Sam Jay: Taking Aim - Metro Weekly, August 6, 2020

JAY: I don't think so. You want to get in the trenches with it and
build it, for sure.
MW: Now, shooting this special in Atlanta, why there?
JAY: I just have a connection to the city. I lived there for eight
years. I was born there, but I moved when I was a baby, very
young, so I don't remember it. So I'm Boston raised, basically,
but I was born there and I have family there. And that's where
I found myself, that's where I came out,
that's where I met my girlfriend, it's where
I met my first group of queer gay friends.
You know what I mean? Really just when
I feel like I came to be who I am.
MW: How are gay and lesbian comics
received there, and in terms of booking,
throughout the south?
JAY: I don't feel like I've had issues. I've
done shows in Asheville, North Carolina
and at the Dead Crow, which is near
Wilmington. I've done Florida.... So I don’t
think I’ve had issues. But sometimes you
get to those rooms and yeah, you'll get a
bunch of white people, for lack of a better
word, that just ain't gonna go with the shit.
And they might walk out in the middle of
a Trump joke, because they don't want to
hear what you got to say. I think they sit
down ready to not want to hear what you
got to say because of what you look like.
They’re already like, "We're not going
to like this." You know what I'm saying?
Sometimes you get that, and it just is what
it is.
MW: Since you brought up Trump. In 3 in
The Morning you make a case that Trump
is “the first nigga in the White House.” I
think I caught your meaning. Although I
can see how it could be misconstrued. Do
you ever worry, with that joke or any joke,
about the humor being taken the wrong
way?
JAY: Well, I'm curious what part of it do
you think could be misconstrued?
MW: You seem to make a dichotomy
between what a president would do and
what a “nigga” would do. That’s what you
set up, and I guess some people could construe
what a “nigga” would do as not necessarily
somebody who is...
JAY: Black?
MW: Black. I guess the thing is you're not
using that word just to mean Black, and
a lot of people could think you are, and it
could go down a whole other rabbit hole.
JAY: I just feel like if you listen, then you
know that's not the case. And if you want
to be triggered, then you're going to be
triggered. But then you want to be triggered,
and I can't do nothing about the
people that want to be triggered.
MW: But it feels like a lot of people want to
be triggered these days.
JAY: Yeah, they do. But that has nothing to
do with me. I think if you listen for what
“You'll get a
bunch of white
people...and
they might
walk out in
the middle of
a Trump joke,
because they
don't want to
hear what you
got to say. And
I think THEY
SIT DOWN
READY TO
NOT WANT TO
HEAR WHAT
YOU GOT TO
SAY BECAUSE
OF WHAT YOU
LOOK LIKE.”
it is, you get the joke in it. I tell it that way specifically, because
the white people will hear it, and I definitely want the ones that
support Trump to face a reality of what they're supporting and
stop pretending that it's something else that it isn't. And so it's
also that level of, let's take the veil off of this and stop playing
these games. You all being nigga’d. That's what's going on. He's
nigging in there and just doing whatever the hell he wants to do
and let's not pretend it's something else.
MW: It's a strong opinion.
JAY: You’re making me nervous. I felt
good about the joke, now you making me
nervous.
MW: Oh, no. No. I want strong opinions in
my comedy. Another strong opinion, and
something that I support in general, you
make a statement that trans women are
real women. And I'm wondering if you've
had any trans women or men in your audience
who have reacted or responded to any
of your trans humor.
JAY: I've definitely had trans women and
men in the audience. And they've never
specifically come up to me and been like
this or that about the joke as much they'd
just be like, "That's funny. And I appreciate
the angle you're coming at." But it also
lives in that same space as the Trump
joke, right? Where you can listen for one
thing and then you can run with that, and
you can take it and go left, and say that
I'm being anti-trans if you want to, if you
want to be triggered. Or you can listen to
the joke, and hear all the different levels
and things that I'm playing on and trying
to speak about, and see that I'm genuinely
trying to push the dialogue and open
the conversation up.
But I can't write thinking about the
triggered people, because then I'll be
writing in a box, you know what I'm saying?
Because I am queer, I'm gay. I definitely
don't want to be saying anything
that's anti-my community. So I do think
about things like that. Even when I wanted
to do the trans joke it was like, I had to
think about, “What are you saying? What
are you trying to say? Why do you want
to say this? Why do you think it needs to
be said?” And I do those types of checks
in my head before I move forward with
any joke: Me Too, trans, Trump. It's like,
"Why are you saying this? Why do you
want to say it? Why do you feel like you
need to say it? Okay. All your chakras are
aligned and in a good place, go forward."
MW: Sticking with people not necessarily
being triggered, how has your wife
responded to seeing herself and your life
presented in your stand-up? Or is that
something that you prepare somebody for
when you start dating?
JAY: I mean, so this is a real funny question
because my girl is a little vain. So I
AUGUST 6, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
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