“Sometimes I get horny”

The expression is recorded as the punch line of a story Truman Capote told during an afternoon with Andy Warhol and Bob Colacello. Its significance in the diary lies not only in the joke itself, but in Capote’s deliberate buildup and his return to the line as the story became a repeated performance.

The Story Behind the Punch Line

Capote said that he had visited Flamingo with Liza Minnelli and Stevie Rubell. He described an encounter with the venue’s owner, whom he characterized as unexpectedly ordinary-looking, and recounted asking why the owner had started the place. Before supplying the answer, Capote announced that it was an exceptionally good line, creating an interval of suspense around the punch line.

Repetition During the Visit

The diary places the story within an afternoon when Warhol was recording the visit and Capote was becoming increasingly intoxicated. Capote repeated the punch line throughout the afternoon, laughing each time. That recurrence turns a brief reported exchange into a small social performance: the story’s remembered wording becomes less important than Capote’s pleasure in its delivery and in retelling it to his listeners.