The Michael Knowles Show - Michael Knowles Spars With THE BOLD LIB | Angela Belcamino

Episode Date: September 7, 2024

The Right hates this interview. Michael Knowles sits down with viral sensation Angela Belcamino, also known as "The Bold Lib," for a lively and unpredictable conversation following her viral music video, "Bold Lib."     Today's Sponsor:     Good Ranchers - Exclusive offer for my listeners with promo code KNOWLES: https://www.goodranchers.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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For those of you who have been living under a rock, I'd like to play the most viral hit song of the entire summer just a little bit from it. This, of course, would be Bold Lip. Beans the patriarchy. We don't need no man. We can do everything he can. I'm a bold lip on my side. I'm a bold lip. I wish we could listen to all the rest of it, but I want to get to our guest.

When we have guests come on the show, we usually have them send over a short bio. And so Angela sent us this bio, 42 child free, viral, unboxable, no babysitter needed. Angela, thank you for coming on the show. Hi, Michael. Thank you so much for having me. So, Angela, there's so much I want to get to, not just about the song, but really about your entire journey. I saw most recently that you were a 42 child free in Atlantic City and that the right obviously hates that. How did you do in Atlantic City? Did you win?

A little hit or miss. I like to play roulette. I have a strategy. It's a pretty bold strategy on going with green. So I'm all in on green. And a little bit of some wins, some losses, but I'm not a huge gambler. So you obviously did not need a babysitter when you were down there. Angela, tell me, well, before we get to your broader political journey, I guess we have to touch on the news. Donald Trump has accepted the putative endorsement of the swifties for Trump. But you, of course, point out in the chorus to your song, that you're a bold lib and tailors on your side, on the side of the libs. So how do you make sense of that? Is Trump, you know, expressing fake news? Is that, is that, is the, is. or is the Swifty Camp divided? Is Taylor going to endorse Trump and betray you? Where does it stand? I find it hard to believe that Taylor would endorse Trump because I feel like, you know, we're under attack right now,

which is part of all the content that I'm creating about being 42 child free, no babysitter needed. You know, we're getting a bad rep right now, Taylor included for being, you know, women of a certain age, without children, kind of, you know, single dating, whatever, being bad role models for women. And so a lot of the content that I'm creating right now is around that, embracing it and it being okay to make those choices and, you know, kind of promoting that and embracing it.

So, yeah, those two things don't go together to me. If Taylor marries Travis Kelsey and then has kids, will that change your stance and the stance of bold lives on Taylor? we'll see you know we'll see where taylor goes it's a journey um so i think you know it's hard to say right now we kind of have to see how she plays her cards and how things roll out now tell me about your political journey because you know i would never ask a lady her age but you've you've said it repeatedly you're 42 and you've really exploded onto the scene as maybe the political phenomenon of the year in in 2024 so how did you get to this point how did you become So lib, how did you become so bold? And why now? I think it really is a journey. And as a content

creator, I think you kind of put stuff out and see what sticks and kind of like find your own way. So I do think, you know, the word of a journey totally makes sense. It kind of started, it kind of started, you know, doing dancing videos that sort of went viral. And then, you know, it went into walks and just kind of the reaction has been wild. So it just, it kind of caught on. And I think it's been fun for me. Like I try to have fun with it. I think, you know, I'm trying to bridge a gap in a way.

I think that thing will be wild. You know, there's good points on both sides. Things can be, you know, too far on both sides. So I think by having fun, like we can have laughs together to kind of like have conversations. So yeah, just, you know, trying to have fun with it. And, like, seeing the response has been nuts. Obviously, I get a lot of hate.

But it's really cool to kind of be a lib, a bold lib who people on the right actually like and follow and support. But now this is confusing, Angela. This is very confusing because you say people on the right like and support you. And you're saying you're kind of bridging a gap. But I have been reliably informed by your. account that everything about your character the right hates. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of hate, but the point is there's also a little bit of love there. People can like, you know, not take it as

seriously, but yes, primarily you can just see by the replies and the response that the right does really hate it. I mean, it's like, you know, a lot of that. But it is nice to find those nuggets of like people who appreciate it and not just me being, you know, attacking the right, about, you know, just I hate the right, the right, stupid. There's a lot of that content out there with liberals, I think. And so, I'm trying to, you know, to have a little more fun with it. Right now, go to good ranchers.com, use promo code Knowles. The other day for lunch, sweet little Elisa grilled up two nice, good ranchers rib-eyes. And we had hoagie rolls, a little homemade horse rider sauce and a little bit of cheese.

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that the character of the bold lib is, well, is just that, is something of an exaggeration. And that, in fact, your content is not merely earnest, but in fact, not merely political even, but metapolitical, that it's a commentary on the very nature of political media and discourse in 2024. Now, I, of course, take you entirely at your word and at face value, but how would you respond to those critics?

I mean, I don't know why they would say that. Fair enough. You make a good point. So then, okay, then let's bring it back to reality and the nuts and bolts of 2024. Your 42, child, viral, unboxable, don't need a babysitter, very bold. Where do you,

where do you place the chances for Kamala and Trump and what do you hope to see out of their respective potential administrations? Yeah, I mean, I don't know.

I'm like, I don't know what's going to happen, to be honest. I mean, I think we stand more of a chance with Kamala now.

I think there's some hope there. I would, of course, love to see the first female president, woman president. I think it's time. But I don't know. I'm kind of watching it unfold as everyone else's. So I don't, I really don't, I'm kind of like anything could happen. So nothing surprises me anymore. And then finally, Angela, people have watched your content, a lot of people, a lot of men have watched your content. And I don't have any

information on this, but I would just have to assume some man would look and say, wow, this, you know, this bold lib is attractive. I want to take this bold lib on a date. Maybe I want to court this bold live. Maybe I want to get married. And then maybe I want to form a family with this bold lib. And whether that includes biological children or adopted children, I want to have children with this bold lib. And so if such things were to come to pass, would that interest you? Would that interest you? Would that shake your identity to the core, would you cease to be yourself? What would that mean? Who would the bold lib be if such events were to occur? I'm always going to be myself. But again, as we've talked about things being a journey, I don't know what tomorrow holds. So I can't say anything definitively,

but I'm always going to stay true to myself and what I believe in and put that out there in right now. I'm happy with where I am. These are the decisions that I've made. Of course, I don't know what's in store for me. And I'm open to that and seeing, you know, where the ride takes me. But yeah, I'm always, you know, right now I want everyone to know that their choices are okay. And I don't, you know, I feel like we're being told as women who are single and child free and of a certain age that, you know, that's our only purpose in life. And like, and we're selfish and what's the point of living. And that's just terrible, a terrible message to put out.

out there. Think of, you know, women who desperately want to have children and can't, and to make them feel less than and to feel bad about themselves because they can't fulfill that is terrible. That's a very good point, Andrew, because, you know, I have friends. I have a lot of friends, even who are not bold libs, who are actually demure conservatives, who will say, you know, they'll be in their 30s or 40s, and they really want to get married and they really want to have kids, and a lot of them will say, you know, look, I was, I don't know, I was put on this path and I went to college and I got my job and I worked in the city and it was hard to date and the guys are jerks and there was no, I was told not to get married right away, I was told not to have kids right away,

and now I regret it. And this is part of why I don't, I try not to attack women who are, you know, 42 and child free and all the rest of it. In part because of what you just said, there are so many women who really want to get married and have kids and who feel that those possibilities have been foreclosed to them. But then doesn't that create a problem for your political project, which is, you know, if you're saying no choices are bad and everyone should just whatever choices they've made, that's great. But then simultaneously, you're saying part of the reason we should state these things is because so many women regret the choices that they have made. In a way, wouldn't it be more charitable to suggest that maybe certain choices are better than others and might be more conducive to their happiness?

I think it's very tricky. I think it's a complex issue and everybody's situation is different. And that's why I say I think it's all okay. Even for the ones who regret it, though? I haven't. I mean, that exists, but I don't think primarily that's what I'm hearing. I mean, I think we can talk about these things and that's a component of some people's experience. So, yeah, put it on the table, but at the end of the day, it's still, you know, you can,

that's the open conversation and people can talk about their experience of regretting it, but then that shouldn't be forced upon someone else who, okay, I hear that, but I'm still happy with my decision. And it's a complicated decision, I think, for a lot of people. And I get that. It is. I totally agree because the complication of, it's like the complication of education. It's that on the one hand, you want to respect. people in making their decisions. But in order to make decisions, people have to be educated so that they're

in control of their appetites and things and they make good decisions. But in order to be educated, you have to be forced into certain things. You have to be forced to take the test. You have to be forced to study the book. You have to be forced to do whatever. So there's this complex interplay of coercion that is required for free choice. And we want the free choice. So it's very, you have to be very, very bold in how you approach that question. And on the flip side, too, right? There are a lot of people, sorry, but who regret having kids. So there's regret on both sides.

Like, there's regret, you know, or like... Are they real? Like, no, do you know people who regret having kids? There's a lot of people who make... Like, they're never going to say, I don't love my... You know, but there's a lot of comments along those lines that would lead one to believe that are like, more power to you. Like, you know.

I don't know. I think that's social media fake news. I mean, look, are there discrete moments when you're sitting around and your kid is like throwing spaghetti on the wall and smashing up your stuff and screaming in your face where you think like, man, it would beat my life might be slightly easier right now if you weren't doing that. But generally speaking, you know, that's sublime. So as you're pointing out, you're really, I mean, your boldness transcends even ordinary political discourse because it's a boldness of. of transgression, of transcendence, of saying that you are bridging a gap and that who knows what the future holds. Is there, Angela, a possibility that the bold lib could one day evolve into a trad con? I can't foresee that right now because I'm so in my bold lib era, but with Taylor on my side. So, yeah, I mean, never say never, but right now I cannot, I cannot foresee that. All right. Well, gentlemen in the chat, you know, speaking of comments that we all see, gentlemen, you have your challenge laid out before you. Angela, it truly a pleasure to, I think you are probably the most significant political figure I have spoken to this election cycle.

There are others who would claim, you know, greater political influence or something, but in terms of actual political significance. You, I think, are at the top of the list. Everyone ought to check out Bold Lib. Can we expect any more music videos? Yeah. So there may or may not be a remix in the mix next up of Bold Lib. So that could be.

But I did. I want to make sure I have the chance to say thank you, Michael, as well. Because watching somebody sent me the clip of you playing and reacting to Bold Lib. And it was so precious and endearing, like, watching your genuine reaction to the video and your comments and saying it was the best that you've had on Music Monday. And yes, it was. It was entirely sincere. It is great. It's also probably the best political commentary I've seen in several years.

It was excellent. And the fact that your next music video will be a remix, that it will be actually a recursive project on. bold lib is the cherry on top of the Sunday. Angela, thank you for coming on the show. Thank you so much. And thank you to all of you. I'm Michael Noles. This is the Michael Nulls show. We will see you tomorrow.