Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder recently shared how an unexpected exchange with comedian Martin Short helped push him to stop smoking again during the pandemic, offering a rare personal glimpse into the singer’s life away from the stage.
Vedder explained that the moment came during a phone call with Short, and he had admitted that he’d started smoking cigarettes again after previously trying to quit.
Speaking on the Fly on the Wall podcast hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade, Eddie Vedder recalled telling Short he was “frustrated” with himself for relapsing. Short then asked whether he was smoking cigarettes or pot, and when Vedder answered cigarettes, Short quipped, “Oh, are you still waiting for more literature on that?” Vedder said that line was enough to make him stop.
While discussing the story, Vedder also reflected on Pearl Jam’s 1994 Saturday Night Live appearance, noting the band had the rare chance to perform three songs instead of the usual two, as he revisited moments from the group’s early mainstream breakthrough period.
The anecdote underscores how a brief, pointed remark can cut through excuses and change habits, even for a rock star known for his intensity and introspection, and it adds another human detail to Vedder’s long public journey of endurance on and off stage.
