Bros star Billy Eichner made his way into our hearts with his manic and hilarious man-on-the-street bit Billy on the Street. From 2011-2017, the comedian ran around the streets of New York City, sometimes with a celeb in tow, asking normal New Yorkers questions like “do you care about John Oliver?” and “can you name a woman?”
Would Eichner ever bring back the show? He addressed the possibility with Rolling Stone.
“In terms of the future of it, the vast majority of it is behind me. Maybe for special occasions, we’ll bring it back,” he said. “Obviously, it was not COVID-friendly. It’s a big part of my life, and it’s most likely why I’m getting the opportunities that I’m getting now, and I’m proud of it. But I’m never going to do half-hour episodes of Billy on the Street again, and I don’t ever see it coming back as a regular thing. I’ve just moved beyond it creatively. I did it for so long. People don’t realize but the first Billy on the Street-style video I made was for my live show in September of 2004. It predates YouTube! So it was a very, very slow burn of a success story. I’m not saying never ever, but I’m never gonna do it regularly again.”
While we won’t be getting new Billy on the Street episodes, we always have the classics to fall back on. Here are seven Billy on the Street moments that never fail to make us laugh.
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After asking a woman if she’s a Denzel Washington fan, Billy asked her what her favorite Denzel projects are. At first this woman struggles to name one, but then comes up with Phantom of the Opera, claiming he played the Phantom “just down the street” on Broadway in 2005. This leads to one of Billy’s most epic fights, as he screams that Denzel doesn’t do musicals. Watching this woman stand her ground and watching Billy get more and more exasperated will always make us crack up.
An all-time classic! Billy was running around New York with a “wild pack of lesbians” who helped Billy answer questions like “who’s sexier, Meryl Streep or Britney Spears?” This video created the iconic meme and sapphic catchphrase that makes us laugh every time.
This game seems like the easiest game Billy has ever played, but still people on the street struggled. When he confronts a young woman carrying a yoga mat, asking her to name any woman, she’s completely flabbergasted. It’s one of the best moments in the show’s history.
The most memorable person on the street that Billy has met was the iconic and eccentric Elena. Elena had no time for Billy’s nonsense and is one of the only people who can get the last word in better than Billy himself.
One of Billy’s best celebrity appearances, Billy ran down the street frantically asking New Yorkers if they’d have sex with Paul Rudd, who was standing next to him the whole time. Of course, everyone says yes, even straight men, and plenty of people say they’d do it for free. Plus, we love to yell, “if you’re going to have sex with a gay person, go Jim Parsons or go home!”
With John Oliver in tow, Billy walked through Chelsea asking gay men if they cared about John Oliver. Almost no one said yes, and everyone who did said they like Wendy Williams more. God, we love the gays.
Billy brought legendary actress Julianne Moore to Times Square to hustle for money like the people dressed like Elsa, Batman, and Spiderman. As strangers gave Moore a dollar, she performed some of her iconic monologues, proving she’s an all-time great and that Eichner is a comedic genius.
