Over the past 16 years, I have picked the brain of comedian Carlos Mencia quite a few times.
Whether I was interviewing him about a new stand-up special, a movie role or one of his many tour stops in San Antonio, the veteran comic has always spoken openly about whatever he was going through at the time. He’s also been candid about the emotional toll that the controversies surrounding his career have taken on him.
With plagiarism allegations hanging over his head for nearly 20 years, Mencia has found himself in dark places in the past. During our 2014 interview, he said at one point, he was so depressed, he thought he might snap.
“I would think things like, ‘Man, I could get a gun right now and go to a comedy club and shoot all the comedians,’” he said at the time.
These days, Mencia — best known for the sketch comedy show Mind of Mencia, which ran for four seasons on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2008 — seems more reflective about his life.
That’s especially true since he was recently charged with 12 felony counts of tax evasion. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman called Mencia “one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws,” accusing the comic of failing to pay more than $300,000 in state taxes.
Mencia pled not guilty to all counts. He disputes the allegations, saying he didn’t intentionally evade taxes. He said he reported the 1099 income he received but couldn’t keep up with his tax obligations after his career sharply declined.
“I’m not a victim,” Mencia, 58, told the Current during an interview last week. “Let’s move forward and see where this train goes. At the end of the day, my work will hopefully be what people will remember me by.”
During the talk, Mencia, who’s bringing his Keep Me Out of Jail tour to LOL Comedy Club this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, talked about why he’s looking at being charged with tax evasion as a positive thing and how he’s now trying to make amends with being a “dick” for a majority of his career.
He also discussed how he plans to solve his legal troubles moving forward. However, we’re not sure he’s correct about how paying an underlying tax debt would automatically erase an alleged crime that’s already occurred.
Was naming your new tour Keep Me Out of Jail your way of taking control of the narrative?
You know, everything today is some kind of manipulation. Up until 2007 or 2008, I started getting popular, and I started getting a lot of hate [because of joke stealing allegations]. I wasn’t ready for all that to come. Ever since then, my business has dropped way more than the average career. Since then, I’ve been treading water like a little duck. So, when [I was charged with tax evasion], it was almost welcomed.
Why did you welcome it? What happened?
They came up with a new tax task force in Southern California. I was expecting that at some point [I would] go to a comedy club [and then] get a phone call from my agent saying, “Listen, you’re not going to get paid this week. California is garnishing your paycheck” or some shit like that. And I would be like, “Oh shit! All right, time to take care of that.” I grew up poor. When [my family] was really crunching for money, my mom and dad would put all the bills on the table. The pink ones were the ones we had to pay. That’s the way I dealt with [my taxes]. Inevitably, you’re going to have to take care of it. And so, I’m taking care of it.
It sounds like you want to take responsibility, but you also pled not guilty to the charges, right?
I never evaded. I filled out my 1099s everywhere I went. I legit didn’t have enough money to cover my bases. I knew this would happen. But within the next couple of weeks, all those tax years are going to be filed. Once those tax years are filed, there’s no more evasion. It’s kind of like they’re accusing me of murdering somebody, but the person is still alive. I’m just going to have to pay whatever fines … and then it’ll go away. At the end of the day, they did the right thing.
You’ve said in the past that you’re the first person the internet has ever tried to cancel. What do you mean?
That’s me, bro — like legit. Everybody thought [the joke stealing allegations] would go away. But there were some factors that nobody considered. First, it was being driven by [Joe Rogan], somebody who had a platform. So, when Joe drove it repeatedly, the story got bigger. I was told to let it go and not to address it. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. So, I said, “OK, I disagree with you, but I’ll do what you guys want.” I paid a lot of money to a lot of people for that advice, and it was 100% wrong.
So, if you could go back, would you defend yourself harder against those allegations?
No, I wouldn’t, but for a different reason. I wouldn’t defend myself because if I did, I wouldn’t have learned that I’m not a very sensitive person. I never would have been able to [understand bullying]. Go online and you can see that they tried to attack me [for everything] — from my name being Carlos to the fact that I’m not Mexican to stealing jokes. (Editor’s note: Mencia’s birthname is Ned, and he’s of Honduran ancestry.) There was a lot of shit they tried. It was a concerted effort. When that occurred, it took me a long time to realize … that if somebody thinks you’re a dick, fuck that person. But if everybody thinks you’re a dick, you’re probably a dick.
Are you saying that you were a dick, but just didn’t realize it?
Yes. It took over a decade of therapy for me to realize that. One of my best friends said to me, “You can be a fucking asshole sometimes, and you don’t even know it.” I had to deal with that and really look within. I would say from 2010 to 2020, that was the journey I was on — trying to find myself in that respect. I think having to deal with [tax evasion allegations] now is the culmination of all that. In a way, it’s liberating, because I’ve been waiting for the shoe to drop.
So, how are you feeling right now with everything that’s happening?
I’m not bitter or angry. That’s just me. I’m the poster boy for stealing jokes. Is it because I was actually stealing jokes? God, I wish it was. It would at least make me feel like I deserved it. And now, I’m the poster boy for fucking not paying your taxes in the state of California. Sometimes you just have to deal with the shit that comes your way. I’m in a space of happiness now. I’m nicer to people on purpose. It made me a better human being, person, friend, dad, husband — and it made me a much better comedian because so much of what comes out of me now is empathy.
Did going to jail give you new material?
Oh, God, I got about 25 minutes of new stuff just on jail. So many people want to know what happened. So, I’m incorporating it into the act on a consistent basis. I can talk about it on stage because it’s a joke. I told the judge, “Hey, listen, I’m going to talk about this on stage, but it’s a joke. So, let’s make sure the prosecution doesn’t come back and go, “He said this!” If I say it off stage, hold it against me. But if I say it on stage, it’s literally just intended to be funny. I made a joke about being arrested by CPAs who went through an obstacle course. It’s just a whole different environment now. So, it’s all about me being happy and being in a place of joy. I am now — thank God.
$37.58-$62.30, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11-13, LOL Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio.
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