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CNN Live Event/Special

Comedian Zarna Garg and Her Family Join CNN; Tokyo Rings in New Year. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 31, 2025 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:30:00]

WILL RIPLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Like wasabi, but to a point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kristie, I got my grass jelly drink that you were telling me about the other day.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't -- I can't make any promises.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been looking forward to trying this.

STOUT: You're going to love the grass jelly drink. (INAUDIBLE) hasn't had grass jelly yet.

MONTGOMERY: Well, that's --

RIPLEY: I know.

STOUT: He's going to experience the coolness, the slight bitterness, and it's so refreshing.

RIPLEY: And that fun texture.

OK, so shall we eat, everybody?

STOUT: This is wasabi roulette.

RIPLEY: This is the moment of truth.

STOUT: Hanako?

MONTGOMERY: I think we should eat, yes, except, oh, God.

STOUT: Be gentle.

MONTGOMERY: I'm a little bit scared. I'm honestly kind of scared. And I should -- I kind of regret suggesting this game. But, here we go. Bon appetit everyone. Itadakimasu in Japanese.

RIPLEY: It's you. She's got spice. I'm safe.

MONTGOMERY: It's Kristie. RIPLEY: How bad is it?

MONTGOMERY: I was going to say, I'm safe too.

RIPLEY: Can you talk?

STOUT: Hanako!

RIPLEY: Everybody safe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

RIPLEY: Here, have some --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm safe. I'm safe.

STOUT: Hanako, my sinuses are flaring up. Hanako, I got the wasabi.

RIPLEY: Do you want some --

MONTGOMERY: Oh, no.

STOUT: Hanako, how could you do this to me?

RIPLEY: You want some tea?

MONTGOMERY: Drink that Thai iced tea.

STOUT: Let me ingest.

RIPLEY: Here. Here. He's -- she's so distracted she can't even see.

MONTGOMERY: I'm so sorry, Kristie. I'm so sorry.

STOUT: You're clearing up the nasal passages.

MONTGOMERY: You're handling it, though, like a champ.

RIPLEY: Thank you, Hanako.

STOUT: Nasal passages cleared. I need to cool down with some Thai iced tea.

RIPLEY: You can handle your spice, I think. Something tells me this is not your first rodeo.

STOUT: I can handle my spice. The good thing about wasabi is it's just a little flare up.

RIPLEY: Yes.

STOUT: It's not like the Sichuan peppercorn spice.

RIPLEY: That numbs your mouth.

STOUT: Or the Thai spice that really numbs it. I can handle this. I can handle this.

Hanako, you naughty girl.

RIPLEY: Did Bhaijaan get spiked or no? Was his -- is his normal or was it spiked?

Bhaijaan, are you spiked?

He's laughing.

MONTGOMERY: I can hear you guys. I'm good. I didn't have spice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm good. I'm clean. That was easy. That was so easy.

RIPLEY: Oh, he's OK. All right.

STOUT: Still enjoy the grass jelly drink. It was good.

Hanako, thank you for the spicy taste test.

RIPLEY: I'm glad you spiked Kristie, Hanako. Thank you. I'll send you your check in the mail later. That means every single piece of this is spiced.

MONTGOMERY: Hey, I'm sorry but also it was great to me (ph) and it was really enjoyable to watch you take that as a champ, Kristie.

STOUT: Thank you, Hanako.

MONTGOMERY: And, actually, Kristie, I do want to just point out here that early --

STOUT: Now, you had an opportunity to speak to someone pretty cool. Tell us about it.

MONTGOMERY: Yes. Yes, sorry, I think we have a little bit of a delay here. But I was just going to say, I did speak to one of my favorite comedians earlier in December, Atsuko Okatsuka. She's actually one of my favorite comics of 2025. She is American, but has Japanese and Taiwanese roots. And what I really like about her comedy is that she takes family trauma and actually makes it funny and relatable. She's also a third culture kid, so, of course, there's that personal connection that we have. But she has done so, so amazingly in 2025.

Take a look at just everything she's accomplished this year

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONTGOMERY (voice over): Her fans call her mother. But in 2025, Atsuko Okatsuka found a new role to play.

ATSUKO OKATSUKA, COMEDIAN: Whenever my girlfriends tell me about their husbands, and they're like, he's so messy. He doesn't pick up after himself. He doesn't do the laundry. To their face, I'm like, oh, my God. To their face I say that. But when I walk away I'm like, I am the husband (ph).

MONTGOMERY (voice over): Beyond her vibrant wardrobe and signature bowl cut, Atsuko is known for turning family trauma into laughs, like the story of how her grandmother brought her to the U.S.

OKATSUKA: Meg the Stallion, move over. We got a new stallion in town.

I mean she did legit kidnap me. Yes. That is a fact.

MONTGOMERY: Why did your grandmother want you to be in the states with her?

OKATSUKA: So, my mom, you know, has mental illnesses. She has schizophrenia. She has, like, not emotional issues. She has depression. She has all kinds of things, right? She didn't have many friends while she was in Japan. Sometimes the traditional way, old school way of doing things is, ah, it's the location that's the problem. We move. We move. And then everything will stay in Japan, all of the problems. The depression will stay in Japan. Girl, no, sometimes it's you.

MONTGOMERY (voice over): In her second special, released earlier this year on Hulu called "Father," she explores how her complex childhood growing up undocumented in the U.S. affected her relationship with her dad.

OKATSUKA: I get to finally, you know, have the relationship with my dad that I think I always wanted, but I couldn't. I told my dad just yesterday, I said, I had to become famous to bring the family back together, you know? Low pressure, Jesus Christ.

MONTGOMERY: Have you ever felt throughout your career or throughout your life in the United States, like you don't belong?

OKATSUKA: I don't know if I would even belong in space because, yes, I go, oh, maybe if it's not earth, maybe it's somewhere else. And I think would --

MONTGOMERY: An optical (ph) planet.

OKATSUKA: Maybe an optical (ph) planet where everyone has my haircut.

[09:35:03]

Every time I'm in London, it's all the men that have my haircut. Like --

MONTGOMERY: Why do you think that is?

OKATSUKA: I think they're just, like, trying to still, like, reminisce on the '60s and '70s. Yes. So, it's like older men. Older British men, and me.

MONTGOMERY (voice over): Atsuko has plenty of goals for 2026, like the quiet art of sitting. OKATSUKA: I want to try not to spiral, even if I'm not working, you

know, because sometimes a girl is just sitting, and that's OK. A lot of good things have come out of sitting. This interview.

MONTGOMERY: Yes.

OKATSUKA: Rosa Parks.

MONTGOMERY: I appreciate that.

OKATSUKA: Rosa Parks, known for sitting. She did more than that, but she moved the civil rights movement forward. I am writing a book and working on two TV shows.

MONTGOMERY: Wow.

OKATSUKA: Yes.

MONTGOMERY: What's the book about?

OKATSUKA: The book is about my life. And, you know, just the angle in is, you know, the key to life is knowing who you're not. And so, it's about all of the different phases that I went through in my life. Cheerleading phase. Cornrow phase. Don't recommend. They always say, find out who you are. Look for your true self. Be your true self. But it's so hard to find your true self. But by process of elimination, you know, it is -- you will get there.

MONTGOMERY: So, now that you've done the process of elimination, who do you think you are now?

OKATSUKA: I am an ever changing person, but also someone who does love people. I love telling jokes. I love making other people feel good. And so, that's who I am.

MONTGOMERY (voice over): At the end of our interview, I had a surprise for Atsuko.

MONTGOMERY: My producer prepared a wig for me.

OKATSUKA: For real? Wow.

MONTGOMERY: To copy you.

OKATSUKA: Oh, my gosh.

MONTGOMERY: So --

OKATSUKA: Yes. Wow.

MONTGOMERY: I haven't -- sorry, I haven't had this hair cut.

OKATSUKA: I'm so sorry she did that to you.

MONTGOMERY: No, I know.

OKATSUKA: Oh, my baby.

MONTGOMERY: My father.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MONTGOMERY: And, guys, I know I said I was bringing my sweet pit into 2026, but I also think this wig deserves a moment. This bob. I think I will also be bringing this into the new year with me as sort of my alter ego now. And I just can't seem to take it off.

RIPLEY: Wow

STOUT: Hanako, you look amazing. You're definitely rocking some Dorothy Hamill vibes for people of a certain age, another reference that I'm talking about.

RIPLEY: Yes.

STOUT: But like, girl, you are also bringing back flashbacks of my own bowl cut trauma when I was eight years old. Did you have a bowl cut too?

RIPLEY: I did actually have a bowl cut, but people told me I looked like Ellen, you know.

STOUT: Well, she's an icon.

RIPLEY: Yes, you know, so.

STOUT: But there is a reason why I have long hair, because I tried to rock the bowl cut. But Hanako Montgomery, you're gorgeous, honey. You can do and wear anything.

RIPLEY: She could actually -- she can pull off any hairstyle, it's true.

STOUT: She can pull this off.

RIPLEY: So can you. You even said you might consider wearing a mullet wig.

STOUT: Oh, yes, mullets are (INAUDIBLE).

RIPLEY: I want to dare you to do that at some point.

STOUT: Oh, yes, no, I love mullets.

RIPLEY: You love mullets? She loves mullets.

STOUT: I can -- I can definitely -- yes, the party in the back. I'm all about that.

RIPLEY: All right.

STOUT: Love the interview. Thank you for the wasabi challenge.

RIPLEY: She survived.

STOUT: I'm still recovering, Hanako. And Happy New Year to you. We're going to check in with you very, very soon.

RIPLEY: Yes, for fireworks.

MONTGOMERY: Yes.

RIPLEY: And up next we're going to go to New York. We're going to check in on New Year's Eve preps with a very special guest.

STOUT: That's right. We've got the comedian Zarna Garg joining us along with her family. You don't want to miss this. She is a riot. Keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:57]

RIPLEY: Welcome back to CNN NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE from Bangkok.

And this is our CNN photo frame where our --

STOUT: We've got the fans in the CNN fan zone.

RIPLEY: Things are picking up.

STOUT: They are. They are just so ready to party down with us and they're ready for the moment when the fireworks fly over the Chao Phraya River. Oh, my goodness.

RIPLEY: Thank you, guys. Happy New Year.

STOUT: Thanks, guys. Happy New Year. We'll check in with you later.

Now our next guest is no stranger to CNN. And we had such a great time talking with her last year that we have decided to invite not just her, but her entire family this year to join the fun.

RIPLEY: Comedian Zarna Garg and the clan joining us live from New York, who have the most amazing story that we can't wait to share with you guys.

Happy New Year to you all, first of all.

STOUT: Happy New Year.

CROWD: Happy New Year.

STOUT: Zarna, I did my homework. I read your book. And in this book you give this lovely shout-out to your family. It's page 292.

RIPLEY: She memorized the page.

STOUT: This is it. I have it. I use a highlighter. And you say this, "Shalabh Garg (ph), you didn't help me create this business, you are this business. Without all the stupid things you do what would I talk about?"

Zarna, that is love. How are you feeling this year?

ZARNA GARG, COMEDIAN: Yes, feeling so good. I put my kids to work. I put my husband to work. And that is the best thing I did for myself.

STOUT: Bravo, Zarna. Bravo.

RIPLEY: Zoya, you -- I have been told by Kristie -- told by Kristie that six years ago you dared your mom to try stand-up comedy. Is that right? How -- I mean, this is -- you literally changed the whole course of your family's story. Amazing.

ZOYA GARG, ZARNA GARG'S DAUGHTER: I did. I mean now I give her all the material, which is so great. But she was so funny. And it's incredible to see her story now. And we're all characters in her world. And it's been an amazing year.

STOUT: And, Zoya, congratulations on graduating.

ZARNA GARG: So, if you hate my comedy, you know who to blame.

STOUT: Yes, we definitely know your brand of comedy.

[09:45:01]

It's definitely family-oriented. And I wanted to say congratulations to Zoya from graduating from Stanford. Go Cardinal. Well done, girl. I like how you snuck in that classics major along with computer science. I like that.

ZOYA GARG: Yes. Yes.

STOUT: OK, we need to get the brothers in on this. The brothers. OK, the brothers. Brij and Veer. You are involved in the family business. You edit your mom's comedy clips. And, Veer, you even acted in them. What's it like working with your mom?

VEER GARG, ZARNA GARG'S SON: It's terrible. She's like the worst boss ever.

BRIJ GARG, ZARNA GARG'S SON: Worst boss.

V. GARG: You know -- you want to know a true story. One time I came home five minutes late to edit a video, and she kicked me out of the house for the whole day. I wasn't actually allowed to come back. My dad had to bring me back.

ZOYA GARG: We could really use an HR department.

ZARNA GARG: Is that what this is about? Complaining about me.

RIPLEY: There's no -- there's no HR when it's the family business.

STOUT: This is a bonded labor situation. We need to report the family.

ZARNA GARG: This is the head of HR right here.

RIPLEY: Shalabh, you were like -- you working the finance?

SHALABH GARG, ZARNA GARG'S HUSBAND: Yes, I do.

RIPLEY: I just want to ask dad, you were working in like finance before. Now you're -- now you're in on the family podcast. How's all that going?

S. GARG: It's been amazing. I really benefited from my wife's celebrity. And my resolution for 2026 is to communicate more with my wife.

STOUT: Good answer. Well done, Zarna, you have trained him well.

ZARNA GARG: No. We all know -- we all know that that is not the way this family --

RIPLEY: He's not going to be in hot water.

ZARNA GARG: No, nobody needs to communicate with everybody. My resolution for the whole world is everybody shut up! Shut up already! It's too much noise in this world.

STOUT: I love it. I love it. Thank you, sister Zarna.

Zarna, I hear you're working on a third comedy special. This one's going to focus on competitive moms. I want to hear the dirt. I want to hear the dirt on competitive moms.

ZARNA GARG: That's right. That's right. I'm not competitive or anything. OK, maybe --

S. GARG: I mean, she is so competitive.

ZARNA GARG: Do you see this. In my own family nobody believes me. But I'm out there. I'm learning all about all the crazy things moms do. The sports, the music, the school, the colleges. And I'm writing such a killer special about the craziness of motherhood in America. And actually in the whole world. It's pretty universal. Including his mother, by the way.

RIPLEY: Any New Year's message for --

ZARNA GARG: (INAUDIBLE). His mother still competes with me 27 years after we got married.

S. GARG: I mean she lost her son. What do you want her to do?

RIPLEY: You know, you got to -- you got to -- you got to have a good relationship with the mother-in-law.

STOUT: That's right.

Zarna always makes -- always makes the mother-in-law joke in there.

ZARNA GARG: Did you see who's side he is on. Like, (INAUDIBLE). Yes.

STOUT: No, what's this?

ZARNA GARG: You know, because he's like --

RIPLEY: Really.

ZARNA GARG: She lost her son. In autopilot he's always on his mother's side. Do you see that? The whole world. I hope people saw that. Twenty-seven years after I built this whole beautiful family. Look at this. You know how hard it is to get this?

S. GARG: I mean, there is no "I" in (INAUDIBLE). We built the families.

STOUT: Zarna Garg, you are my model for New Year's. You are my model for New Year's. Using CNN and CNN International to air your family grievances. And to say that your New Year's resolution is to just have other people shut up.

Zarna Garg, and the rest of the family, thank you so much for joining us, and Happy New Year.

RIPLEY: I mean, to make a pivot like that six years ago and global fame.

CROWD: Happy New Year. Happy New Year.

RIPLEY: Amazing.

Now we have a very special musical performance for you guys.

STOUT: That's right. The sister duo, Aly and AJ, they're playing "What It Feels Like" at The Eastern in Atlanta, Georgia. Take it away.

(Aly and AJ perform "What It Feels Like")

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:21]

STOUT: And the party continues. Hello and a warm welcome back to our viewers from around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

RIPLEY: And I'm Will Ripley. We are coming to you live from an iconic location, Iconsiam here in Bangkok, Thailand. And we are taking you around the world right here on CNN as we are welcoming in 2026 with you in style. Everyone everywhere ringing in the new year, and we are going to be on the air as each country hits midnight.

STOUT: In every single corner of the world. We're going to bring you the dazzling fireworks, the enchanting music, the grand celebrations with our reporters, our friends stationed all over the globe. And the new year is approaching.

RIPLEY: The new year, is approaching now. What do we say when we both say at the same time?

STOUT: Jinx.

RIPLEY: Jinx. OK. Anyway, you go.

STOUT: But we're moments away from both Tokyo and Seoul.

RIPLEY: Let's go to CNN's Hanako Montgomery live in Tokyo.

Hanako, you know I used to live in Tokyo. It's a fun place to spend the new year, isn't it?

MONTGOMERY: It really is, guys. I'm actually at Shinjuku right now where behind me there is a massive projection map. Just so many lights, so many sounds too. It's very loud here. But we also do have a live performance of some of Japan's most iconic symbols. Iconic pop icons. Hello Kitty is actually in the crowd just over there. And very, very soon we're going to start counting down to the new year, welcoming in 2026. We are also expecting to see some sparklers go up as we do ring in the new year.

But I can just tell you guys, it's a really exciting time here in Tokyo. People are just so thrilled to be welcoming in another year, another year of hopefully good health, good vibes, good energy, and I really wish the same for you guys as well.

[10:00:06]

I mean this show has been incredible and you guys just Happy New Year