“I find that the people most nervous about the woke stuff tend to be white men who are tired of being told that they’re wrong. The truth is, if you’re not setting out to offend anyone for a cheap laugh, you’re probably going to be okay. At the end of the day, we could all consider each other a little bit more. However, on the other side, I think people need to toughen up. So, per usual, I’m right in the middle and take no side.”
A self-described ‘elder millennial’, Shlesinger is old enough to remember a world before our digital age. One of her most famous bits involved her introducing Gen Z to the ancient technology of the landline. She has often riffed on her generation’s relationship with social media. In her most recent special, Hot Forever, she imagined the absurdity of seeing someone doing a TikTok dance in real life.
Shlesinger says she has something of a love-hate relationship with social media platforms and our increasingly online lives.
“I have a strict diet of two cups of coffee and at least nine hours of scrolling in the morning before I even talk to my children,” she quips.
“I try to remember how much of it is not real. I think, especially in the past few years, you’re an idiot if you think what you’re being fed is based in any kind of reality. ”
On the other hand, Shlesinger – who recently played dates in Japan – is grateful that social media has allowed more international fans to discover her work.
“At its finest, as a connective tool, the internet is an incredible thing. But at its worst, the way most of us are experiencing it, it’s our sugary demise.”
Before her Australian shows, where she’ll be doing her latest hour, Get Ready, Shlesinger says she relishes the ‘up for anything’ energy of our comedy crowds. “You love a good time. Anyone who’s ever gotten drunk with an Australian knows this. You’re like tropical British people.
“I am really looking forward to coming back down under, though please note I did cringe when I just said ‘down under’. Ugh, I sound like such a tourist!”
Iliza Shlesinger’s The Get Ready Tour is at the State Theatre on April 22 as part of Sydney Comedy Festival and at Hamer Hall, Melbourne on April 20.
