You Can’t Joke About That is Kat Timpf’s new book details all of the topics that society deems untouchable, and why people need to start joking about things considered taboo. FOX News Contributor and Gutfeld! Panelist Kat Timpf joins to talk about how stand-up comedy shaped her life in the wake of her mother’s death, and how laughter can help anyone through times of hardship.

Later, Kat talks about her road to becoming a FOX News Contributor, from working as a cashier at Boston Market in Los Angeles to working in the field as a reporter for Barstool Sports.

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Thank you [Music] [Applause] Welcome to the untold story podcast Everybody I'm super excited today Because I have Kat temp joining me and She has just written her first book Which is such a exciting milestone for Any of us and her book is called you Can't joke about that why everything is Funny nothing is sacred and we're all in This together she is swinging a Microphone and sitting on a coffin yes Good job of it hi Kat how are you I'm Great I thank you so much for having me On well I'm really excited about you you Know I feel like everywhere I go now Everyone goes oh I love cat Tim and uh I'm like yeah her office is next to mine Yeah we have very different schedules so We don't overlap all that much Um but it's great to be with you and I Always try to start these podcasts it's Called The Untold Story and I try to Stick to that I'd love for you to tell Us in the beginning of the book you kind Of talk about the lean days yeah and I Think that it would be great for people To hear a little bit about your Beginnings in the business and what it Was like for you yeah absolutely Um I mean I was an intern actually at Fox News right out of college and I Write about this in my book that the

Plan to Hillsdale yes I went to Hillsdale and so I had a fellowship Where they would you know offer housing For two months but then there was two Weeks left in the internship my plan as A 21 year old was I was going to use the Housing stipend and then for the last Two weeks of my internship I was going To move in with my college boyfriend for Just two weeks and then we were gonna Break up and I was gonna move to New York City to go to Columbia because I Had gotten accepted to Colombia I was Already enrolled didn't work out that Way I realized I didn't want to take out An 80 000 loan to go to journalism School because if you look at an entry Level journalism salary is I was like How is that ever gonna be paid back so I Basically non-consensually move in with The guy and he's now one of my really Great friends actually he was at my Wedding and there's only 30 people at my Wedding Um we broke up he dumped me and it was Pretty hard he was the only person that I knew there and but I was determined to Stay and continue to learn broadcasting Stuff through internships and waiting Tables to make money and I lived in a Very bad apartment I didn't really know Anybody except the people I met at the Restaurants I was working at and I Started doing a lot of stand-up comedy

And I would just talk about my dumpster Fire disaster life on stage and I found That making people laugh and finding Ways to joke about it gave me power over This stuff that was making me feel so Powerless and also it was a means of Connection for me really during the one Of the loneliest if not the loneliest Time of my life it's so interesting and You know when you talk about Um your inspiration for stand up right And you you say you quit stand up three Times I think you know when I was really Young I did theater and so I and I loved It can you sing uh a little see I'm I'm tone deaf I mean I couldn't Sing enough to actually make career out Of it but I do like to sing in fact Someone recently asked me you know like If you had any dream job besides what You do what would it be I say like I Would have this incredible voice and I Was saying but not the reality so who You know who was inspiring you when it Came to stand up like who did you grow Up kind of loving listening to and Watching um I've always been a huge a Huge huge fan of Joan Rivers and that's Why I dedicated my book to um my cat and Her it's actually to change Tim and Joan Rivers and either of whom can read this Um because my cat from begin the Beginning to the end I mean he's still Alive now dead too he's not dead too no

He's almost 13 and he has medical issues But they're all managed with medication And like my husband calls him like the 30 000 dumpster cat which he has Insurance but we if not like we probably Would be close at this point but um I Think that she is amazing because she Had a really hard life and I was always Inspired by her insistence on joking About that stuff Um like she joked about her husband's Suicide she would joke about the Holocaust and she said I don't joke About these things despite the fact that They're traumatic I do it because they Are Norm Macdonald is another amazing Hero of mine because he loved to bomb Like the more that he felt like he Shouldn't be saying something the more That he felt it was important to say Something and not forget to make it Funny Um so I think those two for sure I also I really was a theater kid too which is Why I asked but I couldn't sing so that Was my problem and I really started to Love to make people laugh and so I just Started doing stand up and I did it a Few like twice in college but I didn't Dive into it until I really needed it When I was in LA and I really didn't Need it at that time so you know what Was that like for you standing up there And talking about the things that were

Hard in your life and and making fun of Them because I one of the themes in the Book that I really like is just sort of Because we all go through really Stressful times and I'm not good at Laughing during them I get kind of like Like Frozen yeah and Um how do you do that you know how do You how do you find the ability to laugh When for example you talk about your Mom's death and I went through a similar Experience Um how did you find and your mom was Funny she was funny when she was dying Which I loved that part of the book yeah I think that that's definitely part of It that my mom was funny as she was Dying and she knew she was dying my mom Also was very Catholic and I'm not and I Used to be and I write about that too That I hope to be religious Someday I'm Not at this point in my life so I think That was part of where her strength came From and she was like I'm going to Heaven I don't care she was like I'm Worried about you guys I actually didn't Tell the story in the book but she did Make all of us go to confession before She died when she got last right she was Like I'm not worried about me I want Them to all go and so they turned a Little off empty office into a Confessional and me and my brother my Sister and my dad all went to confession

Um but I think that that was part of it For sure I also think that it's you know The way to make something really Powerful is to treat it as if it's Untouchable and if you act like it's Untouchable and you don't let yourself Go there because I think you can go There if you don't let yourself go there Then you're giving it even more power Than it already has and it already has So much power I mean you know it's I Can't even believe this but it's you Know November will be nine years since My mom died and I remember those first Couple years I didn't know how to talk About it at all especially because I was Young so most people just assumed that My mom was alive right and I when when I Had to say she died and people got weird Around me I would I would feel really Uncomfortable because you feel like you Brought the vibe in the room down and so I just started saying it's okay you Didn't kill her and then we have a laugh And then it's good because it's like I Already knew she was dead before that This came up in conversation like it's Not like it's any worse because you Brought it up right and I I think that Overall people who you know these Standards of speeches you have to be Sensitive about certain things I think It can really hurt the people going Through these things because anybody

Who's experienced a loss I mean I'm not You I'm certainly you know what I'm Talking about where you feel like almost People can have a real conversation with You or you can see them be afraid to say The wrong thing and it's like there's Nothing you can say to make it better Anyway and what I'm going through right Now is way worse than anything you could Possibly say to me so don't worry about It you know whatever you say it's not Gonna be right so don't worry about it And because I felt like these traumatic Times Could be not just traumatic but they're Added a layer of isolation because all Of a sudden people were treating me Differently and they were treating me Weird and I found that making jokes About it could make that easier do you Feel like you know I'm just curious About what you just said about faith Because you say you would like to yeah I Don't mind asking Um so do you feel like your mom is in Heaven and do you feel like you have a Connection with her still that's crazy That you asked that so in general no Right in general I I'm not an atheist I'm agnostic I just feel like I just Don't know and I don't know how anybody Does know Um and I I think it was really hard when She died because I was like I really

Wish she would just like talk to me Because she really wanted me to be Catholic we had the exact same Personality my mother and I she was Exactly like me literally even the same Deep voice everything the only thing That we would ever have a disagreement About was religion that was tough on our Relationship but also I understand if That's your belief and then you would Want that for your daughter and I get That Um but I did when the pope was here in New York I remember tweeting something About how I'm not really Catholic Anymore but I think my mom because she Had just sort of died fairly recent I Was like she really would want me to go If the pope was in New York and um Catherine Gene Lopez from National Review I don't know if you know her she Reached out to me and she took me to see The pope and I started sobbing when I Was there and I don't really know why I Was sobbing because again I'm not Catholic anymore so I I that's the one Moment where I felt like maybe and Um it's just really hard to say and I I Really hope that I can figure it out at Some point but I'm just honest about the Fact that I'm not there right now yeah You know yeah absolutely was that a Madison Square Garden yeah that was at The when I forget what year that was but

I was there too Um and we're about to go to the mass you Were there too that's funny it was Before I worked out it was very hot day Yeah we had to wait on an enormous lines Um even if you had tickets wait on these Long lines it wrapped around the blocks And Um so yeah it was moving and it's Interesting to hear you know your your Thoughts on on that so your mom didn't Really get to see your success right now Right and you have this book Um that's so interesting and so funny I Laughed out loud it's really thank you And I'm gonna share it with my son who's Interested in stand-up I said you can Have it as soon as I'm done Um what about that what about her not Being able to see this you were Successful you've been successful a long Time but even more so now I mean no it's So hard because she saw me struggle and She saw me I mean when she died I was Living in East Harlem in New York and it Was like really bad apartment like there Was a triple murder outside of our Building like really bad really Dangerous but I was getting guest spots On Fox when she was still alive and I Remember I did one maybe a day before She died an afternoon show and I don't Remember what the show was at that time Was a blur in my life but I was like I'm

In Boston my mom's dying with the Hospital and I was like I don't really Think I want to go and she's like you Should go she's like in her bed she's Like I don't want to die thinking that You ever didn't do something because you Ended up having a dead mom and everybody Else doesn't and I was like okay you're Right she's just like you yeah Exactly the same yeah Um and so I did it and I kind of carried That with me being like okay and I I I You know I I write about this and and The very beginning of my book about how I went through six months where my mom Died then my grandma died then the guy Thought I was gonna marry broke up with Me in front of my dad at Coney Island And then I got my after that like absurd Breakup I got my job here like three Days after that so it was really crazy How it all worked out I wish all the Time that I could talk to her about this And be like see all this stuff I wanted To do like it's it's crazy like it Worked and to a specific specific extent I mean I in college I used to say I Wanted to work with Greg Gutfeld really Yeah so and I didn't tell him that until Years down after yeah so we don't want To tell him things like that Years down the line that uh you know you Know my dream was like to be on Reddit And I write about that in the book where

My cat's father I refer to him that the Guy that broke up with me that other guy That broke up with me when I was in LA I Was we were watching TV at his brother's House now red eye was on and then Because it was I mean I was like I'd be So good on that show and his brother was Like you're a cashier at Boston Market And he had a point right like I think That you know the pipeline of bust and Market cashier to Fox News I think I'm The only one so I get it but it's just Crazy how it all worked out Yeah and Allen's Seafood Cafe on 2nd Avenue and 62nd Um so I I can relate yeah I can relate To that I remember my grandfather used To say to me you know he'd watch people On the news and anchoring or reporting On location and he used to always hit me You know you should do that yeah you Can't just do that you know you can't Just say how my grandfather thinks I'd Be really awesome at this but it is Interesting how life works right yeah um When you have a dream and you Um just sort of slowly steadily do Things to make it work and you succeed It's a great feeling and I I know I'm Sure your mother is looking down on you And I'm sure she's amazingly proud of of Everything that you're doing now Kat so Was she amazingly proud when you were at Barstool doing spring break hits and uh

Yeah she was yeah she'd already died at That point my dad though was like what Is this What is the thing that you're doing Never mind no one watches I was like Dad Yeah no it's really funny of course I Just watched one of them when I worked At Barstool uh it was a way smaller Operation yeah it was me and one the guy Who was like Dave's like right-hand man So he's not doing this anymore certainly But he he just had a camera and Obviously the audio quality is terrible On the spring break video but it's Really funny because I never went funny I never went to spring break when I was In college ever so I went back now it Makes me really glad I didn't oh my gosh Videos yeah I I was like this this is Insane and I'm not like easily like I'm Like a scandalizable person but I was Like what what like uh and they were so Willing they wanted to be on camera yeah I I mean they were all drunk yeah I know But still like I've been I've been drunk But at least when I'm like when I have Been I'm always like I'm not gonna post This like I'm not gonna be on the camera But they were all about it Um my dad's my biggest supporter you Know and it's been amazing he he always He went to go he really wanted to see my Book in a bookstore so he went all Around three different stores in the

Detroit area on Tuesday or the day it Came out and he was like it's sold out Oh my gosh that's amazing I think that Both of us are having still a difficult Time kind of processing it yeah I've Kind of broken down into tears at random Times throughout the day you know Throughout the week really I mean I Looked at my cat actually when I hit Number one on Amazon and I just started Crying and I was like we did it sheens Like we did it Joe but jeans I like this Cat was with me through every single Thing I write about in this book and he Is you know a feral dumpster animal he's No redeeming qualities he's not a nice Cat he is Timmy he sleeps under my chin Every single night but my husband tries To like you know hold me at night my cat Will bite him like you're new like That's nice like get out exactly so I Just it I just think about when I had Him when he was a sick little kitten and I was a cashier and like how amazing This is like I feel like I can't really Even fully process it all the time so I Just cry at random intervals throughout The day good for you you know what um It's good to it's something that I feel Like a lot of people who are very hard Driven Um as we are don't stop and say this is Great you know what I mean like just for Two seconds

Appreciate the achievement you know and When you see yourself on on the cover of The book and your name on it it's like It and you worked on it this isn't Something like someone you know it's not Something someone wrote for you it's Your voice through the entire thing and Um so that's a wonderful feeling and you Should definitely celebrate it you know But but it's not like you came out of You know nowhere like you had you were Writing for the National Review I just Looked at some pieces that you wrote on The National Review and you were writing In 2020 about issues with regard to Parent parental control over students at Home right that they shouldn't have the Authority this Harvard professor said That you know parents should not have Authority over their children 24 seconds Yeah such a dangerous thing and I Thought wow that is still such a huge Issue even bigger issue now parental Control over over our kids and say I Don't really like the word control but Yeah that gets used a lot but you know It's just that you have the agency to Want to raise them the way that you want Them to be raised you only get them for A really short time you know they're Gone you know yeah and they turn into Adults quickly I can attest to that but You're very bright you went to Hillsdale What was your major at Hillsdale English

English not a speech minor and I I had a Full tuition scholarship at Hillsdale Which is part of the reason why I went There but I also love that they didn't Accept any government funding and then For National Review I'll never forget This because I don't if you think of National Review you probably don't Really think of someone like me what do You think about it um I'm libertarian I'm not a republican right I had three Interviews with Jack Fowler and Rich Lowry and they eventually gave me like The three-month trial period and ended Up doing very well there but I have such A strong I mean I have so much gratitude For them because I also started working There in July and then my mom ended up Dying that same November and I didn't Want to tell them actually I should have Written about I didn't I I didn't want To tell them because they just hired me And I don't want to make it weird like Hey my mom's dying and you know I Remember I was like I'm just gonna tell Them that she's sick and I called a Meeting with them and I didn't like I Didn't know them that well I'd worked There for a few months and I just Started sobbing like the kind of crying Where you can't like speak and they were So nice they were trying so hard to do Things for me but I didn't want them to And so I was taking the bus back and

Forth to Boston where my mom was being Treated and she was only she was after She was finally diagnosed with this rare Disease she only lived for three weeks But I remember the bus broke down when I Was coming back and I had like a Meltdown right like I was like on the Side of the road and my boyfriend at the Time was there and then when we got back On the bus somebody like wouldn't let us Sit next to each other and I was like What is your life life like my mom and That was the day that she had gone to The ICU and then this girl was like oh And like I sat there and I came into Work and I was like sorry I'm late and I Told the whole story and after that Rich His wife and she had just put a bunch of Amtrak points to my name so like they Were like you're not taking the bus Anymore you don't have a choice and they Were like so they're so kind and I can't Say enough good things about National Review and and Rich and Jack and all Those people but I did write I mean this Book I've been writing about speech Issues and and different things for About you know more than 10 years now And something my husband said to me was A lot of the stuff that you wrote about Years ago is bigger news now and he's Like cat you need to talk about it still Because I feel like you feel like just Because you already said this years ago

You're already bored of it already and You've moved on and right but you need To like that makes you more more Important or you you're more Knowledgeable about it that you have Been following it I'm like okay you're Right Um and that's funny that you brought it Up because that's exactly what my Husband says to me all the time yeah it Is interesting You know I guess one of the things that I worry about is that there's so many Things that feel like they're just Completely coming off the rails yeah in The world and in the country and I have Three kids who are in their early 20s And it's um you know you just sort of Wonder about so I guess you know in Closing I would ask how do you find a Sense of humor about how disjointed and Bad things seem to feel in the country And around the world right now and the Future Yeah for me take it away so that's That's a great question but for me it's Just totally flipped the only way that I Can survive when everything is so bad is Because I'm laughing at it I don't know How else I would deal with it because I Totally agree with you I mean I feel Like there's all this stuff you know There's the different news stories every Day we're all playing paying very close

Attention but it's also like okay what's Gonna happen to the dollar like right Are we gonna be in World War Three like Stuff I do think about that stuff but You have to laugh at it and I also think That that's why I love working on the Gutfeld show too I think that when you Do make jokes about stuff not Everybody's gonna agree with you about What you have to say not everyone's Going to be interested in any given Topic but everybody likes to laugh and If you can make something funny they Might actually listen and I write in my Book about the research of that backs it Up people remember more they pay Attention more when there's a joke Um or satire when it comes to politics Or to news stories and the most Important thing to me is that we don't Lose you know the ability to do that That people aren't becoming too afraid Of getting canceled or whatever that They stopped trying I think as long as It's well intentioned then there has to Be an allowance for that because that's The only way that we're all gonna be Able to get through this yeah I mean I Think about growing up watching you know Carol Burnett and Joan Rivers and as a Family you know we used to sit around And just belly laugh right like Everybody in the room yeah and you talk About the connection that you find doing

Stand up and and now doing the work that You're doing now so I feel like we've All become so disconnected from each Other you know we don't sit around and Watch TV shows anymore so someone said To me yesterday that they were watching Something on TV and then their son was Sitting next to them on the couch Watching the same thing on his phone Yeah he likes to watch it on his phone So you know what's your hope for just uh Helping people who read the book you Know learn to kind of connect over all Of this yes so I I really think that Look I had to make some choices when I Wrote this and I decided to put it all Out there uh including things that were Traumatic things that are embarrassing Things that are humiliating things that Are disgusting in order to show people That it's possible and to show people How I was healing through humor Throughout this because a lot of the Jokes that are in the book are things That I was saying and you know at the Time I was going through them you know And showing people that it's possible to Heal within yourself but also with those Around you by making jokes because I Think that now there's this tendency too Um to say okay you said this thing I Disagree with therefore you're Irredeemable to me and that is really Doing yourself a disservice because

Maybe you and that person have something Else in common maybe you you and your Parents have the same illness or maybe You guys both like this weird sport that No one likes there's so many things that You can have in common and all of us are Unique Individuals and nobody's a clone Of anybody else and I really hope that When people read this I don't just write About why it's important I actually show And not just tell I mean I'm not afraid To make jokes about anything in my book Including literally some of the most Traumatic things that I've been through And I I hope that people can sort of Learn from that and they can learn to Laugh at their own pain and learn to Also you know be open to hearing from Other people and not being so quick to Judge other people and write them off Cat Tim Fox News contributor of course She's on the Gutfeld show every night And her new book is called cat Tiff you Can't joke about that thank you so much Cat thank you congratulations already Number one on Amazon it's going to be an Enormous seller and it's really a Wonderful read so I'm so enjoying it I Love that you're reading it thank you so Much great to be with you you've been Listening to the untold story with Martha McCallum don't forget to Subscribe on Apple podcasts or wherever You listen make sure to rate and review

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