2 days ago

Jiaoying Summers - Stop Being a Victim, Start Being Funny

Jiaoying Summers is one of the most fearless comedians working today. She owns two comedy clubs, runs a production studio, hosts the Tiger Mommy podcast, and is currently on her first European tour. She is also 35 weeks pregnant and has not slept properly in weeks.

Success has come far faster than happiness for comedian Jiaoying Summers. In just a few short years, the Chinese immigrant went from hosting open mics on Zoom to starring in a Hulu special, buying comedy clubs, and selling out international tours. But years of harsh parenting and cultural clashes still fuel a relentless search for self-worth.

Fresh off sold-out shows in Dublin, London and Amsterdam, Jiaoying sat down with Dam Yankee host Zack Newmark to talk about growing up in China with a drunk father and a tiger mom who still cannot say she loves her, moving to Lexington Kentucky at 18 without speaking a word of English, and building a comedy career from scratch after a director told her to get out of his office but also maybe try stand-up.

"She doesn't think happiness is a factor for human beings," Summers says of her mother. "She think happiness come with success, but it doesn't. So I spent my whole life trying to value myself."

She also opens up about the painful side of her ambition, the feeling that her self-worth is entirely tied to what she produces, the difficulty of feeling happiness even when everything she ever dreamed of has come true and why she bought her own comedy clubs rather than wait for someone to book her.

Recorded in Amsterdam during her Lucky Pony 26 European tour, Summers opens up about the deep emotional wounds that shaped her dark, unfiltered humor. She recounts traumatic memories of her alcoholic father, including a chilling incident where she was left "floating in the pool until they closed the pool" while he drank, only to face her mother's wrath alone.

Summers also confronts the jarring realities of Eastern beauty standards as she prepares to welcome a child with her American fiancé: "And it's gonna be a white boy," she notes of her mother's reaction. "The darker your skin means you are poor, you work at a farm. The lighter your skin means you are royalty, so."

From setting up a satirical "rehab fund" for her son's stand-up ambitions to combating generational trauma, this is a raw, hilarious, and unforgettable interview. Watch the full episode on YouTube, or listen to the Dam Yankee on all major podcast platforms.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction & A Power Outage in Amsterdam
00:57 - Touring Europe at 35 Weeks Pregnant & Why She Did It Anyway
02:27 - Her Mom's Reaction to the New Baby & Chinese Beauty Standards
04:28 - Tiger Mom vs Loving Mom: Breaking the Cycle With Her Own Kids
05:31 - Self-Worth, Achievement & Why Success Never Feels Like Enough
06:54 - Two Comedy Clubs, a Production Studio & a New Special
08:09 - Writing Her Second Hour, a TV Show & a Book While Making a Baby
11:26 - What Species Are You: Her First Special
12:05 - How a Hollywood Director Told Her to Get Out & Try Stand-Up
13:38 - Growing Up in China & Never Knowing Stand-Up Was a Career
15:19 - Landing in Lexington Kentucky & Being the Only Chinese Person
16:51 - Working in Restaurants, Getting Bullied & Going Back to Headline
18:41 - Using Success as Power & What She Does With It
20:13 - Her Kids, Her Ex & the Private Jet Dream
22:20 - The Back Injury in Vegas That Almost Cancelled the Whole Tour
26:00 - Performing in a Wheelchair in Madison Wisconsin & Killing Anyway
29:12 - The Influencer Attack, TikTok Censorship & Her Grandmother's Curse
35:22 - Why She Bought Her Own Comedy Clubs Instead of Complaining
38:00 - Woman of Color in Comedy & Why Victim Mentality
43:29 - Nikki Glaser, Margaret Cho & the Comedians Who Have Her Back
46:18 - The Comedians She Wants to Elevate: Charlene Kaye
49:12 - Asian Beauty Standards, K-Pop & Why It Is All Toxic
54:20 - Her Father's Sobriety & What Made Him Stop Drinking
57:35 - Most Awkward Christmas Dinner Ever
59:06 - Where to Find Her, Tiger Mommy Podcast & the Fall World Tour

Follow Jiaoying Summers:
Instagram/TikTok/Facebook/YouTube: @jiaoyingsummers
Tour & Tickets: jellyandcomedy.com
Podcast: Tiger Mommy Podcast