Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Loren Gray | TikTok Queen's Netflix Debut

Episode Date: August 22, 2024

#765. Loren Gray, the social media sensation and one of TikTok’s original stars, joins Kaitlyn to chat about her leap into the acting world with her upcoming comedy INCOMING. Loren opens up about her journey from being bullied in school after her TikTok fame and moving to LA. They dive into the pressures of social media, comparing yourself to others, and Loren's surprising role in her first-ever movie. Plus, Loren shares how TikTok keeps her humble, and what her dream role would be as she continues to explore new avenues in her career. If you’re LOVING this podcast, please follow and leave a rating and review below! PLUS, FOLLOW OUR PODCAST INSTAGRAM HERE! EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: (22:51) - Kaitlyn talks about the misconceptions people have about her online persona and how she’s actually in the best place she’s ever been. (27:57) - Loren shares her thoughts on how people are often surprised when content creators explore different forms of media. (32:14) - Loren discusses her first role in the Netflix movie, INCOMING! Thank you to our Sponsors! Check out these deals! CB Distillery: Visit CBDistillery.com and use code VINE for 20% off. Dime: Head to DIMEBeautyCO.com now to get 25% off sitewide during their Anniversary Sale. Macy’s:...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Okay, let's talk about the original enemies to lovers story. Before all of our reality TV couples, before the rom-coms, we binge, there was Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in pride and prejudice. And Audible has just dropped a brand new original that will have you completely hooked, I am. It's not just any audiobook. This is a full cast performance. So Marisa Abella, you might know her from industry, brings Elizabeth Bennett to life.

And Harris Dickinson from Baby Girl and Where the Crawdads sing is Mr. Darcy. And honestly, the chemistry, you guys, it's everything. Plus, you've got icons like Glenn Close, Bill Nye and Will Polter in the mix. Talk about a dream cast. Now, what I love is how Marissa pulls you right into Lizzie's world, her stubbornness, her wit, her messy family dynamics, and of course, her complicated feelings for Darcy. And with a vibrant new adaptation and original score by Grammy-nominated composer, it just feels so fresh and modern while still keeping that timeless Jane Austen charm.

So whether it's your first time experiencing Pride and Prejudice or you've read it a million times, you're going to fall absolutely in love all over again. So go listen to Pride and Prejudice now at audible.ca slash Jane Austen. I'm Caitlin Bristow. Your session is now starting. Hey everybody. Welcome to Grape Therapy. I'm Caitlin Bristow here with Sydney Quinn, who is visiting for a little while. And you got to sit in on the Lauren Gray podcast, who you. 12-year-old me was screaming. I think nine-year-old you. Oh, yeah, 100%. And 12. And 12, but you love Lauren Gray from TikTok. She's called the TikTok queen. And she is very a fascinating girl because at 22, I don't think I had the perspective that she. She does, but she's been through a lot, and she went through a lot of bullying, and ended up doing homeschooling, and then became famous on TikTok. She's also got 23. She was on musically, and then she was on TikTok. She got famous on musically.

And she has 23 million followers on Instagram. I looked at her TikTok, like 53.8 million followers. That is huge. I talked to her about the responsibility of that and this new upcoming movie that she's in. Oh, my God. I'm so excited. So it's basically like, not a spin-off, but like the humor and setting of Superbad, which is one of my favorite movies, and she's got a really big role in it. So it was really interesting to talk to her, and I enjoyed it. Did you?

I really enjoyed it. Okay. How old are you? I'm 22. 22. Okay. So my niece is 16. She's here with us today. What year were you born? 2007. Oh, that scares me. I'm 85, guys. Okay? When I hear anyone born in the 2000s, I'm like, what? Like, the other day I thought this guy was so hot, and I looked. him up and it was like, 1999. I was like, oh, no. Yeah, yeah. I'm starting to feel that a little bit. 22. I was at, I was at, I was at a, I used to feel that way at 22. I did a meet and greet the other day and they were like, you know, I don't know anyone here like any of the new up and coming people. Like, I only knew you. And I was like, that's great. I used to be that. That's, yeah, well, buckle up. I was the bachelor at nine years ago and I'm now at the phase where people's like, oh my gosh, my mom loves you. I'm like, oh, my God. That's such a compliment, though.

Sure. Whitting the affections of the moms is like, that's, that's hype. That's true. There's a lot of moms out there that don't like me. Sydney and I were actually laughing so hard going through my DM. It was so funny going through her DMs. Because, well, it's funny and it's sad because this one woman who shall not be named because she probably listens to this podcast starts telling me about how my ex's new girlfriend

is much prettier than me and better than me. And all these things. And honestly, it didn't even face me. I went, I'm not going to compare myself to my ex's new girlfriend. I do think she's pretty. She's successful. She's what, what does that mean? That doesn't take away from me.

And it was just interesting to watch this and talk about this with Sydney because 16 years old, you know, you go through faces in life when people are mean. And you just realize that at any age, I'm sure, Sydney, have you experienced bullying? Yeah. Yeah. You've experienced bullying. I'm sorry. You've experienced bullying. and it's like obviously I'm not making an excuse for it because it's not okay it's just like it says everything about these people like it's we could do whatever the heck we want and they'll find reasons and once I had an honest conversation with her she was like you know what I think I'm just worried about you kids and I was like talk to her yeah and I went worrying is one thing and that's kind you can worry about me but you don't need to compare me to another woman and you don't need to tell me

that I messed up in my life by letting something go. You don't know me. It's actually one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself. You're so brave. You're a mother. You're a mother. Looks like you're about 65 to 70. And like, shame on you.

Yeah. And that's, yeah, shame on you. So I know you've experienced a lot of bullying. I think we talked about it a little bit last time, which is funny because we both didn't remember that you were on this podcast. 2020, I say 2024 is on drugs. 2020 was just a whole, like a blackout year. I don't remember that time period.

I don't remember it. I don't remember what I was thinking. I don't remember where I was. I feel like we were all just numb trying to get through like the scariest time of life and that we all just blacked it out. And that's what we like to call trauma. Yeah. Actually, I feel that way.

I think I forget everything. Like, I remember this year. But then like anything that happened before that, I'm like, might not happen actually. Right. Yeah. What do you feel? This is the most random question.

Like, when we were going through 2020, 2021, and all these bad. things kept happening and the world was just so scary I got to a place where I was like that fan right there could start talking to me and I could realize that fans are aliens and I'd be like probably yeah like nothing phased me yeah do you feel like it toughened you up and kind of made you like fearless in life or did it did it make you a fragile I think it made me care less yeah cool like I was just kind of like you know yeah things happen yeah things happen I've been telling Sydney you got to just roll with the punches at this point like yeah you know shitty things happen and scary things happen and we're all just going to get through it together

you got to listen to the to the universe is what i've been learning recently is like if there are things coming at you and you're like this is a lot is happening right now maybe take a step back oh you know you're lucky you learn that at 22 i'm learning that at 39 i'm still learning it i don't i don't want to believe it but i know it's true it is true it's and i always say that women's intuition is really bananas like if we really it's hard to get quiet these days with social media but if you really get quiet and listen to your body, it'll tell you what's right and wrong. Yeah. It really will.

Yeah. So you started musically, TikTok, at what, 2019, or were you on it before that? And that's just when it blew up was around 2019, 2020. It started blowing up around 2017. Oh, 2017. I was 13. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

How do you handle that level of attention at 13? Not well. Yeah. Not well. But at the same time, I was really looking for that. Yeah. Like, I needed not fame or, like, anything like that, but I was just so lonely. And it was very, I found, like, a community there.

Oh, that's nice. It was good in that regard. Obviously, once things get bigger and bigger, there's more and more to be careful about and more that's going to hurt your feelings. Yeah. But at the time, especially in the very beginning, it was, like, perfect because it fell into my lap, it happened by accident, and then all of these people cared about me. I don't think that's by accident.

I don't either. Okay. I, so crazy, crazy story. My mom, when I was 12, so right before all of this happened, we were, I remember exactly where we were, we were going down a hill by my house, and we were driving somewhere. And my mom is like, she's tapped in. I don't know what she's tapped in, too, but she just knows things, and she's really good at manifesting things.

Yep. And she looked at me, and she was like, out of nowhere, she was like, you're going to be famous. And I was like, no, no, I don't want that. No, I don't want people in my business. And my mom was like, I don't know. Really? It's going to happen. And I was like, oh, no, that's the last thing I want.

And then, like, literally six months later, everything started spiraling. So you didn't want it. And then when it happened, you were like, wait, this is amazing. Yeah. And I was like, in a way, it was kind of exactly what I needed. Yeah. There was nothing at school that made me feel whole. I always felt like something was missing.

And I didn't make friends even. easily. I actually had quite the opposite experience. So, yeah, I don't know. Once that happened, things started to make sense a little more. What do you think that is in high school? Like, me was middle school. I never made it to high school. Oh, middle school. I was homeschooled in high school. Oh, amazing. Well, probably not amazing because it was probably because you were getting bullied. Yeah, I left school initially because of that. Well, I left school twice. I left school in the fifth grade because I was bullied for, I was really ugly. I was really, really ugly.

Oh, bless. And people thought I was, like, albino, and they were afraid of me. Oh, my. Because I was so blonde. Gosh. So that was, I left school after that, and I went back. I watched, like, I would finish my schoolwork. I was doing online school.

I would finish super fast. And then I would go online and watch makeup tutorials. Yeah. And I learned how to do makeup while I was homeschooled. And then in seventh grade, I told my mom was like, I want to go back, because I felt more confident because I knew how to do my hair and do my makeup. And so I went back and then the whole musically TikTok thing started and I ended up leaving again because I was bullied for the opposite reason. See, it doesn't matter.

You are a beautiful person on the inside and out and you will get bullied for your outside appearance and your inside appearance because, and I always say this, people are afraid of a bright light and you are a bright light. Sydney is a bright light and people don't know how to deal with that if they have their own inner darkness. And it's sad for them, but obviously you can't process that. as a young woman and I can't imagine like what Sydney's experiences now especially because the internet was sort of it was on on the rise I guess when I was in middle school but now it's like everything so I can't imagine what is your experience so bad tell tell us why why I got bullied no like why the internet well sure but why is the internet so bad right now everything just gets shared so easily and like every time like something happens someone texts

And then it just goes everywhere, and everyone knows about everyone's business. And it probably blows up into something that isn't true, and then... A whole bunch of rumors start, yeah. And why are people mean to you? Yeah. Because I'm short. Because you're short? Girl, please.

Because you're short? Yep. That's absurd. They make fun of you because you're short? And they say I'm fat, so... That's absurd. Don't listen to that. But, yep.

Okay, well, I will say my heart, like, I would have cried right now, but I... That's so upsetting to me. Yeah. You have such good... I don't even care. Well, you care a little bit, but, like, it hurts, but you don't let it define you. Yeah, because I, you are very confident. And you know that people say things from an insecure place.

Oh, 100%. Good. And you witness it with your auntie, who's 39 and, like, just like trying to live my truth. And people are like, I hate you. And I'm like, so does that, do you think it helps you to watch me get bullied? I don't know. I mean, I can't believe that. I don't know the right answer to that one.

What do you say to people, Sid, when they. say things like that to you. Nothing. It's over social media. No one says anything to their face anymore. Everyone's too scared to say it to their face. Yeah. It's like a little drug for people where it makes them feel better in the moment to bring you down,

but then they go to sleep at night and they're probably like, I'm a dick. Also, this is something that I started learning. I would say after I turned like 20, but I've talked to you for maybe five minutes, and I promise you, you're smarter than all of

people and that goes such a long way like if anything like at the end of the day I don't look like this I take off my makeup I look like a rat no and I get into bed and I sit in my nest and I sit happy knowing that I was smarter than everyone that ever made me feel terrible and like you don't realize the value of that when there's things like popularity and look followers in the mix but like your intelligence and The way that your brain works, so much more valuable. Oh, it really is.

She has the kindest heart, and you're so, you're just such a lovely human. And that's literally, I don't even remember high school. Like, it doesn't matter. I hate high school. It's the worst. Me too. I don't even go. I'm like, yeah.

Maybe you should get homeschooled in your last year, Sid. That sounds kind of nice. My best friend, she left school, I think, her senior year or sophomore year, something. She left school, and then her and I became friends. But it was the same thing. Like, girls being evil, and she just left. And for her, that was, like, the right thing. And she's, you know, one of the kindest, nicest, most amazing people I know.

And it's like, people pray on that, too. Oh, my gosh. They'll pray on anything. It's just crazy. You've gone through a lot in your very short life so far. You still have, like, what, over 20, like, do you have 28 million followers on Instagram? No. Something.

23, something. That's crazy. I always try and think about it like this. Like, I look around, we were at the Zach Bryan concert the other night. The best concert I've ever been to. Life. Was it fun? Oh, it was so good.

It was everything. And I look around and there's probably, I don't know, 65,000 people in there. And that's, you're looking out at that and you're going, this is so. so many crowds and crowds of people and then you like times that by however to equal 23 million do you ever think about it like that like just football fields and stadiums and stadiums and stadiums and hundreds of stadiums of people just watching you or did I just freak you out um I mean I've thought about it that way for sure but it doesn't it doesn't feel that way do you feel like a responsibility or are you really just in your own lane of like this is what

I do on Instagram. I don't have to get into politics. I don't have to get into religion. I don't just share this aspect of my life. Do people try and tell you you've got a responsibility because you've got this platform? Yes. But my my responsibility for myself has always been to young girls and to me younger people. So you know what I mean? Because there's a lot of things that I don't know and I don't want to pretend to know or try to like be holier than thou. on, but one thing I do have experience in is being a really sad, lonely, isolated 13-year-old. Yeah. And all of my experiences through, you know, between 13 to now, I do know that.

And I do feel like I have a place in that. And that's something that I'm really confident in. And so, yes, I feel a responsibility in a sense. And it's not even to like be, I have to be a role model. You know what I mean? Because you just want to be. You. Yes, and kids aren't dumb. Like, they know I'm not perfect. But if there is even like a little something that I can say that sticks with someone like Sydney who's like in school and dealing with

those kind of people, then that's where my purpose is and all of it. Gosh, so I love, I love the younger generation these days. Me too. And I just, I think that it's so, like the internet can be so great. Yeah. The internet can be so terrible. And I had, I mean, my, my, like I said my experience was on like the precipice of it becoming what it is now but even at that time I had people tweeting about me and posting about me and threatening to jump me on snapchat and all of these things I had to have it to me once to get threatened to get done and they're never going to do it right no no no but like that could be reported to the police yes but no one no one does because it's just it's just school and it's you know and you don't you also don't want to be the person that's

making it a bigger scene or making it a bigger deal than it has to be oh i don't like that though i'm like use your voice stand up for yourself yeah i mean my mom was showing up to people's houses my mom didn't care my mom was showing up to the school like once a week my mom was showing up to people's houses plus your mom but i would be like mom please no because it's you just don't want to draw attention to yourself and you kind of want to like blend into the background but when you're older knowing what you know it's so easy to be like, who cares? Yeah. Well, that's, I mean, I guess that is just part of the journey of life.

You just have to go through these things, learn the hard way. The way we all learn lessons is through the thick mud. Yeah. You can't get around it. You just got to go through it. And then we all, like, are so much stronger and wiser and better for it. So how do you compare yourself now? Like the person you are on social media now in your life now outside of social media

to when you were 13, 14, 15, going through all this crazy stuff. stuff. I definitely think I'm more resilient, but I still have a lot of lingering feelings. Yeah. And even my experiences through my teenagers up until now have been so trying. It's like I feel like if I were, if I were meant to break by now, it would have happened. So I do feel like I've gotten stronger, but there's still that part of me that doesn't really value myself truly. And that's something that I've been trying to work on. Yeah. It's a lifelong project, by the way. But I put myself in situations and I'm like, dude, everyone's telling you you're better than this. Yeah. And it's hard for me to see it. So I think there's both sides of the coin. On one side, I do think

I'm stronger. When it comes to the internet, there's not a lot that can affect me. But in my personal life, I just feel like I don't value myself as much as I probably should. And are you working on that? Like, what do you do for your mental health? I'm trying. I mean, I don't even know how, where to start a lot of the time. I mean, for me, I've tried to build better relationships with the people around me, lean on people more because that's something that I feel like in the past I've felt weak doing.

It's like reaching out to friends and asking them to hang out or whatever. Because you just feel like a burden. Yeah. Especially because, like, I have like, two groups. of best friends. And one group, they're a couple, they've been dating for almost 10 years. My other best friends have been dating for seven. Wow. And then there's me. And then there's me. Right. Right. I'm like 39 and I'm like, how have people been together for 10 years? And I'm over here just struggling to find them. Yeah. So I'm the person that's like, hey guys, can I come watch a movie

with you? They're like, actually we planned a date tonight, but maybe tomorrow. Yeah. So you're not dating uh no not not currently that's not anymore oh shoot yeah not anymore but we're happy about um i think so i think it's i think it'll end up being for the best yeah it's just i'm in that delicate like ugh phase right now i feel that but sometimes walking away is the strongest thing you can do for yourself so who snaps for that snaps for that yeah um yeah that's i feel that and it's hard when you're like you don't really truly believe that you deserve better yeah but i just kind of have to take everyone else's word for it and let it do its thing and well take their word but also like I said get quiet with yourself and write out do you

ever journal yes and I have like kind of imposter syndrome when I do I don't I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this or if I'm just really like probably messed up a little bit but when I start journaling and I start like writing stuff out I feel so detached and I'm like interesting I feel like I'm reading about someone else's life and I'm like no surely not interesting yeah I don't know. I get like imposter syndrome and oh my god my brain sometimes this is where I wish I was a therapist because I'm like I would I want to know what that means yeah me too I'm it's probably something I really bad but and I actually did

recently start talking to a therapist this is something that I've been like super on the fence about because I was like I don't know oh my god I don't feel ready to unpack things and then I just start talking and I'm she didn't get a word in yeah probably the first like three sessions yeah and I need to see her again but oh my gosh therapy is changed my life. I love therapy. Yeah. Sid goes to therapy, I go to therapy. We highly recommend. It really is. It's not even if you, like you said, you just go in and all of a sudden you're talking and they don't, and sometimes that alone can help. It's just getting out your thoughts. That's why I like journaling too. It's just getting out your thoughts and like

going back to you think it's the right thing and your friends are telling you this, but I think you know in your gut. Yeah. It's the right thing. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Okay. Yeah. I think I'm taking small steps. Big changes happen in the micro shifts. Big, big things happen over time in the small steps. So you just keep taking those small steps and then like life goes by so fast. I never believed my parents when they said that. And then my 30s passed and I was like, okay, I get it. And when I look back on my 30s, all the small changes have led me to where I am. And I'm like, even though I seem like a complete disaster to certain people online, I'm actually in the best place I've ever been. And in every way. I just yeah I mean I'm still hot mess and I'm still emotional and I'm still figuring things out and I still have wild insecurities and I still you know all the things but I like I said this was Jared Freed I'm like I'm just so confidently insecure and everyone everyone is yeah I don't just got to lean in I don't believe that anyone's truly completely secure no if you are I'd love to meet you no you wouldn't love to meet them that's called cocky and delusional and like a little scary I want to know what

the transition. You were literally called the TikTok queen. And now you're into singing and acting and we'll get into that acting. That's huge, this role that you have. What has the transition been like for you? Do you love it? Are you like, because TikTok can obviously fun, but are you like, okay, then what's next? Like, what's more for me? How has that been? I mean, I feel like people are always shocked when content creators step out of the box and try different forms of, you know, more traditional media. Yeah. But I, I, I, I've explained it this way a couple of times. If someone's consistently putting themselves out in front of an audience,

that's just someone who loves performing. And to me, it's like naturally that person's going to want to try other things. And for me, like I started before social media, I was doing cheerleading and I was doing competitive whatever shows. And then I started social media. And I feel like it's kind of the natural trajectory of someone who really loves performing. And, I mean, it hasn't been simple. You have more to prove, of course, because of preconceptions.

Yeah. But that's true. That being said, I've been more selective. I've been, I've had to work harder, which for me, I think, is a good thing because I love a challenge. Yeah. And it's been great, honestly. And, like, even the music industry is, I've had bumps there, of course. Yeah.

Oh, I heard the music industry is Ruth. It's rough out there. I mean, I've talked about it so much, but it's just, you've got to be a different kind of strong to put yourself through that. But beyond that, I think it's just the natural sort of evolution of someone who really, really wants to perform. Yeah, that's cool. I mean, it takes a lot of confidence and bravery to, like, step outside a comfort zone and accept a challenge. I feel like that's huge. I hope you give yourself, I hear you and I just go, give you, give yourself credit, give yourself on the back, give yourself a heart.

Give yourself a hug. You're doing big things. I think the day that I give myself credit, though, is the day that I get complacent. Oh, no. And I just, I've kind of always thrived off of being like, mm, no, keep going. Okay, I'm the same way, but I've had to, like,

really work on sitting back and, like, appreciating and, like, soaking in the wins that I've had over my years instead of being like, okay, but what else could I do? Like, you really have to do that. It's a practice. Yeah. And I think for me it's a kind of a balance of removing myself from L.A. for a little bit. I go back to Pennsylvania and I have my moments there and I will stay there for a couple weeks at a time.

And that's been super helpful and just kind of being like, okay, that was a good run. Let's regroup. But it's hard when it's you because I'm so good at celebrating other people. But when it comes to myself, it's like I don't want to look at that. Have you done personality test before? Which one? The Enneagram. What's that?

She's such a two. I want you to take a personality test I'm just that you're you sound like the helper or like the I feel like I don't know no I'm just labeling you as a two but I want you to take it just because it's I love learning everything I can about myself I want to know my birth chart I want to know my personality test I want to know everything that I can I want to get to know myself so do the enneagram test and then let me know well I think the most telling thing about me is like a lot of people are going to roll their eyes right now but I'm an aries yeah but I'm a double cancer. So I have cancer rising and cancer moon. Yeah. And then my, my son is Ares. But I

actually, like, one of the personality tests I've done, because I also love to dissect myself. Yeah. Told me that I was, like, avoidant, which, like, tracks. Yeah. And it tracks. Hands up. Interesting. But, like, I want to know if I'm a two or a, yeah. I'm curious. I'm, where do I, like, where do I do that? Anyagram.com, I think, I don't know. I don't know. I want to do Sidney's. Have you ever done a personality test? I haven't, no. We should do it. We should do it. after this. Wait, yes. And what is,

you're a Capricorn, aren't you? Yeah. I love Capricorn. I do too, actually. Oh, I love it. Yeah, you're so stable. Well,

I actually like tilt her head. You're stable, but with hormones, so that makes sense. That's, that's, do you get mad when I talk about your hormones all the time?

Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, so let's talk about you have this, a big character you're playing in, is it a movie or a show? Movie. It's a movie. Okay, it's called incoming.

And what attracted you to this role? Tell us all about it because this is on... Yeah, I want to know. Yeah, we're very excited about this. Oh, okay, cool, thanks. Yeah. Yeah, so this is my first movie I've ever been a part of. And there's been, of course, there's been roles that have been, that have come in.

And I was really excited about this one because it was the first one that I auditioned for that seemed out of the ordinary for me. It seemed like sort of left field something people wouldn't expect. and the script was hilarious. And I wanted it so bad because you get offered a lot of roles, especially when you have the followers and the numbers that people just want you there for the sake of having you there to bring in whatever audience you have pre-existing. But I wanted something that I had to work for and win.

And I did so many auditions. I did self-tapes. I went in person and read with the Shernan Brothers in person. It's very, like, super bad-esque humor, that raunchy out there. And my role was very, as Helen likes to say, it was very humanizing. Oh, I love that. And I don't think people will be expecting where it goes, for me specifically. Yeah.

But I watch the movie so many times now, and I love it. I think it's hilarious. Oh, my gosh. I'm so excited to watch. Yeah, we're so excited. And you've already filmed it. Yeah. When does it come out?

It comes out in August In August Okay So will it be in theaters? No, it's coming out on Netflix Oh, even better Even better Yes, yes, there it will be

I'm like, theaters are a dying breed Put that shit on Netflix Oh my gosh, that's incredible Yeah Netflix! Yeah Imagine being on Netflix Like that'd be so cool

I mean I am on Amazon Prime Back in the day If you want to search Bachelorette season 11 Girl, that is exciting Kulu Dancing with the Stars But Netflix is like the girl You're not dancing with the stars

I won you did to brag or anything yeah that's so cool I won't you're so cool that's awesome I'll tell you what nothing made me feel cooler than winning that show I was like I am cool

you're like yes I am the star and you are dancing with me yeah and I am a mirror ball champ no it's crazy because I grew up dancing my whole life and then I couldn't make it as a dancer because I wasn't good enough so it's like the full circle moment where I'm like you made it I was like in my 30s and I just won the mirror ball I am a dancer

there you go yeah it was amazing Sometimes the validation comes later. Okay, so you said a little bit. It's like the raunchy kind of pulling from super bad inspiration, funny, comedy, which is like one of the most iconic movies of all times. Like I quote that movie all the time. Is there anything like behind the scenes that you could talk about? Like, did you have a little crush on something?

Whenever I was in musical theater, I always had a crush on like the most unexpected human. I'd like hear him sing a bar and I'd be like, oh, wait, what? Michael Topping. That's his name. I didn't see that one coming. Well, I So for most of the time I was only on set with two of the boys

And they were like 15 Oh, no A little weird Fair enough No, but they were really cool And I spent a lot of time with them Obviously, so we were good friends Yeah, that's nice

And I enjoyed seeing I actually had a friend in the movie His name's Thomas Barbusca And I didn't really register that he was in the movie Until I saw him on one of the last days of filming And we were like Really? Yeah, wait a

Yeah, I was like, wait, what did you get here? That's so funny. And you're like a big role in this. Yeah, give yourself the damn credit, woman. You're a big role in this. Yeah, and you worked hard to get there. What would your dream role be moving forward in the acting world? I don't know.

I really, really love, like, what I really loved about this is that it was unpredictable, and it wasn't, I wasn't just playing, like, the popular girl. Yeah, yeah. It was so gorge. Yeah. There was more depth to the character, and I really appreciated that. So I like things that are a challenge. Yeah.

Because I feel like there's been a lot of no-brainers that have come my mind. I'm like, huh? Yeah. I get that. I'm the same kind of person. Like, I love a challenge. Just because you are the TikTok queen, and there's, I mean, stuff goes down in the TikTok world. But we all see, speaking of Netflix,

the show on Netflix. What is it called? Dancing with the Devil. There's that show Dancing with the Devil about the TikTok world. Did you know these people have anything to do with this world? No. Okay. Did you hear about it at any point? And when the documentary came out, you're like, I'm glad this is getting exposed or you just saw it come out and you're like, what the hell? I had no idea. I don't, I didn't even know about, I didn't know of any of them until, and I mean, at least I don't think I did. Yeah. The influencer sphere has gotten so big. And there's always messed up things happening that like it was really sad it wasn't surprising necessarily i see crazy stuff all the time yeah but no i didn't know anyone personally okay god i watched it and i was

like this is i had two thoughts of it one i was like i the family doing this to the daughter i'm like this feels like you're ruining your relationship with her even more because she seems quite happy but also i want people to be exposed if they're doing something wrong so It was interesting to watch, but I just, like, remember, I don't know if you're ever part of the, there's like a TikTok house for, you weren't part of that. Okay, gosh, yeah, I can't imagine. Those were crazy. Yeah. Those were.

Like, people, like, I don't have the mental stamina for that. No, these kids were driving, like, Ferraris and living in this house at the age of. The hype house is one of them. The hype house. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so who's your favorite person to follow on TikTok? I don't know, because I just kind of like scroll.

Yeah. So what's your favorite kind of content to consume on TikTok? My algorithm is really not normal, I don't think. It's a lot of like carousel-like type. Oh, really? Swipe memes, stuff like that. I don't know. I try not to scroll too much.

Good for you. Because then I've been reading more. Less. Yes and no. Because I think reading, depending on what you're reading, for me it's like the same mindless like I'm reading the book and it's just like the most intense plotline I'm just like tapped in yeah um so to me it's like the same mindless like activity but at least I'm learning new words that's what I think that's not like skibbitty whatever yeah like it's like actual

when I read books I'm like at least my vocabulary is probably growing a bit yeah yeah and I like Google words when I don't know them so that's but I will say TikTok inspires me to be a little funnier yeah like I'm like oh also it's very humbling so I'm like I'm not that funny so humbling I think I'm so funny and then I watch TikTok I'm like not really I like Britney Brosky a lot okay um if I saw her page I probably

she has a podcast she was like the kombucha meme yeah yes oh my god I'm obsessed I love her I think she's really funny she's so funny I don't know I try not to watch like too too many people that are similar to me because then I start getting a little bit going a little bit crazy that's why I don't

listen to podcasts. Yeah. Because I started comparing and you're like, oh my God, this person's so much more interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I do that all the time. I do it all the time. God, if there wasn't a world of social media, would we still be comparing ourselves so much to so many other people? Yes. Okay. Do you watch Bridgeton? I watched the first season. Okay. I'm on the first season right now. I just actually just started the second season on my drive here. I was like listening to it. Amazing. Like that's my podcast. Yeah. But even then they're like, you know, Daphne is the diamond of the season and all the girls are like ugh you know it's the same vibe it's true there's always someone to compare yourself to god even when i was like a kid i was comparing myself to

my sister i was like she's so cool oh that was me in the dance studio i just there's always ways to compare yourself and be like i'm not good enough yeah and whatever but then everyone else is like you're so dope yeah i know we got to we got to hype ourselves up the way a best friend would to us yeah and i have great friends why do we not want to be our own best friends i don't know i don't know if i can handle being friends with myself. I think about this, I was so blessed to not have a twin. Yeah, I've said that before about myself. I would be the evil twin too, and that's, I know that. I would be so competitive, my ego would be too big, and I would be like, yeah, there can't be two of me. Yeah, exactly. I'll feel you on that. What upcoming projects do you have besides a huge show

on Netflix? What are you excited about right now? Oh, well, I'm starting music again. Amazing. So I'm excited for that. What's your favorite style of music? Everything. Really? I listen to everything and a lot of people don't take me seriously when I say that but like from heavy metal to country to like Taylor Swift everything in between I listen to yeah right now I've been listening to the acoustic version of I took a pill in Ibiza by my poster incredible I discovered that recently because I'm going to Abiza oh and I was listening to the song and then I was like oh the song's um ouch yeah yeah I feel a personal attack there and I was like oh I add to playlist yeah um so that I've been listening to a lot. Also, Helen showed me this cover from the band Michael

Sarah Palin of If It Makes You Happy by Cheryl Crow. And it's like a like rock version of that song and it's so sick. Okay, I'm going to listen to that. I think you'll like it. I love, well, you strike me as a woman with taste. Thank you. You wouldn't tell by my outfit together. I'm wearing Boxer towards a cowboy booths. She's got taste. I like to think so, but I always feel like I'm like, am I one of those people that's just 39 now where I go, like, I'm just trying

to her to keep up with the young folk? No. Okay. Thank God. Not that, like, you need more than 23 million followers, but where can people find you? I don't even know my ads. At Lauren, at Lauren Gray, somewhere. And it's L-O-R-E-N. Yes. And is the gray with it A? Yes. Okay. That's important information.

Hell good. No one ever gets that right. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. I do my research. Like with your Instagram page, do you ever, like, will you promote the Netflix show, or do you strictly stick to your niche of content? No, I post everything. Okay, cool. Yeah. So you'll post this podcast. Cool.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, of course. Of course. Like, I could really use those views. Thank you so much for coming on, and I'm so excited. Sidney and I are going to, we should FaceTime and watch the movie together. We should. That's cute.

Yeah. We should. Or just fly me out to come see you. That works, too. Okay, I'll do that, too. That works, too. So when we're watching the movie, what can we expect? It's crazy.

There's a lot happening. Okay. A lot happening all at once. Like, what's the setting? Is it high school? Yes. Okay. And it's all about this party.

Okay. So, and I'm there. And you're at the party? Until I'm not. Oh, shit. She dead. Oh, gone. Okay.

You're at the party until you're not. Sold. That was a good teaser right there. Thank you. I will be watching. Yeah. Enough said. Thank you so much for coming on. You're such a little jam. You are a light. I hope you know that. Thank you. You. You got to believe in yourself a little more. We're going on. I'm Caitlin Bristow. Your session is now ending. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind a rating and review.

Thank you. Thank you.