Comedian, podcaster and former reality TV star Hannah Berner headlined the 2025 Student Activities Association Fall Show at the Gertrude C. Ford Center on Thursday evening.
Berner embraced the Ole Miss school spirit, donning a navy Ole Miss jersey and launching the crowd into a Hotty Toddy chant with an “Are you ready?”
A native New Yorker, Berner expressed her appreciation for the South.
“I love how you guys say ‘y’all,’” Berner said. “Do you know how much time you guys are saving? We say ‘you guys.’ Our lives are just being wasted away.”
Integrated marketing communications graduate student Larkin Deline said she thought Berner connected well with the college-aged crowd.
“I think she did a good job relating to the audience, like (she knew) she was at Ole Miss,” Deline said.
Berner’s set also included hot topics like sexting, situationships and age-gap relationships. To some students familiar with Berner’s chops, her comedy style was no shock.
“I had a few expectations. I heard from one of my friends that she was on the dirtier side, for lack of a better word,” junior music and writing and rhetoric double major Makenna Counts said. “Her comedy wasn’t clean. I knew that.”
Student-led improvisation group UMprov was the opening act for Berner. UMprov President Kayla Fifer was one of six troupe members who took the stage.
“Oh my gosh, it was incredible,” Fifer said.“It’s the biggest stage we’ve ever performed on. So it was nerve-wracking, but it felt like we were ready for it in a sense.”
Students also enjoyed the opener, including sophomore psychology major Dennis Kaya.
“I thought UMprov was funny,” Kaya said. “I also know some of the people up there, so I was cheering them on. I liked the skits they had, and they just kept going and going.”
Toward the end of her set, Berner went back and forth with the audience about relationships in a comedic Q&A session.
Some students, like junior computer science major Casey Castaldo, ended up on the receiving end of the joke, as Berner called on him in the audience to ask, “Do you ever think about what sex feels like for a girl?”
Castaldo had a blast, even with the on-the-spot question.
“She was really funny,” Castaldo said. “It was kind of embarrassing. I didn’t expect to get put in the spotlight like that, but it was a fun thrill.”
Even with the jabs directed at men, guys like Kaya still had fun with Berner’s set.
“I liked the show, and I like Hannah,” Kaya said.“It was very funny. She’s very quick-witted and good at connecting with the audience, and I really enjoyed the show.”
