Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu is an American stand-up comic. He is best known for his politically and socially charged comedy involving jokes about race and class. He has appeared on television on many occasions, and was a writer for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth21 October 1982
CityQueens, NY
CountryUnited States of America
changed comedy politics realized viewed ways
After 9/11, I changed a lot of the ways I viewed the world. I realized my comedy and my politics and my view of the world did not match. I had to start writing from my heart.
brown fear force looked people post pushing
Post 9/11, brown people had this force pushing us together. It's like we're all being looked at with fear and suspicion; we're all being targeted, so how do you support yourself and your communities?
native-american funny-thanksgiving soy
I have had vegan Thanksgiving of tofurkey and soy gravy. And it's not to say that Thanksgiving will ever justify the genocide of the Native Americans. But vegan Thanksgiving - that's just spitting on the graves, isn't it?
frozen
I am frozen musically somewhere around 2004.
bit eat fed
I am actually a bit chubby, and I eat everything. I eat in a way - if my parents fed me the way I choose to eat as an adult, they would've lost custody.
anger brown deal dealing people quite saying stage talk threats white
I'm not like most comedians. I don't deal with just heckles - I'm also dealing with threats and anger. Here I am, a brown person on stage being quite blunt. I talk about white privilege; I talk about U.S. imperialistic practices; I talk about colonialism. I'm not saying things that are easy for people to laugh at.
force fresh human organizer sharing
I'm not a politician, I'm not an ideologue, I'm not an organizer anymore. I'm a human being sharing ideas, and those ideas have to feel fresh and from my heart and my head, and I have to feel it. You can't force that feeling.
ethnic fairly flipping indian knew standup stuff using
When I started doing standup when I was 17, I was talking about being Indian and specifically ethnic jokes. Straightforward stuff that was fairly ignorant that I knew would get the laugh. It wasn't flipping stereotypes; it was using them.
reinforce
I try to be as thoughtful as I can about everything that comes out of my mouth and not reinforce sexism.
appearance comedy discovered hbo hooked january led seattle time
January 14, 2000, was my first time on stage, and I've been hooked ever since. I got discovered nationally in Seattle by the now-defunct HBO Comedy Festival, and that led to an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and a path to a professional comedy career.
given limited mainstream masters privileged subject
I feel privileged that I've been able to get anywhere, with my quote-unquote limited mainstream appeal, given my race and subject matter. Of course, I always have my masters to fall back on.
choose conversation point publicly stage whether
The words we use have weight. Whether it's in a conversation with a friend or something said publicly on stage or broadcast. And as performers, we know that because that's why we choose the words we use - that's the whole point of comedy.
format lots love monologue opportunity sketches thrown tv
I would love the opportunity to create my own program. I feel like a TV show with a format of monologue with lots of sketches thrown in could be really fun. But you know, that may never happen. Minimally, I just want to keep making stand-up.
hindu republican symbol
I'm not a Republican, but I was one once - when I was 7 years old. Not my fault. The symbol of the Republican Party is an elephant, I'm a Hindu - I was confused.