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Luenell heads to Raleigh, wants to make friends

Luenell wants "to make friends in every city" and part of that process is opening herself up to crowds, often with a question and answer session at the end of her final show of the weekend.

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Luenell
By
Tony Castleberry
RALEIGH, N.C. — Fresh off a fabulous birthday celebration in Los Angeles, Luenell arrived in Raleigh “exhausted” but ready to entertain audiences this weekend at Goodnights Comedy Club.

People who go see Luenell often get more than just her telling jokes on stage. As she said during a Thursday afternoon phone interview, Luenell wants “to make friends in every city” and part of that process is opening herself up to crowds, often with a question and answer session at the end of her final show of the weekend.

As you’ll soon discover, the woman perhaps best known for her unforgettable role in Borat and for her nine seasons on BET’s Comic View also gives honest, thoughtful and funny interviews. On Thursday, Luenell and I discussed the stars who attended her LA birthday party, how she feels about the #MeToo movement, doing clean comedy shows and more.

Enjoy the interview, follow Luenell on Twitter and don’t forget The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes at the end.
Tony Castleberry: What did you do to celebrate your birthday?
Luenell: I had a huge, HUGE, star-studded, celebrity-ridden, musical party in Los Angeles.
TC: Who were some of these stars, if you don’t mind dropping a few names?
L: The great Loretta Devine was there, my girl Kym Whitley, the great Paul Mooney, my God, more people than I can remember right now, but it was lots and lots of folks. Laura Hayes from The Queens of Comedy, a lot of my personal friends, you know? We had a black carpet. The Mary Jane Girls performed, then my girl Michel’le, a group called Troop and some other acts. It was like a little concert. It was really great.
TC: I’m glad you had a good one. When we talked in January 2017, you mentioned doing 15-minute question and answer sessions at the end of your final show of the weekend. It’s obvious what the audience members get out of that, but what do you get out of it?
L: That’s a good question. When you go see comedy or any entertainer most of the time, you go, you sit, you look, you leave and you don’t know anything about that person. Comedy is a little more intimate. Especially in a club, you can get more up close and personal with people. I want people to know things about me. I don’t think that 99 percent of comics interact with their audiences like that. I want to be different and I want audiences to ask me some questions, ask me about my life, ask me about the business. … Sometimes audiences are full of questions. Other times they sit and look at you stuck because they’re used to coming to see you, but not used to being able to talk.

I want people to know that, yes, I’m a mother. I’m married. How do you make that work when you’re on the road? What’s it like being a female in the business? The pay scale, I like for people to ask me questions so I can answer them and they walk away with a great show and some knowledge as well.

Every comic isn’t as concerned with their audience as I am. They just wanna come, do their job, get their money and leave. I truly want to make an impression on people everywhere I go. I want to make friends in every city because those are the people that will come back and see you the next time and bring a new friend.

TC: Absolutely. What’s your take on the #MeToo movement and all the women who have exposed sexual misconduct by powerful men in Hollywood?
L: I think the #MeToo movement is coming at the perfect time. I think with us getting more women directors and writers and stuff, we’re here to be taken seriously. In every business, when women are around, there are distractions, namely t*** and a**. Those have been distractions for men throughout the history of the world, but when you’re trying to be a woman that means business, you want to be taken seriously. Some people use those t*** and a** to their advantage, and that’s been going on throughout the history of the world as well, but when it’s time to be serious, we want you to put that aside and listen to what we’re saying.

Nobody has the right to violate anybody like (Harvey) Weinstein did. … Holding a job over your head if you don’t do sexual favors when you know you really want this job. You know this could be a groundbreaking job for you and could garner you a lot of money for you and your family. I was always like, “Why the hell did they wait so long (to speak out)?” Because you’ll get blacklisted and they’ll tell all the other old boys in the club and nobody (expletive) with you then. That’s why they held on to (that information).

There comes a time when you have to rise and say, “It’s enough.” … These people that were held in such high regard, they’re pigs at the end of the day and you’ve gotta respect women for who they are: intelligent, worthy, worthwhile beings on this Earth.

I think it’s a great movement. I don’t think it’s to be ridiculed. I don’t know why it doesn’t apply to our President. He openly admitted that he grabs women in the vagina like it’s just a thing to do and if you’re a powerful man, they’ll let you. He said that! Yet he gets no repercussions and everybody else is losing their job so I don’t understand what the double standard of that is.

I’m involved in this. I’m in Hollywood and I work around a lot of men in the comedy business. I hear the misogynistic conversations that go on and I hear the little comments and things that go on. I know how hard it is for a woman in this business so I’m down with (the movement). They can count me in.

Also, they know who to pick on. In all my years in the business, I have not had one single proposition. Me and the boys goof around or whatever, but a serious violation? I haven’t been violated in that way because I think they know that I will tear that a** up if they come at me that way.

TC: [laughs] Have you been asked to do clean shows and if so, how did they go?
L: Oh sure. I’ve done shows at churches, colleges. When I worked with Sinbad I had to work clean. I tell people, I don’t have Tourette’s syndrome. I cuss because I like to cuss. [interviewer laughs] And I cuss because I’m usually saying what other people would like to say when they’re trying to be politically correct but they don’t really want to be. I have the freedom to do that in my stand-up act, but everything I’ve ever done on television has been clean. I never did Def Jam. I did Comic View and you couldn’t use profanity on Comic View. I did nine seasons of that.

I actually enjoy the challenge of doing a comedy show clean because you have to think a little bit and not be on automatic like sometimes people can be. I welcome it. I wish I did more.

Here it is, The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes:

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