In a world short on joy, humor can be a unifier and a survival tool. In that spirit, we bring you our Comedy Issue, a monthlong celebration of funny (and fearless) women and the enduring power of a good laugh. Here Orange Is the New Black star Natasha Lyonne salutes the woman who made her see the value in being wholly authentic.

I first met Rosie when we worked together on a Nora and Delia Ephron play called Love, Loss, and What I Wore in 2008. Rosie had this one monologue called, “The Purse,” which Nora had written about giving up Hermès bags, and the absurdity of them. This was an eight-page monologue, and Rosie was literally able to take the audience in the palm of her hand and take them on a ride during it. The way she was able to lift and drop the volume of the audience’s laughter, it just became a piece of music. Working with Rosie, Nora, Delia, and Samantha Bee on that production taught me that there’s space for all of us. Between working on the play and doing Orange Is the New Black, I totally changed my tomboy perspective, and gained an appreciation for sharing the stage with other women.

During the play I was coming out of a drug addicted time in my life, but Nora and Rosie adopted me into the fold, and it really healed me as a human being. Now Rosie and I are this odd couple, and we go to Broadway plays. She loves them; I loathe them. My god! Some of the productions I’ve had to sit through. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me, but I look over and Rosie’s like, “C’mon, Tashy, that was amazing!” Then we go to Sardi’s and grab dinner.

What’s so wild about Rosie is that she’s such a subversive figure who was able to become mainstream. Recently, I rewatched an Ellen DeGeneres appearance on Rosie’s show, and they’re doing what they called the “Lebanese sketch.” It’s psychedelic! It was 1996, and they’re just dancing around being gay. Or watching her stuff in comedy clubs. It’s fucking epic, because she’s in a pantsuit with a curly shag, looking like a cross between David Lee Roth and Pat Benatar. And this was during an era when guys like Andrew Dice Clay were big, and she’s doing a Goodfellas shtick. What other woman was speaking that language?

Rosie’s such an important figure for women. I’ll never forget introducing Aubrey Plaza to her. I was having dinner with Rosie and texting with Aubrey and I was like, “Why don’t you come over?” She came right over, and I’ve never seen Aubrey so starstruck. She’s such a weirdo and a cool cucumber, but it was almost like seeing Santa Claus—that someone who’s so iconic could be real. But that’s the beauty of someone like Rosie. She’s able to communicate, from a distance, to other young girls that it’s OK to be themselves. That’s a strength she’s personally given me.

Natasha Lyonne costars in Orange Is the New Black, which returns to Netflix this month. Rosie O’Donnell costars on Showtime’s SMILF.

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