Readers, rejoice — Bowen Yang has returned to “Las Culturistas” following a brief mental health break.
Yang, 32, joined cohost and BFF Matt Rogers on the Wednesday, July 26, episode of the pop culture podcast after taking three weeks off. The longtime friends got “tactile” as Yang thanked Rogers, 33, for “holding it down” for listeners in his absence.
“I just wanted to make you proud,” Rogers told Yang, who gushed that he was “brimming with pride.”
Before the twosome jumped into discussing the hottest headlines — from the Real Housewives of New York City reboot to And Just Like That — Yang addressed his time away from the podcast.
“First of all, I want to say thank you [to] everyone,” he said. “I mean, there was really such a perfect level of understanding. Not that I expected anything less, but everyone got it, you know? And that’s the kind of people that are, like, in this little world of ours and I’m really, really grateful.”
Bowen Yang Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Rogers reassured his pal that the No. 1 priority “is for you to feel like you are having fun doing this,” adding that cohosting the podcast “should be the cherry on top of life.” (Yang subsequently referenced RHONY‘s Ubah Hassan, teasing, “The cherry on top of the cake.”)
Between jokes, Yang gave fans an update on his state of mind. “I feel really good. I’m getting better,” he said. “I think there are specific things that I have to do … It literally was ‘Valley of the Dolls’ for a second.”
Yang described his responses to certain medications while dealing with anxiety and traveling for Wicked, which has been filming in London. (He plays Pfannee in the upcoming movie musical starring now-Couple Ariana Grande and Dating/”>Ethan Slater.)
Earlier this month, Yang informed his social media followers that he would be taking “a very short break from Las Cultch.” He explained via his Instagram Story that he was experiencing “bouts of depersonalization” that were “f–king me up bad,” adding, “I am doing my best to get better! Please take care, be back soon.”
At the time, Rogers promised listeners that the show would go on as Yang prioritized his self-care. He hosted three episodes solo between July 5 and July 19 with guests including Miss Benny and Fire Island‘s Zane Phillips.
While reflecting on his step back from the podcast, Yang hinted on Wednesday that his use of the term “depersonalization” caused concern. “It is, like, the clinical term for what I was — what I am — experiencing,” he explained, as Rogers encouraged critics to “be less obtuse.”
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Shortly before his cohost’s return, Rogers opened up about his friend’s recovery. “What I really want everyone to know is that already things are better,” he said on the July 13 episode of the “On Display with Melissa Gorga” podcast. “Already, there’s more perspective and there’s going to be steps taken to get him to a healthier place because he knows he deserves that. … No one should be living every day feeling anything less than good about themselves, baseline.”