{"id":108179,"date":"2018-12-27T14:33:35","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T20:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=108179"},"modified":"2018-12-28T10:18:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T16:18:08","slug":"interview-comedian-tess-rafferty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/interview-comedian-tess-rafferty\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Outspoken Comedian Tess Rafferty on Getting Political"},"content":{"rendered":"

We sat down with comedian, television writer, and activist Tess Rafferty to learn about equality, Italy, and her passion for politics.<\/h2>\n

They say if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. Or, in comedian, author, and activist Tess Rafferty’s case, spawn into a Borg collective spewing epitaphs of “resistance is futile” instead.<\/p>\n

Tess has written for @Midnight<\/em> on Comedy Central and was the supervising producer for the cult-favorite clip show The Soup<\/em>\u00a0on E!, which tells us something about her witty sense of humor and her love for commentary on the current social and political scene.<\/p>\n

Luckily, we didn’t have to meet in an underground bunker to get the lowdown on why Tess is so over trying to find common ground with those on the other end of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/a>

Tess w\/director Steve Cohen. Via Tess Rafferty.<\/p><\/div>\n

PREMIUM BEAT: <\/strong>Are you pissed at Mikemostly? In a sea of amazing reviews for your memoir, Recipes for Disaster<\/a>, he titled his review \u201cMeh\u201d on Amazon. He laughed a bit, even made some of your recipes (and really liked them), but apparently he expected more. It made me think of Hillary and I got really sad for humanity! Are women held to a different standard even after they offer up a killer party idea like a grilled cheese station?<\/p>\n

TESS RAFFERTY:<\/strong> Yes. Exhibit A: the grifter squatting in the White House.<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/a>

Via Tess Rafferty.<\/p><\/div>\n

PB:\u00a0<\/strong>It almost feels like comedians are our last line of defense these days. Not only have you put out a series of videos\/political rants, but also you organized a \u201ctake back the workplace\u201d march! Why have you stepped up to lead the charge and are you optimistic or terrified?<\/p>\n

TR:<\/strong> I\u2019m mostly terrified and part of that is that it all seems so futile. I started the march because exactly a year before the Weinstein story broke, the Trump\/Grab ’em By the Pussy story did. Women were compelled to share their stories of sexual assault online. It felt like a watershed moment. But a year later the Weinstein story broke. And once again women were compelled to share their most vulnerable stories and once again it felt like a watershed moment. I thought, \u201cI don\u2019t want us all to be here a year from now, sharing the same stories.\u201d And then this year Kavanaugh happened. It\u2019s like we\u2019re living in fucking Groundhog Day<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really know how to make Republican men and women think a man touching our bodies against our will is wrong. I don\u2019t know that we ever will. And yet I keep trying to do something because to do nothing seems unthinkable. It\u2019s all I know how to do. And sometimes there is a nice surprise, like with this year\u2019s mid-terms. But then you think, how many more seats did we actually win, like Stacy Abrams\u2019 gubernatorial race. It was stolen from her by her Republican opponent. We all know that. Heidi Heitkamp might have won were it not for the egregious suppression of the Native American vote. And then it seems futile again.<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/a>

Via Tess Rafferty.<\/p><\/div>\n

PB:\u00a0<\/strong>You have never been accused of being demure, but do you think your outspoken political beliefs have impacted your career negatively in any way? Or has it been a positive thing?<\/p>\n

TR:<\/strong> The good news is that if it\u2019s ever affected me negatively, I won\u2019t hear about it so that\u2019s nice. I can pretend whatever is convenient in that moment. I\u2019m sure it has, because everything affects your career to some extent: whether you\u2019re too outspoken or not outspoken enough. People can dislike you for any number of reasons and I\u2019ve seen people hired or fired for all sorts of stupid, random things.<\/p>\n

You might as well be proud of it and wear it like a badge of honor. And the wonderful truth is that it\u2019s actually impacted me positively. People have reached out because they\u2019ve seen the videos<\/a> and wanted to work with me. And it\u2019s both a relief and encouraging when you can do what is right and be rewarded for it.<\/p>\n

PB:\u00a0<\/strong>Spending time on your website<\/a>, it\u2019s clear you love three things: Equality, your husband, and Italy. \u00a0 What would be your elevator pitch on why all three things are worthy of your adoration?<\/p>\n

TR:<\/strong> Italy is pretty much the thing holding my marriage together. It is the perfect intersection of everything my husband and I have in common: we love good food, great wine, art, history and dramatic scenery. I love both of them more because of the other. I\u2019m not sure where equality fits into the equation. Italy doesn\u2019t have the best record on sexism. My husband\u2019s is definitely better.<\/p>\n

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Looking for more industry interviews? Check these out.<\/p>\n