Caleb Hearon's job is comedy—and calling out 'right-wing fascist freaks'

It's a bit tough to pin Caleb Hearon down, but that's expected now that he's become one of the most booked comedians in the business — sold-out tours, multiple movie deals, and a popular podcast that releases new episodes weekly. It's no wonder he sounds like he's on the move during our conversation. He answers the phone from what sounds like a stairwell, and we lock in to discuss his debut comedy special, Model Comedian, which just debuts on HBO Max at 9 PM EST tonight.

The conversation takes place a few days after MrBeast (whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson) took issue with Hearon's placement on Rolling Stone's Top 25 Most Influential Creators list. The influencer's post, which seemed to be a joke, didn't land well with the general social media public, and people immediately rallied behind Hearon. At the end of the day, Hearon posted a photo of himself on the phone and said that he and Donaldson had engaged in "peace talks." The two did indeed get on the phone, and MrBeast did apologize to Hearon, but the comedian didn't see it as an issue from the get-go and told him, "Dude, I thought it was funny. I didn't think you were wrong; it made me laugh."

Hearon is no stranger to grabbing an audience's attention after putting in almost a decade of work into his comedy career. After graduating from college, he moved to Chicago with a few members of his improv group, which is where he says his career in comedy took shape. This is the reason why he felt it was the right decision to film his debut special in Chicago, rather than his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. "I really went back and forth on whether I wanted to film in New York, where I had some of my most fun and formative shows over the years, or Kansas City, where I did my first open mic ever," Hearon explained. "I decided on Chicago because I moved there right after I graduated from college to start comedy. I think I found my voice in Missouri, but I figured out my comedic voice and how to use it in Chicago."

Caleb Hearon: Model ComedianEmilio Madrid/HBO

Speaking of voices, he also found his social media voice in 2019, on X (formerly known as Twitter). At the time, he would upload comedic skits that would reach hundreds of thousands of people. Then, as TikTok started becoming the dominant platform, he began posting the skits there as well, which routinely took off and went viral. He launched his podcast, So True, in 2024 and has spawned several viral clips of him and his comedian friends effortlessly trading jokes or inviting one of his many famous friends on the show. Some guests include his close friends like Holmes, Drew Afualo, Brittany Broski, Chris Fleming, Ziwe, Josh Sharp, Ego Nwodim, and many more.

As more people discover his comedy, arguably thanks to his podcast but primarily because of his sharpshooting comedic skills, he is becoming one to watch. The wide breadth of his comedic talent is on full display in his first-ever, hour-long comedy special. A large reason why Hearon has become so popular is his knack for comedy that almost always has a political message (but isn't preachy).

Caleb Hearon: Model ComedianEmilio Madrid/HBO

In the special, a portion of the set is dedicated to why he thinks President Donald Trump and other conservative Republican politicians are "some of [his] favorite straight guys" because they "hate gay people so much and they're such faggots." When asked why he felt compelled to bring his politics to his debut special, the gay comedian says, "Because every day I feel fucking insane. These people in charge are liars, they're evil, and I'm not scared of these motherfuckers." The comedian continues, "These right-wing fascistic freaks that are trying to make a Christo-fascist government in the United States right now — I see right through them. They're weak and pathetic."

"I feel like, in the national conversation, there's a lack of normal people just telling the fucking truth," Hearon adds.

He's also not afraid to get personal in his debut special, as he opens up about the death of his father during an emotional segment of the hour. He's had his mom on his podcast, and they talked about his upbringing at length, but he rarely spoke about his dad — until this special. Hearon says he felt it was the right format because he and his late father had a very different relationship than the one he had with his mom. "My dad and I, as I get into it in the special, had a much more fraught and complicated relationship that required a lot more care, intention, and thought," he says. "We had time between me becoming an adult and him passing away, where we settled so many of our things, but we were in the midst of [doing] a lot of work" on their relationship.

This relationship is explored even deeper in a film he is working on with Lily Wachowski called Trash Mountain, which is centered around Hearon's experience of his father's death and dealing with his hoarder house. "It's a classic indie movie about going home to deal with tragedy, but with our own little twist," he says. But this isn't the only project, Hearon has lined up.

On top of this, he's got two more projects he's in the midst of filming for. We spoke the day before he filmed his scenes in The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-awaited sequel to the classic 2006 film starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep as well as a Netflix movie called Little Brother starring John Cena, Eric Andre, and Ego Nwodim.

But for now, Hearon is balancing reaching new heights and "the weird parts of being perceived en masse," which he says was never really supposed to happen to human beings. He explains that he's able to do so because he is "not chasing being seen anywhere or in any type of way," adding, "I like to make people laugh, and I'm lucky that's my job."

Model Comedian is now streaming on HBO and HBO Max. Watch the trailer below.