Iliza Shlesinger is set to deliver plenty of laughs when she takes the stage as host of Power of Women gala on Oct. 29 in Beverly Hills. “It’s the perfect fit,” the comedian says about the opportunity.
“My whole career has been commentary on women, and I always want my female audience feeling a little bit better than when they walked in.” Funny, empowering, and sharp – Shlesinger embodies all three qualities with ease.
The event, presented in partnership with Lifetime, will celebrate Sydney Sweeney, Nicole Scherzinger, Wanda Sykes, Kate Hudson, and Jamie Lee Curtis, all of whom are featured in the Women’s Impact Report for their influence and leadership in the entertainment industry.
Currently touring across the U.S. with her “Iliza! Live” show, Shlesinger also stars in the Amazon Prime comedy special “A Different Animal.” Her stand-up consistently encourages women to embrace confidence and strength.
“I think to be a woman who dares to get out of bed often garners criticism, and so I think that there is something truly special about being around powerful women who don’t ask permission, who create their own lane and do it,” she explains.
Shlesinger is, without a doubt, one of those women – a performer whose confidence and drive keep her laser-focused on her mission to make audiences laugh.
“You have to truly believe that what you have to say is so important that it warrants a microphone that makes you louder than everyone else,” she says. “And you have to believe that the way that you look at things is so funny that people are gonna want to stop and listen.”
She goes on to add, “It’s about feeling seen. Especially as a woman, I think that that’s paramount – feeling seen and feeling heard.
And that is the guiding light of my career, knowing that what I have to say is just as valid – if not more valid – than the male comic next to me and deciding that I’m allowed to talk and it’s gonna be pretty good. And, 20 years in, survey says what I have to say is pretty good.”
Yet behind all the laughter, Shlesinger’s act often carries genuine insight and reflection. “As you age in comedy, it’s OK to just tell superficial jokes. There’s nothing wrong with that,” she notes.
“But I feel things very deeply as an artist. I think comics and comedy get brushed off as, ‘you’re just a comic.’ At the end of the day, I’m not just some road dog who’s there to tell some dick jokes.
I’m an artist, and I feel very deeply. I see things a certain way. And I feel like it’s my job to hold up a mirror to society and to call out things when I see them, especially for women, because we’re told that we’re crazy,” she says.
“I know a lot of other women don’t have the voice to say the things that they want to say. And so I just try to say the way I’m feeling, and I hope that other people feel the same way.”
While on tour across the U.S. and Europe, Shlesinger says she frequently notices that audiences are struggling with issues others may not face. “People are having a hard time dealing with things that – by the grace of God – you or I don’t have to deal with,” she explains.
“The fact that people take the time out of their stresses and their lives to watch my stand-up or buy a ticket, the fact that people give me their time is something that has never been lost on me. I’ve never taken it for granted. And to get to be a part of people’s lives when they are going through something horrible is actually, energetically, a very special thing. I think about that a lot.”
Another topic on her mind is censorship, an issue that continues to stir debate in the entertainment world, especially after the cancellations of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“People on both sides who have ideas about how this country should be run slowly chip away at the moral fabric and constitutional foundation, misinterpreting and deliberately interpreting our amendments,” she says.
“If enough people do that, at the end of the day, we do not have the America that the bulk of normal people love and defend. As a Jewish person, I think about this like: very bad things happen when very good men do nothing. It’s so important to have critical thinking and to have healthy, open public debate. Comedy should be an example of that. No comics should be censored.
No comics should be told that because of one thing that you said, you can’t have a career. If you don’t like what a comic is saying, then you don’t have to watch that comic.
This idea that your feelings are facts and that your feelings take precedence over everything else in this person’s life, so much so that that person should be wiped off a map, is delusional and, quite frankly, self-centered.”
Shlesinger’s passion on the matter is clear, and it extends beyond the stage. She has consistently used her platform to speak out against antisemitism and to ensure that Jewish voices are not silenced.
“Antisemitism is as old as Judaism itself, that’s the truth,” she says. “But the other truth, the louder truth, is that Jews aren’t going anywhere and now, more than ever before, we are able to be more vocal about our permanence.
But the fact that I have to think carefully about my answer to why hating Jews is unacceptable should be a tonal indicator of the blatant and ignorant hatred we are up against.
Every socio-political and religious conflict on Earth is assigned nuance, but when it comes to the blanket dismissal of Jewish people, it has become acceptable, and lauded, to be absolute.”