Hannah Berner has lived lots of lives — and she’s not afraid to inquire about the most personal information of yours. The 32-year-previous comic has been a higher education tennis winner, a reality Tv set star, a New York media specialist and now: an audience-heckling comic and social-media celebrity.
These job paths may surface unrelated, but each one particular has educated the other and in the end led Berner to the place she is nowadays, with just about 3 million TikTok followers, two podcasts (“Giggly Squad” and “Berner Phone”), a forthcoming Netflix comedy unique, a place on Variety’s 2023 checklist of 10 Comics to Watch, and a reputation for inquiring men and women about their pubic hair grooming routines.
In her “Han on the Street” video interviews, which she commenced accomplishing simply to eliminate time involving New York Town club sets, Berner crowdsources responses about one particular remarkably certain — and awkwardly personalized — problem, typically involving sexual choices and/or toilet behaviors, among other factors. For the reason that she’s normally chatting with other comics on a shared monthly bill, the responses tend to be uproariously amusing. Her (self-edited) TikToks go viral in days of posting.
Berner’s uninhibited persona, confessional Q&As and hefty social-media footprint have resulted in a run of A-record stars in the very hot seat. These days, a rapid scroll of Berner’s TikTok shows clips of the comic quizzing Jesse McCartney on “how several tampons does a female use all through her period?” (the singer answers: “I guess it depends on the flow”), Julia Fox on irrespective of whether having a kid is worth it (“or is it a cult?” Berner quips), and Jennifer Lawrence on regardless of whether she reaches for her wallet on a to start with day (“No! But … I’m a feminist,” the actor admits).
It’s effortless to see why A-list famous people — together with Hailey Bieber, the Jonas Brothers and Kacey Musgraves — line up to be interviewed by Berner. She’s boisterous but not a glutton for consideration. She’s fast with a comeback but never ever cruel. She’s truthful but not a pot-stirrer. Her questions, even when additional manner-oriented for Bieber, usually expose a little something new, wacky and relatable about the topic. She’s like a far more more than-the-best Amelia Dimoldenberg, host of YouTube’s “Chicken Store Day.”
For someone so unconstrained, it’s ironic that Berner scarcely thought of a occupation in comedy, substantially much less amusement, rising up. “I never even thought about it,” she tells The Times. Seated by the pool at the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, Berner is a blast of strength from the instant she strides downstairs. “I was generally the goofy just one on the tennis staff. I could usually make men and women chuckle,” she states. “I could always take situations significantly less seriously. Laughter was the 1 popular theme I constantly experienced via the ups and downs. [But] I under no circumstances considered that you could make dollars from it.”
Berner’s uninhibited persona, confessional Q&As and hefty social-media footprint have resulted in a run of A-record celebs in the very hot seat for “Han on the Street” TikTok interviews.
(Bo Chapli)
Originally from Park Slope, Brooklyn, Berner grew up in what she describes as a “basketball coach relatives.” As a kid, she dove into competitive tennis, even enjoying on the boys’ team in superior school and signing up for the College of Wisconsin’s team while studying communications. By her senior calendar year of faculty, even so, she was having difficulties with burnout. To top rated that off, Berner was strike by a automobile, an celebration she states she “took as a sign from the world” that maybe going pro wasn’t in the cards after all.
“I really had an identity crisis,” she says of giving up a tennis job. “Also, not to go way too ESPN on you, but turning professional as a tennis player is quite entrepreneurial. You have to shell out for all of your journey, you only get compensated when you get, you have to pay out for your coaches, apply, gear.” Berner claims she didn’t arrive from wealth and went to college or university on a total scholarship. Considering the economical pressures of pursuing tennis assisted her determination to wander absent from the activity. “I just felt that I did not want to be monetarily in the destructive and not even be pleased,” she states. “I was like, I think I have a creative aspect to me that I want to research for.”
Again in New York, Berner started doing work for Betches Media, a feminine-concentrated amusement brand name that places an emphasis on comedy. In addition to amusing Tweets, Berner would compose and edit comedy sketches. Though she didn’t surface in any of the films, Berner did commence constructing a community of New York-based comedians showing in the sketches she wrote.
At the same time, Berner released her initial comedy-fulfills-mental-wellness podcast, “Berning in Hell.” When she been given an invitation to do a reside podcast recording, Berner says a friend dared her to tack on a 10-minute stand-up regimen. “That’s not how you are intended to do stand-up,” Berner says. “You’re intended to do two-, probably three-minute open mics for 3 decades, and then, possibly start out manufacturing a clearly show.”
But Berner has hardly ever been the type of man or woman to walk a straight line to something. “It appears so corny, but I’ve experienced a whole lot of authentic path transitions,” she acknowledges about pivoting from tennis to digital media to comedy. “I’ve performed so a lot of different forms of entertainment — from funny videos with Betches, producing, directing. I have not been in the conventional comedy house for prolonged, but my open mic was publishing on TikTok and producing films.”
In 2018, though performing at Betches, Bravo attained out to see if Berner would like to sign up for the Year 3 forged of “Summer Property,” a reality display subsequent a team of close friends investing weekends collectively in the Hamptons. “The amazing matter about it was that they were gonna demonstrate what you do for do the job through the week, so they showed my podcast a very little,” Berner suggests. “But they weren’t showing the stand-up component.” (Berner still left “Summer House” in 2021 after receiving a brutal villain edit.) Pursuing her stint on Bravo, Berner “started touring like insane,” figuring that this was her shot to display audiences who she genuinely was, minus the digicam crews.
“I want the girls to feel safe and sound heading to comedy golf equipment. Finally, that’s why I did not go the traditional route,” Berner reported.
(Bo Chapli)
“I realized I needed to entertain, but I did not know what structure,” she claims. “When [‘Summer House’ producers] were being allowing me like be humorous in the confessionals, that was my most loved component of it all. … You can consider to play in that activity and pray every time that you get a excellent storyline. [But] I’m entrepreneurial. I like taking everyday living by the horns. I’d alternatively shed on my own than have a person come to a decision my fate for me, which seems ‘Game of Thrones’-ish. When I was 26 and one, actuality Tv was so entertaining. [But] I’m a really sensitive individual. I never like fighting, and I’m a folks pleaser. I want anyone to be pleased.”
“I really do not assume that I was truly that great on actuality Tv,” Berner carries on. “I’ve experienced individuals who I did fact Television with see my stand-up exhibits and go, ‘Oh, that is what you are meant to be executing. I imagine I’m fortuitous — if I did truth Television a minimal little bit more time, I could possibly have been stuck.”
Expending time amid the comedy group is what Berner attributes to helping her as a result of the “Summer House” criticism. (She stays close good friends with former castmate Paige DeSorbo, with whom she co-hosts “Giggly Squad.”)
“I’ve been in so quite a few scenarios in which I felt like I betrayed myself, or I did not really feel like myself,” Berner says. “With tennis, there were being occasions where I was like, ‘I never want to be listed here. I really do not like this. Who am I actively playing for?’ Then, with actuality Television set, it’s like, ‘Are people today rooting for me? Are people trying to just take me down? I’m fearful.’ In comedy, it is really clear to me. We’re trying to have a superior time.”
Seeking in advance, Berner, who also co-hosts “Berner Phone” with her spouse, Irish American comic Des Bishop, is psyched to welcome far more gals into comedy spaces. “If you believe about it, the girlies’ ordinary night time out is not to a stand-up comedy clearly show. Stand-up comedy is not usually aesthetically pleasing for the ladies they really don’t usually know if the functions are going to make them really feel cozy, particularly due to the fact it is a ton of guys on phase,” Berner states. “A lot of ladies that occur to my displays, it is the initial time they are at any time coming to a present, period of time. [But] women are the customers. They are the selection makers. They’re functioning s— suitable now.”
Even at the Stand in New York, where Berner performs all the time, a large amount of young gals have begun showing up. It was a small unsettling for the comics because the group was distinct, Berner states. “I want the ladies to experience risk-free heading to comedy clubs. Eventually, which is why I didn’t go the standard route.”
As a woman comedian, Berner states when you are executing open mics in the Bronx at 2 a.m. it’s unsafe. The explosion of TikTok in the comedy earth provides stand-ups a harmless place to place out articles and link with the correct folks to bounce-commence their careers, Berner hopes this will inspire far more females to try comedy. “I hope girls will see me on phase and be like, ‘Oh, I can do that. I could see your profession trajectory and do it that way.’”
