Pretty Vee: Getting Fired From Job Led to Finding Her Calling in Comedy, Film & Business

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find Vena E, known as Pretty Vee on social media and an entertainment mogul, known for her hilarious skits and funny dances sits with Ryan, Channing and Fred for a conversation covering her journey from childhood to stardom. Growing up with her parents in south Florida, one of Vee’s greatest motivators and influences is her her mother, who spent her life as a pastor, educator and a constant force of encouragement to Vee’s aspirations to follow an unlikely career path. Seeing her parents hard work all her life, Vee worked several hourly jobs while trying to figure out the next steps to put her in position to follow her dream but the catalyst to start her journey was when Vee was fired and credits that moment of being let go to giving her the push to pursue her passion. Trying to break into comedy and what was considered for so long a man’s world, Vee never was intimidated and always motivated to reinvent herself and find new ways to use her skits to generate attention. Living by the philosophy of a delay is not denial, Vee never took a no as a never and turned very closed door into another opportunity to go after he dreams. Amassing a social media following over 6M, Vee continues to entertain the world with her comedic skits, risk taking storylines and dominate the industry with her savvy business skills, using her characters to create products for women to help boost confidence and a fun easygoing lifestyle. Sustaining longevity in a Hollywood lifestyle is the continued goal for Vee as her path has allowed her to capitalize on every opportunity, carving her own niche in the comedic space and build a brand sustainable with respect and success in a cut throat entertainment business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Hello. Hello.

• 0:32Ryan Clark?

  What's up?

• 0:33Speaker 01

  How are you guys doing?

• 0:34Ryan Clark?

  How you doing?

• 0:36Speaker 01

  I'm so sorry to see you guys waiting.

• 0:37Ryan Clark?

  Nah, you good. Thank you so much.

• 0:39Fred Taylor?

  What's up, man? What's up with you? Alright?

• 0:42Ryan Clark?

  Don't start, don't start talking in that low voice. Cause pretty V-

• 0:46Fred Taylor?

  I can't help you.

• 0:47Ryan Clark?

  Did you hear V hit you with the, "Hey, how you doing?" Don't do that. Like, don't, don't do that.

• 0:51Speaker 01

  It's okay, it's okay.

• 0:53Ryan Clark?

  Like, I know when she put it on her socials, it's gonna be, you know, a lot of women and, and like, we're used to it, Freddie. T, we get it. Oh, Fred, every time he speaks, it's so much wisdom. And it's, like, don't do that. Don't do that, man.

• 1:05Fred Taylor?

  Why you trying to call me?

• 1:06Speaker 01

  You gonna have a good time.

• 1:07Ryan Clark?

  No, no, no.

• 1:08Speaker 01

  It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun.

• 1:32Ryan Clark?

  So, welcome to the Pivot. I mean, we've been trying to get this done forever.

• 1:36Speaker 01

  For a minute, yeah.

• 1:37Ryan Clark?

  We're extremely excited. I think, like, for us, it's about expanding, right? Freddie T always says that exposure leads to expansion. And getting a very talented, uh, black woman on our show, who is not only beautiful, but also skilled at what she does, and understands marketing, and understands continuing to promote herself and build a brand. I think it's, it's great for the people who follow us. So, if you, if you're a subscriber already, uh, continue to like, continue to support, whether it's YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. We really appreciate you. Um, I think for, for us, though, it's like-

• 2:19Ryan Clark?

  It hasn't, I'm trying to say this in a very nice way. It hasn't always been the, the, the ten, the extremely attractive woman gets into comedy. And is also funny, and is also great at her job. What drew you to this art form?

• 2:37Speaker 01

  I always knew I had a calling, you know, I just didn't know what area. Um, I went to school at St. Augustine University, I did four years of communication. And my mom told me, before I went to college, she said, God, my mom's a pastor, so she said, God, say, you gonna be in the arts, you know? I said, okay, mom, you know, okay, when you get a prophecy, you don't know when it's gonna come. They just give you a word and you just gotta work towards it. So, um, I was always a class clown, I was always getting called from the front to the back of the room. I was just always doing something, jumping, just act crazy. So I knew it was something that was instilled in me, I just didn't know what until I got to college and I said, you know, I wanna do radio. And then radio didn't work out for me, cuz I graduated and had a job working at a, a station and I had my own radio show called The VXO Show.

• 3:17Speaker 01

  After that, I was working a nine to five, I was, I was actually Arnold Taylor, um, admin assistant, um, for South Coast Music Group. And then we were booking a baby, baby Jesus at the time, now he's the baby. So, um, I, I knew, it was just, I was trying to figure it out. So after that, I got fired from all them jobs, child, and I was fighting myself in the street.

• 3:35Ryan Clark?

  What you get fired for? Were you just terrible working?

• 3:37Channing Crowder?

  You were showing out?

• 3:38Speaker 01

  No, I think I was late and Arnold told me, he was like, you know, this is not where you want, you need to be. He was like, you are so stuck in your world of comedy, you need to go out and get that. So I always tell Arnold, when I see him, I always say, thank you, thank you, thank you for firing me. Because it pushed me, it excelled me where I'm at right now.

• 3:57Channing Crowder?

  And you talking about your, your mom was a pastor? Like, was it strict?

• 4:03Speaker 01

  You know what's so crazy? My mom got ordained, I think it's her eighth year of being ordained. Um, so she wasn't, she was always honest, but she wasn't so strict. I ain't lying, my daddy was strict and my mom was strict too. But she wasn't so strict on us though. It was just like, we knew what time it was, like. We knew, you already know, when you come in this house, this is what it is. When you go out, this is what it is. Keep it, you know, both ways, not just in my house, you act a certain way. Do it outside too. So she was strict, but it wasn't like, okay, we in a, we in a room reading books and looking at Psalms twenty-three all day. It was like.

• 4:33Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 4:33Speaker 01

  Figure it out, and when you go out in that street, you already know what time it is. So I, I learned both. Streets and all these different things.

• 4:39Ryan Clark?

  That's such a, a Southern Baptist thing, Psalms twenty-three. Like, that's what we all go.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  That's what we all know, we know, yeah.

• 4:45Ryan Clark?

  Ye do I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Like, that's our one.

• 4:49Channing Crowder?

  It's about three words, it's Psalms twenty-three, what, Proverbs?

• 4:52Speaker 01

  Proverbs.

• 4:52Channing Crowder?

  Third one, yeah, everybody do it.

• 4:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:55Channing Crowder?

  That's all, that's all the Bible verses you know?

• 4:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, look, I'm over here like, and the thing about it is. Always say, I have never read the Bible from front to back, but I know, you know, I know the word. And I gotta, I walk with the word. Even when I do comedy, it's not just me acting fool and, ah, yeah. You know, comedy is healing. When you laugh and you, you know, joke is, is making somebody's day.

• 5:15Channing Crowder?

  Is it harder as comedy as a woman? Because I, I love, I love comedy. I mess around, I play around, you know, I'mma, I'mma get after your ass here in a second.

• 5:23Speaker 01

  No, period.

• 5:23Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, but like, is, is it harder as a woman to be in that space?

• 5:27Speaker 01

  I think it is. You have so much guys. You have, I mean, the list goes on and on, but I think for us, it's, it's, it's great because you have like the B-Silones. You have the Pretty Vs, you have the Just Hilarities. You have so many of us that's going, the millennial that's coming in, the Monique's, you know? But it's, we're beautiful too, you know, and we're bosses. So when we go on stage, you gotta respect it, because we gonna give you a joke, you know? I'm from Miami, so it's straightforward for me, like, this is what it is. And again, I don't do stand-up. I've done stand-up, I didn't really care for it. I like hosting comedy shows, you know? I like doing my one-woman shows. I have characters, I want the world to see that. Like, I'm not saying that stand-up is bad, but it's for me, I just. I I I I need to be five different people on that.

• 6:11Speaker 01

  And I think I can be, I think I can be in my little forty, forty my forty-five minute set. But I like to, I'm a storyteller.

• 6:17Ryan Clark?

  Do you feel like that's, like that's where comedy is moving? Because like I think about, like I'm old, first off. Like I think about growing up and and getting opportunities to see Raw, right? See, see Delirious and then you get an opportunity, you know, You So Crazy, you know, Martin Steens and so. And so, but now the, you know, the the Pretty Vs, the the the the Desis, the the Just Hilarious. Like, all of you guys play these roles and you play these characters. Do you feel like comedy has changed along with the times where social media is big and all of those things? And it allows you guys to not only show that you're funny, but it also shows so much versatility in each of you.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  I think it has. And also too, like back in the day was like we were numbers in a line, like number five, six, seven, come on, you know, someone wanna see you perform, go ahead. Cause I remember I used to audition, when I auditioned for Robert Townsend in Miami, we were numbers, you know? Like we had to make sure we hold our cards up, this is our number, we gonna give you this, say this line. Now Instagram is our resume. You go on there, you're getting booked, you know, they have, they don't know what you're, you're gonna do. Like even when I got the opportunity with Issa Rae to do her new series show, Issa Rae didn't see me perform. She gave me the opportunity, like, hey, I want you to do what you do. I know you're a comedian, but I wanna see the opposite. So Instagram is really, literally our resume. Like we go on there and just act up, that's our casting call.

• 7:38Fred Taylor?

  I've seen a million of your skits, I seen some shit the other day. You gave Doja Cat twenty-four hours. You, you, you gave Doja Cat twenty-four hours response.

• 7:48Speaker 01

  I showed up here.

• 7:49Fred Taylor?

  But, I don't know if she responded yet, we'll get to that. But do you ever look at yourself and say, man, you crazy?

• 7:56Speaker 01

  I do, all the time.

• 7:57Fred Taylor?

  How you keep a straight face though?

• 7:59Speaker 01

  I mean, like, y'all don't see it, but when I do my skits, like I really bust out laughing after these, after each, every skit I do, I be down on the ground. They're like, what's going on? And I said, who gave me an edible? And then my homie was like, well, what else is an edible?

• 8:13Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 8:13Speaker 01

  Cause you, cause you. Like, what's going on?

• 8:16Ryan Clark?

  You was dancing your tail off, though.

• 8:18Speaker 01

  But you know, I danced, though. Yeah, so it's like, when I do it, I just do it comedically. The physical comedy, like, got to. Like, it's just, for me, it's just, it's a vibe. So I'm like, I watch the Jim Carrey's. I watched the Martin Wayans, those Wayne brothers, like, and they were just so physical. So I'm just like, why not? Why don't, why, I should use my dancing in this comedy, so we could do it. So I've been doing it.

• 8:41Fred Taylor?

  But then you, then you pivot and flip the switch and you go from funny as hell to entrepreneur.

• 8:47Speaker 01

  It's such a balance.

• 8:49Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 8:49Speaker 01

  Someone told me that was like, when they wanted me to do their video, they were like, hey, I want you to be in my music video because it's so dope that you transitioned into just being like that loud, ponytail looking dusty to, okay, let's throw some heels on.

• 9:02Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 9:03Speaker 01

  We could market you, like, let's get it. I mean, I just think that's what it is. I think that's comedy. I think that's dope. I mean, you don't see, when you were back in the days, you're not seeing Martin walking down looking like Shanaynay. He gonna take that wig off and he gonna get to it. I mean, I think that's just the beauty of it, when you could transition and not stay in that. It's a gift when you don't have to stay in it. You know, some people really stay in characters, but it's a gift when you could transition and get to the, get to the money.

• 9:28Channing Crowder?

  Bro, you bring up Martin. I got Jamaican woman, this is what I wrote down that I don't watch. The ghetto girl, the baby mama.

• 9:37Ryan Clark?

  Baby mama, she was patting that baby.

• 9:39Channing Crowder?

  Bro, our mama was broke.

• 9:40Ryan Clark?

  Weak as hell, though.

• 9:41Channing Crowder?

  The baby mama had me, had me set. But, but also, what other was now? Like, that, that space of just, like, can you, could, could you jump into that right now? Could you go between those? Because Martin had to do Martin.

• 9:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 9:57Channing Crowder?

  He had to deal with Gina and then Shanaynay and then the...

• 10:00Ryan Clark?

  Dragonfly Joe.

• 10:01Channing Crowder?

  Dragonfly Joe, like, are you, are you, are you talented enough? Could you jump between those?

• 10:07Speaker 01

  If you want to share on, you can share on. If you want a ghetto girl, let's talk about it.

• 10:12Ryan Clark?

  Real talk, I want it, yes, yes. If you're asking, I do want it.

• 10:17Speaker 01

  Yes, you know, we have the bodyguard Sharon, you know, things like that, you know, remove bodyguard. You have the ghetto girl, like what they do, like all that, I mean, it comes, you know.

• 10:24Ryan Clark?

  It's strategic, you do it strategically.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  No, I just, I mean, someone asked me that, I just, I literally just do it organically, I just flow with it. It's, I don't have any map and, and one, two, three, four, five, six, I just do it.

• 10:37Ryan Clark?

  You're saying like it's simple, it's not simple.

• 10:39Speaker 01

  I mean, it's not simple, I think nowadays, I should be writing what I do, but like, I just prop the camera up and I just go. Everything I do, I just go. Only time I'm reading a script is when I have, when I'm booked on a movie or a show. But now I have a show called V's House that I'm producing. So that is definitely scripted.

• 10:57Ryan Clark?

  Tell us a little bit more about that.

• 10:58Speaker 01

  Well, V's House, you know, came about, I'm like, okay, I have my characters, I mean, on Instagram, I mean, of course, what I'm, the outlet that I'm going with V's House is YouTube, so it's still free. But I kinda wanted to put my characters, like Eddie Murphy, you know, I kinda wanna put my characters in one setting. You know, Sharon, Bobo, Maria, Lualo, Babani, shit like that, we have, you know, um, New York chick, all that, ah, ah. You know, we got all those.

• 11:24Ryan Clark?

  There we go.

• 11:25Speaker 01

  That's a whole sentence.

• 11:26Ryan Clark?

  Ah, ah, that's a whole sentence.

• 11:27Speaker 01

  You know, like, you know what I mean, like, ah, ah, ah. So I wanted to put that in, uh, just with, just in a house, you know, and just to see how these characters move. So, yeah, V's House is like, it's my show that I'm developing. So Vina, Pretty V goes on a date and all her characters just got, they loud, so much commotion. They can't give her her peace with her man and he over here looking crazy, so I'm like, damn, not again. Y'all done ruined Thanksgiving, now my, my date.

• 11:53Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 11:54Speaker 01

  So I, I, I wanna, that's the show that I'm developing right now.

• 11:56Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned Vina got fired, right? And, and she was told that she should focus on comedy.

• 12:04Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:04Ryan Clark?

  Tell us how Pretty V was born, because you are a, a very attractive woman, you are a very intelligent woman. And sometimes those things don't vibe with comedy. So, so how was Pretty V born and to say, you know what, I can do this and I can do this in my way. And I can be an entrepreneur and I can still be beautiful and I can do all these things, but I can still be funny as hell.

• 12:26Speaker 01

  I think Pretty V was born when I got fired. My name was already @I'mPrettyV on my Instagram. I just needed to structure that. So, when I got fired, Arnold gave me that push, like, "Okay, yeah, let's go." Because Davana was working. Davana Urquell Excel, that's my real name. She was working. She was working for the baby. She was doing admin work. She was getting $300 on the table. Ain't making no money, but I needed. I just, I told myself, I said, "God, I just want to be in the entertainment business." Whichever, whichever area, let's, let's get it. So, he started me off doing admin work. And then I had my own radio show called Lounge 22 MV Excel Show in Charlotte, North Carolina. And then I stopped doing that. And that's when I started fighting myself in the street. And that's when I was developing my confidence, like, "Okay, let's get to it." If I could do this, I could make some change. But I was still broke. I worked for Fair for Marriott, you know?

• 13:10Speaker 01

  I was working for TJ Maxx, Dollar Tree. And then I was still trying to figure, I was still trying to figure it out. After that, audition came for Wildin' Out. And I was like, "Shoot, I'm finna audition." And then my homegirl was like, "Girl, you better say that, DC, you don't fly your cousin." Get on this show. Or call us Miller your uncle." So, I did that.

• 13:27Ryan Clark?

  But that dance show did?

• 13:29Speaker 01

  It did work. They said, "Baby, you is not their cousin." And you is not funny on this show. So, I was like, "Shit." Okay, well, I guess I gotta go back to, in my kitchen and put my pink robe on and my bonnet and start dancing. Then I got my first Brenda Bassett deal with a weave company. It was $500. That was in my rent. I kept moving, I kept moving, I kept moving. And then Wildin' Out called me back and was like, "Hey, we see what you're doing." And, "No, no, no, we want to let you come back for an audition." And then, I didn't even audition. I just walked right into it.

• 13:58Ryan Clark?

  You said that you'd be better than her and Wildin' Out. You told me that before she got here.

• 14:02Speaker 01

  Oh, that was going on?

• 14:03Ryan Clark?

  You said you could fry her.

• 14:04Speaker 01

  That was going on?

• 14:05Ryan Clark?

  You said you could fry her.

• 14:06Channing Crowder?

  I, I was just saying, like, we call it roasting.

• 14:09Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 14:09Channing Crowder?

  You know what I'm saying? We call it joining in Atlanta. I don't know what, you know what I'm saying? You from here, joining.

• 14:13Speaker 01

  They call it ranking in Miami.

• 14:15Channing Crowder?

  Ranking in Miami, like, all that. And I was, I was gonna say that. I told him, I was like, "If she want to rank, we could ride." You know what I'm saying? If you want to ride, we could ride.

• 14:23Speaker 01

  See, I'm gonna lead at the DC, because I don't know how to rank. I'm sorry.

• 14:27Channing Crowder?

  You really don't? Okay, well.

• 14:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:28Channing Crowder?

  We're, we're actually, we're gonna fool with DC.

• 14:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, y'all need to, because I can't. Every time me and him go against each other, I be out. He, we talk about our lizard shaped body. And he be like, "You, you shaped like me." And then we just go. That's it.

• 14:40Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay, yeah. Because you got, you got newspaper on your legs.

• 14:46Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 15:15Channing Crowder?

  But, no, no, no, I just, I... I'm gonna leave with DC. No, he can't even ready. I had to see.

• 15:21Speaker 01

  I know he can't even.

• 15:22Channing Crowder?

  I was like, I had to see.

• 15:23Speaker 01

  I know he can't even.

• 15:24Channing Crowder?

  I had to see if you had anything going on. What in that space, like I asked earlier, is it intimidating? Like you said, DC, DC's cool.

• 15:34Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 15:34Channing Crowder?

  DC's a monster.

• 15:36Speaker 01

  He's a monster.

• 15:37Channing Crowder?

  He's a monster.

• 15:38Speaker 01

  Like, I give him his flowers all day, every day.

• 15:40Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 15:40Speaker 01

  Like, he is sickening. Like, it's so, like, I went to, it was Duval, it was him, it was B-Somol, it was somebody on stage, and I was like, he goes up last, all the time. And I'm like, I'm watching, I'm like, wow. DC, one of the fucking young fly.

• 15:56Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 15:57Speaker 01

  Incredible. And I mean, at the end of the day, it's just, I mean, it's not intimidating, it's just inspiring, and it just leaves room for us to just come on in. Because y'all do, y'all not us. You know, we bring a whole different type of sauce to the comedy world anyway, so y'all could do y'all, but we gonna come in too, because y'all need us.

• 16:11Channing Crowder?

  You're a Swiss Army knife. All that you do to become an international star, like, everybody knows you.

• 16:17Speaker 01

  You better come on.

• 16:18Channing Crowder?

  But how did that happen? But, but like... He took your job, man, he giving out flowers on you already.

• 16:24Fred Taylor?

  I can't say nothing.

• 16:26Channing Crowder?

  Most people go to school for that. Like, how, how did you become what you are with no teacher?

• 16:34Speaker 01

  Right.

• 16:35Fred Taylor?

  It's called talent.

• 16:36Channing Crowder?

  But, where is that talent? What you want, some Bella, we can bust it open? I seen you looking around, what you want? I was about to say, what you want, some Bella, but like, how, like, what, what is that? Where does that come from?

• 16:50Speaker 01

  I mean, like he said, it's called talent, it's gifted. I think it just, I gotta say, it just comes from God. Because when I was in school, it was always like, come from the back to the front. It was like, Vina, can you do this? Like, when I went to college, I wanted to be in radio so bad. I was a freshman, and you could not be in the radio department unless you was a sophomore. And the lady told him, she was like, we wanna give Devana a chance, but she's a freshman, and I think she'd be great. So even coming into that school, they wanted me to be involved in every little thing, hosting, be a part of this, be a part of that. So I knew it was something, and I was trying to grasp it. And I know my mom told me, like, you gonna do this. And it came to pass, you know? So I had it, I know I had it. I mean, I used to run around the house with this on my head, and my daddy's shoes, singing. I was in tap, I was in jazz, I danced, I played the piano.

• 17:34Speaker 01

  I did all these things, you know?

• 17:36Ryan Clark?

  V, like, I have, so I have...

• 17:38Speaker 01

  Ooh, and you look like in Dinosaur.

• 17:40Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he does.

• 17:41Channing Crowder?

  What do I look like?

• 17:41Ryan Clark?

  Hey, not the ba... He ain't, he definitely look like not the mama. He definitely look like not the mama, though, from Dinosaur. Like, that is a real thing.

• 17:48Channing Crowder?

  Are we gonna ride with them high school tattoos on your feet? Are we gonna ride? I just, whatever you wanna do.

• 17:57Ryan Clark?

  V, so, I have, like, I have certain, like, fears and insecurities, right? You know, I work for ESPN, and so, like, there are dudes that I work with, like, something that happened in the game, and they'll just take their phone and flip it around, like, do a video from their house. Like, that's not me, right? Because I'm always like, well, if I'm not on TV, like, I'm not gonna do that. Like, I have these, like, these certain rules set for things I won't put myself out there to do. Like you said, when you're setting up your phone in your kitchen, or you're setting up your phone to do these different skits and play these different characters, is there ever a fear that, you know what? This one might not land?

• 18:37Ryan Clark?

  Like, people might not enjoy this, or laugh at this, or it might not resonate? Or do you feel like every time you set that phone up, you gotta hit?

• 18:47Speaker 01

  Hmm, I mean, we all, as creators, we all go through it. You know, you got Instagram and it's like, when I post a video, it better go viral or it better go hit. I think that causes anxiety. I've been there, right? It's your, it's no video, I mean, of course, we think that it's gonna go crazy, but then the views is like, oh, girl, in ten minutes, your shit's still at five thousand views. It's like, girl, that shit should be at a hundred K in ten minutes for most of us, right? But I think when we-

• 19:15Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, we like, we don't, we don't live that life. I don't, I don't know what that means.

• 19:17Speaker 01

  But I mean, for creators, like, if we post something, right? Okay, if it's like at five minutes, that video should be at twenty-five K, like, views. Five minutes, it should be zoom going up. And then when we have fifteen, it should be at a hundred K, it should be. So, we look at that and I think, I took, me and Desi spoke and I said, we gotta stop doing it. Cause that's really like, that would bring anxiety. Because at the end of the day, you're supposed to enjoy what you do. It don't matter about what, you are, we already there. You know, of course, we have more work to do. This is only the beginning. We haven't even touched our peak yet. But that should not be important to us. Post the video. So I stopped even thinking about that. Like, now I'm over here like, you know what, I didn't did that when I had a hundred K. A million, two million, three million, four, I'm at, I'm at six point one million.

• 20:03Speaker 01

  So I'm like, at this point, I'm like, look, I don't care about that.

• 20:06Ryan Clark?

  You're stunting on us right now, though.

• 20:08Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 20:08Ryan Clark?

  Sure. Yeah.

• 20:09Fred Taylor?

  She's stuck, she's stuck on us. That's dope, but I, I wanna ask, though, because we all, uh, we all have a bar, right? And that was your bar, you know, looking at it and saying where you should be and at a lot of amount of time. You know, there's a saying that the standard is the standard. Coach Mike Tumlin says it.

• 20:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 20:25Fred Taylor?

  So, if you're not gonna use that to gauge your success, or, you know, for those individual postings, what is it? What's the standard now?

• 20:34Speaker 01

  I think for me, I used to watch it and I, and I, and I'm not gonna lie, I still do, only because I have- Bel Air, I have city insurance. I have companies that want to work with me and they look at the numbers.

• 20:45Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 20:45Speaker 01

  Right? Instagram is their new outlet. Like, this is how you're getting booked through this app. So, since your question is more of like, now, I still look at it, but it's more of like, you know what? I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna die off IG. I'm not gonna give myself high blood clot pressure. Man, I go do that.

• 21:03Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 21:03Speaker 01

  Man, I go, man, I go figure that, man, I go figure that they owe to me. I go do my little blood clot thing and I go, oh, I'm, and go sleep. So, I just try to like, you know, just stay authentically me. And if it vibes with it and it resonates, let's do it. And if it don't, hell, we gonna do it again. Because if you are a com- if you are a comic and you're a comedian and you're funny and this is not something that was taught or whatever, like, you're gonna always be dope.

• 21:27Fred Taylor?

  So-

• 21:27Speaker 01

  This is what it is.

• 21:28Fred Taylor?

  Vena XL, as in XL, as in larger than life, right? You align yourself with specific partners. You keep it 100. You always shouting out the crib, you know, Miami-Dade County. Does the affirmation, does that give you a certain inspiration? Like, do you align yourself with specific partners, uh, knowing that they're gonna allow you to be yourself? Or you, you don't just work with anybody?

• 21:58Speaker 01

  Oh, no, I don't just work with anybody. And that's a, a great question, because someone asked me that yesterday when I did, um, this interview. They were saying, you don't do a lot of, you don't promote a lot of businesses or brands or partners. And I said, I just try to make sure it's authentically with my brand, right? So, I'm not gonna just post, I done already did the fashion overs, I done already did the pretty little things, I done did there. And now, I'm over here trying to make sure, like, I get in spaces and rooms where I'm like, what's going to land my brand the right way?

• 22:25Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 22:25Speaker 01

  What is going to make it make sense? What, what, who's gonna make sure Pretty V's and rooms and centers that's gonna broaden, you know, her brand and make it dope? And make it, you know, enhance it, you know, not just here, right? And that's why I chose the Bel Airs, you know, me and Ross. You know, I think it's just a dope chemistry that we have when it comes to Bel Air, because it's, you know, he's, you know, he's he, I'm, I'm me. But it's more of like, when you have-

• 22:50Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 22:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, when, when you have, uh-

• 22:53Fred Taylor?

  I need to ask you something about that.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  Okay, so when you have.

• 22:58Ryan Clark?

  Why you, you said it, you said it twice, bro.

• 23:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, actually.

• 23:01Ryan Clark?

  Like, go on, ask.

• 23:02Fred Taylor?

  She kept going, I'm like, alright. Nah, cuz I just texted him, he my neighbor, he live across the street from me. I just text him, like, hey, what I need to talk to V about, bruh, like, tell me something. But.

• 23:13Ryan Clark?

  Why would Ross know what you need to talk to V about, though? Like, why would you text?

• 23:17Fred Taylor?

  Because he, he, he the boss, obviously, he the boss. But I'm just trying to get some insight, cuz you was talking about V's house. I wanted to know if it was between, you know, you had to choose between Desi, Nick Cannon, who gonna get you pregnant, and then Ross been in the house with you.

• 23:33Ryan Clark?

  Everybody pregnant.

• 23:34Fred Taylor?

  Man, he might, he might get me pregnant. And I'll let him get me pregnant.

• 23:40Ryan Clark?

  Bro, that child support being split so many ways, you don't want it.

• 23:43Speaker 01

  It's definitely funny, yeah. But you already know what my answer is, though.

• 23:47Fred Taylor?

  Nah, but back to it, I, I went way left, I don't even know where I was going. Nah, but, yeah, for sure, I love it.

• 23:55Ryan Clark?

  I feel like you never asked a real question.

• 23:57Fred Taylor?

  I, I didn't, I did, but I didn't.

• 23:59Speaker 01

  But, yeah, I know what you was trying to do.

• 24:00Fred Taylor?

  I wanna know about the people you work on.

• 24:04Ryan Clark?

  Fred, she wants to eat lemon pepper. So when I think of lemon pepper, right?

• 24:08Fred Taylor?

  You ain't talking about wings.

• 24:09Ryan Clark?

  I know there are two people synonymous with lemon pepper wings, right? One is Lou Williams.

• 24:16Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 24:16Ryan Clark?

  Right, my dog Danny got kicked out of the bubble, fooling around with lemon pepper range at the strip club. And Rick Ross, right?

• 24:23Fred Taylor?

  That's true.

• 24:23Ryan Clark?

  So if she has an affinity for lemon pepper wings, maybe she's spending a ton of time with someone who also loves lemon pepper wings. Maybe I'm wrong.

• 24:38Channing Crowder?

  You, oh, oh, you saying, so you got an old man?

• 24:42Ryan Clark?

  I'm saying, like, why wouldn't she be with Rick Ross? I thought you were gonna ask.

• 24:46Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 24:46Ryan Clark?

  I thought you were gonna ask.

• 24:48Fred Taylor?

  I'm not gonna be finna ask, we talking about Bella, I'm talking about my neighbor.

• 24:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, you know, the brands that I work with, um, you know, is.

• 24:55Ryan Clark?

  Frank, see, I'm not asking about brands.

• 24:58Channing Crowder?

  You got an old man?

• 25:00Ryan Clark?

  Ooh, cross my legs, I'm like.

• 25:03Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, cross him like mine, right over the left.

• 25:05Fred Taylor?

  You see how this shit work?

• 25:08Speaker 01

  Do you have an old man, um, you know?

• 25:13Speaker 01

  I don't know what an old man is.

• 25:16Ryan Clark?

  Do you have, do you have a man?

• 25:17Speaker 01

  You have a man. Um, right now, I am, um, what Carisha said? Uh, we single what we dating.

• 25:28Ryan Clark?

  What, what, what is that? I don't even understand what that means.

• 25:32Speaker 01

  We single what we dating.

• 25:34Ryan Clark?

  That is such a weird person.

• 25:35Channing Crowder?

  So you don't have an old man?

• 25:37Speaker 01

  We single what we dating.

• 25:39Channing Crowder?

  I was just saying, yeah, if you're single, you're dating.

• 25:41Speaker 01

  What we dating?

• 25:43Channing Crowder?

  But you're single, so it's fine.

• 25:44Speaker 01

  It's we single what we dating.

• 25:46Channing Crowder?

  Oh, okay, just lean, don't, don't lean, don't lean too far. You're gonna fall, you're gonna fall on that bitch, Jim. You, you fall and hit your head.

• 25:53Fred Taylor?

  Nah, he been in the house, he don't even know who Carisha is.

• 25:56Ryan Clark?

  I don't know who Carisha is.

• 25:57Fred Taylor?

  City girl.

• 25:57Speaker 01

  City girl.

• 25:58Fred Taylor?

  City girls.

• 25:58Ryan Clark?

  Oh, yeah, I don't listen to music, I don't listen to, I don't listen to. Exactly who she is, I just feel like, I be, like, you have been, for however long we've been here, you've been very, um, straightforward, uh, you've been very open, and you're such a great communicator.

• 26:13Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 26:14Ryan Clark?

  Right? Every point you have intended to make has really resonated with me. Like, it's truly hit home. And then, all of a sudden, we get to dating, and you start looking at your feet.

• 26:29Channing Crowder?

  The holly gully.

• 26:30Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, she started, like.

• 26:31Channing Crowder?

  The flam gully.

• 26:32Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, it got, it got, it got, it was flim flamery. It got, it got really weird, you know? I'm sure there are some unattractive comedians who don't have to deal with this. Uh, but this is very important to us, you know? You say, like, we're single, I'm single, but we dating. Right, like, two different things, right? Cause it's like, as this entity, as the Pretty V entity, I am single. But me and him are dating. Is there a way we could figure out who me and him and we are that are dating, or no? Like, reveal some stuff, like, this is what the show is about, Pretty V. Reveal some stuff people don't know.

• 27:12Speaker 01

  Like I said, I love me some lemon pepper wings, so you know, we gon'.

• 27:16Fred Taylor?

  What's, uh, what's the adlib?

• 27:18Speaker 01

  We gon' speak to that part.

• 27:20Channing Crowder?

  God did.

• 27:23Fred Taylor?

  That ain't that.

• 27:23Channing Crowder?

  Nobody knew, but God did.

• 27:26Speaker 01

  God did.

• 27:29Speaker 01

  Nah, you know what's so crazy is, you know, again, I love Ross. Let's just go back to him. I love Ross. I think Ross is dope and just the knowledge, you know, of being an entrepreneur Negro has been amazing. Like, it's everything. So, I just leave it there. I just think Ross is a great, a great. We from Miami, so at the end of the day, that's just home team. So, he's a great, great, great guy. So, like I said, we love them people wings and we gonna do what we do.

• 27:57Channing Crowder?

  What's the future of you? Like, you know what I'm saying, the progression? What's the future of you? Like, the dream role or whatever it is? Because you're coming up, people know you, but that dream role, like, what do you want to be? Like, what's that top?

• 28:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, and this is only the beginning. I feel like I haven't even touched the peak, right? I think God is still like preparing me for what I want. And, you know, film and TV, I want to have my own show. I want to have my own sitcom show, you know, with my characters. Again, my goal is, of course, to work with my inspiration, Jim Carrey. Like, I love him. I study him all day, every day, you know, in the ways. I've never met him. I know Marlon came to Wild and Out and I missed him one day. But my goal is to really and truly like, you know, because people put us in a box as influencers. It's just like, child, you know, next y'all gonna always be on Instagram and you got the phone up. But it's so dope when you get opportunities from the Nick Cannon, you know, from the BETs, VH1 to put you in these movies,

• 29:00Speaker 01

  and the Issa Rae's, you know, her new rap, her new series rap shit. It's so dope to connect with people like that because they believe in you. They see it. They see a star. They don't just see, oh, you're just on Instagram and that's where you gonna land. No, I feel like this girl could go places. And for me and my eyes, I just film and TV. I want to have my own show. I want to have multiple shows. I want to produce, exactly produce.

• 29:24Speaker 01

  You know, I do music as well, so that's just, I'm, but I'm more of the, I'm more on the comedic side of music. Like, I could compare it to Lil Duvall, you know? Lil Duvall probably smile, bitch, you know, that's him. But the comedic side of it with me too, you know? So, I have music out. So, it's more of like the film and TV. I want to continue to master that. You know, my one woman show, you know, really, really have that.

• 29:45Channing Crowder?

  A one woman show?

• 29:47Speaker 01

  A one woman show.

• 29:48Channing Crowder?

  You think you're capable of doing a show by yourself?

• 29:51Speaker 01

  Oh, I am definitely capable of doing a show by myself.

• 29:53Fred Taylor?

  What's your vision of that?

• 29:55Channing Crowder?

  That's, that's, that's amazing.

• 29:57Speaker 01

  I could definitely see myself doing a woman show. Whoopi did it.

• 29:59Channing Crowder?

  By yourself, onstage, two hours.

• 30:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, Whoopi did it. I have all these characters and I'm still developing my character.

• 30:05Channing Crowder?

  And you can do that by yourself?

• 30:07Speaker 01

  I could do it by myself. Actually, like, if I don't do it, Lil Duvall gonna say something again because he keep bugging me about it. You need to do that.

• 30:15Speaker 01

  So for me, for me, when people say I'm gonna, I wanna book you for stand-up, I say I'm gonna do one woman shows. Like, I will go up there and that's my forty-five minute set. Like, I'm not finna say, well, look at you. I'm gonna go up there and just switch out different characters.

• 30:29Channing Crowder?

  And do your set?

• 30:30Speaker 01

  And that will be my set.

• 30:31Fred Taylor?

  You know, from, from our demographic, there've been tons and tons of amazing black comedians. From the male and female side. But you just mentioned Jim Carrey, right? What is it about Jim Carrey that inspires you to wanna work with him?

• 30:49Speaker 01

  Hmm, his boldness, his daring, you know, his confidence. You know, not really caring. I don't care who's in the room. I don't, I, you know, like I said, I'm busting out in Sharon, I'm doing splits, I'm crumping, I'm, I, I. I don't care because it is what it is. I'm, this, in my mind, I'm, this is me. I'm in my own show. You know, and I think that's, well, when you turn funny into money, this is what it is. And that's what I did, you know, so I feel like, for me, he did that and it's longevity with him and that's what I want. So to answer your question, what is the future, it's just, it's, it's me continuing to progress in the way God wants me to go. So if it's film and TV, if it's motivational speaking, if it's out in the community, you know, I'm tying everything together with my comedy. And that's just what it is.

• 31:31Fred Taylor?

  V, like, I think as-

• 31:32Speaker 01

  One woman show, new series.

• 31:34Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, you know, so as, as we-

• 31:35Channing Crowder?

  I wanna be on shit.

• 31:37Ryan Clark?

  Don't, don't, don't, don't, V, don't let him go. He gonna try to steal your shot. I need me five minutes.

• 31:41Speaker 01

  No, he can come on my show, he come to V's house.

• 31:43Ryan Clark?

  And he gonna try to get people to go to like, do really freaky things and you don't want that happening. Oh, ooh. So, so, so here is a question.

• 31:50Speaker 01

  He can come to V's house.

• 31:51Ryan Clark?

  V, here's a question that, that, that men don't have to answer. And, uh, whether fair or unfair, I think it's, it's as part of the way society sees success for women. Like Fred was never asked, does he have to sacrifice family to be a great running back? Right? I was never asked, did I have to sacrifice family to be a, a good safety or to do TV? For women, that's always the question, right? Someone who is, who is an entrepreneur as you are, someone who is driven as you are. It's like, okay, if I'm gonna continue to do this work, I'm gonna, I want, I want this one woman show. I wanna do all these things. Other things are sacrifice.

• 32:34Ryan Clark?

  For you, is there the thought of it's my career or family? Like, do you wanna raise kids? Do you wanna get married? Do you want all of those things? And the success of seeing your talent to fruition?

• 32:51Speaker 01

  Um, of course, I want a family. Yes, definitely wanna, you know, some babies running around, not now, but that's the goal, you know? I wanna get married, I want a family. You know, I grew up having my mom and my dad, you know? Um, then I also have a heart for, you know, comedy, you know? So, I mean, I'm not there yet mentally, but I know some decisions will have to get made. But I mean, I've watched my mom, three kids. You know, she sacrificed a lot and, and made sure we were okay. You know, I seen her work, day and night, and then we were still okay. We were still dressed from head to toe. We still, you know, made sure, she still made sure we ate. You know, so I know it will all happen and in God's will, it's gonna, it's gonna work out. I could do both.

• 33:32Channing Crowder?

  And, and with Issa Rae, you were with Issa Rae?

• 33:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 33:35Channing Crowder?

  Rap, rap.

• 33:36Speaker 01

  Rap shit.

• 33:37Channing Crowder?

  Rap shit.

• 33:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, phenomenal.

• 33:39Channing Crowder?

  And Issa, is that, is that like, I don't wanna say your inspiration, whatever, but Issa's doing her.

• 33:44Speaker 01

  Someone that is very, someone that is very inspiring to the culture, to women like myself. Very inspiring, and yes, could be an inspiration because again, she came from where I'm at, you know? Content creator, you know, YouTube, you know, having her own show, you know, that's why we're developing V's House. That's inspiring, you know, to put it on YouTube and watch it grow into now Insecure. Now all these other shows she has, now Rap Shit. And you chose me, shout out to Charlamagne, Charlamagne is the one who connected that. I didn't know what Rap Shit was about, I thought it was just a game show. I didn't know, I was like, oh, that's whatever. He said, nah, V, it's this thing, da-da-da-da, this is a new series show we have on HBO Max? That Issa Rae has on HBO Max, you should be a part of it, and I'm, you're gonna be a part of it.

• 34:29Speaker 01

  So then he called me up one day and he was like, this is what it is, and you need to, you need to call her, or text her, or, you know, DM her. But I think you should do it, and then she, she did, she wrote back, and I took a season off a while now, and I, and we shot in Miami.

• 34:43Channing Crowder?

  In that circle?

• 34:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 34:45Channing Crowder?

  Is, is that, is that, the, the circle of people, like you saying, Charlamagne, cause we were on Breakfast Club, we all went on Breakfast Club.

• 34:51Speaker 01

  I seen it.

• 34:52Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, so that.

• 34:52Speaker 01

  I had to make sure I did my research, I heard about you.

• 34:55Channing Crowder?

  What'd you hear about me?

• 34:56Speaker 01

  I just, you know, I heard, but before I walked out the car, I was getting some text messages, like, watch out for the.

• 35:00Channing Crowder?

  About what?

• 35:01Speaker 01

  Watch out for the red one, the dinosaur.

• 35:03Channing Crowder?

  Don't say red, don't say red. Listen, don't say red, he like, he wanted him. Us red dudes taking over. No, no, no, no, see, what you say? Watch out for the red one. Us red dudes is taking over. I'm telling you, Drake, Obama. Rotimi. Rotimi.

• 35:20Speaker 01

  I like the opposite, though. I like chocolate.

• 35:23Channing Crowder?

  You like the dark ones? Oh, don't do that to us.

• 35:26Speaker 01

  I mean, my thing is, you know, light-skinned men are very handsome, very attractive. You know, there's nothing like a Morris Chestnut running around.

• 35:34Channing Crowder?

  Don't do that. You want Morris Chestnut?

• 35:36Ryan Clark?

  V, V, V, honestly. V, Channing's actually not attractive.

• 35:40Channing Crowder?

  No, Wesley Stipes.

• 35:41Ryan Clark?

  Channing's actually not attractive.

• 35:43Channing Crowder?

  Wesley Stipes didn't pay his taxes.

• 35:44Speaker 01

  No, I think Channing is very attractive. I think he's handsome.

• 35:46Ryan Clark?

  V, don't do that.

• 35:47Speaker 01

  He's handsome.

• 35:49Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, I'm done. I'm done for the day.

• 35:50Ryan Clark?

  V, we gotta do, I gotta do, I gotta do five more years of shows with this dude.

• 35:56Channing Crowder?

  Hey, the done died and the don't ride, you know from Miami. That my trick that he pulled. Listen, listen, V, I'm done. You said I'm a tracker.

• 36:04Ryan Clark?

  V, you know, you, like, you know, you mentioned the Wayans brothers and obviously Jim Carrey, so it sounds like you were like an in-living Color fan.

• 36:12Speaker 01

  Oh, that's V's house.

• 36:13Ryan Clark?

  Right, as, as, as all of us, as all of us were. When you look at where you are, you know, getting opportunities to do Wild 'n Out, continuing to do your different characters, what is your, like, what is your end goal? Like, when you think this thing is all, all said and done, how do we view Pretty V?

• 36:39Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  Wow, thank you for that question. I appreciate it. You know, when I develop these characters and just develop, you know, everything I'm doing, you know, down to being an entrepreneur, the actress, the comedian, you know, um, I'll call myself an all-purpose entertainer. I just don't put me in a box, right? We do it. I can do it all. Um, I believe so. Um, I think that end goal is making sure I have longevity, right? Making sure that I could sit down, right, and watch me on every station, you know, shout out to Shaq, you know, he's every damn where, you know, you turn on this, damn Shaq doing ice cream.

• 37:48Ryan Clark?

  He's pretty fam.

• 37:50Speaker 01

  You know, yeah, I love Shaq. So I think the longevity in this business, you could be in Hollywood, but could you be in Hollywood, right? A lot of people get in Hollywood and then, you know, it's depression and it's anxiety. I asked God to keep me centered in this business. So when you view Pretty V and you see Pretty V, because this is only the beginning and you see me, you're not just gonna see, oh, she's just, she came from the, no, you're gonna see me with longevity, because I want my name to be with greats. I want to be beside those Jim Carrys. I want to have these boss talks around the, the Jim Carrys, the Marlon Wayans, the Kenan Wayans, the Damon Wayans, the, um, uh, the Adam Sandler's, you know, the Melissa McCarthy's, you know, I'm not, I, I want to be in that circle so I could,

• 38:33Speaker 01

  Kevin Hart, never met him, but I know he's seen, I know he's seen my, he's seen all of ours, you know, stuff on Instagram. But I think for me, it's longevity. I think for me, it's developing a show for my characters. Me, you know, challenging myself with these scripts so I can just not have to be one dimension, because I'm not. I could do drama. I could do the romance. I could do the comedy. We could do all these, you know, whatever genres in this business, I could do it, because the industry changes every day. Something new going on. But I think for me, it's longevity, you know, and a delay is never denial, you, you know, delay, but you are never, never denial. You know, you could be delayed up, but you are never denied. If it's yours, it's yours.

• 39:14Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned Kevin Hart, and we got an opportunity to, to sit down with him. And I think the thing I took from him more than anything is like, dude's not a joke. Right? Like, like sometimes when you think of comedians and people. Literally making a living by making other folks laugh. People could take you for a joke. But he talked about the, the business acumen, the, the, the, the family continuing to build in his, in his circle.

• 39:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:45Ryan Clark?

  When you think about where you've come from and the things you've already been able to do just based on your, your grind. Are you trying to bring others with you?

• 39:58Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 39:58Ryan Clark?

  Cause it's different now, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, you've mentioned a lot of names, but I guess you remember like Sherwood Underwood. Yeah. You know.

• 40:06Channing Crowder?

  No, she's talking about Desi Banks.

• 40:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:08Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, Desi got all these dudes coming up with him.

• 40:10Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 40:11Channing Crowder?

  As you grow, are you growing other people with you?

• 40:13Speaker 01

  When it comes down, cause again, I love, you already know, Desi's my brother. Um, and again, I think it's different from, you know, from my path and his path and like a B Simone and a Jess. Um, only because, you know, when we, when we look at that, we look at, we look at the, the comedians bringing people who do stand up with them or they homeboys and friends and all that good stuff. For me, it's more of everybody around me is okay. And everyone around me that's attached to me and it's my extension is winning regardless, right?

• 40:42Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 40:42Speaker 01

  Anything that is attached to me shall win. So if it's down to my makeup artist, my hairstylist, I don't have comedians that wants to go on stage. Cause I'm not, I, I don't, I don't do stand up. I'm not getting that in that space. Like, I mean, I have, but when you look at the Desi, all his homeboys, they like, look, bring me on the road, cause I wanna get on that stage.

• 41:02Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 41:03Speaker 01

  I'm over here like, hey, makeup artist, hairstylist assistant, let's get up in the center. Because I'm, I'm about to go do something with Pivot and you never know who you gonna meet. You, he may want his dreads re-twisted. He, my stylist, he, she may be so raw, she give him a card, she get put on. So whoever's attached to me in that setting is gonna win.

• 41:20Ryan Clark?

  Like.

• 41:20Speaker 01

  So I don't have just, I'm not going on stage and, and, and it's no shade to nobody and, and, and you know, having people come and open up. I don't have that yet. But I know down the line, I'll have a team and I asked God to expand my team. When it comes down to Kitchen Talk with Pretty V, that's a show I'm trying to develop. V's House, that's a show that's already in developing. You know, and other things that I wanna do, I will have to grow a team. So when my team grows with me, they will win. So whoever's passing by, hey, I like how you treat Pretty V. Hey, can you, hey, I do, I have my, my hairstylist. That has done Tiana hair, has done so many people hair. My, my makeup artist has done so many people think, not just of just being with me, but just seeing I am their walking billboard.

• 42:01Speaker 01

  So if I'm walking and showing their talent, they're winning because they're getting booked off of something that we're doing. You know, it don't have to be the stage, but it's in that, in that space and place, they are winning because any, my mama, she's my pa- she's my pastor, but she wins. She's covering me, you know, she does my money. I don't trust nobody else for my money. So again, whatever door opens for me, opens for her. Whatever door opens for me, opens for my makeup artist, my assistant, my manager, my PR. So they are winning in different areas, not just the stage.

• 42:30Fred Taylor?

  Hey V, this is the pivot.

• 42:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:33Fred Taylor?

  And it was born out of some shit that didn't work out. No, but I wanted to ask you, you know, being fired early on, now you just, you killing it, right? What would you say has been your biggest pivot?

• 42:48Ryan Clark?

  I love this question. This is my favorite question of every show.

• 42:51Speaker 01

  I think for me, just think when I left everything God's hand, that's when I just, it started moving for me. That was, that was my moment. Instead of having the anxiety, the nervousness, the cringing moments, what I'm gonna do.

• 43:05Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 43:05Speaker 01

  I think it was more of just leaving it into God's hand instead of trying to lean on me. Because we don't got the answers. So when I was able to see the smile on my mom's face when I bought my first home, when I was able to say, hey, I don't gotta card a card, what I got on that credit card? I got money on there. I was able to say, oh, I work. Here you go.

• 43:21Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 43:22Speaker 01

  You know, I think those are the moments that I had. You know, my mother is like, hey, mom, you don't have to work. Do your pastoral work. You gonna get your building. You good. You know, I'm working, your kids are working. You have sacrificed a lot for us. Those are the moments where I had with her to say, hey, okay, God, I see where you took me and now I'm here and I'm still going. As creators, we always want to know what's next. We be on that couch, we be like, okay, we done did this, we done did that. Mine, you know, I done hosted the BET Awards. And I'm over here like, uh, I was like, wow, with Terrence J, that was a, a great experience for me. But I was over here, okay, so is the Oscars next? Like, I'm like, some people sit in it and, and, and be like, okay, cool. I'm over here like, all right, well, what's next? I want something else. You know, I've told not to be comfortable.

• 44:05Speaker 01

  Cause I could've did a whole vacation for two weeks for that great accomplishment. But I said, you know what, I want more, what's next? So I think when I sit back and look at everything that God has done for me, I'm still like, wow. But I still have a list of things, Jesus, that you still ain't answered yet. So I know I'm still going. Cause you answered Issa Rae, I, that was on my book. I said, I, Issa, I want you, yeah, have you, got you, yeah. Two thousand nineteen, I DM'd you. You, God, you answered that, that was a manifestation going on. So, yeah, but I still have a couple of more things I, I still need to get done. So, yeah, to answer your question, it's more of like, I just, I sit and I look and I, and I thank God, but I still, my mind, I'm like, well, I wanna, I want some more.

• 44:41Channing Crowder?

  Issa's the standard. It's so, it's so many people that's the standard.

• 44:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:45Channing Crowder?

  We have the, we, we, as a podcast people, we know the podcast numbers.

• 44:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:50Channing Crowder?

  And we know that they got this and they got that. Issa, is Issa the standard?

• 44:55Speaker 01

  Um, I think Issa, Issa is definitely a, a, a standard. I think she is.

• 45:01Channing Crowder?

  She's amazing.

• 45:02Speaker 01

  She's amazing.

• 45:03Channing Crowder?

  I'm telling you.

• 45:04Speaker 01

  That's it, like, and a, and a black wom- a woman who's doing this has not got shut down. You know how Hollywood could get you now, it's all like, she is like going and opening up doors. She didn't know me from Canapé, she didn't know my acting skills. She said, I got a character deja vu for you and I want you on rap show.

• 45:22Channing Crowder?

  With you.

• 45:23Speaker 01

  And let, let's go.

• 45:25Channing Crowder?

  Look in the camera. Issa.

• 45:27Speaker 01

  Issa.

• 45:28Channing Crowder?

  We need you to [__] with us.

• 45:29Speaker 01

  Hello? Man, say it again, coach, say it again.

• 45:32Channing Crowder?

  Issa, come [__] with us.

• 45:34Speaker 01

  Issa would definitely come and sit with you all because you guys are great. I just wanna say thank you guys so much for this opportunity. I have some goodies for you guys, I heard y'all got daughters. And I I want to bless them with something. City Trends, I am in over six hundred plus stores. City Trends, I have AirPods, OxPods, um, waist trainer. I just brought a little bit of things. I got boxing gloves, waist, um.

• 45:54Channing Crowder?

  Look at that hands, boy, you selling, look at that hands, look at that wrist. Oh, look at that wrist, you selling.

• 45:59Speaker 01

  Just, just so much I have in stores right now. So I want you guys to go check it out. If you guys are close to a local City Trends, you guys go get it. But I've been with City Trends for going on three years now. And my products have been sold out. Perfume, um, I've, I, I dropped in February and that was sold out. Like in every store. Um, and now we, you know, we're getting back and putting some in the store. But I'm doing something different now with the product, so.

• 46:21Ryan Clark?

  Hey, honestly, Vito, this is what I want to say. Um, like for us, this is something we've been wanting to do a long time. And I think it's about, it's about your talent. It's about your entrepreneurship. Um, but it's also about your spirit. Like the thing that we've always wanted to do is tell stories from a different angle. And yes, you're funny as hell, but there's so much more to you. And the fact that you thought enough of us to, to, to sit with us and give us your time, uh, knowing how busy you were, uh, is, it's important to us. And I think, you know, now when, when people see you or get an opportunity to, to laugh at one of your characters, they also understand where that comes from and why it's important.

• 47:02Ryan Clark?

  And so, uh, for us, this was a big pivot and, and, you know, your time is, is, is valuable to us, but we just can't wait to see you do more things.

• 47:13Speaker 01

  Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys so much. And I want to say something to three of you guys. You guys keep going. This is something that is definitely needed and definitely for the culture. Mental health is very important. You know, we, uh, we, the battlefield is in our mind. You know, anxiety comes from the stress of the world. So don't let the world stress you guys out. You know, continue to, uh, strive for greatness. Continue to be the head and not the tail. Continue to be above and not beneath. And, you know, sometimes it does get hard. Sometimes it does get, uh, you know, confusion to see what, where God wants you to go. But you can see you to lean on him and not on your own understanding. And I appreciate you guys so much. And remember, delay is never a deny.

• 47:56Channing Crowder?

  Indeed, for sure.

• 47:57Speaker 01

  Thank you guys. Thank you.

• 47:59Channing Crowder?

  All right, so, and cheers to the world.

• 48:02Fred Taylor?

  I know, right?

• 48:02Speaker 05

  Just the heels.

• 48:24Speaker 06

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 48:39Speaker 06

  Ask your prescriber about Wegovy. Semaglutide injection 2.4mg a GLP-1. Call 1-833-4-WEGOVIE or visit wegovie.com to view the medication guide and to learn more about Wegovy. Why wait?