Gina Yashere, the comedian, actress, showrunner, and co-creator of ‘Bob Hearts Abishola,’ shares some of her favorite comedic moments with The Blackest Questions host Dr. Christina Greer. The pair also dive into Yashere’s Nigerian and British influences, her current comedy tour and her support of the actors and writers strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill.
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Panama Jackson [00:00:00] You are now listening to theGrio’s Black Podcast Network. Black Culture Amplified.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:00:06] Hi, and welcome to the Blackest Questions. A trivia game show meant to teach us more about Black history. I’m your host, Dr. Christina Greer, politics editor for theGrio and associate professor of political science at Fordham University. In this podcast, we ask our guests five of the Blackest questions so we can learn a little bit more about them and have some fun while we’re doing it. We’re also going to learn a lot about Black history. Past and present. So here’s how it works. We’ve got five rounds of questions about us. Black history, the entire diaspora, current events, you name it. And with each round, the questions get a little tougher and the guest has 10 seconds to answer. If they answer correctly, they’ll receive one symbolic Black fist and hear this. And if they get it wrong, they’ll hear this. But we still love them anyway. And after the five trivia question, there will be a Black bonus round just for fun. And I like to call it Black Lightning. Our guest for this episode is comedian, actress and writer Gina Yashere. Gina was raised in London and was an engineer before embarking on her comedic journey.
Gina Yashere [00:01:06] Did you know there were Black people in England, did you know? We are everywhere.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:01:11] She was a contestant on Last Comic Standing has performed on Def Comedy Jam and is now on a comedy tour following the success of her one hour comedy specials. She’s written a memoir titled Cack Handed, and she’s also the co-creator, co-showrunner, writer and actor on the popular CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, which is the first American sitcom to feature a Nigerian family. Hello, Gina. Thank you so much for joining the Blackest Questions. Are you ready to play?
Gina Yashere [00:01:41] Thank you for having me. Dr. Greer.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:01:44] I’m so, so excited. So our listeners out there, I’ve known Gina and her work for a very long time. So this is I’m just so excited for you. I’m so proud of you. And so let’s get started with question number one. This Black comedian is one of the highest paid stand up comedians in the business. She’s won several Emmys for her work on television comedies, and she’s also a fierce advocate for gay rights and was the first Black woman and the first openly LGBTQ plus person to host the White House Correspondents Dinner. Who is she?
Gina Yashere [00:02:20] Wanda Sykes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:02:22] You are correct. So Wanda is an HBCU graduate of Hampton University whose first job was working for the National Security Agency, where she landed a spot writing for the Chris Rock Show. And since then, she’s been a part of dozens of television shows and films. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named her one of the funniest people in America.
Wanda Sykes [00:02:42] The other day, I pulled a hair out of my neck. That was so long I thought my neck was growing bangs. I was like, What the fuck is this? Oh! How long has this been here?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:02:55] And she’s also a part of only a handful of women to ever host the Oscars. So we are doubly proud of Wanda Sykes. Oh, I love her work on the Upshaws with our good friend Aaron Jackson, who’s been writing there, which is great. So who are some of your favorite comedians, Gina?
Gina Yashere [00:03:14] It’s so funny because people always ask me the who my influences are. Which I never watched comedy like that as a kid. I’m not one of those comedians with an encyclopedic knowledge of comedy. So I can’t I, I just never watched it because I was doing other things. I was doing engineering. My family was like, doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant. Which one is okay, pick that one. Study that. So I never looked at comedy in that way. When I started doing comedy, I didn’t want to be influenced too much because you can watch the news and know who they were influenced by. So I didn’t watch a lot. I watched my peers. So obviously when I came to America, I was like, Where are the other Black women like me? So Wanda Sykes definitely is one of my top. So she’s definitely one of my top comedians. I love Chappelle up until he started doing all that trans nonsense. Yeah. Go down that road. Just.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:04:08] Yeah, there’s a whole other podcast episode. What happened to Chappelle question mark?
Gina Yashere [00:04:13] Yeah. So there’s a lot of good comedians out there, but I tend to just watch my peers. Rather than just adding old because, you know, I like to Katt Williams is still one of my favorite comedians ever. Like. But if you pull away the layers of pimp and the cussing and all that, he’s a highly intelligent man. Like I told him that back in 2012, you had all the craziness. But I had some really insightful conversations with him on the road. And the man is one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:04:49] Now, see, I grew up, you know, I grew up in the States, so I grew up I loved Joan Rivers, you know, I mean, besides, like, you know, Eddie Murphy and the you know, I love Rodney Dangerfield. So, you know, when you when you were breaking into comedy and and building this career not just on stage, but also writing, were there sort of some gender dynamics that you notice? Or, you know, I always feel like when I talk to comedians, some comedians are like, funny is funny. Gender doesn’t matter. And then others are sort of like, no, there are differences about being a woman or being Black or being a Black woman in this space.
Gina Yashere [00:05:25] I came from engineering. So I came from an industry where I was the only I was the first woman engineer in Otis hundred year history, first female elevator engineer. And so. Sounds great on paper. It was awful. Was the first woman and Black. So. And I worked on construction sites where there’s no HR. So I constantly got called the N-word in my face every day at coming to work and people are banana skins above my overalls and pictures of monkeys in my pockets and things like that. So coming from that to comedy, comedy felt easier in comparison. Right. The racism was still there, the misogyny was still there. The difference between, we definitely got treated different. You know, when I first started doing comedy, I never met other women comedians because we were treated like a novelty act. I’d be on the bill and I’d be the only woman or the only Black person. So we were always treated like a novelty act. So there was definitely definite differences in the way we were treated and how to get on in comedy. You know, as a woman comedian, you got to come on and you got to be funny straight away. With men, they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Come and stay. Do a little bit and play around before you get your first laugh. As a woman, you got to come out stronger. Hey, because immediately people’s arms are folded. Mentally and physically, the moment you walk on stage as a woman, you got to unfold those arms immediately. Whereas guys don’t have to. They take the time. And even if they’re not that funny or they’re not, they’re not that mediocre, they get the benefit of the doubt. There’s not as much anger and hatred towards them for not being funny. What A woman’s not funny. Always anger as well as hatred as well and see women aren’t funny. You know, you see what un-funny white man, you don’t go. Well, comedy is not funny.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:16] Right.
Gina Yashere [00:07:17] Right.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:18] Let’s throw them all out.
Gina Yashere [00:07:19] Exactly.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:07:20] Now, I want to I want to hear you tell us a little bit more about your comedy tour, The Woman King of Comedy. And so what can fans expect? Tell us what you enjoy about performing in front of a live audience. You know, that’s a very different experience than being in the writers room. A whole bunch of people, you know, being a show runner. So tell us a little bit more about the woman king of Comedy.
Gina Yashere [00:07:40] I love doing standup comedy and that was my first love. Anything else is to feed my standup because there are two different types of comedians. There are comedians that just do comedy to get on TV and get in. And as soon as they do they’re out, they never look. I’m the other type of comedian. I do TV and do all the acting and do the other stuff because I get more, so more people will come out and see me do my thing. The Woman King of Comedy is my tour. I obviously named after the movie because the movie Viola Davis, I love you, the people in that movie were very close relation to my family people, my family from Benin City, Nigeria, and that Benin, the country is next door. It’s not it’s not the city. Benin City is within Nigeria, but very similar people. And so that’s where the idea of The Woman King of Comedy came from, because it’s so close to my culture, my people. My stuff is very biographical. Like to tell a stories from my life. From birth to present day, it can be anything. It can be political only because by virtue of who I am, I’m a walking political statement. I’m a Black, queer, woman, child of immigrants and also immigrant myself. I went from England to America, so it encompasses everything, but it’s always comedy. My first goal is to make you laugh. I’m a comedian. I have to comed.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:09:06] Right. Well, I’m so excited for it. I can’t wait for our listeners to support it. theGrio family so excited for it. And support, support, support women. The Woman King of Comedy. Okay, are you ready for question number two?
Gina Yashere [00:09:21] Go ahead. Let’s see.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:09:23] Okay. This food is the national dish of Nigeria and has become wildly popular all over the world. What is the name of this dish?
Gina Yashere [00:09:33] Gosh. I’m going to say Jollof Rice. I don’t know. Jollof Rice.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:09:37] You are correct. It’s jollof rice. So Jollof Rice consists of long grain, rice, tomatoes, onions and spices. Many people’s Introduction to Nigeria Cuisine. Nigerian food, which is heavily vegetable based, has become a common fixture in places that have large Nigerian populations like the United States, the UK and Italy. And there’s even something called the Jollof wars, where chefs from different parts of Africa compete, all claiming their version of the dish is the best. Now, I’m going to say this because I need it to be in perpetuity. There is a woman in Bethesda, Maryland, named Tara Abayomi, who makes the best Nigerian Jollof. I will put that jollof up again. Anyone’s job. Ghana. Senegal. Sierra Leone. Anyone else from Nigeria. I mean it. I am a serious. I’m a Jollof connoisseur.
Gina Yashere [00:10:21] Nigerian Jollof is the best.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:10:23] My Ghanaian friends get really upset about it. But there’s no contest. It’s no contest. And I have the one person in the world who makes the best Jollaf.
Gina Yashere [00:10:34] I make a good Jollof, too.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:10:37] Well, you do know that I will find out your address and knock, knock, knock. And I come to California a lot. I’ll be the little squirrel on your front stoop. Like, did someone say Jollof? But it seems like Gina, in recent years, we’ve seen a lot more Nigerian representation. Actors and actresses leading in leading roles in Hollywood. Is that something that you’ve noticed? And do you watch Nollywood movies as well when you’re sort of thinking about ideas and relaxing and watching television?
Gina Yashere [00:11:09] I mean, I’ve been watching Nollywood movies with my mother forever. Whenever I used to go when I went to Nigeria, I’d go straight to Balogun Market in Lagos and buy up all the DVDs of all the movies to bring it back for my mom. So I’ve been watching Nollywood movie and it’s amazing. I love. The industry is huge and people, because of the way that the Internet has changed, the way we could see media now, we’ve become way more aware of other countries and their movie industries and their TV industry, which is great, which has brought us to the forefront and we’re making fantastic movies that are going to go to Nigeria, make a show in Nigeria, it’s going to happen. Is my weight in.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:11:53] Right. Well, listen, we believe in manifestations on this podcast. So you just you put it out there and the universe is going to make it happen. And the Blackest Questions will be like, we were there when Gina Yashere said that she’s going to have a show in Nigeria. We support it. And all of our listeners are just putting that energy out there for it to happen. Now, when you go to Nigeria, where where in the country do you stay? Do you mainly stay in Lagos or do you travel all around? And do you have relatives in other parts outside of Lagos?
Gina Yashere [00:12:18] So my family are from Benin City. I had not been there yet because my mother and all my mother’s side move to England. My dad went back to Nigeria when I was three years old and I only didn’t meet him again till I was like 38. So I haven’t been Benin and I want to go out because that’s what the bronzes came from and that’s where my people are from, where the Benin bronzes came from. So I want to go and expose myself. And. And buy a bronze in that original, I mean, obviously not the original, but by a bronze from the artisans who make it because there are generations of people. The skills have been passed down generation. So there are you know ancestors who passed to the people of today. So I want to go and get it original one. We used to have them in our house when I was a kid. I didn’t realize what they were. We used them as doorstops. And now I see a bronze that I’ve seen for sale of $5,000. And I was like, I had one of those in the house as a kid we used as a doorstop. But what I’ve only ever been to Nigeria twice. This is a admission I’m making right now. But when I read it both times, I was in Lagos. The first time I went, it was my first time go. We were just in Lagos and I just explored Lagos. And the second time I was doing a show with a famous comedian out there, who brought over to Lagos show.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:35] We’re going to put it out there that all things are going to happen and Gina Yashere is going to have a big show in Nigeria and all of us are going to just celebrate it. And love it.
Gina Yashere [00:13:44] And I will be welcomed there with open arms despite the fact that I’m unequal there.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:48] Right. Right. That’s also a different podcast. We have a few. Go ahead. Okay. Are you ready for question number three, Gina?
Gina Yashere [00:13:57] Go on.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:13:58] This song by rapper Coolio was the top selling song in the U.S. back in 1995 and was the second best selling single in the U.K. that same year. What is the name of this track?
Gina Yashere [00:14:10] I’m going to say Gangsta’s Paradise.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:14:13] You are correct. So this song won Coolio a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance and was originally made for Dangerous Minds, the movie soundtrack. But once Coolio saw how popular it was, he added it to a second album, but that wasn’t originally the plan.
Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise [00:14:27] I’m the kind of G the little homies want to be like, on my knees in the night, saying prayers in the street lights.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:14:39] So the song was a hit in the U.S. and the U.K., but also in places like Ireland and Denmark. And in Australia, it held the number one spot on the charts for 14 weeks, which was a record held by Coolio for 22 years. The song was Sample from Stevie Wonder’s song Pastime Paradise, because Stevie didn’t want his song used with any profanity. It’s the only song by Coolio that had zero foul language. And so I know that you’re a music lover, and I know you actually hosted a British music awards show called Music of Black Origin with Coolio back in 2007. Tell us a little bit more about that experience and how you bridge music and comedy, actually, because we oftentimes see those two incongruence together.
Gina Yashere [00:15:20] I mean, yeah, I hosted them back in 2007. I loved it. He was such a lovely guy. We had such a good time. He gave me a load of hip hop and Hollywood gossip, which I cannot share on this podcast, but.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:15:33] It’s just us. It’s just us talking.
Gina Yashere [00:15:36] Oh, we have such a great time. We had a really fun time. And then on the day of the show, it was crazy. When we did rehersals. Because this show, the mobile was Music of Black Origin was at the time was broadcast live around Europe. Why so millons of people.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:15:51] Oh.
Gina Yashere [00:15:52] So we were rehearsing it for two weeks beforehand. And he was brilliant in the hassle. We did all the stock bounced off each other. It was quite on the day. I don’t know what you took before the show. On the day, live he was just like this. I was like Coolio. I was doing my line of Coolio and he was like and then I had people shouting go Do his lines. Do his lines. So I had to basically, I had times where I was supposed go up and do outfit changes. I couldn’t do any of them because I had to takeover parts of the show that he was meant to be doing while I was changing because he was out of it. But we had to go back to the after party afterwards and we had a blast and it will always be one of my experiences. Lesley Stahl.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:16:39] Oh, listen, and he gave you a great a great story to remember him by, and that’s for sure. Now, before you go on stage, since, you know, standup is your first love, do you have basically, like hype music or are you one of those comedians that kind of just needs quiet and you’re like in a reflective state? Or do you have like a playlist where it’s like, we’re about to do this? Like, I’m about to kill this set. Like and you have like, you know, either like hip-hop is a reggae, is it Afrobeats, like, you know, do you have like the music for different things that you’re doing?
Gina Yashere [00:17:09] I like high tempo music to energize me. So definitely hip-hop. I’m an old school hip-hop head. Like, I’m bouncing to Big Daddy Kane, KRS One, Public Enemy, EPMD, I’m old school hip-hop. That and Afrobeats. That’s the mix. I would said that there are moments where I go, Oh, I, you know, I got a big show. I got all my team in the Rebel, my friends, I and then about a half an hour before the show, I’ll go, all of you, get out. I need a moment to just sit and be still. I like to be still. Sometimes I meditate before a show because I sometimes get inspiration when my brain is quiet, so I’ll sometimes meditate. In the 2 hours before, it’s music, it’s noise, it’s getting myself hyped. Hallf an hour before Shut up, get out. Let me get my head together. Yeah.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:17:59] I love it. I love it. We’re going to take a quick commercial break. I’m with comedian, writer, co-showrunner, actress, you name it, Gina Yashere. And we’ll be right back. You’re listening to the Blackest Questions.
Being Black: The ’80s Podcast [00:18:14] The eighties gave us unforgettable songs from Bob Marley, De La Soul and Public Enemy. Being Black: The Eighties is a podcast docu-series hosted by me, Touré, looking at the most important issues of the eighties through the songs of the decade. A decade when crack kingpins controlled the streets but lost their humanity. You couldn’t be like no soft, smiling, happy-go-lucky drug dealer. You had to suppress that. iIt was a time when disco was part of gay liberation. It provided information to counter narratives that were given to gay people by the straight world. This is the funkiest history class you’ll ever take. Join me, Touré, for Being Black: The Eighties on theGrio Black Podcast Network, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:15] Okay, we’re back. Are you ready for question number four, Gina?
Gina Yashere [00:19:19] I’m doing well well so far. I know it’s going to get harder.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:21] I mean, like you’re three for three. Let’s go. Okay. Question number four. Known for her roles on Law Order, Special Victims Unit and Star Trek Picard. This actress is also vice president of the Screen Actors Guild. Who is she?
Gina Yashere [00:19:41] Yeah. Give me a clue, is it a Black woman?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:47] It’s the Blackest Questions.
Gina Yashere [00:19:54] I don’t know.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:19:55] The answer is Michelle Hurd. And it’s a Michelle with two L’s like me and my middle name. So, you know, I already love her. So Michelle Hurd is a television and film actress who has appeared in nearly 80 different projects, including popular shows like Hawaii Five-O, Gossip Girl, E.R. and the Glades. She’s been the vice president of SAG, the Screen Actors Guild since 2021, and she’s been on the front lines of this year’s writers and actors strike, explaining that more than 90% of those working in Hollywood are struggling to make ends meet. You’ve been picketing with your fellow actors and entertainers. And so for some of our listeners out there who might not understand what all this means. What do you want them to know about the strike? And also, what can they do to support you all as you all strike?
Gina Yashere [00:20:40] Well, I wanted to know about the strike is this strike pertains to all of us. It’s a strike against corporate greed. It’s not just about Hollywood. It’s about the the nurses and doctors. It’s about U.P.S drivers. It’s all about us bailing out the people against corporate greed because they the money has gone up, instead of funneling down towards the people that are actually doing the what the make these corporation billions of dollars. People need to know that. Yeah. I think oh it’s actors. It’s Hollywood. You’re all on TV. You’re all making tons of money. But they need to know that the 87% of actors don’t make over $26,000 a year. The big name stars that you seeing are point two percent of the population of actors working in this industry. You know, 92% of actors in this industry don’t make more than $40,000 a year. So they don’t qualify for health care provided by our union. So this is what I want people to know, that this is all of us. This is for all of us. it’s not just for us in the industry. We need to fight back now agains corporate greed.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:21:48] That’s right. And so what can we do? Those of us who are in this particular industry, what can we do to support the writers and the actors in this moment? Because, you know, some people are just like, oh, this strike is just, you know, rich people trying to get richer. And that’s clearly not what it is. It’s a larger corporate greed conversation that you all are having. So what are our marching orders, if you will, for those of us who want to support.
Gina Yashere [00:22:12] Support. Re-post all the information that you’re getting from us regarding the strike. If you’re if you’re available, come and hang out with us on the picket lines. There’s always free food and music. We’re always keeping our morale high with great activity. You come and visit us on the picket line and march with us. But even if you can’t do that, just support on line with the narrative because they’ll try put out the narrative that we’re just rich greedy people just wanting more millions, which is not the case. So just help us with that narrative, which is completely wrong and then later on down the line, if we need your help in boycotting these streamers, if they were to pay, we don’t need that yet, but later down the line, we might need that, Then help us with that, too.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:22:53] All right. Well, we will stay tuned. And for those of you who don’t follow Gina on social media, make sure you do so so we can sort of stay abreast of what we should be doing. And Gina, what’s your Instagram handle for folks to follow you?
Gina Yashere [00:23:06] I keep it very simple, at GinaYashere. Just at my name. No dots, no dashes, no extra letters. GinaYashere.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:23:13] That’s fine. Perfect. Okay. Are you ready for question number five? We’re still doing very well, Gina. Very, very well.
Gina Yashere [00:23:22] I’m embarrassed. I hope when I meet Michelle.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:23:27] Shout out to Michelle Hurd. And I’m going to thank her for the work that she’s doing with SAG. Okay. Question number five. This annual parade in New York City features more than 10,000 performers from around the city that include genres like African, Afrobeat, Afro, Cuban, hip hop, reggae and more. What is the name of this event?
Gina Yashere [00:23:50] Is it the Neighbor Day?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:23:54] No, it’s called the Dance Parade New York. This parade celebrated 17 years back in May, and it featured over 100 styles of dance. And it starts on Sixth Avenue and goes all the way to Tompkins Square Park. And it’s thousands of dancers who perform traditional routines that represent cultures from across the African diaspora. It’s been going on for 17 years. And so I know that you and your partner love to dance, and we follow you all on social media.
Gina Yashere [00:24:21] And I lived in New York.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:24:22] Come to expect.
Gina Yashere [00:24:24] For six years and I lived not that far from Tompkins Square Park and knew nothing about it.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:24:30] Well, this is why people listen to the Blackest Questions. The next time you come to New York, you can celebrate with us.
Gina Yashere [00:24:36] Indeed..
Dr. Christina Greer [00:24:36] So we know that some of your followers have come to expect some dance videos from you and your partner almost weekly. Did you grow up from a dancing household? You know, some people talk about, you know, like everyone in my family, we always dance. We laughed. You know, we told jokes at the table. And other folks are in the entertainment industry and it’s like they come from families where that was never the case. What was your household like?
Gina Yashere [00:24:57] My mom loved music and my mom used to play a lot of music. And she and she was a party girl. Not a party girl but she loved it. But very much Nigerian stuff. So I was brought up around music. We had record player. We played lots of music. I used to sneak and use my older sister’s record player when she was out and she’d come back and it was like a scene from Misery. She’d seen that I moved one thing and she’d beat the hell out of me because she knows I’ve been touching her stuff. So there was a love of music in the house, definitely growing up and dancing. And my mom always used to learn dances. And then my mom’s friends would come and be like Gina, come and do that dance that you learned. Do it for Uncle Jonathan. And then we would be like Uh. So we were brought in that whole thing. So I had a love of music since childhood that I got my mother, for sure. And then I brought, you know, hip hop and house music. Hip hop, house, that’s my thing.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:25:53] I think that, you know, music is just such a unifying factor. The way comedy is in a lot of ways, You know, there’s something about the collective laughter when you’re in a comedy club sitting next to someone who’s a total stranger, and sometimes you’re like tapping their shoulder, you know, and they’re like, they’re holding you because they can’t stop laughing, you know? It’s like it’s a communal thing in a way that dance brings people together because it’s shoulder to shoulder. You’re vibing off of the same thing. And that’s why I’m always so fascinated to see this connection between so many comedians who really do love music. You know, I’m thinking of Deon Cole and his Soul Sundays during lockdown, you know, playing house music where it’s just, it’s comedy during the day, but house music on Sundays for, you know, to get bodies moving.
Gina Yashere [00:26:38] Exactly.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:26:39] Did you ever deejay?
Gina Yashere [00:26:40] I never. I deejay’d once in my life. But it’s not my skill. And I don’t want to take that skill from any of my friends who are really deejays. But I love music. Hence, I do my thing every week on Instagram and Facebook called Tunes on Tuesday where me and Nina pick. Well I pick the tunes, I don’t allow Nina to pick the tune unless I like the tune. But if she picks a tune that I like I can use it. But I get it last say. So I pick an old tune and we dance to it and we go, Who is it? You gotta guess it. No Shazam! And that’s the game I’ve been playing every Tuesday. For a good at least six years.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:12] I love it. I absolutely love it. Okay, Gina, you’ve done incredibly well. What is this? Four out of. Oh, no. Three out of five. But, I mean, that’s. That’s incredible well, for a Blackest Questions. Are you ready for the Black Lightning round? There are no right or wrong answers. You just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. And that’s the answer.
Gina Yashere [00:27:31] Okay.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:31] And it’s quick. What’s a backstage ritual you’ve got to do before every comedy show?
Gina Yashere [00:27:38] Uh, music. Dance to music.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:41] Okay. What’s an American tradition that confuses you or makes you roll your eyes?
Gina Yashere [00:27:46] Uh, American tradition. Fourth of July. I love it. I love the fireworks, but I don’t get the sentiment behind it.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:58] Right. What’s your favorite thing about New York City?
Gina Yashere [00:28:01] Oh, the people, the vibe, the vibrancy of it. Least favorite rats and the roaches. But the people and the vibes.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:10] The people and the vibe. Not the rats and roaches. Now, what’s your favorite thing about L.A.
Gina Yashere [00:28:17] Weather. Outdoor living.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:21] Anyone who follows you in social media knows about the videos you make giving reviews of your hotel rooms. So what’s the best thing a hotel can do and what’s the worst thing they can do?
Gina Yashere [00:28:31] That’s the thing they can do. No carpets. Wood, clean floors. You can see everything. No fabric on the furniture. I do not like fabric furniture that soaks up germs and bodily fluids. I want wipeable furniture. Wipeable headboard. When you’re in bed, I don’t want my head touching a lot. If you come over, you’ll see that I got a flat sheet covering the headboard on that bed because that is gross. What’s the worst thing they could do? I hate naked comforter just between two flat sheets. I want it in a zip cover because you know that they don’t wash those things, but once every few months.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:12] Yeah. Okay. Last last question. What’s your go to karaoke song?
Gina Yashere [00:29:18] I hate karaoke. I hate it.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:26] Oh, gosh.
Gina Yashere [00:29:27] If I was.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:27] Well, I will.
Gina Yashere [00:29:29] If I was forced to do karaoke though, Humpty Hump. Digital Underground.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:34] Hmm? Well. Well, okay, So I’m going to show up at your doorstep in Los Angeles with my bowl, ready for some Jollof. And then I will take you to do a little karaoke begrudgingly. Gina, I want to thank you so much for playing the Blackest Questions. You’ve been so great. I’m so proud of you. I’m so happy for your career. Keep writing for those of us who are listening, Please look up Gina Yashere on Instagram and social media and make sure you check out her comedy specials and go see her live. I want to thank you all for listening to the Blackest Questions. This show is produced by Sasha Armstrong and Geoffrey Trudeau, and Regina Griffin is our director of podcast. If you like what you heard, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. You can find out more from theGrio Black Podcast Network on theGrio App, website and YouTube.
Star Stories Podcast [00:30:32] I’m Touré, join us for crazy true stories about stars who I really hung out with like Snoop, Jay-Z, Prince, Kanye and the time I got kidnaped by Suge Knight. Don’t miss my animated series Star Stories with Touré from theGrio Black Podcast Network.
