Dont get on Ronny Chiengs bad side.
Hewillrip you a new one, and hewilltalk about it on stage.
(you could watch an exclusive clip from the special above.)
He goes after Americans constant complaining, anti-vaxxers, people with allergies the list goes on.
Damn you, Chieng you got us.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, I love the name of your title.
So figure out your title.
So whats more American than coming up with a controversial title to make money?
Whats the most clickbaity, YouTube-style title we can come up with?
Thats how we do it here, as the president has proven.
Being controversial is probably more profitable than not.
So the specials intended to be like a love letter to America.
I think thats one of the main points of the special.
And thats one of the visual themes of the special, is American show business.
For the exact reason of telling these stories, which people might not have heard from that perspective.
Do you have any advice for comedians who want to do material about themselves or their own culture?
Two, Im also a bit older, Im like 33-34, so Ive been through all that.
All that stuff, trying to figure out what it means to be an Asian person in Western culture.
Sometimes you cross the line, sometimes you dont get it right.
But if youre a professional comedian, youre playing with fire.
I think comedy needs to be a bit edgy to be good, you know?
There are definitely comedians who get defensive when people criticize them for being offensive.
What is your take on that?Theres a logical perspective on that.
Im not going to tell people how they should be watching comedy.
You find the comedy you like.
But if youre a comedy performer, its part of the game.
You have to be able to take the hits.
Youre not always going to get it right.
Thats how it is.
Its an art form, its not a science.
Who were your influences in stand up?
Did you look toward any comic when crafting the special?Bill Burr, definitely.
Im very lucky to have him as the executive producer on this, hes one of my comedy heroes.
Comedy legend Todd Barry, in New York theres Dave Attell, theresDave Chappelle, theres Michael Kosta.
Todd Barry has this great understated sarcasm that I really like.
Do you have any wild stories from touring?
All the highways were closed we had to drive through these back roads, and it was crazy.
I cant believe he did that.
You gave him five stars, right?No, it was kind of bumpy, the ride.
So I just was like, Uhhh.
I told Lyft, I was like, This guy is one of your legendary drivers.
I dont think theres a lot of Asian stand-up comics on Netflix right now.
Theres Ali Wong, Ken Jeong, Jo Koy, me, might be a few other guys.
Lastly, Id love to know about theCrazy Rich Asianssequel.
Have you heard anything about the sequel; will you be in it?Oh, yeah.
Im contractually obliged to the sequel.
I mean, Google knows more about it than I do.
I heard that they want to do something back-to-back.
I think theyre working on the script right now.
Thats all I know.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
