Montreal ER nurse turned TikTok star John Dela Cruz headlines Just for Laughs festival

John Dela Cruz, the Montreal emergency room nurse who became TikTok famous as 'Nurse John,' is headlining a show at the Just For Laughs Festival in his hometown this week.

Dela Cruz has built a global audience of over 19 million followers by turning the healthcare system's darkest moments into light comedy. His stand-up shows have sold over 200,000 tickets worldwide. Though he now lives in Los Angeles, he's returning to Montreal to perform at the festival.

He explains that he uses comedy to show "the dark experiences that we have as healthcare workers, but not punching down on the healthcare system or the system itself, but just show exactly what we go through every single day that people, that the public don't see." He argues that a person's "work personality is different to your real personality," an observation that runs through his videos.

Dela Cruz immigrated to Canada from the Philippines at 16 years old. On advice for other immigrants, he says: "I would say to all the other immigrants is that you deserve to be where you are, and you deserve to take up space. Because I think a lot more for Asian communities is that we feel little in a community, in a place where there's so many people that occupy it."

He credits his mother with working hard her entire life to provide for him, though she was skeptical when he pivoted from nursing to comedy. "When my mom found out I was continuing my stand-up comedy route to becoming a stand-up comedian, she's like, 'You know, you're not even that funny. Are you sure you're funny?'" But he urged her to trust the process. "Now, guess who's my biggest fan? My mother."