For the latest episode of Pop Culture Weekly, Kyle McMahon talks with Emmy and Grammy winning Patton Oswalt and Bob Hearts Abishola star Gina Yashere about Comedy Gives Back four hour Laugh Aid Livestream benefiting stand up comedians effected by COVID-19
What we could all use a little more of right now is laughter. Laughter helps us forget our troubles for a moment and just escape into pure joy. Comedians help to make that happen all year. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those comedians are now struggling to put food on their table.
I'm not talking about the Dane Cooks or Howie Mandels of the comedy world. I'm talking about the ones who perform nightly in comedy clubs across the country that go on to be the next Dane Cooks and Howie Mandels. With the coronavirus pandemic, these comedians and the staff that support them have been totally sidelined with their source of income completely wiped out.
In response, Comedy Gives Back is putting on Laugh Aid. This four hour live-streamed comedy event will feature comedy's biggest starts like Ray Romano, Adam Sandler and Iliza Shlesinger, doing stand up sets, performing skits and doing comedy pieces right from their own homes. Even better, the money raised goes directly to Comedy Gives Back's COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund helping comedians around the country with food, medical assistance and crisis management.
I spoke with the Grammy and Emmy winning Patton Oswalt about his efforts for Laugh Aid. Oswalt said, "I don't want the potential for some great career for an emerging artist being hurt by losing half a year of stage time, half a year of wages and having that much more tension and fear put on them.
I also spoke with Gina Yashere, the hilarious comedian from London who is currently the writer, co-creator and producer on super producer Chuck Lorre's Bob Hearts Abishola. Yashere says, "It's about people who don't have that safety net (of healthcare). That's what Laugh Aid is about. It's for people who don't have that safety net whose lives have been completely wiped out by this virus".
You can listen to my interviews with Patton Oswalt and Gina Yashere on Pop Culture Weekly on the iHeart Radio App. Comedy Gives Back Laugh Aid airs Saturday April 4th at 7pm EST (4p PST) on Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and anywhere else you can think of. Visit Comedy Gives Back for more information.
Check out Kyle Mcmahon and subscribe to the Pop Culture Weekly podcast. You can follow him on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, ,Rizzle and Instagram.