For comedian and political satirist Lizz Winstead, there’s not much material these days that’s off limits from abortion to conservative media. Those taboo subjects, of course, include Donald Trump. The co-creator and former head writer of the Daily Show — along with her power-female satire troupe Lady Parts Justice League — will broadcast Trump’s acceptance speech live at the Bohemian National Hall with a side of comedic relief tonight starting at 8:30 p.m. during its Slurriance Trump event. We caught up with Winstead to get her take on the state of our nation.
Did you know right away when you heard Trump was coming to Cleveland that you wanted the Lady Parts Justice League to do a show here?
Well, here’s the thing. I’ve been to three Republican conventions. We did three nights at a theater where we did a fake-live morning show with fake-live guests in Minneapolis, and it sold out every night. People who lived there were so excited to have a catharsis from all the shit that was happening. So when the RNC was happening in Cleveland, I thought that we have an opportunity to give the folks of Cleveland literally a shelter from the storm.
LPJ has been against anti-abortion rights, pro-choice. Because of the landmark decision on June 27 are there any skits to riff off of that?
We’re always following where the latest laws are. It’s always been our goal to highlight what has come to be, and then what is coming down the pike. For us, really, with this case, is underscoring what’s happened, and talk about the what’s ahead. As the anti-abortion extremists make laws that are opposing things, we are there to sort of respond and comment on that in kind. We sort of try to follow the news cycle as best we can, with a long-term vision of reiterating why it’s important to fight, why it’s important to support your local clinic and support the movement.
Favorite GOP incident of recent memory?
When Trump started saying he couldn’t get a fair judge who was Hispanic, and he couldn’t get a fair judge who was Muslim, and he really doubled down on that. When I look at weeding down my material on Trump, I probably have literally one hour of jokes. There’s so much you can talk about! It started out just being about Trump and what he says about women and abortion access. The fact that he gets away with everything he says and builds a stronger base because of it is also ripe for comedy. It’s shocking to me. And the fact that the Republicans act shocked and riveted? But you have dog-whistled these same messages. And that’s why people trust a comedian. He’s like the black mold of humanity.