Comedian John Mulaney incorporates his struggles into his Netflix comedy special, “Baby J.”
The former “Saturday Night Live” writer has incorporated many elements of his life into his standup comedy specials, but his latest, released today, will explore vulnerable new territory.
Mulaney, 40, shocked fans when he entered rehab in 2020 and spent 60 days in a facility. His personal life had also made headlines in recent years after his divorce from artist Anna Marie Tendler, news of his relationship with actress Olivia Wilde, and the birth of his first child.
Mulaney has candidly spoken about the events leading up to his rehab stay nearly three years ago and his past struggles with alcoholism and substance abuse. “Baby J” will be the first time Mulaney’s recent personal struggles will be documented in one of his comedy specials. He returned to performing after his rehab stay in 2021.
Mulaney Has Been Publicly Candid About His Substance Struggles In The Past
The “Kid Gorgeous” performer spoke about the star-studded intervention consisting of his friends that led to his rehab stay.
During the appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” Mulaney describes the timeline of his whirlwind year between 2020 and 2021. He discusses the intervention with his fellow ‘SNL’ alum (Meyers had been present) and candidly shares his thoughts and feelings about the conversation.
“When I opened the door, I knew immediately there was an intervention,” he explained to Meyers. “That’s how bad of a drug problem I had. When I opened the door and saw people, I said, ‘This is probably an intervention.”
“You were the first person I saw as I walked through the doorway,” he later told Meyers. “Where I knew this was an intervention. So I’m like, ‘going to dinner with a friend from college, going to dinner with a friend from college, going to dinner with a friend from college, what’s Seth Meyers doing here?!” he continued.
“My memory of it,” Meyers recalled, “is how quickly you tried telling all of us ‘it’s an intervention, we’re good, I get it, I agree…”
“I remember walking in and going, ‘Okay, Okay.’ And then I did… I needed to be the smartest person in the room even at the intervention,” Mulaney went on. “So I remember saying to all of you, ‘Before you all read your letter, I have a drug problem, and I need help, just to scoop you,” he told Meyers laughing.
Mulaney later told Meyers he thought Meyers was being “kind” when he recalled how he behaved that night, specifically in front of a present professional interventionalist.
“I recall a few times going, ‘I KNOW what an intervention is.’ The worst part was, and I do regret this, that I… two things I kept doing… I kept insisting I was sober at the intervention” (he was not). “The other one, I insisted on getting the credit for days I hadn’t used drugs. Yeah, that was a peculiar hill to die on in the middle of an intervention,” Mulaney said. “[Being] like ‘I want you all to acknowledge that Monday and Tuesday I didn’t do drugs!”
The “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch” then asked his friend for his perspective.
Meyers described the intervention as being “awful” after Mulaney joked about getting to have a reprieve from the awkwardness because he was high at the time.
“Mostly because you do those things because you’re worried about your friends, so it starts from there. Also, again, I don’t want to take the focus away from the drug part, but you were very late,” Meyers joked.
Mulaney Celebrates His Brand New Netflix Special On Instagram
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The comedian took to Instagram to commemorate the release of “Baby J” by posting a reel. The reel features the special’s legendary guest, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne.
He captioned the reel, “Putting it together with our amazing crew and my hero @davidbyrneofficial. ‘Baby J’ is streaming now only on @netflix. We hope you enjoy it.”
Mulaney’s followers were thrilled to celebrate the comedian’s milestone special.
“Soon as I’m done with work, I’m [sic] an hour this is going on,” a fan wrote, “Been waiting for this.”
“Sooo good! Crying laughing, well done [heart emoji],” another fan wrote.
“Saw this in person in November…,” another follower shared. “been waiting for this to come out since! Already watched it twice!”
“It was amazing,” a fan wrote, “I think it was awesome that it was a comedy special, but also like a real conversation. It was raw, and I loved that you gave us a peek behind the curtain at some of the turmoil you went through…”
“Baby J” is now streaming on Netflix!
