When I saw comedian Cheri Hardman perform at Bumbershoot in 2024, she started to tell a joke about food falling on her boobs that was very funny. People chuckled, people with big boobs who understood her pain chuckled louder, and then Hardman surprised the crowd when she took the joke further… and further still… and suddenly she was painting a picture of eating steaming hot taco meat off the bathroom floor and coining the phrase Boober Eats before it became a real (strange) thing.
That’s what I love about Hardman’s comedy: She knows what the socially accepted limits are and pushes past them anyway, often to hilarious results.
She started performing stand-up when she was 54 years old, and by then, she says, she gave zero fucks about people pleasing. “I like to inspire older people, especially women, that you can be old, disabled, fat, etc., and still do amazing things that you didn’t think you were capable of,” she said during our interview ahead of Saturday’s Undisputed Champions of Comedy showcase.
Read on to learn more about Hardman’s approach to comedy, and maybe get a dating tip or two.
Describe your comedy in five words.
Hilarious, Earthy, Risque, Raucous, Seated
Now that you’ve been declared an Undisputed Champion of Comedy, is there anyone in your life who said you wouldn’t make it, and you would now like to take this opportunity to rub it in their stupid face?
Everyone that told me not to tell vagina jokes can bite me.
As far as I’m concerned, you coined the phrase “Boober Eats” several years ago with your hilarious joke about falling food and big boobs and bathroom tacos. Boober Eats eventually became a real thing! (Because of course it did.) Have you threatened legal action? They should pay up!
Boober Eats is dead, they were forced to discontinue. I may or may not have had something to do with that. Guess they should have hired me as their spokesperson.
You have a podcast, Diary of an Ex Ho, where you interview fellow comedians about sex and love, and your material sometimes includes some kind of dating advice—“If they don’t yawn, keep your panties on.” You’re full of wisdom! Have you ever thought about leveraging your comedy career into some kind of relationship therapist?
I don’t know about therapist, but maybe a relationship guru. My jokes contain material about not only when to keep your panties on, but I do something called sexual mind reading, where I can tell people what they’re like in bed, and I also have loads of info about menopause. I’m like a wellspring of useful TMI.
You’ve been performing comedy in and around Seattle for years. You’ve seen the comedy scene change a lot, I’d imagine. How do you feel about the current state of Seattle’s comedy scene?
The main change I have seen in comedy is the awareness from bookers and producers that venues should be accessible. I appreciate not having to be so strident about it. Emmett Montgomery has been such a great proponent for me in that regard, and the Disabled List shows have become a big deal, thanks to Dan Hurwitz and Kayla Brown (those audiences are the best!). Like it’s actually cool to be Disabled now!
See Cheri Hardman perform at The Stranger‘s Undisputable Champions of Comedy at Washington Hall on April 4, 7:30 pm, 21+. Tickets available here.
