Sure, shared interests are a great way to bond with someone new but have ever tried sharing things you loathe? Now thats how you forge real connections! It was certainly how I formed my completely one-sided, parasocial friendship with host Matt Bellassai back in 2015 when his Whine About It series was (in this writers humble opinion) the peak of wit at BuzzFeed. For the uninitiated, on Whine About It, Bellassai would guzzle some wine while sitting in the office and then unleash a glorious rant of epic proportion against whatever topic was currently drawing his ire. Mornings, roommates, weddings, nature, his friends nothing and no one was safe from his glorious takedowns, and it was a delight to behold. Since leaving BuzzFeed, Bellassai has struck out on his own pursuing various solo projects including the Unhappy Hour podcast, which ran for six seasons, his stand-up tour, and the Diss and Tell podcast which he still co-hosts alongside Sydney Battle. But thats not allL hes also taken to TikTok to share his disgruntled musing as well as reviewing the A Court of Thorns and Roses book series, or, as he calls it, the fairies who make boom boom books. His baking show Baked Baking is exactly what it sounds like: he gets stoned and cracks open the oven, and its honestly delightful. Despite that busy schedule. Bellassai announced today that he is making long-time fans wishes come true. Hes going back where it all began, for one night, with a special performance of Whine About It at the Helium Comedy Club in Atlanta.PRIDE caught up with Bellassai to chat about why now is the perfect time for a good old-fashioned whine sesh. We also discussed actual wine, his forays into TikTok, and all the things getting on his nerves right now, of which there are many. In other words, he had us howling. See on InstagramAt last, Whine About It is coming back for one night! Why now?I was just rewatching some of my old videos, and honestly, it was different than I remembered it in my recollection. I feel like I have become more high energy, shockingly in my old age. I was 25 when I started Whine About It, and Im 34 now so its been, you know, eight, nine years and I was a lot more, dare I say, demure. I have this show thats coming up in Atlanta, and I wanted to use this as a chance to bring back Whine About It for a night. Have a lot of fun with it. Have this hit of nostalgia. But also the spirit is right for the moment. Everything sucks right now. Its election season. Everybody needs an outlet to bang their head against the wall for a little bit. Wine consumption is up. Complaining is up. So it feels right.You have been doing stand-up and there is wine present, so Im curious, how is this format going to be different from what youre doing on the road currently?My stand-up hour tends to be a little more autobiographical. Theres a little more of my life stories, stuff like that. This is going to be getting back to just ranting about those evergreen topics that everybody can agree that we hate. See on InstagramI know you dont want to give away all your topics, but I do hope that there is an extended section on JD Vance and Trump, because I would love to hear you go in on so many things that they have been up to. I could probably do an entire hour just whining about him and Trump and it is Georgia, so you know, its not, Its not an insignificant place.Laughter and coming together feel really important to do right now. I completely agree. I always say, my ethos has always been optimistic pessimism. I like complaining about stuff thats been my brand now for quite a while but its never defeatist, its never nihilistic. Its always like, were laughing and were still hopeful. There can still be joy and we can still have fun. It doesnt have to be completely gallows humor and completely dark. See on InstagramSo on the subject of wine, Im curious, are you bringing your own, or will you be enjoying a local delicacy when you are in Atlanta?So the secret that I havent kept secret is that I know almost nothing about wine. I am, like, far from a wine connoisseur. People often ask me what my opinions on wine are, and what my favorites are. And Im like, Im chugging it. Im not the person to ask. Im far from a sommelier. So, a lot of times when I go to these comedy clubs. Im just like, Give me whatever you got. Ill take you to get red wine on tap. Its a gamble. Its always a risk. But Im not going to be casually enjoying this. Im going to be pounding it back while I scream about something. The way that you suffer for your art is so admirable.Im just that selfless. Speaking of selflessness, can we talk about your TikTok series Baked Baking where you get baked and, well, bake something? I am genuinely impressed that everything you make actually turns out kinda great!Thank you! I actually think of myself as a fairly decent baker. Ive been baking for a while. It was really a pandemic-inspired hobby that started and I have just gotten pretty okay at following directions.See on InstagramWell as a luminary in food Tiktok, Id love to get your take on Logan and the cucumber recipe craze.Oh, my God. I want to know how many fingers that man is responsible for chopping off. I feel like Ive seen just as many videos of people going to the emergency room as I have of people successfully making a cucumber salad.See this is the problem that I run into. I dont like being a hater. I dont want to yuck anybodys yum. That is the philosophy: If you like it, thats fine. That being said, Ive never once in my life thought I desperately need to eat an entire cucumber. Never. That has never occurred to me. I dont want that, and yet, I see 20 videos daily of that twink making cucumber salad.I love it! OK, lets end with a very important question: Whats annoying you right now? The obsession that people have with slime is so baffling to me. Specifically, slime that is made to look like edible food. I dont know if youve seen this, it is deeply upsetting to me, both on a sensual level and also on an intellectual level. I hate it so much. These people will make very elaborate tableaux of a full meal, but everything is slime. And then theyll make these, like ASMR videos of them picking up what looks like a delicious piece of cinnamon toast, and then they crumble it up, and it is so infuriating to me.Honestly? Same. Make food, food again.Tickets for Whine About It are on sale now. Lets all buy them so he will take it on tour and I will selfishly get to see the show live, too.