Standup is ‘scarier’ with social media
Howie Mandel says comics must be prepared for their material to be posted online
Canadian comedian Howie Mandel says social media has made the standup world “a little scarier and a little tougher now to create.”
With audience members recording standup comedy bits on their phones and uploading them online out of context, it changes the whole industry, says the Toronto-born America’s Got Talent judge, who will host a multi-comic gala at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival on Friday.
“The bigger problem is social media and underline the word ‘media.’ There was a time when media was a reviewer,” Mandel says.
“It wasn’t some lonely person in their underpants sitting on their bed, commenting on something that they’ve only seen out of context.”
There was also a time when comedians could test out new material in clubs without fear of it winding up online, he adds.
“I could go into a nightclub at one o’clock in the morning and try out and go, ‘No, that’s not going to work. That might be politically incorrect. That’s too far,’ ” Mandel says, in a recent phone interview.
“But now I’ve got to worry about some guy holding up his iPhone, videotaping it, putting it out there and then hoopla starting because of something that they perceived that I meant or said . . . I’ve got a lot of friends that have lost a brand that they’re the spokesman for, or a job, a television show that they were going to appear on.”
Now, Mandel is “more self-aware” than he used to be. “A big part of what I do is throwing caution to the wind and I do get in trouble a little bit,” says the Emmy-nominated former Deal or No Deal host.
“(Before,) I never got in trouble, I just wouldn’t get a laugh or I would get booed. Now, I’ve got to be concerned about getting into trouble. And truth be told, at these live concerts, that’s why I keep doing 200 dates a year, because it’s the most free space I have.
“Whereas in television, there are sponsors. I’m in family entertainment with America’s Got Talent and even at the Just for Laughs festival, I’m doing it for the CW, which is going to be in prime time.
“But in a concert setting, there are no marks to hit, there’s no commercials to throw to, there’s no editing. So it’s where, as an artist, I can be free as I need to be.”
At America’s Got Talent, headlines have been swirling that Mandel and co-creator/judge Simon Cowell are feuding, which he steadfastly denies.
“I love Simon,” says Mandel. “I’ve never been more comfortable. He’s so surprising, because he’s really funny and ironic and smart, and he’s legitimately a star-maker.
“Right now, he’s probably got four or five people on the Top 5 Billboard charts and he’s honest and sarcastic and funny.
“I’ve laughed more than I’ve ever laughed in my seven years on the show and we are getting along, unlike those weird headlines. I’m thrilled to be working with him.”