Comedian Lisa Lampanelli, who has a new stand-up special, Back to the Drawing Board, coming out June 26 on EPIX, has been learning to release her pent-up emotions. In a conversation with Ron Bennington at the 92nd Street Y Monday night, Lampanelli talked about how in the past, her first reaction to a negative situation was anger. One time the Ritz-Carlton had sent her the wrong food, so she called the front desk and asked, “Where am I calling?” When the concierge answered, “Ritz-Carlton,” Lampanelli replied, “Oh, I thought it was a Super 8 ‘cause the fucking order’s wrong!” Now she checks into hotels with an apology: “Hi, how are you? Did I yell at you last time I was here? ‘Cause if I did, I’m really sorry!”
When Bennington asked her where the anger issues stemmed from, Lampanelli said it was a “cover-up emotion.” Instead, she’s been “stuffing feelings for [her] whole life,” which results in awkward bursts of tears in front of unsuspecting strangers, including one Alexis Bledel at a Bed Bath & Beyond. “I remember my grandmother died when I was in college. I didn’t cry about it until 20 years later, when I was in a Bed Bath & Beyond,” she said. “And the girl from Gilmore Girls was in there. And I looked at this thing — you know those canister things they sell there — and I remember my grandmother got that for me for my first wedding. And I just started crying. And Alexis Bledel looked at me like I was a mental patient.” Which is basically how a crossover episode of Broad City and Gilmore Girls would look if it starred Lisa Lampanelli.
