When you go see Eddie Griffin perform at his reopened stand-up comedy residency at Sahara Las Vegas, you better be ready. The veteran funnyman has never shied away from controversial or taboo topics over the course of his 30-year career onstage, and he’s not about to change his ways after a global pandemic and a polarizing presidential election. Griffin’s latest comedy special, Laughin’ Through Your Mask, captured his performance the day after the Capitol attack in January. “It wrote itself,” he laughs. “Those (rioters) proved building a wall does not work, the way they climbed the Capitol walls.”
A longtime Las Vegas resident, Griffin has maintained a Vegas residency for years at the Rio and then SLS Las Vegas, which transformed into the Sahara in late 2019 but wisely held onto their in-house comedy star. For now, he’s performing at the new Magic Mike Live Theater until the under-construction larger theater space is ready for his show.
You’ve been back onstage across the country for a while now, but how long did your own personal entertainment shutdown last?
I went out on the road every weekend during the whole pandemic. I was out there the whole time. Never caught a damn thing!
You talk a lot about how miserable it was to travel over the last year.
Wearing that mask on a seven-hour flight to the East Coast, that is hell. Then you check into a hotel room and there’s no room service. I hope airlines get back to serving hot meals soon and stop bringing me that box of junk. And they wonder why people are fighting on the plane. They’re hungry! If somebody’s got a warm belly, they tend to go to sleep, so feed us!
What was it like performing early on in the pandemic?
By the end of the show, everybody took their mask off anyway. But I had this joke for the first five minutes, I invented this mask that opens up with Velcro. I’d come out and say, “This is gonna be the show, you can’t see my mouth, this is it baby! I don’t trust none of you!” Then I pull it down, like, “Psych!” And the mask is for sale. Whip it down, sip a drink, smoke a cigarette, whatever.
An indie film satire came out in the fall, Bad President, and it was all about Trump’s presidency, and you played the devil.
The devil is a fun character to play because he’s everywhere and no where all the time. I’m truly a believer that Satan was behind everything that happened in that White House, and now, the Republican party. Anything that is good for the people, they’re against it.
It seems like every comedian has dipped into politics in recent years. Have you always engaged that way?
I always have. On my first (appearance) on Def Comedy Jam, I did politics, talking about Rodney. Somebody has to say it, so it might as well be me. I’m sure I’ve missed out on quite a few films because of my nonconformity. I mean, Undercover Brother 2 starred Michael Jai White, so yeah, something went awry. How did the Undercover Brother (character) go from someone my size to that? But it’s comedy, damn it. It’s not called the serious show, it’s called a comedy show, and people who (get offended) are people who take their own position in life too seriously. It’s a short trip we have on this marble, flying through space at hyper speed. It’s quick and then it’s over.
Sahara Las Vegas, 21+. 702.761.7000
Click here for your free subscription to the weekly digital edition of Las Vegas Magazine, your guide to everything to do, hear, see and experience in Southern Nevada. In addition to the latest edition emailed to every week, you’ll find plenty of great, money-saving offers from some of the most exciting attractions, restaurants, properties and more! And Las Vegas Magazine is full of informative content such as restaurants to visit, cocktails to sip and attractions to enjoy.
