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Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Lea DeLaria — on breaking barriers as a queer comic, and finding unexpected fame with ‘Orange Is the New Black'

Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Sony Music

Comedy, Society & Culture

4.7753 Ratings

🗓️ 30 September 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Actor, comedian, and jazz singer Lea DeLaria joins the show. Over enchiladas and rosé, Lea reflects on a life of firsts — from becoming the first openly gay comic on American television with her legendary “Arsenio Hall Show” set, to stealing scenes as Big Boo on Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” We revisit our nearly 30-year friendship, beginning with playing lovers in Shakespeare in the Park’s “On the Town,” and share behind-the-scenes stories from our time in the theater world together. Lea opens up about the pride and pressure of visibility in the ’90s, why OITNB resonated so deeply with butch women who finally saw themselves represented on screen, and how a joke she improvised one night on stage became the now-iconic “U-Haul lesbian” punchline. This episode was recorded at Little Owl in the West Village — also known to TV fans as the building from “Friends." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

After doing here we are in London and then Shakespeare in the park in New York City this summer,

0:04.4

I realize something. My closet is a little tired. I am really good on clothes for the rehearsal

0:11.3

room, but I definitely need some new basics. Luckily, Macy's is coming through with their fall VIP

0:17.7

fashion preview, 30% off their best brands, plus 15% off beauty. For me, I'm

0:24.0

I'm eyeing Hugo Boss, scotch and soda, and the cost. Great pieces I can wear to meetings,

0:28.9

a taping of dinners on me, or just chasing my kids around. For those who want the feminine touch,

0:34.7

Macy's has Carl Lagerfeld Paris, Calvin Klein, Avec Lafue, French Connection,

0:40.4

and the beauty picks are heavy hitters like Lacombe, Clinique, Estee Lauder, YSL, Armani,

0:46.1

Sir Waslu, Girlon, Valentino, Caroline Herrera. The fall VIP fashion preview runs September 25th

0:53.2

through October 5th at Macy's.com or in store.

0:57.3

I'll be there pretending to, quote, unquote, help my friend's shop while secretly picking out a whole new wardrobe for myself.

1:05.1

Anyone else ever look at their dog's dinner bowl and think, oh, buddy, you deserve better than this?

1:10.3

I feel that all the time

1:11.5

with my two dogs Sam my golden doodle and leaf my tiny but mighty morkey I want

1:16.9

meal time to be more than just fuel for them it should be something exciting I

1:21.0

mean yes they do act so excited when I feed them anything but sometimes I just

1:24.9

think they're faking it you know that's why I've beennom-nom. The recipes are gently cooked and actually designed to engage your pup senses

1:32.3

with textures, smells, and vibrant ingredients that keep things endlessly interesting. They've got

1:38.7

six different recipes like pork potluck, chicken cuisine, beef mash, and more. And every one of them is crafted by

1:45.4

vet nutritionalists, which gives me real peace of mind. The idea that salmon leaf could have

1:50.4

meals with premium proteins and vibrant veggies, cooked in small batches so the nutrients and

1:55.3

textures stay intact, sounds like something I definitely want them to try. After all, I wouldn't

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