Jo Koy Quotes

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Jo Koy

Profession : Comedian

Birth : June 2, 1971

It's so crazy: my mom and dad divorced when I was 11, and my fondest memories are in the Philippines and being raised by my mom. It's such a big part of my life.

Jo Koy

I love being a friend to my son. We go to the mall together. We shop. He picks out my clothes. We hang out. We go to different cities together. We like the same music. I think that's why he appreciates his mom and me so much - we treat him like a friend.

Jo Koy

My mom raised us like we were still in the Philippines. She tried to cure everything at home like a real Filipino woman. You had to die to go to the hospital. My mom cured everything with Vicks VapoRub. I should've died nine times when I was a kid!

Jo Koy

Comedy is just an unspoken language. Everybody understands it. Funny is funny. When it's not funny, they'll let you know.

Jo Koy

I get involved in the political, but I don't bring it to the stage because that's not my style.

Jo Koy

Everyone is where they are at because they worked hard for it. Don't ever hate on someone's hustle. Just figure out how you can get there.

Jo Koy

My real name is Joseph Herbert. My dad is white; my mom's Asian, Filipino. And when I started stand-up 22 years ago, I used to go up as Joseph Herbert, and I would just have to defend my name. Every time I went onstage, it was so annoying. People would heckle.

Jo Koy

A lot of people ask why I don't talk about my dad, and I want to, I just don't have that many stories. When he moved out, he moved to a different state, so it was just my mom and I.

Jo Koy

I was working at Nordstrom Rack, Borders Books, and I was cleaning yachts on the weekends for private parties and being a busboy. I had to break down the tables and roll the forks up in napkins. And I was still doing standup.

Jo Koy

Tacoma is actually my hometown, but if you live within 40 minutes of Seattle, you say Seattle.

Jo Koy

I'm a Mariners fan! I'm from Seattle, so I'm all about the Mariners and the Seahawks.

Jo Koy

What makes me laugh is hearing the stuff about my son or the stuff about my mom. I was a big fan of Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy; they talked a lot about their moms and their kids. Those are the things that inspired me to do stand-up.

Jo Koy

I can't stop working!

Jo Koy

It's been really stressful being on the road a lot, especially when you're a dad. You miss your son a lot. But you gotta make it work because you get to live a good life. I have to sacrifice.

Jo Koy

Whenever I talk about my culture, I want to shine a light on it. Even though I'm having fun, I want to make sure it's uplifting. I'm proud of it, and that's always been the foundation of my jokes.

Jo Koy

I do know one thing: you Midwesterners are laughers.

Jo Koy

For every stand-up comedian, Just for Laughs is our Super Bowl. Every comic in the world goes to Just for Laughs in Montreal. And they presented me with the Stand-Up Comedian of the Year award for 2018. This is my Oscar; this is my Emmy. That's my baby now.

Jo Koy

There's nothing more fun than seeing the things that you dreamed about when you were a kid come true. I'm headlining an iconic theater in New York City during the New York Comedy Festival. When you're starting off as a comedian, you don't think that's ever going to happen.

Jo Koy

I got a big Filipino family. That's what I love about being Pinoy: we all gotta surround ourselves with family; we all gotta laugh and do things together. I love it! It's family first.

Jo Koy

I'm used to taking risks - my career was a risk. Being a stand-up comic is not something that's normally accepted when your mother is Filipino.

Jo Koy