Josh Johnson Has Become the Funniest Guy on the Internet. That Is Not a Joke

Now 34, Johnson was raised successful Alexandria, Louisiana. He kick-started his stand-up vocation successful Chicago, past got his archetypal interruption successful precocious nighttime arsenic a writer connected The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, wherever helium besides performed the occasional routine. In 2017 helium jumped implicit to The Daily Show, which, successful the aftermath of longtime big Jon Stewart’s departure, was undergoing increasing pains. Johnson embraced the challenge, and what followed was a glow-up not adjacent helium could’ve predicted. He opened for Trevor Noah astatine Madison Square Garden. He headlined a nationalist tour. He appeared successful aggregate specials, including his ain connected Peacock, titled Up Here Killing Myself. At the aforesaid time, helium was gathering up a instrumentality basal connected TikTok, with meandering, many-minute videos that trusted audiences to travel along. The much I speech to him, the much I deliberation that that—Johnson’s patience, and his anticipation of ours—is the cornerstone of his appeal. Though his drama is precise overmuch connected the internet, it doesn’t consciousness of the internet: In an property of instant gratification, Johnson takes his time.

This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity, combining on-camera and off-camera portions. Check retired WIRED’s YouTube channel for the video.

Jason Parham: You headlined a nationalist circuit this year. I ideate that comes with a batch of pressure.

Josh Johnson: Sure, sure. But also, that unit is precise overmuch a privilege. There was a agelong clip wherever determination was nary unit connected maine due to the fact that nary 1 cared what I would do.

Have you learned thing astir yourself passim the process?

I don’t request overmuch sleep. I need, like, 4 atrocious hours. I don’t cognize if that’ll last. I deliberation it’s precise overmuch a present thing. I think, 5 years from now, I’ll request slumber precise badly.

Let’s speech astir your drama heroes.

There are those astir template answers of Carlin and Pryor, but fundamentally they changed what radical understood stand-up to be. Rather than conscionable doing the joke—my wife, ohio my wife—rather than doing that nonstop, a batch of it was either biographical oregon it was satellite takes.

Is determination a gag that stands out?

What americium I allowed to say?

Anything.

I’m paraphrasing it badly, but fundamentally Pryor had this gag wherever helium was like, “Duh, duh, duh, duh. That would beryllium similar maine sucking a dick.” And past everybody busts retired laughing. Then helium is like, “I’m conscionable kidding.” And past helium takes different pause, and he’s like, “No, I’m not.”

He keeps flipping the joke, to the constituent wherever the assemblage doesn’t cognize what to expect.

He did person jokes that didn’t marque it into specials that were astir him being bisexual. This was a clip wherever it was genuinely unthinkable and unheard of. Who other was truly doing that? Who other was truly like, No, I’m celebrated enough, I’m affluent enough, and I’m influential capable to not conscionable allude, but really archer an assemblage stories astir an acquisition that would beryllium unimaginable for their favourite feline to have? There’s a sincere bravery to that, whether you get it close oregon not, oregon whether past looks backmost astatine the discourse successful a just way.