John Mulaney hasn’t stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since January 2020, and it’s pretty obvious that a lot has gone down since then. The comedian went to rehab, had a child, and, perhaps the most interesting of all, he voiced Chip in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.
But even though the two haven’t seen each other in years, Mulaney recently stopped by the late-night show to thank Colbert for his support. While speaking about his struggles and stint in rehab, Mulaney told Colbert, “You texted me sometime when I was going through a lot, and it meant a lot. your opinion means a lot to me and when you reached out it was extra special in a way.”
Mulaney’s recent special Baby J chronicles the comedian’s experience over the last three years, including his rehab and recovery. “I have trouble telling maybe three people something personal, but telling like MSG, 12,000 people, is very comfortable. And that might be a real sickness,” Mulaney joked. The two had a very introspective discussion about Mulaney’s recovery journey, where he opened up about his core beliefs and life in sobriety. “I am very lucky, I have a very good life. And I don’t want to be the reason that gets complicated.”
Of course, you can’t get two comedians together without talking about some almost too inappropriate topics. Mulaney then told an anecdote about watching an erotic film with his girlfriend’s mom, which is probably the scariest thing you can do after going to rehab. Mulaney, who has been dating Olivia Munn, says he hangs out with Munn’s mom, Mrs. Kim, “all day and all night.”
“When we had the baby she came and stayed with us for a while. We became like instant friends, and we watched 1-2 Korean period pieces every night,” he admitted. “One night, we’re on the couch together. And we find this Korean film called The Handmaiden. It’s set int he early 20th century, it’s about this book collector and this kept woman. We’re watching the film, it’s right up our alley. It becomes the most graphic, sexual, erotic [film]…this is truly what people mean by ‘erotic'” he explained, while struggling to get the words out there.
Mulaney continued, “We’re watching the scene and this woman….I can’t, on CBS, say. It’s an intense, erotic, historical, Korean moment. So I look over, me and Mrs. Kim are under the same blanket, and we’re just kinda [nodding]. And [she] looks over at me and says ‘I think they’re a little bit lesbian, what do you think?'” In order the break the tension of the awkward moment, Munn’s mom says, “Hormones, everybody got them, what do you think?” This is a great promo for Big Mouth season seven, streaming on Netflix this fall!
Baby J is now streaming on Netflix. The Handmaiden is currently streaming on Prime, if you’re into that.