Actor and comedian Billy Crystal says he has stopped speaking to God after losing his Pacific Palisades home in the January 2025 wildfire and then losing his close friend, filmmaker Rob Reiner, in a killing in December 2025.
Crystal, who lost his house when the Palisades Fire tore through the Los Angeles County neighborhood, told CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Tracy Smith that the two losses, coming about 12 months apart, have changed his relationship with faith.
Reiner and his wife Michele were killed in December 2025. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been accused in the killings.
Asked by Smith whether he still talks to God, Crystal said, “No, ’cause I — I don’t trust him.”
When Smith pressed him on whether he was serious, Crystal said, “Yeah. Too many bad things have happened. The Earth is in bad shape, this is a weird, scary time. So no, not anymore.”
The remarks mark a shift from Crystal’s 2004 Tony-winning one-man show, 700 Sundays, which included his accounts of conversations with God.
The CBS interview aired Sunday to promote Crystal’s return to Broadway in a new show, 860, but much of the conversation centered on how he has coped with the back-to-back losses.
Crystal told Smith that humor has carried him through the hardest stretches.
“That’s what I do. You have to, man. You’ve gotta. It’s a healer. It always has been that way. You know, we say when life gets tough, all you can do is laugh.”
He said performing 860 has helped him process grief that still feels overwhelming.
“I’ve been doing it. If I didn’t get to perform it, even, I’m OK. I’ve absorbed the biggest pains that people can go through, the loss of home, dearest of friends, and I’m OK.”
Crystal, 78, said he remains hopeful despite the toll of the past two years.
“I’m 78 now, and I feel really good, and I’m optimistic for what life is going to bring. If we’ve gotten through this in the way that we’ve gotten through it, we’re doing OK.”
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