Todd Glass is eager to come to Chicago's UP Comedy Club Nov. 20-22 as he shares some words about his recent memoir The Todd Glass Situation and some of his personal views about what it means for him to be a comedian who also happens to be gay.
The Todd Glass Situation is about his process coming out in the industry, and is subtitled: "A bunch of lies about my personal life and a bunch of true stories about my 30-year career in stand-up comedy."
Windy City Times: As a comedian, you tell stories about yourself on stage all the timeso what led you to the decision to write a full-length memoir?
Todd Glass: Well, I had done comedy for 30 years; then, I think, when I came out, [the publisher] Simon & Schuster approached me and thought that my story mixed with my 30 years in stand-up might be interesting. I was, like, "Who am I to tell them I'm not interested?"
So I did it. It was a lot of work. It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done.
WCT: So in the interview you did with Jon Stewert on the Daily Show, you expressed that before coming out you didn't want gay to become your identity. How has that changed or maybe remained constant with writing and promoting this memoir?
Todd Glass: I like to be really clear when I say that. Obviously, in an interview like this when I'm talking about it, it is a part of my life and I don't mind if it's a part of my life. So just because I'm talking about it does not mean it has become my identity. When it's necessary I talk about it. But for the majority of my life [being gay] doesn't have anything to do with it.
So it has not become my identity like I thought it would or I feared that it would. But it is nice in isolated situations that I can discuss the truth about my life. And most of the time it comes very casually. You know if you're telling someone what you're doing that night or referencing any part of your personal life it just comes out casually. And now it can.
WCT: How do you feel you were able to accomplish not letting that become your identity as a comedian?
Todd Glass: Well as society doesn't care as much, it doesn't become part of your identity as much. Obviously, 30 years ago it probably would have but now it's mostly my doing. It's not my whole identity so it hasn't become it. Sometimes I bring it up, sometimes I don't. And like I said, when it's brought up I'm happy to talk about it, but when [I] go on morning radio to promote [my] appearance at a clubmost of the time it doesn't even come up. Unless I'm promoting my book then obviously it comes up.
WCT: So what do you want your readers to take away from your memoir?
Todd Glass: Oh geez, that's a good question. I don't knowthere are so many things, I hope. I guess it's so individual for whoever reads it. For me, it was hiding my sexual identity but I've learned from talking to people and reading emails that there's a lot of [other] things people hide and some things are harder to hide than others but no matter what hiding shit suckswhether it's an alcohol problem you might have had… or maybe you got a DUI 10 years ago and things like that come up.
Let's say you have to take a week off of work because you have a court hearing or you have an AA meeting and don't want to tell anyonethose lies they build up and it's not only about your sexual identity, it could be anything that you're hiding, it's very difficult.
Hiding does not lead to healthy.
I think the main thing is you get comfortable hiding and you think, "It's not going to get any worse hiding it." You're so good at it and you think "It's not hard"it is, it is hard. When you don't have to hide anymore then you know. I'll tell you what: I've always heard that expression "a weight off your shoulders"everyone's heard that expressionbut then when you have and you do it then you go, "Ahh, now I really know what that expression means."
WCT: So how do you think the atmosphere of the industry has changed since you came out, if at all?
Todd Glass: It hasn't at all. Nothing has changed, everything is the sameit's good and I'm just back to doing stand-up.
I think in comedy the more you can tell the truth about who you are the better it is. So everything is back to just being the way it was before but better.
WCT: On a different note, so we're living in this world that's so overly PC or politically correct. What are your views or personal rules around using LGBT slurs within comedy?
Todd Glass: To tell you the truth, I think "PC" is an overused term. I will [paraphrase a] quote: "Is there a downside to PC? Politically correct is a sloppily used term. I think it's just being kind and decent." So, in other words, 30 years ago when people used the termor they still use it but I mean when they used to use in on the radiothere are still people who use the term "Jew me down." And somebody said, "Hey, don't say that" and someone said, "Oh, that's so PC." Now, looking back, did we stop saying that because everyone was so sensitive or did we change it because that's wrong?
It's like if you're in a relationship and you tell them to go fuck themselves and they say, "Please, don't tell me to go fuck myself" and you go, "Oh, you're so PC." No, that's wrong. To use a person's identity, to use the word "gay" as an adjective is wrong.
Every time we ask someone to change, they say, "Everything's so PC"no it's just decent, just being kind, just being understanding. If someone doesn't understand why they shouldn't use a word like "retarded" as an adjective instead of "clumsy," or instead of using "Jew me down" using "bargain," or instead of saying "gay" say "that's lame"if they don't understand that, your life is going to suck. You're not a decent person.
A lot of the time PC or kind people will use those words is because they don't see the past through the painthat's my new favorite expression. Even words likeand I will use it because it shows the test of time"[N-word]-rigged," if you ask the average person, "How did that phrase stand the test of time? How do they sound now?" It's sound so gross.
And with the words we're arguing over now, it's just different words but the same thing. I don't understand why people do get thatI don't understand it.
Windy City Times: Do you have any personal stories of people getting offended by something you said on stage?
Todd Glass: I don't ever mean to offend someone with something I say, and history will tell whether I'm right or wrong. It's okay to offend people [or] the right group. People get offended when they're correctedokay, I just hope I'm right. And history will say whether we're right or wrong.
So I just have to make myself clear: It's okay to offend people. Hey, I offend people on stage when I say I have a bit about not using the world "retarded" as an adjective. I'm sure I'm offending people in the audience that use that word. But I think history will show me as I've offended the right group.
The best comedians in the history of the world have offended people and then history rights itself and tells that they offended the right group. And I think if you're making fun on stage as a comedian of transgender people, history will right it that you weren't picking on the right group.
The good comedian picks on the bully; a good comedian isn't the bully. Everyone should do what they want; there should be no rules in comedy whatsoever. Everything can be funnybut then history will show whether you were on the right side or not.
Visit www.toddglass.com/ .