Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu is an American stand-up comic. He is best known for his politically and socially charged comedy involving jokes about race and class. He has appeared on television on many occasions, and was a writer for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth21 October 1982
CityQueens, NY
CountryUnited States of America
reinforce
I try to be as thoughtful as I can about everything that comes out of my mouth and not reinforce sexism.
ethnic fairly flipping indian knew standup stuff using
When I started doing standup when I was 17, I was talking about being Indian and specifically ethnic jokes. Straightforward stuff that was fairly ignorant that I knew would get the laugh. It wasn't flipping stereotypes; it was using them.
aspect basically politics sports super
Politics and sports are the same thing in some ways. I like sports; I don't like the sports aspect of politics. The conventions are basically the playoffs, and the election's the Super Bowl. To me, it doesn't feel important.
force fresh human organizer sharing
I'm not a politician, I'm not an ideologue, I'm not an organizer anymore. I'm a human being sharing ideas, and those ideas have to feel fresh and from my heart and my head, and I have to feel it. You can't force that feeling.
ask cultural fourth german math native third welsh white
When you ask your white friends what their cultural heritage is, they don't just say white. They give you a math equation. 'Well, I'm a third German and a fourth Irish and one-sixteenth Welsh and one-fortieth Native American for college applications.'
best came funny jokes meant people
You can be funny and say what you mean; these ideas are not mutually exclusive. Some of the best jokes came from people who meant it. See: Pryor, Bruce, Carlin, etc.
anger brown deal dealing people quite saying stage talk threats white
I'm not like most comedians. I don't deal with just heckles - I'm also dealing with threats and anger. Here I am, a brown person on stage being quite blunt. I talk about white privilege; I talk about U.S. imperialistic practices; I talk about colonialism. I'm not saying things that are easy for people to laugh at.
bit eat fed
I am actually a bit chubby, and I eat everything. I eat in a way - if my parents fed me the way I choose to eat as an adult, they would've lost custody.
changed comedy politics realized viewed ways
After 9/11, I changed a lot of the ways I viewed the world. I realized my comedy and my politics and my view of the world did not match. I had to start writing from my heart.
frozen
I am frozen musically somewhere around 2004.
art laughter confused
I like playing with that space between laughter and discomfort where your discomfort can also make you laugh, and you're confused about the mixed feelings. That's challenging, and I think that's what makes for some of the best art.
native-american funny-thanksgiving soy
I have had vegan Thanksgiving of tofurkey and soy gravy. And it's not to say that Thanksgiving will ever justify the genocide of the Native Americans. But vegan Thanksgiving - that's just spitting on the graves, isn't it?
swimming talking america
Telling me that I’m obsessed with talking about racism in America is like telling me I’m obsessed with swimming when I’m drowning.
country president female
We've never had a female President in this country, which I find stunning