The Press Box - Ep. 254: ‘Jam Session’ With Juliet Litman and Amanda Dobbins

Episode Date: February 8, 2017

The Ringer’s Juliet Litman and Amanda Dobbins discuss Beyoncé’s big Instagram announcement and her pop star supremacy (1:30), Lady Gaga’s personae and Super Bowl performance (13:05), Chris Evans and Jenny Slate’s breakup (20:15), and Ed Sheeran and Russell Crowe’s unlikely friendship (25:50). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Drinkhint.com slash jam. And now, let's jam. Welcome to Jam session. I'm Juliet Litman. I'm Amanda Dobbins. We haven't done this in two weeks. as per our schedule and there's a lot to discuss. It's true.

We are going to talk about Lady Gaga because that was like probably the biggest celebrity thing to happen. Big second biggest. It's fine. I'm ready. In the last two weeks. It's okay. Breaking news today, Chris Evans and Jenny Slate broke up, which is very big on this podcast. We're going to DTR as per usual.

This time, it's a different kind of relationship that I'm excited to get into and we'll explore it. And of course, we'll end with a couple of things we just can't stop thinking about. But first, Beyonce's pregnant with twins. Congratulations. Congratulations, Jay-Z and Beyonce. Do you say J and Bay? No, but I have to really think about it every time. The B-E-Y still definitely phonetically throws me off, even though I know that it's B.

Is it Biance? It's not. No, it's Beyonce. And it's just like, it's J and B. Right. I don't like them people say J and Bay. That's not, it doesn't rhyme. But it doesn't, and it's not what it's supposed to be.

It's J and B. you know, the B-E-Y. Like, sure, it's confusing. What, you know how- confusing, but, you know, it plays on that part of your brain. I don't know which part of the brain. You know how most deaf changed his name a couple years ago? And it's like, Yasmin B. Yeah.

But he says B-E-Y, I think. It's very confusing. I think it's just, listen, I didn't make these decisions, but my understanding of it has always been that it's B because her name is Beyonce. Right. I just think so many people say J and Bader to bother me. Anyway, there she's pregnant with twins. and she announced it on Instagram.

You've probably all seen it. On the first day of Black History Month. It's the most liked Instagram and the history of the platform. I feel great about this. She is wearing a beautiful brown bra. Would you call that brown? Like, what would you call it?

Chocolate. Well, so I saw some theories that it was also, that that was technically in the pink family and that the underwear were in the blue family to signify a boy and a girl. Oh, that's fascinating.

I don't know whether that's true. I thought the blue was like something about her blue Ivy Carter who's currently alive. I mean, you know, it could be very true. I wish I could remember whose theory that was. It's not mine. I'm sorry for not citing properly on the internet. But that's so because I read. I hadn't read that one.

Yeah, well, because of that, I have been thinking of it in sort of the pink family as opposed to the Brown family. This is like CSI, Beyonce photo shoot. Yeah. Wow. People are really going quite deep. But she's on that level. Like she'll actually do that. Yeah, for sure.

Almost nothing she does is without meaning. Exactly. Because they really are so private that when they make a public declaration, it's like very choreographed and calculated. Yeah. Would you call them private? This is the thing about Jayze and Beyonce that I often come back to. They really don't talk very much.

Like, they don't really like casually give interviews. They're not ever at LAX stopped by TMZ. They're not a Baskin-Robbins getting ice cream like Kim and Kanye. Like they just don't do interviews because they don't have to. I didn't have to. I wouldn't. So that's sort of like a level of protection. They were in the Bradenangeloism pre- pre-divorce papers. But I think, but here's what I would say. Protected maybe, not private. I think that they have, and I think Beyonce in particular has sort of redefined what it means, like the definition of being a public celebrity and how much you have to participate. Yeah. And how much you control. And I think like when there are no more magazines in five,

years. Got Amanda. It's a fucking doomsday on this podcast now. I mean, it'll be because no celebrity thinks they have to give an interview anymore because Beyonce doesn't. And that's a fairly recent thing. I think that started in the September issue of Vogue a couple years ago. My weekly Vogue mentioned.

No, actually we're unsubscribing, but that's different. Yeah, they got a chill on the political stuff. But yeah, you wanted to talk about the follow-up on Beyonce.com. Yes, I did. Thank you for bringing that up. was I really enjoyed it and found the photographs beautiful. It was like a photo dump, yes. Yeah, but I would not call that like living your life in private.

I would call that like a highly controlled statement of what their public persona is going to be. But I think that they think of themselves as public figures. I mean, they are. They are public figures. And, you know, they can choose when to participate and when not to in a way that most other celebrities cannot. That's true.

That's why when they do participate, it's very meaningful. Yeah. Similar to LeBron in that fashion. They're sort of like, to me, those are the two entities that are just like kind of transcend above their ass, which is LeBron James, and then Jay and B. Yes. Well done. Thank you.

You had to think about it, though. I did want to talk about the next day follow up. So she releases the Instagram. It's like one photo. It's kind of like, oh, cool, Beyonce. It's a very, like, it's almost like, you know, like your friend being like, yeah, I'm having a baby. Like instead of, you know, how many people do you know that, like, put a picture of their sonogram on social media? I don't want to talk about it.

Like a lot. So. I actually don't have many, but I know other people do. It's definitely a thing. Yes. So it's like, okay, cool. Jayze and Beyonce, they're not just like us, but they're aware of social media trends. And here they're kind of, like, reclaiming it.

So that's cool. And then I actually think Allison Davis is like, wow, what an understated announcement for Jayze and Beyonce. True. Which was true until there was the Beyonce. com update, which was like a photo dump of, like, like 100 photos of from like basically the last like of this decade so far because it pretty much the earliest photos are of Beyonce supposedly pregnant with blue. Oh, I see what you did there.

Okay. We'll come back to that. Yes. Yeah. So there's a lot to unpack here. I think that the original announcement was understated if you compare it with the blue I, the blue Ivy announcement, which was one of my all-time favorite moments. It's ridiculous.

Oh, come on with the love on top and then the mic drop. So cute. I mean, love on top of my favorite Beyonce song, so I liked that. Okay. But I thought the extra, like, added level of Kanye kind of like pushing Jay-Z. Oh, but that was so great. It was the last time they were friends. I know.

I still love that. Yeah. I'm just very cynical. It's a great reaction gift. It's true. I mean, that's like the last time Kanye genuinely smiled, too. Well, it's his choice. But so it was understated.

And then it wasn't. And then it was like, oh, okay. So now they're kind of back. Like, it's like marking like they're back, I think. because she's going to do Coachella, and there's been a lot of speculation about that. And she'll be performing at the Grammys. She'll be performing at the Grammys. And it's sort of like they had a quiet period, and now they've arrived, Jan.

Yeah, well, they had a tumultuous period. And now they've arrived. Right. Which, again, is just, it's so masterful. They're so good at being celebrities. They really are. They really are. You know, and it's easier when you're as famous as they are.

But, man, the way that, like, we don't talk about the elevator tape anymore. I just had to remember that the elevator type happened. It was like the biggest thing that happened in 2014. And they'll probably never give an interview again, so they'll never talk about it. But we seem to, as a world, just be content to be like, yep, well, we've moved on. They've moved on. And now we're just very excited about these photos, which I was. Like the photos of Jay and Blue on the thing.

I was like, oh, this is really nice. I mean, so are the photos of Beyonce in Blue. I don't want to. Yeah. The thing about, I'm just, I'm so cynical about them. I can't help it. I'm just sorry. But the thing that when I see those pictures, I'm just like, I'm just like, I

know that you guys are never, you're never just a threesome. You never have like a loan time. You have security. You have an entourage. You have your mom. You have your sister. And I'm just like always so curious about like what's happening like right outside of the frame. That's actually something I just stole from Zadie Smith. I heard her say about every Instagram photo. She's like, I'm always curious about what's happening. I'm not even trying to do a British accent. But she talks, she talked, I went to like her book tour and she talked on it about how she's always so curious when she sees like her friends Instagram's like what's happening right outside of the frame. And that's kind of like the amazingness of Beyonce and Jayze.

When you dump all of those pictures, it's almost like for someone like me, it's like an overload. I'm like, I can't study all of these and wonder what's happening right outside of the frame. So I have to just go with your narrative here, I guess. I mean, it's interesting in that context, the volume of the photographs that she released kind of, it makes you feel like you know what's going on outside the frame. You feel like you're getting a full picture. Quite obviously you're getting a very curated picture. But I'm just like, oh, yeah, I know what's up with them. Everything's great.

I mean, it's interesting that I, with them, am willing to suspend disbelief and cynicism more than with other people. I think I'm just rooting for them. And that's like, that's the general effect that they have on the world, which is, like, amazing. Like, that's like they've figured it out. Yeah. It's pretty wild. And they've sustained it through some hiccups, like, including the elevator tapes and the sort of, like, just, you know, never any lawsuits against Beyonce and whatever. whatever, not that she lets those effect.

And lemonade. And lemonade. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. It's pretty amazing. And like she just has become like an artist of protest now. Like she's not even like like, would you call her a pop star?

Yeah. Of course. I mean, she transcends pop star. It's like when you're talking about who is the best pop star, it's Beyonce and then or who is the most famous or most successful pop star. It is Beyonce and then and then you start having the conversation about like who is number two. Yeah. I don't have a problem with that.

That's great. That's good. Most people don't. I'm just so cynical. I don't know why. Are there any other conspiracy thoughts that you'd like to share? Just, no. Do I think she's pregnant?

Yes. Okay. That's fine. That's where I stand on that one. I did notice there were some conspicuous pregnancy photos from 2010 or 11. I felt those were a message to me personally. Message received. Okay.

But yeah, I don't know. It's funny. It's just like amazing what a force she is. It's like really the only news that's broken through like outside of the Trump bubble that we're in of like the kind of like moment by moment chronicling of what's happening in Washington. And like even the Grey's Anatomy cast like took time off of shooting to recreate the photo shoot, which I found hilarious. When's last time you watched Grey's Anatomy? Literally don't remember. Okay. Well, there's a character named Joe who's played by a pregnant actress named Camilla Ludington. I mean, I watched this thing. You sent it to me. and I have affection for the Greatest people, so I watched it. Ellen Pompeo art directed her photo shoot recreating the pictures, and it was hilarious. Let me tell you what I think. Ellen Pompeo seems great.

She really does. That's what I took away from that. I want to hang out with her. I would love those glasses. Could I get some more info on those glasses? She is off-camera. She's a glasses gal, which I love. Very thick black ones.

I think it seems fun to be on Grey's Anatomy. It's a show that is, you know, by all means, by all accounts successful. They're not going anywhere anytime soon. And if you don't piss off Shonda, you just get to live in this, like, lovely Hollywood workplace where you pretend to be a doctor. Yeah, it's true. You remember for the ringer, Allison Davis interviewed Shandra Wilson. Yeah. Just about this phenomenon.

But like, you've been on it for 10 years. How's that going? It's just like, it's great. Yeah. What's on to like? They're in season 13 right now. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

So I'm just sorry. Yeah, longer. It's a good interview. Dr. Bailey is great. It is a great one. That was for a TV package we did in September. Check it out. Yeah. It's pretty amazing. And now everyone else who has a pregnancy to announce, it's like, well, what am I supposed to do? And so Jordan Peel and Chelsea Pretty a few days later announced that she was pregnant. They're not married yet, are they?

I think they eloped. I think when reading about that photograph. Congratulations to them, by the way. Yeah, 100%. It said that they are eloped. I'm not 100 on that, so, you know, feel free to correct me. But, yeah, that's great. You know what? I will never do a pregnancy announcement. But listen, babies are great. Yeah. If you want children, congratulations. It's like, it's something to be happy about. Sure. It's hard for me to feel anything, but like, good for them.

Yeah, totally. I'm just a negative person, I guess. No, it's not true. Okay, moving on. Let's talk with Lady Gaga. Oh, you want to switch the negativity a little? Okay. Yeah.

Hold on. At the Super Bowl. Julie. Here's what I'd like to say. Okay. I admire Lady Gaga's activism. I think that she's been an advocate for the LGBT community. And, you know, she has in, not recently, but historically been very outspoken for progressive causes.

I admire that. I support that. And what I'm about to say has nothing to do with Lady Gaga the person, but it is just about her music and her pop star persona. Sure. Which, which, yes. The music and the persona. Which, yes. And I just want to reiterate, like, listeners of Jamshash should know that we have established that a,

Pop star persona is a construct that is different from the person and it is something that is fair game for commentary. Can't fucking stand it. I cannot abide it. I think I prefer her persona to her real person, to be honest. I don't, listen, I'm not here to comment about her real, you know, be who you want to be in the world. Sure. And I don't want to be mean to her, but I just, it's exhausting. What was like your biggest cringe moment during the halftime show?

The whole thing? I can't, I found the ballad. A million reasons. Yes. I think that you know how I feel about, well, occasionally a really, a power ballad can really speak to me. But I was not feeling that. It went on forever.

Yeah, it was a long song. I like it, though. The pre-taped nonsense, what's going on? This was my thing about the roof opening. So if she's not jumping off the roof, they don't really have to do that. and I know they want to do the drone show above or whatever, but I just think that's like too much of an interference of the actual football game. And I was pissed.

I was like, if I was one of these athletes, I'd be like, could you not take the roof off and then put it back on? Like, I'd just be like, who knows, like what kind of other effects there could be there? I don't know. Like, taking a roof on and off a dome in under 30 minutes seems really stupid to me. That's a great point. Why do that? It really bothered me. I was just like, no.

I mean, that's just like, that's lady dog on a nutshell. It's also the NFL. Like, why are we trying this hard for like, for what? Sure. What did you think about there being no guest stars? Like, well, put Beyonce aside for a second, but just in general, no guest stars. I mean, it's definitely because Lady Gaga is a selfish person who didn't want to share the stage. And her experience was more important than the audience's experience. I thought we really missed Brune-O-Maris. And, okay. Also, you know what? We could have had my friend Mark Ronson in the Super Bowl two years in a row, except Lady Gaga doesn't want us to have fun.

She doesn't want us to have nice things. Perfect Illusion is the worst song on Joanne. By far, the worst song. A record that I genuinely like and have listened to you a lot of times. So she chose to do telephone as like basically like the third, second or third song. So early on, and that's a song that was originally released as a duet with Beyonce Noles, native of Houston, Texas, where they had the Super Bowl.

So like, what kind of troll move is that? Like, what message is she sending by doing that? I just can't abide it. She's sending that she is like completely toned at. and full of herself. And so, like, literally, do you know what I'm maddest about? What? You know, and there has been a lot of back and forth about the role of politics in the Super Bowl

and whether Lady Gaga should have done something or shouldn't, and whether this land is your land is considered a political statement and, like, whatever. Literally right before the Super Bowl, there was a commercial that was Lady Gaga for Tiffany and co. And then just 30 seconds of Lady Gaga, Black and White, and Black and White talking about like how fucking Tiffany's, and this is an expression of her artistic, get out. Be like, have some awareness of what is going on in the world

and how your corporate sponsorships, like, are not part of it. Tiffany's, I thought it was an interesting one because it's next to Trump Tower. So there's been a lot of news about how it's, like, losing business as a result of the security around Trump Tower. So I was like, I wonder if Lady Gaga thinks this is an act of protest by aligning with Tiffany's in some way. I don't want to talk about it. I can't. It's so boneheaded.

My very generous take on the Beyonce situation of not having her come saying telephone was that like Lady Gaga perhaps in her in her warped perception thought that it was like nice to do a song with Beyonce in her hometown but like not involve her or something. I don't know. I could see someone who's crazy thinking that. Not that I know if she's crazy or not. I take that back. I liked it because I just like her music and I like showwomenhip. And I also liked, I know there's like a lot of like discussion of body shaming, but I actually thought she looked great. And like she looked like a normal human.

And I used to really hate that Lady Gaga never showed her face. And there was one time when she was on Saturday Night, her first time. And she sits at the piano to do the like slow down version of poker face, which is like among my favorite Lady Gaga songs. That was a good performance. It was great. And it was very sweet. where she was like, she rewrites the words of being a girl from Manhattan, like, reaching her dream or whatever. And she looks so physically uncomfortable when she's singing because she's like in this metal orb that's kind of inhibiting her piano player, piano playing.

And at the time, I was just like, this is a gifted performer and a talented musician. And she's being forced or for some reason electing to wear a costume that inhibits like her natural ability. And I was like really mad about it. And so it kind of, it makes me happy that she's famous enough to just sort of like wear hot pants and the crop top. And, like, that's the look for it. So it's a very different opinion than yours. But I just, I don't know. I enjoy her wackiness because I just think she's a great singer.

So, like, that makes up for a lot for me. Yeah. As they say, great pipes. Great pipes on that gal. Yeah, she can sing. What's your favorite Lady Gaga song? You had to pick one. Pokerface or what was the other one?

Just and. Just dance. That's my first song. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great one. Yeah, I don't hate those songs. I got tired of the schick very quickly. I don't really like theater kid stuff or like eggs that much.

I don't, you know me, I don't like to see the effort. Sure. And she is like sort of the queen of like I'm trying so hard. She's not cool. Her desperation is helpful. Sure, she's definitely not cool. And that turns me off. Right.

Okay. I thought like she didn't fall down. I think I was like a perfectly fine Super Bowl. performance. She was dancing very hard. I actually think it was perfectly executed for what the plan was. She did it. Yeah. She's a pro. She's a pro's a pro's pro. She is a pro for Tiffany and Co. I didn't like the singing in this land as your lamb because I thought that was just something like a silly cop out. But I also again thought that like maybe that she probably considered that to be an act of protest. Yeah, that's a cop out. But it's not. Although I wouldn't love folk music returning to the

Okay. We got to end this segment. I love and respect your viewers. of the world and let's move on. Okay. Let's move on to the breakup of Jenny Slate and Chris Evans, which happened today. This is good. Is it? This is the natural order of the world. Where does she go from here, Jenny Slate?

Is her career good? Well, so the interesting thing, as several people at the ringer pointed out, was that their movie, their film has not come out yet. The film that they met, where they met, which is about, like, Chris Evans having a niece who's a genius. Oh. Oh, yes. I saw that.

Yeah. Okay. Anyway, it comes out in March. So they will probably have to do a promotional tour together without, which frankly just means that maybe they'll get back together for a month. Here's my thing. Okay. I thought it was great that they got together.

I think that any woman who has the chance to sleep with Captain America should seize that opportunity. And, you know, and I think that it was great that they were exploring this new world together. Obviously, it had a shelf life. I think it reached its natural conclusion. I hope that it was not acrimonious. I hope that there was like nothing. I hope they just parted ways after a year. It's very hard to imagine they just simply parted ways. Come on. What do you think? Yeah, of course they just parted ways. Listen. Like over coffee? Like this has been a, we've had a great run. Let's just call it a day. You know, like she's filming somewhere. He's filming somewhere else. Like they try to keep it up via Skype. But like when their conversation is, when the relationship is,

just focused on conversation. Maybe it's not like as much of a connection as it possibly was. What are you talking about, Amanda? You forget to answer a text message. Then it just kind of like it goes from there and it's like, this is too hard. You know what? I respect you, but this is too hard. Do you think he leaves his red receipts on?

Oh, interesting, though. Do you? I don't know. Do you leave your red receipts on? No, I don't. I text with like four people in the world and they don't leave their red receipts. read receipts. They do. They don't. So I don't have like any experience with it. Yeah. It's really not that comment on I message, which is why it's a big deal when people do it.

I could just see Chris Evans doing it. Yeah. He just seems inconsiderate. That's why I think he would have potential to do it. So that's my take on him. But I was going to say like maybe he, you know, read a message and didn't respond. Or vice versa. Maybe she read a message. Oh, you think they ghost broke up? No. I just think maybe there's a breakdown of the communication Yeah, totally. I agree. I don't know how much communication was there, but again. It's just sad for the state of Massachusetts, you know. It was really big for them, two Boston kids, finding love.

To quote Jenny Slate, I think that she referenced their shared home state and part of their connection. So I just don't really know what the market is for Jenny Slate's talents right now. And I think the biggest loss for her is she can't return to the Marcel the Shell well. That was a project with Dean Fleischer-Camp. I think maybe Marcel the Shell had run its course. It was a nice moment that we had in 2010, and now the Internet's very different. And they wrote a book, and the children of the world have Marcel. I really loved Obvious Child.

I would like her to get back into the indie movie scene. Yeah, I thought that she was making a second movie with... Gillian Robespierre? Yeah. That was a great movie. And she's very good in it. And it had Jake Lacey playing Fran before Fran on Girls, which was just a great movie. Also, like, completely set on the Upper West Side, which is all.

always a way into my heart. So I was really into that. Good stuff. I wish them well. I think that unless something like truly messy comes out, which like you never know. But it's such hard to believe in under a year, no kids. Although she did get divorced. So there's, there's that. Yeah. They were not supposed to, were they supposed to get married? Jenny Slate and Captain right now. No, no, no, no. But I'm just saying. Again, in the New Year's resolution of being realistic about celebrity relationships, I feel like they found each other. They had a connection. They explored that connection for a year. It reached its conclusion.

This is how love is supposed to go. Or not love. This is how not love is supposed to go. Exactly. I wish them both well. I do too. Thank you for this gift. We'll always remember this.

When we look back, when Chris Evans finally gets married in like 10 years, we'll look back on his dating history and be like, oh, yes, Jenny Slate. What a time. What a time of 2016. Yes, I do. If George Clooney gets married, Chris Evans gets married. I think he's like in two years. He seems a little like.

Itching to settle down. I mean, he's like 30-something and a bro and probably thinks that at some point. That's what he needs to do. He's just not really in my life. Like I saw The Avengers and I saw that cell phone movie with Kim Basinger that he's in where like the phone's like about to explode. He like can't hang up. She's like kidnapped him somewhere. I miss this one.

I can't recall what the name of it was. Let's just call it the cell phone movie. And that's about it. And I'm just like, okay, Chris Evans, cool. Have you seen Nanny Diaries? No. He's pretty dreamy in that one. Is he? Yeah.

I mean, not a great movie, but. With Charlotte Johansson. Yeah, and Laurelini. Great cast. And then. Breaking news. The movie is called cellular, so it's very similar to the cell phone movie. Okay.

And then he was in the Anna Farris film. What's Your Number? Oh, I didn't see that either. Well, a lot of phones for him. Yeah, I guess so. All right. Well, good luck, guys. One of you was in the Marvel movie, so you're rich and famous forever. And the other one of you is a pretty delightful actress. So good luck, you both of the bright futures. On to another relationship that I've been dying to discuss for the last few hours. Ed Sharon and Russell Crowe. I don't even know what to say right now.

Can you, like, do a little exposition here? I have to say it because my brain turns off when I see the words Ed Shearin. So I don't know as much as I should. Sure. I read the material you provided. Yes, happy to expound here. Ed Shearin is famous for being a red-headed Englishman who sings. And he's got a new record coming out soon, divided. It's his third record, and he always chooses a math operation symbol. I didn't know that. And I wish I didn't know that.

The first one was plus. The second one was multiply. It was just a lowercase x. And now this is divided, the divided symbol. What's next? I don't know, a long division. But like that would be funny if he named a long division after divided. Anyway, he, he's doing a press tour because he released two songs at once,

both of which have been played at the Soul Cycle quite a bit where I go. And so I'm very familiar with them. And he's only 25, though I feel like Ed Sharon's been around for forever. And I'm like, why aren't you 40 yet? So he's got a lot of life to live. And he revealed on an Australian, like, talk show or like radio show yesterday, that he's got a new friend. Well, not that new.

new to us, and it is Russell Crowe, the esteemed actor and former thrower of a telephone. Remember that? When Russell Crow threw the phone in the hotel? Yeah, I do. I've always had a personal problem with Russell Crow because when I saw Inside Man, which he's in, I didn't know he was Australian. I found out after, and I was really furious for not knowing, and I've just, like, held it against him.

I've never gone over it. Why are you mad? Okay. I know, it's not his fault. So anyway, here's what Ed said on the show. I've started hanging out with Russell Crowe because he loves getting drunk and I love getting drunk. We don't get anything from each other other than just a night out. We get an enjoyment of hanging out rather.

There's no boost in either of our careers from our association. So, okay. Ed Sharon's rumored to have dated people like Ellie Golding and like just a lot of rumors about his dating life. Nothing is ever confirmed. But he does like to brag about having a lot of famous friends. On his last press tour, he was like on some radio shows where he would like talk about all the fun nights. has passing around a guitar sitting in a circle of people like Taylor Swift and Gavin de Grah and like rocking out having jam sessions. Not like this kind of jam session. I've literally lost the

ability to speak, but keep going. And so I just think it's weird to brag about a friendship with Russell Crowe. I know you're in his native country, but like what are you trying to tell us here at Sharon? Is it that you can only talk about your friends, you can't talk about like your dating life or you're trying to stress the fact that you've so many people around you who are trying to use you for a boost in their career that you have to go for like a supposed a megastar like Russell Crow as a friend because there's no way he could be using you. Like what are I supposed to get from this story? I mean, I assume he's trying to do fame by association.

Ed Shearin. Who's more famous, Ed Shearin or Russell Crow? Russell Crow. Are you sure? I don't want to live in a world where Ed Shearon is more famous. Okay, like here's the thing. I think it might be Ed Shearing. Let me tell you my only trauma with Ed Shearin, which is that four to five years ago,

I attended a jingle ball. in New York City. Madison Square Garden. Yes. The lineup included Taylor Swift, One Direction, Justin Bieber. Was this the one where they did karaoke after Harry and Taylor? Yeah. It was during that time.

Cool. So they were dating. It was 2013. Yeah. I mean, frankly, what a lineup. Seriously? I was a grown woman attending this. That's fine.

Side note is just that I was sitting next to a younger, like a teenager who had asked me to, like, her mom was in a different section she was like well you help me find my mom afterwards because I and I was like sure but she wanted to leave immediately after Justin Bieber who was the last person started performing but as we were walking out he started the encore which was of course baby and so I had to drag a teenager

back into Madison Square Garden to watch Justin Bieber reformed baby that's his like the teenager didn't care Amanda cared. It's a great song who did the rap part oh did he do it? I'm going to ask Who did it? Did he?

I think he did. Oh, no. Anyway, at this same jingle ball, Ed Shearne performed a Taylor Swift. I like that song that they have together. And... It's called Everything Has Changed. Yeah.

He's not really in it. He just plays the guitar and does backup vocals. But he did them at the jingle ball. It's kind of a coup for him. I bet he gets a lot of residuals off that song. Yeah, I'm sure he does. Anyway, he performed to the jingle ball with Taylor Swift, and the youth of America were losing their minds for Ed Shearer,

and it was really upsetting. He's like, surely... Really popular. Surely we can aim higher than this. People love Ed Shearren. It's crazy. He also is like a really prominent songwriter. He writes for everyone.

You know, the song that Justin Bieber supposedly sings about Selena Gomez, my mama don't like you and she likes everyone. Ed Shearren wrote that. It's a great song. Love yourself. It's nominated for some Grammys. The original lyrics were you can fuck yourself and they change it to love yourself. and they change it to love yourself for Beaver.

Like, he writes for underaction, he writes for Taylor Swift. He writes for everyone. It's kind of crazy. He's loaded. He's really, I think that he is like underrated in terms of like how rich he is. How rich he is. And then sort of like influence in his field. It's vast.

I believe that. I think he's quite famous with a certain population. But this is kind of like. Girls like 12 to 22. Yeah. And I suppose the parents who know about him. Right. That's the thing.

If you get the teens, you have to get a whole generation of parents. Yeah. But on the flip side, Russell Crow has been like an extraordinarily famous actor for 20 years. Yeah. So. And he was in Leymis. That's true. That was a struggle.

That wasn't great for him. But phenomenal film that I listen to the soundtrack of very often. Wow. You listen to the film soundtrack? Yes, I do. Do you want to know why? Yes. Because of Aaron's Fight.

Oh, yeah. Amanda Seyfried. And I actually, I just really like, I like Sasha Baron Cohen. I don't know. There's a lot of people I like in it. Do you skip some of the songs? I skip a lot of Russell Crowe. Okay, yeah.

I don't know what to say about this. I feel like I can unsubscribe. The only thing... Do they're really friends? Or this is more like drinking buddies when they're in the same country, which is very rare? Probably the latter.

You know what, Juliet? Having a drinking buddy is a good thing. Oh, I agree. I have certain, like, escalators who, when I'm with them, that's, like, the most I'll ever drink. I mean, you know, you want to everyone needs to be, make safe choices. Sure. Yeah.

Just the sense of like someone you can go out and blow off steam with as opposed to. I'm just worried that Ed Shearin's suffering under the weight of fame. I don't care if he is. Okay, fine. Fine. Let's move on. Finally, one thing you just can't stop thinking about. Mine is Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio recently went out for dinner. And he dined at the restaurant of the Salt Bay, the Turkish steak chef of Instagram.

And I just had a lot of questions about this. I'll let you know some of them. Okay, please. First of all, does Leonardo DiCaprio have Instagram, and that's how he knows about Salt Bay? And if not, what website does he read that he learned about Salt Bay? I think Leonardo DiCaprio is definitely on the internet.

You do? I don't know. I'm not sure. I've never seen him interact with any, like, technology. Have you ever seen a phone in his hand? In that video where he surprises Jonah Hill on the street, does he not have a phone? I think he has a cup in his hand.

He's drinking something. It's clear. And never on the city bike photos. He doesn't have a... It's just not coming to mind. I just, when I think of Leonardo DiCaprio, I think of canvas slip on sneakers and a hat and not a cell phone. And a jet pack and a...

Yeah, exactly. I just have no proof that he knows how to use the internet. Like, he could be like my grandma and just not online. So I'm just wondering, how does Lena Articaprio find out about a meme? And, like, what other memes does he know about? Like, does he know about... Does he even know about the white letters that people use on memes? Like, I don't know.

I just have so many questions. I have to think that he knows about the internet. Okay. I have to feel like maybe he's not on Twitter. No, he's definitely not on Twitter. I don't know, though, because, like, don't you think for his weird environmental reasons? He has to know about kind of the landscape and the political concerns. And so then he's got a Twitter and then someone's like, hey, look at this.

You don't think he's even like conversant and basic internet? I don't know. I honestly, like, wouldn't be surprised if he's not. He's lived such a rarefied life for so many years. He's later on DiCaprio. I don't know. Don't you just feel like in order to find all the models that he finds, he has to, like, be on some sort of Instagram page.

Yeah. He must have a model Instagram. Yeah. Thoughts of Instagram or something. Yeah. I don't know. There's just a lot of questions. Like, I just don't, I just was so confused.

I was late to Salt Bay. And I sit at my computer all day every day. And one of our young youngsters, Haley O'Shaughnessy, who's a writer, or editorial assistant at The Ringer, like, mentioned SALPA. And I was like, what is that? And then I found out about Salk Bay. But, like, I was very behind. And I am very firmly on Instagram. Like, it's just like, how does that penetrate for someone like Leo?

I mean, he probably was just, he had a friend who was like, yo, look at this video. Let's go to the restaurant. And, like, what else does Leo have to do? He seemed very pleased. He seemed like he was having fun with the Salt Bay. Yeah, which is just hilarious. Do you care about self-by at all? Not totally.

I only care about him now that he's intersection with Leonardo to camera. I'm like, oh, this is real. So it's big. That's mine. I thought of mine. Okay. So the thing I can't stop thinking about, and this will segue into something slightly larger, is that last night I was too late to the Reese Witherspoon accidental live streaming on

Instagram to catch anything. And I'm really upset about that because there's nothing more than I love than like Reese Witherspoon caught on camera by accident. Her own camera, in fact. Her own camera. I like was frantically, I hadn't updated my Instagram. And then I was frantically slacking with another rigorous staff or Kate Nibb to try to explain like how I could see it without updating my Instagram.

They were just like, I need to see this. Did she have any tips? She was like, you need to update it, you idiot. You old person. She didn't say that. She was very nice. By the time I updated it, it was over. Kate said that she did hear Reese Witherspoon being like,

how do I work this thing before it ended, which is amazing. So I'm in general thinking a lot about Reese Witherspoon right now because she is in a show next week, airing next Sunday on HBO called Big Little Eyes, which it's a tour to force performance by Reese Witherspoon. It's really, really something. Reese has found her role. I'm psyched. I'm really psyched about it. And I am really enjoying it. So I'm thinking about Reese. I'm ready to welcome Reese back into my life.

Great. Me too. She's really back because she's doing the press rounds for her show. So I'm looking forward to more accidents on social media. Me too. I hope that. Via Rees Wetherspoon. I don't even know how that happens, though. I guess this is my thought. She probably had her phone unlock in the last app that she had accessed was Instagram. She probably accidentally unlocked it when it was in her pocket. Yeah. And it was going back to the Instagram homepage because I hate this update on Instagram now,

which is if you are in the app and then you switch to different app and you come back, it doesn't pick up from where you last work goes back to the top, which is really bad for, like it's very poor user experience. I'd like to speak with Facebook about this. And so Reese probably accidentally unlocked her phone because on the new ones is pretty easy to lock with the thumb brushing up against it. I think they should fix that update. I have a counter theory.

Okay. Which is that Reese Withers Food was trying to Instagram live and had no idea to do it how to do it as evidenced by the how do I work this just before it went away. Incredible. Why was it all dark though? It had to have been in her pocket. I think like maybe she didn't know how to turn this. I don't know.

It's amazing what moms can do with their phones. Who knows? Listen, I couldn't work it. If I couldn't work face Instagram live quickly enough to catch. this, then I should not judge Reese. We are all out here learning about technology together. I guess that's true. It's a brave new celebrity world. It's true. So many questions with the life of the celebrity. We'll get to the bottom of them eventually. I can't wait. Thanks for listening to Jam Session. Thanks, everyone. Have a great week. Hello, my name is Chris Ryan. My name's Andy Greenwald.

And we are the co-host of The Watch, a pop culture podcast on the Ringer podcast network. We are on Mondays and Thursdays. We mostly talk about TV, movies, music, pop culture. Jeremy Renner, flipping, the papacy, Reese Weatherspoon dancing at wedding videos. We used to talk about Kanye West. He's in the, like, timeout corner right now. Never ever talk about Christine Bransky. You can listen to The Watch on Mondays and Thursdays on SoundCloud iTunes. Anywhere you get podcasts, subscribe now.

And thanks for listening. It's a good hang.