Billy Eichner on being a pioneer and calling out Meryl Streep on Conan’s podcast

Billy Eichner talked about the past, present, and future of his career on Conan O’Brien’s podcast.

Billy Eichner’s philosophy on his brand of comedy is “take it or leave it.” But as he finds himself more and more in the mainstream spotlight, it is getting harder and harder for anyone to ignore Eichner’s unique voice and immense talent.

This sentiment sums up the result of Eichner’s visit to the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast. Just as Conan O’Brien was dedicated to crafting his own world of comedy until critics and audiences couldn’t deny his abilities, so too is Eichner 15 years into his career.

His live show-turned web series-turned television series Billy on the Street amassed a cult following that included some high-profile celebrities. Eichner has gone on to land roles in Parks and Rec, American Horror Story, and his own Hulu series Difficult People. Next he lends his signature voice to Timon in The Lion King.

Eichner deserves all the success he has had over his career. Yet as he told Conan O’Brien, it wasn’t an easy path due to biases against gay comedians. Rather than be relegated to sidekick or wacky neighbor roles, Eichner was determined to make and control his own world. It is something O’Brien has referenced in the past about his goal for Late Night with Conan O’Brien and a theme of the two comedian’s discussion.

There really is only one Billy Eichner and one Conan O’Brien. Look no further than their riffs on the Jonas Brothers in the bedroom, the ghost of Merle Haggard, and an American Hustle-style movie about the world of podcasting to realize the hilarity of their strangeness.

As Eichner mentioned, it was Conan that first gave him a late night talk show platform. O’Brien is well known for his remote segments and outsourced some of that work to Eichner. It allowed the comedian to meet his idol Madonna while delivering one of the more memorable Conan bits.

We’ll have to wait and see if Eichner gets the chance to interview Meryl Streep in the same way he talk to talk with Madonna. It’s hard to know if Streep responds to the kind of disparaging comments Eichner and O’Brien laid out as bait for a Billy on the Street appearance.

Billy Eichner may not have wanted the podcast to get too serious but thankfully it did touch on some important topics. It was interesting to hear him reflect on his career and the challenges for gay actors and actresses in comedy and in general even today. His romantic comedy will be a major milestone that will further put Eichner in the spotlight for his talents as well as his status as a pioneer.

Hopefully we will see more and more comedians following the path set by Billy Eichner similar to how Conan O’Brien inspired a generation after him. But we can be sure that nobody will have a voice quite like Billy Eichner.