Just For Laughs With Andrew Khoury
Andrew Khoury is a rising star to look out for on the Montréal comedy scene. He comes to us from the hip and groovy suburbs of Nova Scotia. Since nailing his first stand-up set five going on six years ago, Andrew has channeled his anxiety into making people laugh—very hard. In the summer of 2023, he graced the Discovery Stage at Zoofest to great acclaim. Andrew is known for his fabulous legs and fashion sense, and for tackling taboo queer Arab themes with balls and hilarity. I saw Andrew live on Abby Stonehouse’s podcast and I knew I had to have him on the show. What a treat of an episode.
Andrew Khoury on Stand-up Comedy, Anxiety, Queer Arab Taboos, Therapy, Dating, Love Stories, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Fitness, Skincare, and More
Andrew’s First Stand-up Set: A throwback to his case for gay terrorism, how Andrew went from being the funny friend at the BBQ to killing it at stand-up, and how his comedy career has been growing ever since.
Comedy and Anxiety: Andrew shares how stand-up helped him overcome his social anxiety and fear of leaving the house.
Queer Arab Taboos: “This is my life,” says Andrew. And so it was only natural that he would find his stand-up niche dispelling stereotypes and biases to the tune of uproarious laughter.
Racism, Fetishization, and the Jungle of Online Dating. Plus, how to stay funny once you’re in a relationship.
Listener Question From Can’t He Be Gay Just For Me: A 21-year-old is hung up on a situationship with a non-committal, maybe pansexual, definitely homophobic, sort of friend.
Erica: “No, he can’t be gay just for you.”
Andrew: “Go out, spread your legs, and fly.”
Andrew Khoury on Skincare, Cleaning, Creativity, and What the World Needs Now: Listen to the end so you don’t miss a thing.
Half-Bad Ukulele Segment: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cindi Lauper. Sing loud and proud. That’s what we did.
Thank you so much, Andrew! I had the best time!
Follow Andrew on Instagram: @khourslight
Erica’s life coach: @jilliantureki
Andrew’s Life Coach: Wendy Williams: @therealwendywilliams
Mixing, Ukulele, and Cover Art by Erica J. Schmidt in Montréal, Quebec.
Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.
Other Montreal Comedians on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life
Ep. 7: Dream Jobs With John Cotrocois
Ep. 11: Laughs for All With Abby Stonehouse
Ep. 17: “Emily, We’re Sick.” Why We’re Still Single With Mariam Khan
Listener Question From Can’t He Be Gay Just for Me?
Dear Erica and Andrew,
I’m 21 and I’ve been friends with this guy for like 5 years. (He’s 21 too.) Throughout our friendship, I’ve always had an inkling that he was queer. He used to make comments like “if you were a girl I’d definitely date you,” so I knew something was up. Two years ago, I came out to him as gay and he came out to me as pansexual. A few months later we started flirting with each other and got into a situationship where we texted literally every second of the day. It was amazing until it got toxic. We both got overwhelmed and basically ghosted each other.
Then, just last month, we started talking again as though we’d never stopped. The banter was VERY much there and it felt so natural. The only difference is that now, all our contact is in person instead of online. He admitted he’d been depressed ever since I left and he was still hung up on our toxic relationship. Another time I was showing him a novel of mine and as I put my hand down on the table he put his hand on mine and left it there. I was a literal puddle after this. It all seemed like paradise.
But lately he has started to say some very degrading things towards the LGBTQ+ community whilst STILL flirting with me. On top of that I just found out from a mutual friend of ours that he identifies as cis-het now. I am flabberghasted, purely because he had soo many opportunities to tell me this but he never did and he still flirts with me to this day. I should have seen this coming once he started saying the homophobic shit. But I still have feelings for him and he still flirts with me and my minds just scrambled right now. Could he really be cis-het?? Do I have to stop talking to him? What do you think I should do??
Love, Can’t He Be Gay for Just For Me?
Thank you as always to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. Thank you so much for listening! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
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