Joel McHale hosts The Soup, a celebration of the most embarrassing moments in pop culture every Friday night on E! From Tila Tequila to Yo Gabba Gabba you can count on The Soup to gather all the "best of" moments into one big pot of funny. LAist headed to the E! studios for a backstage tour, taping of the show, and one on one with the man who is not afraid to say Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay on national television. When we arrived Joel was in the makeup chair prepping for the show.

Julie Wolfson: I know you are getting ready for the show. You can talk over everything I say so long as I ask at least one thing that makes you laugh.

Joel McHale: Sweet.

Let's get the big question out at the beginning. Describe the process you go through to put together an episode of The Soup.

Repeat the question.

Describe the…

Alright, here's how it works. First…(At this moment a gift basket laden with chocolate goodies arrived in the dressing room.)

Is that a common occurrence around here big gift baskets?

Oh yeah. That's one of the smallest ones. Usually it's full of Valtrex. So, what is the process you ask? Well, first we get free vodka from Belvedere. The process starts on a Monday when I come in and scream at everyone for about an hour. Once they've sufficiently been beaten down, we start watching television for hours upon hours upon hours. There's someone on our staff who watches all of the Today Show. Poor soul. They're the third person to do it. The other two died. From depression. Well, it's not so much that they expired from it. It was suicide. Then on Tuesday we have a clip meeting…(At this point, executive producer Ed Boyd enters the room with Lou.)

Lou

So Tuesday we start gathering the clips and then put them in a basic order. By Wednesday we have a bunch of clips, because there's no shortage of crappy, awesome television out there. And they just keep adding channels—thank God for satellite. Then we take whatever clips we get from Extra, Access Hollywood, ET, etc., and it all ends up in the first act because that's where we usually cover the news. And then all the reality clips end up in the second act and third acts, and usually it involves Suzanne Somers, Marie Osmond, Tyra Banks, Dr. Phil or Flavor Flav. And then on Thursdays we just hone it and we make sure we get rid of the horribly unfunny things, which is about 90 percent of the stuff we get, and then we shoot the show. We go over and over it to make sure it's going to be adequate. And adequate at E! is like an A+.

How much TV do you watch? What other media do you look at to find material?

I don't own a TV; I just read a lot of books. No, I used to watch a lot more, but now that my life is so busy, Julie, it is tough being a huge basic cable clip show host star. It's just wild now. I don't watch as much as I used to. Now, being the host, I have my pick of the shows I get to watch. That is part of the pecking order. So, right now, I watch The Ultimate Fighter—great show—and this new show, Crowned, on the CW. Holy crap, that is awesome.

They were thinking about you.

Yeah, they said 'We have made a show for The Soup. We will consult with The Soup before each show to make sure everything is a clip. It's gonna be great.' Once in a while I will catch an episode of Pants-Off Dance-Off. I always watch American Idol, and I do watch Dancing with the Stars. I have a wife, so I have to. That's a chick show and yes, I'm sure you were there every step of the way. I can't believe Scary lost.

I know.

And I can't believe Marie made it so far. I like all the shows that are honest competitions. I can't stand shows where there is petty bickering and whispering. So I love American Idol, and I love Dancing with the Stars because it's like, you have to dance better than these people and that's it. Sure, there's a little bit of nonsense around it, but then you get Big Brother and it's just quiet whispering and conspiring. And it drives me insane.

Not so clip-worthy.

Uh, no, VERY clip-worthy, but it just shows the state of humanity that we are lost in.

When I am watching TV, I often find myself saying, 'I bet that will be on The Soup.' Can you feel it when something is perfect for the show?

Yes, it's a tingling.

What did you do to Lou to get him to howl for the "Clip of the Week "shot?

We clipped his balls off on camera.

Joel and Lou

How many times a day do fans of your Chat Stew segment yell "So
meaty!" when you are out in public?

Hmm. I'm terrified to go out in public. I'm agoraphobic. No, um, usually they don't scream that as much as they scream, "Hey Skeletor-Albino, you're not allowed to park there." Then I know they're talking about me.

Do fans of The Soup pitch you segment ideas?

Yes. And almost without exception, they are horrible ideas.

Have you ever used one?

I have not used segment pitches like 'you should do this', but people have told me about clips that I've definitely used. I do often put those in, but I don't want this to be some sort of invitation because, people out there, most of your ideas are bad. But no, I do get people who say "I saw this, this, this and this" and I say "Really?" and then we put it on.

Do you feel competitive with the Best Week Ever folks? Can you
take them all in a wrestling match?

No, they would kick my ass. There's like thirty-two of them and one of me. That would be horribly, horribly…they would beat the shit out of me. One on one, if you gave them to me over a span of months, I could probably, have a better chance.

You make jokes at Ryan Seacrest's expense. Are you best friends in
real life?

He's best friends with his ambition. No, he is what you would call half-human, half-deity. He can float through walls, be in two places at once, and that is why he has twenty-two jobs. The only way I can communicate with him is by praying.

You feature kids shows in your "What the Kids Are Watching" segment of the show. You have shown many a crazy clip from Bratz, Hip Hop Harry and Yo Gabba Gabba. You helped turn dancing Nathaniel into a YouTube sensation. Have you invited him to a taping?

Producer Ed Boyd: (gasps) Just today we put an offer out to him!
Joel McHale: We're trying to get him.

Can you get Barack Obama, too, and do the superimposed dancing segment live?

Joel McHale: Us being The Soup, we probably won't be able to do that.
Ed Boyd: Nathaniel asked for the script ahead of time. I'm not kidding.

Of all the celeb cameos from Danny Bonaduce to the PT Cruiser Lady, who was the best sport?

Ooh. Everyone really has been a good sport. We ranked on Constantine a lot, and he came on, so I have to give him a lot of credit. He did very well and he was really funny, and now we're like, hey, we're not going to make as much fun of him as we used to. So I really liked him and he was great. Seth Green did a great Chris Crocker impression and other than that, no real celebrities would ever want to come on the show. I'm kidding. They're fabulous. I love celebrities.

Many shows are wrapping up early due to the WGA strike. Many other just didn't make it this season. How much do you miss Viva Laughlin?

I don't think…

That didn't make you laugh. I just thought that a Viva Laughlin question was going to make you giggle.

Oh. (Long pause) No. But your boots are hilarious. Kind of a tribute to Star Trek. The Viva Laughlin thing, whether there was a WGA strike or not, had there not been a WGA strike, I think the human race would have gone on strike against that show. Even though we would have loved for it to stay on for seven years, I don't think it would have made it.

Two words: Tyra Banks. How can you ever do to repay her for the many incredibly baffling clips?

There's nothing we can do to repay her. It's like a child trying to repay his parents for birthing him. There's just nothing you can do. We just are thankful she is still on the air.

Which celebrity clip offers the most reliable laugh?:
1. Britney Spears' "Huh?"
2. Whitney Houston's "'Kiss my ass!"
3. Ann Curry's "Good morning, good morning everybody, in the news this morning, good morning."
4. Mary Murphy's scream
5. The Pickle Licking Girl
6. Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay

Whitney Houston

Someone's done their research and has watched the show. God bless you. I'm going to say, Whitney Houston is the Lawrence of Arabia of clips. It is an incredible thing and I don't know if anyone will top that. Besides that, Britney's "Huh?" is right up there, and so is the pickle licking girl. I wish Britney had been the pickle licking girl, cause then it would be the perfect clip.

Speaking of Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay, what does your family think of The Soup?

Well, they like the show. I don't know how they feel about Oprah's vagina. I could ask them for you. Do you want me to?

Absolutely. I'd love to know what they think.

(Picks up cell phone, pretends to call his mom) Hey Mom? What do you think of Oprah's vagina? (Joel using a higher pitched-voice) Is this Joel?

This year you have also been in the "Bitches" episode of Pushing Daisies and made several appearances on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. What's coming up next?

I am going to be in a movie called "Open Season 2." At least my voice is. And, I don't what will happen with the strike, but if it allows, I will be doing a movie with Heather Graham in February or March, maybe. I'll play her boyfriend and I'm not the greatest guy.

Oh, the mean boyfriend.

I'm just kind of thoughtless, much like I am on TV.

What is your favorite thing about living in Los Angeles?

I grew up in Seattle, but I love the potholes and no left turn signals. And you can't get that in Seattle. In Seattle it's no potholes and all sorts of left turn signals. So I love the fact that there are no left turn signals in this city. I think they should get rid of the lights altogether. Make it a free for all. That and valet parking. And Korean BBQ. Mmm. And so many fabulous shops.

Got a favorite? Let's see, where have I seen you…

Pink's?

No, I haven't seen you at Pink's. I saw you one day at Ed Hardy.

Yes, I've been to that shop.

Do you wear a lot of trucker hats?

I used to. Now I've switched to berets. Cause that's the new thing. Mesh berets.

Well, those are all my questions…

How did I do? I feel like I've blabbered on for a long time.

You did great. Excellent. This was fun, but I still don't know if I made you laugh.

I swear to you, I find your boots hilarious.

"The Soup Presents: The Soup Awards" premieres Monday, December 17 at 10pm et/pt. Tune in for The Soup's annual celebration of the year's best and worst moments in pop culture with categories such as "Outstanding Achievement in Celebrity Divorce," "Most Confusing 'Lost' Moment," "The Soup's Lifetime Trainwreck Award" and the viewer-chosen "E! Employee of the Year Award." Tila Tequila will be making a guest appearance and accepting an award. You can bet they'll find a way to work in Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay.

The Soup on E! every Friday night at 10pm.

Posh Spice and David Beckham

The Pickle Licking Girl

Ann Curry

Mary Murphy

Tyra Banks

Oprah's Va-Jay-Jay

The E! Lobby

photos by John Wayne Maioriello