Jenny Gorelick Q&A

You’ve built a huge audience through variety shows, commentary and online content. Did performing live stand-up feel like a natural extension of that world?

I started as a theatre kid, which led me to improv, and then finally to stand-up. But like most stand-up comedians, I only have one parent. Trauma was going to lead me to a microphone eventually.

You write a lot about dating and modern relationships through your Substack Night Out. Why do you think people are so drawn to stories about romantic chaos?

To be human is to want to be loved. And unfortunately, looking for love in all the wrong places (Bushwick) is a universal experience. If we weren't laughing about it, we'd be crying. And sometimes we're doing both while reaching back out to an ex. Oops.

You’ve appeared everywhere from Netflix Is A Joke to Fringe festivals and comedy clubs across New York. Does Edinburgh feel like a completely different energy?

I love the Fringe. This will be my fifth year visiting and finally my debut, which has been a dream of mine since the very beginning. There is no better place to perform your art for incredibly engaged international audiences, be inspired by fellow artists, and drink too many pints between a castle and a Primark. It is magical. 

I do crowd work in my sets, and it’s only in Edinburgh where I could ask a couple how they met and she'd say "he sold me a cabbage." Incredible. I am so Fringe-pilled.

The release jokes that TikTok commenters say you look 22. Does internet culture make ageing and appearance feel even more surreal for women now?

I don't think we were ever supposed to look at our own faces this much. It was just supposed to be in a clear stream, in passing. And camera quality has gotten too good. When film was first invented it had that beautiful ethereal, filtered quality — now every line and imperfection is magnified. We actually didn't need 4K. No one asked for it.

And since we're in our phones so much, staring at ourselves all day in video meetings, in selfies, in front-facing videos, we're hyperfixating on imperfections the camera can see that are not visible to the human eye. And we shouldn't be on Zoom all day. We should be outside! Not Klarna-ing botox! Why are we able to do that?

Meanwhile, since everything is content, we're forming parasocial relationships with literal strangers who are doing the same — so we have opinions about their clothes, their hair, their plastic surgery. And we do not know these people! They are strangers! The only person who should be making f*cked up comments about your weight should be your own mother. Not a stranger on the internet!

So yes, it's become absolutely toxic to be a woman in general, and especially one who is public-facing. And with our relationships to social media, kind of everyone is public-facing now.

Sometimes at home, before my day has started, I'll catch myself in the mirror — and God am I beautiful when I'm not wearing my glasses. I wish everyone could see me like that forever. With 20/40 vision and astigmatism.

What’s the most unnecessary thing you’ve apologised for recently?

I apologized to my friend for being stressed while she was also stressed… because I should have been her rock in that moment. 

Jenny Gorelick: SORRY will be at Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 3^rd – 30^th August 2026. For more information visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/jenny-gorelick-sorry