Photo by Kimo Easterwood
With Donald Trump in office, you'd think that the comedy of Christopher Titus would practically be writing itself. After all, Titus is the amarcho-liberal comedian who, when he wasn't plumbing his turbulent family life for jokes, made his outrage over the policies of George W. Bush a consistent rant point in shows like "Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding" and "The Fifth Annual End of the World Tour."
But "Amerigeddon," Titus' eighth comedy special, isn't about Trump, or taking jabs at right-wingers, he says. "It's about us. All of us, left and right, and how we continue to be manipulated." The host of the popular weekly "Titus Podcast," who came to fame as the protagonist of an angst-ridden sitcom that was a little too real for FOX, is bringing his new routine to the Richmond Funny Bone on July 24, and recently spoke to Richmond magazine about the state of our union, and the broad aspirations for his new jokes. "If you're a conservative you'll love the show, if you're a liberal you'll love it. I'm bringing together America, one drunk audience at a time."
Richmond magazine: Armerigeddon isn't just Trump-bashing, you say.
Christopher Titus: There's a couple of jokes in the show about Trump, but it's mostly about us. Liberals have this high moral ground, but all we're doing is beating up on the people who voted for this guy. And believe me, they know. Half of my family is conservative, and they know. What changed the entire show for me was, I got on stage one night, and I decided not to trash anybody. I said, "You Trump voters, I feel sad for you because you know that every time that man steps up to the microphone, you get anxiety." The reaction I got was insane. People just started nodding. One lady just put her head in her hands.
RM: I imagine doing political comedy is a challenge these days. How do you make neo-Nazis funny?
Titus: Yeah, Nazism. When did that come back? You know how old songs come around again ... Nazism made a comeback. I do a whole bit on the alt-right. It rhymes with all-white. It's hard to believe where we are right now.
RM: What's your role? Would you rather inform the crowd or make them laugh?
Titus: At the end of the day, my job is to make people laugh. And that's all I'm supposed to do, right? But I watch Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Jim Jefferies — it seems to me that comedians are the only people who can be honest. But even that is going away with what's going on. More people identify as a Republican or a Democrat more than they do as an American, which is the weirdest thing in the world. Are you a donkey or elephant? And couldn't you pick some better animals — a grey wolf or a cobra or something?
RM: "Titus," the show you had in the early 2000s, was groundbreaking stuff. Why didn't you take over television?
Titus: It was too early, I think. I was a creator, and the show was based on my real family, and I think I held on too tight a little bit. The execs wanted to change the show, and I said nope. You're making something up, and I'm telling the truth. That show is still popular — the box sets go for $100, and you know why? Because it was truthful. It was honest.
Christopher Titus comes to the Richmond Funny Bone on July 24. 11800 W. Broad St., Suite 1090. 7 p.m. $25. 804-521-8900 or richmond.funnybone.com
