Humor & Life Quote by Mitch Hedberg

Mitch Hedberg’s genius was making the machinery of comedy visible, then acting like that exposure was the joke itself. “All these jokes have been pre-approved as funny by me” is a mock corporate disclaimer dropped into a nightclub, an absurd little stamp of authority that immediately undercuts its own legitimacy. Who “pre-approves” a joke? The person telling it, apparently. It’s a perfect Hedberg move: announce something everyone already knows, but in a language that doesn’t belong there, and let the mismatch do the work.

The intent isn’t to convince you he’s funny; it’s to dismantle the idea that funny can be certified in advance. By borrowing bureaucratic phrasing (“pre-approved”), Hedberg parodies the culture of gatekeeping and quality control, as if humor is a product that passed inspection. The subtext is both cocky and self-deflating: he’s claiming absolute authority over laughter while admitting he’s the least reliable judge. If you don’t laugh, the “approval” becomes meaningless; if you do, it feels like you’ve been playfully managed.

Context matters: Hedberg’s stage persona was spaced-out, oddly earnest, with jokes that often sounded like thoughts overheard mid-drift. This line functions as a pressure release valve. It tells the audience, “Don’t overthink this, and don’t demand a traditional setup.” It also anticipates hecklers and skepticism with a shrug disguised as a policy memo, turning vulnerability into control without ever sounding defensive.