John Mulaney Details ‘Star-Studded’ Intervention That Saved His Life

John Mulaney credited a “star-studded” intervention with saving his life. In his newest Netflix special, the comedian called the meeting the “‘We are the World’ of alternative comedians over 40,” adding that Fred Armisen and Nick Kroll were among the 12 friends who took part. Mulaney, 40, was addicted to several drugs, including cocaine, when his friends came together to encourage him to check into rehab.

In John Mulaney: Baby J, the frequent Saturday Night Live host said his friends gathered in person and over Zoom. They told him he was having “dinner with a friend from college” when they staged the intervention. “Let me just call this out now, I don’t mean to be weird. It was a star-studded intervention. It was, like, a good group,” Mulaney told the audience, notes Entertainment Tonight. “It was a good group. As mad as I was when I walked in there, I was like, this is a good lineup, this is really flattering in its own way.”

Although everyone at the intervention was a comedian, “no one said a funny thing the entire night,” Mulaney said. In fact, the group promised to take the situation seriously. “I was going psychotic. I am sitting there in an awful chair, crashing from cocaine,” Mulaney said. “No one will let me go to the bathroom to freshen up and the funniest people are staring at me, refusing to do jokes. It was maddening.”

Armisen was “serious,” which was “off-putting” to Mulaney. “He didn’t do a character or a voice,” Mulaney said. “He was just like, ‘Hey, John, I’m really worried about everything you’re going through.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, next! Next!’”

Mulaney was “so mad” at the moment, comparing the intervention to a prank, and added that he was “very angry” with his friends. However, he now understands how that intervention saved his life. “Getting to do this show, and standing here, listen, I am grateful to everyone at my intervention. They intervened. They confronted me and they totally saved my life,” he said.

Mulaney checked into rehab in December 2020 and checked out in February 2021 after completing a 60-day program. The comedian said he was worried people would recognize him at the facility, but he soon realized that no one knew who he was! This inspired him to leave out newspapers reporting on his rehab stay so other patients would realize he is a celebrity. “Please don’t repeat this. It was in the newspaper that I was in rehab, and I left it out,” he told the audience. Mulaney found his rehab stint to be a humbling experience and made new friends.

After rehab, Mulaney and his wife, Anne Marie Tendler, divorced. He dated actress Olivia Munn, with whom he shares his son Malcolm, 1. Mulaney didn’t detail his current relationship status with Munn but remarked about being a first-time father and a recovering drug addict.

“It’s weird to be a recovering drug addict. It was weird to be a drug addict, but at least I was on drugs,” Mulaney said. “It’s strange, sometimes. Like, I’m doing great, but when I’m alone, I’m with the person that tried to kill me.”

He called this a “creepy feeling,” but it gives him a “strange kind” of confidence. “I used to care what everyone thought of me, so much. It was all I cared about,” he said. “All I cared about was what other people thought of me. And I don’t anymore. And I don’t because, I can honestly say, ‘What is someone gonna do to me that’s worse than I would do to myself?’”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call the National Drug Helpline at (844) 289-0879.