The very first time Houston-based stand-up comedian Cactus Tate performed on stage, she bombed.
It was during an open mic around midnight on a Monday night. The only people in the club watching were the seven other comics waiting their turn to get onstage and bomb too.
“I think I made a joke about Joe Biden: It’s hard to depend on someone who wears Depends,” Tate told the Current during a recent interview. “I was really nervous. Bombing is humbling.”
However, the crickets from the audience didn’t deter her one bit. She started going to open mics regularly and has since developed a fearless comedic voice as a performer who refuses to put limits on herself.
Tate also leveraged social media to take her comedy career to the next level. She currently boasts more than 4.4 million followers on TikTok.
“I had finally done something I always wanted to do — whether or not it went well,” she said. “I took pride in that and knew I was never going to stop.”
On Sunday, Sept. 27, Tate will bring her comedic talents to the LOL Comedy Club for a single performance that’s already sold out.
During our interview, Tate talked about the origin of her stage name, her massive TikTok audience and why she prefers to keep her social media comedy separate from her stage performances.
Do I call you Tatum or Cactus?
Cactus is fine. My government name is Tatum. But people only call me that when I’m in trouble.
Where did the name come from?
It was an Instagram handle that stuck. I started going by Cactus Tate because my name is Tatum Villalpando, and that’s kind of hard to remember.
Good thing it wasn’t an old MySpace handle or something.
Yeah, like FluffyUnicorn21.
You’re based in Houston. What’s your relationship like with San Antonio? Are you familiar with the city?
Oh, I’m very familiar. I love it. My daughter spent one of her first Christmases there. I’ve always loved San Antonio, and I have performed at LOL before. San Antonio always shows me love. I love them. They love me. We’re like two peas in a pod.
I read that your dad gave you the George Lopez shown on DVD for your birthday as a kid, and you would act out the episodes.
It was the only thing I could watch because we didn’t have cable at the time. I had one of those TVs that you could put a DVD right into. That was my only source of entertainment. I remember the relief that the laughter would give me. I just remember thinking, “Man, I could give that to people. I could do that for somebody.”
When you were a kid, you wrote jokes in a notebook you carried around. Do you remember any of those old jokes?
Yeah, I remember the first joke I ever wrote. It was about domestic violence and was really hacky. I was like, “Domestic violence isn’t a joke. There’s no punchline. You just punch your wife.”
You have millions of followers on TikTok. Was there a moment on social media when you realized that you were building a strong fan base?
Yeah, I started open mics and the [TikTok] videos at the same time. Open mics didn’t take off nearly as fast as these videos. I remember the third video I posted got like seven million views within the first six months to a year. I think I got over a million followers, and I started to think, “I’m doing this.” I’m very grateful to everyone that follows me because I wouldn’t be here without it. There was definitely an “Oh, crap” moment where I was like, “This is real and people are listening to me.”
You have 4.4 million TikTok followers, compared with George Lopez’s 3.7 million. Is it surreal to hear those numbers?
It definitely feels made up. Every time I post a video, I’m definitely not picturing four million people watching it. I convince myself it is pretend until I’m out in public, and then people are like, “Oh my God, are you…?” and I’m like, “I am.”
Do you ever write jokes differently because you know it might work better as a 30-second TikTok clip instead? Or do you try to keep your stand-up comedy separate from the social media content?
I genuinely try to keep them separate because I don’t want people to come to a show and see everything I’ve already joked about [on TikTok]. When I write, I can become a much rawer and uncensored version of myself. So, when people come to see me in person, it’s like, “Wow, you really just went there.” So, if you thought the internet was bad, wait till you see what I can do in person.
What are the pros and cons of having to keep people entertained not only from the stage but also on social media?
It’s definitely a lot of pressure coming up with videos and fresh content. But because I have an online audience, I can put butts in seats. I wouldn’t be here without it. I am pushing myself to be more creative every day. I feel like I reap the benefits of that when I’m able to sell out a club on a Tuesday night. So, I’m very excited and grateful for that, but I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t a huge challenge and that I’m not stressed out about it.
Is there anything you consider off limits in comedy, or is everything fair game for you?
Everything’s fair game to me. There’s no sacred part of my life. I tell everything: the good, the bad, the really bad, the nasty. Everything is being told. So, it’s definitely hard to be my family member for sure, because I am ratting those guys out the first chance I get.
I heard your husband is a stay-at-home dad while you’re on the road traveling. How has your family settled into that reversal of traditional roles? Can you talk to my wife and let her know letting me stay home would be a very good idea?
Yeah, dude, it definitely depends on the guy. I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband who’s basically my wife. He takes it like a champ. If he could just learn how to do anything other than that ugly ponytail on [our daughter], he would be perfect. But it has definitely been an adjustment because my husband was the breadwinner before this. He worked in the oilfield, and there is money in that. So, it was a big risk doing it.
If your 8-year-old self who wrote jokes in a notebook and watched George Lopez could see you now, what would she say?
She would say a few bad words. She’d be so stoked. She would be very proud of who I am. I didn’t see myself having an adult life as a kid. I could never picture my life moving forward. I think I’d be very surprised as an 8-year-old to see that I did it.
Sold out, 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, LOL Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio.
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