John Mulaney Says a “Star-Studded” Intervention Saved His Life

Philip Ellis
·2 min read
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Comedian John Mulaney has opened up about his ongoing recovery from addiction. In his latest standup special Baby J, which dropped on Netflix on April 25, John cracked a series of jokes about the "star-studded" intervention that his fellow comedians staged for him in December 2020, which led to him seeking treatment for his issues with alcohol and cocaine, and which he now credits with saving his life.

"I knew immediately it was an intervention," he said. "Do you know how bad of a drug problem you have to have if when you open a door and see people gathered, your first and immediate thought is, 'This is probably an intervention about my drug problem?'"

He went on to joke about the number of his famous friends who were present, saying: "Let me just call this out now, I don’t mean to be weird. It was a star-studded intervention. It was, like, a good group. It was a good group. As mad as I was when I walked in there, I was like, this is a good lineup, this is really flattering in its own way."

At the end of the special, a message appears on screen in which John thanks 13 people by name "for saving my life." They are Fred, Berk, Mike, Bill, Erica, Nick, Natasha, Joe, Cara, David, Seth, Kevin, and Marika.

Throughout his From Scratch tour, John has alluded directly to the identities of several of his fellow comedians who were at the intervention (either physically or via Zoom), including:

Late night TV host Seth Meyers

Comedian and Big Mouth co-star Nick Kroll

SNL alum Fred Armisen

Barry star Bill Hader

Poker Face and Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne

The other names listed at the end of the special likely refer to: Mike Birbiglia, a comedian and old friend of Mulaney; Mike Berkowitz, Mulaney's agent; Marika Sawyer, a producer who worked with Mulaney both at Saturday Night Live and on his standup; and David Miner and Cara Masline, both executive producers on John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch.

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