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Episode 205: You Made It Weird
Wayne Federman

You Made It Weird #205: Wayne Federman

Wayne Federman (Curb Your Enthusiasm! Late Night with Jimmy Fallon!) makes it weird!

Go to the 3rd Annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival on May 1st through May 4th at Cinefamily in Los Angeles! Comedians Doug Benson, T.J. Miller, Kathy Griffin, Jeff Garlin, and more screen the movies that inspired them! Go to cinefamily.org or WayneFederman.com for more info!

Follow @peteholmes on Twitter and Like the show on Facebook. Watch The Pete Holmes Show on TBS! Buy YMIW shirts!

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Comments

  1. AnnieH says:

    Wow, I don’t know if I listened to the same episode as some of you. I was so nervous to listen to this because of how many people said it was confrontational and uncomfortable but I didn’t find this episode uncomfortable at all and Wayne was delightful. There was a few moments at the beginning where Pete had to find Wayne’s wavelength but other than that it was fantastic.

    I remember as a kid when Comedy Central first started in the nineties that Wayne was one of my favorites on a show called Stand Up, Stand Up. So nice to hear his voice and remember just how far back my comedy obsession goes.

    I think that some people here took Wayne too seriously. That is one drawback of not being able to see their faces. I guarantee that if we saw their faces you would have seen this episode in a much lighter way. There is so much imagination that goes with audio and it is interesting that so many of you automatically took it to a negative place.

    Great episode, Pete. Would love to see him again. Also wanted to suggest another oldie, Caroline Rhea.

  2. Dan says:

    More than anything, Wayne came across as uncomfortable and intimidated. I took the constant sarcasm and defiant/opinionated stance as a defense mechanism. Don’t feel bad about it. The other 98% of guests get it and enjoy themselves. 

  3. Craig says:

    Pete, you have the patience of a saint.  This was a VERY hard episode to listen to.  Wayne seems to believe that he’s right all the time and belittles others who have different views than himself.  He seemed to have no ability to look through any other lens than his own.  ‘Mr. Literal’ was a very appropriate name for him. 

  4. Alex says:

    I thought it was funny that Wayne was saying he doesn’t use the word “bitch” but then confessed to cheating on one of his partners. We all make mistakes I guess but would much rather be with a man that uses the word “bitch” than someone who cheats on you. What you do is more of sign of character than what you say. 

  5. GdubBUSH says:

    Long time listener, first time caller.

    Honestly, one of the best episodes ever. I think you two developed a great chemistry and real understanding of each other throughout the episode. Really fun to listen to.

  6. miranda says:

    he says he’s an optimist but I wouldn’t have pegged him as one. He was bringing the conversation a little down.

  7. Daniel J says:

    Wow what a train wreck hahaha. The first 30 minutes or whatever were sooo uncomfortable. Especially when pete headed down the don’t eat meat path to try to make a quick and easy point but of course Wayne completely disagreed (causing pete to immediately regret bringing it up) and the convo to head down an uncomfortable rabbit hole. In all honesty I typically write-off people like Wayne as being irrational before I get a chance to understand them. But because Pete tried so hard to get in there and make sense of it, it actually made this one a decent episode for me on the whole.

    Wayne’s an interesting guy. His thought about there being 2 defensible sides to every issue was thought-provoking. His fatuation with self-help books is an awesome trait! His ability to open up about his relationships and his personal flaws with women was admirable and authentic. But that’s where it ended for me. His sarcasm 75% of the time was tactless and blunt. (Love how pete noted how he usually dislikes sarcasm at the beginning of the episode – right on the mark). A few times I will say that Wayne’s sarcasm was laugh out loud hilarious – but was still painful on the whole. I strongly disagree that religion is 80% good – but Wayne gave a somewhat thoughtful response about that one, disagreeing with bill mar. at least he’s heard the other side of the argument. But I about lost it when he supported factory farming. – and oh by the way he’s not willing to look into it further because he’ll just be manipulated by propaganda.

  8. Eva says:

    best episode ever.

  9. John G. says:

    This is a fascinating episode. Speaking of 15 minutes pro/15 minutes against. Wayne got me on his side immediately by demanding respect for women. Then immediately turned me against him by conflating eating meat as a moral issue (a subjective opinion) with denying the fact (yes, FACT) that factory farming is a real thing, and it’s really torture. There isn’t just one video that’s making a claim that factory farming is a horrendous torture practice, there are thousands of them. This is fact.

    Pete’s not being persuaded by emotional arguments, or being new agey here. This is dangerous even for people who don’t eat meat, because this practice not only tortures the animals, but also spreads disease, because e. coli infected rivers of waste contaminate vegetable farms too, and antibiotic resistance is on the rise, because we have to stuff our meat with so many antibiotics so they won’t die while living in a pile of their own infectious waste. This reminds me so much of the Jim Gaffigan episode where he pretended that because there’s a lot of empty space in this country, overpopulation isn’t a problem. Federman wants to think this way about meat, because he really wants to eat meat. I eat meat, but It doesn’t mean I deny that factory farming exists. That’s an absurd way to deal with an issue. The whether meat is moral is a whole other issue and is debatable, meaning it has the potential to be debated. Factory Farms are a fact.

    It also struck me that he was so against the idea that bisexuality would be more common if more famous people in positions of respect and authority were openly bisexual. Of course that’s true. Men of his generation were just indoctrinated so thoroughly to conform to one, heteronormative choice that they’ve been programmed to reject any ideas of openness outright. It’s a real eye opener to me that when I’m 55, whatever younger people are doing then that makes me shake my head, should immediately remind me of this program and that I shouldn’t ever get so set in my programming that I refuse to even acknowledge the role that my programming has had on my opinions.

    Just like his refusal to acknowledge the role that society plays in our development. It’s not a rejection of personal responsibility to acknowledge that a society obsessed with one idea of beauty, that takes already flawless models and then photoshops them into cartoon characters has an effect on the women who are fed that imagery, along with societal pressure from the other girls also fed on the same imagery has on issues like anorexia. You can still take personal responsibility for how you chose to deal with these pressures, but to deny they are worth acknowledging sounds very much like judeo-christian, blame the victim, sinful sinners, nonsense.

    Great show to cause me to think and respond so much. Thanks Pete. I’m sure it can’t be easy to be running a whole show and doing this podcast. I really appreciate that you keep it up.

  10. Ruth says:

    This was the best episode

  11. Joe says:

    Classic YMIW episode! Can Wayne be next weeks guest too?

  12. Keepin It Crispy says:

    Awww, Pete. I felt like your feelings got hurt : -( You are such a nice guy and you tried absolutely everything to get this guy to go with the flow with you. I enjoyed the podcast immensely, all the same.

  13. Haley says:

    That was a little awkward, but some of Wayne’s putdowns made me laugh.
    “Don’t yell at me!”
    I guess in some respect it was about time a guest challenged some of Pete’s views with rationality, but Wayne seemed to be bordering hard ass level when Pete was just trying so hard to get along.

  14. D Wall says:

    Wow. Wayne is like a pro-level curmudgeon. I’m actually impressed. He thinks he’s an optimist but he picks everything apart.

    Oh, maybe he just hates you, Pete. Either way, fascinating and hilarious episode 🙂

  15. Jay Lee says:

    Another good one, Pete. He really took you to task, but you held your own… and kept it crispy all the way. And hey, I use every swear word in the book, and they are just that… words.

    Oh, and please have Chelsea back on. Even though I love you, hearing her rip you a new one is always a great source of joy for me.

  16. Josh says:

    I think sarcasm is defined as something like, “a sharp and ironic taunt” and comes from a word (sarkazein?) that means “the tearing of flesh”. Anyway you slice it, definitely not #fundad!

    #fundad and #angrydad got together and had a baby, and it was this episode of YMIW! Yeesh!

  17. Joe H. says:

    The recipient of an insult gives weight to it by taking it personally. “Nothing someone says is because of you. It is a projection of their own reality.” According to Miguel Ruiz’s 4 agreements, even a compliment is something you shouldn’t take personally. I tell people all the time things like “That’s a nice scarf.” or “That’s a beautiful broach.” but don’t really mean it. I know it will make them feel good so I say it. It’s a form of manipulation and it works every time.

  18. Beth says:

    Wow! This episode was so uncomfortable for me! I was sweatin’ for ya, Pete! Apparently, I am also adverse to conflict and feel much more comfortable with sweet harmony. But you know what, you handled it with such class and such self-awareness. Kudos! Great modeling of how to grow as a person through obvious differences.

  19. Sofia says:

    Pete-as a women I can tell you that when you say bitch, it is NOT offensive. Words only have meaning because we assign it to them and when you say it you obviously dont use it as a derogatory term towards women. The only reason that word is offensive is because we changed its meaning in the first place. Language is an illusion Pete.

    Wonderful episode as always and thank you for brightening my day!

  20. Jeff says:

    Great episode. I feel like it could have easily fallen apart with all the close-knit inspection of the shows structure, but Pete did a great job rolling with it. I would definitely recommend revisiting Blazing Saddles. I saw it for the first time in High School and liked it well enough but seeing it again this week in the theater was a whole new experience.

  21. Christie says:

    Thanks for answering my comment, Pete. You always keep it interesting and entertaining.

    Keep being awesome!

  22. gigi lollo says:

    Hoooo, that got a little hairy!

  23. Pete Holmes says:

    @Christie, hello!

    i was just fishing for an example of a topic people are divided on, i didn’t mean to link the two. the only one that came to mind that i thought 1) wayne wouldn’t agree with and 2) i could KINDA argue for was eating meat.

    thanks for putting your comment so nicely and thanks for listening!

    pete

  24. Christie says:

    Pete – I absolutely agree with your points about meat and animals, but don’t you think that showing respect for women (OTHER HUMAN BEINGS) by not using derogatory language, should rank a little HIGHER than respect for animals? I support treating animals well, but as a woman I felt slighted by the comparison.