The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Chloe Bailey, Derrick Johnson & Scott Mills Talk NAACP Image Awards, BET, Burna Boy + More

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Chloe Bailey, Derrick Johnson & Scott Mills To Discuss NAACP Image Awards, BET, Burna Boy. Listen For More!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, it's Nikki Glaser. So I hosted the Golden Globes at Hollywood's biggest party. Honestly, you've probably seen all the headlines this week, but like any good party, there's a lot of wild stuff that goes down behind the scenes that you don't know about. And since I hosted the Golden Globes, I'm letting my podcast listeners, my besties, in on all the behind the scenes tea. Stuff that didn't make it to the live TV taping, what went down in rehearsals, who said what at the after party.

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The best antidote to a bad mood I've ever heard. Join the pack and start feeding your best self. Listen to The One You Feed on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada to cover the consumer electronics show, tech's biggest conference. Better Offline CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest

trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025. I'll be joined by David Roth at Defecta and the writer Edward Ongweiso Jr. with guest appearances from Behind the Bastards' Robert Evans, It Could Happen Here's Gare Davis, and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Hey y'all, I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, host of Therapy for Black Girls.

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you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning everybody. It's DJ Envy Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lauren LaRosa is here with us this morning. And we got some special guests in the building. We have Derek Johnson, the president of the NAACP. Welcome. We have Scott Mills, CEO of BET. Good morning.

Thank you for having me. And we have a friend to the room, cousin to the room, Chloe Bailey, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back. Hello. How you feeling? How's everybody? Fantastic.

Cold. Cold? Oh, you must not be from New York then. Hey, I came up from Mississippi, man. Oh, yeah. That's where y'all based at? No, no, you must not be from New York then. Hey, I came up from Mississippi, man. Oh, yeah. That's where y'all based at? No, no, no.

I live in Jackson, Mississippi, but the headquarters, Baltimore. Yeah. Gotcha. Office of LA and New York, and Baltimore. Gotcha. All right, so we're talking about the NAACP Image Awards Live, which goes down February 22nd, and you guys have released some of the nominations this morning, and you're about to tell us who's going to be the host host. Actually we're not yet disclosing.

Okay I tried. We're assuming it's Chloe since she's here. Y'all got her on the press run. There you go. You know it's hard to be both a nominee and a host. That is correct. You're the first for everything. Why are you with them Chloe? Why are you with them people? We're family. We are definitely family. You know, growing up as well, Cis and I, we would go and sing a lot of times at the events

in Florida several times and things like that. And it was just really special to be a part of this today with Praise This, the movie I did with Will Packer winning last year. And you know, it was a surprise to me today as we were announcing some of the nominations, I got another nomination. Congratulations. Oh, you didn't know that prior to?

No, so God is good. There you go. I am grateful. I think the first time you all joined us, it was like 11, 12. Yeah, babies, babies. Oh yeah. Well, I think it's important for you to be here with them,

especially putting your voice on it, because I think there's always a conversation around the award shows that we have and whether people in what level of celebrity Well, I think it's important for you to be here with them, especially putting your voice on it, because I think there's always a conversation around the award shows that we have and whether people and what level of celebrities support it or not. So I think you being here and being kind of like a face of it helps that, some too, right?

Are you at all, in working with the NAACP in these image awards, are you at all getting out there for other award shows and just kind of being a champion of that, and calling your friends and being like, hey, y'all need to make sure y'all show up. Like what celebrities are you like, hey, make sure you show up, particularly Beyonce. She called me.

Beyonce came to the NAACP at World Before Her and Jay-Z. Yes, and I know we getting there. Yeah, I think this one is really especially important because it is honoring us and all of our blackness. And you know, sometimes it's hard in this world and society today to not feel valued or feel worthy enough. But definitely in this space at the Image Awards, we are celebrating one another for not only our skin tone,

but also the incredible art that we put into the world. I was gonna ask, is it very difficult to get some of our celebrities, actors, actresses and sports figures in? Actually, I've not been. Since we partnered with BET, we have not had a problem getting A-listers. Our biggest issue is the conflict in schedule because during awards season, there's so many things going on.

You got NBA All-Star, you got the Super Bowl, but in terms of securing A-listers, we have not had a problem. Now, how do we bring award shows back to where it used to be, right? I remember as a kid growing up. Money. Money. That's kid growing up. Money. Money. That's the perfect way. Talk about it.

Money. Because growing up as a kid, that's what we look, we expired to watch, we expired to, we wanted to see the NAACP awards, we wanted to see the BET awards, and some of our biggest moments culturally came from those events. Soul Train as well.

How do we get back to that? Now you say money, what does that money mean? I mean, the large marketing houses actually put an emphasis on black culture in a way in which it's not exploitive for their product line, but that's supportive for the culture's sake. What we have seen over time is a devaluing of shows like Soul Train, which love Soul Train,

but escalation of resources for the Grammys or the Oscars or the Emmys, while their viewership has been going down, they're still investing in it. But then they say, your viewership is down, yeah, you don't invest. But if you invest, people wanna see black entertainment. People wanna appreciate the culture,

and it's not just in the US, it's globally. I agree with that, but you know, there are some black people who think white ice is cold. There absolutely are. I mean, I think one of the things that was interesting post, you know, that very brief moment of racial renaissance we had in this country post the murder of George Floyd.

The black squares. Right, right. That moment. The post that, when we were preparing to do the image awards with the NAACP, I would get these calls from journalists and they'd say, is there still a need for the Image Awards? Aren't we beyond that?

And I said- I'll say it's a white. Right, right. And I said, first of all, I think that suggestion means you really don't understand why the Image Awards exist. It doesn't exist because we were excluded from other places. First and foremost, it is about that our community values being recognized and celebrated by our community.

And that has absolute value. But the second thing is, what we understand about this country is it's terribly fickle. So today, oh yes, we're wonderfully popular and you want to include us in all of your award shows, but this is not going to sustain. And what the NAACP and the partnership with BET, we have a consistent commitment to celebrating excellence in our community and that's really what our partnership for the Image Awards is all about. You know NAACP and BET they are legacy brands, cultural institutions, but what do they mean to people now? Well in many cases what NAACP is all about advocacy.

Right now, as we sit here, we have several million people who've had their student loans canceled because of the advocacy of NAACP. When the campaign kicked off, that was our campaign. We white labeled, many people use our messaging, our branding. But more importantly, we recognized that the number one employer of African Americans in this country was through the government. And there it was a bill passed on Obama that called public service student loan forgiveness that was utilized.

We advocated and got the Biden administration to change it so that more people qualify to get all of their debt forgiven. It's close to five plus billion dollars that has impacted black households as a result of that. That's what the NAACP means. But more importantly, we cannot talk about what black folks think white folks ice. Colder, and we don't support our black institutions. And so we talk about what is their value, what is their relevance. Their relevance and the value is what we put into it, what we invest in it. And far

too many people with platforms talk about what we don't have and don't invest in what we actually have. I think because organizations especially like NAACP, we don't know what they still do. So even you saying that just now, do y'all do a good enough job of marketing that? I don't know what the Reference Club do and talk about the work that we do that you and I, we can talk about.

Because what happens in these scenarios, it is a better and stronger narrative to talk about what we don't have, what we can't do, as opposed to say, you know what, let me check in and find out what they're doing so we can promote this, so we can push this. The value of the black vote is so devalued in our minds because we don't think it's important enough. What every decision is made is based through the black vote. And the only way we get to the black vote, if we collectively put forth the strategy to turn it out in ways in which

it's not about the 90 days before the election, it's right now looking two years from now. It's right now looking in November. It's right now looking four years from now. And that's the power of organizations like the NACP. We have to start doing it right now, talk about what we're going to do as opposed to talk about what we're not doing. Question for you guys, because even in planning the show, right? So BET works with the NAACP to have the awards,

the program on the network. People always give you guys a lot of flack for what's on the network and what's not, saying that you need better shows or whatever, the case may be, but the awards show, the image awards, it's always a good show, in my opinion. How much do you get tired of the conversation of, BET doesn't have good stuff to watch,

that's why we don't watch it? Well, it's fascinating. I think there are always going to be people who are critical. That's the reality of the situation. It's really fun this morning before coming over. I listened to your best of clip that you guys have online. And one of your featured

guests was Miss Pat. And it was through Lee Daniels reaching out to BET to say, I have this series that only BET can create. The only platform in the world that can actually put this series out there is BET. It scares everyone else off. It's an important message. So we looked at it. We love Lee Daniels. We greenlit the series, right? And it actually secured BET's first Primetime Emmy nomination because it was a really breakthrough show and now everybody knows who Miss

Pat is and she's going on. We're actually in the fifth season of that show. So, and whether it's that or the nominations that we've received for D'Arra from Detroit. I love that show. Right, it's a fantastic show. D'Arra, Kilpatrick is an amazing talent and the show is great fun. And the amazing work we do with Tyler Perry.

The reality is, we have the biggest investment in black focused content than any platform in the country. And even with that, you're never going to be able to satisfy every single audience. And so we recognize that there are going to be things that people love, there are going to be things that people wish for, there are going to be things that people keep on saying, bring back music video shows. Music video shows don't work on linear television. That's just the reality of it. So what we focus on is what are the things that actually our audiences are really consuming and enjoying?

So Tyler Perry's Sisters, we're going into the eighth season. It is the single most watched show among black people on all of television. Not all of cable, all of television. That's a fact. Right? So more than anything on broadcast television. So people say, oh, you know, there'll be some people who complain about BET, but the fact that we have the single most watched show in black households. So that is a long way of saying,

we are always striving to be more inclusive. So we created our streaming platform, BET+, to be able to create even more content Speak to diverse audiences. We think our tent poles like the NAACP image Awards Like the BET Awards, which this year is going to celebrate its 25th anniversary if you can believe that We think our tent poles are those to their name They are the things that allow us to bring a huge cross section of the community together to come and celebrate what's really important to us as a community. One of the things this year, over 3 million folks tuned in, sorry, as over 3 million folks moved in, sorry, tuned in to the BET Awards in 2024. And if you think about that, it means it's the single largest gathering of black people

for a black event in the country. Right? There's nothing else that three million black folks show up for that is a specifically black event. And so you still have this opportunity to catalyze, mobilize, and engage our community. And you just have to be very thoughtful and have great partners like the NAACP. Does your host help you pick the theme of the year? Our stories, our culture, our excellence? Does the host have any say in that? Well that's actually, let's let Derek speak to that first. Every year we identify what should be the theme that resonated. We do focus groups to determine what's the pulse of the black community. And we also began to look at the the African

diaspora, recognizing what we do here set the tone across the globe. And so, the theme, our comms department, they spend a lot of times doing some marketing research, and we come up with our theme every year as a result. What does BET mean to your generation, Chloé? Because you're 26. Yes, so... Can you pull her mic up a little bit?

I tried anymore. As far as it goes, okay. Hello, hello. I think, you know, for me, growing up, you know, I'm a tired anymore. As far as it goes. Hello, hello. I think, you know, for me growing up, you know, I'm a music lover. I grew up loving 106 and Park. Like I think I could speak for everyone in my generation. You know, I know certain things go into a lot, but that was like the show for me to be inspired, to get excited. Like that was it.

Like I'd run home from school and that's what I'd put on. So I was used to seeing people who looked like me who were succeeding in a field that I wanted to succeed in one day. So BET has always had a special place in my heart, especially think of all the groundbreaking performances. Like when Beyonce had her incredible performance on there. I'm so grateful that I got to be on that stage

two, three times. One of my favorite performances that I did on there was on BET. It was like this surprise treat me mashup. So it's like, I feel like BET gives a platform for all black artists, whether they are at the top of their game or whether they're rising. And I think it's really special to have that support.

So when you hear that Scott, what do you think? So I love it. And one of the things that we focus on is we understand people love 106 and Park, right? And so the fact that it doesn't work as a linear television show doesn't mean 106 and Park is over, because we can bring 106 and Park back as a podcast.

We can bring 106 and Park back as a digital experience. And we are evolving what 106 and Park will look like in 2025, because it does have that very important role. Oh, so y'all are bringing 106 and Park. I've heard that you guys are trying to figure out a show like that. Yes, and we've got a number of really exciting executions because it's also, we're approaching the 25th anniversary of 106 and Park as well.

So we'll get a little bit AD and free in that 25 year? You know, we will, there'll be some things that you guys will be really excited about and we look forward to coming back and talk to you about 106 and Park. What, A.D. and free? There you go. Noted. The, so, but I think the other thing that, that Chloe shared that is so important is we at BET exist to be in service of our community and our culture. That's what we exist for. And we understand that there's a broad ecosystem of different institutions and individuals that make up our community and our culture. And we are part of that broader landscape and that broader ecosystem. And we play a supporting complementary role to

our community and our ecosystem. And whether that's celebrating black excellence, whether that's mobilizing our community around important events, whether that's coming to the aid of our community post, you know, in the face of COVID. But to Chloe's very specific point, one of the things that our team loves is to be a platform

that both celebrates our most successful artists who are absolutely at the pinnacle of their careers and simultaneously to identify and support those emerging artists, to give them the platform, because we were so many artists very first time to be on television, right? So many artists very first time to perform. The number of managers and label executives who come up and say, you know,

we are so appreciative to be back at the BET Awards because this is where our talent XYZ got their very first break. That really resonates with our team. Does talent still appreciate BET? Talent does, talent does. Listen to the Young Artists? Talent does.

What you'll have is the world is absolutely changing, right? The role that television plays, the role that the world is absolutely changing, right? The role that television plays, the role that media plays is absolutely changing. And we all have to accept that. And so for the BET Awards, we have, if you think about young artists, right? In 2024, we had a huge array of young artists who are out. And you think about even all the young artists

who came out to celebrate Usher. So it is artists absolutely value the platform and artists absolutely support the platform. And what we do is then extend that from television across digital, across streaming platforms so that we can be present and relevant everywhere that's important to our audience. Can you tell us some of the performance

that you guys have planned for the NAACP Awards? We will be revealing performers as we get closer. We're doing a rollout now. And it's very intentional because we're trying to build the audience. The platforms by which people consume information is shifting every month. You know, as you know,

we grew up listening to Tom Jordan's morning show. Breakfast Club took it over. Well, quite frankly, that's gonna be a podcast to take over Breakfast Club. And so we're 160. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Right, right. What's happening? You're not even talking, Harry.

First of all, Breakfast Club did not take over Tom Joyner. Tom Joyner retired on his own accord. No, no, no, no. I'm talking about audience. I think he means- I know, but it's different audiences. Tom Joyner was urban adult contemporary. He catered to the 2554 demo. We came around 18 to 24. And the Breakfast Club is a podcast, not just a podcast, we're the number one black podcast in the world

and have been for eight, nine years. You're doing everything perfect but somebody gonna do it better later. What do you mean? Is that gonna be next month they come up or is it gonna be next year? You're doing everything perfect. Why do we do that as black people?

I don't know, you started that. You were just asking five questions about what you mean. You started this one. Why do we always need something to replace something? Why all of these things can't coexist? It can coexist but I'm responding to the tone and the tone is we have legacy organizations, we have media companies that have been a flagpole to our community, we have a show we're on now where the podcast has been excellent, we had other shows that sunset. It is a part of the ecosystem of who we are as a community and we should meet people where

they are. Well, who's replaced NAACP there? That's a good question. Are they ready? No. That's what I mean when I say that. Why do we do that as a people? Like, oh, just replace that?

Like, no, everything can coexist. You and I, we absolutely agree, but the tone set was something differently, right? So if she is 26 and she can appreciate 106 in part, they're someone who's an ACP, but if an ACP is not the right vehicle or voice for them, I support them choosing the right vehicle or voice, because in the social justice movement, it's not a competition, it's an opportunity for our voices to be heard. In the entertainment community, it's not a competition, it's an opportunity for our voices to be heard. Entertainment community is not a competition. It's an opportunity for our voices,

our culture to be experienced. And that's how we should be approaching all of this. And so where BET right now is in an industry that's shrinking overall, what Scott is doing is trying to figure out, okay, how do we continue to advance our culture and our voice? Where in ACP, we are in a political dynamic that has shift, it is our job being the largest organizations in 47 states to continue

to evolve with that. We're not going anywhere. I don't want the Breakfast Club to go anywhere. BET shouldn't go anywhere. We should all be leaning to our culture, our opportunity, and our voice. Well, I agree. These institutions shouldn't go anywhere, but I do think they do have to evolve. Like, I doubt I'll always be here as a host. I doubt doubt I'll always be here as a host. I doubt Envy will always be here as a host, right? People like Lauren, the Jessers will take over and everything, but when it comes to the NAACP

or any of these institutions, whose job is it to tell our own stories? Us, it's our job, right? And that's why when we took over, we saw the partnership with BTV on Paramount. We have a joint venture with Paramount TV. We will have a soap opera air next month on the 22nd on CBS Daytime. We're working, we're about to launch our podcast

since we have to evolve. That our revenue streams have to evolve. How we approach it is organizations should not be driven by personality. It should be driven by mission and strategy. So we all have to evolve. Absolutely right. And I think to underscore that point. So BET celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, right? You don't typically think of 45 year old media companies. The reality is BET has changed radically over that 45 year period. It's had multiple leaders over that 45 year period. It's gone from

being primarily a cable network to a cable network with streaming platforms, with studios, with digital platforms. So this evolution, this idea of taking all of the things that make BET magical, but lensing it through the way consumers and our community is engaging content, media, the world, and evolving our business to reflect that is what we do at BET. And so the BET today is different from what BET looked like 10 years ago, and the BET 10 years from now will look very different from that. And I think our success has been, we grew the BET awards 10% last year, right? People don't grow viewership of award shows,

right? And we do that because we're constantly evolving, we're constantly adapting and adjusting. What talent is relevant in this moment? What talent's going to appeal to that young person? And then simultaneously, what other talent do you put in the show that's going to appeal to someone who's not as young as that young person, so that you can bring the full community together?

Let me ask you a question. Sports doesn't work well on BET, does it? Sports works well on linear television. The challenges sports rights have gotten insanely expensive. Because I look at all these HBCUs, I DJ'd the Howard Hampton game on CBS the other day and I'm watching a lot of these college games on TV and I always talk to myself with all the HBCUs and how it's been a spur of HBCUs, everybody's supporting HBCUs. Which is always weird to me why BET didn't put their arm

around and be like, I need all those games, here's where people actually come in. It's a great question. And in fact, when BET started, BET used to air HBCU games. I'm told that there's footage of Bob Johnson running along the sidelines doing live commentary of HBCU games. So I'm trying to look for it.

But the reality is, because of the evolution of college football, and because of the proliferation of access to sports across all these platforms, that the demand, the viewership interest in HBCU sports right now isn't high enough to kind of support the investment. Having said that, the entry point that we think is really exciting, that we're really focused on, is you now have a bunch of brothers who went off and played in the NFL, have said, we wanna remedy this dynamic

where top black athletes feel like they have to go to other schools to be competitive. We wanna remedy that dynamic, right? So you saw the recent announcements about the brothers. Right, right, right. And okay, there you go. And so now, university, right, there you go. So, and that's, so now the opportunity is we take our footprint, our platform, our relationships, and then we bring them to these luminaries who are going back to these HBCUs and building those teams. And then we focus on the stories and the people and the journey and we get a broader community to be excited about this and we actually use it to build interest in

HBCU football and that we think is the way to actually elevate interest in HBC HBCU football which will then allow us to bring more games to the network. Are you still buying BET Scott? I remember there was a news report that came out that said you and the group was gonna buy. We never spoke to that as a business, as a corporate matter, so that's all been rumors and speculation and I am, as a corporate matter,

we don't speak to rumors and speculation. You can go off media train, I know that. What I think is really cool about BET and NAACP coming together is that you know to your point even though it is a competitive field we can all uplift each other and I think that's what the two of your companies have done together because we're constantly taught well I was as a black woman that okay you can be here in this space but not too many or not too much so I think you know moving forward for

people like me and my generation it is important for us to see, hey, a lot of us can be in this space. Like we don't have to blow out someone else's light so another one can shine. We all can be as successful and lift each other up. Because I feel like what the world has done to us for several years, our ancestors and past generations is that they've continued to just put us down,

push us down. So it's like a lot of times we have to get out of like the crabs in the bucket mentality and uplift each other instead of bringing each other down. Just because there's limited space. That's why y'all got Chloe here. That is a beautiful articulation. It's smart.

Right, right. Now Chloe, speaking of seeing, bringing a date to the NAACP awards. My godmom and my manager. Okay, so we ain't about to see no more Burner boy? You'll have to ask him. You're here, he's not. Uh oh.

Burner nominated? Burner nominated now. He's not nominated, but you looking through your sheet, he not on there, Chloe's on there. But I'm speaking of support and you know, we were seeing you out with him in Nigeria. So is that a new thing or? Nigeria was so beautiful.

I've heard. I had the best time. I've heard. What did you eat? Ooh, I had some good food. I had pepper soup. I had lots of spicy chicken. Okay.

So I should do the spicy chicken with that girl. It was really good. I really had a great time. What about the nightlife? We saw you in the club with that though. Yes, it was really good. I really had a great time. What about the nightlife? We saw you in the club with Berna. Yes, the nightlife. Uh-huh. It was so many lights, so many colors.

So many cameras. I know, so many cameras. You know it'd be all like everything with you when you're... What are you trying to ask, Lauren? I'm getting that, that's how you were here was gonna... I mean now, with Berna, boy, we want to know is that your boo? Is this the thing? Y'all together?

Do y'all go together real bad? Y'all just having fun? What is it? Hey, it's Nikki Glaser. I'm not here to roast you. I'm here to overshare everything that went down at the Golden Globes last Sunday. Everyone is already talking about what happened on air at the Golden Globes, but you are going to hear about what happened off air from the horse's mouth.

Yes, I'm the horse, me, Nikki Glaser. Join me on my podcast, the Nikki Glaser Podcast, where I will be telling you all the details. I can finally relax with my besties, my listeners, and dish what happened backstage. What went down, the things people are already talking about, the things that people should be talking about, I've got it all. From what it took to prep for the Golden Globes, to the behind the scenes of the Golden Globes, what went down in the rehearsals, who said what at the after party, who I saw at the after party, who was dancing with who.

I'm gonna spill it all, secrets will be revealed. You do not wanna miss this episode. Listen to the Nikki Glaser podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Inside you, two wolves are locked in battle. One thrives on fear and anger and doubt. The other? Courage, wisdom, and love.

Every decision, every moment feeds one of them. Which wolf are you feeding? I'm Eric Zimmer, host of The One You Feed. I've been there, homeless, addicted, and lost. I know the power of small choices to turn your life around. On this podcast, I sit down with thinkers, leaders, and survivors to uncover what it takes to feed the good wolf.

This podcast saved me. It's like having a guide for the hardest parts of life. The wolves are hungry. What will you feed them? Listen to the one you feed on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast. And this January, we're going on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada,

to cover the Consumer Electronics Show, Tech's biggest conference. Better Offline's CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or the biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025, interrogating their narratives alongside a remarkable cast of industry talent and award-winning journalists. We'll have daily episodes, on-the-ground interviews, and special panels covering everything from the BS of AI to the ways in which race and gender play into how people are treated

in the tech industry and at these conferences. I'll be joined by David Roth of Defecta and the writer Edward Ongweiso Jr. with appearances from Behind the Bastards' Robert Evans, It Could Happen Here's Gare Davis, and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. And check out betteroffline.com. Hey, y'all. I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford,

host of Therapy for Black Girls. And I'm thrilled to invite you to our January Jumpstart series for the third year running. All January, I'll be joined by inspiring guests who will help you kickstart your personal growth with actionable ideas and real conversations. We're talking about topics like building community and creating an inner and outer glow. I always tell people that when you buy a handbag,

it doesn't cover a childhood scar. You know, when you buy a jacket, it doesn't reaffirm what you love about the hair you were told not to love. So when I think about beauty, it's so emotional because it starts to go back into the archives of who we were, how we want to see ourselves, and who we know ourselves to be and who we can be. So a little bit of past, present, and future, all in one idea, soothing something from the past. And it doesn't have to be always an insecurity. It could be something that you love.

All to help you start 2025 feeling empowered and ready. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls starting on January 1st on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the Really No Really podcast, our mission is to get the true answers to life. I'm Jason Alexander and I'm Peter Tilden and together on the Really No Really podcast our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why they refuse

to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor. We got the answer. Will space junk block your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you and the one bringing back the wooly mammoth Plus this Tom Cruise really do his own stunts his stuntman reveals the answer and you never know who's gonna drop by Mr. Brian Cranston is with us. How are you? Hello my friend. Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park Wayne Knight Welcome to really no really sir. Bless you all

Hello Newman and you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging. Really? That's the opening? Really No Really. Yeah, really. No Really. Go to ReallyNoReally.com. And register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition signed Jason

Bobblehead. It's called Really No Really and you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Well I'm a grown woman so you know I had a great time in Nigeria. I really did. So I guess I'm not gonna get an answer on if you cared about the when you left there was the video people were like oh my god the Chloe time is over now he's out with this random other girl. What? I didn't see that. Burn a Chloe time is over now he's out with this random other girl what i didn't see that burnable burnable yeah he was out with a random other girl because i didn't even see that it's because we all were so heavily together we were

like oh shoot we don't see her do this much yeah and then yeah so he's a grown man it's like i'm a grown woman you know i could imagine dating at 20 something to be put on the air about being so fat and being super famous Expecting the minute that they see her on that carpet. They're gonna be looking like cuz Anybody that she's with is always a thing anybody she she's with. She could have been going to Bible study. I mean, you know. You got the lessons to learn. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You would have been the boy at Bible study. That's true.

You know you my girl. You had told me you was in there studying the Bible. I would have been like, you know what? God is good. OK? All the time. You can study any time, even in the club. But I'm stuck.

Yeah. There you go. I got one. I got one. I think I know you too. My girl. You know, I got a 24-year-old daughter. I can't imagine her being grilled on live like that. Buy another woman. First of all, Chloe, did you feel like I was a girl to you? No, no, no.

Okay. I don't ever want you to feel like I'm a girl to you. Oh, no, you don't. Don't get it twisted. Chloe's spicy. Chloe is shit. She's shouted at me many times. She would have let me know.

She done told him. She done bullied me many times. Okay. Well, I got my pin. I have the questions that I'll be wanting to know. I'm not going to be able to answer them. I'm going to be able to answer them. I'm going to be able to answer them. I'm going to be able to answer them. I'm going to be able to answer them. Chloe spicy, Chloe the shit. She's shouted at me many times. She done bullied me many times. Okay.

Well, I got my pin. I have the questions that I'd be wanting to know. Yeah, no. Godmama done gave you that look. Keep it up. No, me and Godmama, Godmama already got on me before. I love her. She gonna let you know though. But no, honestly, I don't mind. I mean, I hate to say this, but it's my life. I mean, it's what I sign up for.

So I can only expect it. It's just about how I handle it, how I handle myself. So I don't think it should ever be pissiness towards the people who ask me. And I think as a woman watching you navigate it, I'm always interested in how you deal with that, because for instance, you're here about the NAACP image awards But it's like we want to know that so we have to ask and being a person who's now learning how to be in the light

Of everything. I'm you got a roster. I don't know. She don't. Come on. Her phone is dry. Dry as heck. It's very dry. I am a wife. All I do is stay home. I just want to cook.

But you got a husband. I will be a wife. I'm domesticated. This radio has made me be quiet, OK? Well, guess what? You get on here and say that. Someone is ready for that. I know he is.

So it's preparing you for that. No, it's not. In person. I appreciate it. I do have a question. You see what just happened right here? You and Chloe with you there. This is coexisting.

This is NAACP and BT coming together. This is the girls coming together. Yes. Don't do that. I do have to ask a question. I love that. Oh, God. Did you have security there?

Cause you seem too accessible to everybody while you were there. In Nigeria? Yes ma'am. Oh, they were surrounding me. Okay, all right, make sure. Oh yes, surrounding me. Okay, cause they, I mean you were just too accessible.

It was, every time they posted video, I got scared. I'm like, something's gonna happen bad. But you said security was there. Oh yeah, all around, circle. Okay. They treated me so well out there. Just making sure. Yeah, had a good time.

Now back to the NAACP awards. Spicy chicken. Now how are these nominees chosen? How do you guys choose the nominees and how do you guys go to who's winning? And how do y'all expand the categories every year? Because you know, things change, right? You got social media personality in now.

Podcasts, streamers. How do you expand the categories? So start with the last question. We recognize that the industry is changing, so we try to keep up. And we add categories, digital content categories, fashion design. There is a panel of close to 500 people,

half industry, half non-industry, that's been selected across the country. And those are the individuals that review the materials and they nominate. Oftentimes, I don't even know what's being nominated to. I finally get it. And then there are multiple of the categories that have specialized committees,

like the literary category, a bunch of professors and other people who read a lot of books, right? And so we have those special categories. And then once nominated, some of the categories are voted on by the public. And so it's by popular vote in some areas areas and then in other areas it's by those who are critics in the space to ensure fairness in the outcome. To celebrate the art is both the creativity but also what's popular.

It is that mix that we try to stay right there in the middle because something can be really creative and no one will want to watch it. And something can be horrible that everyone's watching but have no artistic value. So there is a mix that we try to balance those two things out. Gotcha. I want to ask, when it comes to documentaries, how difficult is it to do documentaries for BET, right? Because, of course, we love new addition.

That was a movie, though. Yeah, that was a movie. When I see stuff like, everything shifting to Netflix and taking out of movies, right? You see a lot of things. But when I see stuff like the Bob Marley movie, taking out of movies, right? You see a lot of things. But when I see stuff like the Bob Marley movie, right? I was like, more people would have seen it and appreciated it probably on BET.

Or when I hear- Probably not, but Luther Vandross. What movie was it? Luther Vandross. That was good. That was good. Wendy Williams. Wendy Williams.

I understand what Envy's saying, because all of these people, they're great black icons. But they're ours. So why not be on BET? Why doesn't BET get that program? So it all depends on what the show is, right? So to the extent that someone's willing to pay a huge number, right?

So for example, one of the series that was nominated in the NAACP Image Awards, see how I'm trying to bring it back, one of the things that was nominated was Fight Night, right? With Will Packer's project with- I got not nominated? Yes, a ton of nominations. Oh, so you got more than one nomination? Oh yeah!

That's right, and it has, with Kevin and crew, and the reality is, it's an extraordinary project with an amazing cast. You know that started with the I Heart podcast, right? I did not know that. Yeah, it started with Will Packard produced the I Heart True Crime podcast, Fight Night, and then it evolved into-

Oh, that's amazing, that's amazing. I'm actually old enough to remember the Sidney Poitier movie that actually was based on that same experience. You guys, it wasn't Let's Do It Again, but it was one of those back in the day. But having said that, that's an amazing project that was filled with extraordinary actors from our community, right? And amazing producers and directors from our community. It was also pretty expensive to produce. And at the end of the day, Peacock was willing to step up and make that commitment. And our view at BET is our objective is not to have everything.

Our objective is actually to support our community. And our role isn't to be the exclusive platform. Our role is to be part of the landscape. Right. So Kevin has a huge relationship with Netflix, obviously. He did this project with Peacock and will have the new Kevin Hart, Lil Kev animated series on BET Plus coming in March, right? Which is about Kevin's story growing up in Philadelphia. And it's got Wanda Sykes and Dion Cole and other folks in it, right? Jess Hilarious.

Jess Hilarious, there you go. So the reality is, our view is, no individual consumes all of their media from a single platform. Those days are over, right? People are snacking here, snacking there, snacking. And what we have to do is we have to be a critical part of that ecosystem. And so again, using Lee Daniels as an example, Lee had Empire, right, on Fox. And it was example, Lee had Empire on Fox. And it was important that Lee had Empire on Fox. And we had Ms. Pat on BET+.

And that's the, you know, our view is, and we have Tyler Perry, we have the biggest relationship with Tyler Perry, but Tyler also has movies on Amazon. He's got a series on Netflix. And so our view is, our role is to be a part of the ecosystem and in so doing actually allow everybody in the community to do better. There are times where I'll say to talent they'll come and pitch us on a thing and I'll say, okay, we love this. If there isn't a home for it somewhere else, we've got you.

But if you can find a home for it somewhere else that's going to give you even better economics than the market economics will give you, we support you having that experience as well. So is money the biggest issue that legacy institutions like BET and NAACP are facing? Well for us we're not you know squirreling in the entertainment industry so that it's not as much about money but understanding entertainment industry is driven by companies who are trying to sell products and so that's what finance both documentaries, short form reality shows, all of it is all funded by corporate America. And so we will fool ourselves if we think that BET can wake up one morning and say,

I'm going to do that project and there's no marketing dollars behind it to support it. Because the revenue wouldn't add up, BET would exist. So all of this, including the shows, are all driven by the marketing dollars of corporations. Do you think that that money is ever going to funnel the way that you're mentioning? Like, you have these relationships. They have the other relationships with like the Netflixes, the Peacocks, and sometimes they get behind things.

But do you think that there will ever be that clear line of exchange where they're supporting the stuff and you guys are getting the dollars you need? And I'll say this. The BET's business partners are extraordinary partners to BET. They step up again and again and again. I mean, we're not going to put numbers out here, but the amount of money that we have to invest in content is extraordinary across BET linear and BET plus.

And we invest more money in content in 2024, 2025, than we did 10 years ago, 15 years ago. The reality is, content's gotten a lot more expensive, right? Let's call it. And there are a lot more platforms that are now pursuing our audience. And so the issue for us is, again, having the most watched show on all of television among Black households, that's a win. Like, no matter how I cut that, that's an absolute win. Having 13 nominations for the 2056 and NAACP Image Awards, that's a win. And we're investing, and we're supporting those things. And I think the key is we need our advertising partners

to continue to support BET. And thank goodness they really do. They step up consistently. They step up for the Image Awards. They step up for the BET Awards. They step up for the image awards. They step up for the BET awards. They step up for all of our partnerships But the reality is you know, they're only one or two media companies in the world forget about legacy or new They're only one or two media companies in the world that are not

Don't have to work within a financial parameters And so we have to work within financial parameters just like anybody else and we optimize our Our decisions around investments and content. The Image Awards are such an important part of our mission at BET, serving our community, serving our culture, celebrating black excellence. But we don't just partner with the NAACP

around the Image Awards. We partner with the NAACP across the year because it's role in our community. It just pisses me off that we get the crumbs. Like why isn't Paramount doing more? Why does BET have to not have any money? Okay, I need to really clarify. BET has a lot of money. When you contrast it, BET has,

we invest more money in black content than any other single company, right? The difference is, an example like a peacock, they can decide they're gonna make one big swing in 2024 and spend X on that one project. We're BET, right? We're not, we can't make one project and expect everybody to say, oh thank you, we're satisfied, right? We have to have consistent content every single week across all of these platforms.

So we invest it differently, but having said that, we have a lot of support from Paramount. BET is thriving, and we are, again, to that point, 13 nominations this year. Last year we had a primetime Emmy nominations, we had a Tony nomination, we had a Grammy nomination. So the business is really thriving. It's just like any other business, you have to make really rational decisions about how you allocate your resources.

But Netflix has 64 nominations at the Image Awards, right? Yes, they have a budget that's fundamentally different than anybody. But I'm saying, wouldn't they be leading the charge with Black content? Well, their business model is different. It's not reliant on marketing revenue. It's a subscription base.

And so you have to look at the business model of the platform. Like Amazon, their model is capturing data and reselling data. So they take loss on content for the purpose of capturing data and consumer behavior so they can go ahead and sell that data. So it all depends on the platform and what their business model. Well, BT Plus is subscription-based, right? It is.

But to your point, the question is what constitutes black content? In part, for Netflix, you can have 64 nominations. I think that's the number. But you can have that many nominations, less because you're creating a lot of black content, but across this huge universe of content that you're creating, you're using black talent. It can be an ensemble with one person who's black.

It can be a movie ensemble with one person who's black. They get a nomination for that, and because they have such a huge volume of content they're creating, they just have more shots at the basket. I always wanted to ask about comedy as well. You see Netflix is heavy into comedy. You see a lot of they're giving comedy deals

to damn near every comedian. Has BET ever wanted to jump back into that space because BET was one of the huge originators, especially of black comedy. That's right, with Comic View. Did Dion Cole put you up to this question? Because he's been beating you up about this. No, but he's been up here recently, but now he hasn't.

So the reality is we're always looking for the way back into places, right? And we did a quick partnership with Kevin Hart and Heartbeat where we did a test run of bringing back Comic View. And part of the thing is that really understanding how our community wants to consume content, right? And also understanding some people will use certain content as a loss leader for other things, right? And so, and I'm not saying who would be using it as a loss leader, but there are other platforms

that are paying, using content as a loss leader for other things. So we're working with Dion right now to do a really fun thing in standup comedy. He'll be thrilled that you put me on the spot and ask the question. But we think comedy clearly works, right? We see it working with the Miss Pat Show. The series we have with Dion Average Joe is a thriller that has a comedic line through it. We really see that our audience loves comedy.

Miss Pat, in addition to her Miss Pat Show, we do Miss Pat Settles It, which is her doing a crazy court show. And so our audience is loving it. We think in 2025, given the way the world has changed, people need to laugh even more. And so there'll be an even greater demand for comedy, so we're leaning into it in a big way.

Have there been conversations, Derek, about changing the name of the NAACP, since some people think colored people is a slur? No. Yeah. No. As we sit around and say, we got all the colors around and say, well don't we? Yeah and say, we got all the colors around the table, don't we?

Yeah, no, we have not. I mean, when we get caught up in semantics, we lose focus. And there's no need to go to the semantics. We are an organization that's been around 116 years. That's significant. When you talk about this concept of a surplus mindset, that what we can do, we can stick together, we can work together, we can work together, we can prosper together.

Oftentimes we say, well black folks won't do what we can't do, we haven't done. We gotta get away from that, and not get caught up in semantics. At the end of the day, are we being effective with our mission? Make a democracy work for all, and ensure an opportunity for our community.

That's our focus, the semantics go out the door. Yeah, I asked that, I think it was, was it last year? It was one of the presidents, I forgot The semantics go out the door. Yeah, I asked that because I think it was, was it last year? It was one of the presidents, I forgot what chapter, the NAACP, they were upset because somebody used the word, colored people somewhere. I have no idea.

I don't see if you wonder, every time I run across him, he asks the question because he's been saying, y'all need to change your name. He's been saying that since like, 82. Mm-hmm. What does he see about the name that- Shut up. Shut up. I haven up. Shut up.

I haven't been. Shut up. What, I'm just asking a question. So lack of subtlety. Right, right. At the end of the day, the Image Awards is the crown jewel of shows for African Americans. Right? It gives us an opportunity for all of us to come together and appreciate the culture we

bring to this table. Save him, save him. Right? And we do that intergenerationaly across all of the platforms. That's right. And you can, the voting is now open to the public at NAACPImageAwards.net. That's right.

We appreciate you guys for joining us this morning. Yes, and stop dragging Chloé around for no reason. She's busy, she's got things that she can be doing. She wants to be here, she's out here for her people. Oh, okay, okay. Yes! That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, and I would love to host. If you weren't us as the host, I think it would make so much sense, She wants to be here. She's out here for high people. Oh, okay, okay. Yes. Okay. That's right, ladies and gentlemen.

Yes, and I'm- Do you want a host? Yes, I would love to host. If you weren't on set as the host, I think it would make so much sense because you're out here outside. I would love to host. We don't know what y'all planned.

Y'all putting pressure on her. They might have another host. You just effing it up. And she says she want a host too? Wow. Or if I don't host, I could sing a little song. Listen, we've been rolling since they were 11 and 12 years old.

So y'all knew this, we've been around with them a long time, so get out of our business. Anthony Anderson. That's right. Queen Latifah. Queen Latifah did two years, Anthony Anderson did eight, so how do you determine, like is she coming, no.

You looking at me like you wanna rap. I'm like you wanna rap? You wanna rap and all that. You wanna rap on Queen Latifah? When we announced the host, everybody gonna say, oh, that is a great choice, good decision. The host gonna come on with Scott and he gonna talk about why that person is the host.

And y'all gonna say this is the best thing that could have ever happened. How you gonna feel about it, Chloe, if it's not you? Are you gonna feel it? You know, I would feel good if I get a performance slot, and then I won't feel hurt about the non-hosting slot. You know, what I will say is I think Chloe's comment before somehow we diverted to Burn A Boy, Chloe's comment.

That was a good one. Put me back in the hot seat. I feel you. I feel you. I thought Chloe's comment about the power of the example of collaboration and the importance of that to our community the power of the example of collaboration and the importance of that to our community was extraordinarily insightful and terribly timely because I think in our community, this is 2025,

we have a lot of healing to do and a lot of kind of reconnecting and a lot of collaborating required for us to make progress with respect to the things that are important. So I was extraordinarily impressed with that insight and the thoughtfulness of that. And it creates more opportunities for wonderful things to do with Chloe. Absolutely.

Collaboration would be dope. Chloe and Bernabeu hosting the NAACP. That would be a great collaboration. And you all can take credit for it. He brought that back up, I did. I was waiting into the performance. Chloe Bailey, Demi-Johnson, Scott Mills, we appreciate you for joining us.

Check out the NAACP, the 56 NAACP Image Awards, February 22nd at 8 p.m. And where y'all shooting this at? On BET and CBS. LA, Atlanta? LA, LA. I do like the fact that CBS airs it. Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, because it's the second time they did that, right? No, this would be third. Yeah, third. And it's the Breakfast time they did that, right? No, this would be third. Third. Third. Third. And it's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up. Early in the morning.

The Breakfast Club. party. Honestly, you've probably seen all the headlines this week, but like any good party, there's a lot of wild stuff that goes down behind the scenes that you don't know about. And since I hosted the Golden Globes, I'm letting my podcast listeners, my besties, in on all the behind the scenes tea. Stuff that didn't make it to the live TV taping, what went down in rehearsals, who said what at the after party, you're going to hear it all. Listen to the Nikki Glaser podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you want a shortcut to the best version of you? Here it is. Feed the good wolf.

I'm Eric Zimmer, host of The One You Feed. Every week I talk to brilliant minds and brave souls about the art of small, powerful choices. Our listeners say it all. This is a lifeline. Transformational. The best antidote to a bad mood I've ever heard. Join the pack and start feeding your best self. Listen to the one you feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline Podcast. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline Podcast. And this January, we're going to go on the road to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada, to cover the Consumer Electronics Show, Tech's biggest conference. Better Offline's CES coverage won't be the usual rundown of the hottest gadgets or biggest trends, but an unvarnished look at what the tech industry plans to sell or do to you in 2025. I'll be joined by David Rothed Defector and the writer Edward Ongweiso Jr. with guest appearances from Behind the Bastards Robert Evans, It Could Happen Here's Gare Davis, and a few surprise guests throughout the show. Listen to Better Offline

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Apple podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Hey, y'all. I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, host of Therapy for Black Girls. This January, join me for our third annual January Jumpstart Series. Starting January 1st, we'll have inspiring conversations to give you a hand in kickstarting your personal growth. If you've been holding back or playing small, this is your all access pass to step fully into the possibilities of the new year. This is a therapy for black girls starting on January 1st on the iHeartRadio app, Apple

Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jason Alexander and I'm Peter Tilden. And together our mission on the Really No Really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like Why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor? What's in the museum of failure and does your dog truly love you? We have the answer go to really no really calm and register to win $500 a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition sign Jason bobblehead the really no really podcast follow us on the I heart Radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast