Courtesy of David Bazemore

UC Santa Barbara’s Campbell Hall was brought to life with never-ending laughter, raunchy commentary and snippy conversation with the eccentric writer and New York City personality Fran Lebowitz, who poked on all things politics, life and friendship. Lebowitz, who is an acclaimed author, journalist and media personality (recently appearing in a eight-episode documentary “Pretend It’s a City” all about her thoughts and life in New York City), gathered an excited crowd in the walls of the Hall, bringing them into her ever-running mind. 

The Jan. 25 event consisted of a discussion with moderator and award-winning journalist and former CNN Senior Analyst Jeff Greenfield and a signing of her new release “The Fran Lebowitz Reader,” with a dedicated hour for questions from the audience — something that felt less like a generic Q&A but instead a conversation between Lebowitz and many fascinated friends. 

Introduced by the UCSB Arts & Lectures speaker as a unique force that exists “simply at the point of the ballpoint pen,” Lebowitz entered onstage to an uproar of applause from the eager audience, strutting down the stage in her signature suit and glasses.

Lebowitz spoke on the topic fresh on America’s mind: the controversial inauguration and swearing-in of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20. She described her viewing experience as “easy to say, but it wasn’t easy to watch.” She continued talking about the shift in reality during Trump’s first and now new term in office, highlighting how during former President Joe Biden’s presidency, she did not have to think about politics as much — a contrast to the reality she faces during the Trump terms. “Having to think about politics every minute is something they would have to do in Russia,” Lebowitz said. 

Greenfield continued to ask the writer about the “media diet” and her opinion on its attachment to the election results. “I heard about Joe Rogan, but only because he was in the New York Times,” she laughed. Lebowitz gave a sharp comparison to the current general public’s media literacy by reminiscing on an instance when a man showed up at a pizza parlor as a response to the “pizzagate” phenomenon, an older but similar response to the largely conservative and conspiracy-focused nature of Trump-supporting media. 

“There are stupid people in every race and gender. [Trump] is not crazy; he’s stupid,” Lebowitz said in regard to the surprising landslide of votes for the candidate. 

Steering away from politics, Greenfield asked Lebowitz about her habits of being entirely off the grid. “I don’t have a cellphone, I don’t have a laptop and I don’t have a network connection. My phone is in my home, where phones should be,” she said. 

The 74-year-old did not stop there, talking about how she handwrites everything, having never had a typewriter: “Typing was an elective specifically for girls. So, I didn’t take that, and I never learnt how to type.” Lebowitz also praised the resurgence of reading books on subways, joking that all of her friends who don’t read much have kids in their 20s who do. 

The conversation with Greenfield ended with a statement about her current state of mind: “It’s a lot more fun to be in your 20s in the 70s than to be in your 70s in the 20s.” The discussion then transitioned to the open-floor Q&A section of the evening. 

Lebowitz answered a range of questions from the audience, who were all eager to hear the humorist’s answers. In a forest of raised hands, Lebowitz began by answering questions about her experience playing a judge on “Law & Order,” as well as her unusual way of deciding whether a baby is smart or not.

“You can make a baby laugh. If you can’t, the baby is stupid,” she said.

The political themes continued into this portion of the evening, as the audience was eager to hear Lebowitz’s opinion on the change in the political climate, claiming that the Republican Party is no longer what it represented a decade ago. 

“They’re not conservatives. They’re anarchists. And I really think it’s Trump specifically,” she said, followed by an uproar of applause. “I didn’t used to hate Republicans, I just disagreed with them.”

The event had two members of the audience who had known Lebowitz in different eras of her life — a woman who partied with her in Studio 54 and her high school best friend (from the school she got kicked out of, as she reminds us immediately after). They continued the conversation, asking Lebowitz about her choice to go sober in her 20s and her friendship with director Martin Scorsese. 

“Marty is actually much smarter than you have to be to be a director,” Lebowitz said. “It is just so much fun.”

Finishing up the conversation, Lebowitz continued on her commentary about the growing oligarchy in Congress and the recent deportation actions put in place by Trump. She advised the audience that “this is not the time to give up drinking,” ending the night in her signature witty but truthful fashion. 

This appeared in the Jan. 30 print edition of the Daily Nexus.

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