Stand-Up to Power

It’s been a turbulent stretch for political comedy. Over the past 10 days, Disney’s suspension and quick reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel set off a national fight over free speech, dragging comedians into the center of America’s culture wars.

Cristela Alonzo knows the terrain well. The stand-up comedian—who just released her third Netflix special—has never shied from politics, instead using comedy to skewer power.

In our conversation this week, Alonzo didn’t mince words about Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on comedians and the FCC’s chilling moves to curtail free expression. She argued that comedy has always been a vital check on power and that attempts to muzzle it in our country expose just how fragile freedom really is. She also reflected on her new special, “Upper Classy,” the third entry in a trilogy that has traced her journey from poverty in Texas to the heights of Hollywood.

This has been quite the week for comedy, particularly political comedy. What do you make of the Trump administration's overt crackdown on comedy?

I think it’s obvious that Donald Trump is willing to go after anyone that doesn’t show complete admiration and offers any kind of criticism. Going after the comedians is an easy way to solidify an attack on freedom of speech because comedy is subjective. Once a president tries to strip that away, he is telling us that the foundation of what we were told this country was based on is a mere illusion. That the lessons we were taught in schools about this country being the land of freedom were all lies. We’re way too into this experiment to change what this country is about.

Comedy has long functioned as a check on power. How do you see its role in today’s political climate?

I believe that comedy will always be a gauge for where we are in the world. The truth tellers are not scared. It doesn’t even cross their minds to worry. The goal is to speak the truth regardless of the outcome. My comedy is very personal and specific. One thing I have learned in comedy is that again, you might not like what I have to say but you cannot deny my history. And some of the best comedy I’ve seen is based in history as it was and as it is unfolding. It doesn’t punch down. In fact, it should punch up and Trump hates that.

What would your message to Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr be?

My message to Donald Trump and Brendan Carr is this: If you wanted to be liked by everyone, you should’ve sold ice cream for a living. No one hates ice cream trucks. Both of them need to be reminded that the power belongs to the people and actually the people need to be reminded of that as well. YOU have the power; not them.

I'm curious: Have there been moments in your career when an executive or network pushed back on what you could say? How did you—or how would you—respond?

Yes, many times. One thing I learned years ago is that I was never trying to appease the business entities. The people I wanted to speak to were the ones that grew up like I did. Hollywood executives love to give notes on what you’re saying, but they forget that as a comedian, you usually know better. I’m on the road most of the year, playing to different audiences across the country. The audiences are the ones that give me the notes I listen to when I’m on stage. Comedians do more work than research departments when it comes to what should be said and what shouldn’t, in my opinion. Statistics might look impressive, but people’s reaction afterwards is key.

As a comedian, I imagine that you'd like your jokes to appeal to a broad base of viewers. Do you ever think about alienating viewers by wading into politics, knowing you will likely offend some people with jokes?

Oh, I LOVE to talk politics, but the way I like to describe it is: I accidentally teach you something while you laugh. I don’t preach and I don’t come off condescending. I don’t worry about offending anyone. My truth is my truth. I’m a first-generation Mexican-American that was raised in abject poverty in south Texas in the backdrop of the immigration raids that happened in the 1980s. I have been given the opportunity to live out my dream of performing for people and talking about my experiences so that others like me, know they’re not alone. We have ICE raids that started happening in Los Angeles, months ago. I announced I would do shows where all the ticket sales would go to a nonprofit (Immigrant Defenders Law Center) to help detained immigrants. Tickets were thirty dollars each and we raised over forty-eight thousand dollars from the shows. I had some followers that were offended I would do that. My response is: Unfollow me. Someone else will take your place soon enough.

Tell us about your most recent Netflix special, "Upper Classy." This is the third special, following "Lower Classy" and "Middle Classy." What should viewers expect?

“Upper Classy” is the end of a trilogy I began almost ten years ago. I had thought about doing it from the very beginning. I wanted to show the evolution and (hopefully) the ascension of my life. This special is me discussing the epitome of success, which means getting to the point in my life where I, coming from a blue-collar family, realized that this country has incorrectly taught all of us that work is the most important thing in life. We are taught to work hard yet not live hard. We are not taught that enjoying life is something we should do while we’re living it. We put joy on hold. We plan to have funl after we work enough but the question is: How much work is enough? The time to live is while you’re alive to enjoy it.

Over the course of your specials, how has your voice evolved?

My voice and thinking has matured. You know, before I shot my first special, I met civil rights icon, Dolores Huerta. She came to one of my shows in Bakersfield. I recognized her as she was leaving the theater. I was doing a meet and greet and stopped it to meet her. That was the beginning of a friendship that changed my life. That woman has taught me so much in her actions and her words. Because of her, I became more active with social commentary and activism. She became such a good friend that she is in the introduction of my second special, “Middle Classy.” She and I shot a sketch that plays at the top of the special. The longer I’ve known her, the more invested I am to speaking up and trying to make change because she leads by example.

A.I. is disrupting all forms of entertainment. Do you think there is any role for the technology in comedy? Have you ever used it to help you with a set?

Ugh. I despise A.I. with all my heart and soul. I’ve never used ChatGPT or anything like it. I’m kind of a purist when it comes to stand-up. I carry a notebook that I write my jokes in. I have every notebook I have ever written. I like writing my jokes down with pen and paper because it helps me to memorize them. Once I do that, I’ll type them into a master list on my computer so that I have them somewhere in case I lose my notebook. I don’t see how A.I could help comedy. Art should be messy and imperfect because that’s what people are.

In this week’s episode: Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night return hasn’t ended the fight—station owners Nexstar and Sinclair are still blocking his show from nearly a quarter of U.S. households, even as Disney reels from backlash and faces new battles ahead. We also dig into the internal revolt at CNN over its handling of far-right conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, and how legacy outlets continue to miss the cultural impact of internet figures. Plus: some exciting changes coming to Status itself.

You can watch on YouTube—or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Data via Box Office Mojo]