Donald Trump’s rise to power is perfect fodder for comedian Tom Green, once a short-lived contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice.
Tom Green has several claims to fame, chief among them a reputation for pioneering stunt-based comedy.
But a new notch on his belt appeared several months ago when former reality show star Donald Trump was elected as U.S. president. Green and Trump knew each other in 2009 when the former was a short-lived contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice, which the latter hosted.
“The president fired me. He really did scream at me and fire me,” Green said Tuesday from his home in Los Angeles. “And then I thought: ‘Wait a minute — my old boss is the president?’ ”
The timing of Trump’s rise to power is perfect for Green, who begins a new standup comedy tour on Friday. The Freddy Got Fingered star said he expects to mine his relationship with Trump for comedy gold, and believes he has a unique perspective on the president, having been fired from The Celebrity Apprentice for partying with his fellow contestant, former NBA player Dennis Rodman.
“It was a great way to go down,” Green said with a laugh.
The Ottawa-raised comic, who has a green card to work in the U.S. but retains his Canadian citizenship, turns serious when talk turns to the role comedians will play during Trump’s term in office. Much as audiences did during turbulent times in the past, people will inevitably look to comedians for levity in the next four years, he said.
“I think it’s an important time for comedy. When everything is going great, comedy is potentially a little less relevant. It’s not as necessary. But we have to be able to laugh at things, no matter how scary and strange the world becomes. You have to be able to laugh.”
Audiences can expect to see Green in fine form on his Snow Jam Comedy and Hip Hop Tour, which stops Saturday at Distrikt nightclub. Green, a credible rapper who earned a Juno nomination with his former group, Organized Rhyme, will debut new music and comedy written specifically for the tour. But for all his seriousness when it comes to music — his 2005 rap album Prepare for Impact was co-written with and produced by Mike Simpson of Beck and Beastie Boys fame — Green admits his Snow Jam tour was a shameless ploy to put him in B.C. ski towns such as Nelson, Fernie and Whistler during the winter.
“I basically planned this tour because I really wanted to go snowboarding. But I am going to blend comedy and hip hop together into some sort of interesting show, let’s say. I think it’s going to get a little bit outrageous, a little bit off the wall.”
The fine line between irreverence and imbecility is Green’s trademark. Famous for his envelope-pushing stunts on MTV’s The Tom Green Show, his brand of comedy runs the gamut, from gross-out to guffaw-inducing. Now that Trump is in office, Green said he will branch out into political territory on his upcoming trek — but only slightly.
“Like all comedians, I’m trying to find a way of walking the line where it’s not so political that it becomes preachy. I’m trying to keep my show light and fun and ridiculous.”
Green is calling Snow Job a “hybrid” show, in that it features both comedy and music. He won’t let comedy take a backseat, however, as it did during the tour that brought Green and a rag-tag crew of friends to Sugar nightclub in 2006. The night — which focused almost exclusively on hip hop — was a drunken mess, and while it was fun for the audience, Green acknowledged that concerts known for their Herculean consumption of Jägermeister aren’t the best showcase for his art.
“When I do standup, I kind of keep my s--- together a little more. I have jokes that are more clearly delivered when I’m not wasted.”