Iliza Shlesinger: ‘I’m thinking what many women are thinking – but saying it out loud’
The American comic on performing to a stripper party, the best heckle she’s had and why honest emotions are funny
Interview by Liam Pape
Monday 20 November 2023
How did you get into comedy?
I was always into watching funny shows – what was on TV that I could sneakily watch after my mom went to bed. I would put on Comedy Central or MTV, Monty Python reruns, Kids in The Hall, The State, In Living Color, Absolutely Fabulous and, of course, SNL. I would write and film my own sketches and I joined a sketch troupe in college. From there I got the crazy idea that I could just speak, sans ensemble, alone on a stage. So I started doing standup. The rest is a blurry history.
