Ellen Skrmetti was born and raised in Ripley, Mississippi, not far from Memphis, in a family that was devoted to the Southern Baptist church. For Ellen, a person of faith but also an aspiring comedian, this turned out to be great source material, as did all the characters in her small Southern town. During the pandemic, she started posting videos that all started with “Hey Jesus, It’s Me,” and then she would launch into gossipy monologues about her neighbors, critiques of a cousin’s potato salad, or—famously—what would have happened if Queen Elizabeth had died in the South. Now she’s got a new book that takes its name from those viral hits and expands it a bit: Hey, Jesus, It's Me: I Have Questions, Comments, and Concerns. Ellen lives in Birmingham now, so we got to do this one in the Southern Living offices, and she was just as charming and funny in person as she is on Instagram. Sid talks to Ellen about why her yeast rolls are controversial, what it’s been like getting back to standup after a fruitful detour through social media, and having what she calls a “true Southern church lady for a mother.”

For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam

Biscuits & Jam is produced by:

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer

Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer

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