Who was at John Mulaney's intervention? Reasons behind rehab stint explored amid Netflix special launch

American comedian John Mulaney opened up about his "star-studded" intervention and how his friends urged him to check into rehab following his issues with substance abuse.

On April 25, the 40-year-old personality's new Netflix comedy special John Mulaney: Baby J, was released on the streaming giant, where he got candid about some of the changes he experienced personally over the last few years. Those changes included a brief period in rehab and an intervention with his famous comic friends that led to his recovery.

Mulaney revealed that he had been invited to a friend's house for dinner on December 18, 2020, which was an intervention in disguise. He arrived at his friend's house two hours late and had come from his dealer's house. John Mulaney said that he knew it was an intervention as soon as he arrived at his friend's house.

“As mad as I was when I walked in there, I was like, ‘This is a good lineup.’ It was like a We Are the World of alternative comedians over the age of 40. All comedians, yet no one said a funny thing the entire night. Before I got there, they promised each other that they wouldn’t do bits.”

At the time, the comedian was using a cocktail of drugs, which included cocaine, Xanax, Percocet, Adderall, and Klonopin.

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John Mulaney's "star-studded" intervention happened during the coronavirus pandemic

In his Netflix special, John Mulaney said that before he arrived, his group of famous friends had vowed not to crack jokes, given the severity of the situation.

"I was going psychotic. I am sitting there in an awful chair, crashing from cocaine. No one will let me go to the bathroom to freshen up and the funniest people are staring at me, refusing to do jokes. It was maddening."

His intervention was attended by 12 of his friends, six of whom were present in New York with him, and the other six had joined via a Zoom call from Los Angeles.

“You may be thinking, Hey, if that was me, I would’ve been like, ‘If you’re so worried about me, how come you didn’t fly in?’ Don’t worry, I said that several times.”

Speaking about the gravity of the situation, Mulaney noted in his special:

"Do you know how bad of a drug problem you have to have if when you open a door and see people gathered, your first and immediate thought is, This is probably an intervention about my drug problem?”

During the closing credits of the special, the first names of everyone present in the intervention were mentioned. The list included Fred, Berk, Mike, Bill, Erica, Nick, Natasha, Joe, Cara, David, Seth, Kevin, and Marika, with a message reading "You saved my life" written beneath it.

"Seth" is comedian and television host Seth Meyers, with whom Mulaney has worked on Saturday Night Live, while "Nick" is Nick Kroll, with whom he worked on Big Mouth. "Fred" is Fred Armisen, who is also his friend from Saturday Night Live, while "Bill" and "Natasha" are Bill Hader and Natasha Lyonne from his previous comedy tour group.

Meanwhile, "Mike" from the credits is Mike Birbiglia, with whom John Mulvaney went to college, while "Marika" is Marika Sawyer, a writer on Saturday Night Live. "David" and "Cara" are David Diner and Cara Masline, who are executive producers and possible members of the group.

John Mulaney checked into rehab and spent two months there. He was out of the facility in February 2021. While appearing on an episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers, John Mulaney thanked the host for "saving" his life with the intervention, adding that he was not grateful for it that night, but now he is.

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Baby J is currently streaming on Netflix.