Women entertainers can’t escape crude, rude behavior

We live in a strange time when women are more empowered than ever, and running for president, but they're still dealing with unwanted weirdness.

If you haven't heard, Taylor Swift accused a Denver DJ of groping her, claiming in legal papers he "reached under her skirt, and groped with his hand an intimate part of her body in an inappropriate manner, against her will, and without her permission."

The DJ got fired. He claimed it was another man's hand. He sued. Swift countersued.

I read about Swift's case, then I heard comedian Iliza Shlesinger say on her "Truth & Iliza" podcast that a male fan, a year ago in San Francisco, licked her face at a meet-and-greet.

Shlesinger (who performs stand-up on Saturday at The Venetian's "Lipshtick" series, with opener Sarah Colonna) told me others get it worse.

"I'm sure Taylor Swift has much bigger problems," Shlesinger said, and Shlesinger hadn't heard about the DJ lawsuits yet, so I informed her.

"That's insane," she said. "I've had girls that kissed me on the cheek. People get so pumped, and so excited, they don't see you as a person. Which is fair. Sometimes, I don't see people as people.

"But at the end of the day, you can't put your hands on me unless I hug you first," said Shlesinger, who has hit Netflix specials, an upcoming ABC Web series "Forever 31," an upcoming TBS comedy game show "Separation Anxiety," and an Instagram account where she dotes on her constant companion, "the Brooke Shields of dogs."

She faced a conundrum with the licker.

"I should have been meaner to him, but in that moment, it's about meeting your fans, and positivity, and I wasn't about to ruin that," Shlesinger said.

I told her Whoopi Goldberg has said people have followed her into bathroom stalls and shoved paper underneath, asking for autographs in inconvenient positions.

"That's a little less aggressive than touching someone physically. But," Shlesinger joked of Whoopi, "she wears sandals with socks, so that's cool."

One more thing: I transcribed this interview on Friday, I drove to Walgreens, and in the checkout aisle, as I was walking away, I heard a normal-looking older guy say in a come-hither tone to a younger Walgreens worker, "Good morning, pretty girl."

Thoughts?

ON THE RHODES AGAIN

Nine years ago, comedian Tom Rhodes put his prized mementos in storage in Los Angeles, and he began touring the world with absolutely no home base whatsoever, living on stand-up gigs and room service for a decade.

His reasoning?

"I wanted life experience. I wanted to travel. I knew I could do it. It was easy, because I was doing gigs around the world. I knew it would make me a better comedian," he said.

Rhodes will headline Brad Garrett's Comedy Club in the MGM Grand hotel from Monday through Sunday.

A few months ago, Rhodes gave up being a "homeless comedian" so to speak, and he and his photographer wife (Dutch photographer Ashna Rodjan, who has been traveling with him) settled down in a Los Angeles apartment.

"'Settled down' is a really strong term to use. I would say a better way to describe it is, 'Airing out my souvenirs,'" Rhodes said Friday.

Rhodes and his wife have gone from a life of freedom from various constraints to a home filled with their storage possessions and "my empire of $20 purchases."

They have 400 to 500 magnets from Bali, Russia, Shanghai and beyond, blankets from Peru, hundreds of books, CDs (I know, CDs!) and extravagant chess sets.

"My apartment looks like a National Geographic gift shop," Rhodes said. "I have a refrigerator magnet empire that needed a home."

They still plan to tour, but in monthlong spurts instead of five months in Europe followed by constant flights to America, Australia and China.

What happened? Rhodes realized America, and Los Angeles in particular, are experiencing a comedy revolution or renaissance.

"I was (at the Comedy Store) a couple of weeks ago, and it was Judd Apatow, Marc Maron, me, Joe Rogan, Joey Diaz. The lineups are incredible. It's exciting to go there just to see what's on and to see what comedy thunderbolts people are throwing down."

That's a far cry from when he was on the road, when "90 percent of my life was working with opening acts who were all asking me for advice."

It's not just the camaraderie that anchored him back to Los Angeles. It's the A-game competition.

"The reason I got a place in L.A. now is because I know it's going to make me a better comedian," he said.

He's especially happy to see how inclusive comedy has become.

"When I started (in comedy), it was kind of a straight white male world. I think it's exciting there's great women comedians, there's great ethnic comedians of every racial flavor," he said. "I wanted to be a part of the big party that's happening in America right now."

He likes the heat of competition on Netflix, too, where comics are putting out a new hour every year. He and I have some of the same favorites on Netflix, such as Maria Bamford ("The Special Special Special"), Chelsea Peretti ("One of the Greats"), and Kitty Flanigan ("Hello Kitty Flanagan").

"I just moved to Los Angeles at a perfect time in American comedy history," he said. "It's cosmic synchronicity, or harmonic convergence."

It's not like Rhodes has been lazy or unchallenged on the road:

"I was Maced in Paris, I almost drowned in Thailand, I had the late-night talk show in Amsterdam," he said.

He's writing a book. He wrote about travel for the Huffington Post. His podcast, "Tom Rhodes Radio," is up to 171 episodes. And he has a YouTube series called "Knowledge Nugget."

There is also, you know, a financial consideration:

"I want to own a canal house in Amsterdam, and I want to own a castle in Spain, and the only place where you can earn that kind of money is in Los Angeles," he joked.

But he and his wife are happy to have a home.

"I know all these (midlife crisis) people who are getting divorced, and they hate life, and they're getting rid of everything just to experience something they think they missed out on life. And we're, like, cracked up to have a place," he said.

"I have a sock drawer. We own condiments," he said as if that was odd. "We open the fridge, and we're like, 'Wow, man, this (expletive) spicy mustard is ours.'"

Doug Elfman can be reached at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. On Twitter: @VegasAnonymous