rant · moment 12 of 18
Quincy Jones III's Mesothelioma Special and the Psychology of Lying
from Dinner Pig · #99
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minTim gives his theory on how comedian Quincy Jones III's offhand joke about having a year to live from mesothelioma snowballed into an actual HBO special, and discusses how casual exaggerations and lies compound over time, including his own fake 9/11 survivor fantasy.
- 40:53Tim argues that lying is funny, and getting caught in a lie is especially funny.
- 41:05He describes making things up in casual conversation, like telling an Uber driver a false job.
- 41:35Quincy Jones was diagnosed with stage four mesothelioma and received an HBO special, though Tim notes the special itself doesn't cure the disease.
- 42:09Tim's read: Jones went to an open mic drunk after his diagnosis and exaggerated how serious it was for comedic effect, which comedians do constantly.
- 43:03He explains that Jones probably exaggerated on stage because that's what you do, and the lie spiraled when someone at the open mic took it seriously.
- 43:38The situation snowballed from that open mic moment into Ellen appearances and HBO deals, at which point Jones should have come clean.
- 44:14Tim doesn't think Jones completely fabricated his disease, but probably exaggerated it in a lie that stuck around.
- 44:40He describes the impulse to adopt a false identity, like claiming to have survived 9-11 just to tell that story from that perspective.