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Kurt Cobain Threatened to Fire Chad Channing… over Bobcat Goldthwait?

Goldthwait reveals some new details about his long relationship with Nirvana

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Bobcat Goldthwait Nirvana
Bobcat Goldthwait (photo by Robyn Von Swank) and Kurt Cobain (photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

    Bobcat Goldthwait has lived a lot of life, as Consequence recently learned during an interview for our Crate Digging series, and he’s had a lot of long-running connections with unexpected figures. This includes the band Nirvana, as Kurt Cobain was a big fan of the comedian’s oddball comedy.

    Goldthwait talked a bit about his relationship with Cobain in his 2021 documentary Joy Ride, which showcases the bond between the comedian and long-time frenemy Dana Gould, with archival footage from both of their lives interwoven with scenes of stand-up. “I opened for Nirvana, which is always weird for people to hear,” he says on stage in the film. “Kurt was a fan of my stand-up and people were like ‘What?’ It’s like finding out that Jimi Hendrix really loved Buddy Hackett.”

    The documentary then segues to a clip from an April 1990 video interview with Cobain and other Nirvana band members, including original drummer Chad Channing. Speaking with Consequence Goldthwait describes the excerpt like so: “There’s a clip where Kurt was saying nice things about me. And then [Channing] chimes in — he says ‘I think he’s a nice guy, but I don’t think he’s funny.’ And then Kurt looks at him, like, ‘Really? Well, not cool man.'”

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    That’s where the clip ends in the documentary, but that wasn’t the end of the conversation in real life, as Goldthwait explains: “In the real clip, there’s a beat and Kurt goes, ‘You’re the next to go.'” You can actually see the full interview (including Cobain’s cutting aside) on YouTube, which plays out just like Goldthwait describes — with Channing awkwardly going along with Cobain’s not-quite-a-joke.

    Channing left Nirvana in May 1990, just weeks after this original interview was shot. Goldthwait’s explanation for ending the footage where he did is an exceptionally empathetic one: “I didn’t put that in the movie because I felt that [Channing] probably already felt like he was the Pete Best of Nirvana. I didn’t wanna dog pile.”

    Later on, Goldthwait would go on to have a much closer relationship with the new drummer for the band, some kid named Dave Grohl. “I shot this commercial with them for In Utero, and when I met Dave for the first time, he goes, ‘I’m the drummer. Yeah, I know I’m taller.'”

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