Robert Young Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. Lee co-hosts the podcasts Bad Friends with Andrew Santino and TigerBelly with Khalyla Kuhn.
From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on MADtv, and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series Splitting Up Together alongside Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson between 2018 and 2019. Lee has also appeared in the films Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), Pineapple Express (2008), and The Dictator (2012). He had a guest appearance as the cynical, burned-out Dr. Kang on FX on Hulu's TV comedy series Reservation Dogs.
Early life and education Lee was born on September 17, 1971 in San Diego to Korean immigrant parents Jeanie and Robert Lee. He and his younger brother Steve grew up in Poway, California. His parents owned clothing stores in both Escondido and Encinitas, California. He attended Painted Rock Elementary School, Twin Peaks Middle School, and Poway High School. In high school, he was part of a breakdancing team. After graduation, he attended Palomar College before dropping out.
Career
Lee worked at cafes and restaurants before pursuing a career in comedy. In 1994, the coffee shop where he was working abruptly closed. Lee stated, "I just went next door to get a job, which was The Comedy Store in San Diego." After a few months of working odd jobs at the club, he tried stand-up during one of their amateur nights. Within a year of doing regular comedy sets, he received offers to open for both Pauly Shore and Carlos Mencia. He then began working regularly at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a comedy club owned by Pauly Shore's mother Mitzi.
Lee has said that his parents had hoped he would continue on with the family business and were less than supportive of his comedic pursuits at first. During a podcast interview conducted by fellow actor and comedian Joe Rogan on February 1, 2011, Lee stated that during the first few years he did stand-up, his parents barely spoke to him. However, after his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno his father called him, asked how much he had to pay to be on the show, and then apologized for not supporting his comedy career. Lee has included his family in some of his work; his brother has appeared in several non-speaking roles on MADtv, and his entire immediate family has appeared in a sketch on the show. In 2007, he pitched a sitcom to Comedy Central about a Korean family, which was to star his own family.
In 2012, Lee was hired to reboot Maker Studios' YouTube comedy channel, The Station. Lee hosted the 9th MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert in 2013. From 2019 to 2023, Lee made several appearances as recurring character Jin Jeong in the Magnum P.I. television series. In 2020, Lee began co-hosting the Bad Friends podcast with Andrew Santino.
MADtv In 2001, Lee joined the cast of MADtv, making him the show's first and only Asian cast member. He has stated that he dreaded playing the characters Bae Sung and Connie Chung, as well as the "Average Asian" skits. Lee remained with the cast until the series' cancellation in 2009 and returned briefly when MADtv was revived in 2016 on The CW.
TigerBelly podcast
Started in 2015, TigerBelly is a video podcast hosted by Bobby Lee and his ex-partner, Khalyla Kuhn. It also features appearances by technical engineer Gilbert Galon and producer George Kimmel. The show's intro song "Shadow Gook" was written and produced by Lee and performed by Lee and Kuhn. The hosts discuss events from their lives and news topics from popular culture, often revolving around Asian American issues related to the entertainment industry, adolescence, sexuality, ethnicity, racism, and politics.
Prior to the creation of TigerBelly, Lee and Erik Griffin pitched a podcast to All Things Comedy but never developed the show. While Kuhn was recovering from heart surgery, she developed a podcast as a way to occupy herself. Lee assisted her with its creation and eventually appeared on her show. He then decided to focus on a podcast with Kuhn instead of with Griffin.
In April 2023, podcast clips of Lee telling a story of an experience with a young, adult prostitute in Tijuana resurfaced. USA Today reported that the anecdote drew online backlash and allegations of child exploitation. During an episode of TigerBelly in the same month, Lee clarified that the story was not true and had been "a dark joke" pieced together from "a couple of awful bits".
Riyadh Comedy Festival In 2025, Lee participated in the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the Saudi government is using the comedy festival to whitewash its human rights abuses.
Personal life Lee began taking methamphetamine and marijuana around age 12, as well as heroin by age 15, and went through three drug-rehabilitation attempts before becoming sober when he was 17. Lee relapsed on Vicodin and ended 12 years of sobriety after receiving negative feedback from a producer. He got sober after MADtv producer Lauren Dombrowski fought for him after he was fired from the show a second time, a story which Lee discusses in his appearance on the pilot episode of Comedy Central's TV series This Is Not Happening. On TigerBelly episode 224, Lee admitted to guest Theo Von that he had relapsed after his father's death in August 2019 from Parkinson's disease. He subsequently went to rehab and became sober again. Lee has stated that he is a recovering alcoholic.
Lee's younger brother, Steve Lee, is a musician, podcaster, and comedian.
He was in a ten-year relationship with Khalyla Kuhn, an influencer and content creator. The relationship ended in 2022.
Lee has stated that he believes in God, but does not adhere to a specific religion, calling the core principles of Christianity "insane" on George Janko's podcast in 2024.
Filmography
Film + Year Title Role Notes 1999 The Underground Comedy Movie Chinese Man 2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Delivery Boy American Misfits Korean General Direct-to-video 2004 Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle Kenneth Park 2005 Accidentally on Purpose Bobby Short film 2006 Undoing Kenny 2007 Kickin' It Old Skool Aki 2008 Killer Pad Winnie Pineapple ExpressBobby Larry of Arabia Short film 2009 Soldiers of Capernaum Direct-to-video 2010 Fudgy Wudgy Fudge Face Kangaroo Hands Hard Breakers Travis 2011 Paul Valet A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Kenneth Park 2012 The Dictator Mr. Lao 2013 Final Recipe Park Wedding Palace Kevin Jesus is My Co-PilotHimself Short film 2014 Meet Me at the Reck Direct-to-video Bro, What Happened? Brah Man Out of Love StanleyShort film 2015 The Comments Hugh 2016 Laid in America Goose Keeping Up with the Joneses Ricky Lu 2018 Curious Georgina Bobby Short film Public Disturbance Chuck 2019 Extracurricular Activities Mr. Mulnick 2020 The Wrong Missy Check-In Desk Employee Guest House Benny 2021 Wish Dragon Tall Goon Voice How It Ends Derek Hero Mode VP Goodson2023 Death and Ramen Timmy Lee Short filmThe ThrowbackCharles2024Drugstore JuneBillSweet DreamsCruiseBorderlandsLarry2025Happy Gilmore 2 HimselfNimrods2026GoatRusty Bus BoysVoice
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1999 Arli$$ Episode: "D-Day" 2001 Late Friday Himself Episode #1.19 The Brothers García Pet Store Clerk Episode: "But Football Is a Religion" Mad TV Himself / Cast Member Featured cast (season 7 & 15), main cast (season 8–14) 2004 I Love the '90sHimself 2 episodes Faking It Episode: "Fireman to Funnyman" 2005 Minding the Store Episodes: "Makeover" & "La Jolla" The Drop Episode #3.14 Party @ the Palms Chu Episode #1.6 Curb Your Enthusiasm Sung Episode: "The Korean Bookie" 2005–2006 Mind of Mencia Asian CSI Agent / Gay Pirate 2 episodes 2006 IconsHimself Episode: "Jamie Kennedy" Comedy Zen Episode #1.4" Thugaboo: Sneaker Madness Mr. Lee Young / William Hung Voice; television film 2007 American Dad! Danny Voice; episode: "Bush Comes to Dinner" 2007–2014 Chelsea Lately Himself / Round Table Guest Recurring guest 2008 Asian Excellence AwardsHimself / Host Main host 2009 Live at Gotham Episode: "Episode #4.2" Himself Episode: "Reality TV Made Me Do It" Family Guy Sharply Dressed Asian Man Voice; episode: "Business Guy" The League Chu Episode: "The Usual Bet" 2009–2019 Laugh FactoryHimself Recurring guest 2010 Supreme Court of Comedy Episode: "Tom Arnold vs. Bobby Lee" Ktown Cowboys Episode: "Episode #1.9" Cubed Bob Yamamoto Recurring cast (season 1), guest (season 2) 2011 After Lately Himself Episode: "The 'M' Word" Big Time Rush T.J. Episode: "Big Time Reality" Family Guy Chinese Man Voice; episode: "Amish Guy" 2012 Equals Three Himself Episode: "Spelling Bee" Samurai! Daycare Park Recurring cast RVC: The Lone Shopping Network Hiri Episode: "Father of My Squids" 2012–2013 Animal Practice Dr. Yamamoto Main cast 2013 Who Gets the Last Laugh? Himself Episode: "Bam Margera/Bobby Lee/Matt Besser" Gotham Comedy Live Himself / Host Episode: "Bobby Lee" Knife FightHimself Episode: "Travi vs. Kuramoto" Internet Shock Quiz Episode: "Bobby Lee's Racist Confession" Arrested Development Mrs. Oh Episode: "Queen B." Tubbin' with Tash Tiger Belly Episodes: "Chelsea Handler" & "Chelsea Peretti & Reggie Watts" Sean Saves the World Mr. Kim Episode: "Sean Comes Clean" 2013–2014 Kill Tony Himself / Guest Host Episodes: "Kill Tony #9" & "Kill Tony #32" Deal with It Himself Recurring cast (season 1), guest (season 3) 2013–2015 The Awesomes Tim / Sumo Voice; main cast 2014 TripTank Voice; episode: "The Green" & "Candy Van Finger Bang" The League Lee Wei Lee Episode: "Epi Sexy" 2014–2016 This Is Not Happening Himself Recurring guest 2015 The Comedians Fortune Teller's nephew Episode: "Billy's Birthday" NCIS: Los Angeles Rio Syamsundin Episode: "Blame It on Rio" 2015–2016 Bad Weather Films Himself 2 episodes 2015–2019 Nature Cat MC Ferret Voice; recurring cast (season 1–3) 2016 Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle Himself / Judge Episode: "Road to Roast Battle" @midnight Himself Episode: "Episode #4.6" Another Period Sea Captain Episode: "Lillian's Wedding" & "The Duel" Son of Zorn Jakton Episode: "The War of the Workplace" 2016–2018 Love Truman Recurring cast 2017 The Comedy JamHimself Episode: "Tiffany Haddish/Chris Hardwick/Bobby Lee" Funny You Should Ask Recurring guest Comrade Detective New York Degenerate Voice; episode: "Two Films for One Ticket" What Would Diplo Do? Brian Main cast Real Rob Kim Lin Episode: "Best Play Date Ever" 2018 Something’s Burning Himself Alone Together Stan Episode: "Pop-Up" NCIS: Los Angeles Jeff Carol Episode: "Goodbye, Vietnam" 2018–2019 Splitting Up Together Arthur Main cast 2019 Family StyleHimself Episode: "Sweets" Beyond the Arc Episode: "Montreal" 2019–2023 Magnum P.I. Jin Recurring cast (season 2-4), guest (season 5) 2020 Game On! Himself / Captain Main captain The Stand-Up Show with Jon DoreHimself Episode: "Episode #1.5" The Cabin with Bert Kreischer Episode: "Release" The Comedy Store Main guest Dream Corp LLC Tricky Ricky Recurring cast (season 3) 2021 Fast Foodies Himself Episode: "Bobby Lee" Nailed It! Himself / Guest Judge Episode: "Travel Dos and Donuts" Well Done with Sebastian Maniscalco Himself Episode: "The Macaroniscalco" Immoral Compass Dylan Episode: "Part 2: Secrets" 2021–2022 Reservation Dogs Dr. Kang Guest (season 1), recurring cast (season 2) Inside Job Dr. Andre Voice; main cast 2021–2023 And Just Like That... Jackie Nee Recurring cast 2022 About Last NightHimself Episode: "Anna Camp/Loni Love/Bobby Lee" Dark Side of Comedy Episode: "Andrew Dice Clay" 2023 History of the World, Part II Harold Episode: "VI" 2024Dinner Time Live with David ChangHimselfEpisode: "Choose Your Own Adventure Volume 2"2026Sun ChaserGuards 1 and 2Voice
Music videos