DIFFERENT ENERGY Ft. Sabrina Brier | Episode 155

Our New York Residency begins with the hilarious Sabrina Brier on the show this week!! And to the Acotar and Vampire Diaries girls out there, this episode is FOR YOU. After discovering their deep mutual love of fairy books, Drew and Sabrina talk about why Goodreads is actually a snark page, college improv, why Shakespeare is hard, Quaker camp, writing fanfiction by hand, Sabrina’s star turn on Abbott Elementary, and so much more. Listen to Sabrina’s new audiobook, That Friend, out now everywhere! Sabrina IG: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinabrier/?hl=en Sabrina Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sabrina.cinoman.brier?lang=en 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

  I was just so afraid of being made fun of until finally-

• 0:35Drew Afualo?

  You being Troy Bolton.

• 0:36Speaker 01

  Like, no, literally, I was- I was Troy Bolton.

• 0:41Drew Afualo?

  He's like, "Oh, I want to sing with her so bad, but what if my teammates find out?"

• 0:44Speaker 01

  No, literally, I was like, "What if, what if Coach finds out?" What if Coach, you know, like, I'm supposed to be at Ball.

• 0:59Drew Afualo?

  Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Comment Section Show, starring me, your fave, everybody knows me, who cares about me. Onto the guest today, we have the iconic, the hilarious, the unbelievably talented Sabrina Brier.

• 1:14Speaker 01

  I'm so pumped to be here.

• 1:16Drew Afualo?

  I'm so happy to have you, girl.

• 1:17Speaker 01

  I'm so excited.

• 1:18Drew Afualo?

  We were destined to meet.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  We really were.

• 1:21Drew Afualo?

  We were, and we made it happen.

• 1:23Speaker 01

  And we absolutely made it happen. I was actually, um, I'm gonna be honest, I didn't fully understand, just because of not absorbing information properly, that we were going to be in person today. And when I saw, like, not that I wasn't already so mad at myself for missing Caleb's birthday, but when I saw a picture of you there, I was like, gonna, I was gonna do something bad to myself.

• 1:43Drew Afualo?

  You said I was gonna harm myself.

• 1:45Speaker 01

  I was gonna harm, I was gonna harm. I was gonna age, yeah.

• 1:48Drew Afualo?

  That is, yeah, because you are living in New York.

• 1:50Speaker 01

  No, literally.

• 1:51Drew Afualo?

  And I'm not.

• 1:52Speaker 01

  No, and you made it. And I, I literally, like, I texted, I did, because I was just like, I'm in it right now with work and I, you know, when your body is like, your mind is like, and I'm there, and your heart's like, and I'm there, and your body was like, "I'm gonna kill you."

• 2:06Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 2:06Speaker 01

  And that's where I was at. And also, it's like, the Caleb's party started at 10 o'clock, and that, and we're all down.

• 2:12Drew Afualo?

  And let's talk about that.

• 2:13Speaker 01

  Let's talk about that.

• 2:14Drew Afualo?

  Because 30, where?

• 2:15Speaker 01

  Because let's, let's talk about that.

• 2:16Drew Afualo?

  A 30-year-old's party, to me, starts at 6 and ends around 11.

• 2:20Speaker 01

  And we're home.

• 2:20Drew Afualo?

  And I'm, I'm home by 8:30.

• 2:22Speaker 01

  Eating snacks and-

• 2:23Drew Afualo?

  You're right.

• 2:23Speaker 01

  PJs.

• 2:24Drew Afualo?

  Moist fries and-

• 2:25Speaker 01

  Now, am I a hypocrite because my 30th birthday started at 10? Yes.

• 2:28Drew Afualo?

  But that's

• 2:29Speaker 01

  I'm a hypocrite Caleb. And so I literally text him and I'm like, I, what I, I was like, I'm so sorry, like, but I also knew when I said it in the text, I'm like, I know you, you don't care. It's like, I'm the one who should be sorry. Like, I'm the one missing it.

• 2:42Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 2:42Speaker 01

  You should feel sad for me. I, you know what I mean? And I knew that. And also I literally like sent him this picture of like, I, I had like wings and it, and I had a, like a wand from Amazon and it was all in the package.

• 2:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 2:56Speaker 01

  And I sent it to him. I was like, I want you to know I'm not lying. Like, I was prepared. Like, I did my homework.

• 3:02Drew Afualo?

  Had your costume and everything.

• 3:03Speaker 01

  And then I saw, I was gonna be a fairy.

• 3:06Drew Afualo?

  Cute.

• 3:06Speaker 01

  Kind of like a pink one.

• 3:07Drew Afualo?

  Love that.

• 3:08Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 3:09Drew Afualo?

  I was Caleb.

• 3:10Speaker 01

  And then I, okay, then I also saw that and I went, well, honestly, thank God I wasn't, did show up as a freaking fairy. Cause your costume was so good.

• 3:18Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 3:19Speaker 01

  Everyone's like, people were really like

• 3:21Drew Afualo?

  They really went all out. Like, I was honestly, I don't know why I'm shocked. It's a gay person's party. Of course they're gonna show out.

• 3:26Speaker 01

  You're in Williamsburg in costume.

• 3:27Drew Afualo?

  Right, literally. Obviously, I'm in Brooklyn. I know everyone's gonna show out. I just like, I, we were

• 3:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, tell me about the party.

• 3:34Drew Afualo?

  We were trying to figure out what we were gonna be. Cause like me, my fiance, my sister and my cousin all went. And so I was like, I was thinking about being Caleb. And then we were like, oh, let's all just be Caleb. So we all just looked up pictures of Caleb and I was Caleb as Palmer.

• 3:49Speaker 01

  Right.

• 3:50Drew Afualo?

  In the movie Sweethearts from HBO Max. But I was Palmer specifically working at Disneyland Paris.

• 3:56Speaker 01

  Oh, that's so clever.

• 3:57Drew Afualo?

  That's why I

• 3:58Speaker 01

  I looked at it quick, so I didn't see that part. And so, okay, so it was even more genius than I thought.

• 4:02Drew Afualo?

  He was Caleb as Palmer in HBO Max's

• 4:05Speaker 01

  And was everyone else a different Caleb?

• 4:07Drew Afualo?

  A different Caleb. So like, my fiance was young Caleb. Like Caleb posted a picture of himself in like jorts and like a cutoff Nike shirt going like his first day of second grade. He looked 24 in the picture. But he's like his first day of second grade.

• 4:20Speaker 01

  He was the mayor and is, yeah, absolutely.

• 4:22Drew Afualo?

  He was the principal of that school. Clearly.

• 4:24Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 4:25Drew Afualo?

  And my sister and my cousin were both Caleb, just like these pictures of him, I think he uses for breasts, like.

• 4:32Speaker 01

  Oh, that's my headshot. Yeah, I know the one you were talking about. Does he have glasses on? And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 4:38Drew Afualo?

  They were both him and his headshots.

• 4:40Speaker 01

  That's incredible.

• 4:42Drew Afualo?

  I know, we loved it.

• 4:42Speaker 01

  Did anyone else do that or people were?

• 4:45Drew Afualo?

  No, I saw someone was Andy Reid, which is the head coach of the Chiefs.

• 4:49Speaker 01

  Okay, so thematic.

• 4:51Drew Afualo?

  Well, that was the best one in my opinion, because he had like a headset and everything and the big old mustache.

• 4:56Speaker 01

  Like so all out.

• 4:57Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like, and I know Caleb is a diehard Chiefs fan, so.

• 5:00Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 5:00Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I think.

• 5:01Speaker 01

  I think my friend Rachel went as like an Eminem, so we really, I think it was that, again, sorry, Rachel, that's not where you were, but she's like, Serena, you're misrepresenting me, but it ran the gamut and it was, I saw the, and he was a dancing lobster?

• 5:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, no, he was a medieval jester. Look, and I'm serious, I'm dead serious, that's what he was.

• 5:21Speaker 01

  I'm like, so not a dancing lobster from the Amanda show.

• 5:24Drew Afualo?

  A dancing lobster of sorts.

• 5:26Speaker 01

  Of sorts, because especially in the clip of everyone surrounding him, I was like, he's a dancing lobster.

• 5:31Drew Afualo?

  When we were dancing, I was like, it feels like we're on the set of like a teenage rom com, like we were in the kissing room.

• 5:38Speaker 01

  When it's like a fake party.

• 5:39Drew Afualo?

  Yes, yes, a fake party.

• 5:41Speaker 01

  Because it was such a big space.

• 5:41Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and everyone's like dancing and then there's no music playing in the movie, when they're shooting a movie. Yeah, that's how it felt, like.

• 5:47Speaker 01

  Because, because that is so wholesome, right?

• 5:50Drew Afualo?

  I know.

• 5:50Speaker 01

  Because that, that is what you get when you have a party of people actually that are like, actually there knowing each other and like loving each other, but because if it's more than that and it's too club like, like that's not real life.

• 6:01Drew Afualo?

  No, it's not.

• 6:01Speaker 01

  And his party would never be like that.

• 6:02Drew Afualo?

  No, never.

• 6:03Speaker 01

  It would never be random.

• 6:04Drew Afualo?

  That's why it felt so like such a like, like it felt like when you dance with your arms up, your eyes closed, that's how it felt.

• 6:10Speaker 01

  It's like, it's like live, laugh, it's like, it's like dance like no one's watching.

• 6:13Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 6:13Speaker 01

  That was kind of the vibe.

• 6:14Drew Afualo?

  It's real live, laugh, love.

• 6:15Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 6:15Drew Afualo?

  That's how it felt. It was really fun, though.

• 6:17Speaker 01

  Oh, I'm so, well, I'm so glad you had fun. I will be at the 31st.

• 6:22Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 6:23Speaker 01

  I will be at the 31st.

• 6:24Drew Afualo?

  But you were really busy because you got a lot going on.

• 6:27Speaker 01

  I have a lot going on.

• 6:28Drew Afualo?

  Tell us what's going on, girl.

• 6:29Speaker 01

  So I have my, including today, which is a really special moment for me because I'm a huge fan of Drew's and I was really excited about this. Things like this, you know, talking about my little audiobook vibes.

• 6:41Drew Afualo?

  We love it.

• 6:42Speaker 01

  And it comes out, well, tomorrow, but that will not be tomorrow. When you guys see this, so ignore that. It's probably out now. Go check it out. But basically I have what's called, you know, an audio original full cast audiobook where I wrote the thing and there's a lot of people performing in it and it's kind of like a TV show in your ears.

• 7:04Drew Afualo?

  I love that.

• 7:05Speaker 01

  When you're going through each episode and you're really getting all aspects of a story except the visuals. And it's out tomorrow and tomorrow it's no longer mine. It's the world. See what I mean?

• 7:16Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it belongs to the world.

• 7:17Speaker 01

  It belongs to the world. Totally.

• 7:20Drew Afualo?

  I'm so excited for you. Congratulations.

• 7:22Speaker 01

  I really appreciate it.

• 7:23Drew Afualo?

  How did that come about? Like, what was the insp?

• 7:25Speaker 01

  Totally. I come from a more like long form space. I was an assistant in entertainment and a writer's assistant in a room. And I always knew I wanted to take the character to television and, you know, bring, bring the stories into, you know, longer form spaces. And this fell in my lap a bit where, not this past summer, summer before that, I, my editor reached out with this really lovely letter. And she was like, do you know about audio originals? Like, this could be a vibe. And I was like, absolutely. It's just, I don't want it to be my voice for four hours because God help us if that's what it were.

• 8:07Speaker 01

  I want to have a cast of, I wanted to feel like a TV show, which is really like where my heart is.

• 8:12Drew Afualo?

  I love that, yeah.

• 8:13Speaker 01

  And so then, you know, pretty quickly after that, it was, you know, getting started and a very long writing process. And then eventually, you know, production and casting last, this past summer.

• 8:25Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 8:25Speaker 01

  And yeah, I just feel really lucky. It's just, it's really crazy to have some. Such like a long form project and then it's out in the world. I know you have like with your book. You know, it's just, it's kind of like, kind of crazy.

• 8:37Drew Afualo?

  I mean, obviously it's an audio original, but it's like when you read, like when you read books, you don't have pictures. You're just like imagining what it is.

• 8:42Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 8:42Drew Afualo?

  But now it's even more immersive because you have a whole cast and everything.

• 8:46Speaker 01

  And I think it's kind of cool. I feel like podcasts, I don't know, maybe this is just my limited perspective as, as like, I don't, I don't know everything about media. And I feel like in a way, being online just in the past few years is when I started learning. Like I just, I wasn't a Tumblr girl, which I'm really embarrassed about. Like, you know what I mean? Like I wasn't like tweeting when I was little, like I just hadn't tapped in.

• 9:07Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 9:08Speaker 01

  But I guess from my perspective, I do feel like podcasts are just like the biggest ever now, like that they ever have been. Okay.

• 9:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that's true.

• 9:15Speaker 01

  I trust your opinion.

• 9:16Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that's totally true.

• 9:17Speaker 01

  And I think it's so interesting, especially in the context, obviously of, you know, being online in general and TikTok and all these things. And how cool it is that there are all these kind of spaces of community for podcasts. And so it's exciting for me to be able to have my own space that is very different because it's fictional. But that's just kind of like what I do. It's like my version of it, you know what I mean?

• 9:38Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 9:39Speaker 01

  And it's, and I also have been getting more into audiobook listening myself. I'm listening to Throne of Glass right now.

• 9:45Drew Afualo?

  Okay, T.

• 9:46Speaker 01

  Okay, T.

• 9:46Drew Afualo?

  I stopped, I stopped reading Throne of Glass.

• 9:49Speaker 01

  Were you just not?

• 9:50Drew Afualo?

  It's only because it was like, can I be real?

• 9:53Speaker 01

  Were you feeling?

• 9:54Drew Afualo?

  It's too YA for me.

• 9:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, it is. It is.

• 9:57Drew Afualo?

  No smut. I'm cool. Like I don't need smut every page.

• 10:01Speaker 01

  We gotta spice it up. You need to spice it up.

• 10:02Drew Afualo?

  But if you pan to the fireplace one more time, I swear to fucking God. When they did it, they edged me twice and I said, I'm closing this book for now. I will come back to you.

• 10:10Speaker 01

  It's like, why did you stop reading Throne of Glass while I was edging?

• 10:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, while I was being edged and I felt uncomfortable about it. All right?

• 10:17Speaker 01

  But I didn't consent. I didn't consent to that.

• 10:20Drew Afualo?

  I'm here for the real deal. Okay? I'm a grown up. Close the book.

• 10:23Speaker 01

  I was literally, you're like, I actually am mature. I'm a mature reader.

• 10:27Drew Afualo?

  Loved the story. Like I'm, I'm balls deep in the story. I will go back to it.

• 10:31Speaker 01

  You'll go back to it.

• 10:32Drew Afualo?

  I had to venture off.

• 10:33Speaker 01

  Also, if you kind of do it, I'm assuming maybe you did it right after Akatar, maybe or soon after.

• 10:38Drew Afualo?

  Uh, yeah, soon after, yeah.

• 10:39Speaker 01

  It creates a little bit of a, um, you're kind of comparing it to the smuttiness of that and.

• 10:44Drew Afualo?

  That's what my friend told me.

• 10:45Speaker 01

  And the fast paced-ness of it too. Cause I, I feel like Akatar is more like, um, Boom, boom, boom, boom.

• 10:51Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it moves quicker.

• 10:52Speaker 01

  And this is like, okay, we're gonna really slow burn you and then we're gonna freak you out.

• 10:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah. Everyone keeps telling me, just keep going.

• 10:59Speaker 01

  Keep going.

• 11:00Drew Afualo?

  It gets really crazy.

• 11:00Speaker 01

  You're like, girl, I don't have time to keep going.

• 11:02Drew Afualo?

  I was like, girl.

• 11:03Speaker 01

  And I'm unsatisfied in a lot of ways.

• 11:04Drew Afualo?

  If no one's taking their pants off, I'm out.

• 11:06Speaker 01

  You're like, I can't do it. I'm sorry.

• 11:08Drew Afualo?

  I'm sorry, sorry. I get it. The world is awesome. I get it.

• 11:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like, okay, like the motifs and that's it. I don't care.

• 11:18Drew Afualo?

  I do love fantasy, romance, romanticy, whatever. I love them.

• 11:21Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 11:22Drew Afualo?

  They're so fun.

• 11:22Speaker 01

  No, I'm so, I'm just so into like how much I feel right now, like I'm back reading Twilight. Right?

• 11:30Drew Afualo?

  That's how I feel too.

• 11:32Speaker 01

  That's why I'm feeling this.

• 11:33Drew Afualo?

  Right. I was like, I feel so excited. Like, I've never been excited to read books since I was a kid, like fiction.

• 11:38Speaker 01

  Me too. And it's like, sorry if that makes me dumb, guys. I don't care.

• 11:43Drew Afualo?

  I don't give a shit what you think about that.

• 11:45Speaker 01

  I don't care. I don't care. I care so much. But, um, because, I don't know, I just like have the, when you're like a kid, reading Hunger Games or, you know, I don't know.

• 11:55Drew Afualo?

  Twilight was a great one, yeah.

• 11:56Speaker 01

  Like Uglies. Do you have like any of those?

• 11:58Drew Afualo?

  Like books.

• 11:58Speaker 01

  The Kleg, which also ruined my, the way I treated people, probably, but, um, as like a really messed up seventh grader. But, um, and yeah, I just love how it takes you back to that.

• 12:11Drew Afualo?

  Totally. I agree with you.

• 12:12Speaker 01

  Right? And to like talk to your friends and you're a full fledged adult and you're talking about like, you're like, so what do you think?

• 12:19Drew Afualo?

  We literally have a book club. Yeah, we have a book club. We text about them all the time.

• 12:22Speaker 01

  That's so amazing.

• 12:23Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. I have, I love my Kindle down. Me and my Kindle against the world, you know?

• 12:27Speaker 01

  What are you, so have you moved on to other fan romanticy or?

• 12:31Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah. I just read Quicksilver.

• 12:34Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 12:34Drew Afualo?

  Kelly Hart.

• 12:34Speaker 01

  Okay, okay. I need to like start to venture more.

• 12:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, tap in. Love that one.

• 12:38Speaker 01

  I'll tap in.

• 12:39Drew Afualo?

  I started reading another series, what is it called? From Blood and Ash?

• 12:43Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 12:43Drew Afualo?

  I'm just, I'm reading a bunch of romance fantasy, like.

• 12:46Speaker 01

  You're kind of trying out to the different authors.

• 12:48Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, these different like fairy fucking books.

• 12:50Speaker 01

  I love fairies.

• 12:51Drew Afualo?

  You know, I'm just, I'm perusing.

• 12:52Speaker 01

  That's the thing.

• 12:53Drew Afualo?

  You know? And I started venturing for like my own things. I'll tell you after, but I'm like doing other things. So I'm.

• 12:59Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 12:59Drew Afualo?

  I consider this research.

• 13:01Speaker 01

  Oh, absolutely.

• 13:01Drew Afualo?

  So I'm downloading.

• 13:02Speaker 01

  And it's even more serious.

• 13:05Speaker 01

  And it is even more serious. I'm like, I know, like, I'm gonna be honest, like, in all of these, like, with the Spotify, like, answer your questions about being a reader. I'm like, I'm sorry, I'm reading Sarah J. Maas. Okay, I'm sorry.

• 13:17Drew Afualo?

  I'm sorry, you guys don't want to hear what I'm reading.

• 13:19Speaker 01

  You don't want to hear about it.

• 13:20Drew Afualo?

  It's embarrassing.

• 13:21Speaker 01

  Like, I'm sorry, like, I was an English major at Smith College, I didn't finish some of those books, I'm sorry, and I am reading Sarah J. Maas.

• 13:29Drew Afualo?

  Hey, I've read, I've read Animal Farm, alright?

• 13:32Speaker 01

  You did it.

• 13:33Drew Afualo?

  I read 1984. I read it already.

• 13:34Speaker 01

  I read that. I read that, and that's it. And Big Brother.

• 13:39Drew Afualo?

  I've read all of that shit, alright? Now's my time.

• 13:41Speaker 01

  And you know what? Someone types you just want to enjoy yourself, exactly, your time. But really, though, it's like, let's actually read something not for the sake of telling people we're reading it.

• 13:52Speaker 01

  Let's read something.

• 13:53Drew Afualo?

  People at brunch. I know, you know what's funny is, what I love the most about it now, especially doing this, is that it's like, it gets me off my phone. So I never look at my phone, I'm not watching TV, I'm literally reading a silly little book about nothing.

• 14:06Speaker 01

  And do you ever audiobook any of these?

• 14:08Drew Afualo?

  I've never read the audiobooks, and I think where I draw the line is hearing smut in my ear.

• 14:13Speaker 01

  And I hear that, and that's so embarrassing. I'm like, totally, totally.

• 14:18Drew Afualo?

  I would go for sure, same.

• 14:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, your fiance talks to you, he's like, what are you doing?

• 14:24Drew Afualo?

  I think that's where I draw the line, personally.

• 14:27Speaker 01

  Personally.

• 14:27Drew Afualo?

  But reading it, I'm all, I'm cool with, because it's in my voice, but it's different when it's another man in the ear.

• 14:32Speaker 01

  I will say there's, there's something, because right now for Throne of Glass 2, that series, I'm pretty sure they don't have any of the graphic audio, where it's just like a narrator reading it, and they changed their voice a bit.

• 14:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 14:44Speaker 01

  And I will say there's like a kind of ASMR vibe of like, when you hear her voice, you're like, it's my girl, I'm gonna go to sleep now, like, it's really safe. And then also, I will say too, when I had one of my recording sessions for my audiobook.

• 15:01Drew Afualo?

  You love.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  On sale, wherever audiobooks are sold. Um, there was, uh, this really amazing actor who, um...

• 15:10Speaker 01

  He like, he was, you know, had so much, um, you know, versatility in it. I mean, vocal actors, oh my god.

• 15:17Drew Afualo?

  They're crazy.

• 15:18Speaker 01

  They're so talented.

• 15:20Drew Afualo?

  Crazy.

• 15:20Speaker 01

  It's so crazy.

• 15:21Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 15:22Speaker 01

  And so he was one of the people kinda going, I was like, okay, like this, like waiter and this little moment, like kinda filling in and giving some versatility for all the different little spots.

• 15:30Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 15:31Speaker 01

  And then at the end of it, I was like, my editor told me you do a lot of the graphic audios, like maybe for like Akatar, da da da. And he was like, oh yeah, no, I was this one character. He was like a monster and da da da. I was like, were you this serial? And he was like, yeah. I was like,

• 15:49Speaker 01

  I screamed out.

• 15:51Drew Afualo?

  You go, can I get a picture?

• 15:53Speaker 01

  I was like, like literally, I was, and he didn't even really understand it because he hadn't read it. And I was like, you don't get it. I sobbed.

• 15:59Drew Afualo?

  He was like, it's this weirdo fucking book, something about.

• 16:02Speaker 01

  I'm like, you mean, it's like, um, actually, like, you know what I mean? Like, that was me. But anyways, so you know what I mean? And like you were saying about your phone, it's like, God bless anything that is gonna fulfill you.

• 16:14Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 16:14Speaker 01

  Don't let anyone yuck your yum.

• 16:16Drew Afualo?

  Right. And for things that are, they just, they're fun.

• 16:19Speaker 01

  And sometimes you can do that.

• 16:20Drew Afualo?

  Right. And it's illegal to have fun nowadays.

• 16:22Speaker 01

  It actually is. It's illegal.

• 16:23Drew Afualo?

  Especially as a girl.

• 16:24Speaker 01

  Yeah. Girls can have, girls just wanna be allowed to have fun, but it's illegal.

• 16:28Drew Afualo?

  For real. I was just posting on my Instagram story the other day about like the new books I'm reading. Cause like, I just see them on, I'm all up in Goodreads. I'm like ballsy.

• 16:37Speaker 01

  Totally ballsy. Well, now you're, you're an acclaimed author.

• 16:40Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 16:41Speaker 01

  A claim.

• 16:41Drew Afualo?

  Thank you. Thank you.

• 16:42Speaker 01

  So you gotta.

• 16:43Drew Afualo?

  You know what's crazy though about Goodreads is like, they're mean on there.

• 16:47Speaker 01

  Oh yeah. Yeah. No, I, no, it's kind of like Reddit vibes.

• 16:51Drew Afualo?

  Right, right.

• 16:52Speaker 01

  It's like influencer star.

• 16:53Drew Afualo?

  Right. It's like a star page, yeah, but for books. And it's, and they are so detailed, their reviews. They're like,

• 16:59Speaker 01

  Right.

• 16:59Drew Afualo?

  One star, let's get into it. First off, world building, zero out of 10. Second off, like it's cra- they're crazy on there.

• 17:07Speaker 01

  And sometimes too, I feel like, because admittedly, like I have had a few coming in. So like, I'm not gonna not stalk it. Like, you know what I mean? Like someone on your team might be like, that's not for you to look at, look at. And it's like, if you think I'm not gonna look at that, that's crazy.

• 17:22Drew Afualo?

  It's crazy that you believe in me enough to think that I wouldn't look at that.

• 17:25Speaker 01

  It's like, you don't know me. Um, I actually, I remember one time like at the very beginning, like one of my first viral videos, I was talking to this girl at a party and I was like, I don't know, it's kind of crazy. Like everyone's like commenting and like, I have all this exposure now, like I'm going viral. And she's like, those comments are not for you to look at. Like that's not your business. Like that's not for you. And I was like, just being a people pleaser. I was like, mm-hmm, totally, totally. And then as she leaves, I'm like looking at all the, I'm like, I'm not taking your advice right now. But I did see this one person comment and it was so funny because it's like, there, I think like the star rating wasn't good, but then they were like, I loved this and that and that. And it's like, it sounds like you liked it.

• 18:03Speaker 01

  That's so funny.

• 18:04Drew Afualo?

  So you did like it.

• 18:05Speaker 01

  It's so funny to be like, I, it's like eating your whole meal. Like you eat the whole thing and you're like, mm, and you want like a second servant and you're like, it was okay. Like, that's what, that's what Goodreads is like.

• 18:15Drew Afualo?

  A hater.

• 18:16Speaker 01

  That it's, and you know what?

• 18:17Drew Afualo?

  At that point, you're being a hater.

• 18:18Speaker 01

  You're being a hater.

• 18:19Drew Afualo?

  It's, it's, that's like, I've gotten people writing comments sometimes on like the podcast.

• 18:26Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:26Drew Afualo?

  And they'll say like, I love Drew, but like, I've heard that story before and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, girl, I'm almost at 200 episodes. You would run out of shit to talk about too.

• 18:36Speaker 01

  You're like, do you know how many stories of my moms I've heard? Like that's, that's being in Zoey's life. If you don't want to be in my life, don't watch 200 episodes of my playlist.

• 18:46Drew Afualo?

  You're at episode 150 and you're like,

• 18:48Speaker 01

  That's like a you problem.

• 18:49Drew Afualo?

  I think she's repeated herself once or twice. Yeah, no shit bitch.

• 18:52Speaker 01

  Do you know how many things I've said the same of like this week? Like when you're on like a press thing?

• 18:57Drew Afualo?

  Dude, oh, literally, like two days after I tell my fiance something, I'll tell him again. He goes, yeah, you told me. And I go, did I? And I'll still tell him.

• 19:03Speaker 01

  You're like, well, I didn't tell you from this angle.

• 19:06Drew Afualo?

  You didn't let me finish.

• 19:07Speaker 01

  And, and also the things I learned in the past two days, I have a different perspective on the story now.

• 19:13Drew Afualo?

  Whole situation's changed.

• 19:14Speaker 01

  Get it. Whole situations. It's a completely different story. I am now the antagonist of the story.

• 19:22Drew Afualo?

  You'll never believe it, I'm the villain.

• 19:23Speaker 01

  There's a twist, there was a twist in the past two days.

• 19:27Drew Afualo?

  Uh, yeah, Goodreads, I, I get that. It's like, my publicist has told me too, when my book came out, because I was worried about that, like reviews and all that.

• 19:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:35Drew Afualo?

  And my publicist was like, honestly, your Goodreads is like, really positive? And he goes, and I was shocked. I was like, oh, weird.

• 19:46Drew Afualo?

  And he was like, because they're mean on there, girl.

• 19:48Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 19:49Drew Afualo?

  And I was like, oh, are they? Because I had only looked a couple of times, but I was also, I was like, I'm gonna wait to look at that until I'm like, out of the press run of it all.

• 19:58Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 19:59Drew Afualo?

  And then I'll look at it, but I was like, if I see that now while I'm in the middle of a tornado.

• 20:04Speaker 01

  It's such a Despo feeling. It's like you're out there being like, listen, read, do that. And then they're like, what? Hey, ew. And you're like, I, this feels horrible.

• 20:11Drew Afualo?

  And you have to keep doing it if you're just going, yes, I did do this.

• 20:14Speaker 01

  Right. And then you're like, well, that's something I did last week, so I don't even care anymore. Also, but question, turning the mic, but do you feel like, so you had nerves about the good reads of it all? Did you feel like a prep for that from other online comments, or just almost felt like more vulnerable, like a different?

• 20:31Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I think it feels, yeah, I think it feels different. It felt different to me because like, social media hate is so different from like, and it feels like corny to say, but it's like when it's art that you're putting out, or something you're putting out that's feels vulnerable, because there are a lot of vulnerable parts of my book.

• 20:47Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 20:47Drew Afualo?

  Hearing people's commentary on that is not something I'm willing to entertain, especially because in so much of the book, I talk about like my family and like my sister and my fiance. Like, I talk about very intimate parts of my life that I don't typically do online.

• 21:00Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 21:01Drew Afualo?

  So I think that's why I was feeling like wary of it. And also, I didn't want to be another influencer book, which is like with quotes, because like, like I didn't want people to think it was a cash grab.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  You wanted people to understand, right. You're like, I didn't just like, kind of do this.

• 21:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like, it makes sense for me to do this, if you really think about it. Like, you know, sometimes people come out with shit and you're like, that doesn't make any sense.

• 21:19Speaker 01

  It definitely makes a lot of sense.

• 21:21Drew Afualo?

  It's like inauthentic to their brand. I felt like this was authentic, so I just didn't want it to be perceived in that way.

• 21:28Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 21:29Drew Afualo?

  But it wasn't necessarily like I was willing to entertain revisions to it. In fact, I said this the other day, like, the only reviews I've seen that were, they're not even negative. They're just kind of like whatevs. It's women going, I already knew like most of this.

• 21:43Speaker 01

  You're like, and it wasn't for you.

• 21:45Drew Afualo?

  Right, right. You did, I doubt it. Like, when I look at them, I'm like, well, you're 21 and... Rich and thin and white, so I doubt it, but it's okay.

• 21:54Speaker 01

  It's like, really, really, girl? Then where's your book?

• 21:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 21:57Speaker 01

  That's what you should say then.

• 21:58Drew Afualo?

  Well, I kind of already knew all this.

• 22:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:00Drew Afualo?

  But then they're, they all, it's like, I've only seen like four or five of those and all of them, their common thread is, "I thought she was gonna teach me how to be meaner to men." Which I think is just, I think that's such a superficial take of my platform as a whole.

• 22:14Speaker 01

  A hundred percent.

• 22:14Drew Afualo?

  Uh, to which I'm like, well then, like you said, the book's not for you. Like, and if that's all you think I do, like, you think I'm gonna just write out roasts to a nondescript person?

• 22:23Speaker 01

  Right, like, because it's also, that's the difference between short form and long form. It's because your roast is actually coming, it's not for the sake of being mean.

• 22:32Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 22:32Speaker 01

  Coming from a place of defending others and it's coming from a place of like actual, like theology you have about like

• 22:40Drew Afualo?

  Exactly.

• 22:41Speaker 01

  The world.

• 22:41Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 22:42Speaker 01

  And now here it is in detail.

• 22:43Drew Afualo?

  Exactly, it's like spread out more.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  Right, um, to me, that's Avi, but like, also, I also feel like a thing too, my mom says is, it's like, everyone, like, people love to be a critic, so part of it too is like, when you see the negative, it's, it's almost like you need the negative to,

• 22:57Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 22:58Speaker 01

  Those people saying that, it's like, cause they see the positive and they're like, well, actually, I thought.

• 23:02Drew Afualo?

  They wanna be contrarian, you know, they wanna be different.

• 23:05Speaker 01

  And you kinda need that too, it's like, you need that energy in it.

• 23:08Drew Afualo?

  That's, that is true, that's, and it comes with it, I think.

• 23:10Speaker 01

  It comes with it.

• 23:11Drew Afualo?

  Like, after I made the bestseller list, oh, you, you would've thought, you would've thought,

• 23:16Speaker 01

  Incredible.

• 23:16Drew Afualo?

  Every, anyone who had any negative commentary about that.

• 23:19Speaker 01

  Would be shut up.

• 23:20Drew Afualo?

  Well, you would think that they're all New York Times bestselling authors too.

• 23:23Speaker 01

  Oh, sure.

• 23:24Drew Afualo?

  Because every single one of them was like, "That's fucking easy, it's easy to get on that list." Well, then why aren't you on there?

• 23:29Speaker 01

  Then you do it, sir, then you do it.

• 23:32Drew Afualo?

  Why am I up here and so lonely?

• 23:33Speaker 01

  No, it's so interesting. It's so, well, I think it also really just goes to show, like you're saying, like, as soon as you have the word or any word that has to do with influencer attached to it, doesn't matter how genius you are, it doesn't matter.

• 23:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, no, not at all.

• 23:47Speaker 01

  It simply doesn't.

• 23:47Drew Afualo?

  No, not at all, yeah.

• 23:48Speaker 01

  That's gonna make its way into a headline and there's gonna be a boomer being like, "Meh, meh, meh."

• 23:53Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 23:53Speaker 01

  Or assuming like, well, it was good, but she didn't write it probably, or like, whatever it may be.

• 23:57Drew Afualo?

  A ghostwriter, yeah, I had that too.

• 23:59Speaker 01

  You're like, where?

• 24:00Drew Afualo?

  A ghostwriter about my family. That would be so weird.

• 24:04Speaker 01

  You're like, yes, I have a ghostwriter, she lived my life. We had a double, she lived in my closet.

• 24:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, method acting.

• 24:10Speaker 01

  Exactly, but so, it's very interesting though.

• 24:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I would love to hear more about you on the influencer part, like, because I know that you have been far more than Oh, okay.

• 24:22Speaker 01

  They don't like you.

• 24:22Drew Afualo?

  You've been in the industry for a very long time.

• 24:25Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 24:25Drew Afualo?

  So I'd love to know, how did that feel when you started really growing online and kind of like melding your two worlds? Like, how did it feel?

• 24:32Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 24:32Drew Afualo?

  I'm sure, is it like annoying to be like,

• 24:33Speaker 01

  No, I think-

• 24:34Drew Afualo?

  Oh, you're the girl from TikTok.

• 24:35Speaker 01

  I think that like, any moment of like, we're saying that like,

• 24:38Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 24:38Speaker 01

  Oh, I want people to understand. I think it's just when you've had the experiences of being an assistant. Cause I mean, I was an assistant for, I think, a good five years before I went viral.

• 24:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 24:51Speaker 01

  You know, just kind of running around the city and doing the thing. And it's funny because being an influencer, you like, you never have never felt more exposed in your life.

• 24:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 24:59Speaker 01

  And being an assistant, you probably have never felt more invisible in your life.

• 25:02Drew Afualo?

  Oh gee.

• 25:03Speaker 01

  Right? Because it's so-

• 25:04Drew Afualo?

  You're like one from one extreme to the other.

• 25:06Speaker 01

  Really? And so I think there's like that, I'm so grateful for that perspective. I'm grateful too that I was around like famous people in glam and like-

• 25:14Drew Afualo?

  You're used to it.

• 25:14Speaker 01

  Those things where to enough to, I mean, I'm grateful for any moment. Like, I'm still like, woo-hoo, like glam. But at the same time, I think the big thing you have to remember, right, is everything is ultimately work.

• 25:27Drew Afualo?

  Yep.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  And I think that, you know, you really, like, when you're, when I've, a person now who like gets in the car and does the glam, like I've been doing this week, it's funny because I literally, all I can think about is like, when I was like, in your car, we'll get there. Like, on the other side of it.

• 25:42Drew Afualo?

  That's probably so trippy, I bet.

• 25:43Speaker 01

  It's super trippy.

• 25:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 25:44Speaker 01

  And I can't forget it.

• 25:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 25:46Speaker 01

  It's such like an experience.

• 25:48Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 25:48Speaker 01

  There's something, yeah, surreal about it. It's a great sort of constant reminder of gratitude, I would say. And yeah, I think it also really taught me too, that when I did go viral that first time.

• 26:00Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 26:01Speaker 01

  I was like, it's lightning in a bottle and I don't want to lose it and I don't want to just have 15 minutes. I, how do I like beat this with a hammer over again?

• 26:10Drew Afualo?

  Stretch it out, yeah.

• 26:11Speaker 01

  Right? Stretch it out. I do this every, I hit the mic. All I do is I hit it, left and right. Um, and so I think like, yeah, overall, I'm just grateful that that's kind of like the way things have gone.

• 26:21Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 26:22Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 26:22Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely. Yeah, I, I think all the time that I'm grateful that if I got a platform, I got it when I did.

• 26:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 26:29Drew Afualo?

  Cause I feel like it was at the perfect- Time cuz I got it.

• 26:32Speaker 01

  Yeah, were you a quarantine blow up person?

• 26:34Drew Afualo?

  Um, yeah, yes and no cuz I I wasn't in 2020. It was like 2021 is when I really started posting. 2022 was when I like exploded and then 2023 was my first full year like doing this whole time. Yeah, like I think.

• 26:49Speaker 01

  What were you doing before that?

• 26:51Drew Afualo?

  I worked at the NFL.

• 26:53Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. That's why that's part of your big brand.

• 26:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, that's why sports are part of my lore too.

• 26:57Speaker 01

  That's amazing.

• 26:58Drew Afualo?

  And my horror story.

• 26:59Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 26:59Drew Afualo?

  My villain origin story, really.

• 27:01Speaker 01

  Where, what, where?

• 27:02Drew Afualo?

  I worked for the Shield. I worked for the league like itself. I worked in social media for them.

• 27:07Speaker 01

  Based in?

• 27:07Drew Afualo?

  2019, LA.

• 27:08Speaker 01

  So you were in LA before? Okay, okay.

• 27:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, so I I did journalism.

• 27:12Speaker 01

  In entertainment, in communications.

• 27:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and I and I really wanted to. I just love to entertain. But I was a journalism student in college, so I learned how to write. I learned how to uh record, like set up cameras. I learned how to edit. I learned. And that's how I got good talking to a camera and like talking on camera cuz you know how like I can always tell when someone's new to talking to camera.

• 27:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:34Drew Afualo?

  If they can see themselves, they're always looking at themselves.

• 27:37Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:37Drew Afualo?

  And then they're pausing a lot cuz they keep looking at themselves.

• 27:40Speaker 01

  And it actually is a conversation between them and themselves. Totally, totally. It's so hard not to do.

• 27:45Drew Afualo?

  I know. And when I did journalism, I did a lot of like stand ups, which is like, you know, we're reporting here live.

• 27:50Speaker 01

  Right.

• 27:51Drew Afualo?

  Straight to camera. And I remember in my earliest TikTok videos, I like hate my voice.

• 27:57Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:58Drew Afualo?

  Because when I was in college, my uh like evil professor, she told me to that I should uh like change the octave like up. Why can't I think of it? Heighten it? Like I should like talk at a higher register cuz she said it's more appealing because it's more feminine on camera.

• 28:14Speaker 01

  Also, you have you have literally like such an incredible distinct, like it's so a part of you and you're one of the many reasons for success. So it's just like, well, good thing you didn't listen to that person.

• 28:26Drew Afualo?

  I know. When I look at my earliest videos, I cringe because I sound like Mickey Mouse in my opinion because I'm like that my my register sits lower and I like my voice deeper. But in my earliest ones, I think I was just used to talking like that on camera. And when I watch them, I wanna fucking throw my phone at the ocean.

• 28:41Speaker 01

  No, it's it's really hard to look back at first videos of yourself. You're like, oh, I was also just similarly like. Again, like the looking at your camera, like all I was thinking about was what I looked like. I was so.

• 28:53Drew Afualo?

  Always looking at yourself.

• 28:54Speaker 01

  Like literally, I was like talking like this. Like I was like.

• 28:57Drew Afualo?

  Trying to look sexy.

• 28:58Speaker 01

  Trying to look pretty, trying to da da da. My mom is like basically like my acting coach essentially because she's, you know, an artist and a writer and.

• 29:06Drew Afualo?

  Oh, love.

• 29:06Speaker 01

  I've been lucky to have her guidance and she used to always say to me, because we're, we both have that like terrible, like insecure bone of like, just like, sometimes I call it like face dysmorphia, where you're like a little bit just like so upset. You're like, like, you know what I mean?

• 29:19Drew Afualo?

  Oh, yeah. I had never become more aware of what I look like.

• 29:22Speaker 01

  Exactly. And it's, it's like the best, um, kind of like exposure therapy.

• 29:26Drew Afualo?

  Truly. They really cold plunge you when you start doing this shit. You're like, oh, that's what I look like.

• 29:31Speaker 01

  I'm grateful. I'm like, great. When people are meeting me, I'm like, that's another thing I can take, you know? That's, that's one feather in the cap, right? And my mom would always say, like, when I would do theater in high school, like, I'd be like, well, I don't know if I want to like audition for the play, like, the boys are all gonna see me and it's gonna be embarrassing, you know? And she's like, you know, when you really know you're an actress, when you can just get up on stage and throw yourself on stage and you do not care about how insane you look.

• 29:58Drew Afualo?

  That's true.

• 29:59Speaker 01

  You know? And I think that that's a little bit of the experience.

• 30:02Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely. You have to let go of it.

• 30:04Speaker 01

  You have to let go and it does so much for you.

• 30:06Drew Afualo?

  I agree. And it's like, it's also a very freeing feeling, like what you're saying. It makes you feel grateful. I agree because I feel like whenever people ask me about growing a following or whatever, I always tell them, if you care at all about getting hate in any way, like it really cripples you, don't do it.

• 30:25Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 30:26Drew Afualo?

  I was like, don't do it, don't do it. And I mean about anything. I don't just mean about looks.

• 30:30Speaker 01

  Like what you're saying, what you're intellecting.

• 30:32Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, your integrity, who you are as a person, like your, the tone of voice, the way you dress, the way you stand, the way you talk, like everything about you.

• 30:41Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 30:41Drew Afualo?

  Is like up for perception.

• 30:43Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 30:43Drew Afualo?

  And to be scrutinized.

• 30:45Speaker 01

  And you were, like you were saying, kind of already on a path of like, you had been on camera with a microphone. It's there, you know, I already wanted to be an actress, which is certainly that.

• 30:53Drew Afualo?

  Me too.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  Right? Right? We were talking, so you did journalism undergrad, but did you? Ever do theater?

• 30:59Drew Afualo?

  I did do theater classes.

• 31:01Speaker 01

  Classes?

• 31:01Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 31:01Speaker 01

  Did you in high school?

• 31:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, in high school, I took a theater class like for a full year, like two semesters, whatever. And then in college, I took another one.

• 31:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, cuz you gotta, you gotta act like you're so gorgeous. You gotta get on camera.

• 31:13Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 31:13Speaker 01

  You gotta, you and Caleb will be in something.

• 31:15Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 31:15Speaker 01

  I said it to Caleb once, I was like, you, the three of you, that's a movie.

• 31:19Drew Afualo?

  I've been telling.

• 31:20Speaker 01

  That's an action movie.

• 31:21Drew Afualo?

  I told, I told Caleb the other day, I was like, me, Brittany and you should be in like a new version of The Hangover.

• 31:27Speaker 01

  I, I literally said something like that to him once. And he was like, I'm not sure if like, they want, I was like, they do. Everyone wants, they, we want it. I don't care if they want it, we want it.

• 31:35Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, right.

• 31:36Speaker 01

  No, literally, sorry, but I, that's what I want. I'm, my, I'm, my, my butt is in that seat.

• 31:41Drew Afualo?

  Well, I know you were on Abbott Elementary. Oh, my God, please tell me about it. I love that.

• 31:45Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 31:46Drew Afualo?

  And I love that show, not Quinta.

• 31:47Speaker 01

  The best. Yeah, we love Quinta, Quinta the world. It was so amazing. I mean, again, it's like, kind of on theme of what we're talking about for being on these paths.

• 31:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 31:57Speaker 01

  You're already kind of, you have these goals and then, you know, the way that being online, which, you know, can, can just open doors for people, can be the great equalizer.

• 32:07Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 32:08Speaker 01

  Right? I felt so sad for like, I was like with the TikTok of it all, like however long ago it was. I was more so just feeling sad for like those people who were like maybe where I was at like 2021, 2022, where it's like they're just getting started.

• 32:22Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like they're on the cusp of it.

• 32:23Speaker 01

  On the cusp of actually being able to find real career opportunities out of this. And so I just, as much as like, I don't know, I think there's so much mixed, like the influencers stuff, there's, everyone has an opinion about it, but at the end of the day, there's only something like ultimately good about a space that lets everyone in.

• 32:41Drew Afualo?

  I know. I, I think the same thing.

• 32:43Speaker 01

  Right?

• 32:43Drew Afualo?

  I, I defend the internet, as angry as it makes me on a daily basis. I, I say all the time, like, I said it in a Forbes interview recently, like I was talking about how the internet has given people who would never in a million years get a chance, like it has given them access, it's given them a door like into the world that is so exclusive, so closed off and so riddled with nepotism.

• 33:07Speaker 01

  Right.

• 33:08Drew Afualo?

  Some of us don't know anyone in the industry. There's no other way. And then if you factor in looks or any sort of intersection of oppression, like the amount of famous people we have today, like

• 33:18Speaker 01

  We wouldn't have a lot of

• 33:18Drew Afualo?

  We wouldn't have anyone like Caleb or like Chapel or like anyone that could access fame through the internet. Like it's like access and views.

• 33:28Speaker 01

  And also like geographically where they are too.

• 33:30Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 33:31Speaker 01

  Right? Because that's its own privilege. Like you could have the most talented actor in the world who like lives in some random state because they're like taking care of their family and they can't go

• 33:38Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely.

• 33:39Speaker 01

  And all of a sudden they have a whole business from there, from their house.

• 33:43Drew Afualo?

  And what in theater, what kind of theater girl were you?

• 33:45Speaker 01

  I was like

• 33:46Drew Afualo?

  You like a comedy queen? Do you like drama?

• 33:48Speaker 01

  Well, I will say that I did start, I started, it was college that I started to understand the whole comedy of it all.

• 33:57Drew Afualo?

  Love.

• 33:57Speaker 01

  I never thought of myself as like

• 34:02Speaker 00

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• 34:34Speaker 01

  I mean, like, yeah, you don't think of yourself as like funny, especially as a girl, because like when I was in high school, it's like, oh, you're a girl, you cannot be funny. That doesn't

• 34:42Drew Afualo?

  You're pretty funny for a girl.

• 34:44Speaker 01

  For a girl, yeah, totally. I definitely like really came from one of those like, because it's like I did theater in high school, but I like, God help me if I wasn't going to be popular. I was obviously going to be popular too. So I definitely weaseled my way as well into the, you know, the more normie crap, people who had the parties and ever, and still have some of those girlfriends that are incredible people. But, you know, the culture especially of, I would say, the people I was immediately surrounded by, it was very masculine dominated, very like, the joking was with us being the butt of the joke.

• 35:20Drew Afualo?

  Right, yeah.

• 35:21Speaker 01

  Um, like really aggressively and pretty dramatically, honestly. Like sometimes I tell people stories, it's like, and then, and they're like, what?

• 35:30Drew Afualo?

  The room gets quiet.

• 35:31Speaker 01

  They were all in the table and making those gestures at people and were did and it's like, that's not normal.

• 35:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 35:37Speaker 01

  So I think I was definitely very silenced.

• 35:41Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like silent or silent.

• 35:43Speaker 01

  Silenced. And again, like it took me, I remember my whole first year of high school, I didn't, I was too afraid to audition for any of the plays, even though we had this great theater department, because I was just so afraid of what, of being made fun of, until finally.

• 36:00Drew Afualo?

  You being Troy Bolton.

• 36:01Speaker 01

  Like, no, literally, I was.

• 36:04Speaker 01

  I was Troy Bolton.

• 36:06Drew Afualo?

  He's like, oh, I want to sing with her so bad, but what if my teammates find out?

• 36:10Speaker 01

  I was like, what if, what if coach finds out?

• 36:15Speaker 01

  You know, like, I'm supposed to be at ball.

• 36:19Drew Afualo?

  Dad, I have to play ball.

• 36:20Speaker 01

  I have to go ball. I can't, I can't learn 12 bars, like, and, and also, like, mom, my mom will be watching this. Hey, mom. She watches it. She consumes it all.

• 36:31Drew Afualo?

  Hi, mom.

• 36:32Speaker 01

  Hi, mom. She gave me a piece of advice that I've like said before, that I'll say again, I've said it before and I will say it again, is she, and it was like one of those, sometimes you know when people give you a piece of advice and it like kind of is meant to scare you and it works. Like, it was like that.

• 36:48Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 36:48Speaker 01

  She was like, if you, if what your priority is and what you care about is what the boys in your grade think of you, and that's what's going to stop you from auditioning, I don't think you want to be an actress that badly, you know? And I'm like, but I do, I do, I do.

• 37:04Drew Afualo?

  Your mom's like, well, I guess you don't want it that bad.

• 37:05Speaker 01

  Right. And that's like the scariest thing.

• 37:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, shit.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  Right.

• 37:09Drew Afualo?

  That hit me.

• 37:10Speaker 01

  It's like, right?

• 37:11Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 37:12Speaker 01

  I don't know, I do, I want it. It's like, then do it, right?

• 37:15Drew Afualo?

  She said, then prove it.

• 37:16Speaker 01

  She said, then prove it, bitch. That's what she said to me in 10th grade. And, and then I just, from then on, just, yeah, fully got into the theater of it all and like stopped caring in two seconds, because that's how that goes.

• 37:28Drew Afualo?

  Right. And then, once you find it, you're like,

• 37:30Speaker 01

  Once you find it.

• 37:31Drew Afualo?

  This is my favorite thing in the world.

• 37:32Speaker 01

  When you're fulfilled by something, it doesn't really matter.

• 37:35Drew Afualo?

  No, it doesn't matter anymore what other people think of it.

• 37:37Speaker 01

  Really doesn't.

• 37:38Drew Afualo?

  Especially men. Who gives a fuck what they like? Everything they like sucks.

• 37:44Speaker 01

  She went, especially men.

• 37:45Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, everything, everything they like sucks.

• 37:49Speaker 01

  So if they don't like it, then good. Like, literally, those experiences were like, get me to a women's college. And so then I went to a women's college.

• 38:00Drew Afualo?

  I'm happy for you. You're like, I really need to focus on my craft.

• 38:05Speaker 01

  Shed that.

• 38:05Drew Afualo?

  Right, yeah.

• 38:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, I know, I'm like, I'm in like, I'm like 20 or, I'm like 18 years old, and I'm like, it's about my craft. But I literally, like, at the time, was thinking like that, which is not normal.

• 38:15Drew Afualo?

  That's what you need.

• 38:16Speaker 01

  And so then, I really do think, if I had gone to a coed school, I don't think I ever would have auditioned for, like, the comedy team. I think that was, like, so scary. You're like, I feel like, and it's so funny now, because I'm like, everyone does improv, but at the time, like, improv sounded like the scariest thing ever.

• 38:33Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 38:34Speaker 01

  And it's like, you have to get up and make a fool of yourself, and just, like, release inhibitions.

• 38:38Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 38:38Speaker 01

  And if I had a crush on someone, like, in the audition.

• 38:42Drew Afualo?

  You said that was gonna work against me.

• 38:43Speaker 01

  I'd say, and I'm gonna get up there, and I'm gonna go, and this will be my character.

• 38:47Drew Afualo?

  You, you literally like, joining a convent, so that you can focus.

• 38:51Speaker 01

  I'm like Sydney Sweeney, as that nun. And I'm like, I'm ready for, to be taken seriously.

• 38:57Drew Afualo?

  You're enlisting, so that you're not distracted.

• 39:02Drew Afualo?

  If there were men there, I never would be successful.

• 39:04Speaker 01

  I never.

• 39:05Drew Afualo?

  And that's two, honestly.

• 39:06Speaker 01

  Honestly.

• 39:06Drew Afualo?

  It takes a great deal of, like, power and self-reflection to be like, no, you know what, I need to go somewhere where I can thrive and be myself, and not feel judged.

• 39:16Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 39:16Drew Afualo?

  Because it's really not about, like, their approval, it's feeling judged, it's, it's making you, like, resistant to it. And you're like, if I wanna, like, really embrace it, I gotta go somewhere where I feel safe. I love that.

• 39:25Speaker 01

  You can't do something like that halfway.

• 39:27Drew Afualo?

  No, not at all.

• 39:28Speaker 01

  It can't be like, oh, I'm gonna do a little pursuing my dreams, about a little bit of, like, balancing it with trying to be this person that I don't actually have that image, which is what I was like in high school, and it's like, this is not sustainable.

• 39:39Drew Afualo?

  No, but I-

• 39:39Speaker 01

  It's like, I'm like, what if myself, Tanner?

• 39:42Drew Afualo?

  Bled all over.

• 39:44Speaker 01

  Unto the white couch. It didn't, team. It didn't. Okay. But anyways, so.

• 39:49Drew Afualo?

  I'm glad you came to that realization.

• 39:50Speaker 01

  Thank you so much. Also, it was so, I mean, so formative, like, some of my best friends.

• 39:55Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, from college.

• 39:56Speaker 01

  To this day, yes. And so then, yeah, then I auditioned for the comedy, for, for, it was called Sickos. Shout out, girls, and, and people, plus, um, people, plus, uh, Smith Improv Comedy Org of Smith.

• 40:11Drew Afualo?

  Okay, gee.

• 40:12Speaker 01

  And.

• 40:13Drew Afualo?

  Is it like a, like an improv group?

• 40:15Speaker 01

  It was all improv, all like, um, short form improv. And then I was like, the president eventually. When I was on Caleb's, when I was on Caleb's, we were like, yeah, nothing more embarrassing than being on improv in college. And then, and then there was like a beat and we're like, but I'm so proud of it.

• 40:32Drew Afualo?

  That being said, it was the greatest time of my life.

• 40:34Speaker 01

  That being said, it's the greatest honor of my life. And I pretend.

• 40:38Drew Afualo?

  It was an honor to serve a long time.

• 40:39Speaker 01

  It was an honor to serve. I pretend to be embarrassed about it, but I, but yet, why do I bring it up so much? Right?

• 40:46Drew Afualo?

  Why do I want you to ask me if I've ever done improv?

• 40:47Speaker 01

  Why do I want you to ask me if I was the president? I was.

• 40:51Drew Afualo?

  Okay, fine. Yes, I was.

• 40:52Speaker 01

  Literally. I literally, one of my best friends, Isabella, we, like, she was younger than me when I was the president, and I was kind of scary because she'd be late, and like, she still has trauma about me yelling at her and stuff. And it's like, I swear to God that like, me being the president is still in her dynamic. Like, that's how important it was to us. Okay, it was really important. Um, and so, but, but I do think that is like, kind of the prime example of something that I wouldn't have done at a more typical school.

• 41:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, improv's not for the weak.

• 41:20Speaker 01

  It's not for the weak. And, well, improv with cis men.

• 41:24Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 41:25Speaker 01

  Is a whole world. Because I will say this too, I went to a comedy show recently.

• 41:31Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 41:31Speaker 01

  And I was like, so not the fun girl, because I was with like, normie friends, and so, you know, they're just, everything's great. Everything is great. They're not analyzing things.

• 41:42Speaker 01

  Right, I'm like, don't-

• 41:43Drew Afualo?

  They don't care about the art.

• 41:44Speaker 01

  They don't care about the art. They don't care about the cry. Just kidding, love you guys. But I was like, I'm like Serena, like, shut up, shut up, shut up. And so I was like, what do you think? It's like, don't ask me that, you know?

• 41:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 41:53Speaker 01

  Because I just, I think I aggressively get that feeling when I step out of, like a lineup where you're getting different kinds of people, especially in a more like Manhattan space. It can happen though in the Brooklyn spaces too, where you're like, I really do believe there's just a general, general benefit of the doubt that women, or women plus, or women presenting in any way people simply do not get.

• 42:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 42:18Speaker 01

  Like, like pity laughs.

• 42:19Drew Afualo?

  Yep, yep.

• 42:20Speaker 01

  They don't even get, like, do what I mean, like-

• 42:22Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely, I do.

• 42:23Speaker 01

  And it's-

• 42:23Drew Afualo?

  And any man-

• 42:24Speaker 01

  It's like science, I swear to God.

• 42:26Drew Afualo?

  Any straight cis man that has made anybody give them any sort of laugh, whether it's like through the nose breathing, or an outright guffaw, in any range, one time, they're like, I should do comedy.

• 42:40Speaker 01

  I should do, no-

• 42:41Drew Afualo?

  I should start doing a type 5.

• 42:42Speaker 01

  This is an epidemic.

• 42:43Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it's so bad.

• 42:44Speaker 01

  The, I-

• 42:45Drew Afualo?

  So bad.

• 42:45Speaker 01

  I, I'd like to start, try stand up, why?

• 42:49Speaker 01

  Because actually-

• 42:50Drew Afualo?

  Don't.

• 42:50Speaker 01

  Are you gonna, it's like, it's like, oh, I'd like to try rocket science. But it's like, what do you mean? Like, try, you can't try stand up, like, stand up, like, and, okay, like, I've dipped my toe just to like get myself out there, but I would never like call myself a stand up-

• 43:05Drew Afualo?

  Me either.

• 43:06Speaker 01

  Think about the amount of work-

• 43:09Drew Afualo?

  That shit is hard. That shit-

• 43:11Speaker 01

  Hours. It's hours.

• 43:13Drew Afualo?

  And I've only done one 5, one type 5 last-

• 43:16Speaker 01

  And that probably took you, I would love to see that, but that probably took you, like, like, months, months to come up with that.

• 43:22Drew Afualo?

  The type 5 I wrote took me like, it took me probably like two and a half months, but that's just with everything I had going on. It probably would have taken me longer, but I had to like, I was in crunch time, because I opened for Caleb. I, I was one-

• 43:34Speaker 01

  I wish I could have seen that.

• 43:35Drew Afualo?

  I was one of his opens.

• 43:36Speaker 01

  Next time I'm there.

• 43:37Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, please.

• 43:37Speaker 01

  Next time I'm there.

• 43:38Drew Afualo?

  I would love notes too from you, for real.

• 43:40Speaker 01

  Oh my God.

• 43:40Drew Afualo?

  But like, I did one with him and Chris Fleming, Chris Fleming opened after me, and he's a genius, like-

• 43:46Speaker 01

  Well, both of those people, that's been intimidating.

• 43:48Drew Afualo?

  You know how like sometimes athletes will donate their brains to science because they want them to study concussion?

• 43:54Speaker 01

  That's what I did.

• 43:54Drew Afualo?

  If that ever happens, if something, God forbid, knock on wood, anything ever happens to Chris Fleming, I call dibs on that brain.

• 43:59Speaker 01

  Okay, you want the brain in a jar?

• 44:01Drew Afualo?

  I want it, I want to open it up, and I need to look inside of him.

• 44:04Speaker 01

  Chris is gonna see this and go, well, that's a compliment. Well, that's a compliment I've never

• 44:08Drew Afualo?

  Even weirder and even funnier in response to me saying that.

• 44:11Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 44:12Drew Afualo?

  I want, I want just a piece of it. I just need to look. Yeah. So I opened for the two of them who are comedy geniuses, which is daunting enough for me as it is.

• 44:20Speaker 01

  But I'm sure you were incredible because it's also like, it's about energy. It's about confidence.

• 44:24Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 44:24Speaker 01

  It's not just about that, the hours, but yeah.

• 44:27Drew Afualo?

  I agree. And well, and Caleb helped me tremendously.

• 44:30Speaker 01

  And he's not gonna lie to you.

• 44:31Drew Afualo?

  No, never. And it's so funny because when I first met with him, he was like, well, tell me some stuff that you have. And so I was telling him things that I had written down over the last like couple of months. And like a couple of them that I said, he was like, anything else? And then I go, yeah, yeah, just be pretending to flip pages. I'm on my phone.

• 44:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 44:49Drew Afualo?

  Getting nervous.

• 44:50Speaker 01

  And then I, my, my tone, my book, like with my ink, like sorry.

• 44:57Drew Afualo?

  I know. And then with some of them I would say, and he would laugh. He'd be like, that's perfect. Let's use that. But it takes, there's just so much to it, like.

• 45:04Speaker 01

  And it probably wasn't the stuff you thought he was gonna say.

• 45:06Drew Afualo?

  No, not at all. Yeah. The stuff that is bangers with friends is, wouldn't work in a stand-up setting. It's just so different.

• 45:13Speaker 01

  It's such a, it's literally an art form.

• 45:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 45:16Speaker 01

  And it's actually insane.

• 45:18Drew Afualo?

  It's hard.

• 45:18Speaker 01

  That someone would, can you imagine saying that about like going and seeing like a painting in like the Met and being like, I think I want to try painting. It's like, it's crazy, but it really obviously is coming from a place of like, will I get laughs? It's like, yeah, because it's not hard for you. It's like, it's like when you're at like, yeah, when you were like at it, when you're like a best man or something. Or like at church or something. It's like, yeah, there is a difference.

• 45:48Drew Afualo?

  Best man in a way. Yeah.

• 45:51Speaker 01

  I used to have a rule.

• 45:52Drew Afualo?

  You let best man do speeches and look what happened.

• 45:55Speaker 01

  No, literally, no, literally.

• 45:57Drew Afualo?

  What happens to the comedy.

• 45:58Speaker 01

  Literally, no, it's so.

• 45:59Drew Afualo?

  It's so oversaturated. I had Mary Beth Barone on.

• 46:02Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 46:03Drew Afualo?

  And she told me.

• 46:04Speaker 01

  She's probably had so many experiences.

• 46:06Drew Afualo?

  Oh, hers are crazy, but she told me she left a set once and she killed like.

• 46:11Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 46:11Drew Afualo?

  And she was like, I killed. Quite frankly, she said, I left and this guy followed me out and was like, giving me notes on my tags and my jokes. And then at one point he goes, you should be writing this down.

• 46:23Drew Afualo?

  She said.

• 46:23Speaker 01

  What'd she say?

• 46:24Drew Afualo?

  She goes, why would I do that? I thought you were just talking at me. I didn't think you were.

• 46:29Speaker 01

  I'm actually absorbing what you're saying.

• 46:32Drew Afualo?

  She's like, this is for you.

• 46:33Speaker 01

  That is insane.

• 46:34Drew Afualo?

  And that was like two months before I saw her. So that was like recently. She's been doing comedy for years.

• 46:39Speaker 01

  She's such a vet.

• 46:41Drew Afualo?

  She's so funny. She kills me. And I find you so funny. So I was, I love that. You are well versed in the area of like.

• 46:49Speaker 01

  It's so.

• 46:50Drew Afualo?

  And watching them too. Like, I'm sure you're an avid comedy watcher. Like, you love to go watch a show.

• 46:55Speaker 01

  Totally. No, and it's, it's, um, I mean, that's why it's so amazing being in like, you know, obviously the Brooklyn comedy spaces.

• 47:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 47:02Speaker 01

  All, I've made so many great friends and there's that sort of counterculture to that.

• 47:07Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 47:08Speaker 01

  And that's incredible. And I think that grows and it'll grow more and more. And so there's like positivity on the horizon. But I do think it's just.

• 47:17Drew Afualo?

  There's an oversaturation.

• 47:18Speaker 01

  There's an oversaturation. And it's also just, I do think it's just kind of like, it tells us something about like, just in general. Like, the vibes and it's a little vibe check.

• 47:27Drew Afualo?

  I agree. And also like crowd work, crowd work doing well on, on places like TikTok is, is truly making, it's emboldening men to believe that they could do it for real.

• 47:37Speaker 01

  Yes. By the way, also a different form.

• 47:40Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 47:40Speaker 01

  A different.

• 47:41Drew Afualo?

  And crowd work is not purely stand up. Like, stand up to me is, is completely new and original material. Maybe crowd work in there.

• 47:49Speaker 01

  Right.

• 47:49Drew Afualo?

  But like, it's, it's 99% jokes that you wrote.

• 47:53Speaker 01

  And you can argue when you put it on TikTok, it's its own thing, right?

• 47:56Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 47:56Speaker 01

  It's like any stand up you put on TikTok, like you can make an argument that that's its own beast.

• 48:01Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it's completely different.

• 48:03Speaker 01

  Right.

• 48:03Drew Afualo?

  Uh, tack, like beast to tackle.

• 48:05Speaker 01

  There's also, there's like this one thing that's like in my ear. I'm like, what was that like thing? Oh, based on like the kind of Mary Beth Brown story and that line of thinking. I, I think also sometimes I get, I've gotten is, you know, when you're out and someone's like, um, like a girl will be like, oh my God, like love you did it. And then she'll really like, the, the one thing she really wants to tell me, like this has happened a few times, is points to her boyfriend. And it's like, he thinks you're funny, right? Oh, and he, oh my God, you're so, and he, and my, or if he's out there, and my, and my boyfriend.

• 48:41Speaker 01

  And I'm like, well, thank God, your boyfriend. Because when you said I was funny, I didn't think that meant anything.

• 48:50Speaker 01

  Right? And it's like, but also-

• 48:51Drew Afualo?

  It didn't mean anything to me when you told me that.

• 48:52Speaker 01

  No, it meant nothing.

• 48:53Drew Afualo?

  Now that you're saying he-

• 48:54Speaker 01

  It was insulting. And also, but the obvious, like, it's also like so wild to think like, that is how conditioned we are that you're even saying it like it's this normal thing. Because you are fully making this statement in this moment that it is even harder for my boyfriend to find a woman funny.

• 49:12Drew Afualo?

  I get that a lot, too.

• 49:13Speaker 01

  Right?

• 49:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 49:14Speaker 01

  You get that?

• 49:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, all the time. It's never, it's more so online. Like, they'll be like, even my man thinks you're funny.

• 49:20Speaker 01

  Even my, that could be, that's the name of your next book. That's the name of your next book. That's a great title.

• 49:26Drew Afualo?

  Even your man thinks I'm funny.

• 49:26Speaker 01

  Even, even, yes.

• 49:28Drew Afualo?

  Your man.

• 49:29Speaker 01

  Even your man thinks I'm funny. And if someone tries to steal that title, I'm reposting this. And I'm calling you out.

• 49:35Drew Afualo?

  It's TM.

• 49:36Speaker 01

  Because that's her title.

• 49:37Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 49:37Speaker 01

  But, no, literally, it's so interesting.

• 49:39Drew Afualo?

  That's actually such a good point. I've never thought of it that way. It's like, even we don't trust our own-

• 49:44Speaker 01

  Right.

• 49:45Drew Afualo?

  Like, opinions on stuff.

• 49:46Speaker 01

  Oh, right.

• 49:46Drew Afualo?

  I'll tell you what, if a bunch of men are laughing at me, I'm either getting mad or I'm worried.

• 49:51Speaker 01

  Oh, right.

• 49:52Drew Afualo?

  Nothing I feel is joyous in any way.

• 49:54Speaker 01

  Because if, because a lot of the times, it's like, oh, we hate you, and so you're expressing hate for yourself, and we're going, mm-hmm. And it's like, well, maybe not that.

• 50:03Drew Afualo?

  If they're laughing with me-

• 50:05Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 50:06Drew Afualo?

  Something's off.

• 50:07Speaker 01

  No.

• 50:07Drew Afualo?

  Uh-oh, gotta check in.

• 50:08Speaker 01

  It's so crazy to-

• 50:09Drew Afualo?

  Why are so many of you nice to me right now?

• 50:11Speaker 01

  It's so crazy, too, when you actually think about, because I also am like such a believer, too, in like, how like, I think like, a lot of the funniest people in my life are my normie friends who are not comedians. Like, my best friend Varsha, who's like, an OBGYN.

• 50:27Speaker 01

  And literally, she makes me, like, any old thing she says, I'm like, that's the craziest and funniest thing I've ever heard. And I think, and obviously, a lot of those people are women, and I just think it's our finger on the pulse of what's funny. It's like, it's just the most-

• 50:42Drew Afualo?

  You're so right.

• 50:42Speaker 01

  Not actually, like, pure-thinking thing. It's so much to do with, like, perception, like, even stand-up, like, getting up on that, when you- Walk onto a stage as a stand up as a man.

• 50:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 50:52Speaker 01

  Already have something, get blocking before you reach the mic. You know what I mean? Already have something in your physical voice. And the ways that like we are taught.

• 51:01Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 51:02Speaker 01

  To the ways that we are having to analyze our voices, like journalism professor. Like you're already losing.

• 51:08Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you're fighting, you're already trying to win the room.

• 51:11Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 51:12Drew Afualo?

  Like you're fighting a losing battle already.

• 51:13Speaker 01

  So it's like, will it ever change? I don't know. It'll take a while, but it's kind of interesting.

• 51:17Drew Afualo?

  But I think that's why when women joke about shit, like it's the funniest thing I've ever seen. Like, that's why I found you so unbelievably funny. Because it's shit that is so, first of all, harmless. It's not hurting anybody. But it's also so specific and it's like something I, that's like my favorite kind of humor. Is like when it's so niche and specific. And when women joke and laugh about it, like it's fun, it's sisterhood, it's community. When men get a hold of the trends or jokes, you're like, you guys ruined it.

• 51:47Speaker 01

  You ruined it and also with, well, now I hate it. Also with what you're saying too, I personally think what I do is, is coming from a pretty self-deprecating place of like, if I haven't been the girl in the video, I certainly can relate in some way. And then it's like, if it's a lot of women, which it often is in the comments laughing, I mean, that's so cool too, because I think women can laugh at themselves.

• 52:08Drew Afualo?

  I agree. That's what I'm saying. Like, I think that's why women are so funny. Because women are inherently self-aware and self-reflective.

• 52:15Speaker 01

  And that's what it takes to be funny.

• 52:17Drew Afualo?

  I agree. That's why we were joking about it before we started, that like, when people say mean shit to us, sometimes it's funny.

• 52:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:24Drew Afualo?

  And we respect the craft.

• 52:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 52:26Drew Afualo?

  So we're like, you know what? You got me.

• 52:27Speaker 01

  And, and that's, we were like, it's a little like, that was good. It's a little like, okay.

• 52:36Speaker 01

  Okay, user seven eight nine three.

• 52:39Drew Afualo?

  That one's gonna stay with me.

• 52:40Speaker 01

  Totally. No, it's so, I don't know, it's so interesting and I don't know, that's what was so exciting about Nikki Glaser at the close.

• 52:47Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 52:47Speaker 01

  Right?

• 52:48Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it's a different, a different energy.

• 52:50Speaker 01

  Oh, it's a different energy.

• 52:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 52:52Speaker 01

  In a better way.

• 52:55Drew Afualo?

  In like a much less threatening and not funny way.

• 52:58Speaker 01

  Right.

• 52:59Drew Afualo?

  Because well, because streaming like that too, it's like their idea of comedy is punching down. It's always punching down. That's why it's not funny.

• 53:06Speaker 01

  And also when you're punching down, it's one thing to punch down as a woman, but the thing about men is they kill people. So it's a little different when you're punching down when you've murdered.

• 53:17Drew Afualo?

  When it's coming from a murderer, a little less funny.

• 53:19Speaker 01

  It's different.

• 53:20Drew Afualo?

  It's hard to laugh at those.

• 53:24Speaker 01

  It's literally like Barry. I know he's like an actor in it, but you get the point. It's like, but yeah, no, it's also interesting.

• 53:31Drew Afualo?

  It's true. And I, I'm curious, like, how has, how has it been taking your comedy experience, your acting experience, all of that into your book? Like, how has that been as far as since you're not, you said you're not in the book, right? Like the voices.

• 53:43Speaker 01

  It's my voice. So, you know, I mean, it was so, I mean, first of all, as an actress, it was a really, really cool experience to just like the vocal work of it.

• 53:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 53:53Speaker 01

  To learn about what I, I think of myself as not capable of, I'm like, I have a grating voice. I can't really sing like, but like, I, I think there were my, you know, um, producer who's comes from such like a, like she's a composer, such like a technical, voice, technical background. It's like, no, you can do this and like, you can do that. And just as a performer, it's really interesting to perform and only focus on one specific part of performing. Right?

• 54:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 54:19Speaker 01

  Um, also just funny too, because then it's like me and then like the other three best friends are all like basically Disney princesses. Or like, it's like one of them, my friend Sonia is Princess Jasmine in Aladdin on Broadway.

• 54:30Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 54:31Speaker 01

  Right? And so like, and the other one's like Joellen from the prom. Kaya can sing the, you know, who plays Kat, like, and they're all like, hello. Like everything is so like ASMR and then I'm like, so whatever. But like, that's comedy, baby. And, um, so that was really interesting and exciting and it felt very cumulative. I think something I say, like when it comes to Simon and Schuster and the whole process of making that and performing in it and writing it. And when it comes to, you know, the high pressure of being on a set like Abbott.

• 55:02Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 55:03Speaker 01

  Something I really. Believe is I'm like TikTok prepared me like I really

• 55:08Drew Afualo?

  Really?

• 55:08Speaker 01

  Every time people try to like look so down on the internet. It's like, okay, yes, but ultimately all it is is like another sort of like rehearsal space.

• 55:18Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 55:18Speaker 01

  That happens to be public.

• 55:19Drew Afualo?

  It's a vehicle, yeah.

• 55:20Speaker 01

  Which then you're actually getting other things out of it.

• 55:23Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 55:23Speaker 01

  Exposure therapy, as we were saying.

• 55:24Drew Afualo?

  Right, yeah.

• 55:26Speaker 01

  And I just feel like in both of those like professional experiences, you realize that, I mean, I'm sure like you would like we were saying like cringing at old videos. Like, think about like, think about the things that you could like walk into a high pressure like Oscars.

• 55:40Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 55:40Speaker 01

  And like, you probably couldn't have done that in the beginning.

• 55:43Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah, totally.

• 55:43Speaker 01

  Right? And that's because you're trained.

• 55:45Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 55:45Speaker 01

  That's the training.

• 55:46Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, especially talking to a phone, talking to a camera, like all of that shit. It's like, it really like gets you going. Like, you're used to it, used to long days on set and all that stuff.

• 55:56Speaker 01

  That like in the like with any other work or craft, it's something that you're gonna better and better.

• 56:01Drew Afualo?

  I agree.

• 56:02Speaker 01

  You know, so.

• 56:02Drew Afualo?

  And it's a vehicle, more than anything, yeah.

• 56:05Speaker 01

  And so I felt it was just felt very fun and cumulative and just lucky that like

• 56:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 56:10Speaker 01

  I already am so lucky to put my work online and, you know, that's all I ever really wanted. Like, sometimes people are like, when do you feel like you've made it? Which it's like, I don't even know about that, but.

• 56:20Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, me too.

• 56:21Speaker 01

  Right?

• 56:22Drew Afualo?

  Where does, I don't even.

• 56:23Speaker 01

  What does?

• 56:23Drew Afualo?

  Everybody's threshold is different. That's why it's kind of like, I honestly don't know.

• 56:27Speaker 01

  And kind of like also, you probably like New York Times Bestseller, you're like, well, now I'm gonna do it again. Like, that's right. Like, you can't, that's what is in you.

• 56:34Drew Afualo?

  It's just kind of like, yep.

• 56:35Speaker 01

  Yep, and now.

• 56:35Drew Afualo?

  On to the next.

• 56:36Speaker 01

  Right? But um, they said that, but I really do, I see this often because, yes, like all of this is, I'm not gonna lie and say I don't want more, more, more. I do, I wanna have a TV show. I wanna, you know, have all of the experiences of creating things I possibly can.

• 56:53Drew Afualo?

  Mm-hmm.

• 56:53Speaker 01

  But when I think about like making it, I'm like, I went from feeling like, I know I can do these things. I know I can write.

• 57:00Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 57:01Speaker 01

  I know I can act. I know I can be entertaining.

• 57:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 57:04Speaker 01

  Like, you, you, you feel like a crazy person because you're just like, you know, sitting behind a desk, feeling those things.

• 57:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 57:10Speaker 01

  And then to go from that to all of a sudden, it felt to me like a dime, you know, on a dime, it's like, I just put something online and there's like a hundred thousand likes.

• 57:19Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and like now you get to be.

• 57:21Speaker 01

  There's an audience?

• 57:22Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, you get to be an artist for a living.

• 57:24Speaker 01

  For a living, to like have to know that like, and even before I was making money from it. Which like, again, I never thought, I was like, you can do that. Like, I didn't know.

• 57:33Drew Afualo?

  Same.

• 57:33Speaker 01

  Didn't know you could do that. And I was like, wait, what? I can quit my assistant job? But, um, you know, even just the act of putting something out there with that kind of reach that I had never had before. It's like, well, as a performer, that's what you want.

• 57:47Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 57:48Speaker 01

  That's ultimately what you want. Attention.

• 57:51Drew Afualo?

  The end of the day. Attention is how I know I made it.

• 57:54Speaker 01

  I made it because I have attention.

• 57:56Drew Afualo?

  And that was the goal.

• 57:56Speaker 01

  And that's the only reason I'm doing anything. And that's all why we, that's what we do.

• 58:02Drew Afualo?

  Right. And honestly, you have to love attention to some extent to do this for a living. You have to be cool with it at the very least and like, and revel in it. And that's how I know, I feel like that my fiance and I are like meant for each other because he hates attention.

• 58:15Speaker 01

  You guys are so perfect.

• 58:16Drew Afualo?

  Oh, thank you. When, when.

• 58:17Speaker 01

  You're my favorite internet couple. And so when you dress up as, like, I don't want to spoil for people, but like, an Akatar couple. I guess, well, it's like, it's not, I'm just, I'm thinking of my one friend who I.

• 58:29Drew Afualo?

  You're like.

• 58:30Speaker 01

  My one friend who's on, who's on book one, and if she knew that was a couple, she'd be like, hell. But like, when I saw that, and I was also like, I know Drew made him do this.

• 58:40Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I sure did, girl.

• 58:42Speaker 01

  And it was also so amazing. I was literally freaking out.

• 58:45Drew Afualo?

  I know, I saw.

• 58:47Speaker 01

  You're like, Sabrina's really excited about this.

• 58:49Drew Afualo?

  Honestly, there were a lot of people that I was like, damn, you read those books?

• 58:52Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, it's kind of, it's community building.

• 58:54Drew Afualo?

  Right. Like Taylor Tomlinson wrote that on my shit.

• 58:57Speaker 01

  Oh, that's so fun.

• 58:57Drew Afualo?

  I said, you're a freak.

• 58:58Speaker 01

  You're like, girl, you're like, stop reading it.

• 59:00Drew Afualo?

  Freak, Taylor.

• 59:01Speaker 01

  I knew it. You're like, I just learned a lot about you.

• 59:02Drew Afualo?

  I knew it.

• 59:03Speaker 01

  But, um, but yeah, no, I, I think that's, no, I'm obsessed with you guys. You're my favorite internet couple.

• 59:07Drew Afualo?

  Thank you.

• 59:08Speaker 01

  And also the obvious, the obvious like self assurance that a man has when like they can be with someone who actually has attention. Like, I don't even need to say it because it's so freaking obvious, but.

• 59:20Drew Afualo?

  No, but that is, I will say, like, when I meet women that I'm like friends with online and when we meet for the first time in person, that's one of the most asked questions I get.

• 59:28Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 59:29Drew Afualo?

  About him specifically is like.

• 59:30Speaker 01

  How does he handle?

• 59:31Drew Afualo?

  Yeah. And he's cool with you. Like, how does he handle, I said, he doesn't care. Well, he's my number one fan, but like, he doesn't bother him.

• 59:39Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 59:39Drew Afualo?

  Because he hates attention. So if I'm the only person being looked at, he's, he's okay with that. Like, he wishes that wasn't the case for me, but like. And like when Aquaman came out.

• 59:48Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 59:49Drew Afualo?

  Well, obviously, that was years ago, well before I did this, when I was like, normal, working human. That was hell on earth for us as a couple. Because everywhere we went, they were like, oh, my God, can I take a picture? Which is, you know, that's not him, right? Like, you know, that's not the real Jason.

• 1:00:04Speaker 01

  You simply must know that.

• 1:00:05Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and then they're like, I know, I just still want the picture. Which, then I was like, OK.

• 1:00:09Speaker 01

  This is crazy.

• 1:00:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and this is a real thing, I swear to God, and it happens so often.

• 1:00:13Speaker 01

  You like really experience.

• 1:00:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, all the time, like, all the time, everywhere. I wish I was kidding. And then.

• 1:00:19Speaker 01

  Very odd, people are weird.

• 1:00:20Drew Afualo?

  And then I started making, of course, because I need attention, and I like to be funny.

• 1:00:25Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 1:00:25Drew Afualo?

  I start making bits out of it. So like, one time, one time, I told them, like, when they came up, they're like, oh, my God, you look just like Aquaman. And then I started going, oh, my God, thank you.

• 1:00:38Drew Afualo?

  And then they were going, not you, him.

• 1:00:41Speaker 01

  You're like, I'm Aquaman.

• 1:00:43Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my God, thank you.

• 1:00:45Speaker 01

  Me?

• 1:00:45Drew Afualo?

  Me?

• 1:00:47Speaker 01

  I'm J. Hops.

• 1:00:51Drew Afualo?

  They're like, not you, him. And I'm like, I know, it's a.

• 1:00:54Speaker 01

  They're like, I would never, you could never be Jason.

• 1:00:58Drew Afualo?

  Not you, fucko, the guy behind you.

• 1:01:00Speaker 01

  No, literally. And it's like that level of attention, he was like, this is my worst nightmare.

• 1:01:06Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it was, it was really bad. And then I remember when I started doing this, and then, like, maybe the very first time someone ever said anything to me out in public, like, they were like, oh, my God, I follow you on TikTok.

• 1:01:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:01:17Drew Afualo?

  That was so strange, I was like, damn, really? And she's like, can I get a picture? And I was like, with me?

• 1:01:22Speaker 01

  With Aquaman?

• 1:01:24Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I was like, with me or Aquaman?

• 1:01:25Speaker 01

  You're like, OK, we can take a pic, but I just want to let you know, I'm actually not Aquaman.

• 1:01:30Drew Afualo?

  I do get that a lot, though. And then, please, I took a picture, and then he told me, he goes, you know, that's my favorite part about that, if it gets any bigger? I go away, he goes, no one's ever gonna look at me ever again.

• 1:01:40Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:01:42Drew Afualo?

  And I said, you damn right, King, I'll make sure of it.

• 1:01:44Speaker 01

  You're masculine and never want to be looked at. He's like, I'll hold the camera.

• 1:01:49Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, he's like, I'm super cool with that, I never want to be looked at.

• 1:01:52Speaker 01

  There's also, like, I'm thinking of people going like, how does he handle that? It's a little like, there's a little part of me that goes, you mean, how does he handle being with a woman who has a personality and opinions?

• 1:02:03Drew Afualo?

  I don't know, pray for him.

• 1:02:04Speaker 01

  Like, oh, God forbid.

• 1:02:07Drew Afualo?

  I know, send a prayer up for him.

• 1:02:09Speaker 01

  So crazy.

• 1:02:10Drew Afualo?

  I feel bad for him, too.

• 1:02:11Speaker 01

  Unreal.

• 1:02:12Drew Afualo?

  But I do want to ask you, we have some fun facts about you.

• 1:02:15Speaker 01

  Oh my goodness.

• 1:02:16Drew Afualo?

  I'm gonna read some off to you and you can tell me about them.

• 1:02:18Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 1:02:19Drew Afualo?

  Um, it says on here that you won a high school Shakespeare competition for performing a monologue from The Taming of the Shrew.

• 1:02:25Speaker 01

  I did. It was Kate's monologue.

• 1:02:28Drew Afualo?

  I love that.

• 1:02:29Speaker 01

  Um.

• 1:02:29Drew Afualo?

  How was that?

• 1:02:30Speaker 01

  That was?

• 1:02:31Drew Afualo?

  Nerd.

• 1:02:32Speaker 01

  I, yeah. You're like, so we have this fact, that's so amazing. And then you like shove me into a lock, you like take a lock, you roll a locker out and then you shove me and that's how the episode ends.

• 1:02:42Drew Afualo?

  I gave you a wedgie.

• 1:02:43Speaker 01

  Literally. Well, that, that was also on that note of like, that was on, like, kind of in like, am I really gonna do it?

• 1:02:51Drew Afualo?

  All that like.

• 1:02:51Speaker 01

  But again, but then it's like, then I did it and then when you win, you don't give a shit. About whatever other things.

• 1:02:58Drew Afualo?

  You're like, this power I've been gifted.

• 1:03:00Speaker 01

  I do not care. Yeah, I, I won it.

• 1:03:04Drew Afualo?

  That's deep.

• 1:03:04Speaker 01

  I won it. I, I got up there and I, I spoke those words. In iambic pentameter and I did it and I won.

• 1:03:11Drew Afualo?

  I know that's hard too.

• 1:03:12Speaker 01

  And I think my mom has the trophy too. It's like classic.

• 1:03:14Drew Afualo?

  Shakespeare's hard.

• 1:03:15Speaker 01

  Shakespeare, the thing about Shakespeare, kinda hard.

• 1:03:20Drew Afualo?

  Most people don't know this.

• 1:03:21Speaker 01

  I don't know if you guys know this.

• 1:03:24Drew Afualo?

  You know, when I was in college, I took my drama, when I took a course in college.

• 1:03:28Speaker 01

  Like that.

• 1:03:28Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I did, I did one and then our last final was a monologue and it had to be from a play.

• 1:03:34Speaker 01

  What did you do?

• 1:03:35Drew Afualo?

  I did Viola Davis's monologue from Fences.

• 1:03:39Speaker 01

  Oh, that's awesome.

• 1:03:40Drew Afualo?

  With Denzel Washington, which is so intense.

• 1:03:42Speaker 01

  Awesome.

• 1:03:42Drew Afualo?

  But I did the, the OG like stage performance monologue and it's really intense.

• 1:03:47Speaker 01

  So you could like go there.

• 1:03:49Drew Afualo?

  I, I think so.

• 1:03:50Speaker 01

  I'm sure you could. And then I'm waiting for your acting career.

• 1:03:54Drew Afualo?

  I think so.

• 1:03:55Speaker 01

  Better watch out for me. Cause last thing you know, you're getting a text, I'm like, so I thought of this role for you. Like, next thing you know, so be careful.

• 1:04:02Drew Afualo?

  I do remember my drama teacher, uh, wrote on my, he like gave me notes. I got a good grade on it, but he, he gave me notes and then, um, it was mostly about blocking. Like he was like,

• 1:04:11Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 1:04:11Drew Afualo?

  I was too stationary, but he told me that, he wrote on my thing, I, I really hope you pursue acting. I feel like you would love it. Cause he, I, he asked me if I was a theater major and I was like, no, I'm a.

• 1:04:22Speaker 01

  That's why I asked.

• 1:04:23Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:23Speaker 01

  It's like, I don't know, there's sometimes there are those people on the internet and you're like, there's more to this.

• 1:04:27Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:27Speaker 01

  You know what I mean? And this, this wasn't a new thought. Yeah.

• 1:04:31Drew Afualo?

  I do, and I'm venturing into acting.

• 1:04:33Speaker 01

  You're gonna take classes?

• 1:04:34Drew Afualo?

  I am gonna start taking classes.

• 1:04:35Speaker 01

  That's a great place, I feel like.

• 1:04:37Drew Afualo?

  I am probably gonna pick your brain about some things.

• 1:04:38Speaker 01

  Please.

• 1:04:39Drew Afualo?

  Especially on self tapes.

• 1:04:40Speaker 01

  Please.

• 1:04:40Drew Afualo?

  I feel so humiliated making self tapes.

• 1:04:42Speaker 01

  Let's talk about that.

• 1:04:43Drew Afualo?

  I would love to talk about it.

• 1:04:44Speaker 01

  By the way, it's just the worst thing ever, ever.

• 1:04:47Drew Afualo?

  That's what Kayla told me.

• 1:04:48Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, and then also, I know, also, we'll call, the lovely Connor Wood.

• 1:04:52Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 1:04:53Speaker 01

  Is, plays Jack in my audiobook.

• 1:04:55Drew Afualo?

  Oh, no way, that's so funny.

• 1:04:57Speaker 01

  Like, when he was in the booth, I was being so, I was like, and I was like, I think, and then moved to New York and get some acting, like, I've become like such a stage mom. So, be careful, but yes.

• 1:05:06Drew Afualo?

  He would be a great actor.

• 1:05:07Speaker 01

  He's fabulous.

• 1:05:08Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, he's so funny.

• 1:05:09Speaker 01

  Well, that's, I also love, and that, this is some inexperience, I've had so much with, um, making the TikToks.

• 1:05:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:15Speaker 01

  I don't wanna say like, non-actors, cuz Kay, Connor is totally an actor, and I can't say, are you an actor? But like, you know, someone who might consider themselves, or like, my friends who work in like, sales. And then I'm like, so you're gonna be in this scene? And I'm like, and I'm like, no, no, you can do it. And by the way, there have been times where it's like, my friend brings a friend I don't know, and then, within five minutes, I'm like, so I have a role for you. And it's like.

• 1:05:37Drew Afualo?

  You are a writer, of course, then.

• 1:05:38Speaker 01

  Well, cuz it's also like, you, you use what's around you, and I think that people, they think they're supposed to deliver on this thing. It's like, actually, you can do this, you know how to react to some, like, you know how to imitate how you've reacted to something cuz you're a human being.

• 1:05:52Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:53Speaker 01

  That's all it is.

• 1:05:54Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 1:05:54Speaker 01

  And you don't even actually know if you have that, that thing within you, cuz a lot of times, people do and they didn't know.

• 1:06:00Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:00Speaker 01

  And it's so fun, it's been so, like, I'll have so many moments where, like, my roommate, for example, Alice, who's also a character in my audiobook and my real life oldest friend.

• 1:06:11Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:11Speaker 01

  And she was a lot of, you know, my first videos, and she's so monotone, she's an ICU nurse. You know what I mean? I'm like, she's saving lives, I'm making little TikTok.

• 1:06:21Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, we're both saving lives.

• 1:06:23Speaker 01

  We're both saving lives. Obviously, and she, her monotone thing that she does is so funny. It's so contrasting to me.

• 1:06:33Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:33Speaker 01

  And I've gotten so many comments, like, but the other girl, like, you know, about her, or like, my sister, I've made things, you know, like so many people, and it's like, it's so exciting.

• 1:06:45Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally.

• 1:06:45Speaker 01

  When they can access that.

• 1:06:47Drew Afualo?

  Absolutely.

• 1:06:48Speaker 01

  The best ever.

• 1:06:48Drew Afualo?

  I love that you think in that way, too, because I, I think about that, too, especially when you meet new people that you love, or you could see so clearly can do stuff.

• 1:06:56Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 1:06:56Drew Afualo?

  Actually, I want to put you somewhere.

• 1:06:58Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:06:58Drew Afualo?

  I love that about you. I think that's amazing. That's the, that's the.

• 1:07:01Speaker 01

  I love collaborating.

• 1:07:03Drew Afualo?

  You love a good collab.

• 1:07:04Speaker 01

  I love a good collab.

• 1:07:05Drew Afualo?

  Uh, it says on here that your middle name is Plon.

• 1:07:08Speaker 01

  Oh, my God, it is.

• 1:07:11Drew Afualo?

  You want to explain that to me?

• 1:07:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, we're gonna get into that. And by the way, back to high school trauma, the boy, which, by the way, and this goes back to what we were saying, probably the only good joke they ever had, so I will give it to them every weekend. Sabrina, what are your Plons this weekend? And it, and that is a good one.

• 1:07:28Drew Afualo?

  And then they're all like.

• 1:07:29Speaker 01

  And then.

• 1:07:31Speaker 01

  Meanwhile, it's like.

• 1:07:32Drew Afualo?

  And got her.

• 1:07:33Speaker 01

  You say it so many, gotcha, but here's the thing, it's a family name. It comes from my mom's side. I have a little resentment about the fact that, so the thing is, my mom's name is Susan Cinnamon.

• 1:07:46Drew Afualo?

  That's cute, though.

• 1:07:47Speaker 01

  Why couldn't I have gotten cinnamon? I inserted cinnamon actually into my, my TikTok username is actually Sabrina Cinnamon Brier.

• 1:07:55Drew Afualo?

  Okay, T.

• 1:07:56Speaker 01

  So I kind of like nixed the Plon there.

• 1:07:59Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:07:59Speaker 01

  My sister got cinnamon. She's Gabrielle Cinnamon Brier, now Brady, because she's married.

• 1:08:04Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:04Speaker 01

  Um, but so it's just a family name, and it's just came from that, and then it's just my whole life, it's been this thing. And also, it has made me go, because people go, where does that come from? And then I'm like, and then I go, what about your name? Like, a lot of names are just names.

• 1:08:19Drew Afualo?

  You get, you getting defensive.

• 1:08:21Speaker 01

  I'm like, that's a name.

• 1:08:22Drew Afualo?

  Quit asking me about Plon, all right?

• 1:08:23Speaker 01

  That's a name, but then, okay, and then, this is really random, but then when I was at a party for my agency.

• 1:08:31Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 1:08:31Speaker 01

  Just one of those like schmoozy things.

• 1:08:33Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:33Speaker 01

  And my friend Nico and I, we walked by Jon Hamm, and we're like, hey, Jon Hamm, like, you're, you rock. Hey, man. You know, and we're like, yeah, you're awesome. Sorry, sorry. We won't bother you. Start to walk away. And Niko goes, hey, congrats on just like your life, man. And like, we're like, congrats on meeting Jon Hamm, right? And then we like, start to walk away and we're like, we're like, we're so stupid. Stupid, stupid. And then I swear to God, Jon Hamm, after like a few videos, he goes, Sabrina. And I'm like.

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• 1:09:40Speaker 01

  That's on me? Yes, Jon Hamm? And he's like, ah, and then kind of like gestures to his. So he was with like his wife and his wife's very good friend. Okay. And who's also in the industry, but she happened to be from Boston. Okay. So he was in a little huddle. It was Jon Hamm, Jon Hamm's wife and his friend and their friend. Okay. So he was actually just waving me over for her, but he still said my name. Right. He still said Sabrina. And I went, yes, Jon Hamm? And went back over to them and that woman was like, I know Naomi Plon, like my cousins.

• 1:10:20Speaker 01

  I went from Plon being this like really weird part of my life that people are so confused about to then kind of like talking about it in front of Jon Hamm. Right. And I think. And a win is a win. And a win is a win. A win is a win, I'll take it. A win is a win. And then I, and then this person just randomly knew like the part of my family, where this name comes from, which was very kind of like, my mom was adopted. So the family is kind of all over. So it was just like extremely. So strange. Specific. Yeah. So for it to be happening like in front of Jon Hamm about Plon. Right, right, right. Plon for the win, you guys. So maybe change your first name to Plon. Plon Brier.

• 1:10:55Drew Afualo?

  Featuring Jon Hamm.

• 1:10:58Speaker 01

  Plon Jon Hamm-Bryant.

• 1:11:01Drew Afualo?

  That's your stripper name.

• 1:11:02Speaker 01

  And that's my new stage name. That's it.

• 1:11:05Drew Afualo?

  Plon Jon Hamm.

• 1:11:06Speaker 01

  That's it. Kinda sounds good.

• 1:11:08Drew Afualo?

  That actually, that works pretty well.

• 1:11:09Speaker 01

  That kinda sounds good.

• 1:11:10Drew Afualo?

  And then this last one, it says your first job out of college was interning on the TV show Scandal.

• 1:11:15Speaker 01

  So it was actually, I interned, actually, that was undergrad. Yeah, because I was such a professional that I started. But yeah, I, I interned my summer before, because I was a camp girl. And so I was going to camp every summer. No, Quaker camp. Doesn't have anything to do with anything. It's really just like this camp where it's like, we're chill and we're in the woods. And like, it was a lot of Brooklyn kids and a lot of Philly kids. And like, I was like the only Connecticut person.

• 1:11:44Drew Afualo?

  And you're all Quakers?

• 1:11:45Speaker 01

  And the thing is, no. The thing is, no. But the thing about Quakerism is it's pretty chill and the only thing we did that was Quakers, like, meeting for worship where you just kind of sit and like, think and you're like, hey, God. And, and it's mostly, it was just like hippy dippy, like, just kind of a camp that you go to where they're not making you like, go on a lake. And like, I don't like things like that.

• 1:12:07Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:12:07Speaker 01

  Or like, you have to do one sport, like,

• 1:12:09Drew Afualo?

  Right, I hate when I camp and I have to go outside.

• 1:12:11Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:12:12Drew Afualo?

  Oh, I hate that.

• 1:12:13Speaker 01

  Well, you are outside the whole time, but you can do anything you want outside.

• 1:12:16Drew Afualo?

  It's like a fun, like, It's like summer camp without all the fucking itinerary.

• 1:12:20Speaker 01

  It's, it's like the opposite of a kind of YMCA super structured thing. And so, and, and like, I would have done it for the rest of my life, but I literally was like, had my like, 22nd birthday there.

• 1:12:35Drew Afualo?

  At Quaker?

• 1:12:36Speaker 01

  Yep, and, and then eventually I was like, okay, I need to have at least one professional experience before I graduate. And enter this really intense industry. And I had a friend who knew Scandal guy and I spent like a year being like, so is I here? And we've stayed really good friends and, because he was a writer and it was just, and then he, you know, they basically just like, were like, okay, we'll take you freak. You know, like, I was such a fan. And yeah, and I, and I interned on Scandal, season six.

• 1:13:07Drew Afualo?

  And how was that?

• 1:13:08Speaker 01

  It was so fun.

• 1:13:09Drew Afualo?

  Okay, too.

• 1:13:09Speaker 01

  It's like crazy when it's like your, one of your favorite shows and then it's like in front of you.

• 1:13:14Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:13:15Speaker 01

  Really wild.

• 1:13:16Drew Afualo?

  I've never watched Scandal, but I, I watch clips of it on TikTok.

• 1:13:19Speaker 01

  Hello. What's your like fave kind of, what, what shows do you like? I'm trying to think if you'd like it.

• 1:13:24Drew Afualo?

  Um, shows I like, I'm a big like, I watch the same things a million times, but when I watch new things, it like depends, but like I love Modern Family, I love.

• 1:13:35Speaker 01

  Like, like a sitcom-y vibe?

• 1:13:36Drew Afualo?

  I do love like, I like comedy, I like, I like The Office, I mean, I like, I like Bob's Burgers. But I also love drama shows like House of the Dragon or like The Last of Us.

• 1:13:45Speaker 01

  Okay, if you like, okay, I think if you like, anything that's kind of like gets intense and plot, plot, plot.

• 1:13:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:13:51Speaker 01

  But you like sap.

• 1:13:52Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:13:52Speaker 01

  But you do like sap because you like Akatar.

• 1:13:54Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:13:54Speaker 01

  So you like sap and I think you'd like it. And it's, it's actually like, if I could watch it for the first time again. The things I would do.

• 1:14:02Drew Afualo?

  I watch a lot of scenes on TikTok.

• 1:14:03Speaker 01

  Then I would.

• 1:14:04Drew Afualo?

  They're like little like tense romance.

• 1:14:07Speaker 01

  And I know, and it's also, it's so funny because it's so freaking dramatic. And it's like every scene, it really became a staple where they go off on these crazy monologues. It's the most like extra show. It's amazing.

• 1:14:18Drew Afualo?

  So dramatic.

• 1:14:19Speaker 01

  I highly recommend.

• 1:14:20Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I was like, I was, when I was talking about those romance books or fantasy books I'm reading now. When I was talking about them on Instagram the other day.

• 1:14:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:28Drew Afualo?

  I was literally saying, this series is, is like stressing me out. I'm still gonna finish it, but it, it's just crazy. Like, it's like new shit's getting thrown in every 10 pages.

• 1:14:37Speaker 01

  That's what Scandal's like, it's really.

• 1:14:39Drew Afualo?

  Right. And I was telling them, it feels like when I tried watching Breaking Bad for the first time.

• 1:14:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:43Drew Afualo?

  I didn't finish because after each episode, to a certain point, you're like, okay, well, it can't get any worse than that. That's as bad as it's gonna get.

• 1:14:50Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:14:50Drew Afualo?

  And it's, they're gonna start wrapping it up.

• 1:14:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:52Drew Afualo?

  And then they find a way to make it worse.

• 1:14:54Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:14:54Drew Afualo?

  That's how I felt watching Sons of Anarchy, same thing.

• 1:14:57Speaker 01

  I can't watch Sons of Anarchy because that really messed up scene where the girlfriend dies.

• 1:15:01Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:02Speaker 01

  That's all I'll say because I don't want to be like spoiler queen. My sister went, can I show you something? She went, she went, okay, so just picture this. The reason it's so sad is because this girl and he really loves her like so much.

• 1:15:17Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:15:18Speaker 01

  He was just like giving me the context as to how it's like the worst thing I could have ever.

• 1:15:21Drew Afualo?

  Cause you would never watch.

• 1:15:22Speaker 01

  Have the emotional context. It was already so bloody.

• 1:15:25Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:25Speaker 01

  She made me invested.

• 1:15:26Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:15:27Speaker 01

  And she goes, okay, now watch. Shows me this horrific scene, so I don't want to get there.

• 1:15:32Drew Afualo?

  No, Sons of Anarchy, I stopped watching after they killed off Opie, which is like the long beard, long hair.

• 1:15:38Speaker 01

  It was too much.

• 1:15:38Drew Afualo?

  When they killed him, I said, hey, fuck this show. That's how I felt about Vampire Diaries. Did you watch Vampire Diaries?

• 1:15:45Speaker 01

  I'm a really big Vampire Diaries girl.

• 1:15:47Drew Afualo?

  Me too.

• 1:15:48Speaker 01

  When they, oh, her, her.

• 1:15:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:51Speaker 01

  I was like, when they kill, oh, well.

• 1:15:52Drew Afualo?

  Let's talk about TVD.

• 1:15:52Speaker 01

  The main character, which that's not even a spoiler because everyone knows that.

• 1:15:56Drew Afualo?

  And that's been out for a million.

• 1:15:57Speaker 01

  That's been out, figure it out.

• 1:15:58Drew Afualo?

  But are you, were you a Stefan or a Damon girl?

• 1:16:01Speaker 01

  Damon.

• 1:16:02Drew Afualo?

  Right, I knew it. I.

• 1:16:03Speaker 01

  What are you?

• 1:16:04Drew Afualo?

  Well, everybody's a Damon.

• 1:16:05Speaker 01

  Damon is so re-sandcoated.

• 1:16:06Drew Afualo?

  Everybody's a Damon girl. That's why I'm saying, I'm like, I feel like I'm a Stefan girl living in a Damon world. But what I will say is.

• 1:16:12Speaker 01

  Were you a Tamlin girl?

• 1:16:14Drew Afualo?

  That's fucking mean. That's a mean thing to say to me.

• 1:16:17Speaker 01

  The meanest thing I've ever said.

• 1:16:18Drew Afualo?

  No, I literally, I remember I was balls deep in that show. I loved that show.

• 1:16:23Speaker 01

  That show?

• 1:16:24Drew Afualo?

  It's good.

• 1:16:25Speaker 01

  You're watching that show and you are a vampire? You're watching that show, nothing else matters.

• 1:16:30Drew Afualo?

  I tried to show my fiance, like, probably a few years into dating, I'm like, let me put you on some shit.

• 1:16:34Speaker 01

  Let me put you on.

• 1:16:35Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and I put on Vampire Diaries. Episode one, when they meet for the first time, Stefan and Elena, he goes, that guy's supposed to be in high school. That 38-year-old man.

• 1:16:43Speaker 01

  He couldn't, he couldn't.

• 1:16:44Drew Afualo?

  And then I go, turn it off, I don't get it.

• 1:16:45Speaker 01

  You said, I, I don't want you to look down on art. So I'm gonna actually have to distance myself from this.

• 1:16:52Drew Afualo?

  The episode where him and Elena were like friends forever, right? The, the day I watched that episode, I closed my laptop, I said, hey, fuck this show, never watching it again.

• 1:17:02Speaker 01

  Oh, so you stopped watching?

• 1:17:04Drew Afualo?

  No, I ended up finishing.

• 1:17:06Speaker 01

  Because of them.

• 1:17:06Drew Afualo?

  I ended up finishing.

• 1:17:07Speaker 01

  But that was the initial.

• 1:17:08Drew Afualo?

  That was the initial, I'm out.

• 1:17:10Speaker 01

  That's so interesting.

• 1:17:11Drew Afualo?

  Oh, girl.

• 1:17:12Speaker 01

  But you know who he's later with, right?

• 1:17:13Drew Afualo?

  Yes, I do.

• 1:17:14Speaker 01

  Can I just, guys, I'm sorry, I just want to say right now. Trigger warning, we're gonna get into spoilers because I don't want to censor myself. Um, I think that they have so much more chemistry Caroline and Stefan.

• 1:17:25Drew Afualo?

  I thought Caroline should have ended up with Klaus, personally.

• 1:17:27Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:17:28Drew Afualo?

  I loved that.

• 1:17:29Speaker 01

  And I guess maybe you can't when someone's such a murderer, but actually Damon's such a murderer.

• 1:17:33Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, and so.

• 1:17:33Speaker 01

  And they justified it.

• 1:17:35Drew Afualo?

  And so is Stefan.

• 1:17:35Speaker 01

  And I think that was more just because they wanted him on the original.

• 1:17:39Drew Afualo?

  I think so, too.

• 1:17:39Speaker 01

  But I agree, we wanted that bad.

• 1:17:42Drew Afualo?

  When I rewatched it, though, like recently, I watched a few episodes, I get it. I get her being with Damon. Like as.

• 1:17:48Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:17:48Drew Afualo?

  When I initially watched it, I'm like, I'm a Stefan girl.

• 1:17:51Speaker 01

  But then. That's my favorite trope ever. Actar, where it's like evil and actually, no.

• 1:17:58Drew Afualo?

  But actually better.

• 1:17:58Speaker 01

  They're not evil.

• 1:17:59Drew Afualo?

  But actually better for you.

• 1:18:00Speaker 01

  And actually, and better for you. And also, maybe they're evil because they make the tough choices. You know what I mean?

• 1:18:05Drew Afualo?

  They're willing to do what other people aren't.

• 1:18:07Speaker 01

  And he, she will, he will do anything for his woman. And is that evil or is that love? You know what I mean? I love that.

• 1:18:13Drew Afualo?

  Also, I'm a Virgo, so like, if I don't get the ending I want, I quit. So when I.

• 1:18:18Speaker 01

  You sense it coming.

• 1:18:19Drew Afualo?

  Right. Have you ever watched, and I can, and I can tell, I can predict it because I'm always right as a Virgo. But also, have you watched the summer I turned pretty?

• 1:18:28Speaker 01

  Um, first season.

• 1:18:30Drew Afualo?

  Okay.

• 1:18:30Speaker 01

  So I don't know about, I know this shit gets crazy.

• 1:18:33Drew Afualo?

  But watch season two. That's one of those corny ass shows where I'm like, oh, locked into this shit. Yeah. Age new season?

• 1:18:40Speaker 01

  Oh, I'm 12.

• 1:18:41Drew Afualo?

  I'm 14, right there with you, girl.

• 1:18:43Speaker 01

  I just got my period and I'm watching the show.

• 1:18:46Drew Afualo?

  It's the summer and we're gonna turn pretty.

• 1:18:47Speaker 01

  Okay, I will watch it this, because it's like you watch it in the summer.

• 1:18:50Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:18:50Speaker 01

  And also like, has so much Taylor Swift music in it, like I need to.

• 1:18:54Drew Afualo?

  The soundtrack goes crazy on that show.

• 1:18:55Speaker 01

  Goes crazy.

• 1:18:56Drew Afualo?

  But I read the book, so I know how the show, I know how the books end, but I don't know how the show's gonna end.

• 1:19:01Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:19:01Drew Afualo?

  But the third book, like, I, I read it to a point where I found out the ending I wanted wasn't gonna happen. Close it, have a fish it.

• 1:19:08Speaker 01

  Really?

• 1:19:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, because I have my ending.

• 1:19:10Speaker 01

  You're like writing a letter.

• 1:19:11Drew Afualo?

  I wrote it in here, yeah.

• 1:19:12Speaker 01

  Maybe you should do fanfic.

• 1:19:14Drew Afualo?

  I am, actually, when I was younger, I wrote fanfiction.

• 1:19:17Speaker 01

  Okay, I'm, well, this is exactly.

• 1:19:19Drew Afualo?

  About the Jonas Brothers. That's my truth. Everyone here knows that already.

• 1:19:27Drew Afualo?

  I have written Jonas Brothers fanfiction.

• 1:19:29Speaker 01

  Do they have their purity rings on?

• 1:19:30Drew Afualo?

  No, they, well, yes, but no, but I had Miley Cyrus was in my story. Selena Gomez was in my story. Selena Gomez was the enemy, though. I'm so sorry, Selena.

• 1:19:39Speaker 01

  Sorry, Selena.

• 1:19:41Drew Afualo?

  Oh, sorry about that. Miley Cyrus was my hero in the story.

• 1:19:43Speaker 01

  I still is.

• 1:19:44Drew Afualo?

  You know what's crazy is I wrote the fanfic and I'm not in it.

• 1:19:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, what? That's not kind of the point. That's kind of the point.

• 1:19:50Drew Afualo?

  I literally didn't even write myself into the story.

• 1:19:52Speaker 01

  That shows you're such a raider. Seriously. I mean, that's what you're doing as a young person with your time. Like, that's so, like, what initiative.

• 1:19:59Drew Afualo?

  I know.

• 1:19:59Speaker 01

  You're like, this wasn't right, let me fix it.

• 1:20:01Drew Afualo?

  Right. And how old are you?

• 1:20:02Speaker 01

  I'm 30.

• 1:20:03Drew Afualo?

  Okay, I'm gonna be 30 this year, so we're around the same age. I wrote by hand. I wrote that shit in a notebook.

• 1:20:08Speaker 01

  Did you then, like, do you still have it?

• 1:20:10Drew Afualo?

  No, I can't find it. I thought it was in my parents'.

• 1:20:12Speaker 01

  You have to find that.

• 1:20:12Drew Afualo?

  I know. I told my followers I would read it to them.

• 1:20:15Speaker 01

  You have to find that and pay someone to transcribe it. Or, or, or go, do like ayahuasca or something and like transcribe it yourself. And it'll be like a really spiritual.

• 1:20:24Drew Afualo?

  I should write it into a screenplay.

• 1:20:26Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:20:26Drew Afualo?

  Invite all my friends over for a party.

• 1:20:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:20:29Drew Afualo?

  Instead, I make them read my screenplay.

• 1:20:31Speaker 01

  And it's a live reading. And I'm the main character.

• 1:20:34Drew Afualo?

  It's a tape read.

• 1:20:34Speaker 01

  I'm in it?

• 1:20:35Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:20:35Speaker 01

  Fine, pull my leg. I'll be there. I'll set up the rehearsal space. But, um, no, and also, now I'm kind of like, okay, but also about Vampire Diaries.

• 1:20:44Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, let's talk, let's go back, let's go back.

• 1:20:46Speaker 01

  It's so important to me. I, I also will say too, I think, well, do you, did you get to the end?

• 1:20:54Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, so I know what happens.

• 1:20:55Speaker 01

  You know what happens at the end?

• 1:20:56Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 1:20:57Speaker 01

  I just think it's so tragic.

• 1:20:58Drew Afualo?

  Right, I agree.

• 1:20:59Speaker 01

  I think it's too sad.

• 1:21:00Drew Afualo?

  And that last episode where she's like having those moments with all of them again? I sobbed.

• 1:21:07Speaker 01

  Oh, you're like, I'm back. We are so back.

• 1:21:11Drew Afualo?

  Fucking back.

• 1:21:11Speaker 01

  No, oh, do you know how hard I've cried at them, like, okay? When Caroline's mom dies.

• 1:21:17Drew Afualo?

  I couldn't do it.

• 1:21:19Speaker 01

  She throws out the letter.

• 1:21:20Drew Afualo?

  Girl.

• 1:21:20Speaker 01

  She burns the letter from her mom.

• 1:21:22Drew Afualo?

  That show made me sob so many times. I loved that show.

• 1:21:26Speaker 01

  And also like the brother, when they find each other on the other side.

• 1:21:29Drew Afualo?

  Yes.

• 1:21:30Speaker 01

  When they find each other on the other side.

• 1:21:34Speaker 01

  That's art.

• 1:21:35Drew Afualo?

  Another TV fan.

• 1:21:35Speaker 01

  That's art.

• 1:21:36Drew Afualo?

  There's not enough of us.

• 1:21:37Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 1:21:38Drew Afualo?

  There's not enough of us.

• 1:21:38Speaker 01

  And you know what? I, you start to, if you start to like, um, scroll and start to engage with the vampire artists, you start to realize there's a whole community. Well, because you know we have conventions. Should we go?

• 1:21:48Drew Afualo?

  We should.

• 1:21:49Speaker 01

  I will go. I've been talking about this for a long time.

• 1:21:52Drew Afualo?

  I would love to go with you.

• 1:21:53Speaker 01

  I think we should go.

• 1:21:54Drew Afualo?

  We should.

• 1:21:54Speaker 01

  Because they-

• 1:21:55Drew Afualo?

  And we should dress up as the characters.

• 1:21:56Speaker 01

  Okay, I'm Carol, no, I guess I'll be Carol, I'm Caroline and you're Elena.

• 1:22:00Drew Afualo?

  Yes, obviously.

• 1:22:01Speaker 01

  And Caleb is-

• 1:22:03Drew Afualo?

  Klaus.

• 1:22:04Speaker 01

  Klaus.

• 1:22:06Drew Afualo?

  He's puppeteering us from fucking afar.

• 1:22:09Speaker 01

  And he goes, hello, John.

• 1:22:11Drew Afualo?

  And he's so sexy, obviously.

• 1:22:13Speaker 01

  And he's so sexy. And I think that they go and I think that it's in Mystic Falls.

• 1:22:19Drew Afualo?

  No way.

• 1:22:20Speaker 01

  Cause it's a real-

• 1:22:21Drew Afualo?

  Oh, so it's like the Twilight stuff, like when they go to the, the Twilight place. Yeah, the actual house and all that.

• 1:22:27Speaker 01

  And I'm pretty sure it's like where you can go, whatever the like diner they have, the Mystic Grill. Like you can go and I'm pretty sure they have like, you can get like a drink that's in a blood bag.

• 1:22:38Drew Afualo?

  I like what you're saying, I think, when it sounds like you've done a lot of research.

• 1:22:42Speaker 01

  And I think they have a website.

• 1:22:44Drew Afualo?

  And I think it's, I think it also takes place around-

• 1:22:46Speaker 01

  I think that it's in Virginia. I think that you get to go a guided tour of the houses. And I think these things, I'm not sure.

• 1:22:53Drew Afualo?

  But I, but again, I'm such a loose fan.

• 1:22:56Speaker 01

  Let's go.

• 1:22:57Drew Afualo?

  I would love to.

• 1:22:58Speaker 01

  I would literally love to go. I just go, I'm, I'm like tweaking a little.

• 1:23:02Drew Afualo?

  Perfect, perfect. We have our plans now, our summer plan.

• 1:23:04Speaker 01

  God, that is so exciting. That's gonna be like the most important plan of my summer. But do you know what I mean?

• 1:23:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, absolutely.

• 1:23:10Speaker 01

  It's so embarrassing. They gotta bring that back.

• 1:23:11Drew Afualo?

  I would love that.

• 1:23:12Speaker 01

  Well, do you actually know?

• 1:23:13Drew Afualo?

  We need more drama shows like that.

• 1:23:14Speaker 01

  I don't think he's acting in it, but did you see that, um, what's the name of the act? Paul, Paul what?

• 1:23:20Drew Afualo?

  Paul Wesley, yeah.

• 1:23:21Speaker 01

  Did you see that he's in this new project where he, or there's a project in development? He's an executive producer and it's about-

• 1:23:29Speaker 01

  A vampire who moves to LA to become an actor.

• 1:23:32Drew Afualo?

  Hold on.

• 1:23:33Speaker 01

  I swear to God, I'll send you the link.

• 1:23:35Drew Afualo?

  It's calling our names, Sabrina.

• 1:23:36Speaker 01

  Let's be in it.

• 1:23:37Drew Afualo?

  It's calling our names.

• 1:23:37Speaker 01

  Guys.

• 1:23:38Drew Afualo?

  Paul Wesley, if you're watching this.

• 1:23:39Speaker 01

  To be in that, thank you.

• 1:23:41Drew Afualo?

  I'll be a 38-year-old in that show.

• 1:23:43Speaker 01

  Everyone is watching this.

• 1:23:45Drew Afualo?

  Looking at the TV.

• 1:23:46Speaker 01

  I'm like, Paul Wesley is watching this.

• 1:23:47Drew Afualo?

  Paul Wesley.

• 1:23:48Speaker 01

  God damn is watching it. My mom is watching it. Yes.

• 1:23:50Drew Afualo?

  All my, all my most avid viewers.

• 1:23:52Speaker 01

  Isn't that kind of cutie?

• 1:23:53Drew Afualo?

  I would love that.

• 1:23:54Speaker 01

  I thought it was a cunt. I just hit cunt.

• 1:23:56Drew Afualo?

  It's gonna be cunty too, I'm sure.

• 1:23:58Speaker 01

  Sorry, sorry, cunty. I, I think that's a really fun idea.

• 1:24:00Drew Afualo?

  I love it.

• 1:24:01Speaker 01

  What a funny little kind of like BoJack Horseman vibe.

• 1:24:03Drew Afualo?

  Hell yeah.

• 1:24:04Speaker 01

  But how creative, Paul.

• 1:24:05Drew Afualo?

  I love, Paul.

• 1:24:06Speaker 01

  Paul.

• 1:24:07Drew Afualo?

  We love your stuff.

• 1:24:08Speaker 01

  And we like your bourbon.

• 1:24:11Speaker 01

  Send us some.

• 1:24:13Drew Afualo?

  Okay, so before we wrap, I would love to know what is your like best piece of advice for women especially, um, who are, really want to pursue acting or really want to pursue any sort of entertainment, um, art form and maybe feel a little nervous, like you were describing how you felt, or like feeling judged or worried about being judged. Like what would you say is your best piece of advice for them?

• 1:24:36Speaker 01

  I think the world of being an artist, being an actor, comedian, like anything kind of adjacent to that, it's a very social world, which I think can be an amazing thing. It's community building, but I think sometimes you get a little, you forget that actually what you're really there to do is, you really do have to actually just like focus inward more and

• 1:24:55Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 1:24:55Speaker 01

  Focus on making sure you, like yes, building community and making connections and networking is a huge part of things, but at the end of the day, it's about getting your training, it's about, I think, um, the best actors and I think a lot of professional lifelong actors would say that they're studying their whole lives, you know? So I think just recognizing that rolling up your sleeves and being a student is not a bad thing.

• 1:25:23Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:25:24Speaker 01

  It's, it's a huge, you're always going to be learning and I think, I think that I would say, don't focus on what it looks like from the outside in that way. Focus on, again, if it really is the thing you want to be doing, which only you really know that and that's this kind of like internal fire that is undeniable when it's there.

• 1:25:43Drew Afualo?

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:25:44Speaker 01

  Um, do it, especially if you're Like not to say you can't start when you're not young, but I think especially if you're young.

• 1:25:50Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:25:51Speaker 01

  Well, I want to act, but I also, you know, I need to be at a corporate job, then figure, then do that. And then use some money to take acting classes, right?

• 1:25:59Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:26:00Speaker 01

  It's like, I think if you have that drive, it's not really ever going to go away.

• 1:26:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:26:03Speaker 01

  So you gotta do something about it.

• 1:26:04Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, totally. And you'll make it happen if you really want it to happen.

• 1:26:08Speaker 01

  And, and that's the thing too, I think if you really want it, it is a little of like the type of thing that it's like, it's not about if you do it. You just are gonna do it and it's gonna be really hard. And sometimes it'll, you'll get lucky and then it'll be really hard for many years after that. And then you'll get lucky again and it's just a lot of twists and turns. So I think it's really just that, that internal strength of knowing it's, it's who you are. You have to kind of just stick to that.

• 1:26:34Drew Afualo?

  Totally. I feel like a lot of my guests I've had that are like you too, like they've been in traditional entertainment before this. And then now they're kind of running them at the same time. They've all said similar to what you've said, like the whole point is to, is to be able to make the art. It's not to like garner any sort of accolade from it. Like that defeats the purpose of making art.

• 1:26:55Speaker 01

  I think.

• 1:26:55Drew Afualo?

  Their accolades are nice and attention and fame is nice and obviously it's perfect, but it works well within the career, but that's not the point. Like what you're saying. Yeah, it can't be the reason.

• 1:27:05Speaker 01

  You have to love it for, for, you have to love acting in a room with two other people.

• 1:27:10Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:27:11Speaker 01

  Reading a script and like acting.

• 1:27:13Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:27:13Speaker 01

  You have to love that version of acting because that's actually the reality of it.

• 1:27:17Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, it's like most of it.

• 1:27:18Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:27:19Drew Afualo?

  Like you were saying, like self tapes are the worst things in the world.

• 1:27:22Speaker 01

  The most humiliating thing you could ever do. And, and you don't have to like love that because that sucks.

• 1:27:28Drew Afualo?

  No.

• 1:27:29Speaker 01

  But you do have to kind of love the fact that you know you're doing that work.

• 1:27:32Drew Afualo?

  The process.

• 1:27:33Speaker 01

  Right?

• 1:27:33Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:27:34Speaker 01

  That, and, and also I do think that I've heard advice too on self tapes though, one day learn to follow that like you do. If you can like kind of try to make it positive.

• 1:27:42Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:27:43Speaker 01

  Then that is also another, another amazing muscle to like, you know?

• 1:27:47Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, like, cause I, I, auditioning, the audition process in general, I'm for sure going to pick your brain about afterwards.

• 1:27:53Speaker 01

  I'm excited to talk about.

• 1:27:54Drew Afualo?

  It's like super daunting. To me.

• 1:27:57Speaker 01

  It's daunting. It's very vulnerable.

• 1:27:59Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:00Speaker 01

  It's very, you literally feel like you're like in a forest alone and you're like shouting and you're like, "Did that echo?" Like, that, you know, it's a very weird thing.

• 1:28:09Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:09Speaker 01

  It's very unnatural and I think a lot of professional actors will say too, it's like, it's like a necessary evil, but it's not even like really nat- a natural part of acting.

• 1:28:18Drew Afualo?

  No. Yeah, not at all.

• 1:28:19Speaker 01

  It's because it's actually not really acting. Like, that's something I've learned, maybe.

• 1:28:23Drew Afualo?

  Tea.

• 1:28:24Speaker 01

  Because I'm so like big.

• 1:28:25Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:25Speaker 01

  It's actually like, you're kind of just supposed to kind of just be like, here's what I look like, here's my little face. Let me say the words and think the thoughts and like, tell me if you want me to be in your thing. You know what I mean?

• 1:28:35Drew Afualo?

  That's actually a great way of looking at it.

• 1:28:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:28:37Drew Afualo?

  You know what's funny is, um, did you ever watch Drake and Josh?

• 1:28:40Speaker 01

  Um, of course.

• 1:28:41Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, there was, do you remember the episode where, uh, they get cast in like, or Josh gets cast as like the feeder thug in like one of those crime reenactment shows?

• 1:28:49Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:28:50Drew Afualo?

  And then there's a part where Drake just comes in and he's like, "Oh, they're filming the commercial in here, you have to leave." And he was like, "Ah, it's just acting, who cares?" He goes, "It's hard." Like, he was like studying forever.

• 1:28:59Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:29:00Drew Afualo?

  "What is acting? You show up, you say some stuff, you go home."

• 1:29:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:29:03Drew Afualo?

  And I, I'm not kidding, since I've started doing auditions, I'm like, that's how I'm gonna look at it.

• 1:29:07Speaker 01

  That's how you have to look at it.

• 1:29:08Drew Afualo?

  So it's not too like married to it.

• 1:29:10Speaker 01

  And you can't have too much behind, you can't care so much.

• 1:29:13Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:29:13Speaker 01

  Because the other thing too is you're wasting so much energy if you care in a way that's like, "This means everything about who I am as a performer."

• 1:29:20Drew Afualo?

  Totally.

• 1:29:20Speaker 01

  Because it does, it has everything to do with looks. And it's like, you could have been better, but the other person looked the role. And he didn't. And, and you're sitting there going, "I suck." It's like, no, you actually, you know, it's like, that is the work.

• 1:29:34Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:29:35Speaker 01

  Doing it and doing it and doing it.

• 1:29:37Drew Afualo?

  Find a role that fits you.

• 1:29:38Speaker 01

  Right, or-

• 1:29:39Drew Afualo?

  That's a great way of looking at it.

• 1:29:40Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, you have to, you literally-

• 1:29:41Drew Afualo?

  Because rejection's part of it.

• 1:29:42Speaker 01

  You have to literally not, you have to go, okay, it's like you have to literally like not actually, I mean, it sounds so stupid not take it to heart, but like you actually literally can't, it would be illogical to take it to heart. Because it actually is not about how good of an actor you are.

• 1:29:56Drew Afualo?

  No, not at all.

• 1:29:57Speaker 01

  It's not, it has everything to do with, you know, and then when you start to kind of make things.

• 1:30:01Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:30:01Speaker 01

  The other side of casting.

• 1:30:03Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:30:03Speaker 01

  You're like, "Oh yeah, like, I would love to have that person, I don't have a role." For them.

• 1:30:07Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:30:07Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 1:30:08Drew Afualo?

  That's such a good point.

• 1:30:09Speaker 01

  It's so.

• 1:30:09Drew Afualo?

  And you've been on both sides, so now you know, like, very clearly.

• 1:30:13Speaker 01

  Totally.

• 1:30:13Drew Afualo?

  It's truly just a right fit.

• 1:30:15Speaker 01

  I, I, yeah, you've like, when assistants, I've talked to assistants about this, where it's like, you, you've seen like, showrunners. Like, it's like, imagine how much work people put in, you've seen a showrunner kind of go like, someone brings up a laptop, it's like, no. Like, like, one second of the video, because again, it's like, you know what the vision is.

• 1:30:31Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:30:31Speaker 01

  If that person's not the vision.

• 1:30:33Drew Afualo?

  That's crazy.

• 1:30:34Speaker 01

  Which also.

• 1:30:34Drew Afualo?

  But it's so freeing.

• 1:30:35Speaker 01

  That's a little crazy.

• 1:30:36Drew Afualo?

  But it's also freeing to know that.

• 1:30:37Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:30:37Drew Afualo?

  Because then it takes the pressure off you.

• 1:30:39Speaker 01

  You really have to look at it as.

• 1:30:41Drew Afualo?

  Have fun.

• 1:30:41Speaker 01

  I accomplished, it's like, when you upload a video and you're like, I really thought that was gonna go viral, and like, it didn't. You're like, I suck, but it's like, okay, but I posted something. Like, it's like, you have to look at it like that.

• 1:30:50Drew Afualo?

  No, that's such a, that's such a good way of looking at it, it makes it far less, like, personally.

• 1:30:56Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:30:56Drew Afualo?

  Like, taxing.

• 1:30:57Speaker 01

  Of course, but then the ironic thing is that, like, actors are like, there's no one who takes things more personally. So that's, it's like, falling on deaf ears.

• 1:31:05Drew Afualo?

  Well, yeah, for real.

• 1:31:06Speaker 01

  Because it's like, that's your, being an actor, it's, I'm, I'm also a writer, and I, I'm, I really am like, a director, and I.

• 1:31:12Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:31:13Speaker 01

  You know, um, and I, I think a huge part of that is, I do think there's a part of me that couldn't totally handle just being an actor. Because, I mean, that is, people who were, it's like, that's their whole, whole thing, and like, I have like, a really good friend who's on Broadway, and it's like, that's all the life. And it's like, I'm like, wow, because it, the resilience that you have to have, you have to be the most sensitive person ever, and also the most resilient person ever.

• 1:31:36Drew Afualo?

  Right.

• 1:31:36Speaker 01

  Things are in contrast.

• 1:31:38Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:31:39Speaker 01

  It's a crazy life.

• 1:31:40Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:31:40Speaker 01

  You know, but.

• 1:31:40Drew Afualo?

  But it's worth it, and I truly, I am, I wanna give you more flowers, like, I think you are so fucking funny and brilliant.

• 1:31:47Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:31:48Drew Afualo?

  And I'm so glad that, like, now the internet knows too.

• 1:31:51Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:31:51Drew Afualo?

  Because obviously, the entertainment world's already gotten a taste of you.

• 1:31:54Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:31:55Drew Afualo?

  But I think you're fantastic, and I'm so happy for you.

• 1:31:57Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:31:58Drew Afualo?

  Congratulations.

• 1:31:58Speaker 01

  Thank you for having me, this was like, the highlight of my week.

• 1:32:01Drew Afualo?

  And we're gonna go to Mystic Falls together.

• 1:32:02Speaker 01

  I can't wait to go to Mystic Falls.

• 1:32:05Drew Afualo?

  We're gonna have so much fun in Mystic Falls.

• 1:32:06Speaker 01

  We have to get, like, um, tea.

• 1:32:08Drew Afualo?

  Hell, yeah.

• 1:32:09Speaker 01

  And, okay, I'm gonna start thinking about.

• 1:32:10Drew Afualo?

  We'll like, paint, we'll paint the, like, veins.

• 1:32:12Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, maybe contacts.

• 1:32:14Drew Afualo?

  Yeah.

• 1:32:14Speaker 01

  You know what I mean?

• 1:32:15Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, I love it.

• 1:32:16Speaker 01

  Eyes change, and we should get daylight rings.

• 1:32:18Drew Afualo?

  Yeah, obviously, with like, a stink yet or something. But again, I don't know.

• 1:32:22Speaker 01

  I don't really care. By the way, I don't give up if we do any of it.

• 1:32:27Drew Afualo?

  Well, thank you so much for coming on the show. I adore you. I think you're fucking awesome.

• 1:32:30Speaker 01

  Thank you so much.

• 1:32:31Drew Afualo?

  Where can everybody find you?

• 1:32:33Speaker 01

  It's like out there on the internet, guys. And I'm there. You'll find me Sabrina Brier, Sabrina Plon Brier. And also, that friend, my original full cast audiobook is out and on sale everywhere audiobooks are sold.

• 1:32:48Drew Afualo?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 1:32:49Speaker 01

  And I hope you like it. Or just like rip me apart on Goodreads. Like, I'll appreciate that, too.

• 1:32:54Drew Afualo?

  Any and all of the.

• 1:32:55Speaker 01

  Any and all, any and all attention.

• 1:32:56Drew Afualo?

  As we've made all clear, we love attention.

• 1:32:58Speaker 01

  We love attention.

• 1:33:01Drew Afualo?

  Thank you so much. I think you're fucking awesome. I think you're so funny and talented. And congratulations on your book. Make sure everybody goes and follows Sabrina on everywhere. Y'all know where to find her. Are you kidding me?

• 1:33:11Speaker 01

  And Caleb, I'm sorry I didn't go to your birthday party.

• 1:33:14Drew Afualo?

  I'm not. I'm not sorry I didn't go last year.

• 1:33:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, and she's not sorry.

• 1:33:19Drew Afualo?

  And I'm not sorry at all. But thank you all so much for tuning into this episode of the Comment Section Show. Thank you to my amazing guest, Sabrina Brier. Don't forget, new episodes of the Comment Section come out every Wednesday. You can stream the audio on all streaming platforms or you can stream the video for free and exclusively on our favorite platform, Spotify. Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you to my amazing guest, Sabrina, and I'll see you next week. Bye.

• 1:33:50Speaker 00

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