Comedian Sarah Silverman: 15 Now-You-Know Facts

She wrote an article for Penthouse, yes, that Penthouse.
Comedian Sarah Silverman: 15 Now-You-Know Facts

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Sarah Silverman is one of those people who seems like she'd be more fun in five minutes than most people are in five years. From her ace-telling (we crowned her the champ) of the Aristocrats joke to a killer takedown of Hugh Hefner, her comedy is laser-light on. But she’s also not afraid to apologize if she feels it’s appropriate, sometimes 14-years after the fact.

Since she has a musical opening in late April, we thought now would be a good time to splash you with some cool facts about Sarah Silverman, who once pleaded with the Pope to sell the Vatican.

Sarah Silverman Stood Up To Michael Richards On The Set Of Seinfeld

Sarah Silverman on Seinfeld

NBC

Years later, everybody would look at Michael Richards this way.

On her podcast, Sarah recalled the ‘bad experience’ she had working with Michael Richards during her guest-appearance on Seinfeld. She flubbed a line and Richards went off on her, in character. She recalls “getting a lump in her throat” during the incident and later thinking, “f*ck this guy.”

The next day, Richards pretended like nothing had happened, but Sarah Silverman was having none of it. She called him out on his terrible behavior, and he accepted the criticism. 

This story turned out a whole lot better than another involving Richards' terrible behavior.

Sarah Silverman Became A Vegetarian After Witnessing Total Horror At A Turkey Farm

Turkey strutting

Pixabay

Horror in 3, 2, 1 ….

In the November 2009 issue of Marie Claire, the comedian/actor told the story:

“When I was 9 or 10 years old, my dad took me over to a neighboring farm to help get stuff for the meal. The farmer, Vic, told me to look at all the turkeys and pick one out. I saw a cute one with a silly walk and cried, ‘Him!’ Before my pointing finger had even dropped to my side, Vic had grabbed the turkey by the neck and slit throat. Blood and feathers went flying. I had sentenced that turkey to death! Up until then, I didn’t know where meat came from—and I’ve been a vegetarian ever since.”

Yeah, that would do it.

Sarah Silverman Once Wrote An Article For… Penthouse?

Sarah Silverman on red carpet.

Shutterstock

Gratuitous, we know, but we couldn't use the image on the Penthouse site.

When it starts.. “It was an opportunity I could not pass up. And just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, I found out that this, my very first piece, would appear in time for Thanksgiving,” you know it's going to be vintage Sarah Silverman.

And she doesn't disappoint, covering everything from b-hole waxing to a more serious yet hilarious observation that “P.P.’s make me see my own beauty. For instance, I have a long neck. It’s sexy to have a long neck, and I have one. My neck is four inches long — and that’s when it’s flaccid.”

Sarah Silverman Was The First Female Guest On Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

Sarah Silverman and Jerry Seinfeld

Sony Pictures Television

Thoughts of diabetes just ran through her head.

Sarah was Jerry's first guest of Season Two. They tooled around L.A. in a 1969 E-Type Series Two before stopping off at a place called Millies for some food and of course, coffee.

And no one spilled any.

Sarah Silverman Has Been Punched In The Face Three Times

Shutterstock

According to this article, the first time was in New York City when she was handing out flyers for a comedy club when some teens started harassing a fellow flyer distributor. She stepped between them and was knocked unconscious from a punch to the head.

The second time was during shooting a fight sequence with Ryan Phillippe when she “..leaned in when she shouldn't have leaned in.”

The third was at Comic Con. A fan punched her in the face after she said, “Hi.” After she composed herself, Sarah watched security drag him away and has the remorseful look the man had on his face burned in her brain.

"She found the whole thing, “heartbreaking.” 

Sarah Silverman Was Fired From Saturday Night Live Via Fax

Sarah claims to have not written “one funny sketch” during her time on the show. She doesn't talk about her SNL experience much in interviews because she finds it ‘boring’. She once told Terry Gross that she wasn't ready for the show yet. 

She was, in fact, fired via fax but later used her SNL experience during an episode of The Larry Sanders Show called, “The New Writer.”

Sarah Silverman's Mom Was George McGovern’s Campaign Photographer

Library of Congress

Pictured: the early 1970s.

Sarah Silverman's mother was George McGovern's photographer during the 1972 Presidential campaign. According to this article, she collected hundreds of political pins but wore her “Question Authority” pin most frequently.

Sarah Silverman Had A Predictably-Hilarious Take On Her Former Boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel’s Marriage

ABC

“Stare straight ahead - don't make eye contact.”

Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman dated two different times between 2002 and 2009. Kimmel eventually married Molly McNearney. Sarah joked on his show, "“It’s not fair! She gets like new, woke Jimmy. I had Man Show Jimmy.”

Sarah Silverman Set Off A Flame War On Christmas, 2015

Sarah Silverman dropped a bomb on Christmas, 2015 when she tweeted “MERRY CHRISTMAS! Jesus was gender fluid!” Predictably, a swath of her followers reacted strongly to her assertion that Jesus did not identify with a specific gender. 

She later acknowledged the backlash. “I prefer not to respond to nonsense but here (re Jesus being gender fluid tweet, which I still love).” Sarah included a screen grab of a message explaining the original tweet.

Sarah Silverman Wet The Bed

Sarah Silverman book

Amazon

Also the title of her musical!

The title of her book, Sarah Silverman wet the bed until age 16. In this article, she describes the terror of being a six-year old with the affliction: “The word ‘sleepover’ to a six-year-old bedwetter has roughly the same impact of, say, ”liver cancer" to a 40-year-old-alcoholic."

Sarah Silverman Has Been Open About Her Struggles With Depression

Sarah Silverman in dramatic role

Broad Green Pictures

As a advocate for suicide prevention and eliminating the stigma associated with mental illness, Sarah Silverman has been very forthright about her own struggles with depression.

She starred as Laney Brooks in I Smile Back, a dramatic role in a film about a severely depressed woman.

Like Any Normal Human, Sarah Silverman Has A Favorite Muppet

Kermit The Frog

Shutterstock

The lovers, the dreamers and Sarah Silverman.

It's Kermit.

Sarah Silverman Doesn’t Drink, But She’s Into Weed

Vape pen

Shutterstock

Weed it is then!

In this video, Sarah states, “All my anti-Semitism pours out when I drink.” Instead, she's into the hippie lettuce, having once displayed a vape pen on the red carpet.

Sarah Silverman Was A Guest Star On Star Trek: Voyager

Sarah Silverman on Star Trek: Voyager

StarTrek.com

Crack wise about the pointy ears at your peril.

“Future's End” was a two-part episode from the third season and also guest-starred Ed Begley, Jr. It's unclear if they ate lunch together.

Sarah Silverman Will Not Make Fat Jokes About Women

Sarah Silverman on red carpet.

Shutterstock

Got it?

In this article, she lays it out: "Because I feel that we live in a society where fat men deserve love, and fat women do not deserve love -- at least in white America. And so I feel like that's an ugly thing, and it doesn't make me laugh."

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Top image: Shutterstock

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