Nikki Glaser Is ‘Jealous’ of Dave Chappelle’s Risky Jokes

. I always see him at events, and we just have a nice time talking. He runs such a clean, peaceful home and space, and that’s really what I’m lacking in my life, someone who’s organized. And he’s just funny and does not get offended by anything. But I would never put that on him! I’d take care of Bobby.

You’d take care of each other.

I didn’t put it in the special, but when you age as a woman, you get kicked out of the business. You get canceled, in a way. There’s something about aging that’s like, “You’ve failed. You really, really hurt all of our feelings. How could you do this to us?” Aging as a woman in Hollywood gets you canceled. It’s the same as a man who’s done decades of raping. You get the same punishment. There’s something about aging with women, like, if you age, you’ve done something wrong.

Do you feel yourself trying to combat aging, then?

Yes. I think about all the things I have to do to my face and my body to maintain the illusion that I’m still worthy of love, or that I’m still fertile looking. Whatever it is that they want from me! I can’t really figure it out, it changes all the time. It’s hip one day to seem really comfortable in your skin, and then it’s cool to be doing every procedure under the sun while staying out of the sun. You get mixed messaging all the time.

Of all people, Olivia Rodrigo—her song “pretty isn’t pretty,” I love it, because it’s about when you fix yourself, it’s not going to be good enough. She doesn’t offer some kind of hope at the end of, like, “But it’s about what’s inside! Just be you!” It’s like, “No, this sucks, and it’s just the way it is. So buckle up.” I really like that, because that’s what I’m struggling with.

It’s better to hear that than a bunch of positivity, like, “Be yourself!”

[That’s] not working. How can I possibly feel good about being myself? I’m not being rewarded to be myself physically. I continue to be rewarded when I look hot. It’s not that I’m penalized when I don’t look hot, but, man, life is better for me in this business when I dress a certain way and when I have a spray tan and when I look pretty. Women don’t go to the grocery store without makeup. Men can go to their weddings without makeup.

To tell us to go without makeup and love ourselves is so insulting. It’s not true—we will not be loved in the same way. Anyone who tells you that you will be is probably your mom. And she’s probably lying too! Because my mom likes me more with makeup. When I look pretty and thin, my mom is more jazzed about my life and seems to be more enthusiastic about me. It’s not because she’s a shallow person. She’s just like, “That’s probably going to get my daughter a better life.” I have no solution for the system. I’m just complaining about it. That’s why I like the Olivia Rodrigo song—there’s no solution. There really isn’t one.

Shifting gears a bit here, you roast transphobic comedians in this special. I was feeling like it was aimed a bit at Dave Chappelle there. Am I off-base?

I wasn’t even thinking about Dave Chappelle with the trans stuff. I was thinking about another comedian, to be honest with you, and I don’t even want to say who it is, because I don’t like callout culture. I don’t really like to roast people, because it’s my knee-jerk [reaction] when I’m feeling insecure. But when I lash out on anyone in particular, it’s usually because there’s some sort of insecurity in me. I try to get that out of my act as soon as possible, because it always comes back to bite you.

I had a whole bit about a certain celebrity that I won’t name—and I’m like, you know what? I might host SNL some day and she’ll be the music guest, and I’ll have to eat crow—like someone else who just had to do that. So why not take that bit out now before that happens? I’m probably just jealous of her.

Interesting. So when you roast people in this special, do you think those sentiments apply?

I guess my point is that when I make fun of anyone, and I say I don’t like something or someone, I’m really just threatened by their confidence. Let’s say they are shitty and they’re famous and I don’t think that they deserve all that they have because they’re not that talented. I’m probably ultimately jealous that they believe in themselves with their shitty talent, and I wish that I had that much belief in myself.

Dave Chappelle’s trans jokes—do I think trans people need to be made fun of? No. Do I think anything’s on-limits? Yes. He can talk about anything he wants, clearly. Am I a little annoyed at trans jokes? I am, because I love trans people and would like them to stop killing themselves. I don’t think making fun of them is going to help with that. But I’m also probably just jealous that [Chappelle is] willing to take that risk in that way!

This isn’t about your special, but your new reality show Lovers and Liars—a spinoff of FBoy Island—is currently airing on The CW. Why is it no longer called FGirl Island?

The reason is that there’s a double standard when it comes to men and women. It’s cool to call out men for misbehaving, but for some reason, it’s just not as cool to call out women. It doesn’t look nice. I disagree with that. If you’re a liar and a cheat, you should be able to be called out for it. There definitely are FGirls, as you will see on Lovers and Liars. But commercially and in terms of ad revenue, people did not want to be attached to a show that might be taking down women—even if they should be taken down.

That makes sense, even if FGirl Island had a nice ring to it.

It really did. We still refer to them as FGirls in the show, just not in the title. Thank god that remains.