Ilana Glazer doesn't regret Broad City's Hillary Clinton appearance

Few things scream “2016” more than Hillary Clinton making a cameo appearance on Broad City. For some, Clinton’s appearance on the show has soured the legacy of the Comedy Central hit entirely, an artifact of neoliberalism, a brief hagiography of a dubious political figure, and an embarrassing reminder of a colossal failure (Hillary Clinton could show up to the set of Broad City, but not Wisconsin…?). Creators and stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer have continued to use their platforms to promote progressive values that don’t necessarily align with Clinton’s. Despite that, Glazer doesn’t regret including Clinton on the show. 

“Oh my god, what a world! Things have changed,” she said of the negative feelings towards the cameo now in a new interview with The Independent. “I mean, I did vote for Hillary Clinton. I did want Hillary Clinton to win over Donald Trump. I don’t think she’s a perfect, flawless person or a perfect flawless politician. I’m not friends with her. I can’t really tell you where she is for me on a spectrum of hate to dislike to like to love—maybe somewhere in the middle as a person? But I really wanted her to win.”

Glazer continues to promote voting awareness and campaign for Democrats, and her positions are often to the left of what Clinton represents. (For instance, she’s been vocal about Israel’s military campaign in Palestine.) But it wasn’t always her intention for that to be reflected in her work. “I’ve been told my whole career my work is political,” she says. “When Abbi and I ‘learnt’ that Broad City was feminist, we were like, huh! We hadn’t even thought about it like that. I’ve certainly gained awareness over how politically perceived my work is since, but I consider it my personal responsibility to keep going deeper in who I am so that I don’t get stuck pushing a platform. If you’re not leading with comedy, it’s propaganda.”

Glazer cares about representation, but “If I’m making comedy, I really consider it a social responsibility to lead with comedy. If someone is sitting down in one of my shows and doesn’t know who I am, I want them to invite them to laugh.” She says. “I’m not a teacher. I’m a comedian.”