Life Will Be the Death of Me with Chelsea Handler - The Norma Jean Years with Bruce Bozzi

Episode Date: February 9, 2023

Hollywood mainstay Bruce Bozzi joins Chelsea this week to talk about bringing up daughters with two dads, why timing is everything when it comes to falling in love, and what it means to really reinven...t yourself.  Then: A chef gets burned when a cookie recipe is stolen.  An author dealing with sexual harassment finds herself surrounded by creeps.  And a throuple situation turns ugly when two partners want out. * Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com * Executive Producer Nick Stumpf Produced by Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brandon Dickert * * * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees.  This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all.  Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. The Jonas Brothers are running it back. We live the burning up tour and celebrate the biggest Jonas Brother hits that have defined a generation. One incredible celebration. One unforgettable night.
Starting point is 00:00:21 See the Jonas Brothers live at RBC Amphitheater September 28th. get tickets now at ticketmaster.ca jonas brothers the burning up tour all over again i survived nine months in captivity and i've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them i'm elizabeth smart and these are the survivor files every week i'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable abducted stalked controlled and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Starting point is 00:01:05 you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. each week we're connecting the dots between books the internet and pop culture with your favorite writers book talk creators and plenty of overthought opinions yeah i'm obsessed i'm obsessed listen to pro society on the iheart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts i'm hoda kotb host of the podcast joy 101 with hoda kotb you know i'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy like when my friend henry winkler offered advice to
Starting point is 00:01:49 aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, what's going on? What's happening? What's shaking? Well, today is my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Wow, 50 years. That's scary. It is a little scary. But then I also think about me and Brad. I'm like, we've been together for 17 years, and I'm still a young thing, right? 17.
Starting point is 00:02:29 Yeah, that's scary, too. Such a long time. Like, almost longer together than apart, right? Yeah, I'm getting there. I was, like, 20 when we started dating. So, you know, I'm excited for my folks. They're, like, going to a steak dinner, and we sent them 50 flowers for 50 years. That's pretty.
Starting point is 00:02:46 Yeah. Well, congratulations. That's sweet. Thanks. I will pass that along. But how are you doing? What's going on? Well, I'm in Whistler. I mean, when this airs, I'll be hosting the daily show this week that it airs, but we're taping this in advance. I'm up here. The snow is just not cooperating right now. So I went to go visit my girlfriend in Park City for four days. We skied Deer Valley.
Starting point is 00:03:08 There was so much snow there. It was heaven. I was like, oh my God. And then I came here and I'm just hanging out writing a book writing new material also I'm going back on tour everybody I have a new tour it's called little big bitch because I'm a little big bitch and I always have been well now I'm a big little bitch no I'm still a little big bitch whatever anyway I'm going back on tour I'm going to be at Zany's Nashville March 29th through Sunday April 6th and then Irvine Improv and then I have theater dates everywhere from Peoria Illinois Carmel Kalamazoo Spokane Washington, Boise, Idaho, Vegas, Highland, California, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and more and more and more. So go to ChelseaHandler.com for tickets. And that starts in April. So I'm very excited,
Starting point is 00:03:54 Katherine. Yeah. Amazing. I have family in Peoria, Illinois. They might be a little too square, though, to come see you. Well, no, they can see me. They just we shouldn't interact. Yeah, right. Exactly. Yeah. You are a wild woman. Like you just finished a tour and then you're like surprise here's another one I know I know it doesn't make any sense I'm like why am I going right back on tour they're like because you just put out a special now you go on tour I'm like wait what so confusing all of it I thought you were just like ready to rage so many responsibilities I mean I don't know which way to turn no wonder I want to stay in bed all day when I'm home yesterday I was like I got up I wrote from like 5 a.m to 8 a.m and then I smoked a joint and
Starting point is 00:04:34 everything went to shit oh my gosh yeah I have like a three-hour burst of creativity first thing in the morning. And then I wasn't gonna go skiing because it was so crappy out. I was like, what's the point? But it was cozy. I just want to be in bed and watch bad TV, not even bad TV. I really want to watch good TV. But I think I've exhausted all television shows. Yeah, I mean, it's slim pickets out there right now. Even though there are 1000 shows. Well, I know, which makes no sense with the volume of options. But I know you also like to be in bed with a good book. And actually, we've had a bunch of people asking for book recommendations. Oh, yes, we have.
Starting point is 00:05:09 Lessons in Chemistry is really good. I'm reading that right now. There's another book that someone left in my house that I'm also reading, but I don't remember the name of that. The Great Alone. Did we talk about The Great Alone yet? No.
Starting point is 00:05:21 Oh, by Kristen Hanna. That is a great book. And every, yes, that book is about homesteading in Alaska, which is a subject matter that I couldn't be less interested in. And that book was a page turner. I mean, I could not get enough of it. And it's a big book.
Starting point is 00:05:38 It's like 600 pages, but it flies by. I think I read it in two plane rides or on two plane rides. I love that. The Great Alone is great. I read The Paper Palace. I mean, that wasn't one of my favorite books. I read that pretty quickly, too. So it's kind of a page turner.
Starting point is 00:05:52 And then, oh, I read this cute little nightstand book, Galatea by Madeline Miller. What's that about? She wrote Cirque or Circe. I don't even know what the proper pronunciation is for it. but I think it's Cirque. Yeah, I look at that every time. And I'm like, I don't know how to say that. It's such a good book. I wish I could reread books. But I mean, there's too many books to read to have time to reread any. Yeah, this is a podcast recommendation. But it has one of the greatest names I think I've ever heard. There is a new podcast that is about the kind of
Starting point is 00:06:25 throwaway books that we all get at airports. And it is called if books could kill, I guess to put it the way they would. They describe this podcast as a podcast about the books that captured our hearts and ruined our minds. So it's a lot of debunking. It's a lot of funny commentary and like unpacking the culture of what we believed at a certain point when this book was popular. They sort of break down like Malcolm Gladwell and The Secret and all these different books and it's great. So it tells you which books are worth reading and which ones aren't? Yeah. And like some of them, they're sort of teasing about them because they're maybe like a couple of decades old. And they're like, remember what we believed at the time and, you know, how this fit into the culture and what this did to us all, what we all believed in. But it's a fantastic listen. It's very funny. I just love the name, If Books Could Kill. I also want to make a couple of recommendations of some of my favorite books. I think House of Mirth by Edith Wharton is an old classic. That's fucking awesome. That's a real commentary on society then and now, like not much has changed. And then The Red Tent is a really good book.
Starting point is 00:07:36 I have always heard about The Red Tent, and I need to read it. Yeah, that's a classic book, too. That's beautiful. I mean, I love the way, you know, when books just take you to a place that you would never go, like homesteading in Alaska. I'm never doing that. I'm never catching my own food if, you know, that's not going to happen. Even if I tried, it wouldn't happen.
Starting point is 00:07:58 For some reason, I always conflate The Red Tent with Pillars of the Earth, even though I read Pillars of the Earth and loved it. For some reason, I always think those are the same kind of story. That's funny. I always conflate. I always put them together, The Red Tent and Memoirs of a Geisha, because I just think both of those books are really important reading or great reading at the very least. Yes. Especially for women. Especially for women. Well, I'm going to have to get on The Red Tent because it's just been too long. Did you get the clip I sent you of me talking about you and your hard-boiled eggs on Alex Cooper's podcast and about Brad like the fact that Brad has remained he's a victim he's a victim of your abuse he's getting egged every day
Starting point is 00:08:39 he's a victim of your abuse oh my gosh I loved that thank you for thank you for bringing me very stoned onto Alex Cooper oh my god my eyes were closed and she could not stop giggling it was my favorite. I was like, this is a fucking mess. This interview. That was so much fun. But I think people loved it because they're just like, this is what we want to see from Chelsea Hamlet. And I think Alex Cooper. I think that's what they're there for. Okay, so we have a guest today. He is a gay man. And that is an identifier. You're not supposed to do that. Okay. He's a great guy. And he I've known him for a long time. And I did his podcast, which is called table for two. and then he elbowed his way onto this podcast. So please welcome Bruce Bozzi.
Starting point is 00:09:23 Hi, Bruce. How are you? Good, Chelsea. How are you? Can you hear me? I can see you and I can hear you. This is Catherine, my partner in crime. Hi, Catherine. Hello. How are you, Bruce? I'm good. Are those all your Grammys behind you? Yeah. My Grammys, my Oscars, my, yeah, a Globe. I didn't know you were such an award-winning performer. Thank you, Chelsea. You know, you learn something new every day.
Starting point is 00:09:49 Maybe you'll win an award for your podcast. Aren't there podcast awards? Uh-huh, the Webby's. Oh, really? Yeah, I would like that. We were at Webby Honoree this year. An honoree? I thought we were a nominee.
Starting point is 00:10:01 What's an honoree? We were a nominee and then we were an honoree. It's like the top 20% of podcasts. Way to cut it in half. By the way, who did you just have on your podcast that was so good? was it Scarlett Johansson? Thank you. Yeah. We had Scarlett. Yeah. She kind of kicked it off and Octavia Spencer just dropped and you're coming up. Oh, this is very exciting. I can't wait to see what headlines this brings. Every time I say something, I have to stop. I'm like,
Starting point is 00:10:30 oh, I'm glad I'm out of the country as if you can't access the news when you're in a different country. I was just on a podcast with a girlfriend and I was like, I don't want to comment on this because it'll become a headline. And sure enough, there was like 15 articles the next day with that headline. So anyway, I'm just going to be mute from now on because I can't express myself. No, the world would be a lesser place if you were me. I know. I want to talk about your long storied career, pivoting careers. We've curated today's calls, hopefully to suit something that you have some area of expertise in, which is the restaurant business, for instance. You're kind of in the Hollywood business. You have been a fixture on
Starting point is 00:11:07 the Hollywood scene forever. So, but that's also, do you think that's by way of the restaurant business? You know, yeah. I mean, so the restaurant business, obviously 30 year career, at the Palm restaurant, which my great grandfather co-founded in 1926, I got involved doing summer jobs through college. And then just, it became my career. It was just like a calling for me, which kind of made sense because it was in the DNA. And I think to answer that question, I think the Palm really sort of was the intro to my sort of Hollywood relationships because I moved to LA and I was ringing checks in the West Hollywood Palm as I was also trying to do commercials and be an actor, but I was a really bad actor, but it was like my early twenties and
Starting point is 00:11:56 I was out in LA. So I met a lot of people then. I call it my sort of Norma Jean trying to become Marilyn Monroe years. Well, yeah. Okay, great. That's exactly who you remind me of, Norma Jean. Thank you. See, I wish it was Marilyn Monroe, but I'll take Norma Jean. Yeah, right. It's more Norma Jean for me than Marilyn Monroe. I appreciate that. So yeah, so that happened. Then I moved back to New York, opened up the restaurant in Times Square. And a lot of my friends were like, they were all actors, it seemed. I was friends with Sarah Jessica Parker and Andy Cohen's always so everyone was like in the same little tribe and I was in the restaurant biz so I wasn't in show business I just
Starting point is 00:12:40 was a part of their world and loved everything about showbiz and then fell in love with Brian Lord and that kind of threw a whole different oh yeah so Brian Lord is your partner husband you guys have been to who's a who's a partner at CAA correct yes exactly and one of the biggest agents if not the biggest in Hollywood so does has he seen you act no he has never seen me act I think my big but my last well in the early 90s I did it was 90210 and was all those kind of shows that you'd be like sent out for never got one the commercials I got were all commercials that I had to strip down like I had to dance in a bathing suit around rubbermaid garbage cans or I had to like. Isn't it funny that that has only happened to women and gay men? No straight men have had
Starting point is 00:13:29 to dance around like that for an audition. A hundred percent. It was all objectification. It was all like, okay, hey, can you say your name? Could you give me your profiles? And can you take off your clothes? And I was like, okay. And then he hasn't, but he never saw me act. The last I moved back to New York, I did a Caligula in the East Village when the East Village was bad. I mean, on Orchard and Stanton, there were drug addicts. The theater was called House of candles oh that sounds tragic house of candles it is tragic and i was so bad i was freezing and i don't know if you remember a guy named sandy gallon yeah of course big manager and he became a good friend and when i was in la he would run sides with me and he was like you are
Starting point is 00:14:11 the worst actor i've ever seen in my life but i was having fun and in actuality what i was doing was kind of discovering myself getting comfortable with my sexuality it came from an Italian New York family so it wasn't the easiest the mafia the mafia exactly I didn't want a hit taken out on me Catherine because I was a gay boy you know so that that was the purpose of those years became a real good foundation and great friendships and so that's kind of the Hollywood and okay so how did you and Brian fall in love because Brian was married to Carrie Fisher right oh they weren't actually legally married but you know that didn't happen but they had they were in love and then they had billy so i had baby billy lord his daughter billy lord who some of you have seen
Starting point is 00:15:00 she's been in a bunch of stuff american horror story most most of you maybe so around two that marriage ended and brian kind of came out that was his realization that he was in the wrong place And so then I met Barry. So Hollywood, so bougie, Chelsea, I'm so bougie. I met Barry at Barry Diller and Dion von Furstenberg's wedding. And I had met Barry in my Norma Jean years here in LA. So then I had gotten to know Dion. And so I was in this wedding and I see this guy and he's so sexy. And I'm like, whoo. And but nothing happens. And because I'm living in New York at the time, and he's living in LA. We'd see each other. I'd always crash. Andy Cohen and I would come out here and we would crash every party there was during Oscar time because we were just whores and hookers for a good time and a movie star and fun. So I started to get to know Brian a little bit more. And I decided to become a dad when I was 40. I realized, you know what, this is something that I want to do. And I started the process as a single guy. And really, quite honestly,
Starting point is 00:16:12 on an airplane coming to LA for one night to have a facilitated meeting with my surrogate, potential surrogate. A mutual friend was on the plane. She was staying with Brian. She asked if I could take her back to his home, dropped her off. It was Christmas time. He asked, why are you coming to California for a day? So I said, I'm doing this thing. It's obviously a huge thing. And he said, come back tomorrow before you take the red eye back. So I was here for 24 hours. And I did. And in that moment in the house that I now live in, we kind of just were honest with each other. And that kind of led to us being in a relationship. I said, I have very strong feelings for you. He said, I do for you. We're old. I was 40 at the time. He was 46. Looking
Starting point is 00:16:57 back now as I'm about to turn 57, I'm like, that was not old, by the way. And began a really great 16 years we're like we just passed 16 years together married like five lovely so when you revealed to him that you were planning on becoming a father he was on board with that right away he was on board with that right away and now he says i got pregnant and trapped him that's a cute story i'm glad you guys found each other brian's so fucking sexy right i mean yeah yeah yeah i mean he's i landed the guy he's sexy to everybody yeah he really is He's universally sexy and a good guy. So the kid's now 15.
Starting point is 00:17:40 Yeah. What is your kid's name? Ava, A-V-A. I kind of was inspired because, you know, I'm a gay guy by Ava Gardner, who I just thought was just gorgeous, strong woman, Bazzi Lord. He legally adopted her a couple of years ago when we were getting married. It all made sense. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:17:58 That's sweet. I love gay parents. We both have a daughter. That's lovely. Isn't it the best? Gay parenting? Yeah. Yeah. Gay parenting is interesting because for me, Chelsea, I was going full throttle in my 20s,
Starting point is 00:18:11 my 30s, New York, Palm Restaurant, working in the restaurant, staying out late. And it's just because you're not married to a woman whose body's changing, so you're slowing up naturally. It's like all of a sudden you're like, woo, at the party. The next day it's like, excuse me, can you get to the hospital? Your life's about to be over. she knew yeah I know it's a kind of like it takes your lifestyle to a grinding halt like that's how I felt when Andy Cohen had a kid I was like wait a second this is gonna change a lot and then he had another one I'm like wait what so yeah it's funny I mean I guess because nine months is there to prepare you although nine months is never enough to prepare anybody you know when you're
Starting point is 00:18:50 when you're carrying a baby I mean I had a friend who just had a baby a couple days ago and almost died during the delivery she had the worst she lost so much blood and she's her heart was leaking and i was like oh my god like you think it's such an everyday easy thing and it's like no this used to kill people yeah yeah no billy just had her second baby and i gotta say she was so committed to making sure everything was you know the nine months she took such great care of herself but the actuality you know was a difficult there were difficulties and brian was a mess and he was like can this please like, can we not have any more babies? It's like you said, it's not to be taken for granted how difficult it is to have a kid come out of your vagina. Pikachu. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:19:37 Yeah. You should start saying Pikachu too, because you're never ever going to have to deal with a vagina. And Pikachu is such a, it's just such a nicer way to say it, right? Vagina sounds like, I don't know, there's a hammer coming down at the end of it or something. Tell us about parenting with your daughter. What's her situation at 15? Is she manageable or is she about to, you know, does she hate you? Is she manageable? That's how I think of children.
Starting point is 00:20:02 Are they manageable? I don't blame you. I thought of you today because I drive her to school, which is irritating. And I thought to myself, you know what? Chelsea doesn't have to get up before 10 a.m. No, but for some reason I get up at fucking five every single day. I should be sleeping till 10 a.m. Yeah, you should.
Starting point is 00:20:21 I go to bed at like nine. So I've just completely switched my clock. Me too. I actually couldn't keep my eyes open last night. But she is still into building these massively complicated Lego things that I could never do. She's got that kind of brain. She's definitely bitchy to me. I ask her a question.
Starting point is 00:20:39 I'm like, do you have to sneer at me when I ask you the question? Can you just answer nicely? We're in that phase. She's not going to the parties. That's not where her mind is at. So, you know, I don't want her going to those parties. Yeah, but I don't think what we did at those parties is happening with this generation of people. I think they're much more scared of drugs.
Starting point is 00:20:59 They're not partying like we partied. And they should be scared of drugs because everything's so screwed up out there with fentanyl and stuff like that. But I feel like 15-year-olds are much smarter than we were. They have access to so much more information than we did. We didn't have the Internet when we were 15. No, you're so right. And they actually kind of tell you what they want to do. And like, they have a plan.
Starting point is 00:21:21 Yeah. You had a plan to get in a first class ticket. I do have fucking plans. Who knows what they are, but they're just inside of my head until I expel them. And then watch out. Yeah. And then watch out, duck. So that's the kid thing.
Starting point is 00:21:37 What were your roles with you and Brian as parents? Who's the softy and who's the kind of rule enforcer? I'm sort of the primary caretaker. So I'm the one who's like, wake up, let's get breakfast. Let's do this. Like, oh, you got to go to the dentist. You know, when Brian, when we, when we began this journey together, Billy was already like 13, 14.
Starting point is 00:21:56 I was like, you don't have to do that. You know, if she gets up, blah, blah, blah. She considers him the smart one. So all homework, she's like, you know, I want to go through this project. So can I talk to you about it as I'm sitting there? And I'm like, hello. Because you fucked up her homework so badly. I fucked up her homework so badly.
Starting point is 00:22:14 and they're a little bit like snotty towards me brian and ava they look at me like and then i'm like you know what fine i'll go in my office i'll go hang out and have a glass of wine and binge i don't need you guys either get out that's the spirit there you go yeah okay so we're gonna take a quick bit we're gonna take a quick bake and we're gonna be right back behind every night spent making the kids lunches there's a lot of suspense will they finally eat the veggies will the pesto survive the first bite will the lunchbox come home empty half full or come home at all and will you finish episode eight before you're done slicing the cucumbers get bell pure fiber internet with crave netflix and disney plus from 94 a month price guaranteed
Starting point is 00:22:59 for two years on internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit visit bell.ca for details and to check availability bell connection is everything when i was 14 years old i was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files. I just remember this low, taunting voice next to my ear saying, shut up, don't say anything.
Starting point is 00:23:32 Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. They're stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality,
Starting point is 00:24:12 welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. From best-selling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place.
Starting point is 00:25:00 Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast Hollywood Handbook on the Big Money Players Network. Our show is extremely accessible to first-time listeners. Each week, we talk to someone in show business, a.k.a. the biz, and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us.
Starting point is 00:25:24 Everyone has a good time, and no one gets mad at their publicist for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman. Not that great. Actually, can you help me shape this? how about we flip it on its head how about we flip the script what if the surprise woman
Starting point is 00:25:41 who actually you think is the straight man is actually the one who's acting weird Adam Scott this entire time you've been expecting Adam Sandler to come to visit the show I would never expect
Starting point is 00:25:57 I would never set expectations for something like that to happen if the universe allows for something like that to happen i am open to it i'm always going to accept you know danny mcbride fine yeah it's all this fragile masculinity exuding i could smell it walking down the hallway to be honest with you i was like is that weed nope it's fragile masculinity ben stiller no because a lot of times in out of context people don't get it or even know what a circle is you know what i mean like they're like
Starting point is 00:26:29 They're so stupid. Everyone's so dumb except for you. And fake. Right, fake and also not interested or just like, oh, I've got my life. I don't care about your life. And a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Oh, and by the way, Will Ferrell told us personally he loves the show and he wants to be a guest on every episode, but he's just so busy.
Starting point is 00:26:51 Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. we're back we're back this is super you're someplace very glamorous oh i'm in whistler canada oh that's your place your happy place yeah but the snow is no bueno it's not happening really it's just wet and damp and there's no snow it hasn't snowed in like two weeks surprising with all this weather snow patterns around the world wow i think when it hits america it doesn't hit canada and vice versa so canada has been pretty lucky the last few years and now
Starting point is 00:27:27 it's probably back to america's turn we got all the precipitation and then maybe throw in a little little pinch of climate change and then you'll see what happens yeah a tad okay so what's going on there today katherine's gonna take us through what we can expect because we're gonna talk to live callers so you better get your fucking a-game on bruce okay bruce i read in people magazine that you said one of your favorite moments on your podcast table for two was your conversation with Chelsea. We had a fun lunch, Chelsea. Didn't we have a fun lunch? I know, but we didn't even have a drink. I regret that. It's all Chelsea's fault. She sits down, she immediately orders an iced tea. And then at the end, Chelsea, you go, we could have had a drink. And I was like, yeah.
Starting point is 00:28:11 Well, I didn't realize we were having lunch. You know, I don't ever really look at my calendar. I just show up where I'm supposed to be. So I could be showing up for a lunch or I could be showing up for a podcast. I don't really know until I get there. And when I got there, I thought, oh, this is a podcast. And then we ordered food. And then I was like, wait a second, I should have had a drink in this situation. Was there a lot of chewing into Mike's? That's my only question. No, no, no. Because we turned it off when we well, I don't know what we did. No, no, no. We were actually people do complain about the chomp. And we were not chomping. We were like very gracious. Listen, just so you know, this is a woman who carries hard boiled
Starting point is 00:28:44 eggs on planes. So if she wants to talk about or complain about chomping, you need to back the duck up you know what i flip it and reverse it listen to it i heard that episode and i was like oh my god and i've been bullying her ever since kathan please stop that for humankind you know what i think i may have to change my ways maybe i'll just have them in the airport you have to go to an egganon meeting where people admit to terrible things they've done with eggs although you know what they do sell those like little double bag of eggs now at the airport i feel slightly vindicated I know, but that's just, they're just trying to taunt you. Don't give in.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Do not. It's for victims like you. No, yeah, you cannot. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, no, no, no. No bueno. Well, Bruce, I have some questions that I think are right up your alley. We are very excited for you to be joining us.
Starting point is 00:29:37 You ready to answer some questions? I am ready. Well, our first email comes from Dee. Dee says, Dear Chelsea, I'm a 31-year-old gay man living in Canada. I've been with my partner for just over three years. We've been exploring with other people in the bedroom for about two years now. Recently, we had a threesome with another guy on vacation. We ended up spending almost four days with him.
Starting point is 00:30:01 We were on a high from it, and it was an amazing experience. However, since coming home from this vacation, things have taken a turn. I bet. We're both very much hung up on this guy, and it's starting to affect our relationship. We haven't always had the easiest sex life, and this experience is making us both question our compatibility in the bedroom and in other areas of our relationship. Looking for some advice or a hard dose of reality. Cheers, D.
Starting point is 00:30:31 Bruce, you need to take that as a gay man because I know that the rules feel slightly different for heterosexual and homosexual relationships. Yeah. D, I would say they are different. and you so okay with no judgment with how people want to live their lives which means we're judging you with no judgment get a grip yeah keep it um i think it's always a very slippery slope when you have sex when you bring somebody in to enhance your sex life if you're in a relationship from personal experience, in my early 20s, I did have an experience where it turned out
Starting point is 00:31:14 unexpectedly, I was brought to someone's house. And I was really into this guy that I was dating. And next thing I know, there was like, two other people there. And we were getting a tour of their house. And on we go to their bedroom, and he starts like rubbing my chest. And I was like, oh, this doesn't normally happen in the tour part of the house. And then I realized it just was not my speed. And I exited the situation, sat in the living room, left. So that's being very just personal. But so for D, I think, you know, someone's always going to be favored. If you have a three-way and you're with your partner and all of a sudden the person likes your partner more, it's just not good. The fact that they made it like a four-day-
Starting point is 00:31:56 Yeah. It sounds like a kidnapping. Kidnapping trip. Yeah. I think part of being in the relationship is, you know, it's not always fun to have sex with the same person and it's not easy and it does get a little bit like okay but it's just a very tricky i would say d this relationship probably doesn't not gonna last and because it's just not gonna last so you both like have this thing for him where does he fit in like someone's gonna end up with this guy and i don't know if it's gonna be t but it sounds like it's somebody who's like in another country somewhere or some other location i'm like but they can all, they can all regroup or one of them can regroup with him. And, but I also think,
Starting point is 00:32:37 listen, if you're having those feelings, you had that experience with this guy for four days, you come home and your relationship is not right. That's a good sign that you just got that your relationship isn't right. And that your sexual compatibility may not be sustainable. So that's a good thing to find out that you're not compatible with somebody sooner than later. And so look at it like that i feel like sexual compatibility like when that's gone or if that's not there that's like the most fundamental thing that you need to be attracted to the other person that you want to fuck them you know if you don't want to fuck them or you have trouble fucking them or it's awkward then that's not compatible because there's people out there that you're going to have incredible
Starting point is 00:33:17 chemistry with yeah i agree the chemistry that's the foundation for the relationship and if that's not there in the beginning, you're not going to have a long-term relationship because at the end of the day, that does change, but you do have to reinvent and always want to like have sex with them. But, and I think to your point, Chelsea, you're right. Better to learn early. And also it makes you question what kind of relationship you want to have. Like maybe you don't want to have a long-term monogamous relationship. Or maybe you want to call that guy from your vacation and get together with him. Yeah. Maybe it's a throuple situation. Maybe that's the relationship you're supposed to be in. Yeah. And just, I tend to agree with you both, but just to play devil's advocate,
Starting point is 00:33:57 you know, when you open up your relationship, you are giving yourself the sort of room to play sexually. And maybe part of your relationship not working sexually is, hey, that's why we have this open thing so we can go like have fun elsewhere. We come back together. But yeah, what do you think about that? I mean, just to play devil's advocate, the opening up of the marriage could have been the solve to the sex life but it sounds like it's creating too many problems i don't know many gay relationships that it solves it yeah i know another friend that's kind of experiencing going through something similar and they have an open relationship and now the boyfriend is really into the other person yeah you know and this is bringing up all sorts of feelings for this guy so
Starting point is 00:34:41 i don't know but i feel like i can't comment on it because i'm a straight woman and so my opinions of it are like no i don't want an open relationship i mean i don't mind fucking around with a third party but i don't want to be dating other people when i'm in a relationship right 100 i mean i think there's there's a big distinction there and i do think you have no matter what your sexual hetero straight you know gay you're it's the same thing if you were in a relationship and you opened it up and all of a sudden there's like another woman in this relationship with you and this guy your guy you're going to be like after a while this this isn't working you know i don't know many struggles that work and i think it's um i also think gay guys and this is a generalization
Starting point is 00:35:21 there's just an issue with the long-term sex commitment and it's kind of built into the dna and men are pigs and this is what we do i mean there you have it everybody men are pigs you heard it here first and no one will be surprised to hear that they heard it on my podcast except It didn't come out of my mouth, did it? Well, I think we sort of solved that one. Tell Dee to let us know what goes down because I want to hear. Yeah, Dee, please keep us posted. I will also say if you do decide to give your relationship a try, like a real college try
Starting point is 00:35:58 after this, there are therapists that specialize in open relationships, polyamory, all that stuff. So since the majority of your relationship has been polyamorous open, that might be a good thing to try. There you go. That's good advice. That's so nice. I didn't even think about that.
Starting point is 00:36:15 That's what I'm going to get certified as a polyamorous therapist. Oh, my God. I would go to you tomorrow. One more thing to add to my repertoire. It's also the advice I gave to two of my friends when they opened up their marriage and blew it up in spectacular fashion. And she ran off with his best friend. And now he dates guys. So it's great.
Starting point is 00:36:35 Sounds like a home run. It all worked out in the end. Yes. Yes. I mean, opening it up and including your best friend, that's nutso. I know. At least these guys did it on vacation. But also opening it up, though, and finding out that you're into the same sex and you start dating the same sex, like you're freeing both people up to actually pursue what they really want. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:59 So that's a good thing, too. It's not such a bad thing when people separate, especially if both people, even if they go in complete opposite directions, like if both people are fulfilled. Great. I agree. Wow. Well, our next question comes from Amanda. She is calling in here, and she is a chef in Ohio. Hello, Chelsea.
Starting point is 00:37:21 I'm a freelance chef, and I've been working my ass off all my adult life. Over the last six and a half years, one of my jobs has been working part-time as a private chef amongst a group of full-time chefs. My boss, who exhibits extreme narcissistic traits, only takes note of things that will benefit him. He took an interest in a healthy cookie I was making for guests and would ask about the recipe. I had been carefully developing this recipe over the course of eight years and had loose plans to market it. This sent off a red flag in my head, and I became guarded about giving the recipe to him. The last time he asked for the recipe, he said he wanted to make it in one of the guests' homes and would give me credit for the recipe. I politely asked him instead if I could critique the current method he was using and avoided giving my recipe to him.
Starting point is 00:38:08 Fast forward a few months, as I was working next to him one morning, he revealed to me that he and his pastry chef wife have developed their own healthy cookie and that they are going to take it to market with the help of his wealthy clients. I was so furious, I shut down and ran to the office to cry. This is a corporate environment in which if you show signs of distress or confrontation, you are the problem. If he mentions it in front of me again, I'm not sure how I'll react. My gut tells me to be direct with him, to help break his unchallenged ways of narcissism,
Starting point is 00:38:38 and possibly build a future where others aren't taken advantage of. But another co-worker thinks my confrontation would only lead to an uncomfortable work environment. I certainly don't want to lose my job. What would you do? Amanda. Oh, wow. Hi, Amanda. Hi.
Starting point is 00:38:54 Hi. Hi. We have our guest today, Bruce Bozzi. Say hi to Bruce. Hi, Bruce. Hi, Amanda. How are you? Good.
Starting point is 00:39:01 How's it going? Good. Excellent. Thank you. So Bruce is a restaurant guy through and through, And that's why I thought he'd have some good wisdom on this for you. Sure. I think this is like even beyond just the restaurant piece.
Starting point is 00:39:14 And so people will steal a good idea, a hundred percent in there, you know, and, and restaurant business, you know, create a dish, create a special, someone then takes that special over and they try, they want credit. So I feel she could be direct with them. She could say, you know, Hey, that sucks. I gave you this idea. I mean, and you kind of took it. And I guess, was she planning on bringing him in to offer it to their guest?
Starting point is 00:39:39 And he then, him making a business of it is just like a stab. You know what I mean? And I think it happens in all business, show business. And, you know, you say you're working on something and all of a sudden somebody is good friends with you. They go for the part. She learned a hard lesson here and her feeling, she's never really going to get past that. She's got to now just develop her own cookie.
Starting point is 00:40:00 And she's got to, I think, make that a business plan. be motivated by that would be my advice to her. I mean, this doesn't preclude you from pursuing the avenue that you were pursuing previous to him revealing that, right? You can still do your thing. Yeah. I mean, I'm a freelancer. I have a lot of different things going on. This is kind of like on the back burner. I think the bigger thing for me, I think I'm over the emotional gut reaction to it. It's more of like, how do I respond if this gets brought up in the workplace again how do i keep myself calm and collected and how do i effectively communicate with him as like an extreme narcissist i i feel like honestly with an extreme narcissist there's
Starting point is 00:40:42 no point in revealing how you feel it's not going to have any impact i think with him it's like just look the other way like he's on his own planet you know i mean if you feel compelled to say something to him i honestly feel like it will fall on deaf ears yeah going and looking at him is the hard part. And to sort of like being in a work environment that you find joyous and you want to be creative and you want to bring something to the table. Now you, there's a lack of trust there. So. And all narcissists just deny what you're saying anyway. Like they deny their own behavior. They have no accountability. Yeah. It's just, it's hard for me to understand that mindset. I tend to be empathetic and try to understand, you know, why people do things,
Starting point is 00:41:22 but it's more of me just being able to cope in that environment with someone like that. And really, when I talk to my co-workers, they all kind of come to the same conclusion is that this is just kind of how it is. Is he senior to you in any way? Yeah. I mean, he's been there longer than me. But he's not your boss? I mean, I could talk to someone in like HR above him, but usually that just creates a whole mess. And a lot of times when, you know, things don't get resolved because he's kind of the head of our department. Well, also, HR is not going to resolve this. It's not a human resources thing.
Starting point is 00:41:53 Right. I mean, I guess the person above him that's in charge of our department, I should say. Me coming from the corporate environment that I do knows these things. Amanda, it's funny that you use this cookie thing because I know someone who's created a cookie and it's really great and she refuses to give anybody the recipe. She just hasn't. And it's like, oh, OK. Yeah. Good on you for not giving him the recipe, by the way. That's good. Yeah. And I think, you know, karma comes into play here. I'm sorry. I just believe in it. And I also think that, so the hard part for you is how do I work with this person? Because you took my idea and that's difficult.
Starting point is 00:42:27 And I think you just have to sort of, I actually do feel, even though he's a narcissist, there is room to have a conversation and communication and say, hey, you know, this was something I shared. And it might fall on deaf ears, I think, to Chelsea's point, which then can even leave you less fulfilled in the conversation. It's very tricky. I would just continue with your projects. Don't even give him the time of day.
Starting point is 00:42:48 let it be like water off a duck's back. Seriously, just he's not important enough to you. He's not going to prevent you from succeeding in your life when he's stealing ideas from people that says it all. So it's not even worth your aggravation. And so I think you just have to think of yourself as like on a different level than him. And it's not even worth interacting or engaging unless he really disrespects you in a very blatant way, then of course, you can defend yourself and speak up for yourself. But on this matter, like it's just not worth it. That's true. I just I can just foresee an issue similar to this coming up again. And it's just more about maintaining composure and just knowing how to handle it. Yeah, I think maybe you should
Starting point is 00:43:27 just you know, maintaining composure. What my therapist Dan always used to say is that there's like your reaction plus time is a response. So like as soon as you're reacting in real time, that's not a response. That's like a jerk, guttural thing. So in any instance where he does provoke you in any way, if that happens, you just have to take a real calm, deep breath or a few and be like, I won't be spoken to like this. This feels very disrespectful. Because then it's about what it feels like to you. You're not accusing him of anything. It's like this is, you know, you don't want to be emotional. You want to just be direct and confident. I feel disrespected in this moment. There's nothing that anybody can argue with about that statement.
Starting point is 00:44:06 Right. Yeah. Yeah. And he can only take from you what you give him. There is sort of an energy boundary that I think that you can set for yourself. Like Chelsea said, water off a duck's back where you know what your bubble is. He doesn't get access to that. He doesn't get access to your creative ideas. I have a relationship with someone in my life who will always be in my life. And several years ago, I was like, you know what? I can't tell this person stuff that's really personal to me because it'll get used against me. But now I have a great relationship with that person because I keep it light. I keep it civil. We chat about the weather. We chat about stuff like that. And it's really improved things. So, you know, maintaining a bubble. Just focus on
Starting point is 00:44:47 talking about the weather. That's a great way to keep your cool. Yeah. But give yourself a boundary where you're like, you know, he can't get in here. Yeah. That's a smart thing to do. Yeah. It also might be time to get your own wealthy clients to market that cookie because eight years i bet it tastes pretty good yeah yeah yeah good idea all right amanda let us know what happens okay great thanks a lot and send us some cookies yeah i would love oh yeah yeah send us some cookies yeah yeah i'll be in touch with you catherine awesome thanks amanda thank you so much bye amanda bye you know i'm such a dingbat like amanda pops up i don't realize like amanda's the one no shit you're like she she i'm like she's sitting right here talk to her i know i mean
Starting point is 00:45:34 You know what? Are you staring at yourself on the screen? Because I do that all the time where I don't look at the other person and I'm looking at myself. So I apologize, Amanda. I literally was like, oh, wait, that's that's who we're talking to. Yes, that's Amanda. Well, our next question is sort of an industry question. So I thought you would both have some good insight into this. Our next caller is Caroline. She is 36. She's a PhD student, and she's also ex-military. Dear Chelsea, I'm a PhD student and not in the industry, quote unquote. However, I met an older man in a networking event, and he showed interest in a book I published, Fairly Smooth Operator.
Starting point is 00:46:17 We're both military veterans, and he wants to produce a short film of one of the chapters, a chapter that tells the story of sexual harassment issues I encountered that still exist in the military. The problem is, when we finally met in person, he took the conversation in the direction of asking me about my dating life. I don't think he crossed a line and he didn't ask me out. I don't know if this is just what people in L.A. talk about or if this is inappropriate and he's trying to shoot his shot. Why can't I network with men without being subject to potentially dating them? I feel like I'm being asked to sign away my rights to a book with someone who has connections that would be helpful. However, there's a murkiness now around his intentions.
Starting point is 00:47:00 What should I say to make the line clear? Or should I not work with him at all? Is this why you only work with women, Chelsea? Thanks for your help, Caroline. Hi, Caroline. Hi, Caroline. Hi. Hi, thanks for having me.
Starting point is 00:47:13 Hi, this is Bruce Bozzi. He's our guest today, and he is embedded in the Hollywood industry. I have a stronghold in it. No, I don't. but yes, I'm familiar with it. I actually have something that I feel, but I think Chelsea, you should lead with this. Well, I just think absolutely not. Like do not work with that is so out of style and so passe. Men asking you about your dating life when you're on a business meeting is unacceptable, period. That's not what you're there for. So I would just cut ties with
Starting point is 00:47:43 him and continue to send your script out and network and just, you're going to find somebody that's going to want to do it for you. And it's probably going to be a woman. Yeah. Yeah. And I think also people reveal themselves so quickly. So if you're paying attention and you choose to look past that because you want to get the project done, you're going to find out, oh, that was actually who they are. And he revealed himself and you felt it and trust your instincts and your gut. And I would say he's not the guy. Okay. And then what's the best way? I'm going to run into him again at these networking meetings. So do I make an excuse? Do I confront it? What do you think is the best way to do that? I would, I would confront it because men like that need to
Starting point is 00:48:22 be called out, I would be like, hey, listen, it's inappropriate for you to be asking me about my dating life. And he'll, you know, minimize it and say, oh, well, no, I was just trying to get to know you. It's like, it's not, we're not in that era anymore. We're in present day modern times. And there's been enough information in the last five years for you to understand that, especially in this industry, you need to behave yourself and act above board. Like you're serious about your work and you showing him that you're serious about your work is going to have a longer and bigger impact than you continuing to work with him. A hundred percent.
Starting point is 00:48:53 Yeah. Is there anything in the moment with that, that you would say, you know, I was kind of shocked in a moment and not prepared for that. Well, yeah, I would go, really? Are you asking me about my personal life? Do you know what year it is? It's 2020. What year is it?
Starting point is 00:49:06 Three. 2023? 2024? Almost. Whatever. 2023, right? Okay. 2023.
Starting point is 00:49:14 I don't, why am I expected to know what year it is? It's all so fucking confusing. You need to react to it in a way that's like, you can't possibly be thinking that's appropriate. It's like somebody farting when you sit down to meet with them. It's like, no. I mean, farting is obviously less offensive than asking you about your dating life, but still inappropriate.
Starting point is 00:49:33 But also normal not to know what to say in that moment because sometimes things settle. Like you kind of take it back. We're all taught to be respectful and to be good people. and to, you know, and you're in the room and you're talking business. So when the time goes away, you know, the next day you're always like, God, I should have said that. Or now you'll for the next time or when you see him again, you're going to like hear it much quicker and be able to be like, hey, hey, you're crossing the line here. And I think Chelsea's completely right.
Starting point is 00:50:02 Yeah. A softer version of that is I wasn't comfortable with that. I was, you know, it made me uncomfortable. I'm going to go in a different direction. Thanks, but no thanks. But I think i totally agree your gut is telling you it wasn't just like an innocent question of like shooting the breeze there's a creep and you're also like protecting future people and you know that he's going to interact with so think about it that way he needs to know that he can't be just like asking women about their personal lives right okay yeah i feel like he kind of used this like veteran bond to make it seem like we're just being friendly but yeah especially with the topic i i just felt like oh now this is feeling exploit exploitative exploitative well especially when
Starting point is 00:50:43 you're talking about like the theme is sexual harassment and he's like so you like to go out like yeah what was your dating life you're like what this is not appropriate yeah yeah well keep us posted the next time you run into him and what happens with that and we hope you find an awesome woman who wants to help you tell your story as well. Awesome. Thank you so much for the reassurance. I appreciate it. Awesome. Thanks, Caroline. Thanks. Bye. Men are pigs. Well, that doesn't get us anywhere, does it? No, but it's like so- But not all men are pigs. No, I know. We're not. I mean, that's just not true. A lot of men are pigs. I mean, I'm not a pig, but I know a lot of good guys too. But I feel like these stories, we hear them so much
Starting point is 00:51:32 and you're right we're not it's a whole different time i think monogamy is really just too much pressure on too many people i also think that we have to restructure it it doesn't make sense with monogamy i feel like you can make a choice to say hey i love you i want to be with you but every now and then i might want to sleep with somebody else you could have like a sort of don't ask don't tell policy but it's not a relationship you're not forming a relationship you just might have a a moment you might be in like in whistler and be like oh so and so's here i feel like there's a lot of ways to live a full life and have multisexual partners and not just immediately when you're like in lockdown with one person well yeah it also depends on what age you meet that person
Starting point is 00:52:13 you know like when i meet my person it's i'm going to be basically in my late 40s or 50 i'm 47 right now and i feel like that's enough time for me not to fucking want to kill them because i'm not 20 and meeting them or 30 or 40. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will say in my, because I was in my early 40s. Later I meet my person the shorter amount of time.
Starting point is 00:52:37 It's true. You want to murder them, take them out. I actually think it's really healthy to meet people in your 40s. Yeah, well, you're smart. I mean, you're more yourself than you were in your 30s for sure. So that's a benefit as well.
Starting point is 00:52:50 Definitely. Yeah. If someone's, you know, down with your personality. if someone's down with your personality yeah but you think meeting somebody in your 40s and 50s other conversely it's you know you kind of like know who you are and like your routine and like your stuff it's not so easy to be like yeah yeah well there's lots of ups and downs to all ages so just keep that in mind yeah true true well let's take a quick break and we'll be right back to wrap
Starting point is 00:53:19 up with Bruce and Chelsea. Behind every night spent making the kids' lunches, there's a lot of suspense. Will they finally eat the veggies? Will the pesto survive the first bite? Will the lunchbox come home empty, half full, or come home at all? And will you finish episode 8 before
Starting point is 00:53:37 you're done slicing the cucumbers? Get Bell Pure Fiber Internet with Crave, Netflix, and Disney Plus for $94 a month. Price guaranteed for two years on Internet with a two-year term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. When I was 14 years old, I was kidnapped and held captive for nine months. I survived and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart
Starting point is 00:54:06 and these are the Survivor Files. I just remember this low taunting voice next to my ear saying, Shut up. Don't say anything. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable. I knew if he woke up, without a doubt, he was going to hurt me. I started feeling that there was someone at the end of my bed, and I just started screaming. They are abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. But these aren't stories about what's taken from them. There's stories about what it takes to make it out alive.
Starting point is 00:54:44 Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's part book club,
Starting point is 00:55:03 part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island to deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo, and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story.
Starting point is 00:55:20 I'm obsessed, I'm obsessed. From best-selling authors and your favorite BookTok creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much,
Starting point is 00:55:43 you're in the right place. Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. On the new podcast, Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus, or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle, I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinheiro, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita, trading the pity for possibility. Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people and they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here. It's when you're alone
Starting point is 00:56:28 that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies you're sold about it. It can be a time where you push your limits, change your mind, or wake up to a new version of yourself. So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, and we're back. We sure are. Well, Bruce, I wanted to ask if there's any advice you'd like to ask Chelsea. Chelsea, yeah, I would. So if there was one question that you would have appreciated being asked at 15, at Ava's age, what would that have been? Oh, God, I was so selfish when I was 15. I mean, I didn't think even my parents existed. You know, it was like, why aren't
Starting point is 00:57:19 they here to serve me? I just couldn't. And I was so angst ridden, too. You know what a great question would be is how can we do a better job of parenting you? Or how can I do a better job as a parent. Dangerous. Dangerous. But it really actually opens up the conversation in a way that you feel like you're partners rather than necessarily parent and child. And I feel like the more you read about parenting, and I do read about parenting, ironically, because I'm always interested and curious about the ownership parents feel over their child. They think they own the person when it's not the you don't own your kids you're guiding them and the idea is that when they grow up they go out into the world and you've prepared them with enough information you know
Starting point is 00:58:07 in their arsenal to navigate a life for themselves that is fulfilling yeah but a lot of parents are just so controlling of their children even when those kids are adults they think that their opinion is more important than their child's opinion and i don't think that that's true when you're talking about two human beings. I find it very interesting that there's just so much ownership. You don't own a person. You're there in this life with a person. And it's a two-way street. Yeah, 100%. I think it's a great question for me to ask her because when I think about it now, quite honestly, we have about three years left. And then if I've done my job right, there's a strong person now that's going to have a life of their own. And I agree, this weird sense of
Starting point is 00:58:55 ownership of children, it's like, no, you're your own person from the minute you're here. But that is the way for us to sort of navigate the next three years, which I think are really important for her to really know that I'm a support for her to pursue what she wants. That's the way to do it because it can avoid the frustrations and the arguments. Because, as you read about kids, the chapters change. So when you have a small kid, you have to micromanage them. And so I will ask for that question and I will see what she says. And then see if she asks you the question back, how can I be a better daughter? I bet you she won't. I bet you she won't. But that's a really good question. That's a good conversation to have.
Starting point is 00:59:41 I mean, I get three minutes of dinner, she's in and out, bam, she's back in her room. Yeah. It's just, I remember my father being like, oh, I'm the father. I decide. I'm like, sit for how long? Like, are you serious? Because that doesn't make me take you seriously. You deciding everything doesn't make me respect you. It makes me think you're foolish. Right. Yeah. That's funny. Again, your head, I was like in the box of child parent relationship, like, no, you can't do this. This is what you should do. It's like, I didn't know I actually had the voice to so much later and the later you that happens you have to go through the steps of life you know you want to you don't want to be doing what you should be have done in your teens
Starting point is 01:00:21 in your late 20s absolutely yeah and there we have it you guys parenting hot hot parenting tips 101 that's what we'll call this episode hot parenting tips from chelsea handler delivered straight to Bruce Bozzi's lap. Any day. Always welcomed. Thank you, Bruce, for today. That was really fun. Love you.
Starting point is 01:00:42 I love you, too. Thank you, Catherine. Thank you, Chelsea. See you soon. Bye. Bye-bye. Don't forget to watch my special on Netflix, you guys. Revolution.
Starting point is 01:00:52 It's a revolution. So if you'd like advice from Chelsea, just send us an email at dearchelseepodcast at gmail.com. Dear Chelsea is a production of iHeartRadio, executive produced by Nick Stump. Produced by Catherine Law and edited and engineered by Brad Dickert. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable,
Starting point is 01:01:29 abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. Pro Society is a weekly podcast that's part book club, part group chat for anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse.
Starting point is 01:01:58 Each week, we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and pop culture. with your favorite writers, book talk creators, and plenty of overthought opinions. Yeah, I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out.
Starting point is 01:02:31 You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our hometown is not a test tube. 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back.
Starting point is 01:03:08 Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.

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