Joel Kim Booster Gets Real About Lena Dunham, Comparison & Representation

Hot off the success of his Netflix special Psychosexual and film Fire Island, Joel Kim Booster is one of the most exciting names working in comedy today. 

After appearing as a guest judge in the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Joel sat down with Wil Anderson on Everyone Relax’s TOFOP With Friends podcast where he opened up about comparison and the pressures of being a representative of the gay and Asian communities. 

“I’m the same age as Lena Dunham, and I remember when I was twenty-four living in Chicago at the time when she broke in with Girls,” he shared. “I just remember thinking like ‘what the f*ck? Like this girl is the same age as me and she’s, you know, writing, directing, starring, producing in this hugely successful, really wonderful show’…. I just remember being like ‘what am I doing with my life? Like, I am so behind.’” 

He continued, “it did sort of kick me in the ass like, I did sort of accelerate moving to New York to do stand-up as my primary thing because I was so scared about being on the same page as Lena Dunham, which is wild.” 

Speaking about the pressures of representing his communities, Joel added, “since I broke as a stand-up comedian, I have been heralded as a representative of the gay community and the Asian community. And that’s like a double-edged sword.”

Take a listen to the full chat below: 

Joel Kim Booster is set to appear at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival over the next two weeks. Find out more information here.

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