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Interview with Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley #IMOMSOHARD: The Getaway Tour
Girl’s Night Out Round 2
Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA
September 24, 2021
Showtime: 8:00PM
The comedy duo Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley of #IMOMSOHARD took time to talk to The Valley Ledger about their upcoming tour. They will be appearing at Wind Creek Events Center on Friday, September 24th.
You can get tickets on the website. https://www.windcreekeventcenter.com/events/imomsohard-girls-night-out-round-2/
“The Moms are hitting the road again, with more fans than ever – and no one can make moms feel as uncomfortably normal as Hensley and Smedley. The Nebraska natives blend of honesty and humor resonates with moms and dads alike, proving these two have become the hottest tickets in town. Both women write and produce the #IMSH series with a common goal: Maybe we can make you feel better about the job you’re doing if you see the terrible job we’re doing.
Their videos have received nearly 300 million views worldwide in just 5 years. The phenomenon that Kristin and Jen created has since been nabbed for development by Warner Brothers TV. The comedians have sold-out two national tours, written a New York Times Best Selling book, landed branded deals with Fortune 100 companies such as Wal-Mart and Uni-Lever, and taped a standup comedy special for Amazon Prime Video, launching the network’s first standup comedy platform. They have recently premiered their weekly podcast and a children’s book series with Harper Collins.”
Hi Kristin and Jen, I’m so excited to talk to the two of you. I was watching a few of the YouTube videos and you two are hilarious. I can relate to some of the videos. I think all of have had a “bang crisis.” You are going through something and it’s just let’s cut the bangs, and then I regret it. The two of you are hilarious!
Kristin– It’s a struggle. I’m struggling with them.
[Laughing]I can relate. I think it will make everything better and it doesn’t.
Jen– What’s wrong with the female brain?!
Kristin– It doesn’t, it’s not the answer. It’s almost better to go and get a tattoo.
[Laughing]Oh, I’ve done that too and I regret it.
How did this amazing idea manifest for the two of you? #IMOMSOHARD?
Jen– Both of us were studying comedy and writing. We’re friends and we’ve been doing this for years. We had kids and it sort of took us out of the game. We noticed that most of the stuff out there for moms on social media was depressing or worse, it was telling you how to do what you’re already doing better, which is just pressure.
Kristin– Sometimes that even reaches out to women in general. It’s kind of like, you hit this weight loss goal but if you can go ten more pounds. If you’re wearing this outfit that’s not good enough, you need to have a crop top on to prove something. It feels like it’s an endless game where as with the other side of the gender it feels like their cool with the way they are. I think it’s because they are cool with the way they are. I think Jen and I both felt like we wanted to make women laugh, we wanted to make it a good time. We didn’t want to give advice, we just wanted to celebrate friendship, and a happy hour. We wanted to give it to everybody real straight.
Jen– Rather than moan about our problems, we thought we would laugh about them. Low and behold two million women agreed.
What can people expect from the new tour, and what are your expectations for this tour?
Jen– This is our third tour. It’s totally different material. What we’ve always loved about the shows is, it gets women out of the house with their friends that they haven’t gotten a chance to connect with, or maybe they see them once a year, or on playdates. It’s a time for them to get out, we call it like a Monster Truck rally for women. They get to cut loose, be themselves, and have a good time. They get to hear stories that may talk to them. It’s a stand-up show.
Kristin– We just want to make everybody laugh. We want everybody to feel like, when you come out, your batteries charged. If you see the show, you’ll know exactly what I mean by that. We just everyone to nod their head in excitement, laugh a bunch, and then you go home going, okay, I can go into tomorrow with a better outlook.
Jen– I’m not alone in this.
Kristin– Yeah, I’m not alone in this crazy world that we live in right now. We try to touch on the pandemic quickly but it’s more about friendship, being a woman, and marriage. All of the stuff that we deal with on a daily basis. Here’s something that I will say, we’ve seen an increase in the number of husbands that come to show, and that’s been fun. We give them a hard time but they have a good time too.
That’s awesome. What would the two of you want to say to your fans or to new fans? What do the two of you want people to know from your perspectives?
Kristin– Jen has a filthy mouth!
[Laughing]Kristin– I’m just kidding. Sometimes there is a trope of what women who are moms might talk about. I believe we are not that. We peel back the onion a bit, and we talk about life. We’re not giving out parenting advice, we’re having a good time. This is a night out with your girls, it’s a little R-Rated, it’s definitely a little naughty. We’re not sitting around doing a motivational speech, we’re down to have a good time, think of us as two boozy aunts at a bar.
Jen– We do have women that come to the show by themselves.
Kristin– They don’t leave by themselves though, they make friends.
Jen– Yes, it’s kind of great because being a mom, being a woman, especially in the last year being a human being, you can feel kind of isolated.
Kristin– It’s heavy.
Jen– Yeah, we’re two best friends that make you our third best friend. We bring you in, you get to commiserate, and laugh and have a good time with us.
Kristin– Hot guys, we talk about hot guys.
Jen– Yes, hot guys.
Sounds like a blast. What was something positive or creatively positive. Do you think the two of you took anything positive away from 2020?
Jen– Kristin learned to play the guitar. Are you kidding me!
[Laughing]Kristin– If I was smart, I would have learned during the pandemic but we came up with this idea like six weeks ago. Yes, I think we tried to spin all of the things we had to deal with. I think we try to spin everything negative into a positive. For instance, we celebrate women who have done it all from their countertops in the kitchens. They are working from home, they have the kids, the husband is looking for his ear buds. Nothing is going the way it should but we should celebrate that we made it through the day at all. So, that’s where we come from, it’s the idea that we did it, we’re here.
Jen– We always say that we have to exist as a human, and keep other humans alive. Then we just threw in a pandemic the last couple years on top of that. No pressure.
Kristin– No pressure at all.
I know you both said you don’t want to give advice, but moms are superheroes. What would you say to the moms out there and to women? Life can be so hard.
Kristin– I think we’ve always been in the camp of, do it anyway. You’re never going to be ready or skilled enough. You’re always going to be scared so, do it anyway. Eventually, you’ll get better at doing it as you do it. It’s from the spirit of when Jen and I started, our whole #IMOMSOHARD brand started on a tiny mistake or moment where Jen forgot her daughter’s name in a video, and we knew in that moment that that was lightening in a bottle. Had Jen remembered Delilah’s name, our videos might have taken a second to figure out what shiny object to follow. It was that moment that we were like, oh, this is it because I laughed so hard at her. It was the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen. It goes to show that a mistake can end of being the best shiny object that you can ever wish for.
Jen– Yeah. We don’t give advice, but I would give this tidbit of information that we learned which is, women are overwhelmingly supportive if you let them be. We have not run into the mommy wars on our page. It’s the best bunch of women.
Kristin– Yes, so lean in to that. Jen and I being in this partnership are the best thing because you can support each other on the way up, and you can also be each other’s voice if you feel scared to say it yourself, you might not say it on behalf of yourself but you will say it on behalf of your friend. Also, you get to set the rules, I’m going to quote Pretty Woman, “You get to say who, you get to say when, you get to say how much.” You do, you get to have a little control in that space. That feels empowering and cool so, I think women should work in partnerships more often.
Will there be more books? I know the two of you wrote an amazing book?
Jen– We did write a children’s book. We would love to write another one, we’ve got so much to say.
Kristin– Yes, for sure.
What’s next after the tour?
Kristin– It feels like we’re juggling so many different opportunities at the same time. The tour is going to keep going into 2022 right now. I think during that time we’ll continue to create content; we’ll continue to write.
Jen– We’ll continue to be moms.
Kristin– We will continue to sell our wine, not out of our car but we will if we have to.
Jen– Yeah, we launched a wine line called Accomplice, it’s for you to enjoy with your friends, your accomplice, or your partner in crime. We’re really proud of that. We also have a podcast.
Kristin– We have a lot to keep us busy.
Sounds amazing. It was awesome talking to both of you. The two of you are hilarious. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming to Bethlehem.
Jen– Thank you.
Kristin– Thank you, Janel.
https://www.imomsohard.com/getaway-tour-20212022
Get Tickets
https://www.windcreekeventcenter.com/events/imomsohard-girls-night-out-round-2/
#IMOMSOHARD https://www.imomsohard.com/
