Amy Schumer opens up about love, husband's autism in Netflix special 'Growing'
Amy Schumer did something unexpected in her new comedy special.
No, we don't mean that she flashed her underwear and pregnant belly – though she did that, too – but something much more outrageous.
She showed her heart and her love for her husband.
In Schumer’s second Netflix stand-up special (streaming Tuesday), two years after her controversial “Leather Special," the comic talks about her new marriage to chef Chris Fischer, who has autism spectrum disorder.
She opens up about her spouse’s condition with love and humor, saying that dating him presented many “‘Huh?’ moments.”
For example, instead of helping her up once when she fell, he “kind of froze and became a lighthouse, opening and closing his mouth.”
And he can’t lie. When asked whether Schumer looks good in a new outfit, he might respond: “You have a lot of other clothes, Why don’t you wear those?”
“Once he was diagnosed, all of the reasons that made (it) clear he was on the spectrum were all of the reasons I fell madly in love with him. That’s the truth,” Schumer says, acting neither embarrassed nor defensive about Fischer’s developmental disorder.
At one point, Schumer displays a photo of a plate that Fischer made for her, painted with her likeness.
“I want you to know that there were no qualifiers before he showed me this picture,” she says, revealing a portrait with a very round face, prominent chin and yellow hair. “I look like Trump,” she says.
She tells a story about how, before their first red-carpet appearance, Schumer encouraged Fischer to think of the ocean as cameras flash, because “one of the signs of autism is you don’t make the appropriate facial expressions for the occasion you’re at.”
The suggestion worked too well: He appeared sublimely happy in every frame.
Schumer’s openness on the topic of autism, like her candor discussing menstruation and settling down in her 30s, is new territory for her and disarming for her fans. These aren’t sex jokes; they're better.
As suggested by the special’s title, Schumer discusses her pregnancy. She shows the audience her stomach with two Band-Aids covering her misshapen belly button, and shares details about her battle with severe morning sickness: “I throw up an ‘Exorcist’ amount every day,” she says.
Indeed, Schumer’s pregnancy complications eventually derailed her comedy tour, forcing her to cancel dates after March.
But fortunately for Netflix subscribers, the special – taped in Chicago in December – showcases the comedian “feeling pretty good.”
And it shows.
More: New on Netflix in March 2019: More Amy Schumer, 'Queer Eye' and 'Arrested Development'
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amy Schumer opens up about love, husband's autism in Netflix special 'Growing'
