Comedian Hannah Berner Knows How to Fix Zendaya’s Serve

Social anxiety? Hannah Berner doesn’t know her. Following a three-season stint on Bravo’s Summer House, the 32-year-old comedian went megaviral for street interviews in which she asks New Yorkers how often they shave their pubic hair and whether or not they pee in hot tubs (PSA: the answer is almost always yes). For her 2.8 million TikTok followers, she’s the voice of a generation that refuses to mind its own business. But ahead of her Netflix special, We Ride at Dawn, which releases next Tuesday, we flipped the script. For this week’s Search History, we slid into Berner’s DMs to hear her dirty little secrets—and in the process, learned about her dream coven of female comics, the best Serena Williams look of all time, and why lymphatic drainage is overrated. —EMMA STOUT

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JAKE NEVINS: Hey, Hannah!

HANNAH BERNER: HIIII JAKE.

NEVINS: Welcome to Search History.

BERNER: I’m so excited—I feel like I’m texting a crush like… should I use a smiley face or no smiley face. 

NEVINS: Oh, we’re fully flirting. Let’s start easy. A/S/L?

BERNER: 32/W/NYC. Hahah, I panicked and wrote W instead of F. Did I fail? 

NEVINS: W is valid. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? 

BERNER: Look for my cat. And then my phone, of course. 

NEVINS: Duh. What’s your cat’s name? 

BERNER: Butter! Some people (me) say that she looks like Cindy Crawford.

NEVINS: Like, down to the beauty mark? 

BERNER: Yes, it’s hard to see in that photo but it’s there. Here’s a better one.

NEVINS: Can you send me a screenshot of your last few Google searches? We’re getting personal. 

NEVINS: Period. 

BERNER: T.

NEVINS: Send me a pic of your all-time favorite on court Serena look…

BERNER: I follow this account about all the best tennis looks over the years and I don’t think we realized at the time what a creative visionary she was.

NEVINS: Did you watch the final? 

BERNER: Oh my gosh!!!! Yes, but women’s final was too fast and then I fell asleep for the last 2 sets of Alcaraz but I have the Tennis Channel on 24/7 in my house. When I’m editing comedy video it’s like an ASMR in the background. 

NEVINS: We’re literally twins. 

BERNER: I have a new doubles partner now. 

NEVINS: I’m going to run through some hot-button tennis related questions. First… who’s the GOAT? 

BERNER: Omg yes. Serena. Like this was unheard of AND she was winning in it.

NEVINS: The denim was a paradigm shift. Have you seen Challengers? 

BERNER: Hahahah ok I haven’t. I love Zendaya so much. But they could have given her a better grip on her serve like… have some respect for the game. And I heard they didn’t even show the threesome???? Wtf.

NEVINS: Yeah, her forehand in the movie is sort of awkward and windmill-like.

BERNER: It’s like a football movie where the greatest quarterback of all time is holding the ball wrong. But I digress.

NEVINS: Have you ever smashed a racquet? 

BERNER: Lol. I actually was really well-behaved in juniors but then in college I broke a lot of racquets. I was always a well-behaved kid so I think it was my “rebellious” stage. Wait I think I have a photo. 

NEVINS: Send! 

NEVINS: Oh you ended that racquet…

BERNER: I think there is something nice about women showing anger. If men can do it, why can’t we? It’s therapeutic lol. 

NEVINS: You have a Netflix special coming out next month. Are you excited? 

BERNER: I’m so excited!! We are in the final edits right now. Tennis and standup are weirdly similar so it was a fun transition for me. 

NEVINS: How so? 

BERNER: You are all alone out there, dealing with variables and yourself, and there is no one to depend on but you. 

NEVINS: Wait, I was going to move from tennis but in that same spirit, you should watch Roger Federer’s commencement speech at Dartmouth from the other day. 

BERNER: Okay, I’ll cry. Any sports related speech I’m sobbing. 

NEVINS: That’s so real. 

BERNER: Or Instagram videos where like a kid comes back to win a race or score a touchdown, I’m out. 

NEVINS: Back to stand up… have you ever been heckled? 

BERNER: For sure, but I love it. Stand up isn’t just giving a speech, it’s like a dance with the audience, matching energy. Most of my shows I deal with now are positive heckling, like girls yelling something they want me to speak about or just telling me their birthday or something. Crowd control is a skill that you get better at over time. Sometimes I feel like a fun substitute teacher haha. It makes you a better comic to try to turn all those moments into laughs. 

NEVINS: You’re so seasoned, Hannah! Who’s in your dream coven of female comics? 

BERNER: Omg coven, that’s fun. Ali Wong, Chelsea Handler, Lucille Ball, Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, the list goes on. 

NEVINS: Taste. Tell me about a conspiracy you really earnestly believe in. 

BERNER: Hahah… lymphatic drainage massages? I dunno, my friend made me get one and it’s supposed to “detox” you but they were kind of just pushing on my stomach and I was like… should I fart? Like what’s happening? 

NEVINS: Out of curiosity, was that Paige…? 

BERNER: Yup hahahha. We’re best friends because we have opposite opinions on everything and I think it keeps us sane. 

NEVINS: I have a really spicy question. Brooklyn or Manhattan? 

BERNER: Well, I’m born and bred in Park Slope, Brooklyn so BROOKLYN ALL DAY BABY. I live in Manhattan now but I miss Brooklyn every day. 

NEVINS: Are you a Resy girl? 

BERNER: I dabble. When I’m not Uber Eatsing. I mostly go out to brunch. And work at night. 

NEVINS: Tell me once and for all then, what’s the most perfect hangover cure? 

BERNER: Eating before you pass out hahah. I’m Italian so my answer to a lot of things is food. I always feel better when some carbs soak up the alcohol before bed. Also water but that’s boring.

NEVINS: Molto bene. I have a few more questions but first, can you send me your fave meme? 

BERNER: Ugh there are so many — I’m that friend who communicates with everyone who I love by sending them every meme that reminds me of them during the day. Lemme look. I just sent this to Paige lol.

NEVINS: Lmao. Okay: money or clout? 

BERNER: Oh wowwww. Clout. I’m a Leo so I was told to never worry about money, that it will come and go. 

NEVINS: Any astrological signs to avoid entirely? In friendship and romance… 

BERNER: In romance, I avoid male Cancers and Virgos. And friendship I love them all. Also, I think Geminis get a bad rap. That was controversial but I said it lol. 

NEVINS: Damn, I’m a male cancer but it’s okay cause we’re not romantically involved. 

BERNER: For doubles partners, it’s perfect. My brother is a Cancer and we’re best friends. 

NEVINS: Read receipts, on or off? 

BERNER: Offff. I’m not a monster. I try to respond to everything fast because if I don’t, I’ll never respond ever. 

NEVINS: My last question: what’s your password? 

BERNER: My high school gave us this random insane password for our email and I still use it to this day.

NEVINS: TennisChickXoxo? 

BERNER: Hahahh my aol screen name was StringBreaker12.  It was a tennis play on Heartbreaker but I don’t think anyone got it. 

NEVINS: Mine was Crazee4Sports24…

BERNER: Hahahahha. I can hear the door opening sound just looking at that. 

NEVINS: Like, viscerally. Well Hannah, you aced Search History. Let’s play tennis. 

BERNER: Ahhh so much fun thank you! Yes, hit me up whenever.