Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang - "Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of" (w/ Matt & Bowen)
Episode Date: January 24, 2024There's nothing this ep CAN'T do. This installment of Las Cultch gives you fresh Oscar nomination reactions! What has Matt and Bow excited? And what snubs stung their little asses? Also: Traitors talk.... Parvati vs. Phaedra! The international implications that this show is having! And is Sandra getting a winners edit? All this, and the beginning of the new Cultural Excavation segment as the year 2009 is exhumed and examined. Lady Gaga! Obama! "Sasha Fierce"! Kings of Leon! B.E.P.! And so so so much more. Next stop, 2017! This bonus episode is available early for subscribers to Big Money Players Diamond on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/lasculturistasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Look, Matt.
Where?
Oh, I see.
Wow.
Bowen, look over there.
Wow, is that culture?
Yes.
Oh, my goodness.
Wow.
Las Culturistas. Ding Wow. Las Culturistas.
Ding dong.
Las Culturistas calling.
One of the most important weeks in culture.
But is it the correct week in culture?
That's the thing with Oscar nominees.
It's always important, but never quite correct.
It's always a mixed bag, isn't it, Bowen Yang?
Absolutely.
Like my life right now.
Yeah, you're sick.
You're not feeling good.
Well, this is my second sore throat in as many months.
And I looked it up finally.
I don't know why I didn't do this in my youth.
I qualify for a tonsillectomy and I might get those suckers out.
I don't think that's a good idea.
You think it'll change my voice?
Well, that wasn't wise.
I'm getting a sore throat like 10 times a year.
It's bad.
You have to make sure that it's because of your tonsils, though.
Like, it could be something else.
Like, if you're going to have your tonsils removed and it's not like, that's not why.
Girl, I'm going to the ENT.
She's going to tell me what's what.
I'm not going to go in and book it.
I just think it's very funny and very you to be like, I'm getting my tonsils
out. Babe,
I've been dealing with this my
whole 33 years on this planet.
I get sore throats all
the time. Don't talk down to me.
Don't you dare.
I don't think of you as like
my girl who gets a sore throat.
But I keep it from
you because I don't want to burden you with my pain.
Do you know what I mean?
And you know I'll internalize that right away.
My empathetic soul.
You are such empath.
It's like when I saw that America for Air performance,
I was bawling.
Well, first I want to say
that you removing your tonsil
should be a last resort, honey.
But I think we've gone through all the resorts
and we are reaching the last one.
Honey, White Lotus season 15,
cancel it already.
Becca Ramos, our producer says,
OMG, I've been personally worried about that,
it changing my voice.
I looked it up, that happens more in children
who get the procedure.
Yes, that is true.
But also I would say that the recovery
for a tonsillectomy as an adult is insane. I've heard worst pain of your life are words that have
been used. Honey, it can't be much worse than the pus on the damn throbbers. Now you hate to hear
pus. It's actually rollercoaster number 50. Now you hate to hear fuss. How are you, my sweet? I'm good, I'm good.
You know, I'm really enjoying getting
up early. So, peek behind the curtain,
we've been doing the episodes
even closer to release nowadays.
Just because things on the calendar.
And I've been really enjoying getting up early.
I've been on my Barry's
kick. I'm kind of obsessed
now. I want to go with my sister when
we're both in New York. I would love that.
I would love that, Matt.
We've never really exercised together.
You've come to a couple SoulCycle
classes back in the day.
Yeah, but like, you'd think that we're
besties for, um,
well, besties. I never use
that term. You were my best friend
for
a decade and a half. We've
probably exercised together, like, done
physical exercise together, like,
less than five times,
less than ten. Well, it's a lifestyle change.
It's a lifestyle change. It's a lifestyle
change because we really are sloppy-dobby
girls. We really are those girls eating pizza
on the couch. But something about this
year, we're almost into February.
I have not kept up good
practices for this long.
Oh, right. Like, I'm still
on my meal prep grind,
even though that's so annoying. But can we remove
the stigma around meal prep?
I think we can. I'm a single,
childless gay man.
I have decision fatigue. I was going to say that.
Yes, you were mouthing
it, and I read your lips. I was going to say that. Yes, you were mouthing it and I read your lips.
I feel like it's fine.
I'm just cooking for myself and it's actually quite lovely.
And I'm eating nutritious meals.
I'm eating broccoli like never before.
I mean, I too have been consuming a lot of broccoli.
I just think, you know what it is?
It's that thing of like, I think what I was good at this year
in terms of resolutions
is I didn't make that many.
And also, I'm not saying like,
it has to be this.
I'm like sticking to it at a 10.
I'm like, I'd like it to be this.
And by putting less pressure on myself,
I feel like I'm able to exercise more
and also able to eat a little bit better.
And also, it can't get more out of control
than the second half of the
year last year for me. So it's easy to regain control. But I just feel like I would like to
enjoy looking over at my sister sweating amok. I am a sweater.
We have also performed together in high intensity situations many times. So that sort of replaces
exercise. We've performed together in high-intensity situations.
That's true.
Now, speaking of that,
let's just put this out there.
Mm-hmm.
Matt and I would love to do The Traitors.
We want to do it.
We want to do it.
I want to do season three of The Traitors.
I will clear my schedule.
I will clear it.
We'll both do it.
I know we're not reality people.
We're not reality TV people necessarily.
I don't think it matters.
Yeah, because John is literally
former Speaker of the House of Commons.
That, I mean, like, Deontay, the quitter.
Right.
We'll get into that.
But, like, he was a, you know,
former heavyweight champion.
Like, there's, like, many people there that
I think all you have to be is, like,
a personality that pops or whatever.
And, like, you have to be just someone willing to play the game.
That is you.
I was going to say that was you.
I think they would obviously be very,
very thrilled to have you.
I'm not a personality that pops necessarily.
I think I'm very,
so silly.
I'm not getting into this with you.
Very shy.
You are a gregarious girl.
You are smiling bright.
I'm smiling bright.
We would love to do it.
It's actually really close to number 59.
Bowen Yang is a gregarious girl.
Gregarious girl.
He is smiling bright.
Would you want to be a faithful or a traitor?
We discussed this yesterday with our friends.
I think with Sudi.
I would prefer to be a faithful.
And what about you? I know the answer
but. Can I just say I feel
very patronized and dragged
by the Lost Culture Readers
Katie's publicist
and finalists because I
feel like they don't have faith in me that
I would be a good trader and I know that I would be a good trader.
Why? Why are they saying that?
Because they say, like a lot of people
are like...
No, no, no.
Okay, so here's some peek behind the curtain.
During the pandemic, I played an online version of Survivor.
Yes.
Real Katie's and readers, et cetera, know that I played something called Survivor Quarantine
during the quarantine.
Yes.
And I went too hard and made the merge, but was voted out immediately in the merge just
because I was essentially the villain of the game.
So you learned something from that?
I do think I've learned something
and picked up some skills from that.
And I think that I would be a better trader
than people give me credit for.
I really do.
I agree.
I must agree.
Matt is very much a Parvati in the sense
that he talks to you and you feel like he's flirting.
And I mean that with utmost respect, that you and Parv are cut from the same cloth.
I'm very perceptive, okay?
And I think that the thing about me at breakfast is I'm always so excited to see everyone.
So you would never be able to tell.
When people come in at breakfast and it didn't look like, oh.
I just think that I would be able to channel my matt rogers ishness uh-huh into being a good trader and i do think you'd be a wonderful faithful because i think that you have a force
of personality where people would want to engage in your opinions i would have a target on my back
i would be killed pretty early on, I think.
I don't think you would be killed.
I think that other idiot faithfuls
might try to banish you.
But they are fools.
Because my flaw would be that I,
and again,
am somewhat, somewhat quiet.
I can be a little quiet.
Bowen.
Just a little.
And that would,
as we've seen in these last,
in the various iterations of the show,
that becomes a red flag at some point in the minds of the players. But I do think I would
perceive and pick up on things. Like, I do think, this is probably unfair to say, but like,
some of these people are really, really off. These faithfuls on these shows are off.
So they really are.
Yes.
And it makes me feel a little crazy because I'm watching it and I'm like,
okay, so obviously they are not in the position that you are in, the viewer,
which is you're watching an edited television show where you know and can say like,
oh, look at her.
She's being obvious.
Oh, look at her.
She's dumb.
Obviously, it's not obvious. Oh, look at her, she's dumb, da-da-da.
Obviously, it's not that easy.
Right.
But I do think that one thing that people are forgetting about this particular cast is, of course,
they weren't going to like brush up on the other franchises.
These people are collectively all,
on the narcissism scale, pretty close to Tam.
Just not, well, that's why it's a shame
that Peppermint got voted out so early,
because I think Peppermint was really
a purveyor of all their shows.
Like, she knew everybody.
Yeah, I think she might have been on the spectrum
of too far that way, though,
because her personality was really big,
and obviously the way that she was voted out was really like big and right obviously the way
that she was voted out was i don't think totally above board but i do think it was a matter of time
because thing about peppermint is like she can't really blend in because like she's coming in hot
with her opinions and yeah she's a star she's got a big personality and that's been she's an actual
performer unlike most of these people right you know i I did DM a little bit with Parvati Shallow.
Yes.
Who is a former, by the way, if you're new to the podcast,
Parvati's been on the podcast.
And it's an episode called Fires Family.
This is initially when we were very obsessed with her
because of her Survivor tenure.
She came on and I DMed with her.
She is down to come back.
So at some point,
like either when she's voted out or when the season is over,
hopefully at the end when she wins,
you know, she'll come back.
But just look forward to that.
Maybe we'll try somehow
to get that to be an in-person episode.
I would love that.
Yes, we'd love that.
But she said,
this was my first experience
with the Housewives
and it was wild,
in all caps, wild.
And I was like, yeah, it's kind of crazy to watch their insane social tactics at play here and it feels like
these gamers have kind of met their match with the housewives because there's no way to plan for
chaos right or for brutal honesty.
I don't think Phaedra coming for Parvati is necessarily in Parvati's playbook.
Well, it might be the editing,
but they cut to Dan and Parvati in that moment
where Phaedra rightfully is like,
don't do that.
I'm playing very fair with y'all.
And then just the kicker,
which is her saying
both of you
delicious
both of you
neither of them are used to this
no one likes you Parvati
everyone thinks you're a traitor
don't do that Parvati
that was not cool
Parvati
it was definitely an epic moment in television.
And as I was sitting here watching it, I kind of thought, okay, so for Phaedra, her game is 100% I need to blend in.
And now that's a lot more vocal.
So I get why Phaedra's upset because her method of madness here is a little bit threatened. she is big dogging them more as a threat for ongoing
than she is like pissed off in the moment
because it's not that big of a deal.
No, but it does seem apparent in these episodes,
in these four episodes so far,
that Dan and Parvati are pairing off
in ways that leave out Phaedra.
Yeah, they want her out.
And that's, it's interesting that this moment happened because
I wonder how they respond to this.
Either they go,
well, then we gotta sacrifice Phaedra,
or if they fucking fly right
with her.
I think there's two ways they can go.
One is they can defer to her right
now in the turret, say, Phaedra,
we're sorry, murder who you want to murder.
It's now your turn to steer the ship
and try to make her feel like she's back on board with them
and allow that to be their path forward for eliminating her
because they do want to do that.
I mean, they've said it.
Phaedra's upset, actually, justifiably,
because they do want her out.
They do want to throw a bone to the Faithfuls
and they want that to be Phaedra.
Great strategy.
Right.
Or they can go full destruction mode
and turn it on her directly and be like,
okay, fine, every person for themselves
if you're going to act like this.
And then at the round table,
Parvati can literally turn to Phaedra
and be like, why were you acting so defensive when I said that? Wait, say that again table Parvati can literally turn to Phaedra and be like, why were you acting so defensive
when I said that?
Wait, say that again? Parvati can say that or Phaedra can say that?
Parvati can throw it in Phaedra's face and be like,
at the last round table you were extremely
defensive and even used my name when I
even threw out there that a housewife could be a traitor.
Why? And Phaedra's
response to that, I mean,
I think Phaedra could absolutely flame
Parvati too. Right. She's to that, I mean, I think Phaedra could absolutely flame Parvati too.
Right.
She's very capable.
I mean, it's going to be very interesting.
Phaedra has ruined people's lives.
That's what we must remember.
She's tried to.
Has anyone, like, if you do a deep dive on Phaedra, it's like, she was Bobby Brown's lawyer.
She was married to a felon.
Her ex-husband, like, went to jail for what Jen Shah went to jail for.
Right, right.
She's a certainly questionable moral character when you look at how she's not on Real Housewives of Atlanta anymore,
which is that she created a rape allegation against Candy based on nothing,
where she alleged that Candy Burris and her husband, Todd Tucker,
tried to drug and rape Portia Williams,
and it resulted in one of the most insane reunions
in Housewives history, and Phaedra was fired.
This is season nine, by the way,
for people who haven't watched.
She is a traitor.
Yeah, 1,000%.
I think this is the best of television.
This is the best that television can be.
The show.
I wake up, I think about it.
I think about it.
I feel like that Sondheim song.
I'm losing my mind.
Losing my mind.
That's me with the traitors.
You know who I think is getting the winner's edit?
Who?
Sandra.
Yeah, that's interesting.
She is getting the TV edit of a reality show winner.
That's very interesting that you say that
because there are moments where there is a comedy to her
and there always has been.
Yeah.
And this is not to say that we don't take her seriously.
She's a legend.
But it's like between the wound on her forehead.
She's a mafiosa. She's a legend, but it's like between like the wound on her forehead. She's a mafiosa.
She's a mafiosa and she can absolutely walk away with this.
Yeah.
And lead the faithfuls to victory.
I will say I still think Dan is not the player he thinks he is.
Not the skilled player he thinks he is.
I really do.
I think he has gone up.
His name's been brought up.
Yeah.
His name's been brought up.
His name has been brought up. His name's been brought up. I do think
he's gone up in the power rankings for me
as opposed to the first
three episodes. I agree with you. He didn't play well
then. I think the fact that like
here's what I'll say. The fact
that Larsa can march
those housewives over to the board and say
let's look at the board and say we need to
vote someone out. Point to
Dan, someone who she's literally voted
for before and targeted before
and still went for CT instead
means that Dan is
positioning himself with shields
well. And I think that
he also
has two shields in the
Trader's Turret, which especially
now, they're going to be way bigger
targets than him. The conversation is not going
to be on him moving forward.
At least I don't think for the next couple
episodes. Shields don't protect you from banishment
though. No, what I'm saying
is human shields. What I'm saying is
other competitors using them as shields.
Right, right.
In Survivor they call it a meat shield.
Like when you have someone
else in front of you to take
the bullet. But just to
speak about who I think is going
to win, I still think that's Sandra because I
think that, maybe this is from me watching
so much reality television, but
from the first episode
they have made sure she's
in the narrative. She always gets shown.
You always know her opinion. They've set up
the Parvati versus Sandra thing.
They seem to mention every 15 minutes
that Sandra is a stone-cold killer.
They show Sandra flipping the votes against Larsa.
They show Sandra ingratiating herself with the housewives,
then flipping on them.
Very smart, very smart.
She also was a viable traitor to be recruited.
I'm just saying, like, if you actually watch it as something, and it's like a rule of reality television, where if you go back to the first episode and binge it, you need to be able to see the winner's arc.
Sure, sure.
That is only really there with a few people, which are all the current traitors, Sandra, and I would argue Janelle.
Yes. And I also think they're
setting Peter up for something. Yes.
That's true.
Hmm. I have
really mainlined
UK. What are all your
thoughts and feelings about UK?
UK Traders is also out on Peacock, everybody,
and it's a really good watch.
It's really good. Very different.
Very different.
There's something appealing about it being all
quote-unquote normies.
Yeah, they cast it really well.
The half and half of Season 1 US
just didn't really work.
They know that now.
And I think
it is an incredibly
emotional game.
Incredibly emotional. What episode are you on of UK Season 2? And I think it is an incredibly emotional game. Oh, yeah.
Incredibly emotional.
What episode are you on of UK season two?
I started episode six.
Okay, great.
So what are your thoughts about Claudia?
We're dressing up as her for Halloween.
That's a really good idea.
We're getting a giant cowl neck sweater,
a dark wig, a dark curtain banged wig,
and deep
heavy makeup. The best
idea I've ever heard.
Because now in Halloween, you could just enter
a room being like, the traitors have struck
again. The traitors have struck
again. What a tragedy.
There is a tragic,
tragic tale, and it's the
one you're living right now. How could you allow this
to happen? And the traitors're living right now. How could you allow this to happen?
And the traces will strike again tonight.
Sleep well.
She's very good at outlining the game.
Whereas Alan is so reveling in the camp of it all.
She is very
dropped in. Serious.
Direct and dropped in and clear
as day. Yeah. With these people.
It's really fun because
Alan coming in the US S version is giving like this,
like camp drama flair.
Like he's almost like,
he's like,
I can't believe I'm doing this a little bit.
Whereas like Claudia in the UK is like,
I am dead serious about this.
And she even refers to them as my traitors,
my faithful.
She's like,
I'm with you.
I'm rooting for you.
But like,
I just,
I'm so disappointed when you fail and so
uplifted when you succeed. Whereas
in the Australian version,
the guy is very
hot and smarmy and cheeky.
Almost like James Bond.
He's giving like...
His name is Roger.
I started the first episode.
Yeah, he's good.
And that season is really good too
They cast some loony birds
It's Australia
Yeah
Love to my birth country, but you know
It's a bunch of loony birds
Apparently Claudia Winkleman is very funny
Funny girl
She goes on these podcasts, she does interviews
Where she is like, cutting up
I mean, she has big fans in us.
Absolutely.
We're new to Claudia Winkleman.
We can't wait to see more.
I'm so happy you finally are watching that season
because I enjoyed it like probably eight months ago.
Right.
And it was...
I'm late.
I just think the traders in general,
what a home run.
What a win for the world.
The audience, the world.
I mean, how many of there are many
countries i know there's belgium i know it's it's like bigger or as big as drag race i feel
like in terms of the international franchising it's definitely got international presence yeah
i mean like clearly how many traders shows are there in countries?
20 countries and territory.
Oh, wow.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
That's amazing.
And it did just win the casting Emmy. I think that this will be nominated for the Emmys.
I think this is a cultural phenomenon.
By the way, it showed last night on NBC after America's Got Talent.
So clearly it's big enough where it's not even one of those things where Peacock is like,
oh, yeah, let's throw this on Bravo. It's like on NBC. So clearly it's big enough where it's not even one of those things where Peacock is like, oh yeah, let's throw this on Bravo.
It's like on NBC.
So pretty cool.
It's giving flagship.
Happy for Alan.
Happy for everyone involved.
Yeah.
Happy for the traitors.
The traitors.
The Real Housewives of New York City are back for another bite of the Big Apple.
Look who it is.
Joined by elite new friends.
Rebecca Minkoff. Have you ever heard of her?
But things could change in a New York Minute.
She had this wild night and ended up getting pregnant by some other guy.
What?
You told her?
Not today, Satan.
Not today.
The Real Housewives of New York City,
all new Tuesdays at 9 on Bravo or stream it on City TV+.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1999,
a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean.
He had lost his mother
trying to reach Florida from Cuba.
He looked like a little angel.
I mean, you look so fresh. And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere.
Elian Gonzalez. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian Gonzalez. At the heart of the story
is a young boy and the question of who he belongs with. His father in Cuba.
Mr. Gonzales wanted to go home
and he wanted to take his son with him.
Or his relatives in Miami.
Imagine that your mother died
trying to get you to freedom.
At the heart of it all is still
this painful family separation.
Something that as a Cuban,
I know all too well.
Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story,
as part of the My Cultura podcast network,
available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Jay Shetty and I'm the host of On Purpose.
My latest episode is with Jelly Roll.
This episode is one of the most honest and raw interviews I've ever had.
We go deep into Jelly Roll's life story
from being in and out of prison
from the age of 13
to being one of today's biggest artists.
We talk about guilt, shame, body image
and huge life transformations.
I was a desperate, delusional dreamer
and the desperate part got me in a lot of trouble.
I encourage delusional dreamers.
Be a delusional dreamer.
Just don't be a desperate delusional dreamer.
I just had such an anger.
I was just so mad at life.
Everything that wasn't right was everybody's fault but mine.
I had such a victim mentality.
I took zero accountability for anything in my life.
I was the kid that if you asked what happened,
I immediately started with everything but me.
It took years for me to break that.
Like, years of work.
Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty
on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Trust me, you won't want to miss this one.
So speaking of winning and losing,
and traitors,
let's touch on these Oscar nominations.
So the leader, no surprise, was Oppenheimer.
Mm-hmm.
What are the upsets?
Greta.
You know, I have to say,
I'm so bored of this conversation about Greta.
Greta Tideman.
Greta Gerwig.
Don't tell Greta.
No, disappointing for every blonde.
Every blonde in the United States is like,
what was I made for today?
They're just, they're having a hard time.
I just think, you know,
she made a movie that was bold and, you know, did something really new
and was so funny and so culturally important
and made over a billion dollars.
Like, and for her to miss out on
the director nomination again feels like it's just a disappointing boring conversation to keep having
she's obviously one of the most consequential filmmakers out there right now that being said
i don't know who i kick out of that director lineup i'm thrilled for Justine Trieu. I love Anatomy of a Fall. It's just unfortunate.
Yeah, I don't know.
Actress, director, very competitive.
Actor,
very happy for Coleman.
Thrilled.
And supporting actress bummed me out.
And supporting actor kind of confounded me.
Look.
That's all I'll say.
I feel that Charles Melton
snub is... You didn't nominate the best
supporting performance of of that category here we i also i would say the same about rachel best
supporting actress i would say i miss rachel mcadams there i miss um julianne moore there i
i mean like i think we i don't know actors that's what i would say and like it's can i just say i i'm a big
america ferrara fan i really like america ferrara i always have i just don't think it's an oscar
worthy performance especially when there were so many performances that were up there for me in
terms of like really really challenging great stuff and feels like
she got nominated for that monologue which you took care of in the screenplay nomination
i just think it's disappointing to see greta gerwig and margot robbie not not be nominated
in director and actress when i don't think those were easy things to pull off. And clearly the
movie was beloved in other areas, but it actually didn't do as well overall as I thought it would,
Barbie. Yeah. Surprising, or you're saying you're bored of the entire conversation around the film?
No, not that. I'm just, this thing with Greta Gerwig missing for director is boring to me
because it's just like, we're still having this conversation.
She deserves to be nominated for this movie.
I don't know who misses out.
Again, I don't know.
You could have seen a snub
coming based on precursors.
Yeah. I had a sneaking
submission.
I had a sneaking
submission is me when
people think I'm a top.
Oh!
No, I don't know.
I had a suspicion just because they've bumped her from that category before.
I was just disappointed.
Right.
You know what I mean?
Because I think her efforts merit a nomination there.
The Sterling K. Brown nomination.
I'm not.
I don't know about that.
It just doesn't make sense to me.
Was Greta's director nomination for...
Lady Bird.
For Lady Bird, not Little Women.
I see.
Yeah.
I would have loved Charles to have gotten in there.
That's all.
Yeah.
And Natalie and Julian.
I really think those were really compelling performances.
Actors really said this year,
go in the easy route.
Like, and even this Annette Banning nomination,
she's not going to win, people.
It's like, and also I don't believe
that that performance looking back is going to be like,
oh yeah, wow, remember 2023?
Remember NIAID?
No, no one remembers NIAID.
Yeah, Jodi in America in supporting 2023 remember Niaid? No, no one remembers Niaid.
Yeah, Jodie and America in supporting
is tough for me.
I'm sorry.
You know, it's nothing
against, again, I fucking love Jodie Foster.
I fucking love America Ferreira.
I love them all. It's just when
you're looking at it, it's like, what
exactly
are we doing here?
Just people I would love to have seen.
There's just countless.
I mean, even Taraji in Color Purple.
Taraji, Rachel McAdams, Julianne.
The actress categories were incredibly competitive
as usual.
I don't know.
This was a really packed year for the girls.
Yeah.
I mean,
there was,
there was great things.
I mean,
I'm thrilled for anatomy of a fall.
I love that Sandra Hueller was nominated.
Yes.
Love that.
I mean,
I also think that script is so amazing and her performance is great.
And you know,
it's,
it will see,
it just feels like it's locked up a little bit too. You know what I mean? Like if I had to predict, Her performance is great. And, you know, we'll see.
It just feels like it's locked up a little bit, too.
You know what I mean? Like, if I had to predict, it feels like Divine Joy Randolph is winning.
It feels like Robert Downey Jr. is winning.
It feels like Killian is winning.
Well, Killian and Paul is very interesting.
That's a race.
I would say that's a race.
Yeah.
I would vote for Paul Giamatti.
I really loved Paul.
And then Emma is locked
for actress? It feels like
Emma and Lily. Right.
That's a race. That's a good race.
Yeah, there's some races
for sure. I think Oppenheimer will win best
picture. I think it'll end up feeling
more anticlimactic
than we
thought or it could have. I mean, ultimately
Oppenheimer is sweeping the thing.
Yeah.
But Poor Things coming in second with the number of noms is pretty cool to me.
I really...
Love Poor Things.
My favorite, as you all know.
I am excited to watch Oppenheimer soon and to completion.
I still have not.
As you know, Matt and I did leave the theater.
Yes, we did.
Because we were like, we get it.
We get it.
So we kind of haven't even seen when allegedly Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr.'s performances get good.
You know what I mean?
All year I've been like, ugh.
I've been waiting for years for Emily Blunt to get an Oscar nomination for years.
And now she gets one and I'm like, ugh.
But I didn't make it to the part
of the movie where apparently she was good.
Same with Robert Downey Jr. And also, you know what?
They're both icons and I'm not
mad at anyone's nomination. I'm happy for everyone.
I'm just bummed for people that
got left off. Yeah, same.
There are a lot of snubs.
There are more snubs than I thought there would be.
I was wondering last night, I was like,
is this going to be a straightforward morning or a chaotic morning?
I think it was pretty chaotic.
It was a little chaotic.
A lot of times things would pop up and I'd be like, whoa.
We're going for it this morning, aren't we?
Yeah.
I can't stand Maestro.
I can't stand that movie.
And I really feel like we're so lazy and boring for giving it as much as we gave it. It's just, who loves that movie. And I really feel like we're so lazy and boring for giving it as much as we gave it.
Like, it's just, who loves that movie?
If you loved Maestro, reach
out. I just want to talk. Just talk to Matt
because that was another one that I
haven't sat through. I'm bad.
I'm bad. I'd rather watch The Traitors
every time.
It's 100% understandable.
Did you watch Salt Lake?
I did. Let's touch on it.
I mean, the Monica thing is,
it made my head spin the number of times
she contradicted herself within seconds
or on a larger scale,
never once took accountability for anything.
Even with like the admission, quote unquote,
of her being one of the people
who was involved in Rihanna-Divanti's,
it's still extremely...
There's no
purchase there. There's no grip there.
It's slippery. She makes
it slippery on purpose, and she
lies on herself
within
sentences.
She's very emotionally stunted.
She's an unwell person.
I don't think she should come back,
but I have it under the authority that she will.
I don't know if I will like the next season,
if it's as nasty and ugly as this reunion was.
And that's my main thought.
And then Heather's stuff was interesting too
in the way that Andy kind of took her to task
in a way that was respectful,
but ultimately valid.
Yeah, she was in trouble.
I mean, he really held her feet to the fire for that.
And for good reason,
because to be honest with you,
I had never even thought about
what she was insinuating.
About production?
Yeah. And here's what I'll say. I want to come at this with some sympathy and empathy for Monica
because I believe she acts like a 14-year-old because she's stuck there. I have a lot of
sympathy for what her mother treats her like.
I mean, that seems like such a toxic, terrible atmosphere.
She's obviously not got a relationship with any paternal figure.
She's a divorced woman.
You know what I mean?
I think that she probably did want to improve her station in life,
and I think she probably was abused by Jen Shah.
And I actually think that at the end of the reunion, her place on this cast to me is more
uncertain than I thought it was because I would have thought she's done. Now I actually think
if Heather can somehow get over this and Monica can stop being so defensive
they actually have a place to start
which is that they
were both like abused
by this person
I thought the allegations
were one thing and then the explanation of what
really happened with Jen Shah and the black guy
you know I understand
why she was scared I do think that Jen
Shah is a scary person I thought she was scary just to watch
imagine being with her in private
like yeah
the way she would just pop off and get in
people's faces the look she would get in her eye
and what I really resent
is that whenever
she was called out for that
she always made it about like
you can't say that about brown and black women
and it's like I can't say that about brown and black women and it's like
i'm sorry but that is so disgusting of you yeah to hide behind that meanwhile you are someone who
is physically violent and dangerous in your activity like that is so that's like a very
real thing that black and brown women and women of color have to deal with and you weaponize that
to shut people down so that they
would continue to fear you. And I
just think that's disgusting. I think she's obviously
a disgusting person inside and out.
And
at the end of the reunion when they were
all like holding each other and crying
and Andy said, can we all just really
realize the
fact that this person was like an asteroid?
We're still cleaning up her mess.
That's what he said.
We're still cleaning up her mess.
And then I thought it was powerful when Heather addressed her.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
And I think ultimately when the rest of the women came to her defense and said, I understand why Heather did what she did.
I understand why Heather did what she did. I understand. You know, you do see
why this show ultimately has ended
up being a great show, which is that there is that
sisterhood there and that understanding. And I also
believe that we're actually able
to get with this franchise to
an emotional truth.
Yes. Yes. You know what I'm saying?
It's like ultimately at the end of this season, which
was one of the best seasons,
we're able to really start talking about like something real.
About the things that bring women like this together.
Right.
Which is honestly, the comparison has been made.
It's big little lies.
It's like someone who has abused and caused tremendous pain on multiple levels.
It's so funny.
Like Jen Shaw is the, what's his face? Alexander Skarsgård. It's so funny. Like, Jen Shaw is the
what's his face?
Alexander Skarsgård.
Alexander, not Peter, sorry.
Alexander Skarsgård.
I get my Skarsgårds mixed up.
You got your Peter Skarsgård
and your Alexander Skarsgård.
Don't even bring Bill Skarsgård
into this.
There'll be a Skarsgård.
I thought Monica seemed
very defeated
at the end of the reunion,
which I refuse to believe is her final act.
And I think she'll be back.
She'll be back.
Because I think that the way they put it together,
if I had to guess, is that Mary's coming back.
That's a way for Monica to come back.
And I think that there will be a Mary Whitney conversation.
And I think if Monica has a path forward with someone,
it's Whitney.
It's Whitney.
Although, can I say, I think you're totally right.
I am personally sort of done with Mary.
I don't think the entertainment value is sustainable.
Brooke Ashley actually made a great point about this.
I think she themed her whole recap on this.
It's like, Mary being
that rude and that toxic,
honestly, not in the same way
as Jen, but like,
Mary being cruel,
and she is cruel,
is not fun to watch anymore.
I would agree. And the way
these women talk to her, and Andy talks to her, it's like she to watch anymore. I would agree. And the way these women talk to her
and Andy talks to her,
it's like she is in an institution.
I also think people are forgetting a lot.
About her, about Mary.
About what she's done.
Done, yeah.
And been like on this show.
There's a reason why Whitney used the word predator about her.
I'm not alleging anything. I'm just
saying there is a reason why.
Because there was a lot
wrong with
what I saw on
that television show in regards
to Mary's church and the way they treated her.
Go back and watch the episode
where Jen Shah
visits Mary at the church.
The power structure of that place is dark.
Problematic.
And for Mary to throw around racism, which, you know, she's entitled to do.
But I'm sorry, but I seem to remember her speaking in a comical Asian accent about Miss Jenny.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mary is not above board and she's always been who she's been.
Yes, it's sometimes funny because it's crazy that she'll just come out and call someone inbred and chubby and fat.
And she'll just say these things like and she seems to get away with it because no one seems
to know how to handle it and therefore it lands under or it gets filtered under comedy ha ha ha
but it is just me yeah and i have a feeling that if she were on a cast with people who could like
actually handle her verbally and weren't just in shock.
Because none of these women can read.
None of these women can tear her apart with words.
So she kind of just gets carte blanche.
If she were on a cast with someone that could stand up to her for real,
we wouldn't be as entertained by it
because it would get called out for being what it is.
Right, which is bad.
Yeah.
So those are my thoughts on Salt Lake.
Yeah.
And what else?
Is there more current events?
Or are we diving back in time?
I've started True Detective.
Oh, yeah.
And it's good so far.
It's the Jody Sons.
It's the Jody Sons.
And then I am randomly starting Fargo season two
with Miss Kirsten and Mr. Plemons
and Miss Jean Smart and Kieran Culkin.
That's apparently a great Kirsten performance.
It's really good.
Really good so far.
I've never seen it.
And I want to kind of work my way through those seasons
because it feels up my alley
and I don't know why I never really explored. The Real Housewives of New York City are back for another bite of the Big Apple.
Look who it is. Joined by elite new friends. Rebecca Minkoff. Have you ever heard of her?
But things could change in a New York Minute.
She had this wild night and ended up getting pregnant by some other guy.
What?
You told her?
Not today, Satan. Not today.
The Real Housewives of New York City. All new Tuesdays at 9 on Bravo or stream it on City TV+.
On Thanksgiving Day 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean.
He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba.
He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh.
And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere.
Elian Gonzalez.
Elian Gonzalez.
Elian.
Elian.
Elian Gonzalez. headlines everywhere. At the heart of the story is a young boy and the question of who he belongs
with. His father in Cuba. Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him.
Or his relatives in Miami. Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom.
At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation.
Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well.
Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story,
as part of the My Cultura podcast network,
available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of On Purpose.
My latest episode is with Jelly Roll. This episode is one of the most honest and raw
interviews I've ever had. We go deep into Jelly Roll's life story from being in and out of prison
from the age of 13 to being one of today's biggest artists. We talk about guilt, shame,
body image, and huge life transformations.
I was a desperate, delusional dreamer. And the desperate part, that made a lot of trouble. I
encourage delusional dreamers. Be a delusional dreamer. Just don't be a desperate, delusional
dreamer. I just had such an anger. I was just so mad at life. Everything that wasn't right was
everybody's fault but mine. I had such a victim mentality. I took zero accountability for anything
in my life. I was the
kid that if you asked what happened, I immediately started with everything but me. It took years for
me to break that, like years of work. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust me, you won't want to miss this one.
Okay, should we go back in time?
Should we go into the... Oh, we've already gone into the bowl.
We've gone into the bowl,
and we've chosen a year.
The year...
And it's a year.
And it's a year, you guys.
And I was saying to Bowen, like,
so, remember how I was like,
I don't want to give us homework?
We did have
a little bit of homework i've created a document which has like all the highlights from 2009 and
this actually was really fun because i think that the culture gods were looking down on us when we
picked this because 2009 is not only the year that birthed so many culturally relevant items and was the beginning of so much
and also the end of so much.
But also it was the year that Bone and I became friends.
Big year.
So for that to come out of the bowl first,
it's a sign.
It's a sign.
It was the last thing that Matt wrote on this document
and it made me very emotional.
Very beautiful.
It was the year that you and I became friends because it was the year that we were both
doing comedy
at our school.
And we got to meet amazing people
through it, lifelong friends,
and
no less each other.
This also was the year I came out of the closet.
Ooh!
The year.
Yeah, I just remember, like, I was thinking,
what's 2009?
What's important about 2009?
I was like, oh, yeah, it was, like, the year everything changed.
I would not come out of the closet again
until the next year, 2010.
And I will never forget,
I just blurted it out to Mike Spence
and Henry Melcher in our apartment.
You just said, I'm gay?
Yeah, it's kind of.
Well, we'll get to it when we get to 2010,
whenever we do.
But it was a lovely moment.
Oh, yours was 2010.
Okay, so we have to wait for that.
We have to wait for Bo and Yang's coming out story
until 2010.
Talk about you coming out in 2009.
What are the tentpoles of that experience for you?
So I had internal transferred into Tisch and I found out I was going to get in.
So it was like March or April of 2009 when I found out I was going to get into Tisch.
Because I was in the College of Arts and Sciences.
It was freshman year and I was going to do an internal transfer.
And a lot was riding on that because I was like, you know, for some reason it's like,
you know, before you do anything big, like coming out of the closet, you have like
checklists. Like I want to make sure that I'm able to do this and do that. And like,
I was just, you know, working so hard over time in my brain to make sure that
the environment was going to be a healthy one once I had come out. So I had gotten into Tish.
I remember like, you know, hitting the streets and listening to like all my music. And of the time, like I remember listening to Ready by Kelly
Clarkson in 2009 after I found out I got into Tish and it was like a really nice spring day.
And I remember I walked around 4th Ave, like around U-Haul where my dorm was. And I just like
took a really long walk and just smiled and like was so
excited about my future. And I was really galvanized about coming out of the closet that
summer. And I was like, I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell all my friends. And, you know,
basically I had come back to Long Island to work over the summer at a restaurant and I was going
to start waiting tables. And that was the first summer I
had like a relationship. I had like a, you know, my sexual awakening that summer and started to
tell all of my friends. And, you know, I told my mother that Christmas, I didn't tell my dad
actually until the next year. Like my parents were the last to know, but that was actually one of the
most difficult summers of my life because I
was like having sex for the first time.
And that was like a whole new awakening.
And that was excited.
But also at the same time,
like having to look my friends from high school,
like in their eye and say,
I'm gay.
That was,
it was like,
I had a fever every day.
You know,
you remember anyone who's closeted or has been closeted knows what
that's like to have to come forward
with that information.
Just sitting in this year and looking at all the culture
of this year, it's not triggering
in a bad way. It's just triggering in an
interesting way, in a very emotional way because
all of this stuff
has attachment to a very
heightened time.
All the culture of this year
and that we'll get into is suffused
with your personal experience of just like coming out.
Yeah.
Well, one of the things I even put in the document
was that this year really marked
the first year of superstardom for Taylor Swift,
but also Lady Gaga.
And I remember Lady Gaga, when she first came out,
like I was resistant.
I think because of the messaging of be the little monster,
let your freak flag fly,
like be gay,
like,
et cetera.
Like it's time,
like Obama being elected and Gaga bursting out and like being at NYU.
It was all just like,
it was like life was telling me like
it's time to dive
in and that is
scary you know what I mean like the
culture of the time in the
ways that I'm sure you feel this
way and like I know I feel this way like
it was interacting in a way where I was
like wow. It was a call to action. Yeah.
Like Gaga was out here saying,
Get your dicks out.
Get your dicks,
well, that was 2010.
Well, yes, but she was metaphorically saying,
Get your dicks out.
Right.
Well, let's start with Gaga.
Symbolically, she was get your dicks out.
Let's start with Gaga.
Sure.
So this is,
so fame,
the fame comes out August,
I want to say, of 2008. I might be getting the month wrong. So later,, so fame, the fame comes out August, I want to say of 2008. I might be getting
the month wrong. So later, latter half of 2008, we'll, for context, we'll mention that. Fame
Monster comes out November of 2009. And I just remember her doing, her promoting that album in
a way that was thrilling to me, where I think this was before Bad Romance even came out,
but she was just doing interviews in a way that,
she changed up her look in a way that was deeply exciting.
She was going from this Euro, trash, adjacent aesthetic of the fame
into, I'm going to look like Marilyn or I'm going to
like, look, I'm going to really start doing my Madonna drag. And it was when she started doing
these interviews where she was like, you're judgmental that I'm promiscuous in my songs.
But if I were a guy grabbing my crotch, talking about fucking girls, you'd call me a rock star. I'm just a rock star. That is a huge, huge cultural moment for, I think, a lot of people to hear a pop star who is deeply intelligent, deeply studied, deeply aware of the things that have led up to her career.
And to say that to some asshole who was was like your songs are about sex like what do
you like how do you feel about that she's like i don't feel anything about that it's not revolutionary
i'm just a rock star that's so powerful to me yeah i think people didn't know what to do with her
but knew they had to do something with her because she was so undeniable.
I mean, I will never forget.
It was like Just Dance came out and I wasn't a huge Just Dance fan.
For me, I got poker face.
I was like, oh, okay.
I would have thought that Lady Gaga
looking the way she looked.
Because remember when she came out,
everyone was like,
oh, she's ripping off Christina Aguilera bionic.
That's so funny.
No, it's true.
It was like,
Christina had like a very similar aesthetic
with the bionic era.
Like the Keeps Getting Better of it all
and like the Not Myself Tonight of it all.
Like that was sort of Gaga-ish
at a time when Gaga was doing,
you know, the early days of Gaga, the fame.
And that was, they were speaking to each other aesthetically.
And then it would become so clear that Gaga was her own thing when Poker Face came out.
And it was like, you know, this like ode to bisexuality and like this like bizarre melody and this weird hook and this insane sort of like you know she was
hinting at insanity weirdly in her interviews and everyone was like what does she really look like
because this was during the era when no one really knew what she looked like right and then what
really got me was bad romance speak of alexander skarsgård again. Yeah. Was paparazzi. Oh, paparazzi, paparazzi.
Oh, because I also loved Love Game.
Paparazzi for me, I was like, oh, got it.
Something's happening.
Something's happening.
Got it.
And I remember, you know, say what you want,
but Perez Hilton was all over her.
He was like, this is the new princess of pop.
Mark my words.
This is her.
And I was like, all all right it feels like we're
being like force-fed her a little bit and then it was so clear like okay get on board or be lame
and i just i remember i decided to be lame because i was not ready for it i've said it on this
podcast like if you don't love gaga you don't love yourself. I did not love myself at that time. I was learning too.
You had just come out.
There is a developmental latency
around reaching that sort of place.
And I think a couple years later,
Gaga comes out with these missives about self-love
that we'll get into another time.
But there's Gaga.
Nicki Minaj, Beam Me Up, Scotty
comes out in 2009 as well.
This is a hugely important year.
Let's keep going.
Should we talk about...
We should also say 2009,
just to speak on this,
which is essentially a Swifty podcast,
this was Fearless winning album of the year this was taylor swift this was truly the the beginning
of her superstardom this was the amazing she had been a country musical award winner and country
music star and now she was legitimately household name status which i think you know, also speaks to the Kanye West of it all.
That was one of the big cultural moments of the year.
Kanye West storming the stage that would have ripple effects for decades.
Yeah.
And he was also speaking up in protest of Beyonce's loss,
which this was also a big moment for Beyonce because this was really the end
of Beyonce as Matthew Knowles.
Yeah.
Sort of, let's call her like a pop star in the way of like, you'd always see pop stars like this.
You know, I Am Sasha Fierce was Beyonce's last like conveyor belt pop album. It was great, but it wasn't like the artistic sensations
that would come later,
like with Four,
which was a turning point,
with the self-title,
which et cetera,
which, you know,
she became Beyonce 2.0 or even 3.0
after I Am Sasha Fierce.
But this was the year of Single Ladies and Halo.
And this was Beyonce in that first Imperial phase.
Mm-hmm.
Let's say this. Best-selling album, Fearless.
Would-win album of the year at the Grammys.
Record of the year, You Somebody
by Kings of Leon.
Song of the year, Single Ladies.
Put a ring on it. Best new artist,
Zac Brown Band.
Most awards. Beyonce
won six at the Grammys and you said
Made History
is the winningest
female artist in a night.
Does she still hold that record?
I think so
because I think
they've also changed it
so that it would be
pretty impossible
for an artist
to win six awards
in a night
because this was a time
where there was like
you know
there was like
best female pop vocal
and best male pop vocal
whereas now
it's best solo pop vocal.
It's like, they've done a lot of changing with the categories, I think, because it was so easy for people to win so many.
Also, I just want to say in terms of Use Somebody, do you want to know the first time I ever heard the song Use Somebody?
Was it at a Hammer Catch show?
No.
It was at Saturday Night Live.
Oh, you went to see Kings of Leon.
I went on the standby line.
So we've talked about this on the pod.
And this is one thing I forgot to say when I talked about this with Seth Meyers.
The Anne Hathaway show?
No.
It was James Franco
and Kings of Leon.
Uh-huh.
And do you know
who I sat next to
in the audience?
You've told me before,
but this is going to
blow my mind again.
Emma Stone.
Oh, my God.
Emma Stone
had only been
in Superbad.
Uh-huh.
And I remember
no one recognized her,
but I did.
Uh-huh.
Because I loved Superbad
and I loved Emmama stone in it
and i'm telling you she was sitting next to her boyfriend at the time teddy geiger
whoa so i remember when the taping was over like everyone was getting up and it was so major and i
remember you somebody had come on and i remember being like wait that song was kind of great like
i had never heard that like Like, I knew Sex on Fire
by Kings of Leon.
So they performed Sex on Fire
and they performed Use Somebody
and I was like,
whoa, that song is kind of a smash.
Those are both great songs.
They were great
and it would go on
to win Record of the Year
as you just said.
But I was sitting next to Emma Stone
and I remember at the end
when everyone was getting up
to file out,
so many people
stopped Teddy Geiger for a picture.
I think Emma Stone might have been taking photos for Teddy Geiger and her fans.
You know, Teddy Geiger has transitioned and become, you know, more of like a songwriter.
I think she works with Shawn Mendes a lot now.
But this was a time when they were dating.
I sat next to them that's wild and watched kings
of leon perform you somebody at a show that would change the course of my life in terms of what i
was pursuing and would ultimately be a show that my best friend was the star of and i would also
meet him that year it just this is and is a wild... And I was coming out,
and, like, all these things, like,
just unreal.
Can I say, this segment is already amazing.
Not to pat ourselves on the back.
I love this.
I love this so much,
because, I mean, we'll get to a point where we do a year that, like,
we weren't even born in,
and we won't have this personal connection
to it as much, but
Who's to say?
I mean, this is... Emma Stone,
by the way, Culture Awards
accolade fan.
Should we say she was almost going to show
up to last year's ceremony?
Yeah, we actually almost
had Emma Stone come to
the Culture Awards. Talks fell apart at the
last minute because I believe there was
a hair dyeing situation.
I think she had just dyed her hair
and she was concerned about quote-unquote looking crazy.
But, you know,
the door
is open, Emma Stone.
Was it black? No, it couldn't have been black.
It couldn't have been for Porte. She had dyed her hair for
something, which probably people will
find out soon.
But I think that she was like,
eh, it's not really the vibe for me to show up in public right now.
Totally.
But she has an open invitation to come at any point in the future.
Whenever she wants.
Her vibes are good, right?
I mean, she seems like...
Vibes are great.
We were naked on a garbage truck in the cold,
just our teeth clattering chattering whatever
and then i was like when she hosted snl for the fifth time and i'm telling you i sat next to her
on what had to be the first time she had ever seen it yeah yeah isn't that weird it's crazy
a show that she loves that she's loved her whole life.
And you know what's funny? I remember
her watching it, and I remember
this is so weird, and maybe I'm
rewriting history here, but when I was
watching it, I remember I was having
a moment where I was just like,
wow, this is
so exciting. I don't know
if I need to be on
this show or want to do this show, but there's something
about this. I need to
explore this as a career.
I need to pursue this.
I need to pursue this feeling,
this energy. And I feel
like I was, of course, looking over
at her because I knew who she was.
And I feel like I saw something similar
in the way that she was
absorbing the show. And if she ever comes on this podcast, I would love similar in the way that she was absorbing the show.
And if she ever comes on this podcast, I would love to ask her about that.
Because I'm sure she remembers being there.
Of course.
And I'm sure it was like a moment because, I mean, she would go on to host the show five times.
Right.
And it was just unreal.
It's just so crazy.
This is 2008, so this is a different thing.
We're cheating a little bit, but you somebody got us into it.
No, no, no.
Yes, yes, yes.
No, no, no.
I didn't mean to be fastidious about the year.
I just think that also was when you were seeing Tina as Sarah Palin.
And that's going to be relevant as well.
I mean, that night was basically one of the days I decided to come out of the closet.
Wow.
I mean, to be honest, I remember I got home from seeing SNL and I like sat on my bed and I like, oh gosh.
What?
I like cried.
I cried because I wanted to get out of my situation so bad.
And I was so unhappy.
And I was so convinced I could do more.
I was like, I know I'm better than this.
I just know I'm better than not speaking to people.
I know I'm better than not doing what I'm capable of doing.
Like, I know I'm better than not doing what I'm capable of doing. I know I can do something.
And seeing everyone
there engaged
in what they were doing and excited
and the energy around that, I was just
like, I literally
decided in that night, I was like, I'm going to try
to internal transfer into Tisch
and I'm definitely going to come out of the closet
because I can't do this anymore. I can't allow
myself to be a prisoner.
Like I've come so far.
My parents are spending so much money for me to go to this school.
I'm not going to hide in my room.
And even just like not make friends and just go to the SNL standby line every weekend.
I knew that was a crutch.
It was something I could do to waste a lot of time because I love that show so much.
But I also like wasn't making friends because I was scared.
Right.
Because I was scared.
Like, I mean, and ultimately I would, you know, triumph in that and like come out of the closet and we all would.
But it was hard.
It was really hard at that time.
And I remember I sat on my bed, cried, and I googled the person
that I respected more than
anyone else, and that was
Amy Poehler.
I saw that she was in
her improv group in college, and I
saw that she started something called the UCB.
I signed up for a class, and
I said, next year, I'm definitely
getting into a group. I'm definitely
getting into a group at my school. I will.
And you did i did that's amazing that's beautiful and also you that show spurring you
to come out of the closet and be yeah yourself is amazing because i think andy Samberg had an effect on you,
both artistically and physically.
He did. You know what?
I was thinking,
one of the handsomest men in the world.
I love Andy Samberg.
Also, this was a time where the digital shorts
were really popping off.
Oh my God.
Are you kidding me?
This was a peak era.
This was a great era of SNL.
And it changed my life.
It really did for so many reasons. I'm so
grateful I went to that
and allowed
that to change.
But anyways. Thank you for sharing.
What else? Avatar. Avatar.
Top grossing
film. Avatar.
Best Picture. Hurt Locker.
That was an intense
year that was...
That's the only James Cameron,
Catherine Bigelow match-up, right?
Yeah, that was the showdown of the exes.
And Catherine Bigelow
won Best Director.
First ever woman to win the award.
It's apropos on this morning.
Presented by Barbra Streisand.
I have to say that things have changed so much.
I mean, claps to Justine Triet.
Just a couple years ago, we had two women nominated for Best Director.
So it's amazing.
I'm sorry about the Greta thing, but it's great.
And it was presented by Barbra Streisand, which was a moment.
And yeah, the Hurt Locker won six Oscars.
Avatar won three.
This was also the year Sandra Bullock's Oscar win,
which was controversial at the time. I think it's
held up a little bit better. You think so?
I think because she has
gone on to slay so hard. Yeah, yeah,
yeah. But I remember the blind side feeling
like, okay, we're giving the movie star the Oscar.
But then you see Gravity a couple
years later and talk to me. Like, you know what I
mean? Like, tell me something.
Tell me something. Other notable films.
Inglourious Bastards. Precious.
Up.
Nine. Very important movie
for you. Nine is a movie I
saw twice in theaters.
And I felt very seen by
Kate Hudson. Absolutely.
And Fergie. And Sophia
Loren. Fergie. By the way,
this was Fergie's year.
This was a great year for the Black Eyed Peas.
For sure. The Black Eyed Peas
were in the culture.
Yeah. And education. A movie that
I took myself to see
on a day that I had off
from school. I was like, I'm gonna go
take myself to a movie.
And my first Carey Mulligan exposure, and I was like,
I'm obsessed with this girl.
I'll never forget one of your most iconic Instagram bios. I am as pretty as Carey Mulligan exposure, and I was like, I'm obsessed with this girl. I'll never forget one of your most iconic Instagram bios.
I am as pretty as Carey Mulligan, please confirm.
Please confirm.
Please confirm.
The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
An important installment of the Harry Potter story.
The death of...
Dumbledore.
No, does he die in Half-Blood Prince?
Yes.
Or does Snape die in Half-Blood Prince?
No, Snape dies at the end of Deathly Hallows.
No, he doesn't.
Yeah, he does.
Does he?
Half-Blood Prince is 1000% Dumbledore being killed.
Okay, you're right.
You're right, you're right.
The way that Bowen Yang is looking at me right now, he's saying...
I'm not looking at you in any way.
He's saying, honey, you know I read Harry Potter books every day.
No, no.
Come out of the closet as read Harry Potter books every day. No, no. What? No.
Come out of the closet as a Harry Potter daily reader.
As a Joanne Kathleen apologist.
Dan.
Dan.
Death of Dumbledore.
Yes.
Death of Dumbledore.
Okay.
Let's go back quickly to music.
Other top-selling albums.
I Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle.
Was this the year of Susan Boyle?
Or was that a viral... I mean, talk by Susan Boyle. Was this the year of Susan Boyle, or was that...
Talk about a viral moment.
Was that 2008 or 2009?
I think her virality was 2008.
Her album was 2009.
But the Susan Boyle phenomenon
opened the door for Adele.
No, I mean, I don't think you're wrong.
Susan Boyle
walked so Adele could run. It's actually Real Culture No're wrong. Susan Boyle walked so Adele could run.
It's actually Real Culture number 100.
Susan Boyle walked so Adele could run.
Meanwhile, 19 comes out in 2008.
Adele being on SNL is 2008.
Shut up.
I'm sorry.
I'm just saying.
I think Susan Boyle and Adele, though,
are sort of cosmically linked in a way.
Yeah, they are.
They should do a conversation and it should be filmed.
They should do an Actors on Actors.
Neither of them, actors.
British tontuses, drinking wine.
I hope Susan Boyle is well.
I think she's fine.
I am Sasha Fierce,
the fame, Hannah Montana,
the movie soundtrack,
and the END by Black Eyed Peas.
Let's talk about the Black Eyed Peas.
The Black Eyed Peas had a number one hit
on the Billboard Hot 100 for this year
for 26 weeks, cumulatively.
I Got a Feeling was a number one hit for 14 weeks.
Boom Boom Pow was a number one hit for 12 weeks.
Boom Boom Pow.
Boom Boom Pow, sure.
I mean, you're incredulous. You find it incredulous that Boom Boom Pow Boom Boom Pow sure I mean you're incredulous you find it incredulous that Boom Boom Pow
had such a chokehold on the culture
but I will say I Got a Feeling was
that song
it was definitely giving
like this is the song we're gonna play
for the trailer for like Valentine's
Day you know what I mean
it's like I got a feeling
but I Got a Feeling
is like
the pregame song.
It is the pregame song.
And I feel like that concept
kind of,
for me at least,
I'm just gonna say
in my personal experience,
2009 was really
when I started to embrace
the pregame.
Because this was college,
this was freshman year of college. I was getting, I was like drinking with other to embrace the pregame. Because this was college, this was freshman year of college.
I was getting,
I was like drinking with other students
for the first time.
I didn't really do it that much in high school.
This was a huge cultural and personal moment for me.
And I got a feeling-
Do you remember our pregame for the violet ball?
Oh my God.
Well, we did a postgame for the violet ball.
We did a pre and postgame
because I remember we,
this was also right around the time when pre and post game because I remember we,
this was also right around the time when we discovered marijuana.
And we were like, let's smoke and then go to the Violet Ball.
The Violet Ball was like NYU's like yearly social.
How would you describe it?
It was like a, like a nice prom.
That wasn't totally real, but it was a social and it was at Bobst Library.
Was it not?
It was at Bobst. Yeah, I remember we were all so excited to at Bobst Library, was it not? It was at Bobst.
Yeah, I remember we were all so excited to go to Bobst.
It was my second time at Bobst.
I remember me being like, I remember one of our conversations, Bowen, was like, I've never been to Bobst.
And you were like, I'm at Bobst every day. Every day.
I was at Bobst Library every day for four years.
Yeah, you really worked very hard in college. Not really. But Bowen, you were at Bobst every day for four years. Yeah, you really worked very hard in college.
Not really.
But Bowen, you were at Boats every day.
Actually, no, I did.
Don't do that to yourself.
You worked so hard.
I was slaying organic chemistry.
I was in grad classes by my senior year.
Yeah, you're so smart.
Whatever.
And you were at Boats every day.
You knew exactly where the bathroom was
at the Violet Ball
from attending Boats study sessions. Right. whatever. And you were at Bobst every day. You knew exactly where the bathroom was with the violet ball from
attending Bobst study sessions.
Right. I was like, where
am I going? Matt, do you want to rattle
off more of these number one hits?
Sure. Number one hits from the year 2009.
Three by Britney Spears.
Great song.
Crack a Bottle by Eminem. I don't even know
what that is. Baby, are you down,
down, down, down, down?
I love Down by Jay Sean.
What says 2009 more than this next one?
In New York!
The perfect song about...
We were in New York, baby!
We were in New York.
Grammatically, it didn't make sense,
but it was an amazing song.
Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of
might be title of ep.
Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of
this was a bop.
10,000 fireflies.
You know who loved this.
Taylor.
Taylor.
Oh my God.
Absolutely.
Just Dance, Lady Gaga.
Three weeks in number one in 2009.
My Life Would Stuck Without You.
Two weeks in number one. Clarkson. My Life Would Stuck Without You. Kelly Clarkson.
My Life Would Stuck Without You was number one hit for two weeks.
It broke her own record
for biggest jump to number one.
Did you just rattle that off
off the top of your head?
Yes.
That's amazing.
I believe a moment like this went from 97 to number one.
Wow.
And then I think
My Life Would Stuck Without You was like from 97 to number one. Wow. And then I think My Life What's Up Without You was like number 98 to number one in like a week.
Wow.
Poker Face being number one for one week is shocking to me, but I believe it.
There are so many songs you think are going to be number ones, and then you look back and they were not.
Like, it's kind of shocking.
Right Round by Flo Rida.
This was also the intro to Kesha. She would only
start her solo career next year, and you know
we'll be talking about K-E-Dollar
sign H-A in
2010. Single Ladies.
Single Ladies, one of the most iconic.
And Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo.
Ahead of the curve in terms of the image
and heapification of pop music.
Absolutely.
That is a really good way to put it. The image and heapification of pop music. Like. That is a really good way to put it.
The Imogen heapification of pop music.
Like, we're still in it.
Taylor is still...
Taylor and Ari are still
influenced by Imogen.
Imogen? You can see her image in music.
Ah!
Period.
In heaps of music.
That's really good. Number 30.
Imogen,
you can see her image
in heaps of music.
That's one of our best ever.
That's one of our best ever.
Television of the time,
Bowen.
Talk about it.
Let's go.
Emmy for Outstanding Drama,
Mad Men for the second
consecutive year.
Emmy for Outstanding Comedy,
30 Rock for the third
consecutive year.
That was like,
I think that was also
the fourth season of the show.
Yeah, these shows...
No, no, no, I think it was the third season, because
I remember they won their first year
and didn't stop winning. Right.
These two shows had a chokehold.
Absolutely. And there was a lot of crossover
between the two as well.
John Hamm of it all. Yeah, yeah.
And John Slattery. Great, great
shows. We love them. Outstanding TV
movie. Grey Gardens. Wow.
Drew and
Drew
and Jessica.
I blanked on Jessica Lange's name.
This was like a moment where
this was like Drew's first
big prestige moment.
Yeah. And then it never
it didn't continue.
It didn't happen again.
But I remember Drew
was so great in this movie.
She was amazing.
She was great as little Edie.
I mean, she like,
she slayed.
She slayed.
And speaking of 30 Rock.
This is the first outfit
for the day.
It's my impression
of Drew Barrymore
as her impression
of that crazy lady.
What was it?
It's my imitation
of Drew Barrymore's impression of that crazy lady. What was it? It's my imitation of Drew Barrymore's impression
of that crazy lady.
My husband and I.
My husband and I.
You're so absolute.
Clues.
Clues.
Okay.
Talk about these premieres.
What premiered in 2009.
These following shows, which would all be culturally important, began in 2009.
RuPaul's Drag Race.
Wow.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Wow.
Glee.
Wow.
Watch What Happens Live.
Wow.
Modern Family, The Good Wife, and Jersey Shore.
Now, RuPaul's Drag Race did not have an immediate
cultural impact.
Right.
But,
this was obviously the year
that Bebe's a Heart of Benet won.
I just,
I have to say,
it was also with you
that I started watching the show.
It would be the next year.
But I just have to say,
remember when RuPaul's Drag Race
was on Logo
and it was just lube commercials?
Like,
bring me back to the days.
Yes!
It was so for queers.
And it's just so interesting.
Like, other things on this list too.
Like, these things
that were so for faggots.
Like Lady Gaga on
RuPaul's Drag Race.
That would then ultimately become Oscars and Emmys.
You know what I mean?
Like these things that were so niche
and people did not have any clue what to do with.
Years later, they would truly find out what to do with them
until they were like literally almost like,
both those things are like,
and I don't say this in a pejorative,
but like for moms now. Right. And say this in a pejorative, but like for moms now.
Right.
And that's not a pejorative thing.
It is the usual.
No, still for faggots.
Both are still for faggots,
but they're also for moms now.
It's the sort of life cycle of social media as well.
It's like Facebook starts out cool and for the kids
until it becomes for moms.
Right.
And no problem.
Moms are the ultimate terminus for anything cultural, I think.
Oh, in 15 years, when, like, Tate McRae is for moms,
remember this conversation.
I can't wait.
I can't wait for that day.
When Rene Rapp is for moms, remember this conversation.
And it'll be beautiful.
It'll be beautiful.
These are shows
that entered syndication
as in they reached
100 episodes.
Grey's Anatomy,
The Hills,
Laguna Beach,
Law & Order SVU,
and The Office.
Yeah.
Amazing.
I mean,
all those things
are very indicative
of this time.
And ER ended this year.
So this was ER ending
and Grey's Anatomy sort of being the apex predator,
as it were.
One hospital drama falls,
another reigns supreme.
And I think Grey's Anatomy has kind of eaten ER now.
Well, it is.
I think they announced this at the Emmys.
It is now in its 20th season.
I think it surpassed ER pretty recently
as the longest running medical drama.
Right.
Yeah.
American Idol winners, Chris Allen with runner-up Adam Lambert.
Wow.
This was also a time when American Idol was the number one show
and it was not close.
This was still the era of...
And also, not for nothing,
but Adam Lambert on American Idol was also a gay moment.
Revolutionary.
I remember he performed Feeling Good on American Idol.
And I remember he wore like a white suit and walked his gay ass slowly down a huge staircase.
And I remember being like, this gay guy is turning up on this show and he will not win.
And lo and behold.
But he didn't win, but like.
But he did.
But he has the cultural staying power that like Chris Allen didn't.
Yeah, isn't that interesting?
I feel like Chris Allen winning American Idol like certainly speaks to the fact that we were
well it's like
he was definitely talented
but it wasn't what Adam Lambert could do
but then like I think before the end of the year
Adam Lambert did come out with his album
for your entertainment
oh yeah that was a cunty album
cunty cunty cunty
what do you want from me
originally for Pink.
Paula Abdul stepped down as judge.
Her replacement is announced as Ellen DeGeneres.
LOL.
That did not go good.
ER aired its series finale as we said.
Mad TV aired its series finale.
Oprah announces she will end her
talk show in 2011.
Yeah.
Very interesting.
And then, obviously,
you can't really talk about 2009 without
talking about two things, and I would
say that's like
death of Michael Jackson. I think we all remember
where we were. Yep.
And Obama being
fucking sworn in.
The Obama story is more
2008, but
I just remember that feeling.
And it's really interesting we pulled this year out for so many reasons.
Because it did feel like when he became president,
it was sworn in and that year was starting.
And it felt like there was so much good news about same-sex marriage
being embraced around the country.
And him even starting to embrace it.
And maybe it was us being at NYU and like
us like finding our ways out of the closet or getting there or being halfway in out whatever
this year really felt like there was so much promise and potential even with Gaga you know
what I mean it's like this new fucking like throwback to David Bowie that's coming out, like Obama being elected, like so much culturally encouraging stuff.
Yeah, yeah.
I wish I internalized that optimism more
because I feel like I've really forgotten
the literal emotion of that.
Well, it's easy to now.
Of course.
Remember being optimistic?
How sad is that? How sad is that?
How sad is that?
Where were you when Michael Jackson died?
I was at work.
Me too.
I was at work.
I was working at a seafood restaurant on Long Island.
It was a very interesting time because, like I said, I was in a relationship or something
that I was keeping a secret with someone I worked with and was much older than me.
And I remember Michael Jackson, I found out he died at work.
And then also the funeral was playing when I was at work.
And I remember we weren't playing music.
We were just playing the funeral.
And we would never do that for anyone else.
That's Michael Jackson.
Yeah, it was.
I mean, it was the death of
beyond a cultural icon.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
And this was a really
interesting
time, too,
because everyone was,
it was like worldwide grief,
but also there's that
weirdness in the air
about, like,
the fact that
he had, you know,
I don't know.
His life.
The allegations of him
and his predatory behavior
was really also hanging in there.
Right.
Well, it was just,
it was tragedy on top of tragedy
on top of tragedy
between like his upbringing
and then the way the death transpired
and the way,
and like his legacy being very compromised
it was just layers
of devastation
you remember Nicki Minaj's
iconic lyric
like MJ doctor they're killing me
pro-pa-fall
they really hope-a-fall
I know they hope a fall. A fall.
The Real Housewives of New York City are back for another bite of the Big Apple.
Look who it is.
Joined by elite new friends.
Rebecca Minkoff.
Have you ever heard of her?
But things could change in a New York Minute.
She had this wild night and ended up getting pregnant by some other guy.
What?
You told her?
Not today, Satan.
Not today. The Real Housewives of New York City.
All new Tuesdays at 9 on Bravo or stream it on City TV+.
On Thanksgiving Day 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean.
He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba.
He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh.
And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere.
Elian Gonzalez.
Elian.
Elian.
Elian.
Elian.
Elian.
Elian Gonzalez. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian Gonzalez. At the heart of the story is a young boy and the question of who he belongs with.
His father in Cuba.
Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him.
Or his relatives in Miami.
Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom.
At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation.
Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well.
Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story,
as part of the My Cultura podcast network,
available on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Jay Shetty and I'm the host of On Purpose.
My latest episode is with Jelly Roll.
This episode is one of the most honest
and raw interviews I've ever had.
We go deep into Jelly Roll's life story
from being in and out of prison from the age of 13
to being one of today's biggest artists.
We talk about guilt, shame, body image,
and huge life transformations.
I was a desperate, delusional dreamer.
And the desperate part got me in a lot of trouble.
I encourage delusional dreamers.
Be a delusional dreamer.
Just don't be a desperate, delusional dreamer.
I just had such an anger.
I was just so mad at life.
Everything that wasn't right was everybody's fault but mine.
I had such a victim mentality.
I took zero accountability for anything in my life.
I was the kid that if you asked what
happened, I immediately started with everything but me. It took years for me to break that,
like years of work. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust me, you won't want to miss this one.
This also was the year we lost Brittany Murphy.
I was at Bob's Library when that happened, when I heard.
Oh my God.
I know, sad for many reasons.
Sonia Sotomayor swung in as a Supreme Court Justice.
She would go on to speak at our graduation.
I'll never forget her first words.
This is awesome words this is awesome
this is awesome
it's so good to be in the Bronx
Sonia
Sonia
Natasha Richardson passed so did Bea Arthur
and Farrah Fawcett not a good year
for actresses
living
Joe Biden was the vice president.
Democrats had a 59 seat majority
in the Senate. We missed that.
Sarah Palin resigned as governor.
A political
storm.
At large.
I like this section. Read some of these.
The Walt Disney Company
acquires Marvel Entertainment.
This at the time
didn't feel like a big deal because this was a time when DC was sort of slaying and Marvel was
kind of flopped. No one was checking for Marvel really, but also Iron Man had just come out and
there was a little bit of a tickle in the Marvel idea. Well, there was a lot of importance around
this at the time. I remember reading so many pieces on like,
I think it was like Kotaku or like Gawker.
I mean,
Gawker is like,
that is 2009.
The house down.
The house down.
Like Gawker,
the 2009 was a Gawker,
original Gawker peak for me,
at least it was like Richard Lawson writing all this stuff.
Richard Lawson.
I remember that summer of 2009,
left Gawker and wrote his goodbye,
his farewell post,
through the voice of, at the time,
famous New York socialite Tinsley Mortimer.
Mmm.
Like that was like the level of like...
That's where we were at.
Well, that's where we were at.
And I was just like,
oh, Gawker feels like this really exciting place like on the level of like that's what we were at well that's where we were at and i was just like oh gawker feels like this really exciting place like on the internet where like people are funny
and cheeky and these like it just i really miss that time the internet specifically it was like
twitter kind of starting out oh yeah this was 2008 i remember is when i became really aware of twitter
yeah yeah yeah and 2009 was when I started my account, I think.
And it was just a fun, fun place for the most part.
I remember Michael Ian Black was a Twitter celebrity to me.
And he mentioned me one time, and it was the closest to fame that I had ever felt.
It was like Michael Ian Black acknowledged me on Twitter.
Yeah.
Isn't that so funny?
I remember thinking Ashton Kutcher created it.
Oh, that's funny.
I wonder why.
He was out talking about it so much.
Remember, Ashton Kutcher and Twitter were like,
that was the era of Ashton and Demi, too.
It was like, what was more synonymous?
Ashton and Demi or Ashton and Twitter?
You could not tell me.
That's interesting.
It was also Twitter.
I think early days of Twitter, specifically 2009, was, I'm going to say a name.
She was the queen of Twitter, Katy Perry.
She was on it all day, every day, just being funny on it.
I remember this so well.
I couldn't stop laughing at this.
Katy Perry one time, one day tweets,
I'm fucking walking down the street with my ice cream cone,
enjoying my day.
It was pithier than this, but she was like,
I'm enjoying my day with like walking down the street
when a car goes by and all the people in it shout,
Zooey Deschanel, fuck my life.
This was FML.
This was also the peak.
Like, this was FML culture.
This was FML culture
and where that tweet
constituted an LOL reaction.
Right, where I was like,
oh my God, the internet is so funny.
Also the era of, oh my God,
Katy Perry and Zoe Deschanel
look so much alike.
Meanwhile, years later,
who would star in the video
that satirized that concept?
I would.
You and Zooey.
Me and Mitra Juhari.
And Mitra.
Happy birthday, Mitra.
Happy birthday, Mitra.
Happy birthday, queen.
We love you.
Let's see.
Bernie Madoff pleads guilty
in the biggest Ponzi scheme in America.
The effects of the Great Recession
are deeply felt in the U.S. despite it ending
in June of 2009. If you want to understand
the recession, watch the movie Hustlers
starring Jennifer Lopez.
That's actually rule of culture number 88.
If you want to understand the Great Recession,
watch the movie
Hustlers starring Jennifer Lopez.
Swine flu
is a global pandemic. The first COVID. I had it. Lopez. Swine flu is a global pandemic.
The first COVID. I had it.
You had swine flu?
I had swine flu. Okay, can I ask you
a question? Because, you know what, now I remember
you saying this at the time and me
being like, no, you don't. You doubted me.
I did. I remember Bowen Yang
was saying, I have swine flu, I have swine flu.
Why would you doubt me? Because
I believed at the time that you
wanted attention.
That's so toxic.
It was toxic.
We weren't close friends at the time.
I think I told Billy Domino,
Bowen Yang does not have swine flu.
He's lying.
Nicole Conlon, who we love and
currently works at The Daily Show,
came over to my apartment, God bless her,
gave me echinacea, bourbon,
and like all the Tylenol in the world
to help me go to sleep and bounce back.
Well, okay, I never got it diagnosed,
but I was experiencing... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, My likelihood that I had a swine flu. You are ridiculous. It wasn't circulating around where we were.
Yes, it was.
It was a global pandemic.
Bowen, don't raise your voice with me.
I'll come over there.
I'll smack you.
I'm not letting you anywhere near my apartment.
Banned.
Banned.
Oh my God.
Matt Rogers banned.
I can't believe we still haven't resolved this.
This is crazy.
I am living that this,
because I remember this is like maybe the third or fourth conflict we ever had
was I remember being like,
he does not have swine flu.
I had it.
You fool.
I'm not having this conversation.
Can I apologize to you?
I'm extending my hand to you
like Sandra did to Parvati.
I'm sorry, Bowen.
There was a high likelihood
that I had swine flu.
And what does it matter
that I did or didn't?
I was sick.
I was very sick for a time.
Producer Becca says she has it too.
I think she's a liar as well.
Why do you doubt?
I don't understand.
I think you were a liar, Becca.
No, Matt.
No, I got tested, she says.
Okay, receipts or nothing?
Receipts!
Proof!
Timeline!
Screenshots!
104 fever.
Fuck, that's terrible.
I think I had the same fever. Fuck, that's terrible. I think I had the same fever.
Yeah, you'd think.
The Grindr app launched
in 2009, so...
I was an early adopter. See, I'm saying
this is the thing. This is what I'm
pointing at. It's like, this
was the floodgates
opening for gay people.
And it was overwhelming.
It was like, not only being in
new york gaga obama drag grinder adam lambert adam lambert it's like oh my god is gay in
because gay was just so out 2009 really was a big year for gay when you think about 2007 2009
gay was out then gay started to be in.
And I was just like, hold on a second.
Let me emotionally catch up here.
Because I'm pretty sure you guys just wanted to kill me 15 minutes ago.
Now you want me to come second on Idol?
I don't think so, honey.
I remember one of my first Grindr meetups.
Whoa.
Was when my sister was out of town.
I was roommates with my sister my freshman year of college. Healthy my sister was out of town. I was roommates with my sister my
freshman year of college. Healthy.
She was out of town
and a guy I was
talking to on Grindr
was like, I'll come over. And I was like,
this is my address. And then
he comes over and I think
he sees a picture of Yang or something.
I don't think she knows this. Sees a picture of Yang
and I don't remember his name.
But he was like, I know your sister.
No. He was like,
this is too weird. I know Yang.
We can't hook up.
I'm so sorry.
And I was like,
really? He was like, yeah.
You sound like her too.
It was all this stuff.
And we were sitting on my couch in that apartment
on 6th Street and Avenue A, you know what I'm talking about?
And this was one of my first, isn't that so funny?
My first Grindr, one of my first meetups
at a time when gay culture was also very different,
where it was the time of no fats, no fems, no Asians.
It was.
That was a very different, the etiquette,
the rules of engagement on these
apps was, I mean not that it's gotten
that much more orderly
and it's fine, it doesn't have to be
but back then it was the wild, wild
west. Yeah, I would imagine you
experienced a lot of
abuse on there. 1000%.
And Asian people really I think
took it. it's so wild
but that was the beginning of Grindr and like
it just
you learned
within and for any
gay man or for anyone who used
that app
you learned pretty quickly what the value
system was
right?
in a way that you didn't necessarily understand
if you went to like a gay bar
or if you watched like,
you know, fucking,
what's that show?
Like Queer as Folk or something.
You know what I mean?
It's like the desirability politics
were immediately set when Grindr launched.
Yes.
Well, we had almost no representation.
So that just allowed these niche areas where we were communicating to be the only way to talk about it.
You know what I mean?
And like, because there was no representation of like diverse queerness at the time, it probably did filter down to, well, if you're not being depicted as attractive, you're not.
Right. You know, like. If you're not attractive attractive, then there isn't really a place for you.
But I was, you want to know something? I was using Craigslist. I was using Craigslist to
hook up with people. This was the time of Craigslist. I think you've told me that before.
Other friends of mine have said the same, of ours have said the same of ours have said the same thing so was it just you'd go on craigslist and like respond to a post or would you post i would never post i didn't know i did a few
times but like it was just really scary to like receive like anyone could reach out to you and
send you really jarring things whether whether or not you wanted it.
So what I would usually do is respond to people.
You would trade pictures over email,
over proxy accounts, proxy email addresses.
And then you would arrange in the meetup.
There was just a lot of...
It's just like Grindr now.
It's just like the apps now.
There's a lot of setup. And Cra like Grindr now it's just like the apps now it's like there's a lot of like setup
and like Craigslist was kind of like the
only thing in town until
Grindr came along and I didn't use
Adam for Adam I didn't use the like the
more legacy platforms
but Grindr I think really
the fact that it was on your phone
really fucking
blew the gates open
totally unregulated, too,
which now it feels odd to say this,
but the apps are very regulated now.
But that's because there's a deep need for it
because it's not a safe environment.
No, no.
It's inherently somewhat dangerous
if you're putting yourself
out there in
any sexual way. I don't know. There's
just some danger. That's all.
Here's what I'll say. I was
not on Grindr. Then I wouldn't
be on Grindr until like
2016, 2017.
Really? And was rarely on the apps. I was
at the time very afraid of sex.
2009 is also the year, unfortunately, I was assaulted.
It's taken a very long time.
I don't think it was until 2017 that I understood that that's what that was.
It was during the Me Too era that I realized,
I recognized a lot of the conversations that were happening.
And I realized that where I recognized it from was that it had happened to me.
Yes.
So looking back, one of the things I always feel disappointed about and like about my college experience is that I wasn't out there more.
Like I always tell myself it's like that scarcity thing where it's like,
oh, when you were young,
you should have been out there doing this and doing that.
But like, I think that was another reason for my anxiety
around gayness and around like thrusting myself
into this world and why it was so hard
is because I was confused
about whether to trust gay people or not.
You know what I mean?
Like, I was bullied
very badly when I first got to NYU by gay men. I remember the specific bullies as well.
And I also had trusted one and been taken advantage of. And so...
Oh my god, we both have a name that we were both. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow, that's so funny.
Well, I mean, like, and then I remember I came back to school and like had, you know,
gained like some confidence and some power.
But I filtered all of that into like the comedy and the friendships and none of that into
my romantic and sexual life because I was so scared of
sex.
I was scared of,
um,
interacting with other gay men and mass.
You really were one of my only gay friends,
but can we just say,
and maybe we haven't really acknowledged this,
us being in these comedy groups was a lifeline for both of us.
I mean, we'll talk about this whenever we talk about 2008,
but I remember going to NYU being like,
if I don't get on this improv group,
I will have no way of making friends.
I think I felt really similar, or I was concerned about...
I put all my chips in it.
Yeah, I felt the same way.
When you actually made it in your first,
I remember like,
so I had sworn
myself to like this thing.
I was like, I'm going to do what Amy Poehler did.
And then in 2009,
when I went to my
Dangerbox audition for the improv
group, and I tease you because you were there
and we had an interaction and I didn't make it.
I was really scared because I was like, that's one down there's only one other one
and I was the right time I was not at the time a self-starter like Sudi didn't make it into
danger box her first year oh yeah and she was enough of a self-starter to start her own group
called captain soldier which would then become its own thing.
And she made her own way at the time. Like, I think I was so insecure and such a different
version of myself. I don't think I would have been able to start my own comedy group. So it
was really important for me. And I think for you too, to make it into this thing that was like
established and we could join and I could
code switch my way in.
I never pretended to be straight there, but I was
always very good at playing with
boys. Right. You were.
Well, so were you. We want to know why?
Because we took a lot of shit.
You way worse than me.
Was this also the year of our wedding?
No.
We don't have to get into that
we don't have to get into that
we were playing boy ball
and that was actually like
comfortable for us
and at the time it was like
well this beats the alternative
which is that we're not in these groups
at all and that we have no outlet
for this thing that we this art form
that we love and want to do and
want to start early. Yeah.
I just knew I needed to do comedy
and it was more important for me to commit to
that than to like figure out my
gay inner and outer life
because I was so stunted.
Yeah. So yeah. But no regrets.
No regrets. Not at all.
Because ultimately like
that is how we met.
Mm-hmm.
And we've made, like, again, deep friendships in these groups.
Yeah.
Yeah, we don't have to say names necessarily, but, like, we keep in touch with...
Oh, oh, my God.
No, I have warmth in my heart for everyone from that time.
Mm-hmm.
Obviously, mostly you and Sudi.
You know what I mean?
Like, ultimately, like...
Sure.
I mean, like, Anna dresden for me like
she was the first person i reached out in april of of 2008 before i even decided on nyu or maybe
right when i decided on nyu and i was like what's the process like for getting into these groups
and then she was like she reached out she like we like joked back and forth like cosmically that is
crazy to me because it's like she and I would then work at SNL
together and like write Iceberg together.
Like that is crazy to me,
but we can get into this in 2008.
Yeah.
That was all 2009 for me.
All my firsts in terms of all that was 2009.
Well,
I think we had very different 2008s.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But anyway,
all of this was 2009.
This was such a
blessing of a year to choose
first. A deep reflection,
would you say? Wouldn't you say? A deep
one, and now I'm getting the goblet out.
Okay. Goblet of
cultural years is coming.
It is actually an
ice bucket, but that's okay.
Can you hear the sounds of the goblet?
Yes.
Okay.
I was telling the Katie's Readers Publishers finalist that it's actually an ice bucket, but for the...
No, it's a goblet.
Okay.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
The next year on next week's Last Coach to be culturally excavated is...
2017.
Wow.
2017, this was
just off the top of the dome.
This was the year that Lost
Couch really became a thing.
This was...
It was our second year.
Yeah, but this was the year that it really became
a thing. Well, I was going to say
we can go through the episodes from that year and like,
Oh yeah.
Stroll down memory lane.
That's a good year.
There's going to be some darkness.
There's going to be some darkness.
There's going to be some light and that's just culture,
baby.
Um,
but look forward to that one next week,
2017 brush up.
That is the year that will be culturally excavated
wow period down
oh I forgot to mention
DJ Earworm
that is an incredible mashup
as we've talked about last week
but there's not much more to say
it's just an incredible mashup but that was when he did
the top 50 songs of the year
check it out y'all
check it out y'all.
Check it out, y'all.
This fall on Bravo.
It's time to turn up.
Think you've seen it all?
I don't think you've been a good friend to me lately.
We're friends like that.
Who needs enemies?
You ain't seen nothing yet.
Cheers to being Germanic.
With the Real Housewives of Potomac. Oh my gosh, can I take this in? It's going to of On Purpose. My's have a real good time. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty and I'm the host of On Purpose.
My latest episode is with Jelly Roll.
This episode is one of the most honest
and raw interviews I've ever had.
We go deep into Jelly Roll's life story
from being in and out of prison
from the age of 13
to being one of today's biggest artists.
We talk about guilt, shame, body image
and huge life transformations.
I was a desperate, delus body image, and huge life transformations. the mentality. I took zero accountability for anything in my life. I was the kid that if you asked what happened, I immediately started with everything but me. It took years for me to break
that, like years of work. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple
Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust me, you won't want to miss this one. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean.
He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba.
He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh.
And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere.
Elian Gonzalez.
Elian Gonzalez.
Elian.
Elian.
Elian Gonzalez. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian. Elian Gonzalez.
At the heart of the story is a young boy
and the question of who he belongs with.
His father in Cuba.
Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home
and he wanted to take his son with him.
Or his relatives in Miami.
Imagine that your mother died
trying to get you to freedom.
At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation.
Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well.
Listen to Chess Piece, the Elian Gonzalez story, as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
It is time for I Don't Think So, Honey.
Yes.
This is our one-minute segment where we take a minute, as I've said, to go off on culture.
Matt, do you have something?
I do.
Okay.
This is Matt Rogers' I Don't Think So, Honey.
His time starts now.
I Don't Think So, Honey, if you're out there pronouncing it or spelling it like America Ferrara. Her name is America Ferrara. This woman has been famous
for over 20 years. I'm going to reputable websites and they're saying in bold America Ferrara.
This is not her name. Her name is America Ferrara. It has been
since she was born and since she was born into the public eye. If you are saying Ferrara,
it feels racist to me. Just learn this woman's name, America Ferrara. It is an E, not an A. Why am I going to these websites and seeing Ferrara?
It just feels so lazy to me.
This is one of the most famous people.
Like, just, I don't want to see in the lead up to the Oscars.
And you know who's a spoiler?
America Ferrara.
Please, please, please call her by her name.
America Ferrara.
I don't think so, honey.
America Ferrara.
Here's who I don't think is dealing with this.
Amber Tamlin.
Alexis Bledel.
Blake Lively.
It would be like calling her Alexis Bledel.
Like, it's not!
It's not. It's Ferreira,
not Ferrara. This has bothered me
for such a long time.
And this didn't happen today on
Oscar nominations morning, which, by the way,
were announced by
Jack Quaid, who I
was in Hammercats with.
And Zazie Beetz. At NYU.
And Zazie Beetz, who we love.
But it's just so funny because literally
I was like, who's announcing? I was like, Jack?
Wow.
That blew my mind.
Again, it all goes back to fucking
what we've been talking about. He was in
that group with me.
Anyways, just so funny.
But America Ferrara
is her name. Her name is not America Ferrara.
I think that it is
a demerit on you
personally going forward if you call her
America Ferrara.
It is not that.
That is not her name.
Please say this woman's name correctly.
Thank you.
She's an Oscar nominee.
Emmy winner.
Coming for the EGOT, Quina.
All right, Bowen Yang,
I put to you now your opportunity to do
an I Don't Think So Honey.
Do you have something?
I do.
I do.
Slay and a half.
All right, here's Bowen Yang's I Don't Think So Honey coming at you have something? I do. I do. Slay and a half.
All right, here's Bowen Young's I Don't Think So Honey coming at you fast.
Time starts now.
I Don't Think So Honey putting tape on coffee cup lids
because guess what?
The hole is going to be sticky with adhesive
and I don't want to put my mouth on that
and taste epoxy with my cold brew, okay?
I want pure coffee. There are already micro plastics in every corner of the world. I'm going to call out my Starbucks, my, not my Dunkin'
Donuts is because they've got the straws. 30 seconds. If we're not going to do straws,
which I respect, you can't cover the hole with sticky shit. Cause then what's going to happen is I've got to take off the lid
and sip from the rim like I'm at a restaurant
when I'm not. I'm on the go.
Or I have to pour
it into another container. 15 seconds.
And you're making me do physical and
emotional labor in that
same breath.
And you need to govern your ass.
Five seconds. Okay? Don't put the tape on.
I know you're trying to protect spillage,
but it doesn't need to be that.
Put the little sticky circle on
that's easy to pop off.
And that's what I meant.
Or just trust that I'm not going to spill it.
Like, stop.
I hate that.
Single tape.
Do you know what I'm talking about?
Am I crazy?
No, I know exactly what you're talking about.
And every time I'm like...
That green tape,
it doesn't come off easy.
I'm like, what are we doing here?
I just don't get it.
It feels like something that we don't need to come off easy. I'm like, what are we doing here? I just don't get it.
It feels like something that we don't need to produce en masse.
It's like this.
It can't be more sustainable than that little paper sticky circle that you kind of just like flick off.
I don't think we need either of them though.
Why do we need the hole on top of the,
that tiny hole on top of the iced coffee covered?
I don't get it.
Because I guess for sometimes the delivery people,
if it's a delivery,
they don't want it to splash and splish in their bag.
It's to help them.
I would rather have the lid that's like,
you know, those plastic lids that like,
just have the little divot or indent in them
and you can do it yourself.
Like, I don't know.
I just feel like.
There is a better way.
There's a better way.
Period.
Listen, this has been I think an excellent episode of Lost
Couch. I think so.
I would have to agree. And to the doubters,
you said... Yeah, you guys flopped.
You really flopped.
Doubters forgot how good we are at this.
Sorry.
And no one should doubt us on the traitors.
Season three, four, five, six,
whatever they want us, we will be there.
I think we're...
I mean, they would break us up, though.
We can't be on the same season
because they wouldn't want to break us up.
No, we have to be on the same season, I think.
That's the whole point.
It's like, if they make one of us a traitor
and one of us a faithful,
that's iconic television.
Yeah, but the traitors will want to kill,
you as a traitor will want to kill me,
or the table will want to banish you or I and split the group.
It's Larsa and Marcus.
I think we have to play together.
That's all I'm going to say about that.
I would love that, but I think that compromises both of us.
We're going to continue this conversation off air.
It's going to continue all day.
Bao and Yang, I hope you feel better.
Thank you.
And I hope those tonsils get sorted.
And by sorted, I mean snipped.
Girl.
I want them out, girl.
We end every episode with a song.
All the single ladies
All the single ladies
All the single ladies All the single ladies All the single ladies
All the single ladies
All the single ladies
All the single ladies
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All the single ladies
All the single ladies!
Bye.
Bye.
Hey, I'm Jay Shetty and I'm the host of On Purpose.
My latest episode is with Jelly Roll.
This episode is one of the most honest and raw interviews I've ever had.
We go deep into Jelly Roll's life story from being in and out of prison
from the age of 13 to being one of today's biggest artists. I was a desperate delusional dreamer. Be
a delusional dreamer. Just don't be a desperate delusional dreamer. Listen to On Purpose with
Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Trust me,
you won't want to miss this one. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, five-year-old Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez was found off the coast of Florida.
And the question was, should the boy go back to his father in Cuba?
Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him.
Or stay with his relatives in Miami?
Imagine that your mother died trying to get you
to freedom. Listen to Chess Peace,
the Elian Gonzalez story
on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
your podcasts.
I'm Cheryl Swoops.
And I'm Tarika Foster-Brasby.
And on our new podcast, we're talking about the real obstacles women face day to day.
Because no matter who you are, there are levels to what we experience as women.
And T and I have no problem going there.
Listen to Levels to This with Cheryl Swoops and Tarika Foster-Brasby,
an iHeart Women's Sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment.
You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by
Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.