Saying gay people shouldn't be the punchline is basically saying don't make people the punch line, which I think is ridiculous. The whole point of comedy is, on some level, to make fun of ourselves and put everything into an absurdist context.

Billy Eichner

My mom had a heart attack, and it came out of nowhere - she was 54. My dad had leukemia for about 3 months. He was 80 when he passed. My dad had me later in life, and so he had leukemia and was alive for about 3 months between diagnosis and passing away.

Billy Eichner

I am Jewish, but I love Christmas, as most Jews with any taste do, because Hanukkah is lame.

Billy Eichner

Amy Poehler and I once ambushed people and made them sing Christmas carols with us.

Billy Eichner

We have a whole art department on 'Billy on the Street.' We give away dioramas that we've made.

Billy Eichner

I have a vivid memory of loving Keith Hernandez, the first baseman for the '86 Mets. I grew up in Queens, so when the Mets won the World Series that year, it was a big deal.

Billy Eichner

It's one thing to hear that someone likes your show; it's a completely different thing to have them come take their time and film something with you on a sidewalk.

Billy Eichner

I like being in my New York bubble. It's the best bubble!

Billy Eichner

I did a live late-night talk show called 'Creation Nation' with friends of mine. I had a sidekick and a band, and I wrote the whole thing. And it had the form of a late-night talk show, but we did it on stage because no one was giving me a TV show at the time.

Billy Eichner

'Billy on the Street' is a very exhausting show to do, as you can imagine, but it's worth it.

Billy Eichner

When I came out to my parents, I knew that they knew. My father was like, 'Are you sure?' I literally said, 'You took me to see Barbra Streisand at Madison Square Garden.'

Billy Eichner

'Billy On The Street' has no doubt always been about the people we talk to. That being said, it thrills me that the show really has a dedicated following in the comedy world.

Billy Eichner

I do take for granted, probably, the fact that I grew up in New York City, one of the most liberal places on earth, with bleeding-heart, liberal parents who took me to see 'Rent' and Terrence McNally plays from a very young age.

Billy Eichner

Society would be a lot better if people watched Hulu's original programming and not just 'Mozart in the Jungle,' which everyone is watching, apparently.

Billy Eichner

I was like a fat, sweaty kid growing up in Queens who just was plopped down in front of 'Entertainment Tonight' by my parents.

Billy Eichner

I grew up in Queens, which is the most diverse borough: the rich and the poor and homeless and people of every sexual orientation and gender and age group. Everyone is saying we live in this bubble, and there's some truth to that. But I do not think it is healthy to all of a sudden invalidate the way we live in New York.

Billy Eichner

There are people who have huge YouTube followings - whose every post gets hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of hits. But I don't think that's having the same impact as someone who has a regular presence on television, or both.

Billy Eichner

Things pop out of people's mouths that you wouldn't expect them to say, so I've stopped trying to guess ahead of time who might be interesting to talk to.

Billy Eichner

I would not have a career without Facebook and Twitter. That's the truth.

Billy Eichner

It's been a very strange trajectory because I struggled for so many years. I mean, I was doing these videos, I was doing these live shows, I had a lot of fans in New York, the press would write about me, but I couldn't get a paying job, and so my father and I were really like a team.

Billy Eichner

I've never even been invited to the GLAAD awards, to sit in the audience. I don't necessarily care, and I'm sure they will one day, and it will be fine, but I've never been invited to anything like that.

Billy Eichner