The Hollywood Reporter
John Mulaney details the intervention that kicked off a personal reset and several years of “work on myself” in his latest comedy special, John Mulaney: Baby J.
“The past couple of years I’ve done a lot of work on myself,” he says at the top of his fourth Netflix special and the first since his stay in a drug rehabilitation facility, which saw him spend two months in a Pennsylvania rehab. “I’ve realized that I’ll be fine as long as I get constant attention.”
The joke alludes to all the media coverage around the comedian, garnered primarily between 2020 and 2022 in relation to his drug misuse and treatment, as well as the birth of his son with actress Olivia Munn and his high-profile divorce from ex-wife Anna Marie Tendler. Mulaney had already addressed these topics to varying degrees most notably during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
Dropping Tuesday, Baby J sees Mulaney comedically detail the experience of his intervention, which includes being surprised by a 12-person “star-studded” group of friends on Dec. 18, 2020. The incident saw Mulaney facing a “‘we are the world’ of alternative comedians” — Meyers, Fred Armisen and Nick Kroll — both in-person in New York and via Zoom in Los Angeles. All were there to address his misuse of cocaine, Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin and Percocet.
“I leave for rehab, I have on my person a full baggie of 30mg of Adderall, a full baggie of Xanax, 3 grams of cocaine and $2,000 in cash,” he recalls. “I had other plans that weekend.”
In a bit, Mulaney notes how he was two hours late to what he initially thought was dinner with a college friend. (Similar to his Late Night appearance, Mulaney explained this was after having to pay his dealer in cash when his Venmo “maxed out,” as well as having stopped to get a haircut at Saturday Night Live studios beforehand.)
The comedian reveals that this “very good lineup” of comedy stars promised they wouldn’t do their own bits about his condition after, Mulaney shared, and at least one person in the group thought he was going to get tackled by the interventionist hired by his friends like on How to Catch a Predator.
In another joke, Mulaney not-so-subtly states “don’t believe the persona,” while discussing how the interventionist called in to help was told he was “nice” by his friends. The joke is seemingly in reference to the “nice guy” and “wife guy” reputation he built through his comedy, as well as the criticism he faced after details of his divorce from Tendler and news of Munn’s pregnancy following years of jokes about not wanting children.
Ultimately, though, even as he describes the intervention as a “trick” and “prank” while admitting he’s “still pissed off at them,” he thanks those involved. “Getting to do this show and standing here — listen, I am grateful to everyone at my intervention,” he said. “They intervened, they confronted me, and they totally saved my life.”
At another point in the special, he opens up about how he was able to relapse, including the way he used WebMD to identify a doctor who would prescribe him medications with few questions. That included a doctor in New York named “Dr. Michael,” who never shared with the comedian his last name, but who Mulaney says sexually harassed him when he would come by the doctor’s apartment to get new prescriptions.
“Maybe that was his whole thing,” Mulaney says after recounting the doctor’s ask for him to remove his entire shirt for a flu or vitamin shot every time he saw him. “It was just getting guys to take their shirts off.”
The special not only covers Mulaney’s intervention experience and how he relapsed but also gives insight into his time inside rehab, with the comedian sharing he spent upwards of 50 hours awake before entering the care facility, where his initial four or five days were spent in detox.
In those initial twelve hours is when the comedian says he first dealt with a “legitimately good doctor,” and, due to his “superhuman” tolerance for sedatives, saw him “bobbing and weaving in a pair of New Balance sneakers.” Mulaney also reveals he had been on watch as he slept that first night after threatening to break out of the facility, and that Pete Davidson, who had not been at his intervention, called to check in on him out of concern.
However, Davidson appeared on Mulaney’s phone as Al Pacino — something that caused the nurse on duty to wake him up. “Fun fact about Pete: He changes his phone number constantly,” he told the audience. “I don’t know why. That’s his journey.”
Mulaney uses this moment to clarify that Davidson did not do drugs with him — a rumor that sprung up after the former SNL writer entered rehab — in a joke referencing a phone call between them that the nurse thinks is happening with Pacino. “Some people suggested that he and I did drugs together because he has tattoos, and I am plain,” Mulaney said. “I’ve never done drugs with Pete. He’s always been very supportive of my sobriety.”
Mulaney addresses his son Malcolm Hiệp toward the end of the special, detailing a time the duo visited a museum in Detroit. But largely, the comedian avoids discussing his personal life post-rehab, his relationship with Munn and his divorce from Tendler. Instead, he discusses the impact of how the last few years have reshaped his public image.
“I used to care about what everyone thought of me, so much. It was all I cared about … and I don’t anymore,” he said. “And I don’t because I can honestly say: what is someone going to do to me that’s worse than what I would do to myself?”
“What are you going to cancel John Mulaney?” he adds. “I’ll kill him. I almost did.”
Source: Hollywood Reporter
