‘If I quit, I’m an idiot’: Hannah Gadsby no longer quitting comedy after success of Nanette

Lesbian comedian Hannah Gadsby has revealed that she no longer plans to quit comedy after the monumental success of her Netflix special Nanette.

During a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon, she said she had reconsidered her decision to move back to Tasmania and take a permanent break from comedy.

“I said I was quitting and then if I quit, I’m an idiot now,” she said.

“Like, if the show had gone as badly as I’d planned it would have worked. But now I’m left with a choice: I’ll either be an idiot or a hypocrite. I’ll be a hypocrite.”

Nanette, which was filmed at the Sydney Opera House last year and has garnered worldwide praise, sees Gadsby emotionally explore queer identity, trauma, sexism, and comedy.

During the special, she explains that she no longer wants to make her queer identity or appearance the butt of her jokes anymore.

“I wrote the show because I’d had enough,” she told Fallon.

“I thought I’d write [it] and back out. It’s a quitting show, I’m quitting. I’ll drop a bomb and leave.

“I really thought it would divide audiences. And it just hasn’t. So, when I wrote it I wasn’t meant to go, ‘Oh, I’ll get a Netflix special out of this and everyone will see it.’ It was like,  I’ll probably get 12 shows and be asked to leave.”

Last year, Gadsby told the Star Observer she often eschewed the idea of being a role model for LGBTI people.

“I think it’s a problematic term because if you’re a role model you can’t make mistakes which is a very human thing,” she said.

“There’s danger in being a public figure, but of course visibility is important as well.”