Oh, you like podcasts?
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Ever since he was young, Tom Segura has liked to disgust people he cared about.
Your mother is Peruvian, but you always call yourself white.
You moved a lot but spent summers in Peru.
People who know me know I have this Latin side.
They always introduce me as Spanish: This is Tom, hes Spanish.
Some of them see that as a huge benefit, but why?
They say, You have this diversity that no one can see but we know is inside.
Ive been able to navigate the world in the easiest way, like a white male.
But its funny because we used to have to tell my mother, Youre not white.
And shed say, What are you talking about?
She would probably put down Hispanic or whatever, but when she goes to Peru shes considered white.
Here, shes not.
She has an olive complexion to her and an accent.
My father was super white a white, white American guy.
Ive seen people treat my mother differently from him.
These are things you never think about, but it doesnt register to you until youre actually witnessing it.
Its very sobering in the moment snaps you right out of it.
Thats why I ask.
I get that Im white.
People will say, You present white.
And I totally get that.
Those dudes are a separate class from me.
I have too much flavor in my background to be like that.
I remember thinking,Im not in that category.
Its like how I talk about my kids a lot now.
If you have kids, its weird to not talk about them.
Its part of our history.
Its part of everyday life.
Why would I not talk about it?
A few years ago it was announced that you were going to do a bilingual special.
Are you still going to do that?I dont think so.
I got the offer to do it, and we had set up a tour.
When I do an English special, I have to run that hour fucking 150, 200 times.
Thats what it deserves.
The tour was all set to go starting in February of 2020.
But as things progressed, most of the tour couldnt happen.
They would come to school with us, and we would go with them.
That part of my life was really important, and I got excited about it being united.
I started doingthe podcastin Spanish.
I started doing these shows in Spanish.
Im hanging out with Latin people all the time, going on the road with them.
And it was very fun.
It was really exciting to have that back, to feel closer to that side of my roots.
But you cant predict a global pandemic.
But I would love to do a bilingual special.
Ive always wanted to do something in Spanish as an actor, as a comedian, as something.
So I hope I get to do it at some point.
Theres part of the audience that starts cheering, and then you turn it back on them.
And I just remembered I have a huge racial thing that I forgot that Im doing right now.
I dont want to give it away, but it is the mostthattype of thing that Ive done.
It is so fun to trick somebody into revealing who they are.
You hear a hint of a prejudice what are you going to do?
What Ill do is be like, Yeah, I know what youre saying.
And then you let them show you know who they are.
When people cheer at the wrong stuff, its very fun.
Do you think about what they thought of the show?
Do you imagine them going home thinking,Tom sucks.
I thought he was a guy like me?Oh, no, I dont care.
Sometimes its somebody who gets very mad about the fact that Im mocking them for something terrible.
And I dont care if that person is like,I hate Tom now.
She finds me funny but absolutely disgusting.
And I could not enjoy that more.
It is the greatest joy for me to see her upset about my act.
So I really do make a run at stick tomyjokes,myobservations,mystories.
I attempt to get fuel for everything Im saying from whats actually happening, thats observationally unique to me.
That whole self-satisfied thing, Ive seen it too.
I had my own touch into it five or six years ago:You cant say these words.
But youcansay all of those things.
What happens is that everybodys going to yell at you, and maybe thats not going to be enjoyable.
But the reality is you’re able to definitely still say the wildest shit.
Its just that people are going to fucking scream about it.
And thats the new part.
This interview excerpt has been condensed and edited.
