Casey Williams
Actress and comedian Jen Kober visited Illinois Wesleyan University for the second time on Friday, Oct. 24. Kober has appeared on shows such as The Mindy Project, Anger Management and Franklin & Bash.
The comedian filled the Hansen Student Center with laughter with her riotous routine including topics such as the LGBQTA+ community, body image and ridiculous hypotheticals in relationships.
Kober has a refreshing and playful outlook towards prejudices aimed at her and those in her community. Unafraid to address controversial topics, Kober, with no hesitation, expresses her opinion on Chik-Fil-A and the reaction of the public to President Dan Cathy’s views on gay marriage.
Although she clearly does not agree with Cathy, she is not in favor of protesting Chik-Fil-A as she is “fat first and gay second.” At one point, she claims that “hate is delicious.” While she is extremely forward about her size, she prefers to be referred to as “hard to kidnap,” meanwhile addressing “skinny bitches” in the audience.
Further proving her fearlessness, Kober has no problem discussing her recreational use of marijuana and its effects on her. Additionally, her act includes interactions with her long-term girlfriend and the ludicrous questions she is often asked. Perhaps going farther than what some are comfortable with, her exchanges with the audience about nationalities became a bit insensitive.
Another area of interest in her routine was living in the country. After Kober more than implied that the city of Bloomington was, at best, “quaint,” she revealed that she sympathizes with the town, being a native of a smaller city in Louisiana.
Her sense of humor is present even when not in the spotlight. Whilst meeting with her and the executive board of IWU Pride, she was just as quirky and entertaining as she was on stage.
“I really enjoyed that she took the time to have dinner with us. It was a great opportunity to connect with someone I might not have been able to otherwise,” said sophomore IWU Pride president Paige Buschman. “My favorite part of her routine was probably her stuff on hypothetical situations, but I was slightly offended by some of her racial jokes.”