Comedians have always played a vital role in society, serving as modern-day philosophers who question norms and offer insights that encourage critical thinking. They help us confront difficult truths while providing fresh perspectives and a momentary escape.
Gina Brillon’s latest comedy special, “Mind Your Business,” which releases on YouTube on Feb. 25 at 8pm EST, exemplifies this perfectly. This autobiographical piece reflects her journey, delving into relatable themes of marriage, motherhood, and self-awareness, with an evolved comedic style since her previous specials “Pacifically Speaking and “The Floor Is Lava.” In a recent interview, Brillon shares how this special is a testament to her growth both as a comedian and as a person.
“It was a lot of coming to terms with who I have been, who I was at that moment, and who I wanted to be in the future,” Brillon shares of what inspired the special. “I think today’s Gina knows a lot more about herself than “Pacifically Speaking” Gina and “The Floor is Lava,” I think was the most ambitious version of me … I know this is gonna sound so woo woo and so weird, but this [special] was a much more higher consciousness version of me.”
Brillon attributes a lot of her evolution to becoming a mother in the middle of the pandemic. “Nothing changed me more than motherhood,” she says in the special. “It helped me see humanity differently.”
As cliché as it may sound, for Brillon, becoming a mother has been a profound transformation. It has reshaped and expanded her sense of self in unimaginable ways. Motherhood has taught her unmatched selflessness while reinforcing empathy and patience. It’s allowed her to heal and break generational cycles of trauma and has enhanced her emotional awareness. She shares how this journey has offered her a more enlightened approach to life, where her priorities now align with values rather than external pressures.
Yet, as joyful and rewarding as the experience has been, Brillon keeps it real about the challenges. The road hasn’t been easy, especially as a traveling comedian who, from day one, has been determined to be both a hands-on parent to her now 4-year-old son and a present wife.
“I needed to be hands-on because things can get misinterpreted by a child’s brain if you aren’t hands on,” she says. “For example, if he’s crying and getting upset, there are parents who would be like, ‘Oh, don’t cry about that.’ My son will ask me, ‘May I cry about this?’ And I always tell him, ‘Yes, you may cry, but what you cannot do is hurt yourself or others because you are feeling a certain way.'”
A typical weekday for Brillon starts at 5 or 6 a.m. – despite not being a morning person – to meditate, get in a workout, and set herself up for the day before her son wakes up. Though she admits to struggling with consistency some weeks, she was inspired to prioritize this morning ritual after reading Mel Robbins’s “The 5 Second Rule.”
Once her son is awake, it’s time for mommy duties until she hits the comedy club in the evening. But often mommy duties and work duties blend together. Before Brillon even hits up the comedy club, she’s in Zoom meetings, doing both self-tape and in-person auditions, writing her comedy sets, and collaborating on other writing projects.
“This is where it helps to have a partner to be able to watch my son while I’m doing these meetings, writing or on important phone calls,” she says, while asking me if we could pause so she could attend to her son, who was adorably trying to interrupt our virtual interview.
Co-parenting becomes especially helpful on the weekends when she’s either traveling or doing multiple sets at comedy clubs in her local NYC.
“There’s definitely a lot of times where I feel like there’s not enough hours in the day and I have to shift stuff over to the next day,” she says. “And that’s the thing a lot of people don’t understand about being a professional comedian. People look at it, and they go, ‘Oh, you only have to work at night.’ And I’m like no, this is a 24-hour job.'”
On a typical weeknight, Brillon might book two to three shows, hopping from the Comedy Cellar to the Village Underground, ending with a final set at the Black Cat. But motherhood has taught her a hard lesson in setting boundaries, not just with people, but with her time.
“I don’t work on Sundays. I take that day for myself,” she says. “The only time I work on Sundays is if I’m on the road and they happen to have a Sunday show. But when I’m in the city, I don’t work on Sundays. That is the day for me, and I had to put that into effect because I started to realize that I was burning out.”
Another boundary Brillon has set is prioritizing quality time with her husband. In fact, one of the most refreshing aspects of her special is how transparent she is about the effort needed to maintain a healthy, loving marriage, while also sharing how much she genuinely enjoys her relationship.
“I joke around about my husband, but I love that man,” she says proudly in the special. “I love being married – I do. I love that man. That’s my homie – I ain’t gonna lie to you.”
Brillon excitedly shares that she and her husband celebrated six years together this past September. The special was filmed at Gotham Comedy Club, where the couple got married, a full circle moment reflecting her growth as a comedian and in her personal life.
She goes on to add how communication and monthly date nights have been key in keeping the love alive.
“It’s a lot of open communication and not being afraid of conflict. And understanding that there’s healthy conflict and then there’s useless conflict,” she says. “Healthy conflict is uncomfortable. Healthy conflict makes you look at yourself and go ugh, that’s a behavior I need to change. That’s a thing I need to learn about, and a lot of people avoid healthy conflict.”
She admits to finally taking a page from her own dating advice book. The stand-up comedian and “America’s Got Talent” finalist recently teamed up with Match Group’s Latine dating app, Chispa, to forecast the future of love. Known for being the go-to friend for relationship advice, she’s now applying the wisdom she’s shared with singles and couples alike to her own marriage.
“I’ve always been the person that everybody comes to for relationship advice, and that’s usually because I’m just not a judgmental person,” she says, admitting she’s also learned to extend that same grace to herself.
In the special, Brillon also touches on themes such as cancel culture, the importance of safe words, and confronting her own internalized patriarchy. She openly discusses the challenges of being a Puerto Rican woman in an interracial, multicultural relationship with a white man, which has required significant self-awareness, especially in raising a son who is half-white and presents as white in the world. Additionally, she shares lessons learned in gentle parenting and her commitment to providing her son with a childhood different from her own,
“As a mother of a mixed child, I have to think about the fact that a lot of his childhood is going to be me explaining my half of his makeup and the history of those people,” she says in the special before briefly educating the audience on the Gag Law, which was enacted in Puerto Rico in 1948, making it illegal for Puerto Ricans to display the Puerto Rican flag, sing patriotic songs, or advocate for independence. While Puerto Ricans who migrated to the states at the time were facing pressure to assimilate, including prioritizing English over Spanish. It is for this reason it’s been important for Brillon to teach her son Spanish and educate him about his Puerto Rican culture.
“He will be subject to different things than I was, as a male, as a little boy, as a light-skinned little boy,” she adds. “Because even though I’m fair-skinned, I’m very identifiably Latina by a lot of my features. By the way, I carry myself – so many different things. He’s mixed and very white presenting. He looks exactly like his father.”
In a more evolved and secure place in her life, Brillon made the conscious decision to independently create this special, ensuring she had creative control and ownership. She concludes the special with emotional words of wisdom, reflecting on a time when she nearly thought her career was over, especially after becoming a mom. She wants fans, especially women, to remember that they hold the key to their lives.
“I’m in a very shedding of old skin era, which is letting go of the ways of the past, including how I’ve been, how I treat myself, how I do my comedy,” she concludes. “It’s OK to let go of who you were, and it’s okay to shed that skin because change is the only constant, and the more comfortable you become with change, the easier it becomes.”
Johanna Ferreira is the content director for PS Juntos. With more than 10 years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latine culture. Previously, she spent close to three years as the deputy editor at HipLatina, and she has freelanced for numerous outlets including Refinery29, Oprah magazine, Allure, InStyle, and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken on numerous panels on Latine identity.
