Emmy-nominated comedian Chonda Pierce may be known best as the “Queen of Clean Comedy,” but her life hasn’t always been funny. In fact, it’s been marked by trials and tribulations she believes have honed her character and proven God’s faithfulness. The 64-year-old comedian told The Christian Post, “It is interesting. If you research, a lot of comedians walk some dark roads, and that might be why we love to make people laugh. Hearing people laugh is just as much medicine for me as it is for anybody. I think early on in my career, my comedy was probably a lot of deflecting going on to try to mask some pain.”
Pierce continued, “What is amazing about God is He created all the arts, and the devil’s job is to pervert them all. And in that deflecting or using comedy that’s cruel or hateful or filthy, that is Satan’s job. He loves to steal that. I love that God blessed me with a sense of humor and an ability to tell a story or two that makes a room laugh because I love it just as much as anybody else. I need the laughter as well. I love that I get to do that for a living, and wasn’t God so kind to direct my path that way because that laughter has brought a lot of healing my way.”
For over 30 years, Pierce, who has sold more comedy albums than any other female comedian, has built a career on weaving humor into her storytelling, inviting audiences into her world with relatable anecdotes. But her latest book, Life Is Funny Until It’s Not: A Comic’s Story of Love, Loss, and Lunacy, delves deeper than ever before, addressing topics like childhood trauma, her parent’s divorce, the loss of her two sisters and husband and abuse. “I’ve told bits and pieces of my story for 32 years, I’ve revealed parts of grief from my husband’s death or the aftermath of that, and all of those stories are still true, and I still hold on to them. But there was so much in the in-between traumas where I learned a lot. That’s where I learned who God is and how He will sustain you,” she said.
She candidly shares how, as her comedy career blossomed as a young woman, trials continued to shadow her journey through marriage, motherhood and widowhood. Yet through every sorrow and every joy, God remained by her side. “This is the reason I got into stand-up comedy to begin with,” she said. “I wanted to tell my story. I felt like the Lord had really delivered me through some things that would be helpful to other people.” Pierce also opens up about her early years as a pastor’s daughter and how her earthly father impacted her view of God. When describing her father, she paints a picture of a complicated figure: a man who, at times, was loving and attentive and, at other times, cold and harsh.
Despite her challenges, Pierce has maintained her faith, crafting her comedic material in a way that reflects her beliefs. “Comedy is always the opening act, but I also turn the corner to share the stories behind it,” she says. “Jesus Himself used humor in His teachings, and I aim to show both the good and the bad so people can see God at work.”