EGG CLEANSING Ft. Cynthia Erivo | Episode 173

The rumors are true… Cynthia Erivo is on the show this week!! Cynthia talks to Drew about living like a monk to prepare for Wicked, manifesting, Capricorn lore, competitive Scrabble, running marathons before Broadway shows, rappelling into caves, and so much more. Cynthia IG: https://www.instagram.com/cynthiaerivo/?hl=en Cynthia Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cynthiaerivo?lang=en Follow The Comment Section on IG! https://www.instagram.com/thecommentsection/?hl=en eBay is the place for pre-loved and vintage fashion. This episode is brought to you by Sol de Janeiro and the NEW Body Badalada Lotion. Visit soldejaneiro.com today to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:32Speaker 01

  Get away from him.

• 0:33Drew Afualo?

  Get out of here.

• 0:34Speaker 01

  Now, go.

• 0:35Drew Afualo?

  Get out of here. You'll never work another day in this town.

• 0:38Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh.

• 0:45Drew Afualo?

  Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Comment Section Show, starring me, your fave, Who Cares About Me. Onto the guest today. We have the iconic, the legendary, you're never gonna fucking believe it. It's Elphaba herself, y'all. It's Cynthia Erivo.

• 1:03Speaker 01

  Hello.

• 1:03Drew Afualo?

  Welcome to the show, queen.

• 1:05Speaker 01

  Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

• 1:06Drew Afualo?

  I'm keeping it real chill, real calm.

• 1:08Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:09Drew Afualo?

  I'm a huge fan.

• 1:10Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:11Drew Afualo?

  Get it out of the way early.

• 1:12Speaker 01

  Thank you very much. No, we can keep it in the room. It's good.

• 1:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, let's keep it a while.

• 1:15Speaker 01

  I like the energy. It's good.

• 1:17Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 1:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:18Drew Afualo?

  This episode is presented by Sol de Janeiro. So you love to take care of your skin and you love to smell great. That's why new Body Bottle Lotta lotion from Sol de Janeiro is for you. It's fast absorbing and non-sticky. It gives you 24 hours of non-stop, weightless, daily hydration. And it's made with their iconic Shirosa 62 scent. From sunrise to the after-party, new Body Bottle Lotta by Sol de Janeiro should be your new lotion obsession. Give it a try. You know you wanna. Shop now at Sephora and soldejaneiro.com. I am a humongous fan. This is what I do when I have people that I'm obsessed with, which is everyone. I get the weird out of the way.

• 1:58Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:58Drew Afualo?

  So then it's not haunting us.

• 2:00Speaker 01

  That's all right. But weird is good. I like a little weird.

• 2:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, so your version of "The Color Purple" is my favorite ever on Broadway.

• 2:06Speaker 01

  Thanks.

• 2:06Drew Afualo?

  And your song "I'm Here," your version of "I'm Here", was my most played song two years in a row on Spotify. There it is. It's out on the table. It's out of the way, it's not weird anymore, because I told her to her face.

• 2:17Speaker 01

  Not weird.

• 2:18Drew Afualo?

  There it is.

• 2:18Speaker 01

  Not weird at all, not weird at all, I love it.

• 2:20Drew Afualo?

  Which probably tells you where I was at mentally at the time, but that's another conversation.

• 2:24Speaker 01

  But we, we move.

• 2:25Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 2:26Speaker 01

  And we grow.

• 2:26Drew Afualo?

  Yes, and now look at us.

• 2:27Speaker 01

  And it's good, and I'm glad I could be there with you.

• 2:29Drew Afualo?

  Thank you, thank you for your help Cynthia, I agree.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:32Drew Afualo?

  I'm so excited to have you, I think you're a fucking ledge.

• 2:35Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 2:35Drew Afualo?

  Thank you so much for joining us.

• 2:36Speaker 01

  Thank you very much.

• 2:37Drew Afualo?

  And I want to talk about you, and all of your wonderful, amazing things going on. But first, I would love to know who is not familiar with your lore, which I would find very hard to believe at this point, but for those that aren't, um, how you got into show business, how you got into singing, acting, all of the things.

• 2:55Speaker 01

  I feel like I took the traditional route into it. I was doing a lot of like singing and backing vocals and all of that stuff when I was much younger. Um, I was finding whatever I possibly could to perform in when I was living in London between the ages of like thirteen to the age of like eighteen, nineteen.

• 3:14Drew Afualo?

  You're just gigging all over?

• 3:15Speaker 01

  Literally.

• 3:15Drew Afualo?

  Oh.

• 3:16Speaker 01

  And, you know, the, but you can't do that right now probably anymore, but I would be at a club singing, doing backing vocals for any open mic nights with people, new artists, whatever that was, till like 1am. And I was just trying to be wherever I could be.

• 3:31Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 3:32Speaker 01

  Until I finished what we call secondary school or college, and then I went to drama school, put myself through drama school.

• 3:41Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 3:41Speaker 01

  And then did plays that led to musicals, and musicals that led to Broadway, Broadway that led to films and TV, and here I am today.

• 3:49Drew Afualo?

  Look at you.

• 3:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:50Drew Afualo?

  Now, you're Elphaba.

• 3:52Speaker 01

  Mm.

• 3:52Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  Little bit.

• 3:54Drew Afualo?

  That's so insane. I, I would love to know, is there like, is there a difference in preparing for something like a Broadway show? Like when you're doing like eight shows a week versus something like Wicked, is there a difference in preparation for it?

• 4:05Speaker 01

  I think there is a little. They're both as intense, just different. So for the Broadway show, you're, you're trying to maintain a level of health in your voice eight shows a week.

• 4:16Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 4:16Speaker 01

  For the eight shows a week.

• 4:17Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 4:18Speaker 01

  And you have. It might seem like you have the days to yourself and then you're performing at night. But once you've performed at night, your body then has to recover from the night before the day of to be ready then for the night again. And you're doing sometimes two shows a day. So your body really just has to try to keep ticking over and getting ready. And so that one day off that you get is really to like get yourself together for the next week.

• 4:40Drew Afualo?

  Right, is to patch yourself back together.

• 4:43Speaker 01

  I mean, I literally lived like a monk. There was no going anywhere, there's no doing anything.

• 4:46Drew Afualo?

  You're like Rapunzel.

• 4:49Speaker 01

  Don't even do that to me.

• 4:52Drew Afualo?

  I just mean the pageantry of it, you get locked away from everyone.

• 4:55Speaker 01

  Away, away, away. But like, you know, it was a really beautiful time because I was still learning when I was on Broadway. It was the first time I was on Broadway. Haven't been back for a while, but it wasn't something that I was unfamiliar with because I was coming from West End. I was coming from the stage in London. And it takes a lot to just keep yourself healthy enough to keep going.

• 5:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:15Speaker 01

  When you're doing a role like Elphaba on film, there is a similarity because it's still musical.

• 5:20Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:20Speaker 01

  But it's the fourteen hour.

• 5:22Drew Afualo?

  Workday. Yeah, it's just like a pick your hard kind of thing, yeah.

• 5:26Speaker 01

  They're both as hard, but they're just different.

• 5:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:30Speaker 01

  And I had to get my body ready to be in the harness and flying and all those things that you wouldn't necessarily get on stage.

• 5:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:38Speaker 01

  But you're getting it in film, so you have to be ready every sort of day for it. And there's an interesting sort of mystery to what the day can hold, even though you have a schedule for the day on a set. If the weather's off, if something's not working, if a person can't come in that day, the schedule will change, will change on a dime.

• 5:58Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 5:59Speaker 01

  So you're sort of having to be ready for that. And the mystery that you get when you're on stage is that each audience is very different. So anything can hap- it's live, so anything can happen on the stage, off the stage, and you just have to be ready to change.

• 6:12Drew Afualo?

  Like immediately.

• 6:13Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 6:13Drew Afualo?

  You have to be able to pivot.

• 6:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, at least, but then with film, you have a sort of time to change.

• 6:20Drew Afualo?

  Mm hmm.

• 6:21Speaker 01

  If it happens on stage, it's.

• 6:23Drew Afualo?

  It just happens.

• 6:23Speaker 01

  It happens.

• 6:24Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, there's something, that's horrifying.

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Figure it out right there.

• 6:26Drew Afualo?

  That's so terrifying to me.

• 6:27Speaker 01

  Kind of fun.

• 6:28Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I bet. I'm sure it makes it more exciting.

• 6:30Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 6:31Drew Afualo?

  And it's like, and getting a new audience every night, I'm sure is super exciting too. When you're talking about recovery, has the recovery process changed for you over time? Like, did you learn, like, okay, that doesn't really work for me, but this does? Or like swap out techniques or have you kind of had the same?

• 6:45Speaker 01

  I, I think so. So on a set, when. When you're on a film set, you realize, oh, I can eat anything. I can have anything I want. There's, they have candy everywhere. There's cookies everywhere. You know, the, the crafty truck is always fantastic and they're always really kind and they want you to be well fed and well taken care of. But also you have fourteen hours to do this today.

• 7:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 7:08Speaker 01

  So you wanna be alert and awake. So I will now speak with the people who are like making the food and ask for the things that will keep me going. That will keep my energy up, but won't zap it immediately. Candy's fantastic, but it's like a short burst of energy and then you flag.

• 7:24Drew Afualo?

  And you're working a lot.

• 7:25Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 7:26Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 7:26Speaker 01

  I have had to change how I eat on a set, how I work with my, what food I have, how much I hydrate, how much tea I'm drinking.

• 7:37Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 7:37Speaker 01

  You know, all of this. So I have literally a pack lunch that I take.

• 7:41Drew Afualo?

  Man, you're that guy in the office, huh?

• 7:44Speaker 01

  I am.

• 7:45Drew Afualo?

  Writing your name on everything, putting it in the fridge.

• 7:47Speaker 01

  Like this is the thing that I have. Here's the little bag that everything goes in. This is the tea.

• 7:51Drew Afualo?

  I love that though.

• 7:52Speaker 01

  Here's the fruit. It's all cut up. I don't have to worry about it. This is the, here are my nuts. Here's the lunch for today. So that I know what I'm working with, right?

• 8:01Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely.

• 8:01Speaker 01

  If I'm on stage, I, there's like bottles of water all over wherever I might have to like touch the space if there's a quick change here. Then I, I sort of set it up for myself for ease so that I can get myself going immediately without having to think about it. Yeah.

• 8:16Drew Afualo?

  That's why your voice is so healthy, Ben. Cause you're taking good care of it.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  I have to. This is the instrument I work with and it, I have to treat it well so it treats me well.

• 8:24Drew Afualo?

  Obviously you've accomplished so many wonderful things, especially in the last two years. But I'm curious, like, has there been anything where you're like, man, I really never thought I would get to do that? Obviously playing Elphaba in the movie.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  I mean.

• 8:36Drew Afualo?

  But even just interactions, I know this, this opens up whole worlds to meet people. You're like, what the?

• 8:40Speaker 01

  I think, I feel like I've been on an endless train of, oh, my gosh. Why and how did that happen? Because even going to Broadway.

• 8:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 8:52Speaker 01

  Didn't, didn't think that was gonna happen.

• 8:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 8:55Speaker 01

  Didn't know that was gonna happen. And when it did, I actually didn't believe them. They, I was doing the same show in London and they called me into the office. This, the, the head of the, the theatre and they were like, oh, we're gonna be taking this to Broadway. And I thought, oh, that's so nice. And so that's so cool.

• 9:11Drew Afualo?

  Have fun.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  That's so cool.

• 9:12Drew Afualo?

  Good luck on your journey.

• 9:13Speaker 01

  We're gonna take you with me. Like, we're gonna take you with the, the, the show. Oh, cool.

• 9:20Speaker 01

  Cause I was like, this is so funny.

• 9:22Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 9:22Speaker 01

  That's so nice of them to say that.

• 9:24Drew Afualo?

  What if you're like, that's mean. Don't play those jokes on me. That's mean.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  Also, not cool, but like, okay, cool. I'll see.

• 9:31Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're like, well, have fun.

• 9:33Speaker 01

  Bit by bit, it like, you don't believe it and then you do. And the only time I really thought, oh my goodness, this is happening is when I have a ticket in my hand and I'm at the airport, having to get on a plane to go to New York to do this. And you're like, oh, oh, you meant it. This is happening. So that was like one of those moments where I was like, oh, this is happening. This is insane.

• 9:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 9:53Speaker 01

  Steady amount of like, whoa, what's hap- this is crazy. Meeting Steve McQueen to do Widows when I did, my first film was with Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez. And I was like.

• 10:04Drew Afualo?

  Which is crazy.

• 10:06Speaker 01

  How did I get here? I'm in a scene with both of them. And Elizabeth de Vicky's over here, this tall lady. I'm tiny here, thinking, oh, I have to match Viola Davis, okay?

• 10:21Speaker 01

  And there's Steve McQueen just directing. Good. I think I'll, you know, this is, and my head is like, just keep up, just keep up, you know?

• 10:29Drew Afualo?

  It's probably a good thing, though, that you think that way. I feel like, it's like, you're constantly living in a state of gratitude then.

• 10:34Speaker 01

  Have to. Because I think the more I feel that way, the more I think that way, the more it's, the universe sends it back.

• 10:42Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, absolutely. Oh, my gosh, I so believe in that. You believe in the, we were talking about you being witchy.

• 10:47Speaker 01

  A little bit witchy.

• 10:48Drew Afualo?

  Training. Everybody on my set knows that. I talk about being a witch all the time. I have a bunch of books, crystals, all of that.

• 10:54Speaker 01

  I think we underestimate intuition and we underestimate what we.

• 10:59Speaker 01

  The energy that we have, that we put into the, the air, into the universe, it is active.

• 11:05Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 11:05Speaker 01

  I think we sometimes think it's a dormant and it's just a thing we say. But I, but we see it in action constantly.

• 11:12Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 11:13Speaker 01

  You know?

• 11:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I believe in manifestation heavy.

• 11:15Speaker 01

  Oh, for sure.

• 11:16Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I manifest, I'm sure you've been manifesting.

• 11:18Speaker 01

  Are you joking?

• 11:21Drew Afualo?

  I know, I need to, I need to know what your manifest, I need to get on that.

• 11:24Speaker 01

  Oh my gosh.

• 11:25Drew Afualo?

  I need to juice mine up a little bit.

• 11:26Speaker 01

  I'm telling you, I am telling you, that, it's little things like I, I, I did a small thing called Poker Face. I'm really excited about that episode coming out. But I'd met Ryan before for something previously and it was to play a twin. And then I was like, oh, I'd love to, I really would love to do something.

• 11:51Drew Afualo?

  I am so sorry about that.

• 11:52Speaker 01

  No, but you know what? I feel like this happens. This happens every time.

• 12:02Drew Afualo?

  Who is Sam? Me not knowing. Who the heck is Sam?

• 12:07Speaker 01

  Pissed, annoyed.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  Oh no!

• 12:17Drew Afualo?

  He's just driving it away.

• 12:18Speaker 01

  Driving away.

• 12:21Speaker 01

  Get away from him, leave.

• 12:22Drew Afualo?

  Get out of here!

• 12:23Speaker 01

  Now, go!

• 12:24Drew Afualo?

  Get out of here, you'll never work another day in this town.

• 12:27Speaker 01

  Oh my gosh!

• 12:30Speaker 01

  I'm telling you, I'm telling you, that was not just a mistake.

• 12:34Drew Afualo?

  I know, we're talking about manifestation and twins. You were saying you wanted to play a twin.

• 12:38Speaker 01

  I wanted to play the twins in this thing that he was doing and then like literally a year or two later, I get this message saying, hey, do you want to come and play a quintuplet?

• 12:52Drew Afualo?

  Damn, they said double it, give it to her.

• 12:54Speaker 01

  Double it, give it to her then.

• 12:56Drew Afualo?

  Damn, that's so cool.

• 12:57Speaker 01

  And I'm so excited, I was so excited, I was like, how, in what, what?

• 13:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 13:03Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 13:03Drew Afualo?

  When you do that, you look at your hands like, this power I hold, it's too powerful.

• 13:08Speaker 01

  I should really be careful.

• 13:09Drew Afualo?

  I need, yeah, I need to be careful how I wield this. That's so fucking cool.

• 13:14Speaker 01

  Believing that things will come to you, and I always say to, I always say to people, be careful of what you ask for and how you ask for it.

• 13:22Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 13:23Speaker 01

  Like, want the things you want, but be really specific about how.

• 13:26Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

• 13:28Speaker 01

  Know that there is, and it's obviously the work that you put in, for sure, but it's, it's never just an empty, the words are never empty.

• 13:37Drew Afualo?

  It's always listening and responding.

• 13:39Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:39Drew Afualo?

  I've said that too about people building platforms, when people ask me about building a platform in general, I always say like, I think intention matters more than anything. If you have something to say and contribute that's not harmful, and you're doing it with good intention, I believe the universe will reward you.

• 13:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 13:54Drew Afualo?

  But I also feel like if you're doing it with poor intention and you're struggling, I feel like it withholds it from you on purpose.

• 14:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:00Drew Afualo?

  I truly do believe that, and that sometimes people hate hearing that shit, because they think it sounds like cornball.

• 14:05Speaker 01

  Well, also, you know it's true.

• 14:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 14:08Speaker 01

  You, if you send something out with good intentions, even though it might not be perfect, but if it comes from the right place,

• 14:14Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 14:14Speaker 01

  it's not meant to hurt, it is meant to, to bring joy, it's meant to heal, it's meant to do good, then it will probably come back to you in that way, because that's how you sent it out.

• 14:24Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely.

• 14:25Speaker 01

  If you're sending it out in the opposite direction.

• 14:27Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 14:28Speaker 01

  You'll probably receive it that way too.

• 14:30Drew Afualo?

  Right, exactly.

• 14:31Speaker 01

  It'll, it might come back to you initially with like, lots of good things, and then that thing turns the opposite way.

• 14:38Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly. Have you ever done an egg cleanse?

• 14:41Speaker 01

  No, what is an egg cleanse?

• 14:42Drew Afualo?

  Oh my gosh, they're so cool. But I do them when, when a lot of bad things are happening. Like, if I feel like little things that don't normally go wrong are going wrong for me, in like multiple days in a row, I'm like, I need to egg cleanse. It's like a, I think Hispanic, like, kind of spiritual ritual, but basically you like, use the egg to draw all the bad energy out of you, and then you like, empty it into a cup, you put a bunch of sour stuff in there, you say what you want to get rid of, and then you flush it down the toilet.

• 15:07Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 15:08Drew Afualo?

  It's tea. You should look it up, egg cleanse. If you're ever having a bad couple of days, be like, I need to cleanse. And that's why I said, I, I cast spells on people. I've done it a couple of times, and it's worked. Don't wanna say it, but it's funny, cause one time, one of my girlfriends, who is my witch sensei, that's what I call her. And she's teaching me how to be a witch. One time, something really, something really crazy happened to someone we just mutually know, we're not friends with them. But they're a bad person, so it's fine. But when we were talking about it, she was like, she was like, oh yeah, and guess who cast a spell on her three months ago? Me.

• 15:38Speaker 01

  No.

• 15:39Drew Afualo?

  And I said, why? And she said, cause she was rude to my friend. And so I said, oh, I'm going home and I'm telling someone.

• 15:44Speaker 01

  Now, you were really rude to my friend now. Can we get it together? I like that spell. My, my spell is like, direct.

• 15:53Drew Afualo?

  It's addressing it.

• 15:54Speaker 01

  Hey.

• 15:55Drew Afualo?

  I asked her too, I said, how rude was she? She said she was, she was talking to her friend like she was a waiter.

• 16:00Speaker 01

  Oh, now see, I like to address those things. I'm like, hey.

• 16:04Drew Afualo?

  You confrontational like me?

• 16:05Speaker 01

  No, I, I do. I like, cause I don't think that, I, I don't think everything is bad confrontation.

• 16:11Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 16:11Speaker 01

  I think that addressing, uh, certain behaviors, addressing the way people are with you, addressing the way certain people are with other people. In real time, is actually really good for people.

• 16:23Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 16:24Speaker 01

  Because sometimes they just might not even know. So I think, bring up, let's have a conversation. Here's how I would like to be treated.

• 16:32Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 16:32Speaker 01

  And I know that you would like to be treated the same, but we're gonna have a conversation, because I'm seeing, I'm seeing certain things.

• 16:39Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 16:40Speaker 01

  That I don't think is good for you or me.

• 16:41Drew Afualo?

  I love that. Abandoning for yourself, it's important.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  Uh, for sure.

• 16:44Drew Afualo?

  Especially as women in this industry.

• 16:45Speaker 01

  Uh, yeah.

• 16:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're gonna need to do that. What's your sign?

• 16:48Speaker 01

  Capricorn.

• 16:49Drew Afualo?

  Love. Period.

• 16:51Speaker 01

  Have us around now.

• 16:55Drew Afualo?

  Capricorns.

• 16:56Speaker 01

  If you don't have a Capricorn around, you better get you one.

• 16:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exa- I agree, honestly. My cousin Adam's a Capricorn. And what's funny is, I've, I've made fun of Capricorns a few times, but here's why. Withhold judgment, here's why. I've said Capricorns are the most animatic people I've ever met. It, it works. They charm everybody. Everybody falls in love with them. That's very true.

• 17:16Speaker 01

  True.

• 17:16Drew Afualo?

  What I don't like about Capricorns is as soon as they decide they don't like you, they can just forget you like they never met you in, in their entire lives.

• 17:23Speaker 01

  Immediately.

• 17:23Drew Afualo?

  It's like it vanishes, I feel like that's Batman villain shit, you know?

• 17:27Speaker 01

  No, it's just, we have no time to waste.

• 17:31Drew Afualo?

  Just like, I know. It's so honest.

• 17:33Speaker 01

  I don't need to tell you I don't like you anymore.

• 17:36Drew Afualo?

  I just will disappear and you'll never hear from me again.

• 17:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, that is a big enough message.

• 17:40Drew Afualo?

  That is the message.

• 17:41Speaker 01

  That's the message.

• 17:42Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 17:43Speaker 01

  Why must I be in your space? Or why must you be in my space? I don't like you. You don't like me. We're done.

• 17:48Drew Afualo?

  And maybe it's just envy of mine. Maybe I just envy that.

• 17:51Speaker 01

  Do you know what it is? It's because, it's because people are like, how do you do that?

• 17:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 17:56Speaker 01

  And for us, it's very easy to be like, um.

• 18:01Speaker 01

  That's, that's enough time.

• 18:04Drew Afualo?

  Goodbye now.

• 18:05Speaker 01

  And other people find it really hard to do that.

• 18:08Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that's actually so real.

• 18:09Speaker 01

  You know, we, we sort of waste time being in the same spaces. People we don't want to be in the same space as. And we're like, how do I let them know nicely? And I don't want to hurt their feelings. But it's not about hurting a person's feelings. It's actually being like, I want to spare you time. I want to spare me time. And I want to get on with my life and I'd like you to get on with yours.

• 18:25Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, let's just call it.

• 18:26Speaker 01

  Good night.

• 18:27Drew Afualo?

  We're good. We're good. Yeah.

• 18:28Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 18:30Drew Afualo?

  It's funny because my sister is a Capricorn moon.

• 18:33Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 18:33Drew Afualo?

  So that's like her emotions and stuff. And for years, like on the phone, because we talk on the phone all the time. She would always, if she didn't want to talk to me anymore, she would be like, well, I gotta poop. And so that's just, and every time I'd be like, oh, okay. And then one day I go, no, you don't. And then she goes, I just like, I'm done. I'm done talking. I'm done. I don't want to talk anymore. I go, well, then why don't you just say that?

• 18:56Speaker 01

  This is it. It's because it's not the front. That it's not the rising.

• 19:00Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 19:00Speaker 01

  The rising says, I have to go now.

• 19:04Drew Afualo?

  How do I go? I'll just lie.

• 19:05Speaker 01

  Okay, good. See you tomorrow. Or see you another time. I have a good day.

• 19:10Drew Afualo?

  On my way down here, I was, I was talking to my grandfather on the phone. Because I was like telling him I sent him some food and stuff. And at least three times, the duration of the conversation is probably five minutes. But at least three times, he goes, all right, well, I'll let you go. I was like, I'm.

• 19:26Speaker 01

  I didn't ask to be let go.

• 19:28Drew Afualo?

  I'll let you go. I gotta go. I'm like, you're not doing anything.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  It's not, it doesn't matter about doing anything. It really doesn't. It's like, how much time? Am I done right now? I'm done. Do I need to be doing anything? Not really. I'm just good now. I've, I've reached the capacity of this conversation and I'm good to go. That's literally how it goes. And I love it. I love it.

• 19:51Drew Afualo?

  I envy it. I really do. I really do.

• 19:53Speaker 01

  You just keep someone around, like cousin?

• 19:56Drew Afualo?

  I have my cousins right here.

• 19:57Speaker 01

  Capricorn?

• 19:58Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 19:58Speaker 01

  Teacher?

• 19:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, sometimes when he, he goes, I just turn on and I leave. I go, just like without saying anything is, yeah.

• 20:05Speaker 01

  Oh, me at a, at a function, at a thing, um, it's time to go now.

• 20:12Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I just realized, I don't want to be here, so I'm gonna go.

• 20:14Speaker 01

  It's time to go now.

• 20:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 20:16Speaker 01

  Literally, whoever I'm with, I'm gonna go now. It's, I, I'd like to go.

• 20:21Drew Afualo?

  See ya.

• 20:21Speaker 01

  No mixing of the words, no pretense, nothing. And they're like, you wanna, now? You wanna go now? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 20:27Drew Afualo?

  One of my really good friends, I made a joke about him doing that when we get dinner. Like, cause we're, we're like best friends. Like, he's gonna be in my wedding. Like, so we like sit, we'll chat, we'll gab with the girls. It's like him, us and our friend, my sister. And we'll all sit and we'll chat. And then like, when he's done, he's like, okay, so I'm gonna leave. Um, you guys can hang out. I'm just gonna, I gotta go. Like, when he's, when a, a hang is done, he calls it. He's like, we are done. We are going home. And you're not coming with me. And I'm always like, alright.

• 21:01Drew Afualo?

  He's like walking out the door, getting his call. I'm like, oh, okay.

• 21:05Speaker 01

  We're also very good at being by ourselves.

• 21:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 21:08Speaker 01

  By.

• 21:08Drew Afualo?

  Y'all love being alone.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  Can I come with? No.

• 21:14Speaker 01

  Do you want company? I really don't.

• 21:17Drew Afualo?

  That sounds awful.

• 21:18Speaker 01

  I do not want company right now.

• 21:19Drew Afualo?

  No, thank you. I'm good.

• 21:20Speaker 01

  But are you sure? Yeah. You wanna go, like, on your own? Absolutely.

• 21:26Drew Afualo?

  That's so cool. Do you get to do things on your own still?

• 21:28Speaker 01

  I try to.

• 21:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, me too.

• 21:30Speaker 01

  I try to.

• 21:31Drew Afualo?

  I miss doing stuff on my own.

• 21:32Speaker 01

  It's hard. It doesn't happen very often.

• 21:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're way more famous than me, so I can't even imagine.

• 21:37Speaker 01

  It's, but it's also, it's, it's sort of getting used to how much time you spend with other people. That is something that I have to address for myself. So I'm also, that's also a new thing to be like, I'd like to be on my own today.

• 21:53Drew Afualo?

  I'd like me time today.

• 21:54Speaker 01

  Can I, can I go on my own?

• 21:57Drew Afualo?

  I know, I was gonna ask, like, what do you like to do for fun? Like to relax?

• 22:01Speaker 01

  Sleep.

• 22:02Drew Afualo?

  Oh, me too.

• 22:03Speaker 01

  That's lovely.

• 22:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 22:04Speaker 01

  I, well, I'm like a solo movie watcher. I like to watch something on my own.

• 22:07Drew Afualo?

  Oh, cool.

• 22:08Speaker 01

  Um, I, I, I like to read a lot. Running is great on a treadmill, because you can't do it with anyone.

• 22:15Drew Afualo?

  No one can join me on this task.

• 22:18Speaker 01

  I, I, like, when someone's like, oh, I wanna work out, do you wanna come work? No.

• 22:22Drew Afualo?

  I also hate working out with people.

• 22:23Speaker 01

  Why do I need company?

• 22:25Drew Afualo?

  I don't, it's like, that's my time.

• 22:28Speaker 01

  Why do I need to go and work out with you?

• 22:33Drew Afualo?

  That's the best thing to do alone.

• 22:34Speaker 01

  Please.

• 22:35Drew Afualo?

  To work out. Like, I hate group classes. I hate, my man is a certified personal trainer.

• 22:39Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 22:39Drew Afualo?

  He tried to train me one time. Fought the whole time. Fought, actually, the first fifteen minutes, gave up, left.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  Because I, it's my me time. It's the me time. That's me time. I don't wanna train him. I like, I used to be, I used to train with people, and then I'd be like, when is this session over?

• 22:59Speaker 01

  When do I get to do what I wanna do on my own?

• 23:04Drew Afualo?

  I know, my man.

• 23:04Speaker 01

  When does that begin?

• 23:05Drew Afualo?

  I literally told my man, I was like, it's also, when I was training with him, I was like, well, don't tell me what to do.

• 23:11Speaker 01

  Oh, it's, yeah.

• 23:11Drew Afualo?

  Well, that's kind of the whole point, but.

• 23:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, but also, not really for me.

• 23:19Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 23:19Speaker 01

  You know? Maybe tell me what to do, and then go.

• 23:22Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like, I literally have him.

• 23:23Speaker 01

  Write me a list.

• 23:24Drew Afualo?

  I ask, I'm not even kidding, I ask him to text me workouts.

• 23:27Speaker 01

  Text, does it?

• 23:27Drew Afualo?

  Just text it to me.

• 23:28Speaker 01

  That's perfect.

• 23:28Drew Afualo?

  And I'll look, I'll read it, and I'll do it.

• 23:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:31Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, there you go.

• 23:32Speaker 01

  We're good at following instructions.

• 23:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 23:36Speaker 01

  Give me the instruction.

• 23:37Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 23:38Speaker 01

  I will do it.

• 23:40Drew Afualo?

  That's, I love, I love that you like alone time. I think that's wonderful.

• 23:43Speaker 01

  I'm good, you know, and I know that, that's sort of like a skill that you have to learn over time, but I feel like that's something I was born with.

• 23:54Drew Afualo?

  One thing about me, I'm used to being alone. In fact, I prefer it.

• 23:57Speaker 01

  And the thing is, I love being with people. And then I like being by myself.

• 24:01Drew Afualo?

  It's a real like even, even scale. I love that. This episode is brought to you by eBay. We all have that piece. You know the one, the thing that's so you. You've basically become known for it. And if you don't have yours yet, you'll find it on eBay. Let me put you on, team. eBay is where you'll find those one of a kind, can't stop researching, stay up dreaming about pieces again and again. I'm talking that Miu Miu off the runway red leather bomber, the Cousteau Barcelona top with the cowboy on it, or that Patagonia fleece in the 2017 colorway. All these finds are on eBay. And they even offer millions of main character pieces backed by authenticity guarantee. eBay is the place for pre-loved and vintage fashion.

• 24:46Drew Afualo?

  eBay, things people love. Speaking of alone, but not really your music.

• 24:50Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 24:51Drew Afualo?

  We'd love to talk about that. Please tell me about the new album.

• 24:53Speaker 01

  Yes, my album is called I Forgive You. And I spent, according to my producer, 390

• 25:05Speaker 00

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• 25:37Speaker 01

  Six days making it.

• 25:39Drew Afualo?

  Wow.

• 25:40Speaker 01

  And I did it during the shooting of Wicked and during this press tour as well.

• 25:47Drew Afualo?

  You're crazy.

• 25:48Speaker 01

  I don't have any other...

• 25:48Drew Afualo?

  You're an American Ninja Warrior to me. I don't know how you're still standing.

• 25:52Speaker 01

  When else was I supposed to do it, you know?

• 25:54Drew Afualo?

  Girl, I don't know. I just feel like you're a super soldier. I feel like you're Captain America.

• 25:58Speaker 01

  The thing is, I sort of, I was listening to what my, my brain was saying, what my heart was saying, what my spirit was saying. I felt like the creative sort of portal was open for me. I started talking about it when we were right at the beginning of the shoot. And then I thought, okay, I think I might... I think I might do this and it just sort of fell in the right place. And I knew I wanted to be really vulnerable and when you're doing something like that, you're around lots of creative people. You're in a space that you feel really safe in and so I just started.

• 26:33Drew Afualo?

  It fosters the creativity.

• 26:35Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 26:35Drew Afualo?

  I love that. What do you, what did you pull from for this particular album?

• 26:40Speaker 01

  Like lots of life experiences, different relationships that I've been in, things that I have experienced over time, losses that I've had, gains that I've had. People I've lost, people I've gained, um, things that I've felt, uh, heartbreak, love, loss, all of those things.

• 26:58Drew Afualo?

  Beautiful. What do you hope people take away from it? Like whether it's, is it like messaging? Is it just the musicality overall? Is there anything in particular you want them to take away?

• 27:07Speaker 01

  It's a combination of different things. I poured a lot of my, well, I say a lot, I mean all of myself into this. I'm, I co-wrote every song on this album. Um, and if I haven't written it, cause there are little interludes in there, I reinterpreted, interpreted those uh, interludes and. Created little interpreter, interpolations, I think is the word, interpolations of them and did lots of the arrangements. Uh, it's all my voice except for like one uh, song with someone else's voice in the background. Uh, I was across when we did the string arrangements, it's myself and my, my music supervisor and MD producer.

• 27:47Speaker 01

  Weeps, I was in the room when they were playing, my nails are in there, it's me whistling in there. It's born of me musically and lyrically, it's all me and it comes from my heart, my soul. So you get that. But I also want people to come away with the idea that life isn't necessarily perfect. That we can fall to pieces, but we can put the pieces back together again.

• 28:11Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 28:12Speaker 01

  That we can be kinder to ourselves. The reason I wrote it and called it, I forgive you is that I want the idea of. Saying the words, I forgive you to become a little easier, not just for other people, but for yourself. I think sometimes we can be very, very hard on ourselves when things don't go to plan, but actually those should just be the stepping stones to. Uh, moving forward and to learning.

• 28:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 28:38Speaker 01

  Be forgiving.

• 28:38Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like failing forward.

• 28:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:40Drew Afualo?

  I love that.

• 28:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 28:41Drew Afualo?

  And that's so cheap for me because I got fired right before I started doing this.

• 28:45Speaker 01

  Now you see, and but and then the door opened for something else.

• 28:48Drew Afualo?

  I had nothing but time.

• 28:49Speaker 01

  Right.

• 28:50Drew Afualo?

  To be annoying on my phone at home, like what happened. Now I'm talking to Elphaba.

• 28:55Speaker 01

  And no jokes.

• 28:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it works out.

• 28:57Speaker 01

  It works.

• 28:57Drew Afualo?

  No, I think and I think that's beautiful. And I know you said you had a heavy hand in the production as well. Like, how is that? Do you like engineering your own music? I think that's so fucking awesome.

• 29:06Speaker 01

  I I can't say that I engineered. I'm not techie like that. I like a little tech situation, but I'm I'm I can't possibly take credit for the way this was engineered. That's William Wells, who who is my producer on this.

• 29:20Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 29:21Speaker 01

  But I wanted to make sure that my ears were on everything. So I knew uh what kind of production I wanted on things. Every instrument on this is live. We have a couple of samples on there, but not very many. Uh, and if you hear a drum, it's live. If you hear a guitar, it's live. If you hear strings, it's live. Um, and it's because I I wanted it to feel that way. It brings a different texture to it, you know?

• 29:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 29:44Speaker 01

  Um, and I I'm a weird muso kid who loves music.

• 29:48Drew Afualo?

  Love live music too.

• 29:49Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 29:49Drew Afualo?

  Oh, that's so awesome. And are you excited for everyone to hear it? Obviously, you have to be. I know it's a different side for you.

• 29:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:56Drew Afualo?

  So are you like, what are you most excited like about putting it out in the universe finally?

• 30:01Speaker 01

  I think I'm excited about people getting to know a different side of me. I think we've so many people have gotten to know me singing and doing Elphaba and singing pretty big show tunes or tunes or like big moments on.

• 30:17Drew Afualo?

  Broadway and stuff.

• 30:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's either Broadway or it's a big moment on a a stage for to honor someone and it's like a big gown and a big dress. But and and while those parts are a part of me, it's not the whole picture.

• 30:30Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely.

• 30:30Speaker 01

  And that there is a tenderer, more vulnerable part of that human being that you get to see often.

• 30:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 30:38Speaker 01

  And I want people to see the whole picture now. And this is part of that, yeah.

• 30:42Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I'm so excited for you.

• 30:43Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 30:44Drew Afualo?

  God, you're a man of so many fucking hats. Ah, it must be fucking nice, shit. I was always like, I think you're so talented and it's crazy.

• 30:51Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 30:52Drew Afualo?

  One thing, like, God hit me with a funny stick and said, send that bitch out, she's done.

• 30:55Speaker 01

  Are you joking? Look at this. This is not just a funny stick.

• 30:58Drew Afualo?

  Funny is all you get. Get out of here.

• 30:59Speaker 01

  But also, I will say that to be able to sit and have conversation with people is, is a skill.

• 31:05Drew Afualo?

  Thank you, Cynthia.

• 31:06Speaker 01

  It's like, and not everyone is born with that.

• 31:10Drew Afualo?

  That's true.

• 31:10Speaker 01

  To be sat, to be engaged in meaningful conversation with different human beings who have different walks of life, with different experiences, is a massive skill.

• 31:21Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 31:21Speaker 01

  It's a massive talent. So please don't knock it.

• 31:23Drew Afualo?

  I'm so glad that's on camera. Thank you so much. I'm gonna put that on my CD.

• 31:27Speaker 01

  Don't. Because it's also, it's not just about having the conversation. It's like, I feel comfortable.

• 31:34Drew Afualo?

  Oh, yeah, totally. I'm so glad. Yeah, imagine you said you felt uncomfortable, though.

• 31:38Speaker 01

  But, no, but, but it, but you can tell when a person doesn't know how to make another person feel comfortable in their space. This is your space, right?

• 31:46Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 31:46Speaker 01

  And I'm sitting here and I feel comfortable.

• 31:47Drew Afualo?

  I love that. I'm so glad. I'm so happy to hear it. Thank you. Yeah, I do think, I've told people before, because I know, uh, you've done hundreds of thousands of interviews. I'm sure you've been interviewed in certain aspects where you're kind of like, oh, that was weird. That made me feel weird.

• 32:02Drew Afualo?

  That was weird, but you're a professional. I could tell you're a professional. Um, I've done a lot of carpet interviews and stuff. Like, I've talked to a lot of talent like yourself, which is wonderful. Um, but one thing I've told people before, when they've asked me about interviewing, and I was like, because I also have a journalism degree. I have a communications degree. I, I was a journalist for a very long time. Um, but before that, I was like, I mean, certifications are great, learning skills are great. I think that's wonderful. Um, I think being a people person is far more important. I was like, there are some people that can write really well as journalists that cannot talk to people, and that's okay. They're two different skills. Like, I was like, it's a real squares and rectangles situation, I feel like. Um, I just happen to be... Journalism also annoying on the internet. Thankfully, I've married the two.

• 32:46Speaker 01

  Combined and made something.

• 32:48Drew Afualo?

  Thankfully, thankfully, I found a niche. Thank God. Uh, but I appreciate that. I'm glad to hear that you're, uh, feeling comfy.

• 32:54Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 32:55Drew Afualo?

  Love that for you.

• 32:56Speaker 01

  I'm, I'm in my seat. I'm like.

• 32:58Drew Afualo?

  Look at you, relaxing. We're matching. Look at us.

• 33:01Speaker 01

  We are. Look at this.

• 33:02Drew Afualo?

  Also, I do want to circle back to you saying, I know you said you like to read.

• 33:05Speaker 01

  I do.

• 33:05Drew Afualo?

  And I remembered that you like Fourth Wing.

• 33:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:08Drew Afualo?

  The books. Can I say, when I saw that, I said, I knew she was one of us. I knew she was one of us. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I'm never wrong. I knew it. I love that you love those kinds of books.

• 33:18Speaker 01

  Are you joking?

• 33:19Drew Afualo?

  You love, you love a fairy smut book?

• 33:20Speaker 01

  I, listen.

• 33:21Drew Afualo?

  Me too. Cynthia Erivo, me too.

• 33:23Speaker 01

  Love. Come on. Let's be honest. It's good. It's good.

• 33:29Drew Afualo?

  Tell them. I'm sick of finding the fight by myself.

• 33:31Speaker 01

  Come on. You know it's good. You know it's good.

• 33:36Drew Afualo?

  I love that you love those books. Fucking period.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  This.

• 33:39Drew Afualo?

  Did you like the new one? I haven't read the new one.

• 33:41Speaker 01

  I'm in the process. I have not had enough time to like sink into it yet.

• 33:45Drew Afualo?

  Really?

• 33:46Speaker 01

  But it's, where I'm at, it's good.

• 33:49Drew Afualo?

  As of right now, it's good.

• 33:50Speaker 01

  It's good.

• 33:51Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I've been really into those. I was just telling my man the other day. Cause I saw something about Dave Bautista. He was saying that he's had to like slim down a ton. And he said, he's been doing it even more lately because he's not getting cast in anything because he's so large. Like he's such a big dude.

• 34:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:07Drew Afualo?

  And I was like, what do they have against big man? If I don't see male titties in a, in a rom com soon, I'm gonna be pissed. I get it. Jacob Elordi, Timothy Chalamet. I get it. I understand. Show me man titties now.

• 34:20Speaker 01

  I, I just need, I just need to know that, that I can be picked up.

• 34:24Drew Afualo?

  That's like, yeah, exactly.

• 34:26Speaker 01

  Just occasionally.

• 34:29Drew Afualo?

  Sometimes I want to be tossed around. What's so wrong with that?

• 34:32Speaker 01

  I think, I think we're getting used to being on the ground too much.

• 34:35Drew Afualo?

  I know. You're telling me. And I'm a big man too, so I need a big man, you know?

• 34:40Speaker 01

  You know, I got a little muscle.

• 34:43Drew Afualo?

  I love a muscly, a muscly dude. And I know in a lot of those, a lot of them are big dudes.

• 34:48Speaker 01

  That's what, and they, we, we need.

• 34:50Drew Afualo?

  We need more.

• 34:51Speaker 01

  Even if you've got a little, a wing on you, you wanna be, I need a little.

• 34:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 34:56Speaker 01

  Just something.

• 34:57Drew Afualo?

  When I first read one of those books and I found out some of them had wings, I was like, hold on. Growing out of their back. And I said, wait a second.

• 35:04Speaker 01

  I know.

• 35:05Drew Afualo?

  Okay, it's speaking to me a little bit.

• 35:06Speaker 01

  You wanna thigh, you know?

• 35:09Drew Afualo?

  And I've, I've actually talked about-

• 35:10Speaker 01

  I don't want your waist to be smaller than mine.

• 35:12Drew Afualo?

  Right, exactly. And if it's smaller than yours.

• 35:15Speaker 01

  Let me, yeah.

• 35:16Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy. You're teeny tiny.

• 35:18Speaker 01

  I'm mini and I, you know.

• 35:22Speaker 01

  I don't want you to be minier than me.

• 35:23Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah. You're, you're kind of the, you're kind of the cutoff, I would say.

• 35:26Speaker 01

  That's it. That's it.

• 35:28Drew Afualo?

  You're the cutoff.

• 35:29Speaker 01

  You know, I think it's okay. We, and we, you know, everyone is welcome. But we need variation.

• 35:36Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 35:36Speaker 01

  We need variation.

• 35:37Drew Afualo?

  I agree. And I, and I love that you love those kinds of books. Me too. That's, that's so teeny. Me and my Kindle, ugh, like this.

• 35:45Speaker 01

  What is the, the one that, it was, it was going everywhere?

• 35:48Drew Afualo?

  There's a nook, there was-

• 35:50Speaker 01

  The book that was going everywhere, cause it's, we've got our fourth wing.

• 35:53Drew Afualo?

  Yes. Oh, Akatar?

• 35:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, there's Akatar.

• 35:55Drew Afualo?

  Was it A Court of Thorns and Roses?

• 35:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 35:57Drew Afualo?

  That one.

• 35:57Speaker 01

  Court of Thorn and Roses. I haven't begun and I need to.

• 36:00Drew Afualo?

  Those ones are good.

• 36:01Speaker 01

  That's a long series, isn't it?

• 36:02Drew Afualo?

  It is, it is, yeah. Those ones, if you like, if you like Fourth Wing.

• 36:06Speaker 01

  Go back to this, okay.

• 36:07Drew Afualo?

  You'll like those ones, for sure.

• 36:09Speaker 01

  All right.

• 36:09Drew Afualo?

  For sure.

• 36:10Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 36:11Drew Afualo?

  I'm like me trying not to get too excited. Me getting too excited. Uh, I, yeah, my Kindle, me and I, me and my Kindle-

• 36:17Speaker 01

  This is now for grown folks.

• 36:20Speaker 01

  Episode.

• 36:21Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 36:23Speaker 01

  If you are twenty-one, under twenty-one here, you may need to.

• 36:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly. Please do, please do. Uh, but I do have-

• 36:33Speaker 01

  Unless you have very progressive parents.

• 36:35Drew Afualo?

  In which case, no judgment.

• 36:36Speaker 01

  Welcome, no judgment.

• 36:38Drew Afualo?

  Exactly. I actually have some fun facts about you.

• 36:41Speaker 01

  Go on.

• 36:41Drew Afualo?

  I would love to read you some, if you're cool with it.

• 36:43Speaker 01

  Very cool with it.

• 36:44Drew Afualo?

  Let's see. This one says, while she was in school, you used to work at a clothing company and, and you were offered the role of women's wear specialist.

• 36:52Speaker 01

  Thomas Pincus, right.

• 36:52Drew Afualo?

  Right before she graduated, but turned it down to pursue acting.

• 36:55Speaker 01

  That's correct.

• 36:57Drew Afualo?

  Can you imagine where you'd be in the women's wear section now?

• 36:59Speaker 01

  So here's the fun, like, here's a fun fact. When I started working at this place, I knew that I was also starting at drama school and I needed a job to get me through drama school.

• 37:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  And Thomas Pink was what was going and I managed to land this job and I was working Sunday and Saturday and going to drama school on the Monday and falling asleep in class because I was so exhausted.

• 37:20Drew Afualo?

  Damn.

• 37:20Speaker 01

  So I had to cut down to just the Sunday and I remember, okay, I'm gonna do this and I made a promise to myself that once I had finished at drama school, I was gonna quit Thomas Pink so I could actually really be an actress.

• 37:33Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 37:33Speaker 01

  So I get to the third year and then they're like, hey, we have this job position opening and I went for the job position. I got the job position, then I realized, oh, it's time to graduate. So I remembered, well, I gotta quit. I kept my promise to myself. So I was like, no, I can't do this job.

• 37:51Drew Afualo?

  Is it exhausting being so good at literally everything? Is that exhausting? I feel like it is. What's it like to conquer everything?

• 37:57Speaker 01

  I blame it on being Capricorn.

• 37:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I, I do too.

• 38:00Speaker 01

  I don't even think it's about being good at things. I think it's about being determined to always get it right when you're a Capricorn. It's just like, how, how well can I do this? I'm going to do this well. I will beat everyone in this. You need a graph? I'm gonna do the best graph you've ever seen.

• 38:16Drew Afualo?

  I know, I feel like.

• 38:17Speaker 01

  A presentation, I'll do it in gold. That's what it is. It's not even about being amazing.

• 38:23Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I agree. I feel like it's just, are you competitive?

• 38:26Speaker 01

  Um.

• 38:27Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I would assume.

• 38:28Speaker 01

  Say so.

• 38:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I would assume.

• 38:30Speaker 01

  I would say so.

• 38:31Drew Afualo?

  What, what game are you really good at? Do you have a board game that you conquer every time?

• 38:34Speaker 01

  Uh, Scrabble.

• 38:36Drew Afualo?

  Of course, it's Scrabble.

• 38:37Speaker 01

  Very good at Scrabble.

• 38:37Drew Afualo?

  A smart person one? Oh, fuck off.

• 38:39Speaker 01

  I'm very good at Scrabble.

• 38:40Drew Afualo?

  You're not, you couldn't say taboo or something, you say Scrabble.

• 38:42Speaker 01

  I'm good at Scrabble.

• 38:43Drew Afualo?

  What are you, a hundred? Cynthia, why are you playing Scrabble like that?

• 38:46Speaker 01

  And I'm also trying to learn to play chess properly.

• 38:50Drew Afualo?

  Of course you are.

• 38:51Speaker 01

  I know, I'm seventy-nine and I love it. It's all right.

• 38:54Drew Afualo?

  Well, you're just mastering all of these like ancient old things.

• 38:58Speaker 01

  I feel like Capricorns are the Benjamin Buttons of the world, but I never got the Benjamin Button bug. I just stayed eighty and then I'm just catching up.

• 39:09Drew Afualo?

  That's true.

• 39:10Speaker 01

  My body will just catch up to my age at some point.

• 39:12Drew Afualo?

  Eventually it will catch up, yeah. I wouldn't have been surprised if I asked you and you said Chinese checkers. I wouldn't have been surprised.

• 39:17Speaker 01

  Don't challenge me.

• 39:20Speaker 01

  We'll learn.

• 39:21Drew Afualo?

  I said, you could never learn Mahjong.

• 39:23Speaker 01

  We'll learn. I was about to say, Mahjong, let me get, who's gonna teach me Mahjong? Come and find me. I need a tutor right now.

• 39:31Drew Afualo?

  I bet you would kill it.

• 39:32Speaker 01

  Listen, don't play with me. Do you want me to learn? I'll learn.

• 39:38Drew Afualo?

  I believe you.

• 39:39Speaker 01

  Now I'm.

• 39:39Drew Afualo?

  Now you're going to. I like how you're creating a rivalry that I'm not feeding.

• 39:44Speaker 01

  Mahjong Chinese checkers, at me.

• 39:47Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah, you'll literally.

• 39:48Speaker 01

  I need to learn.

• 39:49Drew Afualo?

  You'll come back next time and be like, guess what I learned?

• 39:51Speaker 01

  It's chess, it's Mahjong, and it's Chinese checkers. That's what we're doing.

• 39:54Drew Afualo?

  And I bet they were already on your list. I just remembered them.

• 39:56Speaker 01

  Mahjong and chess were.

• 39:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, okay, well, there you go.

• 39:59Speaker 01

  Yeah. It was so strange. I was in a hotel and there was literally a Mahjong kit. I was like, do I take this and learn?

• 40:08Drew Afualo?

  Dare conquer another thing.

• 40:09Speaker 01

  I might learn this. You know what I mean? Like, what's an interesting fact about you? I can play Mahjong.

• 40:15Drew Afualo?

  That is really interesting, though.

• 40:17Speaker 01

  Now this is a.

• 40:17Drew Afualo?

  And I bet you're, I bet you are crazy on a Scrabble board.

• 40:21Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh. Don't play with me.

• 40:23Drew Afualo?

  That's a double, double word, double letter.

• 40:25Speaker 01

  Triple, double, triple, I'm good. I'm so, I love it so much. It makes me so happy. It pisses everyone off. It's like the one.

• 40:35Drew Afualo?

  You're one of those.

• 40:36Speaker 01

  Scrabble?

• 40:37Drew Afualo?

  They're like, what should we do? And you're like, Scrabble?

• 40:42Speaker 01

  That's one, two, three, four, five. It's triple letter, it's four.

• 40:46Drew Afualo?

  No one, no one ever wants to play with me. I'm too good.

• 40:48Speaker 01

  That X, fantastic. I know what to do with that. Is that a Y? Good. I can do that.

• 40:54Drew Afualo?

  You're crazy. Of course, you're good at Scrabble. That's insane.

• 40:57Speaker 01

  I love it so much.

• 40:57Drew Afualo?

  That feels like such an intensely hard game to learn and master. I bet if you could, you would join those old Scrabble leagues, huh?

• 41:05Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh.

• 41:06Drew Afualo?

  Play with a bunch of old people. I think you would thrive in there.

• 41:09Speaker 01

  Happily. And, and because they're so serious about the game, you know that we wouldn't be talking very much at all. We'd just be playing the game.

• 41:15Drew Afualo?

  They wouldn't even know who you are.

• 41:17Speaker 01

  Marjorie, that's not a word.

• 41:20Drew Afualo?

  That's illegal. That's illegal. Don't count that.

• 41:24Speaker 01

  Now, Bertrand, stop it. That's not right. You're not supposed to put that there. And you know that's an abbreviation. You're not supposed to be using abbreviations.

• 41:34Drew Afualo?

  I feel like you're always scorekeeper. You're always the person tallying.

• 41:41Drew Afualo?

  Let's see, what else we have? We have you once ran a half marathon and then performed in two Broadway shows on the same day.

• 41:48Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 41:48Drew Afualo?

  So that's where we circle back to American Ninja Warrior. That's you.

• 41:52Speaker 01

  That's correct.

• 41:53Drew Afualo?

  A half marathon and two shows?

• 41:54Speaker 01

  Yes. I had made, this is a pattern. I made a promise to myself that if I finished the race in time to get ready for the two shows, I would go and do the two shows. And I finished in time. I think it was like an hour and thirty something minutes. And it was still early, so I went home, had a shower, got ready and went to do the two shows.

• 42:14Drew Afualo?

  You're insane. You're actually, you're like, you, it reminds me, the way, the way you're like, saying how you motivate yourself, it sounds like, you know, when you have little kids and you're like, let's see how fast you can go get my water. Ten, nine, eight. You're like, okay, if I can do this in ten minutes. You Denzel Washington in the equalizer, four minutes, clock it.

• 42:33Speaker 01

  Clock it, yeah.

• 42:34Drew Afualo?

  That's so crazy. How was the half marathon?

• 42:36Speaker 01

  It was, actually, it was really fun.

• 42:38Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 42:39Speaker 01

  Um, doing the first show, because I had never done a half marathon before.

• 42:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 42:44Speaker 01

  I had trained for it and I, but I had never done it competitively. Your body does a different thing when it's competing.

• 42:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 42:50Speaker 01

  It like flushes your system with adrenaline.

• 42:53Drew Afualo?

  Oh, yeah.

• 42:54Speaker 01

  And you're, you don't realize how fast you're moving.

• 42:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like too fast out of your pace.

• 42:58Speaker 01

  You move much faster than you would if you were just training. So I had moved a lot faster, which meant that my body had to do much more recovery. And it starts immediately.

• 43:08Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 43:08Speaker 01

  The moment you stop, your body goes, oh, thank you. And starts to cool down. The muscles start to tighten up. And the first thing I do in the show is get down on my knees. I remember going,

• 43:22Speaker 01

  how am I gonna get up?

• 43:25Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 43:26Drew Afualo?

  You being stuck, that would be crazy.

• 43:28Speaker 01

  And I'm playing, at this point, a fourteen year old. I was like, I have no spring in my step. I can't get up. And there was a step behind me and I remember having to try to use the step to get up because my knees and my thighs had seized up underneath me.

• 43:44Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my God.

• 43:44Speaker 01

  It was crazy.

• 43:46Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my God.

• 43:46Speaker 01

  So, running the race, lovely. After the race, something else.

• 43:51Drew Afualo?

  Something else entirely. That being said, I did finish both.

• 43:53Speaker 01

  Did finish both.

• 43:54Drew Afualo?

  And got a standing ovation both times. But it's neither here nor there.

• 44:00Drew Afualo?

  You're so strong for doing a marathon. Sometimes I, when I like, am feeling silly or drunk and I tell people, I'll run a marathon with you. I'm a liar. I'm never gonna do that.

• 44:09Speaker 01

  But who knows though?

• 44:11Drew Afualo?

  I'd like to think I could.

• 44:13Speaker 01

  I could recommend the, the marathons to run and not to run first. So my first fall marathon was the New York Marathon. It's one of the most amazing things to run. Not a good first one because it's a lot.

• 44:23Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 44:24Speaker 01

  It ends in Central Park uphill.

• 44:26Drew Afualo?

  Oh, nice. Love.

• 44:28Speaker 01

  And the day I run it, there was, there was a wind. It was windy.

• 44:32Drew Afualo?

  Damn. I knew it was gonna blow you away probably.

• 44:34Speaker 01

  And at twenty-five miles, twenty-six miles uphill is just mean.

• 44:42Drew Afualo?

  It feels pointed.

• 44:43Speaker 01

  It just, yeah, it feels like someone did that because they were really annoyed with everyone.

• 44:49Drew Afualo?

  These people are annoying.

• 44:49Speaker 01

  You end in Central Park. You think it's beautiful, but you won't be able to see the beauty because you're going to be dying.

• 44:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're dying the whole time. You're looking through a pinhole by that point.

• 44:57Speaker 01

  It's just, it's not, it's not good. Running a London Marathon was really lovely.

• 45:01Drew Afualo?

  Oh, cool.

• 45:01Speaker 01

  It starts rolling hills, but you end just running on a flat and it's beautiful.

• 45:06Drew Afualo?

  You've ran more than one marathon?

• 45:07Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 45:07Drew Afualo?

  Of course you have.

• 45:08Speaker 01

  A few half marathons.

• 45:09Drew Afualo?

  Have you done an Ironman?

• 45:10Speaker 01

  Never. I'm not, someone suggested that, but I know my limits. You know what I mean?

• 45:16Drew Afualo?

  Do you? Are you sure?

• 45:18Speaker 01

  I feel like that's a limit for me.

• 45:20Drew Afualo?

  You think?

• 45:20Speaker 01

  For now, yes.

• 45:21Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. I was gonna say, just give you a couple of months.

• 45:24Speaker 01

  I don't know.

• 45:24Drew Afualo?

  And maybe you'll be like, do you not like the biking or the swimming?

• 45:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, I can't, I don't wanna do all of that. Give me just one, you know?

• 45:31Drew Afualo?

  Just one, too much.

• 45:32Speaker 01

  I'll do, I'll, the marathon I can do because I know, I know that.

• 45:36Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 45:36Speaker 01

  I know what my legs can do on flat ground.

• 45:39Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, Ironmans is like, they want attention so bad.

• 45:41Speaker 01

  It's too much. Why do you need to do that? You need me to sw- to swim as well? Like, and I like to swim, but I don't need to do all that now, like, and then I have to go and run as well after that?

• 45:55Drew Afualo?

  I know. I gotta get changed.

• 45:56Speaker 01

  I need to be soaking wet and, and then I'll get on a bike? For why?

• 46:01Drew Afualo?

  Me running in a bathing suit is enough for me.

• 46:03Speaker 01

  It's just not fair. It just feels like you, this is actively set up for a person to fail. You're not trying to make a person win here. You're like, how hard are you really?

• 46:13Drew Afualo?

  And winning is important to you. I get that.

• 46:16Speaker 01

  I don't wanna do. No.

• 46:19Drew Afualo?

  I love that.

• 46:21Speaker 01

  I will, however, I wanna run the Paris marathon because then I can have pastries and go and shop afterwards.

• 46:27Drew Afualo?

  Oh, that's a good idea.

• 46:29Speaker 01

  Then I can really, then I see Paris, you know, it's nice. I can distract myself at mile eighteen with the Champs-Élysées. Do you know what I mean?

• 46:36Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 46:37Speaker 01

  That I can get into.

• 46:38Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 46:39Speaker 01

  I can get into that. Yeah. Chicago's lovely because it's flat.

• 46:42Drew Afualo?

  Oh, yeah, too.

• 46:43Speaker 01

  And I will happily go and run the marathon in Hawaii because I love that place so much. And there's heat and a beach.

• 46:51Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you need, you need scenery. I feel that.

• 46:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:54Drew Afualo?

  I saw this guy on TikTok who runs like ultra marathons, which are like

• 46:57Speaker 01

  Why?

• 46:57Drew Afualo?

  A hundred miles.

• 46:59Speaker 01

  No.

• 46:59Drew Afualo?

  He ran from like Italy to Switzerland one time.

• 47:02Speaker 01

  It's too much.

• 47:02Drew Afualo?

  I watched him the whole time. I said, where are you going, King?

• 47:05Speaker 01

  It's too much.

• 47:06Drew Afualo?

  Who are you running from, King?

• 47:07Speaker 01

  Why?

• 47:08Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I feel like something's going on with him.

• 47:09Speaker 01

  To train for an, when you start, when you start with an ultra.

• 47:13Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 47:14Speaker 01

  I'm, I'm, you've lost me.

• 47:16Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I'm tapping out. I'm.

• 47:17Speaker 01

  The marathon is enough.

• 47:19Drew Afualo?

  It's okay, I'll say it. It's white people things.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  Twenty-six point two miles. Why do you need more than that? Why do I need to run for days?

• 47:26Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, no, literally days. It took him like, it took him like four or five days to do it.

• 47:29Speaker 01

  For what? Why?

• 47:30Drew Afualo?

  Oh, girl, if only I could get.

• 47:32Speaker 01

  It's one day not enough.

• 47:32Drew Afualo?

  If I, if I could only get in the mind of a white man like that, I don't know what I would think.

• 47:36Speaker 01

  Like, who are you doing that for? Do you hate your family that much that you need to run away from them for a week?

• 47:42Drew Afualo?

  Can't see, I can't go to her birthday party. I'll be running the ultra marathon.

• 47:45Speaker 01

  My god. Why? Just, I'm gonna run a marathon. It's gonna take me a few hours and I'll be back at the house today.

• 47:53Drew Afualo?

  Today, literally today.

• 47:55Speaker 01

  Today.

• 47:56Drew Afualo?

  I love.

• 47:56Speaker 01

  A marathon is a really beautiful excuse to go and eat pizza afterwards. That's what it is. I'm gonna have some pastries. I'm gonna have a pizza. I'm gonna go shopping afterwards. My legs might hurt, but I'm gonna be alive.

• 48:06Drew Afualo?

  And home.

• 48:07Speaker 01

  You know what I'm saying?

• 48:08Drew Afualo?

  I love to go home.

• 48:09Speaker 01

  But the ultra marathon says, I don't want to know any of you for the next week.

• 48:15Drew Afualo?

  Getting mad about it.

• 48:16Speaker 01

  Don't talk to me. I hate you all. And this is the reason I'm going to not be there. I'm gonna be running an ultra marathon. It sounds so cool.

• 48:24Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 48:25Speaker 01

  But actually, you're running from everyone for a week. No.

• 48:29Drew Afualo?

  You're getting mad.

• 48:30Speaker 01

  Like, where are you going? It's not even a track. It's so, the thing is, it's so far that you don't even have a track anymore. You're like, running in the bushes in the street.

• 48:38Drew Afualo?

  Oh, yeah, that's what I saw. I saw him running in mountains and shit.

• 48:41Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh.

• 48:42Drew Afualo?

  And I said, honestly, would anyone know if I didn't finish? I'd go home. My dad tap out.

• 48:47Speaker 01

  Watch this documentary where people were running a marathon in the desert.

• 48:50Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 48:51Speaker 01

  I was like, why are you running an ultra marathon in the desert? For who? You are running so far with very little water. This is crazy.

• 49:01Drew Afualo?

  I didn't know you hated them so much.

• 49:03Speaker 01

  And then you're like, oh, no, I love the, the, the, the, the feeling of it. The, the pain? You want this kind of pain?

• 49:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I saw that guy's feet once and I said, that's nothing is worth that.

• 49:14Speaker 01

  People literally die.

• 49:17Drew Afualo?

  I know, I see it all the time.

• 49:19Speaker 01

  I'm running towards death? That's what I'm actually doing with this marathon, with this ultra marathon? I've decided to run towards death?

• 49:26Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy. I, I'll tell you what, I, I'm, I am not running ever, let alone dying because of it. Like, I'm not dying because of running.

• 49:34Speaker 01

  I love a run, you know, I do. I love a run. I do, I love the marathon, I love a half marathon, I can get through it and I love it. And I, you know, it's, it's a good challenge for me and I like how it feels because it does give you a really, like, big boost of serotonin. But when danger is involved like that, I just can't. I don't know why.

• 49:55Drew Afualo?

  I, I love.

• 49:55Speaker 01

  And the thing is, I know that there are people that like, but it's so great and I love it. And I, I love that for you so much.

• 50:01Drew Afualo?

  That's all right. I think ultra marathon's real one percenters.

• 50:03Speaker 01

  It's like.

• 50:04Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, there's very few people in the world, I think, that genuinely enjoy doing stuff like that.

• 50:08Speaker 01

  It's too much.

• 50:09Drew Afualo?

  It's, yeah, they're doing too much. I agree.

• 50:10Speaker 01

  Your heart is not meant to do. I remember, I was doing a musical in London and, and when, when you do that kind of work and it's like eight shows a week, they sometimes set you up with an osteopath, right? Because sometimes you're on, raked stages are the devil. They're basically a hill on a stage. So you're, you're getting your work done, but you're on a slant always. So it messes with your alignment. So they set you up with an osteopath. My osteopath was a runner and I said to him, I like running too. And he was like, mm, but you should, no one should ever go past a half marathon. I said, but what about a marathon? Mm-mm, he said, no. What about an ultra marathon? No, why? It's not good for you. And that was all he said.

• 50:57Drew Afualo?

  And it's haunted you ever since.

• 50:59Speaker 01

  And it's literally, I have heard it in my brain ever since. Cause he said, no.

• 51:06Speaker 00

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• 51:39Speaker 01

  I don't think the body's meant to do that.

• 51:41Drew Afualo?

  You know what, I'm glad he said it, cause I've been saying it for fucking years. I said, there's no need to run, that's not good for you. I'm just kidding. Good running is good for you.

• 51:48Speaker 01

  Running is, but there's a, there's.

• 51:49Drew Afualo?

  A limit.

• 51:50Speaker 01

  For me, there's a limit.

• 51:52Drew Afualo?

  There has, I think there genuinely should be a limit, to be honest.

• 51:55Speaker 01

  I think it's okay to be like, mm, this is too far.

• 51:58Drew Afualo?

  What's something you would love to, to do? Something physical or like a trip or something?

• 52:02Speaker 01

  Ooh, a trip or something physical?

• 52:04Drew Afualo?

  I would say something, let's do something physical, cause we're talking about marathons. Is there anything that you would love to do but haven't gotten a chance to do yet?

• 52:10Speaker 01

  I'd love to do like a bungee jump or like a skydive. I haven't done anything like that.

• 52:15Drew Afualo?

  Oh wow, T, you'd love to do that?

• 52:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:18Drew Afualo?

  I'm scared of heights. I don't mind them, but I, I don't wanna do that.

• 52:21Speaker 01

  I, I don't know, I think the skydiving is kinda interesting to see like what that.

• 52:25Drew Afualo?

  Would feel like?

• 52:26Speaker 01

  Feel like, yeah. Like being in the air like that.

• 52:29Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, my brother-in-law is a veteran and he used to do like those dives off where they like, jump off planes and then they, they parachute themselves in.

• 52:37Speaker 01

  That's the skydive, yeah.

• 52:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and he said, every time I did it, I vomited.

• 52:39Speaker 01

  No.

• 52:40Drew Afualo?

  I go, really? He goes, yeah, every single time. I just knew.

• 52:43Speaker 01

  In the air?

• 52:44Drew Afualo?

  And no, as soon as he landed, he'd have to go yak immediately. And he was like, I don't know what it was, but it's just every single time I did it.

• 52:50Speaker 01

  Maybe I won't be skydiving, cause that's a fair line.

• 52:53Drew Afualo?

  I'm scared of throwing up.

• 52:54Speaker 01

  Me too.

• 52:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, are you? Are you immunophobic or you just don't like it?

• 52:57Speaker 01

  No, I really can't, I don't wanna be like.

• 52:59Drew Afualo?

  Ever.

• 52:59Speaker 01

  I used to plan, you know when we go on, on school trips?

• 53:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 53:03Speaker 01

  I used to know who was carsick in the, the group.

• 53:08Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 53:09Speaker 01

  And plan where to sit that was far enough away from them, out of their view and out of earshot, so I couldn't hear it, see it, feel it, nothing.

• 53:19Speaker 01

  And if you're a person that is, I'm like, is that a good place for you to be? That a good place for you to sit? How's that gonna feel? Like, I don't wanna be there.

• 53:29Drew Afualo?

  You're so me.

• 53:29Speaker 01

  I don't want to do it and I don't want to be next to anyone who might do it.

• 53:34Drew Afualo?

  Who might ever do it around me.

• 53:36Speaker 01

  And it's not even to do with them, it's just me, I have a terrible fear of it. I just, I can't.

• 53:41Drew Afualo?

  Me and my sister too. My sister's genuinely terrified of it, like, people vomiting in front of her.

• 53:45Speaker 01

  Oh no.

• 53:46Drew Afualo?

  One time my fiance was, uh, we were all drunk together in New York and we were in an elevator. My sister, when she's drunk, she's having fun, so she's like, woo, like being silly in the elevator. And my fiance's like, oh god, I think I have to throw up, just randomly, my sister immediately.

• 54:01Speaker 01

  Yes, that's me. Now I can't hear anything else, now I'm like, when do we get off? Where do we go? How do I get out of this situation? Cause I don't wanna be close to any of it.

• 54:12Drew Afualo?

  I know, I literally was telling, I was like, you're fine. And my sister, not laughing, not giggling, she's literally like, so terrified, waiting for the doors to open in the elevator. And then I told my fiance, shut up, you're scaring my sister. It's okay, she's not gonna, he's not gonna throw up, it's fine. I was like, I have to tell her, it's okay, he's not gonna throw up.

• 54:28Speaker 01

  And you know, but it doesn't help.

• 54:30Drew Afualo?

  It doesn't help.

• 54:31Speaker 01

  Doesn't help. It's still in your brain. And you're still thinking about it. You're like, when is it gonna happen? Will I be far enough away from it? I hope I don't hear it or see it. How do I avoid it? That is a conversation, honestly, that's a quiet conversation that goes on in my head often. Just when I'm like, all the time, it's like a silent conversation.

• 54:51Drew Afualo?

  Of throw up anywhere near you.

• 54:53Speaker 01

  Oh my goodness.

• 54:53Drew Afualo?

  That's real.

• 54:54Speaker 01

  I'm like, are they, maybe that might not agree with them.

• 54:58Drew Afualo?

  What if they vomit?

• 54:59Speaker 01

  What's the thing that might help to calm someone's stomach? Like, is it ginger ale? Maybe, that's a conversation that goes on in my head all the time.

• 55:07Drew Afualo?

  You're thinking 20 steps ahead.

• 55:09Speaker 01

  It's very bad. And for myself, I'm like, oh, what's that? What's that feeling? Is that feeling, am I feeling sick? Am I not feeling sick? No, I'm not feeling sick, I'm fine, I'm fine.

• 55:17Drew Afualo?

  Your brain's working a thousand miles a minute.

• 55:20Speaker 01

  Truly.

• 55:20Drew Afualo?

  All the time, every time.

• 55:22Speaker 01

  That's, I think, something that no one has ever known about me, but that is like a constant conversation of like, oh my god, how do I avoid, I really don't want to, I don't wanna get sick, I don't want anyone to get sick around me. That's the fear. On a plane, on a plane, it's terrible.

• 55:36Drew Afualo?

  On a plane, you're all, then I'm trapped in the plane.

• 55:39Speaker 01

  We can't move anywhere. Why have they gone to the bathroom like that? They move very, very suddenly.

• 55:45Drew Afualo?

  I think that's called anxiety queen.

• 55:46Speaker 01

  Maybe.

• 55:47Drew Afualo?

  I think that's what that's called. I'm very familiar. I, one time I told my fiance, I'm like, when I think about things I have to do, I plan like so far ahead. So like, I literally told him like, like if, let's say I'm driving home from work. And I'm like, okay, when I get home, I'm gonna park in this side of the driveway. And then I'm gonna get out and I'm gonna open with these keys. And I'm gonna put them in my right hand first, and then I'm gonna go inside, I'm gonna put my purse here. Like, I literally, that's how I think.

• 56:11Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 56:11Drew Afualo?

  And he was like, that sounds like a nightmare. And I was like, you're right, it is.

• 56:15Speaker 01

  It is. It's also how my life is ordered.

• 56:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and that's why we're so successful.

• 56:20Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 56:21Drew Afualo?

  At the same fucking time. We're always twenty steps ahead.

• 56:23Speaker 01

  Truly.

• 56:24Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 56:24Speaker 01

  I don't forget anything either.

• 56:26Drew Afualo?

  Me either.

• 56:27Speaker 01

  It drives.

• 56:27Drew Afualo?

  That's why I thought you had Virgo in your chart.

• 56:29Speaker 01

  I have Virgo, no, I have Capricorn, Taurus and Libra.

• 56:33Drew Afualo?

  Oh, love. Are you Taurus moon, Libra rising?

• 56:36Speaker 01

  I think it's Libra moon, Taurus rising.

• 56:38Drew Afualo?

  Oh, love. I vibe with Taurus is very well.

• 56:41Speaker 01

  Well, me and Capricorn and Taurus together in a si- is crazy.

• 56:46Drew Afualo?

  It's a lot going, it's like two opposites.

• 56:47Speaker 01

  Tell me nothing.

• 56:49Drew Afualo?

  Uh, other fun facts, uh, you're an avid knitter.

• 56:52Speaker 01

  I am. I haven't been able to knit for a very long time, but I love knitting. And whenever I, I'm in like a, uh, when we're teching, if we're doing something like that, then I'll, I'll be, you'll have my knitting needles out.

• 57:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're not beating the eighty year old allegations, that's for sure.

• 57:06Speaker 01

  I'm telling you.

• 57:06Drew Afualo?

  You're a big knitter.

• 57:07Speaker 01

  I'm very proud of it.

• 57:08Drew Afualo?

  No, I love that. I think that's wonderful. You have so many skills and hobbies. Uh, does one of your early TV appearances was on the UK reality show, Trust Me, I'm a Teenager.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  Yes, and I was an eighty year old then.

• 57:20Drew Afualo?

  A mentor giving advice to parents struggling with difficulty.

• 57:23Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 57:24Drew Afualo?

  Wow.

• 57:25Speaker 01

  And I was very good at it. I was, I took it very seriously.

• 57:28Drew Afualo?

  I bet.

• 57:29Speaker 01

  Yeah. I was. I was very serious about it, and the other two were not taking it seriously at all. And I was like, what is going on? We've been given a job here to help this family figure out what's going on with their teenagers who just can't get it together. So here, why can we, can we set some rules, please? And the other two were like, aren't we supposed to just be having fun and giving them crazy rules to live by? Yes, and we need to help them.

• 57:52Drew Afualo?

  They need us.

• 57:53Speaker 01

  They need us. What's the point?

• 57:55Drew Afualo?

  You hate a group project, I bet.

• 57:57Speaker 01

  Well.

• 57:58Drew Afualo?

  Or do you love running them like the Navy?

• 58:00Speaker 01

  I like running them.

• 58:01Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, me too. I'm always like, I'm in charge.

• 58:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, if we can, if I can run it, then I'm good with it with the group. Which probably makes everyone hate me, but it is what it is and we'll end up being successful. And then you can go, are you happy now?

• 58:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly. You're all, okay, you may hate me, but we did get a good grade. So at the end of the day, one is a win.

• 58:18Speaker 01

  Right.

• 58:19Drew Afualo?

  Alright.

• 58:20Speaker 01

  You can all be scarred for life. You got your win. Goodbye.

• 58:23Drew Afualo?

  I was like, I'm at the helm of the ship and it will get there safely.

• 58:25Speaker 01

  There we are.

• 58:27Drew Afualo?

  I promise you.

• 58:28Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 58:30Drew Afualo?

  Uh, it says that you rappelled down into an underground cave system and navigated through it with Bear Grylls on his show Running Wild.

• 58:37Speaker 01

  Yes, and I did that during, uh, I did that when, uh, when we were shooting Wicked.

• 58:47Drew Afualo?

  On top of all the other fucking things. Yeah, so studio album, um, box office smash, iconic role, and also I did a cave dive with Bear Grylls. And that was my regular Tuesday.

• 59:01Speaker 01

  It was so crazy because.

• 59:03Drew Afualo?

  Are you a big Bear Grylls fan?

• 59:05Speaker 01

  He's so sweet and but and when I saw the series, I was like, oh, this is kind of fun. I think I'm gonna try it. And when I did it, what was so crazy, this is not gonna be the eighty year old allegations at all, this next thing. So we did this thing and I, I really was like, I'm gonna be prepared. And I got there and he was like, you know, no one has ever prepared for this the way you have.

• 59:27Drew Afualo?

  You know, it's all fake, right?

• 59:29Speaker 01

  The thing is not fake at all. We were outside. It was minus two degrees. We were in Wales. It was freezing.

• 59:37Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 59:37Speaker 01

  And I was like, cool, I'm gonna have all the things I need, all the, the, the layers that I need. I had tea in many different thermoses. And he was like, you have tea? I was like, yes, it's, it's cold. Is this not a thing?

• 59:51Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 59:52Speaker 01

  He was like, no. I said, well, I have tea, I have soup, I have food, I have snacks. What else do you need? He was like, people usually just bring alcohol.

• 59:59Drew Afualo?

  To, to rappel down.

• 1:00:01Speaker 01

  Why are you so prepared? No one has ever been this prepared. I was like, but how? We're outside.

• 1:00:09Drew Afualo?

  Guys, he's, he's gonna expect that we'll be prepared. Man, you're one of those.

• 1:00:13Speaker 01

  I.

• 1:00:14Drew Afualo?

  I love that about you.

• 1:00:15Speaker 01

  Truly happy.

• 1:00:16Drew Afualo?

  Everything is that serious.

• 1:00:18Speaker 01

  Do you need a tea? I've got some, I've got cups here as well. You need? Fine.

• 1:00:22Drew Afualo?

  You do you have like a grandma bag on you at all times like you're like I have like Tide Sticks? I have gum, I have snacks, I have all of it.

• 1:00:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, you need perfume, I've got perfume.

• 1:00:32Drew Afualo?

  Me too, I have that too.

• 1:00:34Speaker 01

  You need a charger, I have a charger. You need snacks, I've got a snack. Which one is you need tea, I've got tea. You need water, I have water. It is what it is.

• 1:00:41Drew Afualo?

  If you stay ready, you never have to get ready.

• 1:00:42Speaker 01

  This is it.

• 1:00:43Drew Afualo?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:00:44Speaker 01

  I am never the one that says, oh, hungry, hungry, I don't have anything to eat.

• 1:00:50Speaker 01

  Protein bar, people.

• 1:00:50Drew Afualo?

  And then when you give snacks to others, you go, and that's why I told you, you should start packing snacks.

• 1:00:55Speaker 01

  This is, I told you.

• 1:00:56Drew Afualo?

  They get the snack and a lecture.

• 1:00:57Speaker 01

  My phone is dying. With the cord and the brick. Which one do you need?

• 1:01:03Drew Afualo?

  Cord do you need?

• 1:01:04Speaker 01

  Which one?

• 1:01:06Drew Afualo?

  You're so prepared, I I fucking love it.

• 1:01:08Speaker 01

  This and it helps. Be the one in the group that's prepared. Everyone will thank you in the end.

• 1:01:13Drew Afualo?

  That's true.

• 1:01:14Speaker 01

  Everyone.

• 1:01:14Drew Afualo?

  You're a big hit.

• 1:01:15Speaker 01

  This is.

• 1:01:15Drew Afualo?

  I started carrying a lighter just and I don't even smoke, but I started carrying it just in case someone asked me.

• 1:01:20Speaker 01

  Exactly. Cynthia, why do you have such a big bag? You'll see.

• 1:01:25Speaker 01

  Ask me in three hours.

• 1:01:26Drew Afualo?

  Everyone wants to make fun of the bag till they need something.

• 1:01:28Speaker 01

  Ask me in three hours. I don't know what you're doing with this tiny bag that only holds your phone in your wallet. Do you see a shop anywhere that you can go and stop for? No.

• 1:01:37Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 1:01:38Speaker 01

  When are we jumping out the car to go to the shop to the? We're not. Okay, right.

• 1:01:42Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 1:01:43Speaker 01

  Three hours that I'm you're hun- you're hungry, are you? Which one do you want? You want grapes? You want nuts? You want a protein bar? Which one?

• 1:01:51Drew Afualo?

  Everyone.

• 1:01:52Speaker 01

  Or you just pack it? You want water? That's why I have the bag.

• 1:01:56Drew Afualo?

  You're crazy. I love that. I think that's great, though. I think that's why I thought you were Virgo. You're so prepared.

• 1:02:01Speaker 01

  It's in it's in my soul.

• 1:02:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it is. I think so. It's probably the earth sign. Okay, last fun one. It says, your production company is called Edith's Daughter in honor of your mother.

• 1:02:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:02:10Drew Afualo?

  Who predicted that Cynthia would become a famous singer and actress when she was two.

• 1:02:14Speaker 01

  Correct. She said, I was humming and eating, and it literally in my baby book says, thinks she will become a singer or doctor or both.

• 1:02:22Drew Afualo?

  And technically, technically speaking, you are doing both. At this point, at this point, Cynthia, I wouldn't be surprised if you were like, well, I did get my PhD while I was filming Wicked Two.

• 1:02:33Speaker 01

  I mean.

• 1:02:36Speaker 01

  I mean.

• 1:02:38Drew Afualo?

  That's why I said you're a man of so many hats.

• 1:02:39Speaker 01

  I definitely had a conversation about doing something that that is like a PhD. It's more like a fellowship than anything.

• 1:02:47Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my God. I was being silly and it's fucking true.

• 1:02:51Speaker 01

  It is. It is. It is kind of true.

• 1:02:56Drew Afualo?

  I knew it.

• 1:02:56Speaker 01

  I had to. So I so I was accepted into the the Radship Fellowship, the Radship. No, Radcliffe Fellowship, that's right. Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard. And I had to defer because I didn't have time to go. But I have since then been in conversations to start it again, so.

• 1:03:18Drew Afualo?

  I was being silly and I hit I hit it on the mark. That's crazy.

• 1:03:18Speaker 01

  Something like that.

• 1:03:21Speaker 01

  You did. You did.

• 1:03:23Drew Afualo?

  I believe you. I I will. Honestly, someone like you. Like, sometimes I joke around and I say, well, you know, God doesn't give with both hands. I think God gave you with hands, feet and legs. I don't even know. God gave you everything. I think that's fucking awesome.

• 1:03:35Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:03:35Drew Afualo?

  You're a fucking star. You're so amazing.

• 1:03:36Speaker 01

  You know, I feel like I was I was the one that was like, oh, like, I want to try everything. Can I try everything? And he was like, oh, all right, just go on.

• 1:03:46Drew Afualo?

  And everyone you conquer, he's like, damn.

• 1:03:48Speaker 01

  I feel like I'm entertainment.

• 1:03:49Drew Afualo?

  You need another thing? Okay, rock climbing.

• 1:03:51Speaker 01

  I think I I was put here just to entertain him.

• 1:03:55Speaker 01

  Like, to entertain God.

• 1:03:56Drew Afualo?

  To test the human spirit.

• 1:03:58Speaker 01

  Give make me be fun. I think that's what I am.

• 1:04:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, probably.

• 1:04:03Speaker 01

  Like one of the like a little toy that's on earth, like having a lot of fun and doing loads of different things. That's entertaining to many people and to the universe.

• 1:04:11Drew Afualo?

  No matter they're fancy.

• 1:04:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:04:13Drew Afualo?

  They you could you could entertain them all.

• 1:04:14Speaker 01

  Could you just what can you do today? And I'm like, okay, I'll try it.

• 1:04:18Drew Afualo?

  And you do it and then God's like, damn, she did it again. Oh, God, I gotta think of something harder. Okay, doctor. Now you got that too.

• 1:04:25Speaker 01

  I'm working towards it.

• 1:04:28Drew Afualo?

  Well, I'm not. So that's how you know you're doing way better than me.

• 1:04:30Speaker 01

  This is the you are the doctor right here in town.

• 1:04:33Drew Afualo?

  The love doctor.

• 1:04:34Speaker 01

  This is it. And this is a good qualification to have too. And also, what did you say you had at the beginning of this?

• 1:04:43Drew Afualo?

  What?

• 1:04:44Speaker 01

  Was it journalism and?

• 1:04:45Drew Afualo?

  Oh, communications, yes.

• 1:04:46Speaker 01

  Come on now.

• 1:04:47Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, well, you know, you're getting, you're getting a doctorate while you're also being Elphaba, so.

• 1:04:54Speaker 01

  I mean, we're not gonna downplay the degrees here, we're not.

• 1:04:58Drew Afualo?

  You're right, we're both smart, successful, talented women. Who can both sing equally as talented as each other.

• 1:05:05Speaker 01

  Damn right.

• 1:05:07Speaker 01

  I'm giving it to you.

• 1:05:08Drew Afualo?

  That part is equal, I don't wanna say you're better than me, cuz obviously.

• 1:05:11Speaker 01

  No. We do this.

• 1:05:14Drew Afualo?

  We're just equally as talented, obviously.

• 1:05:15Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:05:17Drew Afualo?

  But just to kinda wrap us, I would love if you had any advice for any aspiring artists or fucking Marine Corps soldiers who wanna go into Broadway. Anyone at all who's pursuing the art form and, cuz I know, obviously I know Wicked was a huge thing for you and I'm so incredibly proud and happy to know that you've done such an incredible job. But I know that you've been working for a long time and you've been in show, you've been like someone who I truly, and this is, this is the part where I get a little serious and I jerk you off just a little bit, though. Where I tell you, I have admired your work for a very long time. I watched your performance of I'm Here on the 2016 Tonys, watched it on YouTube about a thousand fucking times. Because I just think you're a fucking star, I really do, and I think you're one of one and unbelievable.

• 1:06:02Drew Afualo?

  And I think you've earned all of the wonderful, amazing things you have. And I'm so happy to see you succeeding, obviously, at the level I think everyone, including your mom, knew you would be at. But more importantly, being seen by everyone for more than just that. Like, you are truly a once in a lifetime talent, and I have to tell you that. The only other person I think of like that is Beyonce, so it's high praise. Coming from me, and she's not a doctor, as far as I know, so there you go, you got that on her.

• 1:06:30Speaker 01

  She'll be a doctor of music, that lady, she's insane.

• 1:06:33Drew Afualo?

  I just think you're unbelievable, I really do, and I'm honored to have had you on the show. And I think the representation that you serve in many different ways is so important, too. And it doesn't go unnoticed by people like me, and I think you're wonderful.

• 1:06:45Speaker 01

  Thank you very much, I think you're amazing, too.

• 1:06:47Drew Afualo?

  Thank you, and that's where my jerking off stops, unfortunately, I have to edge. Unfortunately, but to ask you for your advice, I'd love to know if you have any advice for any aspiring artists.

• 1:06:57Speaker 01

  At the risk of sounding very, very corny or hokey when I say this, I encourage everyone to sort of discover who you are and relish that, grow that. Because I think there's a pressure often to become something other than who you are. To turn into something, to change who you are, to to rebrand who you are instead of getting to know yourself in a deeper way. And I think that what I've learned over time is the more I've gotten to know myself, the more I've become comfortable with who I am, the more open I've become to creating, the more open my work has been, the more vulnerable my work has been.

• 1:07:40Speaker 01

  Because I I am confident in who I am, and that takes time. And it's very easy to say, be yourself. But I I mean it with like the in from the deepest part of myself. Get to know who you are and get comfortable with who you are and be yourself, even when it's hard. Even when people say, actually, change that, change that. There really is one of one of everyone. Even if you're a twin, you're still different. And so if you erase that, we all lose, the world loses someone, right? And so if your aim is to bring light, bring joy, bring goodness into the world with your art, it has to come from you, you, the real you.

• 1:08:24Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely.

• 1:08:25Speaker 01

  Because then it then it is original.

• 1:08:27Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it's authentic. Authentic to you are. And I think, you know, so many young artists, obviously, especially in the theater world, they've been watching you for a very long time. So they they're all, they've been knew that you're a fucking star. I'm glad the rest of the world is catching up now, but I think you're so fucking incredible and I'm honored to have had you. Thank you for joining me.

• 1:08:46Speaker 01

  Thank you very much for having me, Drew.

• 1:08:48Drew Afualo?

  And thank you all so much for joining us on this episode of the comments section. For those of you that, I don't know, the maybe two people on planet Earth ever that maybe don't know who Cynthia is, where can everybody find you?

• 1:09:00Speaker 01

  Instagram, on TikTok, um, and wherever I am live, I love to sing to you live. So if you want to come to a concert, come to a concert.

• 1:09:09Drew Afualo?

  Period.

• 1:09:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:10Drew Afualo?

  I'll take that as a formal invitation.

• 1:09:11Speaker 01

  Please.

• 1:09:12Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 1:09:12Speaker 01

  Whichever you want, truly.

• 1:09:13Drew Afualo?

  And it's on camera.

• 1:09:14Speaker 01

  Come.

• 1:09:15Drew Afualo?

  Team.

• 1:09:16Speaker 01

  We'll get you wherever you are.

• 1:09:17Drew Afualo?

  I would love to.

• 1:09:18Speaker 01

  Come, come, come.

• 1:09:18Drew Afualo?

  I may cry in front of you, though, but that would be embarrassing.

• 1:09:20Speaker 01

  You know what you should, Jesus Christ Superstar, you should come.

• 1:09:22Drew Afualo?

  I would.

• 1:09:22Speaker 01

  I think that'll be really fun.

• 1:09:25Drew Afualo?

  The way my heart started pounding so hard.

• 1:09:26Speaker 01

  Boom, done, ticket for you, easy.

• 1:09:28Drew Afualo?

  I love fucking Broadway. I've said before, I love Broadway so much, I just do not have the chops. I have all the spirit.

• 1:09:33Speaker 01

  You'd be surprised.

• 1:09:34Drew Afualo?

  I have all the spirit in the world and none of the talent.

• 1:09:36Speaker 01

  Sometimes it's just the spirit that you need.

• 1:09:39Drew Afualo?

  I'm an ensemble cast. I'm an ensemble bitch to my core. I know that about me.

• 1:09:43Speaker 01

  And them bitches know everything. I swear.

• 1:09:48Speaker 01

  That's one job I know I can't do because you lot, I don't know how you do it.

• 1:09:53Drew Afualo?

  I'm stagehand or I'm ensemble, whatever. It's fun.

• 1:09:57Speaker 01

  The way, I always say this, when you're on a set or you're on a stage, there, the stagehands and the grips and the lighting opera, listen.

• 1:10:09Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:10:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:10Speaker 01

  For your service.

• 1:10:11Drew Afualo?

  Period.

• 1:10:12Speaker 01

  And your work.

• 1:10:12Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:13Speaker 01

  Cause I could never. Could never, ever, don't know how, don't know how you do it.

• 1:10:18Drew Afualo?

  Right, for real.

• 1:10:19Speaker 01

  Thank you. So don't knock it, you know what I mean?

• 1:10:22Drew Afualo?

  I, I agree.

• 1:10:23Speaker 01

  Please.

• 1:10:24Drew Afualo?

  I will.

• 1:10:25Speaker 01

  These bitches. Me, them bitches.

• 1:10:30Speaker 01

  Cause when these bitches are sick, them bitches help us. Cause someone who is playing another character is now doing this and this bitch needs to know everybody else's role.

• 1:10:42Drew Afualo?

  Exactly, exactly. I'm gonna tell myself that every time. I'm like, I'll never be singing a Reba.

• 1:10:47Speaker 01

  It is, oh my gosh, when I, ah, I have a soft spot for those women.

• 1:10:52Drew Afualo?

  I love, I think that's wonderful. I think that's amazing and I think you're amazing. And, uh, when can everyone expect to hear your new music?

• 1:10:59Speaker 01

  June the 6th.

• 1:11:01Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 1:11:01Speaker 01

  The album I forgive you is out everywhere.

• 1:11:04Drew Afualo?

  And it's out now, actually, June 6th, period. You can get it now, but thank you so much for coming on the show. I fucking love you.

• 1:11:11Speaker 01

  I love you too.

• 1:11:12Drew Afualo?

  You're amazing.

• 1:11:12Speaker 01

  You're amazing.

• 1:11:13Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 1:11:14Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 1:11:15Drew Afualo?

  Period. Look at us.

• 1:11:17Speaker 01

  This is lovely. No, listen. Come, let's play. We should.

• 1:11:22Drew Afualo?

  Okay, you bring Scrabble, I'll bring Taboo.

• 1:11:24Speaker 01

  Perfect.

• 1:11:24Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. And I had to dominate at something. Watch you beat me at fucking everything. We'll start getting competitive all over again.

• 1:11:31Drew Afualo?

  Thank you all so much for joining us on this episode of the comment section. Don't forget, new episodes drop every Wednesday. You can stream the audio on all streaming platforms, but the video lives for free and exclusively on our favorite platform, Spotify, which is perfect, because then you can watch this episode, then you can stream Cynthia's new album. It's all perfect. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you to my amazing guest Cynthia Erivo. I'll see you next week. Bye.

• 1:12:01Speaker 00

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