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Cover image credit: Thumbnail: YouTube · Big Jay Oakerson

Dog Belly

Big Jay Oakerson

YouTube · 2023

An unapologetically dirty hour of conversational club comedy.

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Big Jay Oakerson is at his most comfortable leaning over the lip of a stage, trading filthy observations with a room full of strangers. He shifts away from his usual long-form crowd work in Dog Belly to deliver a set of structured material that remains intensely conversational. Much of the hour is spent painting unsettling pictures of human intimacy, whether he is imagining a young adult’s parents hooking up in view of the Las Vegas Strip or detailing a head-on collision method for two men to resolve a tie over who has the larger penis. Filmed at Notoriety Live in Las Vegas during the 2022 Skankfest comedy festival, the hour was directed and executive produced by Ari Shaffir and released on YouTube in April 2023. At this stage in his career, Oakerson was already a fixture of the New York club scene and a busy broadcaster, co-hosting podcasts like Legion of Skanks and SiriusXM’s The Bonfire. Dog Belly arrived as an experiment in self-funding, distributed directly to his audience on a pay-what-you-want basis. The resulting set features routines about his own sexual insecurities, cancelled celebrities like Michael Jackson, and the bizarre experience of being called a Nazi as a Jewish man.

The set list

6 bits

  1. Questioning a 21-year-old audience member about their parents having sex in Las Vegas

    Grafically depicts the limber mother and cocaine-fueled father looking out a hotel window at the Luxor.

  2. Determining who has the larger penis between two identically sized men

    Riffs on the visual of both getting erect and running head-on at each other, connected by pre-ejaculate like Lady and the Tramp spaghetti.

  3. The unpredictability of 'girl drunk'

    Dissects the futile attempts to maintain the optimal 'fun drunk' stage before sliding into drunken destruction.

  4. The ambiguity and struggle of adulthood

    Examines how the label of 'adult' is used as a convenient excuse either for or against personal whims.

  5. Attempting sexual role play during the pandemic

    Details the candid and awkward realities of trying to reignite long-term relationship passion.

  6. Addressing cancel culture and offensive language

    Discusses separating onstage comedy from offstage personal ethics regarding offensive words and addressing past accusations of racist jokes.

How it plays

Tone
Explicit, shockingly graphic, raw, yet warm, vulnerable, and charming.
On stage
Described as a 'poet of filth' and a 'tender-hearted club act', performing with tattoos and a shock of pink in his hair while sitting on a stool close to the audience.
Pace
Relaxed and conversational delivery with comfortable pauses, creating an intimate dialogue with the audience.
About
Sex and explicit bedroom antics, Long-term relationships and role play, Female intoxication ('girl drunk'), Struggles with adulthood, Race relations and cancel culture, Comedy versus sincerity

What the critics said

Praised for blending graphic vulgarity with warmth, disarming vulnerability, and elite crowd work skills.

In the room: Festival fans waited over an hour in line; room atmosphere was intimate, safe, interactive, and responsive.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: bigjaycomedy.com, weownthelaughs.com, watchcomedy.live, 800poundgorillamedia.com, standupworld.substack.com, en.wikipedia.org, podparley.com.

Backstory

Filmed during the 2022 Skankfest comedy festival; served as GaS Digital Network's first endeavor into producing stand-up specials.

Details

Released
Where
YouTube
Director
Ari Shaffir
Topics
Before
The Crowd Work Sessions: I Promised Myself I Wouldn't Ask (2018)
After
Them (2025)

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