Comedian John Mulaney took the stage for the Netflix Is A Joke special, The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up. The special includes different comedians honoring the lives of great since-passed comedians.
John is slowly dipping his toes back into comedy after a stint in rehab where he was working to recover from alcohol and cocaine addictions. The comedian appears to be in recovery at this time and looks sober. When he’s not on stage, he spends time with the son he shares with Olivia Munn.
That being said, John has been very open with his struggles with his mental health and addiction. Maybe that is why he feels connected to Robin Williams, who famously and unfortunately passed from suicide. At the time of his death, Robin Williams was dealing with career struggles, guilt from life choices, and a devastating diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Because Robin was known for being so funny and joyful, many people began to pass along messages about never knowing what someone is going through or that the funniest people have the darkest thoughts. While it may be true to an extent, that’s not all there was to Robin Williams and John Mulaney knows it.
John Mulaney says Robin Williams was ‘just more talented than you’
During his routine, John goes off on a bit regarding Robin Williams and the public’s response to his death.
John begins, “There’s an idea that I hear a lot, where people like to theorize that comedy all comes from a place of pain and sadness. And people like to talk about comedians as if we do what we do because of some inner darkness.”
He added that this topic often comes up when people talk about Robin and told fans,, “with all due respect, f**k off with that s**t.”
He elaborated, “Have a little respect for a brilliant artist who was just more talented than you, that’s what was happening. Making people laugh is incredibly fun. The art form of comedy is a joy to perform. And being a comedian is not a psychiatric condition. Are many of us also very f****d up, myself included? Yes, but whatever.”
The clip ends with another joke from the comedian, “You know, there are depressed people who don’t even have the decency to be great comedians. Why don’t you pick on them for change?”
Other comedians to be featured and recognized on The Hall
The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up featured other comedians as well, including Dave Chappelle, Chelsea Handler, and Jon Stewart.
Along with Robin Williams, comedians Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, and George Carlin were recognized and honored on stage.
The Hall: Honoring The Greats of Stand-Up is now streaming on Netflix.