Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winsteadis an American comedian, radio, and television personality, and blogger. A native of Minnesota, Winstead is co-creator of The Daily Show along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth5 January 1961
CityMinneapolis, MN
CountryUnited States of America
thought-provoking satire conversation
Good satire hopefully provides thought-provoking conversation.
college self belief
I dropped out of college and I'm pretty much a self-educated person, so a lot of my core belief system comes from life.
heart people abortion
People who came to the clinics or came to the fundraiser knew what was happening in their state but didn't realize the profundity of what was happening all over the place. But the third thing [was] that at every single clinic I went to, somebody who worked there - it could have been the doctor, it could have been the receptionist - said, "Thank you for coming, no one ever comes." And it broke my heart...I've used these services, I've had an abortion, I got to be where I am because of access to making choices to have the life I wanted.
people abortion voting
Legislators could easily be out-voted if people voted in midterm elections. The fact that we don't talk about all this stuff [ abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, or voting rights] very much because Donald Trump and the general election is sucking all the air out of the room - if people aren't paying attention to their state, they're certainly not paying attention to what's happening in other states.
people abortion voting
What's blinking red on my radar is the fact that for people who prioritize abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, or voting rights, those things are coming out of state legislatures, and some of the laws on reproduction stuff is coming out of city council, and so what's getting at me is the fact that there's just a fundamental lack of understanding that these laws are happening and being created by people who often won by ten votes in a midterm election.
past feminist activist
I've always considered myself a feminist, I always considered myself somebody who is a reproductive rights activist, and I've spent the past 25 years of my life speaking truth to power. And using humor to do that.
people bullshit creative
I did the Daily Show, and then I did Air America Radio, and I realized that I was lucky enough to have a job where I could get information to people. But those spaces weren't appropriate to then tell people what to do - they were corporate enterprises. My main job was to be funny, so I was trying to figure out, how can I combine all the things I love - comedy, feminism, calling out bullshit - into a creative space that other creative people would want to join in and help out?
country dog book
I had gone back home to finish my book in 2011, and that's when these laws really started coming into states all across the country. I needed to get back to Brooklyn, so I had my two dogs and I rented a van and I called up Planned Parenthood and I said, "I have to drive back to Brooklyn. I've got two dogs and a van. What if I did some fundraisers for you along the way?" And they were like, "Who are you?" I was like, "No, this is a super good idea."
culture awareness pop-culture
We raise awareness and drop information about access and laws into pop culture spaces through making videos and through live events. That's like fifty percent of what we do.
unique opportunity bullshit
Since we are made up of comedians and filmmakers and writers and improvisers, we have the unique opportunity to bring joy to people who are sometimes buried in their own lives or are subjected to the bullshit that clinic workers are subjected to every day.
nice pregnancy kids
It's really nice to see that, looking at all sides of the abortion issue - from the person who doesn't want to have kids so they're going to have an abortion and that's not traumatic for them, to somebody who loses a wanted pregnancy, to somebody who has complicated feelings because of their religion. We can talk about all of those complicated and individual stories and not feel like there's any one abortion story that's right or wrong.
moving-forward moving thinking
To really start talking about a narrative where there's no good abortion or bad abortion; there's only the abortion that you need, I think that message is really resonating and changing the landscape of how we talk about it. We're really moving forward.
baby thinking abortion
I think the craziest thing I heard, and this guy's not even nominated, he's from Texas...he said there's no reason that women shouldn't carry a stillborn baby to term, and that it's an excuse to have an abortion if she doesn't want to. She should just let nature take its course from start to finish. Literally forcing birth of a fetus that died in the womb.
baby religious winning
If you are very religious, and your religion teaches you that conception equals a baby, I don't know how I'm ever going to win you over to my side.