Interview With Jonny McGovern![]() ![]() If David Beckham and Rip Torn had a love child, his name would be Jonny McGovern. Also known as the Gay Pimp, this in-your-face comedian is quickly taking the world by storm. From comedy and music to television and night life, there seems to be no realm McGovern hasn't conquered. His popular podcasts, Big Gay Sketch Show characters, and musical spoofs of heterosexuality (including the insanely catchy and hysterical viral video smash "Soccer Practice") make him a one-of-a-kind entertainer. Not only does he embrace his sexuality, but he's made a career of it. AfterElton.com recently caught up with the ever-busy McGovern to get to know the man behind the pimp. AfterElton.com: First off, how great is your job? AE: And there's an added bonus of all the naked guys you surround yourself with … AE: Did you always want to do this? I also realized as I got older that I was less interested in being what someone else wanted me to be than I was interested in being my gay big self. I wanted to put that and my feelings about that and my point of view in mainstream pop culture. So I started doing one-man shows. I was working with a group called Grindhouse A Go Go, which is where the Gay Pimp was created in a show called The Wrong Fag to F--- With. AE: Where did the Gay Pimp come from? We wrote a show called The Wrong Fag to F--- With: The Gay Pimp vs. Eminem. It was where the Gay Pimp was a pop star/superhero who came out at the MTV awards to battle Eminem. Of course it did end with Eminem getting it up the butt and being humiliated while all the gay teens were set free. And then the songs that were part of the musical were getting play around town in New York City. I started performing as if Gay Pimp was really a pop star with dancers and trannies and all the stuff that eventually came in the video. One time I was performing at a place called PS 122. We were doing a show called Dirty Gay Teen Pop Superstars, and this producer, Richard J. Alexander — who directed Barbra Streisand tours and Bette Midler's Kiss My Brass tour — he saw it and said: "You were pretty good, kid. What do you want to do next?" I said, "I want to make a video." So he produced a video for me, and it started from there. AE: Critics of the character might be concerned with the way that it reinforces negative stereotypes of gay men as sex-crazed heathens. Are you spoofing this stereotype or embracing it? AE: How different are you, Jonny, from the character? AE: Can you talk about the experience of Big Gay Sketch Show? What have been the biggest challenges in getting the show off the ground? Submitted by on Mon, 2007-05-14 14:14. |
User login![]() Recent blog posts
Put AfterElton.com headlines on your site/blog: |






Recent comments
15 min 25 sec ago
55 min 23 sec ago
1 hour 29 min ago
2 hours 33 min ago
2 hours 55 min ago
2 hours 59 min ago
4 hours 34 min ago
6 hours 9 min ago
6 hours 17 min ago
6 hours 40 min ago