SHE'S SMART, she's hilarious, and she's glamorous as fuck. Like Holly Golightly after three divorces, stand-up comic Natasha Leggero puts on airs and calls out stupidity where she sees it—which is everywhere. She killed as a last-minute addition to April's Bridgetown Comedy Fest; this week she headlines her own show as part of Mississippi Studios' brand-new Last Thursday comedy series.

___________________________________________________________

MERCURY: You got your BA in theater criticism. Did you ever use it?

NATASHA LEGGERO: I got my degree in theater criticism because that was the only theater-related degree the school I could afford offered. It totally helped because it sharpened my critical-thinking skills. When I moved to LA, instead of directing those skills toward experimental theater, I directed them at people having babies in toilets.

___________________________________________________________

What do you think about recent articles online taking male comics to task for joking about rape? And related: I've seen you get shit for wearing fur in Instagram photos, does that sort of online criticism bother you at all?

Every comic has a rape joke. It's just a funny word, unfortunately. In terms of fur, the weather is getting warmer so perhaps people will be less offended by my summer furs. (They're lighter and have been de-clawed.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

We are entering the century of the woman, so of course!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Is there anything you want out of your career that you haven't gotten yet?

I was just leafing through a copy of Yachts International and I would definitely like a teak wood one.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

You make fun of terrible aspects of pop culture a lot—what are some things that you genuinely enjoy?

French jazz and twerking.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

You were all over the place at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival—any particular highlights of hanging out in Portland?

I quite enjoyed the sensory deprivation tank! I stayed in for two hours!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

What's your opinion of humanity?

I think every smart person should have one baby just to even out the idiots.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you optimistic about America?

No.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

What's something that people often fail to understand about your act?

I'm not kidding!