, who just didn't exist before in popular culture.
13. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, that's how unique Bruce Lee is if you really stop and think about it. Like, there was literally no one any ... even remotely like him in pop culture before him, and then bursts onto the scene. And then there was, like, a ton of fake ones. There was Bruce Li. Do you remember? Do you know about Bruce Li?
15. JYJimmy O. Yang
  No. What's Bruce Li?
16. JRJoe Rogan
  When Bruce Lee died, th- they had this guy named Bruce Li. (laughs) They had him dress like Bruce Lee and do very similar movies to Bruce Lee. And Bruce Lee fans like myself, we were like, "All right, I'll take it." (laughs) It's like, you know- Was ... He was Asian though, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Like, "Okay, shit." All right.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, yeah.
19. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I mean, Bruce Lee was huge. I mean, you can tell his impact. 40 years later, he is still one of the most Asian ... famous Asian-
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
21. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... sex symbols.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
23. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And, and, and representation, it's in- ... extremely, uh, uh, important in that sense because I have had girls tell me ... This is a ... just anecdotally. Can't hate me for this story.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
25. JYJimmy O. Yang
  But I mean, it's just a fun story. But this girl told me, she was like ... Um, a white girl, she was like, "You know, uh, when I watched The Crow," which is Brandon Lee's movie, his son. She was like, "When I watched The Crow, I felt like that was my sexual awakening when I was 15 years old."
26. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
27. JYJimmy O. Yang
  "And guess what? I had sex with him that night."
28. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
29. JYJimmy O. Yang
  You know what I mean? Like, that shit matters, bro.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
42:08 – 55:23
Porn, explicit acting, and America’s discomfort with sex vs comfort with violence
1. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I might just do porn, Joe.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  You should do that too.
3. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Whatever. You should be the only guy that has a, a dual career, like successful comedian, successful porn star.
5. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Hm.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Is that po- ... There's something about, right? If you be- ... decide to become a porn star, it taints you for everything else.
7. JYJimmy O. Yang
  W- y- uh, comedy though?
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, I think so.
9. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Really? Ah.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, I don't think ... Like, do you think-
11. JYJimmy O. Yang
  My acting career will be over.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  ... if Dave Chappelle just started slinging dick?
13. JYJimmy O. Yang
  That would be hilarious. (laughs)
14. JRJoe Rogan
  It would be kind of funny. But do you think that it would taint his comedy career at all?
15. JYJimmy O. Yang
  H- how's his dick game though?
16. JRJoe Rogan
  How's his dick game? I bet it's pretty fucking strong.
17. JYJimmy O. Yang
  If it's a strong dick game, I think it'll help.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  You think so?
19. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I think so.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  Maybe. Maybe.
21. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Somebody's got to be brave enough to do it.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Do you remember when Snoop Dogg was, like, hosting pornos?
23. JYJimmy O. Yang
  He was?
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, he was hosting them.Yeah. (laughs)
25. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (laughs) What does that even mean? Like-
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Well, he would be like in the room, like, "Oh, shit. People are fucking."
27. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (laughs)
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Like he was, he was doing things, he was doing things with porn. I'm, I'm try- I'm, I'm sure I'm right about this.
29. JYJimmy O. Yang
  But who wants that?
30. NANarrator
  It came out doggy style, yeah.
55:23 – 1:02:18
Bad representation dilemmas: William Hung biopic, Silicon Valley backlash, and ‘who gets to represent’
1. JYJimmy O. Yang
  You know what the most insulting thing I, I've gotten? This is recent. I don't even know if I should talk about it. But anyways, I should, because it's just funny. You know, I'm at, I'm at the ... Finally, at this point in my career, people sense me scripts if I wanna do it, which is very flattering. I'm like, "Oh, great." So there's an email my agent sent me. It's like, "Either you're gonna be really angry at this or really happy about it." And I was like, "Oh, fuck." Not a good way to start.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
3. JYJimmy O. Yang
  An email from your agent.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
5. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And, um, they're like, "They want you to play a lead in this biopic." I was like, "Oh, shit. What's up?" You know? Like, "I'm ready." Uh, and then they're like, "Yeah, but, uh, it's the biopic of William Hung." I was like, "Brother, are you kidding me?"
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Is that the Virginia's shooter?
7. JYJimmy O. Yang
  No, no, no, no, no.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  No. Which one's ... Oh, that's that guy who's-
9. JYJimmy O. Yang
  He's the American Idol singer.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  ... terrible singer? Yeah.
11. JYJimmy O. Yang
  She Bangs motherfucker.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, I met that dude.
13. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Look, nothing wrong with the guy.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, there's definitely something wrong with him.
15. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Well, yeah, yeah. But (laughs) yes, yes, yes. But he's not malicious. He-
16. JRJoe Rogan
  No, no, no, no.
17. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Might be a little Asperger or something. I, I don't know-
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
19. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... wha- what, what it is. But th- (sighs)
20. JRJoe Rogan
  I thought it was that, that one dude who was a shooter-
21. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I read-
22. JRJoe Rogan
  ... at the university.
23. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah. Yeah. That, that's tough too.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Virginia. Is that-
25. JYJimmy O. Yang
  I read all 115 pages of that script. I've never been so angry reading a script.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
27. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Like, I wanted to fucking vomit.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
29. JYJimmy O. Yang
  And i- i- i-
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Why were you angry?
1:02:18 – 1:12:54
Stand-up, racism, and cultural shift: hierarchy of discrimination, progress, and mob ‘feeding frenzies’
1. JRJoe Rogan
  I get it. You know, it's interesting that w- that, uh, it's like when someone gets offended at racial stereotypes, society puts it through this filter of whether or not it's valid. And I'll give you an example, The Sopranos.
2. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  The, uh, Italian American Anti-Defamation League or whatever the fuck it is-
4. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  ... I don't know, they were, they were pissed at The Sopranos. They were pissed that it was, uh, it was reinforcing negative stereotypes about Italians. And I'm Italian-
6. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm-hmm.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and everyone I know that's Italian was like, "What-"
8. JYJimmy O. Yang
  (laughs)
9. JRJoe Rogan
  ... "the fuck are you talking about?"
10. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Those are real people. I know guys like that.
12. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, this is offensive? What's offensive? Reality?
14. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Is the mob real? Are those fat guys real? Do they eat pasta like that?
16. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  'Cause that's real.
18. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Yeah.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, that's not a... Because Italians aren't really discriminated against.
20. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Mm.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  So it's, it doesn't hold any water.
22. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Well, also, you are Italian. There's a ton of Italian actors, comedians out there. So, Sopranos is not the only place where you see Italians.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Right, it's not the only representation.
24. JYJimmy O. Yang
  So, so that waters it down-
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
26. JYJimmy O. Yang
  ... and it's fine.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
28. JYJimmy O. Yang
  'Cause white people, you can play a whatever, a mentally handicapped guy, not-so-smart guy, or complete asshole, because there's a million other white people.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  But as soon as you play a mentally handicapped guy, it's over. That's a very dangerous m- That was, uh, Robert Downey Jr.-
30. JYJimmy O. Yang
  Oh, he was, uh-

Episode duration: 2:29:45

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Comedy during COVID: club shutdowns, Zoom shows, and Chappelle’s outdoor workaround

Killing in bad rooms: the Improv Lab ‘room of death’ and club design mistakes

Openers, energy, and ‘music comics’: lineup strategy and why some combos doom a set

'Urban' as a code word: race, comedy club audiences, and culture-specific expectations

Representation and language: ‘Oriental,’ ‘Asian hierarchy,’ and Hong Kong identity tensions

Hong Kong autonomy, Communist Revolution stories, and Western romanticizing of Mao/Che

Surveillance, protest policing, and Trump’s rhetoric: privacy as a slippery slope

Twitter mobs and cancel culture: processed information, anonymity, and the Shane Gillis debate

Asian male representation: Bruce Lee, dating app stats, and the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ effect

Porn, explicit acting, and America’s discomfort with sex vs comfort with violence

Bad representation dilemmas: William Hung biopic, Silicon Valley backlash, and ‘who gets to represent’

Stand-up, racism, and cultural shift: hierarchy of discrimination, progress, and mob ‘feeding frenzies’

Get more out of YouTube videos.