When Michelle Buteau started going to comedy shows, she noticed a familiar pattern from the hosts.
"Every time there was a female comedian, it'd always be a male host being like, 'Alright, everyone, we're gonna switch it up, get a difference of opinion.' They'd have to announce that a female's coming to, like, get everybody ready," she recalls on the latest episode of the "Nice Talk" podcast.
Soon, Buteau became one of those women comedians herself, after coworkers at her TV news editing job insisted she was hilarious and should give standup a shot.
"There's always this thing, like, 'What do you want to do when you grow up?'" Buteau says. "The minute I grabbed that mic, it was like, Oh, this is what I want to do when I grow up ... It was just fun and freeing. I felt like I was flying safely. And then I ended up finding my voice and becoming an advocate for not just other people, but for myself."
Becoming an advocate for others—particularly women in comedy—was something Buteau decided she wanted to do long before she actually had the power to do it.
"There was always, like, this weird competition or something," Buteau says of herself and other women comics when she was coming up. "'There's only space for one of you guys.' Like, this crabs in a barrel bullshit, which I'm so allergic to. And I'm glad it happened to me, because I say to myself, 'The minute I get my own comedy show or my own TV show, we're not gonna be pitted against each other. We're gonna be stronger together, no matter what shape or size, stronger together. Fucking unity. Get the fuck out of here with anything else.'"
Today, Buteau is able to provide jobs and support others in the entertainment industry through her Netflix series Survival of the Thickest. (The third and final season premieres July 2.) The show, which is based on her 2020 book of the same name, stars Buteau, who is also its co-creator. Its third and final season premieres July 2.
Buteau has high hopes for what people around the world take from the show.
"I want, at the end of the day, my kids to watch it and be like, 'Damn, my mama did that shit.' I want that queer Kenyan teenager to be like, 'Oh, I can't wait to watch this again.' I want that plus-size Italian baddie to be like, 'Wow, I'm gonna cut this T-shirt and wrap it up and have my belly out,' you know? I want that Brazilian person to be like, 'I should leave this person, because they're not good for me anymore,'" she says. "I want people to be motivated to do something for themselves, but also just fucking laugh."
For more from Buteau—including the life-changing trip she booked for a milestone birthday—check out this week's installment of "Nice Talk." The episode is available everywhere you listen to podcasts.