Sounds Like a Porn Plot (with Zoe Friedman, Amber J Lawson, and Jodi Lieberman)

Today's guests are the co-founders of Comedy Gives Back, an organization that serves as a safety net for the comedy community by providing financial crisis relief, mental health and chemical dependency treatment sponsorship.  Amber J Lawson, Jodi Lieberman and Zoe Friedman have been working in comedy for decades, and as they share their stories of an infected tooth, a car accident, and a skin surgery, co-hosts Ellie and Julia wonder if these are medical stories or plot lines for porn. Listen and decide for yourself.

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Transcript

Julia [00:00:07] Welcome to open up and say ha, stories from underneath the paper gown. 

Ellie [00:00:11] Hi, Ellie. Hi, Julia. 

Julia [00:00:13] Hi. 

Ellie [00:00:14] Hi. 

Julia [00:00:14] Hi. I'm just going to dive right into my story. It's not the most exciting thing, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. As we approach the summer kit, you know, I have been in experimenting, and, I mean, I've been experimenting with this for a really long time. Trying to find a a nonentity press press, print. 

Ellie [00:00:37] Purse print. 

Julia [00:00:38] Antiperspirant and a non antiperspirant deodorant so that I don't get the cancer or the Alzheimer's. And, I've experimented with a few things that keep kind of coming back to the same one I finally bought into. And this is not an advertisement. 

Ellie [00:00:54] Let's just pronounce everything in a weird way. 

Julia [00:00:57] I know, I don't know what's wrong with me this morning. Everything. Not enough? Everything. Not enough. Espresso. Okay. This is not an advertisement for Lumi. But I finally bought into Lumi and was like, I'm going to finally check this shit out. I put it off for a really long time, and it turns out I actually really love this shit. But. So I've been doing the Lumi right? And, it is pretty fucking amazing. Like it? 

Ellie [00:01:20] This is that deodorant that they've been advertising with. Like, you can listen. 

Julia [00:01:23] To explain if there's something wrong with you. 

Ellie [00:01:25] But I think you should. We should. Should we? Not everybody. Listen, we're. 

Julia [00:01:29] Not getting paid. 

Ellie [00:01:30] No, totally. But the point. All I'm saying is. 

Julia [00:01:33] It's not an all over body deal. 

Ellie [00:01:35] That's right. Okay, it's not just for your pets. 

Julia [00:01:37] You can get it in a tube. You can get it in a stick. I have it in a stick. All right. I got it for my pets. I did not get it for other parts, so I have been using it, you know, on the pits. And it. It's amazing in that, like, I really don't smell. And that's kind of been one of the hardest things to figure out with like the, the natural, you know, deodorants. Yeah. And that is that, you no matter what, you stink. Okay. This solves that problem. I do not smell when I use it. Fucking amazing. But you still sweat. And that's the problem with it not being an antiperspirant is that. I just then I'm just walking around with, like, wet pits. And then if you're wearing a t shirt, you get the stains. So it's like, I'm working with people I can't be walking around with, like. It stains, you know? Yeah. And then, like we have in wet pits, is also just really uncomfortable. So I don't know what the solution is, but somebody out there needs to figure out something to mitigate the wetness that isn't going to get me cancer. 

Ellie [00:02:38] If we could figure it out, this could be the thing that, makes us the. 

Julia [00:02:42] Billionaires and then billionaires. Yeah. 

Ellie [00:02:44] And then I want a billion. I want like a new. Yeah, a new category. 

Julia [00:02:49] 4 billion? Sure. Is that a thing, or did you just make that up? 

Ellie [00:02:53] I made it up. 

Julia [00:02:54] I like it. 

Ellie [00:02:55] You're mispronouncing words. I'm making up words. Cool. 

Julia [00:02:58] Cool. That's great. 

Ellie [00:02:59] Agree? 

Julia [00:03:00] I agree to agree. Okay. Agreed. What's your thing? Tell me about everything. 

Ellie [00:03:05] You've changed what I was going to talk about. Because you're talking about summertime coming, and you're talking about the statics. And, I have very small breasts. I don't, but there's still kind of up enough. And I don't need to wear a bra. And so I would love to go braless because you're sweating and walking around in the summer. 

Julia [00:03:21] So boob sweat. Boob sweat. Yeah. 

Ellie [00:03:23] And like a lot of what I wear are skimpy little tank tops. And so then I have to wear a strapless bra. But the strapless bra is so thick and has underwire and it's lined and. 

Julia [00:03:33] It's sometimes it has cream on it and it's. 

Ellie [00:03:35] Sweat. It's terrible. Right? But but here's my problem. 

Julia [00:03:38] Tell me. 

Ellie [00:03:39] Ever since I had a child, I have one inverted nipple and one super extroverted nipple. One nipple that's like, hey, everybody! And one that's like dating. So I would happily embrace my Jennifer Aniston and walk around with two nips. I don't know if I would happily do it, but I would more readily do it if it was even. But I don't want. 

Julia [00:04:02] To be is Jennifer Aniston. She was, you. 

Ellie [00:04:04] Know, like on friends. She was constantly if you if you look back, there are a lot of episodes where her nipples are at its other. 

Julia [00:04:10] And this is why we this is a callback to the fact that, like, I didn't watch friends and you did. And I never know anything about friends. 

Ellie [00:04:17] Yeah, her nipples were at attention a lot, a lot, and it was discussed and, you know, but both nipples at attention is a statement that. 

Julia [00:04:24] Not that there's anything wrong with that. Nipples fly free, but. 

Ellie [00:04:28] One being at attention and one not. It's just, I don't know, it's not something I want to walk around. And so they make these, new silicone, just stick them on your nips things. But, man, they're just for my size. Small breasts. Half the time I put them on. And you can, like, see the outline of them through the shirt or the tank top or whatever. So I, you know, I'm putting this out there to listeners. I, I don't know if I need to try a lot of different brands. I don't know if the ones I have are just the wrong ones, but I would love to have some sort of stick it on my nipple solution that tamps down the extroverted one and doesn't cause all kinds of, you know, sweat and discomfort, but that you also can't see through my shirt because I feel like that's just as distracting. Yeah, and weird looking as my one nipple that looks like it's going to punch you in the face. 

Julia [00:05:20] Ellie, this is a huge ask. 

Ellie [00:05:22] Yeah, yeah, this is another thing we could invent that could make us billionaires to billionaires. Two inventions on the table. Now it's a race between listeners to come up with a solution. And us. 

Julia [00:05:33] I would happily embrace either if the listeners came up with that, because I would. 

Ellie [00:05:38] I really just want it. What I really want is all the companies that make these nipple covers to send me samples, so I can try all of them without paying for them. Yeah. And then I'll happily report back, which is the best one for small breasted females like me. 

Julia [00:05:51] I think that is fine. I think it's fair. I think if any, nipple cover companies are listening to this podcast that they should. 

Ellie [00:06:01] Send us for. 

Julia [00:06:01] Send you send the shit to you. 

Ellie [00:06:04] Yeah. 

Julia [00:06:05] This was great, Ellie. I enjoyed this conversation so much. Who do we have on the pod today? 

Ellie [00:06:09] We have three extraordinary women, in the comedy world, who have founded a wonderful organization called Comedy Gives. Back. In a moment, we'll introduce all of them, and you'll get to hear about the organization. And I can't wait to hear their stories. 

Julia [00:06:22] They do incredible work. It's going to be good. All right, let's do it. 

Ellie [00:06:27] Today we are thrilled to have the three founders of Comedy Gives Back, which is the safety net of the comedy community with pillars in financial grants, recovery and mental health. Organizations like this can be literal lifesavers for performers and writers who don't have steady income, health insurance, or any of the stability of a typical career. We'll learn more about it at the end of the episode, but for now, let's introduce these three brilliant humans and hear their stories. 

Julia [00:06:54] Let's do this. All right. We have Amber Jay Lawson, who stands as a luminary in change, entrepreneurship, mindfulness and emotional intelligence with a background as a former international media executive, Emmy nominee and entrepreneur, Amber Jay passionately trains Olympic athletes, celebrities, comedians, career driven mothers, entrepreneurs and CEOs in the art of change through harnessing emotional intelligence, connection and sense of self. Her zone of genius is comedy and she loves hot pink, obviously. 

Ellie [00:07:30] Obviously for listeners who are not watching, have half of her hair is hot pink, so you should be watching. Jodi Lieberman has been in the comedy business for the last two plus decades. Jodi started her career at just for laughs and was the head of the festival for many years, producing live shows and TV shows and breaking young talent. Her passion for working with talent led her to become a talent manager. In addition to working on Comedy Gives Back, she currently runs her own company, Lieberman Entertainment. 

Julia [00:08:01] Last one here. Save the best for last Zoe Friedman was born into comedy. Zoe's parents started the Improvization in NYC in 1963. A true believer in the transformative and healing quality of laughter, Zoe's mission is to make sure laughter stays in the world through comedy, gives back producing comedy and not ever getting too jaded to laugh her ass off. Welcome to the show, everyone. 

Speaker 3 [00:08:27] Hi. Hi. Thank you. 

Zoe [00:08:29] Thank you for having us. We're so happy to be here. 

Ellie [00:08:32] We're so glad. 

Julia [00:08:32] You made it through your bios, which is the hardest part of this whole show. 

Ellie [00:08:36] Yeah, mean. 

Julia [00:08:37] Listening to. 

Ellie [00:08:38] That. It's tricky, but you should be proud, so it's not really that hard. We have to like mine. 

Julia [00:08:45] Are you? Yeah. 

Zoe [00:08:46] Yeah. Okay. Yeah. 

Amber J [00:08:47] Performed our way through it. 

Ellie [00:08:49] You really did. And it was a it was highly entertaining. All right, before we dive into your stories, I'd like to hear from each of you. What kind of a patient are you when you have a medical encounter? Are you nervous? Take charge. You come in with a list. Amber J let's start with you. What kind of a patient are you? 

Amber J [00:09:10] Well, that's a very good question to ask this. Three some of broads otherwise known as jazz Jody, Amber J and Zoe. I am a, there now in life, I am a very vocal patient, and I rattle the cage. I demand service, and, I know my body and I trust my body. 

Julia [00:09:42] Love it. 

Ellie [00:09:44] Love that. That's excellent. Very proactive. Exactly. 

Amber J [00:09:47] I would say I'm, I was well I have been passing it's new in this chapter of my life to be more proactive. 

Julia [00:09:55] One of the great things that comes with aging, I feel like, is assertiveness. 

Ellie [00:09:59] Our doctors appreciative of it or are they like, simmer down? 

Amber J [00:10:06] And they are a little bit simmer down, but I pay for it, and I demand to be served. Frankly, in our broken medical system in America. 

Ellie [00:10:21] 1,000%. 

Zoe [00:10:22] Yeah. 

Ellie [00:10:24] Jody, how about you? 

Jodi [00:10:26] So neurotic. Was that allowed? I was I was going to say you should ask my friend. So I am being Jewish. I do get nervous going into a doctor, but I have to say that I've had my experiences and I take matters into my own hands, and I advocate for myself, and I push it, and I don't take no for an answer. And like Amber said, I know my own body, and I know when there are something wrong and I. Yeah, I feel like I've definitely advocated for myself and pushed people to, you know, come through and get appointments when I couldn't get appointments and get stuff done, when they said, oh, you have to wait three weeks. And I'm like, no, I'm not waiting three weeks. I'm going to get this done tomorrow. 

Julia [00:11:19] This all sounds very familiar, Ellie 

Ellie [00:11:21] It sure. 

Julia [00:11:21] Does. 

Ellie [00:11:22] So familiar does I feel like we're, kindreds. All of us. Zoe, what about you? 

Zoe [00:11:27] Well, I, I also am I advocate for myself. I've always been like that. My mother has always been like. That's why I saw every doctor roll their eyes at her and try to push her, especially as she got older. So in some ways, I saw it modeled not necessarily positively, because the medical system does sort of push that away. But it's what I do because my mom modeled it. Right. So that is where I, I enter mostly, but I become a little bit more assertive. As I grow older and wiser. And I will say I'm, I don't take doctors as the end all. I am also very much know my body. And I also pursue integrative alternative ways of, of care. Right. So diagnostically, Western medicine is fantastic. Not so much in the treatment, you know, of the holistic body. And so it's up to us. So that's not just advocating in the office, but what else can you know. What can else I can do to, you know, fortify or, you know. 

Julia [00:12:32] It doesn't begin and end at the doctor's. 

Zoe [00:12:34] Office, right? They are only one opinion. Sometimes, you know, and multiple opinions are always good. Not to say I'm a rebel. I'm I also am, I also am. Oh, Bayer. I'm a good pro. Like, if I believe in the doctor and I feel it's right, I listen right. I do think there are people. They have expertise. I'm not that you know, but I definitely don't end all with a doctor. You know, I pursue my own stuff as well. And my mom did that too. She was pretty ahead of her time. 

Julia [00:13:00] It's good to be knowledgeable. 

Zoe [00:13:03] It is about to. 

Julia [00:13:04] Know what you're getting into. 

Zoe [00:13:05] Yeah. 

Ellie [00:13:05] All right. So we have three grown ass women here. 

Julia [00:13:08] We do. 

Ellie [00:13:09] And I think that's fantastic. And I can't wait to hear your stories. Yeah. Amber J, you ready to go first? 

Amber J [00:13:17] Sure. 

Julia [00:13:18] Okay. What was that? Elevator. 

Julia [00:13:20] The first. 

Ellie [00:13:22] Amber J's story is called you gave me AIDS. 

Amber J [00:13:27] More. 

Ellie [00:13:31] I can't wait. 

Amber J [00:13:33] You gave me Aids. 

Ellie [00:13:35] This is going. 

Ellie [00:13:36] To be really funny or really tragic. I'm really. 

Amber J [00:13:40] My story starts back in the 1900s, when I was first moved to Los Angeles and, my, my business partner at the time, I had gotten like a tooth infection and the tooth infection started to morph my face and I started to look like masking. Like it started to move down. And I went to a dentist and they were like, oh, you need to go to the emergency room. So I went to the emergency room and they drew this, like with magic marker around my face. 

Ellie [00:14:22] Like the margins to mark the margins. 

Julia [00:14:25] Oh my. 

Julia [00:14:25] God. To manage. Like where? Like what's going on? So I had this infection and I was in Cedars and I went to. So I'm in the room and they're managing it, and the doctor comes in to treat me. And what he did was like, shoot my gums, I guess, with, antibiotics or something. And when he, when he did that, he slipped and nicked himself with the the syringe. Syringe and then turn to me. He is in my mouth with a syringe. Did I mention that part? And he mixed himself. Not me. Not nothing I did. And with the syringe. And says to me. Do you have AIDS? 

Ellie [00:15:23] Oh. No. 

Amber J [00:15:28] Do you have AIDS? 

Amber J [00:15:30] Do you, doctor? 

Julia [00:15:33] Because this is what I want to hear right now. 

Ellie [00:15:35] Oh my God. 

Amber J [00:15:39] I was gobsmacked. So. So if that wasn't bad enough, when I got chucked out of the hospital at Cedars, one of the top hospitals in America, do you pay a lot of money for? They their electricity went out. I had to walk down the back stairs to leave the hospital. And that, my friends, is how I got Aids. 

Julia [00:16:11] Or gave Aids for giving God and gave. 

Amber J [00:16:14] Yeah. This isn't right. I didn't have Aids, and I did it. 

Ellie [00:16:19] On multiple levels. Like, I feel like that doctor was on drugs. I feel like that doctor had zero bedside manner. I cannot believe that you're in this vulnerable position. And in his. It was a man. 

Julia [00:16:33] Yes, of course it was. Yes, of course it was. 

Ellie [00:16:35] Your first concern was for himself and also. And also, might I say, I don't know, I feel like in the 1900s, which I also say no. One of the questions, like you, you knew walking in what isn't, don't you fill out a whole thing with like, every way to God. 

Julia [00:16:53] And what you don't got? 

Julia [00:16:54] You know. 

Ellie [00:16:55] Like a doctor knows if what you have that might be problematic before they stick you with anything. 

Julia [00:17:03] Yeah. Also get better at doing your job. 

Julia [00:17:06] Yeah. 

Amber J [00:17:07] This was before I had. What the like. No, no, you can't say this. And you can't behave this way, and you can't treat me like this. And I'm suing right now. 

Julia [00:17:18] Like assertiveness. 

Amber J [00:17:19] Like if that would have. If that would have happened in the past ten years, that would have never been the case. But, like, I didn't know how to navigate hospitals. I and I thought the sun rose and set with doctors. Yeah. And if they came in and did X, Y and Z, then that's what I needed and I but it was so shocking. So. 

Ellie [00:17:41] And presumably this was also before Yelp. So that you weren't. 

Julia [00:17:45] You mean it was in the 1900s? Ali. 

Ellie [00:17:47] Yes, it was the 1900s. So children back then you couldn't post on Insta. You couldn't make a TikTok about how your doctor accused you of giving them Aids. 

Ellie [00:17:59] From. 

Ellie [00:17:59] Stab when they stabbed you with. So did you get enough antibiotic? 

Julia [00:18:05] Yeah. What happened? Yeah. What? 

Julia [00:18:07] Like what happened? Tell us what happened at like, did you get. You obviously got better because your your. 

Ellie [00:18:11] Face looks great. 

Julia [00:18:12] Your face isn't hanging off on one side. 

Amber J [00:18:14] So I lived. 

Ellie [00:18:17] You live should be. And he lived. Period. End of sentence. She's alive and I still. 

Amber J [00:18:23] And I still try to see if you think I would have learned my lesson. 

Ellie [00:18:26] Well. Each doctor. 

Julia [00:18:28] One bad doctor. 

Ellie [00:18:30] Yeah. I can't judge a whole hospital. Really? Can you? 

Ellie [00:18:32] No, no. 

Jodi [00:18:33] But what, like, is it just an infection? Yeah. 

Jodi [00:18:37] Did they take the two that. No, no, the two lived. 

Amber J [00:18:42] Yeah, it was just an infection and it went wild. And they were worried that it would get, like, in my brain or, like, paralyze me. That's real. They gave me. Yeah. Antibiotics. And it just it went down. 

Julia [00:18:55] People don't know a tooth infection can kill you. Yeah, and it was bad. That's a it was scary. Was there listening. 

Zoe [00:19:03] Out the back entrance? They turned off all the electricity and sent her down the back stairs. Not for her to spread. 

Zoe [00:19:09] But, like. 

Zoe [00:19:09] Don't. 

Zoe [00:19:10] Lock one's. 

Zoe [00:19:10] Office. 

Ellie [00:19:11] After all of that. 

Zoe [00:19:13] There have been blood going down the back stairs. 

Amber J [00:19:16] The same visit. There was another. They wheeled me. They needed to take blood, and they. They took me to another floor. But it was two a. This is the craziest thing too. Like, a supply closet and took the blood in the supply closet. 

Amber J [00:19:36] It was what was happening? 

Ellie [00:19:38] What was happening? 

Julia [00:19:39] What's happening? Do you think it's in. 

Ellie [00:19:42] I got it's you. Is it you? Is it you? Yeah. 

Julia [00:19:44] Are you sure that this infection wasn't affecting your brain? Like. Are you sure these weren't, like, did this really happen? It's like the nation's like. How accurate do you really think this is? 

Amber J [00:19:58] I do have people who can verify it, for sure, but, like. Yeah, that was a crazy visit. And I've been to Cedars and stayed at Cedars and had lovely times, so I don't it was crazy. 

Amber J [00:20:12] It was a right. Yeah. We're not. 

Amber J [00:20:14] Throwing shade. 

Ellie [00:20:16] So Cedars don't sue us. So, and for those listeners who weren't born in the 1900s and didn't get the mask reference, we will post a link in the show notes to an image of, Eric Stoltz, the actor playing a character who had a disease name of which I cannot recall right now, but that made his face. 

Julia [00:20:34] But by the way, how dare you bring him up? I mean, just like the biggest. 

Ellie [00:20:38] Stoltz. 

Julia [00:20:40] Like of my life. Of my life? Him. I married a redhead. But it all started with Eric Stoltz. 

Zoe [00:20:44] Sandra Oh, then her lover, too. Yeah. 

Julia [00:20:48] It made me so horny. Forget it. So horny. 

Ellie [00:20:51] Even it even in mask. Not in mask? 

Julia [00:20:54] No. Well, he was such a good guy. 

Julia [00:20:57] He really was. He was really a lovable. You can see Laura Dern, right? Laura Dern fell in love. She was the actor who. 

Julia [00:21:03] Played the teenage girl. Yeah. Who was blind? 

Ellie [00:21:07] She was blind. 

Ellie [00:21:09] I have to watch it again. All right. 

Julia [00:21:10] I'm so glad that we digressed this far, because we, should get back on track. What's this? All right, Jodi, you've got a story. It's called. Does this car accident make me look hot? Let's hear it. 

Jodi [00:21:27] All right, so I need to preface something. So do it. This was in 2013, and at the beginning of the year I did a focus group for P90x three. So it was in really, really good shape at that point, and I was maintaining it and it was working out and eating really healthy. And, my mom was in town because I was getting my citizenship and I couldn't travel to Canada. So my mom came down in August to spend some time with me. And the day before she was leaving, my new mini died. And the next day she was leaving and I had to go get my car taken care of. So there were something wrong with the battery, and they towed my mini and they gave me a car rental. So I was in a Toyota Corolla at the time, and this was like on a Monday. And on Wednesday they call me that. My car was ready. So instead of going to work, I was going to the dealership to pick up my car. And I was driving along Hollywood Boulevard and a truck smashed into me as I was stationary headfirst and spun me around and another car hit me. And I was in the car and I thought I was dying, and I got pulled out. I got thrown into an ambulance, and I had pulled down the visor and I saw my head was bleeding. 

Julia [00:22:55] Oh my God. But I have to ask you, did they have to like, pull you? They did. They have to like, cut you out, like pull you from the wreckage. 

Jodi [00:23:03] They they couldn't open my door. I couldn't open your door, the passenger door. And like I will say this, I had never really been in the hospital before. I definitely had never been in an ambulance as a patient before. And here I am with a rental car. They didn't understand how I had a rental car and I had a California license like things did, and I kept hearing them talking and I was so vain during this whole thing. I was like, my rings are getting dirty because my blood on my on my hands. Like the weirdest. 

Julia [00:23:39] Things you think about. 

Jodi [00:23:40] It was crazy. Anyhow, so I get thrown into the ambulance and my mother had just bought me this off white shirt that I was wearing, and they went to cut my shirt and they went to cut my jeans and I was like, can you please not cut my jeans? And and then I was jeans. Yeah, exactly. They didn't cut the jeans. They cut them. 

Ellie [00:24:00] Not like am I internally bleeding. But please don't cut. 

Ellie [00:24:02] My please don't. 

Jodi [00:24:03] Cut the don't cut my jeans. 

Julia [00:24:04] Exactly. That might be the name of this episode. 

Jodi [00:24:08] So I they take me to Cedars and it was like literally the movies. Like I think I had passed out in the ambulance going there. Like, I don't really remember the ambulance drive. I remember like the doors playing open, like in the movies and seeing the ceiling, like on top of me. And, you know, I'm lying there and somebody comes over and they're offering me a prayer. And I was like, oh my God, I'm lying. Like I didn't know what was going on. And then they were asking me questions, and in my head I knew the answers, but I couldn't verbalize it. And I was like, oh my God, am I like, do I brain damage? Like, yeah, I really didn't know. Anyhow. And then at one point, like I started to, I came to they took me to CT scan. I think they realized like I was okay, they took me out and then I had to go for an X-ray and I had been lying. You know, with blood all over the place. And this guy took me into this X-ray room, and they were taking an X-ray of my chest, so I had to stand up. So I stand up, and at this point, my jeans had come off. They weren't cut, but they had been removed. And my shirt's, like, cut and hanging off of me. And the guy stands me up and I'm standing there literally, like my shirt falls off and he goes, can I throw this out? I go, yeah, so he threw it into the garbage, and I'm standing there and the X-ray technician says to me. Wow. You really are in good shape. Like, you look great and like. And I'm like, you guess it was all worth it. 

Ellie [00:25:45] This is like the beginning of a porn. 

Julia [00:25:48] Yeah. 

Ellie [00:25:48] Yeah, like a porn with narrative again from the 1900s when there was, like a storyline. I don't know, really. 

Julia [00:25:54] On, on on the VHS, on. 

Ellie [00:25:57] The VHS you put in a tape, a hot girl gets in a car accident, she's all torn up. And then the x ray technician is like, you look amazing. And then her. 

Julia [00:26:07] Technician is like, can I throw this out? 

Ellie [00:26:10] The right. 

Jodi [00:26:11] That's right. Like, can I take your remove your shirt anyhow? Like, now that I'm thinking about it, did you really say that to me? Could he have said that to me? Like that is the story I remember. And then so I'm lying there. And two of my friends came, and I remember I kept touching my head and going, I think I'm bleeding. I think the back, like I knew the front of my head was cut, but I didn't know. The back of my head was cut and I kept touching the back of my head and and I said to one of my friends, I go, I think my head's bleeding. So finally another doctor comes to see me. I'm lying, like in the hall now. And my friend goes, I think the back of our head is bleeding. So they lift my head up and he goes, oh yeah. And the next thing I know he's like, oh, we're going to have to shave your head. Oh, and I'm like, what it is, don't worry, I'll do it. So your hair falls like on top of it. And the next thing I know, I have nine staples in my head. 

Ellie [00:27:07] Oh, this is a whole different porn category. Go ahead. 

Julia [00:27:12] And by the way, you know. 

Jodi [00:27:14] And I'm lying there in this hospital and like, I, I was like, new to the States. You know, I'm from Canada. So you know, I've socialized medicine and I'm going, oh my God, how much is this going to cost me? Yeah. And then I had the car rental place calling me going, where's the car? And I'm like, I don't know where the car is. Like, I had no clue where the car was. And yeah, we did figure out the car and it was totaled. It was completely totaled. The car. 

Zoe [00:27:48] Drives now she's married to the x ray technician that. 

Zoe [00:27:51] Ray, and they. 

Ellie [00:27:53] Have and they have. 

Ellie [00:27:55] A staple sex. Right. Well, I'm really glad that such a traumatic experience didn't damage your self-esteem and that you were able to maintain, you know, your sense of hotness. And even though you're like, was your. 

Julia [00:28:11] Hand, your value, your jeans? 

Ellie [00:28:13] Yes. Your jeans. 

Zoe [00:28:14] Priorities. Jones. 

Ellie [00:28:15] Was your hair super weird for a long time? 

Jodi [00:28:18] No. He actually did a really good job, considering that they didn't realize that my head was bleeding. I think they were so concerned about internal. Sure. That that is. 

Ellie [00:28:28] Disconcerting, though, that they didn't give you a full once over after pulling you out of a car like check checker from head to toe, what's I don't. 

Ellie [00:28:36] Yeah, that's. 

Ellie [00:28:37] Right, that's weird. 

Julia [00:28:38] I mean, I. 

Jodi [00:28:39] Agree they were very concerned that I had like internal bleeding. So I don't know, the whole. 

Zoe [00:28:44] Cranium bleed doesn't really register. 

Ellie [00:28:47] Did any of them ask you if you had Aids? 

Jodi [00:28:49] No. 

Ellie [00:28:50] No. Good. 

Jodi [00:28:51] Okay. And if they did I don't remember. 

Ellie [00:28:52] Oh it was you said it was 2013 2013. This was post a little. 

Julia [00:28:56] Bit more woke like not so so woke enough not to ask about Aids, but not woke enough to realize that telling you you're hot when you're standing naked in front of the x ray machine is inappropriate. 

Zoe [00:29:06] Inappropriate? Yeah. 

Amber J [00:29:08] And yeah, less cocaine and then more P90x. 

Ellie [00:29:12] Right? So in conclusion, yes, the answer to your story, which is poses a question is yes, the car accident did make you look hot. 

Julia [00:29:22] Yes. 

Ellie [00:29:24] There you go. Well done, well done. Thank you for that. I don't know why my brain is so on porn, but, I'll unpack that with someone else after this. 

Julia [00:29:35] We'll talk about it later. Ellie. 

Julia [00:29:36] Yeah. 

Ellie [00:29:37] Pete. And for our final story, we have Zoe with X Marks the spot. 

Zoe [00:29:45] Well, I, as I said, when you asked the question what kind of patient we are, and I said we advocate for ourselves, we've grown as one. This was in the 2000. So, nobody's asking me those. I've had inappropriate questions, but this was not one. I had a lipoma on my back. It's a collection of cells that cells. It's not life. I mean, it's not. 

Julia [00:30:13] It's not cancer. 

Zoe [00:30:14] Not cancer. It's a benign. And it wasn't concern that it was, but it had I had two on my back and one was kind of close to us. So my, my GP was like, should go and probably get these removed. And I was like, okay. So I went to the surgeon and I liked this surgeon very much. He was also a Cedars. Doctor. And he's like, all right. So this one to do. And then to the so I go for the, it was outpatient unless something was gone awry, but it was planned for outpatient. And, you know, if we all have a little vanity, right, in these stories, you know, I was sort of thinking about my back. I have a really nice back, and I'm zits on my back. It's, you know, not a lot like. So I was like, what is this going to look like? Where are those scars going to be? And what does it really matter? Because you can't really see your back, but you sort of know it's. 

Julia [00:31:06] But you care. 

Zoe [00:31:07] About your care. I care about my back, you know. And so I was given some thought and my husband drove me to the appointment and it's really early in the morning. And, I said, my, my husband on the way, I said, you know, I have this idea, and I need your help, and we and I and I, when we got to the doctor's office, I grabbed a Sharpie from the nurse and I said, I need you to outline my bra on my back because, you know, you hear a lot about doctors, especially the the male skew of research, surgeries. Right. You see sections that they put, you know, so I know I need you to outline my bra because if there's a question of being in my bra line that I have to wear bra every day for the rest of my life, and I'm going to have a scar that's irritated. Yeah. I need you to outline. 

Julia [00:32:02] So that was so smart. 

Zoe [00:32:04] That I felt it was good. Then. Wow. Me look like, you know, at the front desk when I go here, we're checking you and I go, hold on, let's go to the bathroom with my husband. And I run to the bathroom and they're knocking and they're like, we need, you know, to start the anesthesia or whatever. And so he does the best job, and I go, you know, I say goodbye and I'm in the little, you know, prep room. And the nurse comes in and I said, I need you to finish the drawing, you know, on my back. And she was, she was a young nurse. And she said, oh my God, my mother curses the day I was born because of the cesarean the doctor gave that sat right on her bikini line that for 30 years of this, you know, like it's a reminder. And I was like, she's my angel. Confirming telling me. 

Zoe [00:32:48] That that's a yes. 

Julia [00:32:49] I do care about it. 

Zoe [00:32:51] Me doing right. Exactly. You know, if it had been the bra line, because that's the only bit, you know, you have a choice, you know, like somewhat. Yeah. So I went in with this drawing like X marks the spot, like on my back. My doctor was like, you know, you're starting to fade out, you know, and he's like, what's what is on your back? I was like, well, that's so you know where not to cut me. And you know, you don't know if they're going to roll their eyes or anything because that is a really smart thing. Yes. You know, and therefore my back and I had to and have, you know, they're small scars, but there are no where am I, Brian? I don't have to be reminded every time I put a bra on that I had these sort of this, you know, surgery today. And so I was really happy that I advocated for myself. I got a few eye rolls at the beginning when they're like, what are you doing in the bathroom with my Sharpie? And your husband? 

Julia [00:33:44] Things. Porno things. 

Zoe [00:33:45] That's right. And then I felt like I got that confirmation by the nurse who told me her mother complained. I was like, oh, all right, let's finish this up. You know? So, you know, we took the damn gown off and she drew on my back and I have this weird outline of my bra. 

Ellie [00:34:01] So we've done something here today. Yeah. Go ahead Julia, I mean I. 

Julia [00:34:05] I don't want you to forget it. I don't want you to forget your thoughts. Say it right away. 

Ellie [00:34:08] We know what we've learned. We've learned that you should draw outlines of where you don't want people to cut. 

Julia [00:34:13] I agree I mean I would never thought of that because every time I go to the dermatologist, they cut something off of me. Every time. So I'm so inspired. Oh yeah. They're like, oh, this mall, this thing. And I've had, I had like a tiny lipoma on the top of my head. And they this is like bringing it all together. They had to cut my hair and I was like, oh, la la la la la la la la la la la. They cut like, you know, it was like a tiny bit. And they pull stitch in and it all grew back and it was fine, but like, yeah. 

Zoe [00:34:38] Yeah. 

Zoe [00:34:39] You know, I've. 

Ellie [00:34:39] Never heard the word lipoma until today. 

Julia [00:34:42] Oh yeah. 

Julia [00:34:43] You clearly you don't. 

Julia [00:34:44] Watch Doctor Pimple Popper. 

Zoe [00:34:46] Oh yeah. 

Ellie [00:34:47] No I do not. So just the title of that show I want to throw up. 

Julia [00:34:52] That is why I know what a lipoma is. 

Ellie [00:34:54] But I'm so glad that, you know, for the both of us. 

Jodi [00:34:58] I just watched it for the first time the other day in Florida with my brother, who happens to be a trauma surgeon. Oh, I was like, oh my God, I can't watch this. 

Julia [00:35:09] I. Some of it is unwatchable and some of it is so watchable. 

Ellie [00:35:13] I have a high tolerance for a lot of things, but whenever even in a in a scripted show, even in not a reality show, if in a scripted show there's some really well executed surgical scene where there's like a cut and they're pulling up, I have to turn away. And my husband's like laughing at me, and I just stare at his face, waiting for his face to tell me that the part is over. Yeah, because I can't, I don't know. I could never be a doctor or a nurse. I, I don't know, I can, like, wipe a baby's ass and clean up vomit. I that doesn't bother me, but the the cutting, the. 

Ellie [00:35:48] The. 

Ellie [00:35:48] You even you saying pimple popper I just popper. 

Ellie [00:35:51] And. 

Ellie [00:35:51] It's I don't want in or. No I don't want popper. And that's also a genre of porn. Okay. 

Julia [00:35:58] Yeah. We did it. 

Ellie [00:36:01] We did it. We brought it back around. Did it? If you can find a callback, you've won. 

Julia [00:36:05] Yes. That's what I always say. 

Ellie [00:36:07] I don't know who decided. 

Julia [00:36:08] I don't know. This was a blast, ladies. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Please tell our listeners where to find comedy gives back and how they can help. And then we'll have you each say where they can find you individually to see what projects you have coming up in all of that kind of stuff. So who wants to go first? 

Zoe [00:36:27] Whoever we are. Our website is comedygivesback.com. We, always receive donations. Small or large. We help comedians continue to do what they do well is make people laugh. So whether it's financial crisis relief or therapy, mental health therapy or chemical dependency, that is where our money goes. So if you like to laugh support, you can also text laugh language to 707070. And if you're a comedian in need of services go to our website or email help at comedy is back up there. Com and somebody will be back to you and tell you how we can help you. So both sides bar and you can find me at Wowiezowie on Instagram. 

Julia [00:37:15] I like it. Wowie zowie. 

Julia [00:37:17] Was thinking. 

Jodi [00:37:21] You can find me, JodiLieberman on Instagram or Facebook. 

Jodi [00:37:26] Yeah. 

Julia [00:37:26] Yeah, yeah, she is. And that's that's all she wrote. Yeah. 

Amber J [00:37:32] And I currently am helping Gen X women date. 

Julia [00:37:37] Ooh, interesting. 

Amber J [00:37:40] To get there. Yeah. Jet jet Gen X gals guide to getting their groove on. 

Julia [00:37:49] I like. 

Amber J [00:37:49] It. And you can find me at AmberJLawson on every platform. 

Ellie [00:37:55] Amazing. We will post all of this in the show notes. And I just want to say, thank you for coming up with this. But first of all, thank you for being on the pod. And thank you for sharing your stories. But thank you for coming up with this brilliant organization. It's really, smart. And I think, you know, I, I'm a member of actors unions, and there are so much infrastructure in place for actors and theater and stage performers and, but I think, as you have identified, probably comedians sort of fall through the cracks because they don't always fit into a category like that. So what you're doing is really important and essential and amazing, and we're so glad to be able to tell people about it. 

Jodi [00:38:33] Oh, thank you guys. 

Zoe [00:38:34] Thank you for having us. It's really great to tell, share what we do and share what organization is. And because you never know who that person is that needs that help, right. That we can help. So thank you for. 

Ellie [00:38:46] Yeah, yeah. It was fine. And, now let's, I'll go watch the porn that we have. 

Zoe [00:38:54] Pimple or some pimple. 

Julia [00:38:55] Popper or some pimple popper. 

Ellie [00:38:57] Your choice. Dealer's choice. 

Zoe [00:38:59] Dealer's choice. Have a great afternoon. Whatever entails. Right? Yeah. Exactly.