Valuetainment - Billy Crystal Turns His Back on God After Losing Everything

00:00:00.040 Okay, when I sell my business, I want the best tax and investment advice.

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00:00:07.940 Ooh, then it's the vacation of a lifetime.

00:00:12.200 I wonder if my out-of-office has a forever setting.

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00:00:30.000 This is Billy Crystal, which the man from Analyze This

00:00:34.380 and a bunch of different things that he did.

00:00:36.180 Jazz man.

00:00:36.680 Such a great actor.

00:00:38.280 When Harry met Sally.

00:00:39.640 Billy Crystal admitted that a series of personal tragedies have shaken his faith.

00:00:51.620 The comedian opened up with the devastation of losing his home,

00:00:54.540 a lifetime of memories in the Palisades, wildfires,

00:00:56.640 as well as the profound grief he endured with the death of a close friend, Rob Reiner,

00:01:00.640 which we all remember when that happened.

00:01:02.540 On October 11th with CBS Morning, when asked whether he still has conversations with God,

00:01:07.340 a topic he had previously referenced, this is what he had to say.

00:01:09.680 Go for it.

00:01:10.180 Still, he says the body blows of 2025 have changed his outlook a bit.

00:01:15.400 In 700 Sundays, you had conversations with God.

00:01:18.680 Have you been talking to God over these past couple of years?

00:01:20.680 No, because I don't trust him.

00:01:23.400 Are you serious?

00:01:24.020 Too many bad things have happened.

00:01:27.640 The earth is in bad shape.

00:01:29.660 This is a weird, scary time.

00:01:33.080 So, no, not anymore.

00:01:37.400 Tom, I think what's sad there is this is exactly the time you should trust God.

00:01:44.080 The question on earth isn't whether bad things happen to good people or decent people or neutral people.

00:01:50.500 The puzzle of earth is when good things happen to bad people.

00:01:54.020 as long as you're on earth, this is a broken place. This is why all the world religions are

00:01:59.560 trying to find a way out. And Christianity, Jesus Christ is that way out from a broken earth and 0.93

00:02:06.220 to find yourself. It actually hurts my soul because I enjoy his work. I enjoy what I've

00:02:12.460 seen of him. I remember growing up and one of his early series was this thing called Soap,

00:02:17.580 where he portrayed a young little brother in this thing.

00:02:23.020 And that's where I first came encountered with the genius of Billy Crystal and his acting.

00:02:30.100 And I remember that so clearly.

00:02:32.880 And it's just sad to see him saying, I don't trust God.

00:02:36.700 It's not about trusting God.

00:02:38.200 It's about knowing God and just trusting that he's always going to be there,

00:02:41.300 and he's there for you even when bad things happen.

00:02:44.360 It makes me sad to see that he has this perspective.

00:02:46.760 I would hope that there's somebody close to him to put an arm around him and say, Billy, this is the time when you do trust God.

00:02:54.140 You know, it's tough about listening to this.

00:02:56.840 And, Billy, you know, a lot of times we have a relationship with these actors.

00:03:00.620 Like, you'll go to a certain place, right, when you think about these actors, especially Billy Crystal being one of the ones where we watch many times.

00:03:07.060 Did you know this, Tom?

00:03:08.760 You know when he said that was the first thing I thought about?

00:03:10.900 Who's watching?

00:03:12.180 Out of eight and a half billion people in the world, who's watching him say that on the interview?

00:03:16.760 You know who?

00:03:17.420 Who are the most important six people that are watching this?

00:03:20.100 His two daughters and his four grandkids.

00:03:22.940 Do you know how long Billy Crystal's been married?

00:03:24.840 You ready for a fun fact?

00:03:26.180 Would you call him an A-lister?

00:03:27.600 I think he's an A-lister.

00:03:28.840 Billy Crystal's been married for 56 years.

00:03:32.280 Good for you, Billy.

00:03:33.460 56 flipping years you've been married.

00:03:35.660 Do you know how hard that is?

00:03:37.560 To be in Hollywood, famous, funny like you,

00:03:39.780 and you're married for 56 years like a Paul Newman.

00:03:42.460 It's the Paul Newman record.

00:03:43.540 That's the Paul Newman.

00:03:44.500 You've been married for that long.

00:03:45.780 So, to me, you've got to be very careful.

00:03:48.040 Yesterday we were with Dennis Prager, and he's given his first public appearance

00:03:52.500 since the accident that happened November 12th where he fell down

00:03:56.280 and he became a quadriplegic right after the incident that took place to him, right?

00:04:00.580 And yesterday he comes up.

00:04:03.040 Do you have the picture to send him?

00:04:04.400 I actually sent them a video of this.

00:04:06.300 This is when he just got on stage right now.

00:04:08.360 Yeah, this is how he got on stage yesterday.

00:04:09.980 It's a small little meeting.

00:04:11.140 It's not a lot of people.

00:04:12.060 Like 200, 300 people.

00:04:12.920 That's him and his beautiful wife, Sue.

00:04:15.380 You can pause it right there.

00:04:16.720 Okay?

00:04:17.480 So he's on stage, and he starts talking.

00:04:20.280 30 minutes turns into almost an hour and a half.

00:04:22.260 Afterwards, we had a conversation together because Dennis Prager, to me,

00:04:25.340 you know, there are certain people you call great.

00:04:26.680 I remember the first time I met Dennis Prager when I did a Save in America

00:04:30.000 show with KKLA, KRLA, is what it was called, in 2009, 2010.

00:04:34.200 And Bob Hastings and Richard Kennedy are like, here's Dennis Prager.

00:04:38.140 You got to meet him.

00:04:38.840 And Dennis Prager had a debate he did once with a guy named Frank Pastore,

00:04:42.120 The late Frank Pastore, who passed away, was a Cincinnati Reds pitcher,

00:04:45.380 and they had this conversation together.

00:04:46.700 But he said a few things.

00:04:47.920 He says, you know, you guys feel bad for me.

00:04:49.840 He says, but you know the moment I became a quadriplegic,

00:04:51.740 you know what I realized?

00:04:53.040 He says, I realized there was another guy out there named Charles Krauthammer.

00:04:56.940 And he says, Charles Krauthammer, we watch him on TV,

00:05:00.200 and we had no idea who he was, and we had no idea he had any health issues,

00:05:04.540 but he was a quadriplegic.

00:05:05.780 And he says, and you know the difference between me and,

00:05:07.960 if you just go to his images, if you can go back and go to his images,

00:05:11.220 He says, you know the difference between me and Charles Krauthammer?

00:05:14.560 Right there, top right.

00:05:15.320 Just type that picture on the top right.

00:05:16.840 Nobody would know.

00:05:17.780 He says, I became a quadriplegic at 75.

00:05:20.860 He said he became a quadriplegic at 20 years old.

00:05:24.580 After becoming a quadriplegic at 20 years old,

00:05:27.460 his career takes off and never uses it as an excuse.

00:05:31.380 He says, there's a few things I got to tell you.

00:05:33.900 In the meeting, by the way, two people's phones went off.

00:05:36.060 I'm proud to say the first person's phone that went off was Tom Ellsworth.

00:05:38.680 who in the middle of the meeting, he loves just having the phone go off.

00:05:41.920 It was a monumental moment when he was speaking.

00:05:45.240 It wasn't as bad as the second one.

00:05:46.880 But it was still before.

00:05:47.780 Tom set the tone for the second one.

00:05:49.100 Yeah, Tom was the inspiration.

00:05:49.640 He says, you know, I watch a lot of YouTube videos nowadays.

00:05:52.760 And he says, you know what's the most thing I'm envious about?

00:05:55.400 He says, people who have hands.

00:05:57.020 Oh, yeah.

00:05:58.200 To be able to touch the people that you love and just use your hands.

00:06:01.260 He says, I don't have that.

00:06:02.440 He says, when this happened to be, I had three choices.

00:06:05.720 Death, depression, or perseverance.

00:06:09.260 He says, I chose perseverance.

00:06:10.900 He says, you know why?

00:06:12.200 He says, because his words, I don't want to die.

00:06:16.500 I love life.

00:06:18.860 I don't want to leave my loved ones.

00:06:21.880 For many years, he says, I studied unjust suffering,

00:06:24.740 which kind of goes back to what Billy Crystal was talking about.

00:06:27.140 And I wrote most of my conclusions on unjust suffering 30 years ago

00:06:30.640 on a book called Happiness, right, that he wrote about.

00:06:33.300 And he says, I've always been more interested in what God wants from me,

00:06:36.300 not what I want from God.

00:06:38.080 And he says, the key to happiness, the mother of happiness is gratitude.

00:06:43.720 He says, I'm always happy because I'm always grateful for the life that I've given.

00:06:47.580 Even now, he says, I believe that suffering is real.

00:06:50.400 I never asked myself, why me since my accident?

00:06:54.580 You know what he said?

00:06:55.480 Instead of asking, why me?

00:06:57.100 I constantly ask myself prior to the accident, why me?

00:07:00.920 But he says, guess why I said, why me?

00:07:02.920 God, why am I so lucky to have this life?

00:07:06.100 Why am I so lucky to have this life?

00:07:08.620 And he continues, expectations eliminate the most basic thing to happiness.

00:07:12.380 The secret to happiness is gratitude.

00:07:13.880 All grateful people are happy people, and all unhappy people are ungrateful.

00:07:20.040 What an interesting thing to say.

00:07:22.200 Optimism, he goes into talking about optimism.

00:07:24.280 He says, you cannot be happy.

00:07:26.400 Look at the words on what he says here.

00:07:27.740 This was my favorite part of the whole thing.

00:07:29.180 you cannot be happy if your primary identity is a victim if you view yourself as a victim

00:07:37.820 you cannot be happy but you know what he said in that sentence vinnie let me read this one more

00:07:42.320 time just please listen to this folks this is the most powerful part he says you cannot be happy if

00:07:47.600 your primary identity is a victim then he says even if you are a victim you cannot do that what

00:07:55.440 a powerful thing. He says, my identity as dentist, I'm not a victim. Of all things I asked for when

00:08:03.340 I was conscious was iced coffee. He says, the moment I became conscious, I'm like, can I get

00:08:06.900 some iced coffee? And so his son had three different drinks in the back. He kept giving

00:08:10.140 him sips to drink, water, iced coffee. Patrick, what's happening to you? Okay. When I sell my

00:08:14.860 business, I want the best tax and investment advice. I want to help my kids and I want to

00:08:19.420 give back to the community. Then it's the vacation of a lifetime. I wonder if my head of office has

00:08:26.940 a forever setting. An IG private wealth advisor creates the clarity you need with plans that

00:08:32.920 harmonize your business, your family, and your dreams. Get financial advice that puts you at

00:08:38.560 the center. Find your advisor at igprivatewealth.com. This is a Hollywood millionaire elite

00:08:46.160 Billy Crystal complaining about a mansion getting

00:08:48.160 burned down, and now you're feeling bad for

00:08:50.220 him. Screw him. 0.99

00:08:51.720 So many people around the world have it so much worse than him. 0.91

00:08:54.440 You're right.

00:08:55.680 Why is it even in the news if Billy Crystal

00:08:58.280 believes in God or not?

00:08:59.260 A part of it is his environment.

00:09:01.880 So let me wrap it up with this, and then I'll come to a couple of you guys

00:09:04.060 and then we'll wrap up. He said, I would give anything

00:09:06.320 to wheel myself around.

00:09:09.300 He can't even do that

00:09:10.740 because it's neck down.

00:09:11.940 I've spent most of the last two years

00:09:13.840 to breathe without a ventilator and to regain my normal voice,

00:09:17.280 and he finally got it back.

00:09:18.200 He says, I lost 80% of my income while my expenses have skyrocketed the last two years.

00:09:23.600 And despite all of that, I refuse to call myself a victim.

00:09:27.480 On virtually any Sunday morning, Sue would be downstairs,

00:09:30.800 except for this morning she was upstairs.

00:09:32.660 If she wasn't upstairs, she saw him fall.

00:09:35.180 If she didn't see me fall, I would be dead right now.

00:09:38.140 And the only reason is because I wanted to try my new razor that I bought

00:09:42.260 because I'm too impatient to use a new toy that I bought.

00:09:46.240 That's it.

00:09:47.120 He says it was impatience of me wanting to use a new razor.

00:09:50.780 And the last thing he says, Vinny, this is so powerful.

00:09:54.020 He says, you know what's the one thing that we have as human beings?

00:09:56.980 He says, all we have is memories.

00:09:59.000 Memories is everything to humans.

00:10:01.120 You lose your memories, you're gone.

00:10:03.360 No gratitude, no happiness, no memory, no gratitude.

00:10:08.500 And last but not least, the pandemic of adult children was those who don't speak to their parents.

00:10:14.400 That's how he said this message.

00:10:15.320 So for me, with Billy Crystal, dude, you've been married 56 years.

00:10:20.100 You've got two kids.

00:10:21.000 You've got four grandkids.

00:10:22.460 You're one of the most decorated actors of all time.

00:10:25.080 Sell the next generation some gratitude instead of this victim.

00:10:29.660 Give me a flipping break. 0.98

00:10:31.460 Screw him. 0.98

00:10:32.540 He could still see. 0.81

00:10:33.940 He has his vision.

00:10:36.740 He could walk, he could talk

00:10:38.280 By the way, he's still crazy rich

00:10:41.800 Also it's just this Hollywood ego

00:10:43.140 That we have to even know about his belief in God

00:10:45.180 Oh poor me because the fires

00:10:47.420 When's the last time

00:10:49.200 Good point because when's the last time

00:10:51.000 You even heard the name Billy Crystal

00:10:52.880 Be honest

00:10:53.640 But he's cemented

00:10:57.500 Oh no absolutely

00:10:58.540 But to think God sitting there

00:11:02.840 Looking at Billy Crystal going

00:11:04.560 I'm going to ruin your whole

00:11:06.060 Adam, keep it short to a minute.

00:11:07.220 I've got to wrap up.

00:11:07.840 Well, I'll just say this.

00:11:09.120 There wasn't a dry eye in the room yesterday.

00:11:10.800 The fact that this guy came on stage, quadriplegic, showed up,

00:11:16.540 and gave not only a wise, monumental-type speech, but also with humor. 0.93

00:11:22.280 The guy's the epitome of a mensch. 0.95

00:11:23.980 Here's my prediction. 1.00

00:11:25.040 He's going to be the most powerful speaker in America for the rest of his years

00:11:28.300 because he has the know-how and also the wisdom to basically move America.

00:11:34.760 But you know what he said?

00:11:35.460 because there was a common theme there the left is ruining america he used at one point

00:11:39.900 the leftists are unhappy because they're ungrateful lowlifes that's what he said yeah he did ungrateful 0.56

00:11:45.660 lowlifes and then speaking of god billy crystal would do would be very well served to have one

00:11:51.220 conversation with dennis prager i guarantee you because i went through my atheist phase right

00:11:55.080 there and it's just not a good life he said don't feel sorry for me he said am i lucky to be alive

00:12:00.960 aren't unlucky that I'm a quadriplegic.

00:12:03.480 He can speak and still move people with his words.

00:12:06.300 He said this.

00:12:07.280 He said this is the most powerful thing

00:12:08.880 for anybody that's interested.

00:12:10.700 I think, Tom, you got this.

00:12:11.960 He said the relationship with God.

00:12:14.000 He says everyone thinks like,

00:12:15.720 you know, why didn't God do this for me?

00:12:18.760 God do this for me.

00:12:20.520 Please, God, pray to God.

00:12:21.860 He goes, no, no, no.

00:12:23.180 It's what does God expect from you?

00:12:26.620 Are you using all your capabilities,

00:12:28.780 all your skill sets to best serve the Lord above and the people around you.

00:12:33.580 If you look at it that way, you'll understand where God is.

00:12:37.140 He said, do not feel sorry for me.

00:12:39.000 I've had an amazing life.

00:12:40.740 Sitting as a quadriplegic, do not feel sorry for me.

00:12:44.880 So I'm so grateful that he's alive.

00:12:46.440 And I'm so grateful that he's speaking with him.

00:12:49.020 And by the way, you know what he said?

00:12:49.960 He said, you know, you're the last podcast I did.

00:12:52.900 I think it was the last podcast that he did with us.

00:12:54.920 And then he said, hey, I'd like to come back on a podcast.

00:12:58.320 Oh, Pat, can I imagine we bring them up?

00:13:00.280 We walk in this room.

00:13:01.040 Can I just say this?

00:13:02.280 We walk in this room.

00:13:03.560 I mean, this is his first speech in public.

00:13:06.520 Pat walks in.

00:13:07.500 They literally, like, it was, Pat, he wants to talk to you.

00:13:11.180 He goes, Patrick, first thing, I'm so proud of you.

00:13:15.320 I have to come on your podcast again.

00:13:17.320 We're like, oh, my God.

00:13:19.180 Whatever you want, Prager.

00:13:20.320 Aaron Prager, shout out to you guys.

00:13:22.540 Respect to Dennis Prager.

00:13:23.620 Incredible.

00:13:24.080 What a man.

00:13:24.360 Much love to Dennis, to Sue, to the son, to the grandson, Daniel.

00:13:30.200 We met Daniel and the daughter, granddaughter.

00:13:32.900 DP3 was great.

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00:13:36.340 This guy comes up to me and says, hey, so the FLB shoes, before I buy it,

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00:13:40.880 Is it one size high, one size this?

00:13:43.080 And Tom's like, look, they run a little bit bigger, half size bigger.

00:13:46.700 So if you want to get this, get this size.

00:13:48.200 Right there, the guy buys an FLB shoe sitting right next to Tom,

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Valuetainment - October 20, 2026

Billy Crystal Turns His Back on God After Losing Everything

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