OC comedian George Perez on Santa Ana in the early '90s: 'Like radioactivity'
On the Juice Unlocked podcast, Orange-born comedian George Perez said he got jumped in three Santa Ana neighborhoods just visiting the mothers of his kids, and called the city in that era "active, like radioactivity."
On the Juice Unlocked podcast, Orange-born comedian George Perez said he got jumped in three Santa Ana neighborhoods just visiting the mothers of his kids, and called the city in that era "active, like radioactivity."
Comedian George Perez sat down at the Juice Unlocked podcast table and took listeners back to Santa Ana in the 1990s and early 2000s. In his telling, simply pulling up to the wrong block was enough to get jumped. Juice Unlocked posted the clip on April 4, 2026.
"Back then everything was active, and I would have to say Santa Ana was like active, like radioactivity," Perez said.
Jumped in three neighborhoods
Perez said he is from the city of Orange "my whole life," but spent a lot of time in Santa Ana because the mothers of his children lived there. He said he got jumped in three different neighborhoods connected to them.
"Santa Ana didn't even care, they just jump you," he said. He described pulling up to a girlfriend's place and being questioned by locals who did not recognize him from elementary school.
He told the hosts it was not just Santa Ana. Orange County was "the same everywhere," he said, naming Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana, Placentia and Fullerton.
“Back then everything was active, and I would have to say Santa Ana was like active, like radioactivity.”
Still OC
Perez said he has since moved to Cypress but has no plans to leave the county. "I won't leave Orange County, dog," he said, before closing with a punchline: he had just paid off all his child support, so he could go anywhere.
“Santa Ana didn't even care, they just jump you.”
Who is George Perez
Perez is a stand-up comedian born and raised in Orange. According to a 2022 L.A. TACO profile, he had recently been released from prison and was working as a cement mason when he started in comedy, and he first came to the World Famous Comedy Store in Hollywood in 2012.
L.A. TACO reported in July 2022 that the Comedy Store was set to add his name to its walls on July 23 of that year, calling him the first self-described cholo comedian to get that honor. He started working with MTV and Comedy Central and appeared on Showtime and Netflix, according to the outlet.
“I won't leave Orange County, dog.”
Sources
Filed under Santa Ana · Orange
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