#1937 - Punkie Johnson

Punkie Johnson (0:04)

The Joe Rogan Experience.

Joe Rogan (0:12)

From the bartender at the comedy store.

Punkie Johnson (0:16)

That's right.

Joe Rogan (0:17)

To Saturday Night Live.

Punkie Johnson (0:18)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (0:19)

What the fuck?

Jamie (0:20)

Yeah, yeah.

Punkie Johnson (0:21)

I'm still, I'm still processing that, if you want to be honest.

Joe Rogan (0:25)

How many years was it?

Punkie Johnson (0:26)

How many years I worked at the store?

Joe Rogan (0:28)

Yeah.

Punkie Johnson (0:28)

I think 10

Joe Rogan (0:31)

10 years at the store.

What year did you start? What year did you start comedy?

Punkie Johnson (0:37)

If I'm not mistaken, it was 2011

Joe Rogan (0:39)

Oh, cheers, my friend.

Punkie Johnson (0:40)

Cheers. Thank you so much.

Joe Rogan (0:42)

And congratulations on your success.

Punkie Johnson (0:44)

Thank you.

Joe Rogan (0:45)

It's been amazing to see you.

Punkie Johnson (0:46)

This is a dream come true, just being here.

Joe Rogan (0:48)

Listen.

Punkie Johnson (0:48)

This is the success right here.

Joe Rogan (0:50)

It's a dream come true for me to see you rise.

Punkie Johnson (0:53)

I love it.

Joe Rogan (0:54)

I love it when I see people start off at the store and you just get their feet under them and get their shit together and pull it off. Whoo, it's so exciting.

Punkie Johnson (1:03)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (1:03)

It's so exciting.

Punkie Johnson (1:04)

It's still unreal. I'm still like kind of mentally still in California because I remember I was out there, just this little chick from New Orleans. I'm like, what the hell am I doing in California?

What am I doing driving down Sunset and seeing these beautiful palm trees, the things that I would see on television? And then that time just went, it just left.

Joe Rogan (1:25)

Yeah, isn't it weird? The first time I came to California was 93

I was with my friend, Gary Valentine, and we were out here to do some shit for MTV, and we were driving around like, we were really here?

Punkie Johnson (1:36)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (1:37)

I was 26, and I was like, what the fuck is this place? This place is so weird. It just felt like I'm not supposed to be here or something.

Punkie Johnson (1:45)

Yeah, that's exactly what it felt like for me. I just got it where I fit in over there.

Joe Rogan (1:50)

Yeah.

Punkie Johnson (1:50)

You know what I'm saying?

Joe Rogan (1:51)

It's weird.

Punkie Johnson (1:52)

Got me a little job. I moved out there. I had made a little change because I didn't work for six months when I first went out there because I fell in a hole in New Orleans. A hole? Yeah.

I was just minding my business, walking down the street, and I just fell out of the world into a hole. It was wet cement that was not blocked off.

Joe Rogan (2:13)

Oh no.

Punkie Johnson (2:14)

And I went down to like neck.

Joe Rogan (2:16)

Oh no.

Punkie Johnson (2:17)

So I was just trying to get out, and my stupid ass, I didn't realize how dangerous it was for me to be in that hole. I was laughing the whole time. I was like, ah, stupid ass fell in the hole.

And then I had to, I was, the Walgreens were right there, so I had to go, I bought like some pajamas or whatever they had. And I went home, and my parents were like, this is not funny. Like you could have lost your life. And then I got this major lawsuit. I had to go to physical therapy because my adrenaline was pumping, so I didn't know I was hurt.

So the next day I was just like, oh, my back was stressed. My arms were stressed because I was banging on the ground trying to get out, trying to pull myself to the cement to climb out.

Joe Rogan (2:53)

How did you get out? Did someone help you?

Punkie Johnson (2:55)

No, nobody was outside. I was screaming.

But I was laughing because I'm goofy, and I'm like, you dumb bitch, how you fall into a hole? But I didn't realize how serious it was till after. And then my parents, they brought me to a lawyer, they like, hell no. Like, no, you could have died.

And then I just, I forgot all about it. I went to therapy for a year, and then I got a check.

Joe Rogan (3:16)

It took a year to get better from that?

Punkie Johnson (3:18)

Well, you know, with the lawyers and shit, you gotta go to therapy while they lit a gate and figure shit out. And then...