Wyatt Feegrado is a comedian and content creator from Walnut Creek, San Francisco, CA. Feegrado moved to New York City, where he attended the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Feegrado always wanted to be a comedian and grew up watching “The Last Comic Standing” with his mother. His favorites are Alingon Mitra and his Sammy Obeid. In 2020, Feegrado appeared on Hulu and his ESPN+ television show “Bettor Days,” where his character Vinnie bet on baseball team the Astros and won big. Feegrado also has a podcast called ‘First World Problematic’ with Vishal Kal and Surbhi, where they talk about various topics like racism, sexism and homophobia, and will drop an ‘Indian Matchmaking’ reunion show. Now in Bangalore, Figrad is performing its first show in India at Courtyard, Bangalore. He had previously toured in America. He recently dropped his Amazon comedy special “Wyatt Feegrado: De-Assimilate.” Continue reading to learn more about Wyatt Feegrado.
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Do you think growing up in Walnut Creek and your personal experiences shaped your comedy style?
Walnut Creek is, quite frankly, a very white place for anyone who’s never been there. During high school in 2000, I was one of four or five Indian kids must be. Part of finding my comedic voice was changing that perspective and saying, It’s not weird that I’m brown, and it’s weird that you’re not. That’s the paradigm shift. I don’t travel the world trying to impress people. who are they? They should be trying to impress me.
What was it like attending the Tisch School Of The Arts, and what classes helped shape you as a person?
I hope I don’t get too slammed for this… but I don’t think NYU has helped my career much. Being in New York has helped me a lot. I really appreciate NYU’s approach. They teach art as a fundamentally communal discipline, and I believe so. But that’s not how I learn. I am competitive, so I want to compete with my fellow students and prove that I am the best. That’s my motivation. If you want to use New York University or art school to your advantage, understand that classes are only half of what you should do. I was watching my fellow students finish class and go home. Not so in this industry. Every day, after school, I would go to two or three open mics and send in my own recorded auditions to create my own opportunities. You’re betting on yourself, so go all in.
What was the process like for the comedy special Wyatt Feegrado: De-Assimilate?
In terms of writing jokes, it’s the culmination of 10 years of studying how to write jokes. But I was approached with the opportunity in his March or so and even booked to record the special. But it’s a bad strategy when it comes to trying to succeed in life. When an opportunity presents itself, you must seize it no matter what. Worry about being ready later. One time I was cast in his Facebook commercial and had to do a skateboard trick. I lied and said on the casting call that I knew how to do skateboard tricks. I think the most important lesson you can learn in comedy is how to believe in yourself when no one else believes. I always have the confidence to rise to the occasion.
How was it to get a special on Amazon Prime?
Four by Three, the wonderful production company that produced my special, has a very good relationship with Amazon. They handled the distribution for me and together we made the strategic decision to release De-Assimilate on YouTube as well. Combined with the oversaturation of paid streaming services and YouTube’s renaissance where much of the content has TV-level production value, I think more and more young people are turning to YouTube. Primary source of content. People are always asking who will win the “streaming wars”. My dark horse candidate is YouTube.
How do you deal with heckling as a comedian?
So many comedians are mean to heckle. I hate. There is no reason for that. They are human too and it’s not right to blame them unless they really insult you first.In my opinion there are 3 types of heckling he. A heckler who got too drunk, a heckler who thought he was helping out on the show, and a heckler who actually hated you or thought you weren’t funny. I think only the latter deserves condemnation. I tell the rest that I’m interrupting the show in a way that doesn’t interrupt the show itself, trying to avoid it.
What was the first joke you wrote and what’s your favorite joke you’ve ever written?
Oh my god, this is going to be horrible. The first joke I wrote was:
“Shaun White is a professional snowboarder, but many people don’t know that he is also very skilled in curling and hairstyles.”
It’s so bad. I’m embarrassed. At least it refutes the BS that some say you can’t learn interesting things. that’s not true. What they mean is that the comedy infrastructure is almost non-existent. There are no stand-up comedy majors in art schools or textbooks that teach you how to write jokes. Someday there will be, but not now.
My favorite jokes to write are the ones I really think epitomize the zeitgeist. My favorites in the special are the jokes about how Jesus’ disciples are brown and that vaccines are the first time in the United States that everyone has free healthcare.
Are there any jokes you regret telling in public?
of course. Going back to my answer to the first question, a joke with an underlying presumption that being brown is “weird” is the reason many Indian-American comedians throughout history have been pigeonholed. The genre of jokes – I regret saying those types of jokes when I first started. Now I do the opposite. Sometimes, to piss them off, I joke that Jesus was dark-skinned in Texas.
what is your favorite project?
Flying to Nashville to shoot ESPN+’s Bettor Days was awesome. I had just graduated from school at the time and it felt great to be making money, traveling and working. And being able to see myself on TV for the first time is a thrilling experience.
Tell me more about the First World Problematic podcast.
Yes! First World Problematic is a comedy podcast hosted with Vishal Kal. It’s the same podcast that broke Nadia’s heart on Indian Matchmaking. We are all Indian Americans and we discuss and joke about a variety of topics including dating and pop culture. Also! We just released the Indian Matchmaking Season 2 Reunion Special. In January, we plan to reunite for Season 1.
Who do you admire in the world of comedy?
Man. I am a student of many comedians. So there are so many people that I admire. Stephen Wright and Dave Chappelle are my first loves. When I was a kid, I thought stand-up was just the passing of time, but one day I came across Dave Chappelle: Killin Em’ Softly on YouTube. That’s why I realized that stand-up can be high art. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a comedian. Stephen Wright was the comedian who inspired me to write my first jokes, and many of my first jokes were modeled after him. I learned a lot about modern joke structure from Dave Attell, Emo Phillips, Dan Mintz and Anthony Jeselnik. Bit structure taken directly from Louie CK and Bill Burr. I learned a lot from Paul Mooney when it came to voices in comedy. I feel that listening to him has unlocked my approach to comedy. He speaks of whites the way the media speaks of blacks. I always thought we Asians needed an Asian comedian to talk about Asian-American issues, but we don’t need the friendliness that Asian comedians usually portray. He taught me to be your face And Chappelle taught me how to be nice about it.
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Do you think South Asian comedians are easily categorized?
Historically—obviously yes. In modern times, it is not. I think South Asian comedians are, in a way, redeeming themselves by trying to emulate the South Asian comedians of the past who were holed up in the market. Now that I think about it, it’s all thanks to social media that there’s a market for all kinds of comedies. As I said in my previous answer, I want to be a South Asian comedian with the ambivalence historically seen only in black comedians.
But do you know who is really stuck in a pigeonhole today? This may be tangent, but if there was a female comedian talking about women’s issues with the animosity towards men that Bill Burr sometimes has towards women, she could be the GOAT in my opinion. Highly sexual
How do you think social media like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat have changed comedy?
Social media is such a beautiful thing for comedy. It completely decentralized the power structure of our business. Back in the day, if you wanted to be famous, you had to do comedy that appealed to the white men who held power in networks, talk shows, and writers’ rooms. Now, thanks to social media, the people who see our work are representative of the population and we have a wider market so we can grow our followers. With all the clout, we’re seeing more styles of stand-up comedy. Also, social media is the third comedy boom in my opinion. Seinfeld made stand-up a home art form, and Netflix allowed people to binge-watch stand-up. And now Tiktok and Instagram have proliferated to the point where standup is ubiquitous.There are more comedians than ever before and the market for standup is bigger than ever.
Finally, what would you like people to take away from this Brown Girl magazine interview?
We Indian Americans are at a very interesting economic and cultural crossroads. Indians are the wealthiest ethnic group in America, and culturally Indian parents generally pay for their children’s college expenses, unlike other ethnicities. If Indian parents virtually helped their children get into the arts in the same way they help them get a master’s degree, Indians would have an astronomically higher odds than anyone else. The greatest gift you can give an artist’s child is financial support in the early stages. Doctors, Lawyers and Engineers only bachelors must be removed which I claim is a remnant of the Indian caste system.
Also, don’t forget to refer to white people as European Americans.
Steve Jensel
