Born on 12 February 1974, Ari David Shaffir is an American comedian, actor, podcaster, writer, and producer. He is immensely famous for his podcast “Skeptic Tank” and the show he hosted and produced previously, “This Is Not Happening.”
Along with Jayson Thibault and Sam Tripoli, he co-hosts the podcast Punch Drunk Sports and frequently appears as a guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Ari Shaffir Biography and Career
Ari Shaffir was born in New York City into an orthodox Jewish family of Romanian ancestry. He completed his high school education in Rockville, Maryland, spent two years studying sacred texts in an Israeli yeshiva, and then attended Yeshiva University in New York City.
He started working at Arlington National Cemetery when he was 16 years old. He transferred to the University of Maryland after his second year and earned an English literature degree in 1999.
Ari Shaffir Physical Features
- Height- 1. 6’2 Feet or 190 cm
- Weight- 82Kg or 180lb
- Biceps Size- 16
- Shoe Size- 9
- Eye Color- Green
- Hair Color- Brown
Ari Shaffir Career
Ari Shaffir’s career has taken quite a familiar route where he started small and meager and gradually grew into the influential giant comedian he is today. Shaffir’s first and only comedy performance on stage before moving to Los Angeles was in his early twenties at an open mic night at a “sports comedy venue in Northern Virginia.”
Shaffir had to make a lot of big decisions and switches in his early career; he had to relocate to Los Angeles following his university graduation to increase his prospects of becoming a successful standup comedian, where he began working at The Comedy Store as a phone operator, progressing to jobs at the cover booth and “the door” before four and a half years later, when the store’s owner Mitzi Shore made him a paid regular, he began working there full-time.
To take a step further in his standup career, he started doing two more sets per week at New York’s numerous comedy clubs; he moved to both Los Angeles and New York City in 2012, becoming a bi-coastal resident. “The Amazing Racist,” the popular video series, helped Shaffir gain more exposure.
He started traveling with Joe Rogan and other comedians Joey Diaz, Duncan Trussell, Tom Segura, Brian Redban, and Eddie Bravo in the late 2000s as Rogan’s opening act.
Shaffir started making appearances in the third edition of the “Joe Rogan Experience” in 2010; he came on the show 44 times. He launched his podcast in 2011 and called it “Skeptic Tank,” where he chooses a topic, and the guests talk elaborately about it.
He has covered essential matters like mental health, suicide, rape, and prison, although his topics are frequently humorous.
Later in 2017, he did say that he is not too focused on acting as he does not want his primary career, i.e., comedy, to be affected in any way.
Shaffir’s debut standup album, Revenge for the Holocaust, Ari’s debut standup album went number one on iTunes and Amazon in the first seven days of its release.
His first television special, Passive Aggressive, was created in 2013 for Chill.com. His second Comedy Central special, Paid Regular, had its debut the same week as This Is Not Happening. In 2017, Netflix released Double Negative, a pair of 45-minute programs based on the idea of a double LP.
He began touring in 2019 with the Ari Shaffir: Jew production, which will be followed by a special. His first appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival were in Jew and Double Negative.
Ari Shaffir Net Worth
The estimated net worth of Ari Shaffir is around USD 1 million.
Ari Shaffir Family and Education
Ari Shaffir was born in New York City to Nat Shaffir and Merryl Shaffir. His father, Nat, is from Romania, and the family moved to North Carolina long ago. Ari also has three siblings whose names have not been disclosed.
The standup comic went to Rockville, Maryland, for high schooling later, and he studied sacred texts in Israel for over two years. After enrolling at Yeshiva University in New York City, David was transferred to the University of Maryland the following year, earning his master’s degree in English literature in 1999.
Ari Shaffir Wife and Girlfriend
It was once rumored that Ari Shaffir was homosexual in his personal or marital life. This fact was neither disproved nor confirmed by him. It was also reported that he was dating a friend from college, Alison Reese.
Aside from rumors, Ari Shaffir is married to Merryl (nee Rich). This couple has already had five children after being married for quite some time. As far as Merryl is concerned, she has been supportive of her husband’s career and is a good mother.
Kobe Bryant Tweet Controversy Explained
Even though Ari’s humor has a very aggressive form of thrill, he generally does not get much into drama and controversy. But talking about this one-time surrounding Kobe Bryant’s death, he was deep in the pool of uncertain discussion. However, in typical Shaffir fashion, he stood up his ground and refused to take back anything, more interestingly justifying what he said and why he said it.
It is no surprise that Ari Shaffir’s inspiration in comedy is Sam Kinison. Much like this late legend, he speaks his mind, lets it hang in there, and does not care what anybody thinks about it and him.
The basketball giant Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna passed away in a helicopter crash in 2020, and soon after, Shaffir shared a surprising video on his Twitter account.
“Kobe Bryant died 23 years too late today,” Shaffir says in the video. “He got away with rape because all the Hollywood liberals who attack comedy enjoy rooting for the Lakers more than they dislike rape. Big ups to the hero who forgot to gas up his chopper.
I hate the Lakers. What a great day.” “Whenever a celebrity dies, it’s worse than 9/11,” Shaffir said. “Seven other people died in that crash, but it was all about Kobe and his daughter. What he did (Bryant was accused of sexual assault in 2003) wasn’t consensual.”
He seems to be upset with the sports culture of getting away with anything, and his comments are a reflection of that. It was not favorably received; he naturally faced a lot of backlash and was condemned worldwide by people in the basketball community and especially by fans of Kobe. According to reports, Shaffir’s talent agency fired him.
A comedy club also did so. Death threats were made. He was chastised by comedians who typically roll their eyes at people offended by jokes. Shaffir clarified on Instagram that calling out dead celebrities was a running joke reserved just for his supporters who enjoy an offensive comedy. I’m niche, he declared.
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