I haven’t written about John Mulaney in a while because I really stopped caring. In recent years, he got married, fathered two children and launched a somewhat successful professional comeback. Meanwhile, I’m really rooting for his ex-wife Anna-Marie Tendler and I am fully invested in her happiness and success. She deserves the whole world. But I digress. Mulaney’s comeback is mostly sponsored by Netflix – they love him over there, and they produce his stand-up specials. Netflix also gave him a new “live variety talk show,” and they got him to do a presentation at their annual programming event. He decided to make a joke about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle weren’t present at Netflix’s annual programming event but the royal pair did catch some strays. John Mulaney, who is returning to the streamer with a new live variety talk show, took aim at the Montecito residents as he was promoting the show.
“Not since Harry and Meghan has Netflix given more money to someone without a specific plan,” he joked.
It comes after Netflix struck a rather handsome overall deal with the pair’s Archewell Productions banner in 2020. That deal has led to series such as the Harry & Meghan docuseries, which launched in December 2022, interview series Live to Lead, Harry’s Heart of Invictus, which premiered in 2023, Polo, which launched last year and Markle’s upcoming lifestyle series With Love.
“I have to say of all the DVD mail order businesses that pivoted, I think Netflix is in the top one or two, Red Box being a close second. Red Box actually offered me more money to do a show, but I told them to stick it. I’m a Netflix guy. I’m not going to premiere in front of supermarkets no matter how much you offer me,” he joked.
Speaking a couple of weeks after the devastating LA wildfires, he added that his series Everybody’s in LA, which aired around the Netflix is a Joke festival, missed one type of expert.
“We had many comedians who were in town for the festival. We had lots of guests. We had a hypnotist. We had an expert on coyotes in Los Angeles. We had a palm tree expert. We had an earthquake expert. We covered most all natural disasters that take place in California except for one. We just weren’t ready,” he said.
I’m not defending him or anything, but it’s clear that his aim was “self-deprecation.” He was making fun of how disorganized he is and he can’t believe Netflix is giving him all of this money, and comparing that to the Sussexes. Which, I mean, fair enough. Netflix did just that – they handed a lot of money to the Sussexes and hoped they would make some shows. I always love how the Sussexes’ critics are always like “what have they even done for Netflix… other than the super-successful docuseries, and the Heart of Invictus, and Polo, and Meghan’s new cooking show.” Like, the list just keeps getting longer… at some point, the haters might have to admit that Harry & Meghan are actually fulfilling their contract.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix.
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- John Mulaney presents the Oscar® for Sound during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855741022, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon/Avalon
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- John Mulaney presents the Oscar® for Sound during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855743475, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon/Avalon
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- John Mulaney presents the Oscar® for Sound during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855743486, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red/Avalon/Avalon
I don’t find this joke malicious. It goes to show how amazing Harry and Meg have shown out despite Chuckles and Willy trying to sabotage them. Definitely no where near as malicious as the unfunny SouthPark guys.
Same. Not offensive.
Not offensive, not funny, just ehhh.
Yes not offensive. Just a touch of professional envy though
The murdoch and other racist “journalists” make a meal out of any crumb.
Mulaney was making a joke- from pop culture- because the racist media narrative is more successful than it should be.
What do they say- a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth has time to get its pants on….
Mulaney is using a pop culture narrative as a throwaway in a joke which is really about how he can’t believe netflix is supporting his projects.
As a mulaney fan, i recognize the joke and its lack of pointedness at Harry and Megan,
As a Harry and Megan fan- i wish he kept their names out of his mouth, just because of the way the “press” twists any tiny thing.
This is really a nothingburger.
Why does he look like a low budget theater production of the preacher from the scarlet letter. He used to look baby faced but cute in a very rat pack sort of way. Now he looks like he’s inciting a witch hunt.
That description. Ded 😂
It’s the purple potatoes.
Are you really surprised he looks different nowadays? That baby face was never going to survive his last couple of years.
He got older, became a dad twice over and his wife got cancer. That’s a LOT to for a body and mind to handle. All in all he looks alright.
He’s a major drug addict and extremely unfunny.
I’m talking about his Wednesday Addams ghost pilgrim villian clothes and hair. Not his face.
I’m on a john Mulaney kick now. So I’m just gonna keep commenting.
He relapsed HARD during an incredibly scary time. A global pandemic and he was in NYC for most of it.
I think everyone in NYC at the time had a degree of trauma. I was in NJ and I’m stunned with how different our experience of the pandemic was compared to where we now live. The west but the blue west if that gives you any ideas. We had refrigerated trucks outside of funeral homes that we saw when we went for a drive. People here are shocked and horrified by that. It was a totally different beast and nyc got it so hard.
I think that people were shocked by his actions but could have “forgiven” him due to the circumstances. If not for a couple of things.
The biggest of which was the very obvious attempted smear campaign against Anna – his loving and deeply betrayed wife.
I remember her being lambasted for being in a masters program that wasn’t right next door to their apartment.
As if she hadn’t accepted before COVID and as if John couldn’t have easily relocated there for the short duration of her schooling or have flown there for extended visits.
People claimed she “abandoned him” and “caused him to relapse” by apparently not being at his side every single second to knock the drugs out of his hand. When he was actively hiding his addiction from everyone.
As if they hadn’t been married for a decade and she was wrong to trust in their ability to communicate and stay faithful to each other while she went to school. After years of them being able to maintain a loving relationship while he was touring.
Sometimes partners are incredibly threatened by the supporting partner exploring their own interests. As though their sole interest should be their relationship with their partner.
It almost seemed like he was punishing her.
I remember the very worst that they could say about her was that she hadn’t gone to an awards show with him.
Because she was in school and literally had her final project due.
I guess supporting your partner is supposed to only go one way. But it was spread as her not thinking John would win so she didn’t need to go and how deeply hurt he was by that. Etc etc. which he apparently told people instead of talking to her about it.
Then of course the people who hate women who don’t have children. Their child free marriage was blamed on her and made out to be solely her decision when it had been clearly stated previously that she had been more open to kids while John hadn’t.
Because he got someone accidentally pregnant so obviously he had deeply wanted children and she had stood in his way.
How people asked how she wasn’t at his intervention. Which she helped facilitate during a pandemic when you weren’t supposed to be gathering OR TRAVELING.
The smear campaign was when he lost me.
He had caused a lot of pain to all the people around him and instead of taking accountability and responsibility for the pain he caused – the pr messaging was to attack her and to whitewash his relapse and everything that happened because of it.
It was disgusting. To have seen him love and respect her for years to her being thrown under the bus as the cause of his relapse in such a short amount of time. It was absolutely vile.
And yes. It could have been orchestrated by his current wife. But regardless – his friends also pushed it. Everything to save John’s image.
Except you commented about his “baby face” didn’t you? I don’t like him either but you said what you said.
Eh.. Comedians make jokes, and often the make them about celebrities because it makes the joke land easier, or is topical or whatever. The real question is how long is the British media going to spend asking every American they encounter about the Sussexes or writing an article about every time someone does. The are the worlds saltiest abusive ex. Also I see Camilla Tominey is back on the Sussex beat. Their success really burns her up.
I think Tominey is back on the Sussex beat because she only knows how to write lies and parrot Middleton talking points, and I dont think that flies in a lot of other areas of journalism.
It’s funny bc I also don’t think about John Mulaney much but I’ve never seen his comedy stuff. And yet I just read an article about him last night so he keeps popping up. It was about men getting chin surgery for more chiseled jawlines and he was used as one of the biggest examples🤷♀️. Anyways, the sussex joke just wasn’t that funny but I’m guessing he’s funnier at other times?
https://www.vulture.com/article/hollywood-leading-men-plastic-surgery-chins-jawlines.html
I’m not a fan but I have friends who just love him. I’ve found him funny in a couple interviews I’ve heard fairly recently. Just talking off the cuff he seems self-deprecating and kind of sweet. But I’ve never made it through any of his specials, they are just not for me. I kinda don’t get why he’s so big.
I remember one of his bits The Salt and Pepper Diner had me crying with laughter years ago. And the horse and the hospital one was funny
But for me, so much of his comedy/image when he came on the scene was ‘wife guy’ and his messy personal life soured that, so I haven’t really sought out his stuff since
Mulaney’s horse in the hospital bit (about Trump’s first term) is one of the best bits I have ever seen! Probably his first special but I’m not sure.
Given that he knows a teeny tiny piece of what it’s like to have the tabloids after you, you’d think he could’ve just not said it. He knows what will be done with that comment and how it will be the cause of headlines over there. H & M SUBJECT OF NETFLIX ROAST, etc.
I actually thought this was kind of funny, because Harry basically admitted they didn’t have a real plan when they signed the Netflix deal, and we have heard that multiple streamers were pursuing them. Now I’m sure Netflix is very happen, considering a trailer for a show from Meghan can garner millions and millions of views in a day – but at the time it really was a leap of faith on both their parts – Netflix thinking “they’re going to break records” and H&M thinking “yes, we can do this.”
Yeah, not malicious and I’m starting to get irritated by the whole “John must be trash because he divorced his wife” line.
Addicts have to make drastic changes if they’re to have success at recovery. Many if not most times this leads to ending relationships, whether with a spouse or family member, friend, etc. You make hard choices to figure out what healthy means for you.
AMT may have done nothing wrong; their separate struggles may also have fed off one another. We have no idea. The fact is that addicts have different lives on the other side of recovery, so can we please stop the sneering?
As someone Odin recovery myself, his post-rehab standup and candor has been hilarious and helpful. I root hard for him.
Oh.
I didn’t know “cheating on your wife & getting your side piece pregnant” was considered a healthy choice for recovery.
A funnier joke would have been something like- not since the uk gave the rf billions for doing nothing, etc etc
You know, instead of always heaping the abuse on the Black lady who had to get out.
I suppose you have more intimate knowledge of what went on in their relationship than speculation based on tabloid reporting and social media? Definition of parasocial relationship right there.
Look. I get that you like John because you relate to him in your recovery. That works for you.
Addicts also burn a lot of relationships while in the throes of their addiction. John flamed out in a massively public way. It was widely covered and not just speculation. He cheated on his wife and filed for divorce which blindsided her and broke her heart.
He built his whole standup on being a married sober man who adored his dog and was beyond devoted to his wife.
Then covid hit. He wasn’t able to tour or get the crowd love he had become addicted to. He flamed out hard. He was showing up on talk shows – socially distanced – out of his mind on drugs. His friends pulled a pretty public intervention – in that he talked about it a lot – and a very public stint in rehab. Where he seemingly got a famous person -who was well known in the industry for socially stalking a lot of comedians – pregnant. He had been on the record saying he and his amazing wife never wanted kids. That was his whole brand. He went on the Seth Myers show and announced she was pregnant – the whole world already knew – and Seth was decidedly more excited than him.
Anna was publicly heart broken. If we go by everything he said in his many standup shows and – he loved her and their relationship.
This is not the first time an addict spiraled and completely destroyed their relationship. This was not a healthy parting of ways required for continuing recovering. The man was f-ing a woman not his wife probably while in active addiction or at the very least before he got his 1 month chip.
Addicts can and do blow up their relationships and lives while actively using. This wasn’t a breakup to support his further recovery. This is widely available verified public knowledge. So don’t gaslight us simply because we remember what really happened.
He has very powerful friends in the industry and the backing of the whole pr machine of said industry. But we saw it all in real time and we remember. The truth still matters to some of us so knock it off with the obvious parasocial accusations which seem fully like projevtion.
I’m glad that he’s helping you in your recovery. But if you are going to cap for him you need to know the full story. His act 2 is recovering addict and family man and father. Because he nuked his act 1 and while doing so lost a tremendous amount of his very devoted audience.
Major rule of recovery is supposed to be “Don’t start new relationships” and def “don’t knock up someone who has been stalking you to your meetings”
I cannot imagine not being able to even sift through the rubble of your old life that was destroyed by addiction because you need to be so publicly HAPPY and OK and wanting this baby and SO HAPPY.
the man looked shell shocked. He was out there hustling to white wash his very public very wrong actions – because he was a money making machine – before the drugs were even fully out of his system.
He needed to go away for a couple of years and stay quiet. Only release statements through his rep and then very slowly post only very curated IG photos of him happy and healthy.
When he went on Seth Myers – Seth was very obviously trying to use his own likability and popularity to cement public approval for his very off the rails friend who just detonated his whole life and was suddenly in the middle of a life he had publicly decried for years and years.
Mulaney’s 180 did not look intentional or like it was a good thing for him in any way. But she was pregnant and out and about while pregnant. Men can be “forgiven” for changing their minds about not wanting kids and everyone was banking on that. But considering they had been “together” for four months and she was 3 months pregnant – it seemed like he tried to save his good guy reputation by doing the “right thing”.
I think the biggest thing was that his standup was very honest. He was very honest about his life. And so – people felt lied to. Because he wasn’t being honest.
If he was like – hey. I was a drug addled mess and cheating on my wife in a drug haze and while I deeply regret hurting her and I loved the life we had – on the other side of it all, while I wish I had established my family in a more conventional and less hurtful to everyone who cared about me way – I can’t regret it because I’m happier than I have ever been. My kids are like petunia times infinity. And I hope she haunts me for saying that because I miss her.
Instead of whatever Hestor Prynne hating thing he has going on now.
I mean, I have no idea what happened between him and his ex, but immediately jumping into a new relationship and fathering children when you’re still in recovery is pretty questionable decision making, too. He seems to have gotten lucky and been stabilized by his children, which…good for him, but having addicts in my own family, I know how they are. Their new start usually comes after they’ve burned more than a few roads behind them.
Said the man who married his stalker.
I’m just here to say how much I enjoyed Polo and how much some of these guys would benefit from spending their $$$ on therapy instead of polo ponies. It was a fascinating character study with bonus horses and competitive tension.
Well, the article itself lists H&M’s Netflix projects without any criticism, so I can’t get all up in arms about this.
I mean, yeah. The streaming services do that. Amazon also gave a sh*tload of money to Phoebe Waller-Bridge to get exclusive content from her, which she produced nothing yet as far as I know. From Sussexes, Netflix got more than they asked for with their doc. I am sure Meghan’s show will be the same, since everyone including haters is looking forward to it. Also, remember the Netflix dropped the trailer of the doc when W&K landed in USA for their Earthsh*t visit. Netflix definitely knew what they were gonna get from them.
I’ve never been a fan of his type of self deprecating comedy and this is a continuation of that. I hate his comedy even more since his relapse and rehab. He’s so dry and boring in his delivery and then to hear him continue to talk negatively about himself, just isn’t something I find funny. I feel that way about all self deprecating comedians, but his personal struggles with alcohol and drugs makes me uncomfortable that someone who has a lifetime of recovery ahead of him, which is basically what his life is now, is continuing with the same self deprecating behavior he had prior to relapsing. With all of that being said, his mentioning of Harry and Meghan doesn’t hit the way a talented comedian’s words would hit. It just sounds like a person who is desperate trying to draw a comparison to people who he knows would get him more attention. It’s his usual sad and unfunny comedy reminding me why I always skip anything he’s involved with. He’s just not that funny.
A lot of people used to find him tremendously funny. He wrote for snl at a super young age and made so many connections.
His self deprecation worked before because he was confident. He wasn’t chasing the crowds, he was entertaining them. I don’t think he’s emotionally recovered from the massive destruction he caused his own brand and that has made him desperate for the acceptance and love that came so easily before.
He doesn’t seem happy or comfortable or confident in his new life or the way he got there or in himself. It seems like he did recovery but not actual therapy to rebuild himself after he destroyed his entire life and brand and relationships. And that’s why the self deprecation hits differently now.
Like if one of your best friends has to assure you that having a baby is gonna be great and you look like a groom who wants to run but is being talked into going through with it on a national talk show …. People remember that shit. And he hasn’t seemed to have gotten past the “I don’t know if I want this how did this all happen omg” stage.
Not a super fan but know him enough that I read all those lines in his voice.
This feckin guy.
Eh, whatever. He can only hope he is half as successful as the Sussexes with his endeavors.
When he was appearing on Seth Meyers’s show coked out of his mind, he made some nasty comments about Meghan. I remember because I was binging comedians at the time and was shocked. It was right before the intervention, when he was wearing sunglasses and a trench coat to appear on tv.
I kind of remember that? But I don’t remember exactly what he said. It’s weird if that’s twice he’s brought them up. It’s like dude keep their names out of your mouth. It’s low-hanging fruit and it’s not even making some grand point. It’s not punching up when Harry and Meghan are metaphorically punched on the regular by Murdoch and so many others for…existing. It’s weird. I’d rather hear some comedians taking shots at people in power who are actually hurting others. But it’s how I felt about south park. Lazy comedy. And a cowardice to make jokes about some of the real assholes out there…like musk and trump and others. But idk maybe he does do that and I don’t know?
I don’t remember exactly what was said either. I think it was along the lines of the tabloid attacks of they say they want privacy but then they GO OUTSIDE! Basically called her a fame seeker, if I recall correctly.
Huh. If that’s what he implied, that’s too bad. Like I said, low hanging fruit and lazy. I’m just baffled that he has randomly brought them up twice. Weird. Did they piss in his cornflakes or something? Where are the Joe Rogan jokes?
I find John Mulaney funnier in interviews speaking to other comedians when he has something to promote than his actual comedy specials. In person, he knows how to turn up the charm, he is self deprecating, he knows how to tell a good story and to carry on an entertaining conversation. But I dunno what it is, when he’s just solo on a stage and doing his show and there’s no one for him to bounce directly off of except the audience, it falls flat a lot of the time for me. I rarely laugh during his specials. And this is before and after his recovery.
And given everything that went down during COVID during his personal life, leaving his wife and almost immediately jumping into bed with Olivia Munn and getting her pregnant while barely out of rehab, a lot of his previous comedy just rings hollow. I certainly do not envy Olivia–it sounds like she’s dealing with a very fragile man who could easily relapse and he’s now the father to her two kids. I’ll be interested to see if he can stick to sobriety. For his kids’ sakes I hope so.