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  • Michael Yo Talks Taking His Comedy Clean and Living His Game Show Dreams

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    It’s really all coming together for stand-up Michael Yo as he hits the big 5-0.

    “I released a special [Snack Daddy], I just shot another Dry Bar special that’s gonna come out and I’m 50 – yes, I’m 50!” the Houston-born comedian says with zeal. “People can’t tell ‘cause I’m half black and Asian – Black don’t crack, and Asian don’t raisin! I tell people I’m 137 years old.”

    “But yeah, the 5-0,” Yo says wistfully ahead of Friday September 13 date at House of Blues. “Not to get too deep, but it’s a weird thing, because I am 50 but if we were to hang out, you would never think I’m 50. I don’t feel it! Literally I feel like I’m in my 20s. It’s a weird thing where I don’t even feel my age. I think when we were growing up, when you say someone who is 50 – they LOOKED 50. Even go back to look at old sitcoms, where the parents are supposed to be 35 but they look like 60? Now we know how to take care of ourselves, we eat healthy and all this. But I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my life: mentally, physically, in material and family. It’s all clicking together.”
    Despite his rapid fire recording pace, Yo promises new stories and jokes for his Issa Truuue! Tour. “100 percent new material,” he affirms. “and that’s the stress of it. Stand up is just part of me. I tell me I can’t live without my family, or stand up. Like literally it is my right arm. No matter how tired I am, if there is a comedy club around, I will go to it. Me and my wife will go on vacation, and if the kids go to sleep early, I will look for the closest comedy club. Just to go up – which annoys my wife a lot! It is just part of me. There is no pressure because I love it. If you love what you do.”

    “Now I will admit, unlike a singer who can sing a couple of hit songs for the rest of their life – [with comedy] after they see it once live, they don’t want to see it again. That’s what makes it so hard to be a stand up comedian. But since I talk about my life so much, it has become so easy to find my voice and different angles on things. Crazy things happen every single day – between my kids, my wife, my parents are ridiculous, you know? I talk to them all the time, so I always got material coming in.”

    Speaking of family, Yo’s young family is growing up – and the lingering thought remains: what happens when his kids are old enough to watch the jokes he’s told about them? “Now more than I ever, I have to be more careful because they actually understand what I am saying,” he explains, charting his thinking on the looming subject and explaining an announcement for his upcoming material. “I’m more of a family comedian now, I’m going the clean route and not cursing and all that, because I want my kids to be able to watch my comedy. But at the same time – you still gotta be able to make jokes about them.

    “So how do you do that where if they see it, but don’t totally understand it yet? So you kinda make a choice that they’ll understand it later in life, and get over it. It’s that weird things because I talk about the balance between my daughter and son, and the different things they do. But I don’t want them to ever see it and say, ‘aw, my dad thinks I’m this’ because it is just jokes. So even though I don’t curse in my stand up, I still don’t really let them watch anything I do because they won’t understand it – but probably when they’re teenagers like 15 and 16 is the first time they’ll see my stand up.”
    Some may call it re-branding, other may merely observe it as a natural evolution: but Yo pivoting to a clean-only perspective may not surprise longtime followers of his work. “The thing is – I’ve never cursed that much.”

    “[Not to say] this is a religious moment in my life, but eight months ago I was just like: I’m gonna dedicate my stand up, and really everything I do, because I’ve always been a believer in God, but I just said that I don’t need to curse. I’m just gonna make this change that going forward, all my comedy is gonna be clean. Right now, I have people who are 40 or 50 years old, bring their 21 or 22 year old kids to my shows. And it’s always been like that because I don’t really curse, but man, I want to be open to everybody coming.”

    As if the universe desired to affirm his shift in direction, Yo says it was nearly instant when a new door opened that led to the realization of a life-long dream. “Right when I started doing [clean material] 8 months ago, literally 3 months later, I got the call for Scrambled Up, a game show. I’ve been wanting to host a game show all my life! They told me, and I was so excited I hung up and told my wife and started crying. But then he called back and said I forgot to tell you, but you’re shooting 160 episodes! In 4 weeks! So I’ve been shooting 8-9 episodes per day. [And] after doing that for 12 hours, to still go up onstage and practice has been a lot. But great things are happening.”

    “They say it’s really not on your time, it’s on God’s time. I really believe that. I’ve worked so hard, like I was the person who would shoot all the pilots and be told that you’re not famous enough – you may be great or the best host, but you’re not famous enough. But now I’ve got my shot and I feel like everything is happening for a reason. 5-6 years ago, when I had the opportunity, I wasn’t as good as I was now.”
    Dreams fulfilled begat more dreams it seems, as Yo is forthcoming about another bucket list item for his career: the classic American sitcom. “My dream, since my stand up is so successful right now, I would love to do my own sitcom about my life. People know that. I see the reaction live, they love the stories and I would love to bring that to a sitcom.

    “But it’s a thing where I’m really trying to break more into acting but also balance it with family. On this game show, I’ve been away from my family for like 6 weeks. I’ll fly from Atlanta to Las Vegas every weekend to see them. It’s a lot, but it’s also, you have to do what you have to do. So I have to balance everything with family first and those opportunities go around them. Because even if your kids say they understand, all they’re going to remember the times you were gone. Not the time you’re there. I try to limit that as much as a possible.”

    While other passions come and go, Yo stands strong with his true professional love: stand-up. “My friend told me the greatest thing,” he says. “If you tell a joke about your family and they laugh, that means they’ve identified with it because they’ve got through exactly what you’ve gone through. If you say a joke nobody laughs to, you’ve not related to anybody. That’s why I love comedy, man. It’s a superpower! Just you on stage making somebody laugh for an hour. It’s the best job. If I had to rank it, it would be comedy, by far. Above acting, above hosting a game show, because without comedy, professionally I would be so miserable. I love it that much.”
    With this tour, Yo says he aims to honor his parents – and even gave his mother the title quote. “My mom is ruthless and so blunt and will just say the most cruel things to people, then say ‘Issa true!’ I remember I was hanging out with my mom, and this was like two weeks ago, and she was looking at a person and she said ‘Wow, they have nice teeth and a long face.’ And I just said, ‘Oh my God mom – you can’t say that!’ And she says, ‘Why? Issa true.’ So that’s my mom, she keeps saying things she should not be saying and this whole tour is dedicated to my parents and my mom especially.”

    “But the great things is everybody has a person in their family, whether they’re white, Asian, black, Hispanic, that talks like that. I think that’s why my comedy relates – because yes, my mom is Asian and my dad is black, but so many people after the show go: my Dad is like your dad, or my Mom is like your mom? When it comes down to it, we all got crazy people in our family.”

    Fans of Yo should be eating well for the foreseeable future. Between his tour, his game show, and his most recent specials dropped on YouTube, there is plenty of content to fill the hours. “People can watch Snack Daddy and my last one (I Never Thought) now. I never thought I’d self-produce it, but I got tired of waiting for people to say yes, and to give me a platform, so I did it myself.

    On the trend of comedians turning to self-distribution over waiting for Netflix money, Yo has powerful insights. “Why wait for someone to give you an opportunity when you can make it yourself? Now with cameras and stuff – before it would take $200,000 or $300,000 to shoot a special. You can shoot a special now that is the same quality for 15 grand. And you own it! And you license it! And you make money from everything. So yeah, I think it’s great comedians can control their own destinies. When it comes down to it, there will always be people that will say no. But what got me through the tough times were those 300 or 400 people in the audience who laughed and said yes.”

    Yo’s performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. on September 13 at House of Blues, 1204 Caroline. For information, call 888-402-5837 or visit houseofblues.com/houston. $29-49.

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    Vic Shuttee

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  • Celebrities, Kimmel raise money for charity on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’

    Celebrities, Kimmel raise money for charity on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’

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    CULVER CITY, Calif. — Jimmy Kimmel is on his summer vacation from late-night television. But before he started his time off, he taped a summer of shows for primetime.

    Kimmel is back with a new celebrity-filled season of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”

    “This show is so much easier than my show. I mean, really, like, the amount of preparation is basically one minute of reading through pronunciations and then sitting down,” laughed Kimmel.

    In the new season of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” celebrities are pairing up to win money for their charities – including the stars of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Scrubs” and “Full House.”

    “We got into neuroses. We get into all sorts of old wounds were opened. I didn’t even want to ask any questions because it was so funny watching them sit there and talk,” said Kimmel.

    “Kenan and Kel” hope to hit the jackpot on the show. But they are already winners when it comes to the fans.

    “When Ken and Kel walked out there, I’m not joking, the whole front row of the audience here started crying,” said Kimmel.

    But laughing has been a big part of the show. So has philanthropy.

    “It’s been very fulfilling so far. And people have made a lot of money. And you can tell when you talk to these people that, all joking aside, all game show aside, these charities mean a lot to them. When you ask somebody, ‘What is your favorite charity?’ you know, it hits home,” said Kimmel.

    I asked Jimmy what game night looks like at the Kimmel household.

    “I don’t like games. Maybe I shouldn’t be a game show host!” joked Kimmel. “I do love to play Scrabble. Unfortunately, no one will play with me ever because I just don’t ever lose. So, I love to play Scrabble. I like to play Boggle, sometimes by myself. But word games, I guess, are the games I go for.”

    I let him know those were my two favorite games.

    “Oh, I would love to play you.” said Kimmel. “Oh, just Pennacchio’s like a thousand points!”

    “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” airs Wednesday nights on ABC.

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    OTRC

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  • I was 019 in Squid Game: The Challenge. I saw people’s true colors

    I was 019 in Squid Game: The Challenge. I saw people’s true colors

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    When I first came across Squid Game: The Challenge, I decided to apply straight away. We were required to submit a 60-second video, and as soon as I received a callback, I knew I would be accepted.

    I’ve always had so much more to offer. I’m often underestimated and stereotyped. People frequently look at me and question what I’m capable of, but there’s more to me than meets the eye. I knew that all I needed was a chance to prove that.

    I was confident during the interview and was certain that I could convince the team that I had what it took to join Squid Game.

    Entering Squid Game: The Challenge

    The challenge started with 456 participants. Winning the cash prize was more of an afterthought until I saw the large amount of money in front of me.

    I didn’t harbor any hopes of winning—I just wanted to experience what it was like to participate in the Squid Game. Having watched the show, it was a very popular series. At one point, it felt like everyone was talking about it.

    Amanda Tayor pictured (L & R) in “Squid Game: The Challenge” on Netflix.
    Netflix/Amanda Tayor

    When I was watching the series as a viewer, I struggled to connect with how the characters were feeling and thinking, as the game seemed trivial. But when you’re in it, it’s a completely different experience.

    For example, the Dalgona cookie challenge was one of the hardest games I’ve ever participated in. You’re sitting there with many people around you, all doing the same thing. The ticking clock, growing louder with time, adding to the pressure.

    In the beginning, I thought 10 minutes was more than enough time to cut the cookie, but people started to pass within just a minute or two. I found myself nowhere near finished and started to wonder: Why am I not getting through yet?

    That thought made me panic even more.

    For the viewer, it may seem easy, but the comparison aspect—of actually being in the game and constantly having to watch others—makes it so much harder.

    During the Red Light Green Light challenge, I was one of the last to cross the line. I watched everyone else experience the joy of advancing, while I was battling with thoughts of failure.

    There was a moment when I thought I wouldn’t even get through this because there were only five seconds left, and that was only the first challenge.

    Later on in the challenge, as more people got eliminated, the thought of winning became real for me. I began thinking about the $4.56 million and what I’d do if I won it.

    The first thing that came to mind was buying a large country house somewhere. A house that could stay in the family forever. But as I got to know more people and heard their stories, I realized that there was so much more I could do with the prize money.

    I began to think about the people and causes I wanted to help in the community. My son has Tourette syndrome, and there’s an impactful charity that we’re a part of. I saw the potential to make a positive impact in that field.

    My son is also part of a local football team, which is run by hardworking volunteers. They’ve been incredibly supportive of my son’s football journey and his personal growth. This was another area where I felt I could make a difference.

    While $4.56 million isn’t going to change the world, it can make a big difference to some people.

    Forming an Alliance

    Later on in the challenge, I slowly began to notice that there were 22 men and only nine women.

    I knew the females had to stick together because some of the males were forming strong alliances, and we were somewhat left on our own. We weren’t the loudest or the biggest characters in the room, so the men were essentially taking over in the dorm.

    I could feel that and knew something needed to be done. I was under the radar, not out there getting into every group and trying to talk with everybody. I was very conscious that when you became a big character, you became a target.

    I suggested that in the Alliance challenge, the females should vote for each other first, before voting for the males. I was taking a risk because I didn’t know if I would get the backing of the other females. I wasn’t sure if they would agree and then go back to the other groups and reveal that I was rallying the women together.

    It was a risk, but it needed to be taken at that point. I was fortunate that it ended up working out, despite a few hiccups along the way.

    I was frustrated when one of the females ended up picking a male, despite having a conversation minutes before and assuring us that we would pick each other. I thought: What are you doing?

    She wasn’t just showing me that I couldn’t trust her, she was showing everyone else. I knew who to trust, and who to stay away from.

    Seeing People’s True Colours

    As we got closer to winning the cash prize, I began to see people’s true colors and intentions in the game.

    During the Glass Bridge challenge, one of the females, Mai, volunteered to jump first behind the scenes, which was a big, thoughtful gesture. I was cheering her on, but just before the challenge was about to begin, she changed her mind.

    I thought to myself: Hold on, you’re trying to project this image of being a team player, but you didn’t follow through.

    I couldn’t voice my thoughts loudly at this stage because Mai had too many allies. She also chose to target another female in the dice challenge, going against the decision we all agreed upon. This was frustrating for me.

    At one point, I could no longer hide my annoyance. I thought: That’s it. I decided to take a step back, and everyone knew it. I wasn’t the only person feeling this way, so there was tension among the players.

    I was eliminated in the semi-finals during the Circle of Trust challenge. It was a fellow female who took me out, and I was the second to be eliminated in that challenge.

    As soon as I walked into that room, I knew it couldn’t have been a worse challenge at that stage. I thought, Oh, this is how it’s going to happen, I’m going home.

    There were very few friends sitting around that room at that stage, so I knew that they’d probably want to eliminate me.

    Before walking into that challenge, I thought that I could have been a millionaire, but it was ripped away without me doing anything.

    Behind The Scenes

    The conditions in the challenge worked out okay for me. We only got three square meals a day. The porridge was flavorless—there was nothing to it, no salt or pepper, and it was basic. In terms of the portion size, I didn’t struggle.

    However, I was watching some of the men who were much bigger than me. They were exercising and running around, burning up all this energy, and I thought, You’re not replenishing anything. Why are you doing that? You should save your energy.

    I kept myself hydrated. I didn’t go doing laps of the dorm or doing star jumps every morning like some others. I’ve heard people saying how cold they were, but I was warm. I even took off my jacket at times.

    I enjoyed the experience. I was quite cozy, to be honest. I had the top bunk, so it was good.

    You don’t see the producers behind the scenes. They only take you to where you need to go, which made the experience feel very real.

    Once you’re in the game, you’re in the game. The only time you have contact with any of the creatives, shall we say, is when they were moving us between sets. But even then, we were always on the move, so there wasn’t time to build any relationships.

    The experience was very much authentic, and the thing I took away from it was how I was towards other people. I get on with everyone and I love being around people, but as an only child, I’ve grown up content with my own space and independence.

    As a single parent, I’m a “get up and go” type of person and try not to rely on anyone—I tend to do things independently.

    Being in the challenge made me realize the importance of connections with other players, something I hadn’t anticipated initially. I thought I needed to be on my own and couldn’t afford to make friends because, in the end, it would come down to just me.

    But once you’re in there, that mindset goes out the window.

    I became much more open to people, letting them in and getting to know them. It was quite empowering. Many people have pointed out in the past that I need to let people in, and I have to admit that the challenge helped me realize that they are right.

    People make the world better, and the challenge had an impact on me. I’ve met people who I believe will be friends for life.

    This experience was something I will always cherish and remember.

    Amanda Tayor is player 019 on “Squid Game: The Challenge”, reaching the semi-finals. She is also an international tae kwon do champion, and a HR manager.

    All views expressed in this article are the author’s own.

    As told to Newsweek’s Associate Editor, Carine Harb.

    Do you have a unique experience or personal story to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com