Billy Eichner

I was like a fat, sweaty kid growing up in Queens who just was plopped down in front of 'Entertainment Tonight' by my parents. ”

I just worship Madonna. As, like, a young gay kid growing up in the '80s and '90s... I was at the Blond Ambition tour with my parents vogue-ing up in the mezzanine at the Nassau Coliseum. ”

I loved all awards shows growing up, but of course, the Oscars was the biggest one. ”

I grew up in Queens, which is the most diverse borough: the rich and the poor and homeless and people of every sexual orientation and gender and age group. Everyone is saying we live in this bubble, and there's some truth to that. But I do not think it is healthy to all of a sudden invalidate the way we live in New York. ”

I have a vivid memory of loving Keith Hernandez, the first baseman for the '86 Mets. I grew up in Queens, so when the Mets won the World Series that year, it was a big deal. ”

There are people who have huge YouTube followings - whose every post gets hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of hits. But I don't think that's having the same impact as someone who has a regular presence on television, or both. ”

Jim Carrey and Steve Carell did dramatic roles. I look up to them. You want a career like that. ”

I would not have a career without Facebook and Twitter. That's the truth. ”

It's been a very strange trajectory because I struggled for so many years. I mean, I was doing these videos, I was doing these live shows, I had a lot of fans in New York, the press would write about me, but I couldn't get a paying job, and so my father and I were really like a team. ”

When I was child, I was intoxicated by celebrities, showbiz and theatre, but from a child's perspective, where they seem far away. ”