The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic were hard on everyone. Even Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder wasn’t immune to its impact. He even revealed that he picked up smoking again during that time, and a wry, offhand remark from comedy legend Martin Short made him quit once more.
Vedder shared the story in a February 2026 episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast, hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade. At one point, the conversation turned toward Short, with Vedder saying he had a story about the SNL icon.
“This funny thing that happened during COVID,” Vedder began. “Marty calls up about four months into COVID just out of the blue, and he says, ‘Well hello Eddie, I was just checking in to see how my young friend is doing. How are you, young man?’”
Eddie Vedder had just quit smoking around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
Vedder explained that he’d quit smoking at the beginning of the pandemic. However, he picked it back up after a few months. “So I totally quit, I’m feeling pretty good. Then about four or five months in, something started happening, and I stressed out; now I’m having a couple smokes,” he shared.
“So I said, ‘Well, I’m frustrated with myself, I’m smoking again, you know I quit because of COVID.’ He said, ‘Oh, you’re smoking. Are you talking pot or cigarettes?’” Vedder shared, doing an impression of Short that’s way better than you’d have expected. “I said ‘cigarettes.’ He said, ‘Oh, are you still waiting for more literature on that?’”
The sardonic comment landed just right, and Vedder (mostly) walked away from nicotine. “And that was the last time I ever had a cigarette. Just like that. Well maybe not really, but it makes for a better story,” he quipped.
Vedder was not the only Pearl Jam member who had struggles
Notably, back Digital Spy noted that as far back as 2006, Vedder had confessed he wanted to quit smoking. At the time, he’d supported bandmate Mick McCready through some hard life stuff, but was having a hard time kicking this particular habit himself.
“Mike McCready has been through all kinds of stuff, and we have supported him through it,” he said. “But we’ve lost a number of friends who we just couldn’t help.” Vedder then added, “And me? No drugs, no, but I can’t seem to stop the cigarette smoking.” He then added, “Another couple of attempts, though, and I might just get my life back.”
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