Bobby Lee
Robert Young Lee Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Lee co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends with Andrew Santino and TigerBelly with Khalyla Kuhn.
From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on MADtv, and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series Splitting Up Together alongside Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson between 2018 and 2019. Lee has also appeared in the films Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Pineapple Express, and The Dictator. He had a guest appearance as the cynical, burned-out Dr. Kang on FX on Hulu's TV comedy series Reservation Dogs.
Early life and education
Lee was born on September 17, 1971 in San Diego to Korean immigrant parents Jeanie and Robert Lee. He and his younger brother Steve grew up in Poway, California. His parents owned clothing stores in both Escondido and Encinitas, California. He attended Painted Rock Elementary School, Twin Peaks Middle School, and Poway High School. In high school, he was part of a breakdancing team. After graduation, he attended Palomar College before dropping out.Career
Lee worked at cafes and restaurants before pursuing a career in comedy. In 1994, the coffee shop where he was working abruptly closed. Lee stated, "I just went next door to get a job, which was The Comedy Store in San Diego." After a few months of working odd jobs at the club, he tried stand-up during one of their amateur nights. Within a year of doing regular comedy sets, he received offers to open for both Pauly Shore and Carlos Mencia. He then began working regularly at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a comedy club owned by Pauly Shore's mother Mitzi.Lee has said that his parents had hoped he would continue on with the family business and were less than supportive of his comedic pursuits at first. During a podcast interview conducted by fellow actor and comedian Joe Rogan on February 1, 2011, Lee stated that during the first few years he did stand-up, his parents barely spoke to him. However, after his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno his father called him, asked how much he had to pay to be on the show, and then apologized for not supporting his comedy career. Lee has included his family in some of his work; his brother has appeared in several non-speaking roles on MADtv, and his entire immediate family has appeared in a sketch on the show. In 2007, he pitched a sitcom to Comedy Central about a Korean family, which was to star his own family.
In 2012, Lee was hired to reboot Maker Studios' YouTube comedy channel, The Station. Lee hosted the 9th MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert in 2013. From 2019 to 2023, Lee made several appearances as recurring character Jin Jeong in the Magnum P.I. television series. In 2020, Lee began co-hosting the Bad Friends podcast with Andrew Santino.
''MADtv''
In 2001, Lee joined the cast of MADtv, making him the show's first and only Asian cast member. He has stated that he dreaded playing the characters Bae Sung and Connie Chung, as well as the "Average Asian" skits. Lee remained with the cast until the series' cancellation in 2009 and returned briefly when MADtv was revived in 2016 on The CW.''TigerBelly'' podcast
Started in 2015, TigerBelly is a video podcast hosted by Bobby Lee and his ex-partner, Khalyla Kuhn. It also features appearances by technical engineer Gilbert Galon and producer George Kimmel. The show's intro song "Shadow Gook" was written and produced by Lee and performed by Lee and Kuhn. The hosts discuss events from their lives and news topics from popular culture, often revolving around Asian American issues related to the entertainment industry, adolescence, sexuality, ethnicity, racism, and politics.Prior to the creation of TigerBelly, Lee and Erik Griffin pitched a podcast to All Things Comedy but never developed the show. While Kuhn was recovering from heart surgery, she developed a podcast as a way to occupy herself. Lee assisted her with its creation and eventually appeared on her show. He then decided to focus on a podcast with Kuhn instead of with Griffin.
Tijuana prostitution story
In April 2023, podcast clips of Lee telling a story of an experience with a young, adult prostitute in Tijuana resurfaced. USA Today reported that the anecdote drew online backlash and allegations of child exploitation. During an episode of TigerBelly in the same month, Lee clarified that the story was not true and had been "a dark joke" pieced together from "a couple of awful bits".Riyadh Comedy Festival
In 2025, Lee participated in the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the Saudi government is using the comedy festival to whitewash its human rights abuses.Personal life
Lee began taking methamphetamine and marijuana around age 12, as well as heroin by age 15, and went through three drug-rehabilitation attempts before becoming sober when he was 17. Lee relapsed on Vicodin and ended 12 years of sobriety after receiving negative feedback from a producer. He got sober after MADtv producer Lauren Dombrowski fought for him after he was fired from the show a second time, a story which Lee discusses in his appearance on the pilot episode of Comedy Central's TV series This Is Not Happening. On TigerBelly episode 224, Lee admitted to guest Theo Von that he had relapsed after his father's death in August 2019 from Parkinson's disease. He subsequently went to rehab and became sober again. Lee has stated that he is a recovering alcoholic.Lee's younger brother, Steve Lee, is a musician, podcaster, and comedian.
He was in a ten-year relationship with Khalyla Kuhn, an influencer and content creator. The relationship ended in 2022.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Arli$$ | - | Episode: "D-Day" |
| 2001 | Late Friday | Himself | Episode #1.19 |
| 2001 | The Brothers Garcia | Pet Store Clerk | Episode: "But Football Is a Religion" |
| Mad TV | Himself/Cast Member | Featured cast, main cast | |
| 2004 | I Love the '90s | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Faking It | Himself | Episode: "Fireman to Funnyman" |
| 2005 | Minding the Store | Himself | Episodes: "Makeover" & "La Jolla" |
| 2005 | The Drop | Himself | Episode #3.14 |
| 2005 | Party @ the Palms | Chu | Episode #1.6 |
| 2005 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Sung | Episode: "The Korean Bookie" |
| 2005–06 | Mind of Mencia | Asian CSI Agent/Gay Pirate | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Icons | Himself | Episode: "Jamie Kennedy" |
| 2006 | Comedy Zen | Himself | Episode #1.4" |
| 2006 | Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness | Mr. Lee Young/William Hung | TV movie |
| 2007 | American Dad! | Danny | Episode: "Bush Comes to Dinner" |
| 2007–14 | Chelsea Lately | Himself/Round Table Guest | Recurring guest |
| 2008 | Asian Excellence Awards | Himself/Host | Main host |
| 2009 | Live at Gotham | Himself/Host | Episode: "Episode #4.2" |
| 2009 | Himself | Episode: "Reality TV Made Me Do It" | |
| 2009 | Family Guy | Sharply Dressed Asian Man | Episode: "Business Guy" |
| 2009 | The League | Chu | Episode: "The Usual Bet" |
| 2009–19 | Laugh Factory | Himself | Recurring guest |
| 2010 | Supreme Court of Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Tom Arnold vs. Bobby Lee" |
| 2010 | Ktown Cowboys | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.9" |
| 2010 | Cubed | Bob Yamamoto | Recurring cast, guest |
| 2011 | After Lately | Himself | Episode: "The 'M' Word" |
| 2011 | Big Time Rush | T.J. | Episode: "Big Time Reality" |
| 2011 | Family Guy | Chinese Man | Episode: "Amish Guy" |
| 2012 | Equals Three | Himself | Episode: "Spelling Bee" |
| 2012 | Samurai! Daycare | Park | Recurring cast |
| 2012 | RVC: The Lone Shopping Network | Hiri | Episode: "Father of My Squids" |
| 2012–13 | Animal Practice | Dr. Yamamoto | Main cast |
| 2013 | Who Gets the Last Laugh? | Himself | Episode: "Bam Margera/Bobby Lee/Matt Besser" |
| 2013 | Gotham Comedy Live | Himself/Host | Episode: "Bobby Lee" |
| 2013 | Knife Fight | Himself | Episode: "Travi vs. Kuramoto" |
| 2013 | Internet Shock Quiz | Himself | Episode: "Bobby Lee's Racist Confession" |
| 2013 | Arrested Development | Mrs. Oh | Episode: "Queen B." |
| 2013 | Tubbin' with Tash | Tiger Belly | Episodes: "Chelsea Handler" & "Chelsea Peretti & Reggie Watts" |
| 2013 | Sean Saves the World | Mr. Kim | Episode: "Sean Comes Clean" |
| 2013–14 | Kill Tony | Himself/Guest Host | Episodes: "Kill Tony #9" & "Kill Tony #32" |
| 2013–14 | Deal with It | Himself | Recurring cast, guest |
| 2013–15 | The Awesomes | Tim/Sumo | Main cast |
| 2014 | TripTank | Episode: "The Green" & "Candy Van Finger Bang" | |
| 2014 | The League | Lee Wei Lee | Episode: "Epi Sexy" |
| 2014–16 | This Is Not Happening | Himself | Recurring guest |
| 2015 | The Comedians | Fortune Teller's nephew | Episode: "Billy's Birthday" |
| 2015 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rio Syamsundin | Episode: "Blame It on Rio" |
| 2015-16 | Bad Weather Films | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2015–19 | Nature Cat | MC Ferret | Recurring cast |
| 2016 | Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle | Himself/Judge | Episode: "Road to Roast Battle" |
| 2016 | @midnight | Himself | Episode: "Episode #4.6" |
| 2016 | Another Period | Sea Captain | Episode: "Lillian's Wedding" & "The Duel" |
| 2016 | Son of Zorn | Jakton | Episode: "The War of the Workplace" |
| 2016–18 | Love | Truman | Recurring cast |
| 2017 | The Comedy Jam | Himself | Episode: "Tiffany Haddish/Chris Hardwick/Bobby Lee" |
| 2017 | Funny You Should Ask | Himself | Recurring guest |
| 2017 | Comrade Detective | New York Degenerate | Episode: "Two Films for One Ticket" |
| 2017 | What Would Diplo Do? | Brian | Main cast |
| 2017 | Real Rob | Kim Lin | Episode: "Best Play Date Ever" |
| 2018 | Something’s Burning | Himself | |
| 2018 | Alone Together | Stan | Episode: "Pop-Up" |
| 2018 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Jeff Carol | Episode: "Goodbye, Vietnam" |
| 2018–19 | Splitting Up Together | Arthur | Main cast |
| 2019 | Family Style | Himself | Episode: "Sweets" |
| 2019 | Beyond the Arc | Himself | Episode: "Montreal" |
| 2019–23 | Magnum P.I. | Jin | Recurring cast, guest |
| 2020 | Game On! | Himself/Captain | Main captain |
| 2020 | The Stand-Up Show with Jon Dore | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.5" |
| 2020 | The Cabin with Bert Kreischer | Himself | Episode: "Release" |
| 2020 | The Comedy Store | Himself | Main guest |
| 2020 | Dream Corp LLC | Tricky Ricky | Recurring cast |
| 2021 | Fast Foodies | Himself | Episode: "Bobby Lee" |
| 2021 | Nailed It! | Himself/Guest Judge | Episode: "Travel Dos and Donuts" |
| 2021 | Well Done with Sebastian Maniscalco | Himself | Episode: "The Macaroniscalco" |
| 2021 | Immoral Compass | Dylan | Episode: "Part 2: Secrets" |
| 2021–22 | Reservation Dogs | Dr. Kang | Guest, recurring cast |
| 2021–22 | Inside Job | Dr. Andre | Main cast |
| 2021–23 | And Just Like That... | Jackie Nee | Recurring cast |
| 2022 | About Last Night | Himself | Episode: "Anna Camp/Loni Love/Bobby Lee" |
| 2022 | Dark Side of Comedy | Himself | Episode: "Andrew Dice Clay" |
| 2023 | History of the World, Part II | Harold | Episode: "VI" |
| 2024 | Dinner Time Live with David Chang | Himself | Episode: "Choose Your Own Adventure Volume 2" |