Nikki Glaser knows what it's like to pay top dollar for tickets on the secondary market. The white hot comic splurged to catch Taylor Swift. Glaser spent $30,000 for nine Swift concerts in 2023.
It's quite an expense but Glaser justifies her indulgence.
"Seeing Taylor Swift is part of my self care," Glaser said while calling from San Francisco. "Her show is an antidepressant for me. I feel amazing during and after her concerts so it's worth it to me. I've been judged by people close to me for going to so many shows but some people spend this amount of money on sporting events. I go to see Taylor Swift since she brings me the most joy in the world, aside from my nieces and nephews."
Well, Glaser brings considerable joy to her fans and many are paying the price since quite a few of their favorite comics shows are sold out.
A limited amount of platinum tickets are available for Glaser's show Feb. 1 at the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
Glaser, 40, has shot through the stratosphere after crushing it during the Tom Brady roast in May of 2024.
"Tom lost $30 million in crypto," she started at the roast. "Tom, how did you fall for that? I mean, even Gronk (former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski) was like, 'Me know that not real money."
Glaser catapulted to another echelon while hosting The Golden Globes earlier in the month. Shows are not just selling out. Glaser's events are being moved to larger venues in some markets.
It's been a steady progression for the charismatic Glaser, who unlike many of her peers is humble.
The former host of Comedy Central's late and lamented "Not Safe with Nikki Glaser," is self-conscious.
"I wasn't a good-looking child," Glaser said. "I got screwed out of the genetic deal. My sister looks like a model. I think that's why I'm a comic. I'm deeply insecure since I was always feeling ugly. I wasn't a healthy child. I had poor self-esteem. That's why I need people's approval."
Well, Glaser is basking in ovations at sold out venues throughout the country.
Glaser is clever, unpredictable and vulnerable onstage, which is an uncommon trifecta for a comic.
"I have anxiety but I thrive on anxiety and deadlines," Glaser said. "I smoke weed. People don't smoke it because it makes them paranoid. But I love that paranoia. It makes me want to get things done. I'll clean up and work on new material. I know I'm not going to live forever so I have to accomplish something now."
Fans who haven't caught Glaser in years should know she doesn't wax about sex like she did a decade ago.
"Sex just isn't that interesting to me anymore," Glaser said. "I don't know if it's my hormones or whatever. I'm just not that titillated by it and I've explored it enough. It used to be 90 percent of my act but it's not that way anymore. You get older, you grow, you change and change is good."
It's working for Glaser, who is much more prominent than she was a year-and a half ago. During the summer of 2023 the sports-entertainment website, The Ringer posted a Taylor Swift feature, "A Ranking of Every Celebrity Who Attended Taylor Swift's Era's Tour."
It was a who's who of royal Swifties. However, Glaser somehow failed to make the cut. There was no way that would be so in 2025. Glaser deserves her own category as a Swiftie.
Glaser dropped $14,000 for a front row experience in Houston.
"It sounds crazy to spend that much money on tickets on the secondary market," she said. "But I don't spend money on myself. It was worth it. I was in the front row. I cried but I didn't want to distract her. I have the same phone case as her and I didn't want her to see it. I follow an account to know what she owns since it makes me feel closer to her. I studied how she plays guitar. I see how she places her pinky finger over her ring finger when she's doing a G-chord. I was so close to her that I could see her arm hair, which is beautiful."
Glaser didn't make it to Swift's sold out shows at Lincoln Financial Field in May of 2023, but the Cincinnati native checked out clips of the event via YouTube. During the second Philly show, Swift noticed a fan being manhandled by a security guard while she was belting out "Bad Blood."
"I have that scene memorized from watching the video from Philadelphia when Taylor said, 'Stop it! She didn't do anything. No, let her go!'," Glaser recalled. "She's so cute. She's looking out for us. But I get it. She cares about her fans.
"I care so much about my fans too," she added. "My fans who come out to see me and listen to my podcasts know me like my family doesn't since my family doesn't listen to my podcasts. I appreciate my fans so I'm always present. Sometimes you're tired when you're performing or you think about what you'll eat after the show or what your travel day is like the next day but I clear my mind from those thoughts and focus on the people who support what I do. I'm like Taylor in that I want my fans who come out to my shows to have the best time possible."
Glaser appears Feb. 1 at the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, 1000 Boardwalk
Show time is 8 p.m. For more information call 609-449-1000 or go to https://casino.hardrock.com/atlantic-city
