Remembering The Time I Embarrassed Myself In Front Of Theo Von

Mishap With Comedian Theo Von Leaves Lasting Embarrassment (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for "Nobody Does This Tour")

A mishap with comedian Theo Von has left a lasting embarrassment, leaving me cringing 12 years later. Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of a celebrity?

They say, “Never meet your heroes” because, sometimes, they may not live up to your expectations. Or they may just be a jerk to you. But sometimes it’s because you might do something embarrassing in front of them! That’s what happened to me when I met comedian Theo Von. Now, he’s everywhere and I’m constantly reminded of my mistake.

The incident in question happened 12 years ago, in 2012, and I’m still reminded of my mess up just about every day. It happened on the very first day of my internship with Comedy Central in Santa Monica, California. I thought my dream internship was going to be over after the very first day.

One of our responsibilities as interns was to meet comedians and guests downstairs in the lobby to escort them upstairs via the elevator and take them to a conference room or office for their scheduled meeting. Naturally, you don’t want to look like a fan boy during these walks, so you have to play it cool. Chit-chat is fine, but you don’t want to act like a fan and ask for a picture or anything like that. Certainly, that would be a good way to end your internship. Thankfully, that’s not what happened! I was able to keep my cool. However, the first comedian I brought up was Theo Von. He was the very first, and I feared he may be my last.

At the time, I was familiar with Theo Von but he wasn’t the massive figure he is today in the comedy world back then. Today, his podcast “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” is one of the more successful podcasts out there and he’s constantly booking big guests. One thing about Theo, he has a little bit of a Louisiana accent and it threw me off a little. Once we got upstairs, he asked me for “a copy.” So, I’m like, “Sure, man. Give me the paper and I’m happy to make a copy for you.” He then responded, “No, a copy.” Confused, I reiterated that I’m happy to go get him one. This back and forth went on a little longer than it should have before he finally had to say, “No, I’d like a coffee. Like, the thing you drink.” *Gulp* He wasn’t talking about copies, he was talking about coffee! I was mortified. I kept talking about the copy machine and had no idea that’s not what he was talking about. He had to have been so confused, and hopefully not offended!

I was just nervous! You know how sometimes when you’re nervous and want to do well, you might be overthinking and miss some important details? Yeah, that’s what happened here. You can hear more about this awkward story in the video below. Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of a celebrity?

Cort Freeman was born and raised in Metro Detroit. He was named Clarkston High School 2009 Class Clown 13 years after graduating. Totally normal thing to happen. That’s thanks to his time spent as an Intern at Comedy Central and Social Media Correspondent for The Colbert Report. Cort has done comedy across the country, both standing up and sitting down. When he’s not trying to make you laugh on-air and online, he’s probably at home enjoying his favorite shows like Seinfeld, South Park, and The Office. He’s also totally uncomfortable writing about himself in the third person. Cort enjoys writing about comedy, food, sports, and entertainment. So, basically anything and everything.

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