Get a Hobby, Be Happy with Jessica Williams

I love and I'm really excited and I was like trying to tell him I was like look at Thomas in day

And he's there now. I'm gonna Google that but I know for me It's my slowest comments in the day And I just I love looking at them walking around in London with their little dog and he's a little short king And she's a tall queen and it just looks so right. It just looks so right and it's like why? Hollywood. Why it looks we can do this we can do this

This episode of IMO is brought to you by progressive insurance

“Howdy Craig Robinson. This is very comfortable. It looks like a pajama top. Well, that's what it's supposed to. It's fashion”

And I say really there's a look. It's the pajama. Well under kids a dad pajama who's giggling about pajamas? It's like what?

So we talk it looks like a pajama top. It's supposed to look like a pajama top. It's making an observation

You not knowing things I didn't know that you could wear a pajama stuff because I like my pajamas I'll be wearing a pajama top. It just looks like in mimics pajama mimics sort of the Comfortable but if it actually looks like a pajama top Why couldn't you wear pajama top?

There's you could and some people do actually wear the pajama top as fashion. This just happens to be a Blouse that is fashioned after pajamas. Okay, and there's also now I don't know whether this had bottoms, but a look would be this exact same bottom

“Matching the bottom. Right. Have you seen people walking around there for like that?”

It's probably not their pajamas. I I have learned something because I have very high and

Spinsive pants it. Yeah, because I you wouldn't want to wear it to bed after you wore it around the airport I just like this look because it's This my look Well, it's working for you He's my friend

Just matter it's my friend. She's gonna be nicer. He's gonna be nice. I mean her mom likes. Oh my god Her mom likes you go. Yeah, you don't want to be nice to be. I'm a seller mom Oh my goodness, let's do our official introduction. Okay, so we have today Jessica Williams a two-time Emmy and critics choice nominated comedian writer and performer who currently stars as

Gabby and Apple TV's hit comedy series shrinking which I happen to have seen in 2016 she She co-launched a podcast two dope queens Which became an HBO series in 2018 with a four hour long special and if I don't if I remember correctly, you were on that

Yeah, you were on that. Okay. Yeah Just finish the introduction Come on out Wait, where'd I go And then I was on the daily show

Yes, I was the youngest ever corresponded Take some so long to read Wait, so you know I'm excited to remember we joked about this carpet on crits Yes, of course a big chair That's it. Oh, it's it. You're not super comfortable not going in. I feel like I can just

“Welcome thank you wait you said you've actually seen you seen our show. Do you not watch a lot of TV?”

No, I don't he doesn't it's hard for me to watch TV because I have Four children two are grown two are in 16 and 14 so and I'm coaching their teams and I'm you know, I'm I'm life and I understand So I it's I got if you if I'm watching your show you know it must be good Honestly, I'm just saying you try not to be on the couch no, it's like I would be sound asleep

I get it watch all the stuff. She's like you don't watch enough popular culture stuff. Yeah Like I'll be watching the inside of my eyelids. I know that's right That's like the most dad old man thing Watching the inside of my life because he is he's a dad. Oh, oh, I'm like I'm brand free No, I know I know

He didn't the quarters it. I know if with his fashion stuff. He's thinking what I just watched with you I was watching I was like wow what an intro Both of y'all looked looked dope everything's working. You know for the ball I think so you you know, I mean he you of course he harped on the fact that your mother told

My mom said obviously I didn't tell her until the last minute shows that my house is now she's like where are you going? I said all I'm about to do I am She went she like walked across the living room to give me a hug and all this stuff and then Obviously Please tell Michelle. I love her example. She said I love the success And I wish her all I'm sending her all the love and then don't forget Craig she said please don't forget Craig

Tell them I love them and all this stuff and you know she said it's gonna be easy. They're midwest people My mom's my my family's from Ohio. So they're like there is a difference we were just in Ohio We were in yellow springs Ohio and your spring field and just you know salty the earth yeah Kind of thinly yeah, yeah, hey, how you doing? It's just great. Hey how you doing is very nice

That doesn't happen that doesn't happen as much as you think of it. Yeah, especially in LA totally. Hey how you doing? Yeah, I first loaded question

Obviously you're pro at this we're just kept we're just starting out here How we doing great. This is like lovely. There's like some lovely people here. You guys can't see there's a timer We've got this gorgeous color. It's in between a pink and an orange and It's coral it is coral and there's coral. I mean, I love it. This is really nice and you guys have a great The answer yeah, I mean didn't build up over the years many many years and everybody I talked to this done this podcast loves doing it

Which is a good sign oh Okay, you said a very good example one of my first podcast. No, it wasn't I wasn't you know when we weren't into the podcast thing podcasting wasn't a thing

“When we were in the White House. I mean, we did we sort of kept to trend when it came to communications, you know, but I don't remember ever”

Going on a podcast when I was first lady. Oh, so we're totally honored like those insane

It was really doing you guys and we you guys came to my office. We did which was so cool. Yeah, you know and Incredibly impressed by the two of you. What made you want to do a podcast? Got the these people In this room. Yeah, like you know what would be great for higher ground audio. It's like if you did a podcast And then I was like, I don't know and they were like what if Craig did it with you and then I was like oh

All right, yeah, so it's really a combination of them and him Well, I have a craft room now in my house where I just do like you are a craft agent So I am yeah, you know, so in and yeah, it's like How I stay saying but I have you guys saying and I just listen to you guys while I'm

“Sewing and crafting because you have to like I was you probably know I got into my knitting face”

I didn't know like well during COVID. Yeah, cool. So it's one of these things. It's like okay We're gonna be trapped in the house. I mean, you know, we had the former president Who believed in science so we knew what was coming? You know

We were always be like yeah, what do we have to do there was like stop washing the vegetables that doesn't you know, right?

So it you know, he would talk to Fauci and really find it a lesson to people Exactly exactly so we were you know, we understood what we needed to do we knew that it we would need to hunker down So I just started ordering Crafts and stuff like that like paint brushes and and I saw Knitting needles okay, let's get yeah, I used to crochet when I was little so I got knitting needles and

Start it learn in the stitches and what do you know what I made up then I made everything really I mean I made scars and then I made pillows I made pillows then I made it in assignment Mm-hmm. And I was like everybody's getting knitted gifts for Christmas I made pillows and then I made a sweater Then I started making hats and I made mittens before yeah

So this is the long way of saying You can't do anything when you're crafting except listen. That's right. You know, that's right. You got a lock-in

“Yeah, that's what I like about it. So I'm I'm always chasing flow state. No matter what that looks like”

I want something I'm trying to use my phone a lot less to it just making me bad just look Yeah, I'm mad. What am I? What am I? What am I? And then it's like what am I communicating on Instagram like it's like look at what you don't have like I don't want to do that So I found that I'm happiest when I'm crafting especially when I'm not working So what are you making when you're crafting? I've been sewing. I've been sewing like a mad a mad woman

I think I have a I left in the car. I had a I made a heart shaped purse That a material I used a quilting quilting cotton, but it's like a ditsy fabric. So kind of like grandma You get it. I can come to society. It's puffy I padded it because I wanted to put my laptop in it and it's a big red heart I quilted it and then it has ruffles on it. Oh wow. Another thing I made repair shorts. They're like two different legs

That's the best thing like yeah, because we're tall. I think sizes are just a suggestion like what they do better now Yeah, I can actually buy things off of offline me too. Yeah, and then but there's also like a really good like There's like a unisex runoff because of like drag culture and stuff that I've benefited from and like

“Pushing the limits of sexuality and gender. I can find bigger shoes like shoes now. What size do you wear if you love it?”

Yeah, I'm now I'm two and a half and like yeah, 11 right and so I'll go 11 11 and a half and it's it's been a struggle But now it's like really cool. Yeah, they're doing better. I know but short shorts with separate legs Yeah, they're just two different fabrics So, but I mean, but I do whatever you know. He's he's very strong Like style ignorant. No, I mean, he's like when you have a thing on the second Jessica

We mean no, but that you were saying that and then you were cut off before you could finish Oh, they went a different direction. Yeah, I was interested in understanding what two different legs were okay Well, I also made a quilt top okay. That's not fashion. That's just more of a home good I mean, there's nothing more satisfying than like I did this and I can put it on and carry it out into the world

And you don't have a million gifts now you have a million gift ideas and it matters more than like to me

“And like this really really nice purse. It's also very sustainable. It's like making stuff out of things”

You have did you where you crafty is a kid or did you know I was more performing arts. I was doing like I went to I grew up here in L.A. more and it's called the south bay so it's more like the beach cities like torrents Rdando that area Herborsity and I knew I wanted to perform arts when I was a kid and here it's a lot easier to to do performing arts I went to public school. So I did I would do drama festivals Shakespeare festivals

School musicals and then we had a high school improv team when I was in high school and I tried out for my high school improv team And I got on there and That sort of started my

My comedy tract and like my love for for comedy. Were you always this person

That we see before you? I mean, you're so I you're quick You're confident you're on top of it. You know, no, I don't think so. I mean a lot comes with being black being a girl being tall and I was always tall and you know, you know I was just talking to you about that. I love talking about being tall people there. Oh, yes I don't like talking about being tall people that aren't tall. So I don't get that very safe here. They are very

Very very safe. We know very safe. We know Would you consider yourself shy? Were you ever shy? Yeah, yeah Totally. I'm like on right now because I'm working. But when I'm home like imagine I get in my car I'm like Thank you Craig and Michelle thank you

I just go like that and my tower down. I just go And then my driver once gonna be like, are you okay? I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done.

“How old are you when you realize you want to be an actor?”

Oh, really young. I got a really nice sweet spot of TV It was before Nickelodeon and Disney became 24 hour networks. There was like a time where as a millennial I'm 36. So we got to see like all that. There was like sketch comedy, Keenan and Kel. There was a lot of really funny stuff that was made for kids. But then at about 8, 8, 30 they would start showing like Happy days escaped to which mountain last year. So you still got like older stuff like it wasn't

They would have something called bulk Disney. So it wasn't like you just watch stuff for kids. You watched everything I'm a refresh prince really meant a lot to me. The kid men and black like will Smith really meant a lot to me Just talking about queen latifa really meant a lot to me will be go over. It's just like These women these like black women who could play and rom-coms and can really they can do it all And then I got Sarah and I live in Matt TV which I

My grandma lived in the valley and when she'd watched me she would let me stay up late and she would drink a cult 45 And she's from Ohio so it's really hard and I would get her diabetes medication but also I would go get her her beer. You know, so like here we go. Totally I got my girls back That's my girl like a freaking seven year old. And then but I really like I just like she's like the most beautiful person ever this like lady who watched TV all day but I just she just had the best since

she watched South Park she would watch those swim. She was just really body. She would watch curl burnette like she just we watch the name. Oh of course I got all that stuff from her. We got so teared up with her. I mean here we're Matt meant so much to our family and our sense of humor and she is as lovely in person. I'd love to me her. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. I thought

that was such a blessing to be a little like watch it. Yeah, it's amazing. I really love that show

I was getting an education in all sorts of TV and culture with her. It was really nice.

Did you grow up? Um I did you have brothers and sister? Yeah. I have an older sister and I have an older brother but we're all really different. My brothers more. He played football. Come from a football family and then my older sister likes business. She likes like local politics and stuff like that. So my sister and she works for the teachers unions right now so she reps. She reps teachers in the university system. Yeah. So we all were in different lanes. She would run for student body

and all that stuff and I got to do drama club Shakespeare Club. Um we guys go to school together. We did. We went to school together and my brother went to a football school but there's something really nice about not overlapping. We all had just different interests and so I got to be like

“the middle child. What's your your your birth order? How many siblings do you have? Because I think”

birth order is the new I think it's the newestrology. I agree. I see it in our our kids. We see it. He has four I have two I'm Malian Sasha and it's very much their personalities and the choices they may because a younger child you're trying to define yourself against the older. So there was a lot of things. Well I'm not doing that or I'm doing that because you're not doing that and you're a younger kid. So how much of it was your choice and how much of where you battling against

somebody else? It's like your first friend. Like you're sibling. It's like your I feel very lucky

to have mine like mine's make me laugh all the time. I'm like here's I just sometimes I'll be like especially with my brother I'm like you're my best friend. This is what I'm thinking and then I'll see him and my sister and I'll go look at the both of them so beautiful so handsome. I'm so happy to know you. I feel like that's like my 30s and I'm like look at the handle. I like all of us that's nice like I go very, very blessed to have that sister try and protect you when she was younger. But she was

annoyed because me and my brother were like "We're not listening to you like what?" And then my sister is more she's like the person that I would imagine is the closest to Beyonce who doesn't try to be Beyonce. Oh yes. Just really gorgeous and glamorous and works really hard and just all that really really lovely things that you would love and a beautiful black woman and then I feel more like I'm just you know my brains are grown out. My brains are grown I might underwear start to get too

tired. It's kind of I got to order some new underwear but I don't feel like it. I don't feel like just kind of barely hanging on you know. It's like oh I got to go do this podcast. I shave my legs probably not. I'm like lucky to I like a bunch of people put this together and rolled me over

Yes. We can get in the car. You're supposed to be. Yes, you do. Do you do your own makeup? Never.

No, I do like to make up a lot actually and I love it but I have this I have two women that I love that does my makeup and the one who does this makeup is I'm very lucky. She's very silly. Very goofy. She's like very silly. It was like you ever have that surprise where you're like oh my gosh this

“person is so silly. Just what you need to do somebody in your face you have to”

all my life them and feel their energy. Totally. It feels like I'm hanging out with my friend. Then the person who does my hair too I feel they're they're like too. They become when you are in the public eye your team becomes your family because you're with them more than you're with you know your own family sometimes. Do you like getting your hair and makeup done? You know I like the people in the same way. I enjoy that more but I'm like you what I'm down I'm down. I mean you

know I structure my life around hair and makeup. It's like let's get it all in you know it's like stepping it up day. Stack them up. Stack them up because I don't want to have to do this and don't touch me. Don't touch me. That's right. Don't touch me. That's right. I know like it's having a good diet of you getting it. Give it a kiss. It's like you know I do. It's true though so much of what we do especially because oh my god people are so mean. It was so mean online you were so mean. They

“are I've been most of my day. That's why you can't look. No I can't but most of my life I feel like”

is leaving my house and trying not to get my feelings hurt. I'm like really. Yes like at the store. Oh my god you're so much prettier than I felt like just even things like like wow and I'm just here. I'm just here at Albertsons. Yeah you get you get that looks like oh you're really pretty in person. Oh my god. What picture were they looking at? See you need an older brother. See what you did with it. He would have call us to you for me. Oh my god. I mean he doesn't. That did. That didn't work.

No. I feel like I'm so sensitive and it's there's I as I get older and I'm like that's just how I am. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance a company committed to helping people move

professionally or otherwise? For me you remember it was when I left investment banking to go into assisting coaching. That was a big swing for me. I remember calling you and you helping me to be okay with that decision. Yeah I mean I've had a lot of big swings. I mean you know me leaving my job at the law firm where I was making a ton of money in corporate law and deciding to go and work in government and public service where it cut my salary in half and I remember how guilty I felt

for going to mom and dad and even expressing an interest to do something that I cared about rather than something that would make them absolute most money. I mean at the time I was making my salary was more than both mom and dad salary combined. How do you think your age at the time

“shape that decision? Do big decisions feel more or less daunting at different stages of life?”

Oh my god that felt like the biggest decision that I would make. I mean I had invested so much and getting my law degree and then to walk away from it it was scary but we've talked about it. You know once you make that first scary leap you know that first hard decision and you realize that you land pretty solidly on the other side of that leap. Right. You you get comfortable with taking those risks and understanding. So yes age definitely makes the difference

because now you know I'm more confident in my ability that when I take a big swing that I I'm pretty I have the tools to land wherever I need to land. You know it feels easier to make big decisions when you're young because if they don't work out you don't have a lot of people to to you don't have a lot to lose. It's harder when you're older because now the stakes are higher and more people are relying on these decisions to be the right one. All of our listeners

“have faced big decisions and their fair share of uncertainty. I remember the first time I”

ever bought a house. One of the biggest leaps you ever take I was really intimidated by the whole process but when the time came all I could do was trust my gut and have faith that it was the right decision. Progressive understands the hurdles first time home buyers are facing including housing affordability challenges and a lack of straightforward education that could make the home buying process feel less intimidating. Progressive's open-the-house initiative is committed to breaking

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a $3.5 million investment this year towards the up payment. Progressive's down payment assistant program aimed at first-time home buyers. Learn more about the up payment program and progressives commitment to first-time home buyers at progressive.com/open-the-house where home buyers can discover more about housing challenges and access resources and support to empower them in their housing journey. Did you feel pretty? I mean this is another total world thing. No. It's like when you're a

tall girl you know it's like you don't start feeling pretty until you're an adult and you

really realize that it's like oh I really like this height. Totally and a lot of the problem is you

don't meet tall guys until later because it takes us so long to catch up. I mean the big part of it the overarching is media standards and our media diet actually is so counter to physically what we look like. It's the opposite actually and if nobody's talking to you about I feel like now we have that conversation about what are we looking at on TV who's desirable on TV, who is considered petite or feminine which is what's valued in a you know heteronormative society like our media diet

is what is the overarching thing you know when they do the doll test you know those studies but

“you know that's the big thing and so I think if you're a person of color you are we are downloading”

that entire lives and taking away whatever it is especially since it's nothing you never really

say out loud but for me you know better you know better than to say it it's not like we were taught

so wasn't you know so it's when you're at school I don't know but I'm not doing it but I only

do you know this is like yeah since the humor is sort of like what are you doing it's closest to me so I'm in front of you know so I guess but like great job I'm a journalist I'm a journalist but totally like I so no I didn't because I'm a feeler I'm very sensitive like there's no you know and then you know when you're on TV and you're you do events they're like pay people to make sure you look good yeah so it's like oh yeah it's like there you know who you are when

you're at home broless you know watching real housewives of Rhode Island can you imagine they did Rhode Island now they did sit yes I just watched it last night I used my time I know you don't know what it is so I don't want to get into it but what if you think I'm just saying it's like supposed to be watching sun so we're gonna pick one up go ahead I said why don't not watch Rhode Island cuz it's the new one everybody's here and you know what she said don't watch

them now don't watch them all yeah that's not a measure you know what's your recommendation

“for him though I I think Potomac yeah I think Potomac Potomac Potomac Potomac is the one”

we're like I actually am laughing with them because they are very funny yeah yeah I think Potomac start they've got seasons ago yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah you don't have to start from the be you don't have to just don't like I want them to see yeah oh I have a channel yeah so I have to watch it from the beginning no no no no we would we have a limited time we know we have a limited right right so we're saying start from like two seasons ago and I know there's a lot of

it's more than like eight you can do it for the team yeah you know you're a professional I mean this is the other thing you can't be in podcasting and not no pop culture you can't like you can't you know I might have to replace him here we go here we go you yeah are you free Jessica yeah yeah I live right over here definitely what about 90 days do you watch 90 days you know that I watch glimpses of 90 day but I that I I have a hard time there's a lot of that

I can't recommend it in good content yeah you do watch it or you know you don't I can't I can't watch it I've watched it yeah but I it's like I can watch anything I'd have trouble

“watching that yeah you should bad it's not good for it is all and it's healthy is you have”

bravo and you're like okay he's and he's behind the the strings you're like this is it there's a standard TLC you're like this is this is what am I watching what do you think of Rhode Island so far I love it I just got everything there's a lot of drama that's happened so much drama I mean there can't be started rolling they're also messy totally also wasn't expecting the accents like I really didn't know anything about it yeah yeah I didn't know what to expect from Rhode

I had there's a really strong like he's all the he you're like I didn't know this is what I think but I want it is that's why I was going to watch that we used to live in Rhode Island so I yeah I got it so I still don't it's not the one I won't we don't know it's still too new okay it's still yeah if you don't make I'm gonna jump right in okay then you gotta see you gotta get it in well I now I'm wondering tell me about your parents you know they they

bridge do yeah creative interesting people will be they like my mom liked football players

“and bounce and who become bounceers and that's why I'm tall I'm just trying to tell you why I'm”

tall so I don't have a tight and especially like you don't learn like that's really cute like

my mom's always like my mom's always like how's W come out Belle have you spoken to him in a

while and I'm like oh brother like she loves like a tall a tall black and so yeah I think she met my stepdad we have a really blended family she met my stepdad at the Ohio State University and my real dad I think she met at the Ohio State University because there were Ohio people then she moved to LA lived in like highland park for a while there was like some some clubs like the golden tail that like black people used to go to and like deaf comedy jam my dad

my stepdad is like a bodyguard and bouncer and the circuit police officer all those things and then they reconnected here and then they got married and I they came my dad came with my two siblings my older sister and my younger brother and they raised it together in the South Bay just about 20 miles south of here which is really nice place to grow up you're like in LA but you're not

so you can have a really really nice normal life and uh I don't know they were always very encouraging

and so they all kind of let us be be ourselves they were tough on me like I went to like a gifted

talented program tested into that went to a magnet school had the transfer schools to go to a predominantly like kind of white and Korean and Japanese program um and then what's your neighborhood diversity of yeah what's the neighborhood was but I had to go a little farther more to like Calsverty San Pedro area to go to school because I read a lot and then um then I went to high school and and they had a really great performing arts program super underfunded LUSD but

a really great performing arts program so I did a lot of that did improv and then um did up racism's brigade when I got in college and then I went to Calsverty Long Beach you went to Calsverty Long Beach and then I did up racism's brigade and something called comedy sports and then I got the

daily show while I was doing that where you 22 I was 22 and I got that I know now that I'm 36

I'm like wow baby baller yeah totally you said baby baller hmm yeah yeah yeah yeah I was a baby baller it was one of the things where they they didn't know how I got hired like I was auditioning for Allison Jones for this wolf arrow movie and she was like you might be too young but they're casting the daily show can you come back in and and and do these two sides and it was like a stand up where you have a green screen background and then there was a thing at the desk where

you're like talking to John and you're at the desk and I was like sure and then I did that and they sent the tape in and then maybe two days later I was at the pandex press on my campus there was like a pandex press there in between classes and they were like John Stewart's tired tape he wants to

fly you out to audition with him and what do you do when you get that call I screamed I think I had

“an undercut like reanna's ever cut I think I had green hair I remember my best friend and I screamed”

and my mom took me to TJ Max and we got like a Jones New York suit and I just remember flying out it was so cold because it was in Hell's Kitchen the wind whips around I felt like I was in like a abroad-way musical where I'm on the street of New York and I'm scared and I'm funny and I'm gonna make it here I'm still be anywhere and I just remember auditioning with him him just being so nice and just being like you know I'll talk to you soon and and he auditioned he auditioned me

by being like hey I'm John Stewart like it's so nice to meet you I already saw your tape you're so funny all you have to do is like be present with me and that that really released me and I do really well with mentors like that who are very nice because I'm so sensitive I don't do well with mean mentors which I think that can work for people another reason why sports work hard for me because I need somebody to really be nice to me mean coach yeah I mean it works we're not all monolith like

you know some people need to be tough some people need to ask as well too like some people need it you know and but he was very sweet it's like I could tell some people you can tell are girl dads like there's something about working with a girl dad who's a good girl dad where you're like you're that's good they made you better like you've learned a lot having girls and I like the way you deal with women in your life so anyway I got that job pretty quickly it I say that a lot

because it was the kind of audition where he wasn't making it seem like I had to prove myself and at 22 black girl I needed that especially coming up in comedy because there's like especially at the time a lot of mean you guys in comedy actually and who are like you're not funny

“you have to prove yourself to be funny like all that stuff and I had had a lot of that up into that”

point so was that your how did you know what to do on the daily show I mean it's like a machine like okay it's been it had been going for a really long time and and as a correspondent your day is watching the news all day you're looking for stories people are pitching stories and then there's like a field producer segment and those are like they're kind of broy at least when I was there it's like the guys that you go to Utah with and you interview somebody who's going to say like

we should eat babies and you're like tell me more and you have those packages and then you have the stuff that you do with John and then a lot of those people went to Ivy League and it's like two kind of separate things and then you kind of ping pong back and forth but there's like a schedule but when you're 22 you know it was like grad and finished college but it felt like grad school you learn to kill your darlings just because it's funny doesn't mean it's going to make it you learn

how to work for one person you know you're I we're editing these field pieces and depends on how

“John's feeling that day but it's like watching his reaction but that's important to to work for”

someone it's important to be like oh he didn't like this as much and just because you think it should be some some way at the end of the day that's your boss and you're gonna do it that way and then

say about Kony 2012 and he'd be like yes Jessica like what do you think you know in this whole room full of people so he was a really good boss for me for for that and I learned a lot about who I wasn't it's also a really nice way to move to New York it's like on somebody else's

dying with a job would you live I lived in Hell's Kitchen first and then why it's an act was like

Mr. Brooklyn and he was like I'm going to show you something about Brooklyn this is really cool it's all that I lived in Williamsburg Clayton Hill and Prospectites all over how long were you there I have about 10 years and then I clove it happened and I grew up with my parents yeah it's all in my 20s I spent my 20s there and it was great like I this is L.A. as like my heart and my soul but New York really affected me profoundly it was the hardest part about working on the daily show

“I think doing field pieces like I think traveling and you're going to a rally it's very”

scary you know doing that is it takes guts interviewing someone you know when the middle Florida you know is really scary and you're gonna you know you're gonna have to do bits and get it out you know you don't know if they're gonna freak out or something and I remember having quite a bit of anxiety and sometimes I would text the other correspondence like here I go you know I hope I get what I need but yeah especially now it's like what they're doing like Jordan and Jesse and Ronnie you know

it's like Josh it's like really cool that they're doing that but for me it gave it gave me a lot of things I especially coming up more introverted yeah just have to you know that's life we chose that's the job well were you were you glad to be doing it did you feel like you were in your in your your sweet spot absolutely it was really nice how you guys in the White House yeah yeah it was

“like it's harder now I think because it was just so much yeah there's so much and it's really”

really really like a trigger point now but yes it was great it was it was funny the daily show is something where you would know you you don't know who's watching it and you would get really cool people that watch the show which is really nice but yeah I I learned so much but it's hard because

with that and podcasting it's like I always know it was an actor so I had to do like a hard pivot

and be like oh well I started this as an actor I just so happened to to do improv and really like comedy yeah that's got to take a lot of courage because you got this regular job and you doing well and then but you know you were destined for something else so how and when did you decide okay this enough I gotta I gotta follow my passion totally I mean it's really hard people were like oh like we want you to run the daily show so I said oh we want you to host the daily show and I'm thinking

I don't want to no I love them I love it's a hard job you do it every night I want to imagine people are like for me it's like when I told people I was doing this they're like tell me shall we want it to be president I was like just want to be freaking president like we're talking about those people that don't know what they just they don't know what the job is like you don't know what you do you want to do you want to do it what you're talking about you know and so

it's I'm thinking just it's called to do it was just like you host and I was like I want to do that you know how much work that is you only see your family I'm I'm looking at the news like this birthday then I have to put on a suit I'm gonna work too but you do look better in a suit

“when you're hosting you have to wear a suit you know I don't want to do that shit you can't wear”

your birthday I'm a god no girl I want to let's not love or brought I want to sew it I want to sew it tote bag okay and you have to know that I know better than you because I watch people do the job and I know what it takes to do the job I know better than you you know so it's like tell the shelf and it's like don't you wonder to run for president no I don't know why yeah we're good let her do her whatever you know but let her knit and deal with challenges but yeah so it you know

it is hard to leave something that was like my womb but I never thought like since John went back and

since I gotten to do shrinking that I get to go back and so I've done a couple of bits going back home and it feels really good like being able to dabble and it is very different you know they're they're they're the best over there yeah you want to do something and let us know it's like right but I know I never thought I'd be able to to work with John again in that capacity and I feel very lucky this episode is brought to you by progressive insurance a company committed to helping

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to empower them in their housing journey. Back to tall people always in acting not okay no offense

to the all of Hollywood they're so small I know there's such small people totally and I always miss I don't see anyone because I'm looking for that's X and I'm looking up they're down I missed them they walk right past my waist they're like you didn't know that was Tom Cruise you're like I know I thought I'm not Cruise is my height totally you know totally I'm doing a rom-com right now

“that I think it'll be really excited about it's like me and a shorter a guy who's shorter than me I love”

and I'm really excited and I was like trying to tell him I was like look at Tom is in day and he's there you go I'm gonna google that but I know for me it's my influence Tom is in

day and I love him but I just I love looking at them walking around in London with their little

dog and he's a little short king and she's a tall queen and it just looks so right it just looks so right and it's like why Hollywood why it will be conducive we can do this so I'm trying to take it I'm trying to take it back because it's ridiculous there's a weird like doll baby doll Barbie and I know where like if you're tall you can't be with somebody short but are you looking really good under the arm of the ground totally know and so I still watch that I still watch yeah

with the who are underneath somebody's arm and I'm like I don't even know what that feels like now in day I take Thomas she just grabs it when he's right on her middle and he's grabbing it they're both grabbing each other like I love paparazzi for whatever I say thank you guys so much if you're watching it really means a lot to me in the tall woman community but I really hope

“to take back the rom calm and I think that's the be sure the man's actually lovely on the tall”

woman side that you know the fact that women's athletics has really developed and we were seeing all types of bodies and images and it's I feel so good about the next generation of girls coming up I don't know about you but when I meet a tall young girl yeah I stop and I'm like girl you are this is exciting you know and I see you as stand tall you know do not worry about this you will grow into it it will be fabulous but we didn't have those wrong you know that was

I know when I see when I see tall young girls I stop too and I tell them they didn't make them like that when I was younger yeah especially like because when you think I'm sorry when you think about you too you all aren't that tall you're tall but you're not like I'm still I'm fine 10 yeah I'm 5/11 I'm 5/11 but then when you add the shoes and you know that's there and I feel and also presence like I'm not gonna I think my presence feels tall so how is it

getting cast when you're you know when everybody is 5/6 and it's hard yeah yeah it's really hard people I think there's a lot in this business about people hiring the same people over and over like sometimes I look at movie trailers and I'm like I just saw all these people in a different movie and now it's like and now we're bringing you them in a different movie and you're like oh you know we have to we have to work to make people make it different you know and then there's something

about being like not mixed also which means you work less considerably you know every show there's like a lovely mixed young lady on the show and that benefits everyone because she can have a white parent and a black parent and it's again our media diet it's like what are we saying and then being tall on top of that it's like really really hard to get cast you just have to

“you can't rest you have to prove yourself all the time but I feel lucky to be on drinking because”

we shoot that like five or six months out of the year and she's by my house and it's just another

shipping away at something if you just keep doing that you're showing up then you finally

“think so good oh thank you so really are I mean that's one of my favorite shows I mean I have”

had the opportunity to meet Harrison and oh yeah my god he's so sweet one of the sweetest people in the world trying to get him on the show but I'm a little corner man totally I'm trying to kill Tim it's like the former First Lady really wants you on the show he's like well good well well like I don't know I don't even know how you would begin to do that I feel like you're that we get up yeah yeah we were just with I was just with him the last two days and like he's just a

maniac where he's our especially on set he's like our I mean it's Jason's show but Harrison is like the son and we're the son of the system around him we're like ready we're like is he here all right let's do it you know we'll be like someday so be like I'm already acting I'm already acting and then the Chris you know but it just depends on how he's feeling but he's like you know he's earned it I he sometimes I'll just look at him and they they've wiggled him into doing press you know

and I'll be like he was at the cast party for like Indiana Jones he's at the cast party for what lies beneath like he was like he was like he's at the cast party for witness you know this amount he's been it's very acting you know you don't have to do any of it really so I feel very lucky but you feel like you're you're holding your own I mean you too don't know thank you thank you I have no you know I have no choice why I'm gonna let my Harrison afford to go me up on a string you know I'm competitive yeah I

don't do sports but I like to think I'm athletic and I'm very competitive and one thing I'm

going to yeah that's meant the same mind I always my have you seen Annie Hall you can see

Annie Hall there's this lobster scene in Annie Hall that's totally you can tell like an improvise spontaneous moment and they're giggling and you're just like wow like Dante and it's giggling and you're like this is everything I want in my career is it's like an improvise moment I want every time I do something on camera for it to feel like it's happening for the first time and you know I want to I if Harrison has an idea I want a yes and and be like I want to make my

screen partner look good that's a big part of being a supporting character too is like I'm gonna put my oxygen mask on and then I'm gonna help you how do we make this happen and how do we make this scene look alive so for Gabby especially the character I play with such a heart-led

person I'm always trying to be like okay now what feels how can we have a lobster moment

what feels spontaneous um I wanted to feel like you you look at it and you're like oh only just

“could do that that's kind of my goal I think but yes casting is hard there's no there's no like”

you really have to get people to try and think of you but I can't force it so in the meantime when I'm off and not we're not I like to so have hobbies and I have a full life that's kind of the goal like I act but I want a really fun life yeah that's the thing yeah yeah well you and that affects your work I mean you start seeing these actors who just they they become other people and it changes the way they show up it's really easy because when you are an actor

you're on set people can get you anything you want you're like a baby basically everybody knows where you are um they're like you need something I can get it for you and you become this weird baby person and it brings a lot of mental illness it does and I get it like I really want my union to have more health services specifically for actors because you have your you know it's so mean or business so mean the cat casting doesn't make sense sometimes you're you're fighting

for these parts it's very small and you know there's you know there's you know there's the white guy on set there's number one on the call sheet you don't know if he's doing method you don't know what his thing is is he gonna make it easy for you is he gonna make it hard you might still have to kiss them like you know you know it's its own thing and it is like a really really

“kind of baby job like there's so many important jobs but acting is like it is the most”

baby like look at me I see an emotion like it's so embarrassing actually it's a really embarrassing job so when I see guys talking about the craft like uh you cry baby you just got paid to cry on camera it's cool it's crap but it is you're not a surgeon you're not like you're not saving life you didn't work it's the only you're not just a kid yeah everybody can't do it like of somebody like me I I fascinated at consuming acting really you like you like the

to do things it's like to sport me too it's like I appreciate the fact that you've had to work

me too all of this and get up there and then mess it up me too I like a medium experience like I think online people are like this movie didn't blow my balls off like I'm like you want your blows your balls blown off every time you watch something you can just have a perfectly medium time

“and it's good like bring back a medium time I think it's kind of more important or medium like”

a medium less like that's okay I think it's fine I think it makes studios take less of a chance this is hard because everybody needs to have their life change every time no we have to try and fail it is a goofy job where if you do it right you get an insane amount of money for a tiny amount of work and I'm calling that out because a lot of actors walk around like they're you know changing the world and it's like I guess this is art that we get to privilege yeah so yeah but I do love

good acting my partner knows like if I see good acting he'll just turn to me like do you want to rewind that and I go yeah they're cooking like I'll rewind things when I say that means your partner knows good acting I think so I think he does just from like us being together and like like I want to see it like I want to see cooking and I think there's nothing but that's what I like about reality shows like real housewives you want to watch stakes okay crank listen

you want to talk to him he's women are acting they are like they're like they're like they're like it's my point to my sister that it is not reality yeah nobody said nobody's arguing I'm not

“saying this is so real and that's why I was like oh my god it's just it's entertaining I think”

it's like when Andy Warrell came out with pop culture people were like what is this this is a

can of soup I think it's that I think really amazing things happen in reality TV and I think

it's really important and it shows us something about ourselves as a society and it should be watched it should be studied it should be analyzed like really you were breaking down characters behaviors thinking you've seen before I mean I think it's also look I tease him because what you said about acting I say all the time about sports you know I mean it's you know it's society we have decided what type of entertainment is relevant or or good or worthwhile right and it's

like reality TV is it's it's sociology it's empathy it's analyzing behavior I mean it's like the it's like the emis of like girl let's break down that conversation totally which is very female totally you know but what gets what do we spend money on what gets the awards somebody throwing a ball it's like okay you're good at thought you you can jump high but that's what you that's all you do totally you've been so trained yeah this is what you've done so you should be good at it

and and you're tall totally you want to get an order or genetic right you you you fit the the bill you're a gymnast because you're four eleven mm-hmm and I try I try that's another thing told people can't do a backflick how could do it too much going around it's too much going around

and it's just yes yeah you do the first part of the backflip you're like it's like that was a lot

that was you got to bring the legs all of them yeah no so I do think it's very gendered I make this argument only because so many people make the opposite argument when it's something they don't understand totally you know that that's the only reason I make the argument it's mainly to men to say wait wait wait wait a minute right yeah you know what you like is only you know credible because men have decided it is right that's right that's why I

agree you know I agree because it is objectively it's it's a skill for sure it's a really cool skill too totally you know whatever the sport is anybody who becomes a master at something they do it's fascinating to what I know I like it too I I feel like that's why I like talking to people about anything really if you especially when you travel and you're like oh you're a you're a master shoe shiner like tell me more genuinely yeah what kind of you know

what's it like when somebody has smelly feet you're a shoe shiner what's that a guy do you deal with how you deal how do you cope do you have a regular what you guys talk about do you shine your own shoes are you over it what's the best kind of shoe to shine you know like really it's absolutely

“good girl about that you can go in totally I think people um that's what people are endlessly”

fascinating and it's what you choose to find interesting that matters and I do think reality TV it's

I'm a professor somewhere and they're like honor and professor teacher reality studies class and

“like what what did it say yeah what do the Kardashians say what does it reflect back to us as a”

culture what does it mean you know that that what do you think it means these days well there's so much reality TV it's hard to choose just one thing yeah it's a valid medium and it's doing really really well but it does show us like love island showed us a lot did you ever want to do you as long as you're my friend you are my girl yeah I didn't really know about it I would pass over it and then one day it was the one summer or was it COVID I don't know what no wasn't COVID because it

wasn't on but the girls were into it and it was the thing it came on every day and I was like

oh I was I was judging it was like yeah of course how could watching these amazing suits

become a thing and then they were like just sit down and watch with us mom and I couldn't stop absolutely I mean and there was a discussion deep discussion totally I mean especially this last season there was a lot of like race politics oh my god they're real and I'm working and to play there was like somebody like you know house as beautiful as a landry and you're like am I taking crazy pills here am I taking this is like one of the stuff that I've ever seen but when you're in this sort

of fishbowl of like people whose beauty standards are one way you're just like oh this is really really weird and then when she got out of the house it's like she's going to fashion it's like

what she deserves yeah but it did spawn a lot of conversation over fandoms and race

in the United States and then the season before that there was some weird like Dominican American stuff like it was like it really highlighted yeah it's like a weird fishbowl and it brought up some racial politics like of like heteronormative romance in a way that I think is really interesting and it is the easy it is lazy to me for people to count that out because it's reality

“TV there's so much there but that's why I think it's like really important 90 day fiancee is”

its own thing that's saying a lot of crazy stuff about immigration and you know a lot of times I'm rooting for the women trying to get in this country that I know in their home country make a dollar an hour and they're like talking to this old guy and they're like a hot young thing trying to get into the United States I'm like yeah yeah get a way to shock you to shock in a way of life you know it's like I don't know there's so much but we've got our viewer question yeah

okay we have a question yes yes let me help okay let me help you yeah this is from Benadetta and Benadetta does not want us to know where she's from at 37 as a black woman I am finding myself at a bit of a crossroads I've recently graduated from a leadership program and while I've been fortunate to learn interviews and receive great feedback I'm struggling to close the opportunities it's incredibly frustrating especially as I find myself applying for roles I know

I can excel in there's a lingering uncertainty that I can't quite check what more can I do to make the leap into a role that truly aligns with my aspirations I know that career journeys aren't linear but I'm reaching out because I'd love to hear your thoughts on staying motivated during this process how do you keep pushing through the uncertainty without settling when the pressure to take anything that comes your way is so real your advice would mean the world to me and that is from

Benadetta who is 37 it's really hard because what I could have used and what I could use when I was an actor is like sometimes people just aren't going to hire you because you're black and like you feel like you're taking crazy pills you're like oh I can't get this job oh I can't you do all these things and you see other people get in maybe you're more qualified and like it's like you're not crazy actually like you sometimes you just not go get it because you black we are the history of our

country makes it so that we are it's actually harder for us to get jobs and that's very real and like

“sit with that I think for a second and that's okay but then also it's like okay to be disappointed I”

feel like there there's that too it's like feeling like you know feeling like you're disappointed in the system comes with being the human experience I feel like but also keep you got to keep going and make sure you fill your life with things that you enjoy that remind you of who you are like it whether it's you know for me crafting making sure you laugh with your friends doing things that

sure you fill your tank because work isn't the only thing it's like your your whole you have a whole full

life and you are a person outside of this job and make sure you hold on to that because it'll make

“the the stress of not working in the field that you want to like work in a little easier I think”

and what are you guys think you know I I it's the how do you stay focused I think sometimes you need to be ready to take an alternative path because it depends on what your circumstances are you know I mean I wouldn't tell somebody just hold on to your dream regardless of anything because you might not be able to do it and and flexibility and adaptability is is part of life you know I mean you don't I don't want to discourage anybody from pursuing their dreams but

you gotta eat you know a good part of happiness and feeling sustained is like I'm taking care of my family paying the bills and sometimes you know look this this whole notion of having be career that makes you happy and fulfills you I think is a relatively new goal our parents took jobs and they worked and they did what they had to do to pay the bills I don't think my father who was a stationery fireman at the water filtration plant all his life who was an artist he was a

gifted painter and sculptor he couldn't do it because he had us and so he made the call that I'm gonna work for the city make a good salary send my kids to college you know most of of a people in life are doing things that don't bring them passion you know it's like so they find it in

“other things and I think I would say keep an open mind to what is really possible to”

and be ready to pivot you know and try not to be too disappointed with the pivot because that it's how you feel about the pivot sometimes that can determine at all if you feel like I gave up everything and I can't be happy now and or I failed because I didn't do this thing in the way that I thought it was done you know and that's all in our heads and our hearts you know I mean you know that it is not a statement of anything other than maybe you just didn't it didn't

work out and that time at that time and sometimes things don't work out but don't let that block your happiness or to find you you know keep keep going if you can but be realistic if you can

maybe yeah you're also always surprised like you always see jobs has that I'm really bad

“of quoting people but I understand the essence of it that's why I'm receiving jobs as that really”

cool thing about connecting the dots and like you you want to do one thing but then you wind up doing something else and then you wind up doing something else but at the end it all kind of came together especially for him and making you know this this apple product and it's like you would be surprised the root that you take to get to where you want I found that's been true in my in my life in my career which is the only thing I can really speak to and then the other thing that you

remind me of is thinking of your thoughts as trains like I had a really good therapist wants to tell me like your thoughts are coming and going you're on a subway platform the trains are passing and you can choose to get on the train or you can choose not to so when you're seeing this train that's like I'm a failure because I don't have the job I want right now you can choose to get on the train or you can acknowledge it and see it and have it pass you know but that that

reminded me of that of like just because you think that you're a failure today because you don't have this job today doesn't mean that that's actually what's true and so yeah well for Benadetta from someone who has pivoted quite a bit in their career I would say do not be afraid to begin at the beginning and that's where I think a lot of people get hung up on because they want to pivot

into an equal or higher position to your point about you're not going to always find something

because you got to you got to eat you got to live you got to raise your family you really have to think about starting from scratch and that might mean hey I want to I want to be a basketball coach and you take a salary cut and you do something else on the side while you're creating this new opportunity for yourself I I I I I agree with me she wait this is a new thing where where people are actually actively trying to find the thing that they love to do because it feels like people are

been thinking about this for a long time they just have had the wherewithal to do it and having done it a couple of times myself you just have to get past the fear of starting from the beginning and then the other thing that I would say is the Benadetta's 37 you said so she's young enough

“where if you can keep your lifestyle at a manageable place the I think the reason that I could”

make that first jump from corporate awareness banking to coaching was I never took my lifestyle

up to the big time bond trader level because I was always afraid that it wouldn't last if you can if you can manage to do that it makes it easy to pivot it makes it easier easier easier to pivot yeah I mean I think that this is separate from her but like there is something where I say to much much younger much younger I'm talking like they're like 18 19 not to you Benadetta

you know you my girl but we're like a job all the time yes you like a like yes someday you you

not supposed to so I'm saying you gonna work people you don't like you can't just right you gotta you gotta have a job you gotta build like you just not gonna like it so that's right no that's not like when I had to so yeah that's not how it works if you got it mid when you're doing something you like it's easier on the days when you hate that work for you you don't even

this job I love my job some days I'm not a morning person I gotta get up you just was what we do

“you just got to there's always something you're not gonna like and so this idea that you have to”

like it all the time I'm like nah well living within living below your means living within your means I'm I'm telling young people that all the time I mean that's that's a key to freedom you know totally well Jessica this has been cool I had a blast I had a blast you guys were lovely I wasn't not exhausted yeah it's like I'm gonna get my car oh my god I want to see life videos it's like it's like I'm powering down powering down Jessica's off I'm gonna pin my hair I'm gonna do it in

“the car my driver knows that's what's happening sometimes like I'm like in the car I take my way”

off sometimes it's like goodbye totally when I get the black car it's like they know but like I got a blast this is great I'll do it again anytime but thank you for having me it's been I wasn't worried you have it's it's so much fun watching you and you are killing it thank you and just keep it up girl represent us tall chicks out in the world keep up I think up the opportunities for tall black women to do whatever we want you were representing well

and to give your mom our love even though you know especially quite yeah whatever you were a hug for me well she'll love it she's gonna watch this and she's gonna love it she's gonna be happy that you did that thank you thank you sweetie thanks again to our friends at progressive insurance for sponsoring this episode for more information visit progressives.com/openthehouse [BLANK_AUDIO]