Comedian Josh Johnson Joked He Wanted to Meet the CBC Editor, and the Editor Walked Onstage From the Audience as the Video Topped 2.4 Million Views
During a show last month at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, Canada, American stand-up comedian Josh Johnson joked about a CBC story on a bodega cat being evicted over health concerns. 'I want so badly to meet the editor,' Johnson said onstage. A voice from the audience shouted, 'He's here,' and the crowd took it up: 'The editor's here.' According to CBC, that editor, Jon Azpiri, really was in the audience, and he walked onstage for about 10 minutes of back-and-forth with Johnson. Johnson posted the video to social media on November 10. By 2 p.m. PT that day it had more than 2.4 million views on Instagram and more than 860,000 views on TikTok.
Azpiri is a CBC News copy editor and reporter. He walked onstage in a dark grey hoodie that happened to mirror Johnson's signature light grey hoodie. When Johnson started asking about the cat, Azpiri interrupted: 'We do a lot of stories about cats. So I need to know the specific cat.' The two went on to talk about how a newsroom chooses what to cover, with jokes about cats, disappearing islands and journalism along the way. 'We're a public broadcaster,' Azpiri said. 'So we have a thing called Journalistic Standards and Practices.' Johnson replied: 'There's really no need to brag.' As he left the stage, Azpiri reminded Johnson that the province was set to have an election the next day. 'That's a real editor right there, too,' Johnson said. 'Even as he's leaving, he's like, we do have an election tomorrow.'
Azpiri told CBC he never expected the video to be posted, let alone go viral. He had just come off his copy editing shift before heading to the show with his wife, and on the way he told her he hoped they were not sitting too close to the stage, because comedians sometimes talk to audience members and he did not want to be one of those people. Their tickets were for the lower deck. When Johnson said he wanted to meet a CBC editor, Azpiri said his eyes 'kind of bugged out,' and it was his wife who shouted that he was there. He estimated about 1,000 people were in the theatre, and he did not realize the show was being recorded.
Johnson is an American stand-up comedian and an occasional host of The Daily Show. CBC said it has reached out to Johnson for comment. Azpiri said he has no plans to try to one-up Johnson on the comedy circuit: 'I'm very much second-billing to Josh.'
Source: CBC News
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Josh Johnson 2019年2月在 Cincinnati 演出资料图（Hayden Schiff 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons），已预裁为16:9，非本次演出画面。/ Josh Johnson performing in Cincinnati in February 2019, a file photo (by Hayden Schiff, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons), pre-cropped to 16:9; not from this show.
