Hari Kondabolu at John Oliver's NY Stand-Up

In 2010, Hari appeared on John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show on Comedy Central. He has also performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Central's Live at Gotham. In 2009, he made his major motion picture debut in the absolutely dreadful 20th Century Fox Film All About Steve.

[@florazuideveld2038]

This video is my introduction to Hari Kondabolu and I love it! He's what I look for in stand-up comedy: a social critic with genuine talent, brains and perfect timing, is very comfortable on the stage, is unafraid of risky topics but doesn't pander to his audience for easy laughs. Love him.

[@alstevens7060]

Stop wetting your diaper, cornflake, and use your gun rights on yourself.

[@lollipopcharming]

That's a brown Ted Mosby. Don't fucking lie to me and tell me it isn't. I'm on to you.

[@DuctTapeUtopia]

Dude killed it. I especially love that deadpan pause and direct look at the camera after his bit at 8:45. Guy's edgy and smart as hell.

[@skycaptain141]

love this guy he was my graduation speaker. And everyone in the auditorium couldnt stop laughing

[@smithmcsmith9218]

I saw him live recently. Phenomenal!

[@SushibarFan]

glad to know that there still are comedians to watch and enjoy. he is like russel peters who doesn't do any boring mockery of audiences to fill the time.

[@SableTwilight]

Remember folks. It doesn't matter if you vote up or down, or what your comments are, just the act *of* voting or leaving a comment is engagement to the KZbin algorithms. And higher engagement ends up helping promote the video in turn leading to more views. So thank you to all the people who rush into the comments to complain about the comedy. You're being played, and you don't even realize it.

[@chiroptera626]

His comedic skills aside, "Vegan Soulfood What the Fuck" speaks to me and should be on a shirt

[@Postemupman]

I was soo excited when 3:22 finally came around! Definitely worth the wait

[@padmasalam5267]

He is funny without trying! Love him to bits!!!!!!

[@felixs9722]

im pretty sure he is trying

[@DTA707]

This is funny to you?

[@TheMagicfan77]

Shout out for repping the Blue Scholars shirt

[@alexroselle]

6:10 A conscious, anti-oppression comic who also disses vegan food? Now I've heard everything!

[@wiscovirgo]

I'm glad he summed up the history of soul food in a few words and emphasized the importance and cultural significance it has in black culture. I had a classmate a few years back tell me Russians created soul food..... nah homie nah, we black folks get that credit 😂😂

[@sfm073]

Jasmine Namjoon what do you think poor white southerners ate? Soul food is southern poor people food, not just a black thing.

[@amally22]

"pigment...pigment....ETHNIC!!" LOLLLLLLLLL

[@toneriggz]

A fellow Blue Scholars fan from Queens. Respect.

[@bvh817]

spoken like a true consumer. taking oh so much and giving back oh so little (nothing). "gosh, this guy's stand up is so good! I want more... Let me click around youtube and exhaust every ounce of Hari's presence on here until there is nothing fresh remaining. I wont travel to see him live. I wont pay a dime to show appreciation for his creativity. I want everything free and I want it now. ENTERTAIN MEEEEEEE!!!!!!" there needs to be a word to describe this mentality.

[@caroplum]

... this is so, so good.

[@playedescapade]

Funny and always dropping truth bombs. A new fan has been made.

[@surreal.lotus11]

this was great

[@LadyVenomWay]

love this guy

[@happybirthday146]

CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS is about the Roman empire.

[@WHOOPtheresheIs]

I've heard the other ones before but the Vegan Soul Food killed me. I'm crying.

[@coverthp]

I like how you would never have pointed it out if all the audience members cut to for reaction shots were white (you know, like in all other comedian videos)

[@michaelcrossey3532]

Indian Ted Mosby.

[@slntscrms]

Michael Crossey This is the point he is trying to make. He is NOT Indian but an American. For e.g. your second name has origins from England, so if you are American then nobody will ask you by default whether you are from England because, maybe, you are white.

[@rainmaker690]

dcode He's an Indian-American---'nuff said. Ain't nothing wrong with being both.

[@user-tw2nc3fv7z]

Michael Crossey he is American not Indian

[@Tebigong101]

Why are they doing close up of Asian and brown people?

[@akidnamedjuice]

thats how comedy cameramen operate lol

[@tonypizza7936]

how else are the whites to know how to assess minority feelings?

[@Tebigong101]

you might have point there... Lena Dunham and the rest of these liberal white writers clearly don't know any brown people so this must be how they learn. "Oh, look, Nancy, when they're happy they smile, isn't that amazing! It's almost like they are human."

[@Tebigong101]

***** my point was more that they were showing them to some say it's okay to laugh, they find it funny to kinda thing, but thanks for that insight into my situation...

[@Tebigong101]

***** That's not what what I said, that fact that you can't understand what I mean doesn't define my meaning...

[@thekingofkansas]

hella good shit man

[@virgil.alonso]

THATS A BLUE SCHOLARS SHIRT!

[@thekingofkansas]

SUPRISE!

[@ImranQ21]

is that a blue scholars shirt? awesome

[@monkeyman123321]

White chocolate isn't chocolate it's just 100% coco butter. They just don't want to sell it under the name of coco butter.

[@anylove370]

White chocolate is made from cocoa butter."Coco" is from coconut, it's not the same.

[@monkeyman123321]

anylove370 Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma.

[@anylove370]

Yes, so? I was just saying you confused "coco" with "cocoa" in your first comment, I am aware of cocoa butter.

[@hulkhatepunybanner]

I remember this. It was when John Oliver had steady work in front of a camera.

[@SableTwilight]

It's 2019 and this comment did not age well. John Oliver has his own show on HBO now. *laughs*

[@TheCeki1982]

@Roshan3L Yep right. He is smart and good. A unique combo. Kind regards.

[@insanepoet9]

Actually, heavy metal has a lot of "black" elements because of its complexity and influence of the blues scales.

[@omkarpawar14]

Top stuff.

[@RedZeshinX]

Ha ha, absolutely hilarious! XD

[@naamannoa]

daddy must have it.

[@BebopBodhisattva]

I like how the camera operator keeps valiantly searching for asian audience members to cut to for reaction shots..

[@MrBGB2012]

Everything he says is so funny! So deep! Because,it's so fucking true!!!

[@pmatz]

love Hari. same set as performed in UK for Russell Howard. Brilliant material. love it. and great delivery. this is one FUNNY GUY :)

[@jamditis]

Fuck yeah! I just came across Blue Scholars about a month ago. HOOKED.

[@kail9777]

Man he's good.

[@MrBurton2464]

"Do you like the taste of chocolate but can't stand looking at it?"

[@harryspooner]

ha ha great hair

[@shartdetective]

Dapwell's brother's hilarious

[@harrytalbot1]

he did like all these jokes with the exact same lines on russell howard's good news

[@sonnyalsalmo]

He reminds me of demetri martin xD

[@DuctTapeUtopia]

And then by 3:22 he just goes, "Oh fuck it."

[@Pinensikwe]

Blue scholars!

[@Se2b11]

Hari destroyed this

[@knightfrog8729]

I like this man very much.

[@aidniymevoli]

Woah! This man is fucking funny!! What comedY!

[@thmsbrown81]

@insanepoet9 influence yes, but the 'black' emphasis on rhythm for function of dance has been striped. Heavy metal is more about emotional intense virtuosity both its performance and composition rather than a musical genre centred around dance.

[@TheBombShhh]

it's like he's doing a stereotype of a comedian

[@edvdylanfan]

He's like SpongeBob before he discovered the squirrel jokes

[@PrMCP]

But he not like Apu.

[@marcellostifelmann]

this guy is freaking incredible, no joke lol

[@circushead]

No jokes, that's for sure.

[@adspeed7292005]

All Indian Americans like cocoa butter. This is obviously true based on my experience with this video and my Indian American ex-boyfriend. Aw fuck...

[@15heartz]

god is soooooooooooooooooo real

[@actsrv9]

Absolutely brilliant.

[@edvdylanfan]

This guy is so funny I forgot I was supposed to laugh

[@EnochianBorg]

That was a great set!!! Love it.... Now back to more important things like feeding the cat........

[@soygee]

i'm a bit disappointed that in the npr interview, he said he wants to believe that there's a god and he doesn't do that bit anymore. man...

[@pnartg]

Why does he feel that if someone is curious about his ethnic background they are "judging" him? America is a multi-ethnic society so what's wrong with being curious about someone's ethnic background? Each one of my four grandparents came from a different place, but they arrived at a time when people believed in the "melting pot" so they didn't transmit the customs and traditions of their countries to us, and they even made our last name Anglo-WASPish. I think this is a terrible loss and I think people should be proud of their ethnicity and share it with others. If anyone ever asks me about my heritage I'm happy to tell people as much as they're curious to know.

[@SundaraRamanR]

"Curious about their ethnic background" would be nice, but what he has encountered growing up in Queens New York is more like "you're not American, what are you??"-type people, who cast him as some outsider. He's talked about it in his podcasts and other places. Being interested in another culture and heritage is great, thinking the colour of someone's skin makes them an outsider is not.

[@Nyack101]

SR R have you ever been to Queens? I bet half the ppl Are not white, fuck outta here

[@freakyfreak1]

I’m willing to wager that you are white

[@CielosLuz]

lmao! I love Hari!!

[@fatchickinla]

Love his comedy. Great timing and intelligent humor.

[@swingAE86]

Hari is awesome

[@ServiceVolunteer]

HILARIOUS!!

[@rajeevpaltrow8728]

He tells the same jokes

[@AngstyLady]

Ha ha. I love him, he's so funny!

[@tomitstube]

i like hari's sardonic humor, even if he's making fun of something i like or do, it's still funny because he finds the humor in it. he's an equal opportunity offender.

[@elizabeth5759]

he is cute. i like his style. he makes me feel happy. p.s. i love new york!!

[@WheelShow1]

TED MOSBY

[@kedbacon3832]

This guy is such a flannel

[@yetanotherhankhill1032]

flannel?

[@voltex12345]

awgh god... it just gets worse and worse...

[@brigadierburnsauce]

2:59 Try again.

[@neilxmarino]

For someone seemingly so tolerant, he shits on people who believe in God an awful lot.

[@Tebigong101]

Did he shit on anybody, he expressed his belief that God doesn't exist. I get why that made you feel uncomfortable, it often makes me uncomfortable but I still believe in God and I imagine the nations Christian majority makes atheists and non-Christians uncomfortable an awful lot too.

[@Tebigong101]

I think it's less about the strength of their faith with some people and the general lack of regard. Whether Christian, non-Christian, or atheist how we talk about people's beliefs matters, don't treat people's religion or lack of same with disrespect, because these things often have deeply rooted meaning in people's life and sense of self. I try to treat other religions or absence of same with the same validity as I would want my own. I may privately perceive Scientology with extreme skepticism, but I keep in mind that an atheist may look at all religions that way. So I try to temper any offense with that understanding that as long as the other person is being forthright in their opinion but respectful.

[@Tebigong101]

Animals Mistaken for Monsters they aren't the only ones...

[@Tebigong101]

Well... depending on your Christian denomination "faith" is the shibboleth, not recitation of passages from holy books or something specific, because there are so many ways to seek the Christian god and doubtless there are similar sectarian differences among the other religions as well. Theist or atheist tolerance and respect are key. And I agree our laws should not show deference to any one group, but rather what serves the broad social good, welfare, or what have you.

[@Tebigong101]

Indeed, call out the hypocrites. Ones that denounce xyz publicly but privately can get enough. That as you say decry abortion but would applaud killing the doctors. etc...

[@nickv1212]

They worked with Macklemore and somehow Macklemore made it huge while Blue Scholars hasn't... Not cool.

[@bignafariyeh]

2:58...awkward

[@Danzarr]

"you cant kill people to accoustic guitar" Not true, in 1975, Francisco Macías Nguema ordered the execution of his political rivals, he did this by gathering them in a soccer stadium and having gunmen dressed as santa claus open fire on them all the while "Those were the days" by Mary hopkins played in the background.

[@Xplorer228]

+Danzarr Why do you even know this? lol

[@Danzarr]

the same way i know all i know, I read a book.

[@Xplorer228]

Danzarr So you only have book smarts? Anyway I was just laughing at the obscurity of the fact.

[@Danzarr]

something like that.

[@Xplorer228]

Danzarr *pat pat pat

[@tehskullmunkymedia594]

all I heard was bitch, bitch, bitch.

[@StefanTravis]

Yep, if you're going to rip off a comedy routine, rip of one by James Baldwin :-).

[@fergochan]

I think you misspelt "racists".

[@canadiangrrrl14]

Why would you have the need to make white chocolate?

[@ffiinnrroodd]

So black people won't bite their fingers:-)

[@NoFocksGiven_]

This is comedy? Daaamn. Maybe im not drunk enough.

[@raniketki4795]

Obviously it's a joke at a Stand-Up Comedy Show, but yes vegans easy target for carnivores, as a (former?) Hindu he could've should've come up with a better joke~!

[@SundaraRamanR]

Yeah, I was hoping he'd make the link with Hindu and Jain tradition and go from there, but he went for the usual cheap shots about vegans. (Vegan soul food can still be a travesty even if vegan food and soul food aren't, so he won't have to drop the bit entirely. ) Although, listening to his podcast, he doesn't seem to know much about India or Indian cultures (and he's honest about that), so maybe he doesn't actually know those connections.

[@matthewdeepblue]

That's a valid criticism

[@rumelia]

Gee Oliver. This you called up for us? What do you call it when you're embarassed for the guy on stage who's trying his hardest yet is barely mediocre?

[@ebeneezzer]

Yes. Because an Indian who came from a rich family in Queens, went to the London School of Economics and does stand up for a living is not privileged in the slightest.

[@RedHair651]

It's obvious that this man has no idea about what vegan food is.

[@alstevens7060]

His people invented vegan food. What he is doing is called "making jokes"

[@AlexBrovo]

SJW comedy.

[@SableTwilight]

Yep. It's awesome.

[@Pudlis16]

how do people find this crap funny...

[@circushead]

Because he's brown and has a non-European name. So they force a laugh and make sure everyone around them sees them laughing at the unfunny observations of a brown guy with a name that's hard to spell.

[@alstevens7060]

No I think it's because we have brains and some worldliness, and are not bitter cornflakes who need to hear fart jokes to laugh out loud.

[@SPegas94]

He may have other privileges but what he's saying is he doesn't have white privilege

[@chillyourself5208]

Hari Kondabolu, the kind of 'comedian' that attacked and killed a stereotypical cartoon character on television show filled with nothing but stereotypical cartoon characters. You couldn't write for Apu on your best day Hari, and you know it's true.

[@SenpaiTorpidDOW]

No at that point Hari was advocating atheism therefore the best reactions came from white folk...

[@buehcorpproductions6245]

He does the same racist jokes. I never like when a comedian resorts to obvious stereotypes but then complains about those very stereotypes. Comedy is STEREOTYPES. It has always been. Chaplin, Keaton, Marx Bros, Lewis, Murphy, Goldberg, Seinfeld, David, Chappelle .... it's all stereotypes. That is what comedy is, poking fun at the status quo and societal problems.

[@henrychinaski4285]

Be more funny!!!!

[@SmallvillenerdTwo]

He really isn't that funny

[@gmr911]

You're right - he's hilarious.

[@prielknaaphofnar.9754]

@@gmr911 Oi, don't those laughs in the beginning sound like laugh tracks?

[@Vosk21]

For a guy who whines about Apu he sure relies on a lot of toothless ethnic jokes

[@DTA707]

Cringy

[@bloodbarage]

Funny for someone who has an IQ of shovel. R.I.P. apu

[@kpeterson8473]

Stand up routine based on whinging and turning everything into racism. zzzzzz Also he has disturbingly small and delicate looking hands.

[@scifiwriter98]

This guy has a real grudge against white people.

[@Madcapredcap]

If I'm going to blame anyone for killing Jesus 2,000 years after the fact, I'd blame the people who have appeared all over the world, in every empire. The fault lies with the sort of nasty, mediocre, middling people who are willing to sacrifice something or someone good in order to maintain their economic and social position in the empire.