The Viall Files - E131 Laura Marano is Chasing Dreams Not Men

Episode Date: May 20, 2020

Today, Actor and Recording Artist Laura Marano joins us, but not before Nick shares his thoughts on the controversy surrounding Hannah Brown's Instagram Live video. Laura speaks with us about how her personal relationships influence her writing process, especially her new single “Cant Hold On Forever.” We find out that Laura is probably the only 24 year old in Hollywood with a flip phone, her views on growing up Disney, and how her career has impacted her philosophy on dating.  Is double texting an actual thing? Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!  THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:  TRUE BOTANICALS: truebotanicals.com/viall MAGIC SPOON: magicspoon.com/viall See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

what's going on everybody welcome to another episode of the vile files i am your host nick and we have a special episode because we have a special new person joining our show a new new producer uh my friend chrissy chrissy say hi to everybody hello everybody uh nick i'm so happy that you are joining us uh for those who might not have listened to yesterday's episode with uh caitlin in the listen to your heart recap uh rochelle, sadly and unfortunately, has decided to move on from the show. And we wish her nothing but the best and thank her for all the hard work she has done to help make the Vile Files what it is today.

And we will certainly look to have her back in the future, maybe to recap some Bachelor stuff and just check in on seeing how she's doing. And again, we wish her nothing but great success and all the things that she is working on and all the talents that she has. So Chrissy, welcome to the team. Excited to be working with you.

Thanks for having me. I look forward to you guys getting to know Chrissy throughout the episodes. And yeah, we're excited to have you. Thanks. We're going to ease into just, we're excited to have you. Thanks. We're going to ease into it, right? Oh, going to ease into it.

Yeah. Chrissy is a lovable, wonderful person with some great stories. And as we all have our own trials and tribulations when it comes to our love lives. So we only welcome misfits on this show, Chrissy. I don't know what you're talking about. My love life has been perfect forever. Well, you're fired. Tragically. But before we get to our guest today, which is an incredible interview with a very talented Laura Marano, I did want to address what happened over the weekend with the things that we saw on Hannah Brown's Instagram. And, you know, obviously, during my questions with Nick, I had kind of

an initial reaction, just kind of stating that obviously, it's very disappointing to see. And I certainly wanted to give it some time, you know, to think about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to address it. Obviously, Rachel did an Instagram Live and gave her thoughts. Rachel actually is going to be joining us for our Ask Nick episode next Monday, and we will get into a little deeper conversation with her about this topic, and specifically the use of the N-word, the history behind it, why it's not okay to ever say it if you're not a black person. It doesn't matter if it's a lyric

in a song. I'll be honest, it's been disappointing to see some people's reactions. Listen, I understand there are a lot of people who are fans of Hannah Brown. And when you're a fan of someone, your initial reaction is to want to defend them. I understand that. But the reality is it is not okay in any context, in any situation whatsoever, to say that word. And I am very critical of Hannah Brown's use of that word. And just like when I was critical of Madison a couple weeks ago, listen, Hannah Brown has a massive platform. She has been very outspoken about her desire to be a role model, specifically to young women out there.

She has talked about a lot, you know, when I was a young girl this, when I was a young girl that. And quite frankly, her going on Instagram Live, whether she was inebriated or not, and using that word in any context whatsoever is absolutely not being a role model. Certainly not a good one, not whatsoever. And she has to be held to a high

standard. We all do. And it is very disappointing to see. I gotta say, her initial response was disappointing. I know she has since issued a written apology on her Instagram. Now, just for context, I am recording this Monday morning. You won't be listening to this until Wednesday. So we might see further response from Hannah Brown as it relates to this topic, and I hope that we do. So just know that if she does, I'm speaking on this Monday morning. And listen, I get it, people, in the sense that, you know, I don't think Hannah Brown is a racist from the little bit I know. And we live in such a divisive times right now, especially when it comes to races still.

You know, I see a lot of people, a lot of fans of Hannah out there saying, well, she was just singing the song and she's sorry, she's apologetic and she's not racist. And again, she's not racist. I don't think she's racist, but what she said was very ignorant, right? And I think we have to not be afraid to use that word ignorant. We have done and said ignorant things, all of us, right? I've seen a lot of responses out there from people saying, let's not pretend that we haven't ourselves said this word in the privacy of our car. Listen, if you have, it's not okay. Doesn't necessarily make you a racist, but it is an ignorant thing to do. And I think the important thing here is like, we're so quick, especially as white people, to get very defensive. Like, I'm not a racist. I'm not a racist. But I think the

real important thing we need to start thinking about is, are you an ally, right? Are you an ally to people who are different from you? What I mean by being an ally is, you know, being a friend, learning about people's point of views that are different than you, people who have a long history of oppression. Rachel talked about the use of the N-word, why artists are using it in songs, why black people are saying and taking their power back in the use of the word, a word that is being used against a group of people for hundreds of years to enslave, rape, murder, and do countless atrocities towards them. So if all we have to do as white people is simply not say the word out loud, even if it's in a lyric of a song, a song that like, again, if a black artist wants to use

it to express themselves, they have the right to do that. All right. And again, if me saying that, you have a hard time processing it, don't get defensive, but ask yourself, am I being an ally, right? Am I doing enough to learn about people who are different from me? Listen, I've talked a lot about my childhood on this show, great parents, things like that. But I also grew up in a very white community. Now, my parents were always open and invited diversity into our lives when possible through our church, through athletics. But regardless, that was still limited. It was a really white world that I grew up in. And as a result, when you isolate yourself, isolation breeds ignorance, right? I think back on my childhood, and I think back on coaches I interacted with, people,

and people I respected, good people that said and taught me what I now have come to learn were ignorant. And I'm ashamed to have ever thought that or maybe even said it as a teenager, and I'm thankful like social media wasn't out there. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I have had ignorant thoughts before. I'm very thankful that I have throughout the years of my life, open up the world around me to become more educated and to try to be an ally for people who are different from me. If you're a man, you should want to be an ally to women.

If you are straight, you should want to be an ally to the LGBTQ community. If you are a white person, you should want to be an ally to women. If you are straight, you should want to be an ally to the LGBTQ community. If you are a white person, you should want to be an ally to people of color. And by doing that, to better understand them, to ask them questions, to reach out to people who are different than you and see if they're willing to teach you. Now, keep in mind, people who are minorities are pretty exhausted and tired of trying to explain themselves. So like in any situation, if you want to learn, you do have to be willing to do the work on your own. But I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are willing to talk about it. For example, if you are interested in learning more about and you want to be an ally, then listen to my podcast on Monday with Rachel and listen to

Rachel talk about the history of that word and let's all get educated on it. There's something I'm most thankful of this podcast are the guests I've had in the show to continue to educate me on things. We shouldn't be so afraid to acknowledge that we can be ignorant and we can learn from it. I don't think Hannah Brown should be canceled. I've got a lot of message too saying, let's cancel Hannah Brown. You know how I feel about the cancel culture. I don't think there's a lot of positives that come from it. This is a learning opportunity, hopefully, for Hannah. Let's see how she responds. So far, her response hasn't been great, but I personally am willing to see how she handles this.

Like it or not, Hannah Brown is going to continue to be a role model. The question is, is she going to be a good one, right? She still has a massive following, and this is such a divisive topic that there are going to be people who are going to side with Hannah Brown regardless, right? The big question is, these young women who look up to her, Hannah Brown regardless, right? The big question is these young women who look up to her, who support her, is she going to go out of her way to say this was wrong and to really double down, to really embrace her mistake and learn from it and not hide behind her fans that want to defend her? You know, if you are a fan of Hannah Brown, you should not be defending this, right? If you're Hannah Brown, you should not want your fans to defend you. I hope that between

the time I'm saying this and the time you're hearing this, Hannah Brown goes on back on her platform and ask the fans who are defending her and saying things like she was just singing in a song to stop doing that because it's not okay. And she has a responsibility to do that. And she has an opportunity to do that. And again, to continue to talk to, say, people like Rachel or her friend Katie or the other people of color in Bachelor Nation and other people of color who aren't in Bachelor Nation. And then to use this platform, this massive platform that she has to learn from her mistake and, you know, be better about it. But she has to be held accountable. And it was a really kind of off-putting response.

You know, when she got called out on Instagram Live, I mean, for those of you who didn't see it, I'll just read it. You know, when someone said, you know, she got called out and, you know, she seemed pretty inebriated, but that's not an excuse. That might be the reason. She said, we don't say that word. So you know what? I'm going to stay here and you all can think I said whatever I did or think I'm something I'm not, but I'm not that. Look, people are going to want to think whatever they want to think of me, get mad at me, whatever. And even if I did accidentally say it, I'm very sorry. I was singing a song and not even thinking. Listen, if you're going to apologize, don't ever use the

word whatever, right? It's just void, whatever you're saying in regards to an apology. And she has since posted a written apology in her Instagram stories that is set to expire. That's not like as Rachel said on her Instagram live, like that doesn't read as sincere. We don't know whether that came from her heart or if it came from her publicist. So the only authentic reaction right now, as it stands this Monday morning, is what she just said on Instagram Live. And quite frankly, that's a really, really terrible apology and really insincere. And it comes across as, again, ignorant to what she's speaking on. I think Hannah Brown has a lot of good in her. I think she has a lot of opportunities to have this be a teachable moment and turn it into a positive thing. And I hope she embraces that and not hopes that this situation goes away. And I think this all can be a teachable moment for all of us. And I hope that she does that. moment for all of us. And I hope that she does that. I have a question for you. How do you think Bachelor Nation, like in an overall sense of how they view, how do you think they view Hannah

as a person beforehand and how this will change that? Yeah, I mean, listen, that will be interesting if I'm being totally candid. I know throughout the past episodes, we've had Hannah Brown on this podcast. She was awesome when she was on and very authentic, and I really enjoy talking to her. And I know some people have suggested I've kind of snarked towards Hannah Brown since then. Listen, to be perfectly candid,

there are several alumni in Bachelor Nation who have had, I guess the best way I can put it, off-putting experiences with Hannah Brown. Right. Nothing in lines with what we just talked about, more in line with, we just talked about. More in line with the typical someone's feeling themselves a little extra. And listen, we've all been there, especially as leads. There's always been moments where maybe we needed to be checked.

But with Hannah, it seemed to be the norm. It's like everyone you talk to in bachelor nation had their uh hannah brown story and it was kind of along i guess it was more disappointing because in the sense that for a lot of people including myself we're very like hannah brown supporters in a sense like you saw this girl a young woman on colton season the misfit the the misunderstood, the authentically raw and sweet and humble. And then you meet Hannah and you're just like, that's not the person you're projecting and that you say you want to be. That's a shame.

To kind of put it in terms, you know, if you watched Colton's season, the Hannah Brown story, it was Hannah Brown versus Kalen. Right, right, right. And a lot of people's opinions, including myself, was Hannah Brown was the, again, misunderstood, you know. Girl from the South, nice girl. The outcast, you know, not like the outsider. A little awkward.

A little awkward. Yeah, yeah. And then Kaylin was the um very pretty very calculated mean girl and right after you got to meet kaylin and hannah in person it couldn't have been more the opposite hannah kaylin was the sweet, quiet, misunderstood, very pleasant, very kind person. And Hannah was the mean girl. And the reason why you haven't heard that from Bachelor people, to be totally honest, is they're afraid of Hannah and her fans.

And specifically, they are afraid of Hannah's willingness to steer her fans' energy in the direction of her critics. And that's why you haven't heard it. I would suspect you're not going to see or hear a lot of people come out. It's an indefensible thing, but I don't think you're going to see a ton of support for Hannah Brown in Bachelor Nation. Obviously, this relationship and whatever it is with Tyler and Matt James and the TikTok crew, but she doesn't have a lot of friends in Bachelor Nation. And that doesn't mean she can't. It's a very forgiving world. This might be a humbling experience for Hannah. And again, I don't mean to, I'm not trying to shit on Hannah here, but this, that is, you know, that has been disappointing to see. And I guess to answer your question, I don't expect an overwhelming,

well, you know, deep down Hannah is, you know, there's a lot of conversations behind closed doors yesterday about, you know, there's a lot of conversations behind closed doors yesterday about Hannah. Have other people reached out to you? Have other people reached out to you to talk about it? There's a lot of conversations of, you know, this is really sad and tragic, and I don't feel bad for her. You know? And that's sad. Because I do think Hannah is a good person.

I do think she has a kind heart. And I think she, again, can do a lot of good with her platform. But she really needs to own this. And she needs to truly own up to her mistakes. And so far, again, as of Monday morning, she has not. And she definitely needs to do better. And according to Rachel, and Rachel reached out to her, gave her some advice, and it sounds like Hannah dismissed that. Who knows?

We'll ask Rachel about that and get maybe more context. But again, I just want to say that when we have Rachel on, it's going to be less about Hannah Brown and more about the bigger conversation of trying to get more context around this topic, specifically the use of the N-word, why artists, black artists use it, or black people, and why it's in no way an excuse or ever okay for for white people to ever use it right it's not that hard people to you're like really are you really gonna die on

that hill to say like if they can't if they we if if we can't say it no one should say it's like no no wrong take uh it's rachel's example of that was amazing when she changed it around and was like, okay, now take that and compare it with the word bitch. And that whole comparison, even if you're, doesn't matter what color you are, you can get it. Yes, right? Because, I mean, I'll be admitted, I've joked around and used the word bitch before. I don't think it has quite the same weight. But at the same time, it was a great analogy to try to spread.

Yes, women use it a lot more frequently with other women to take that power back to that word. And they use it as even a term of endearment. When a guy says it, it's not the same. It is not. Even when I have attempted to say it as a joke, I'm always like, I better really know this person. And again, like that, you know, it's so yes, I mean, again, I just encourage people, try not to feel defensive, right? Because I get

it, right? You see Hannah Brown say this word, you're a fan of her. Then you think to yourself, oh, maybe, I mean, I've like, I've rapped, I've said it in like a private, I'm not a racist. So you want to defend Hannah for that. Listen, it's an ignorant thing to do. We've been there, we've done and said ignorant things. Let's try to be allies, right? How can we be allies to people who are different from us? How can we educate ourselves to understand the point of view of people who had to deal with a lot of trials and tribulations more than we have? And I encourage you all to try to be allies to people. And if we can try to do that, I think we'll have a better place. We'll be in a better world. Like, we're still living in a time where a young man was gunned down, Ahmaud Arbery, by two vigilantes who, like, I, listen, it's safe to say that it was racial bias there, you know? Like, it's not okay. And this is, we have to fight this.

This is systemic, right? And again, when I referred to, you know, when I was heard things growing up from coaches, like, I didn't think they're racist. But again, this is systemic. This is like, you live in a whitewashed world, and it's just easy to like, just make crazy assumptions. And then you hear them. And you're like, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Sure, fuck it. And then you repeat that somewhere else to another friend. And all of a sudden you have this thought process. We have to try to, again, educate ourselves. Don't learn from other people in your very isolated group. Seek out people who are different.

Again, invite diversity in your world. Don't be afraid to have your point of view change and understand other people's point of views who are different than you. I hope that we can all learn from this. I hope this is a teachable moment. I hope we all challenge ourselves, especially if we feel defensive,

either towards ourselves or towards Hannah, to just try to, again, how can I be an ally? How can I learn more about this topic? And again, you can still be a fan of Hannah and still be critical of her actions. It's not black and white that way. Don't feel like you have to ignore what she did in order to be a fan of hers. And I hope that we all, again, as a community, Bachelor Nation, as a world, we'll learn from this. And I guess that's all i have to say

about that well said uh and heavy stuff um anyways uh laura morano is our guest not heavy not heavy well delightful lovely uh fun hearthearted conversation. Actually, good friend of Chrissy, Chrissy Ari doing some great work and booking her friend Laura, who is an incredibly talented actor, musician, writer. She does it all.

She's been doing it her entire life. She has some new songs out. She's been in a lot of great movies and TV shows. We talk about that, her dating life, her perspective on the world as a young woman. And I think you will really enjoy it. So yeah, don't forget to send your questions

at asknickatcastmedia.com, cast with a K for our Ask Nick episodes. Again, Rachel Lindsay will be joining us next Monday to do the Ask Nick, but we'll probably start the conversation and learning a little bit more. And I invite you all to tune in with an open mind without judgment of yourselves and just a desire to learn of how we can all be better and all be, uh, more aware of, of, of things like racism and, and things, how we can avoid ignorant situations and ways that we can support our community, support Hannah and ourselves. True Botanicals, new friend of show. Listen, uh, we always talk

about quality products on this show. Uh, you know, I believe very much in what goes into these products, especially when it comes to natural habits. True Big Handicles is right up that alley with doing amazing work when it comes to your skincare. Isn't that right, Chrissy? That is right. I just got it, started using the product, and I already love the difference between having a lotion and putting an oil on my face. It's so different to have less toxins going into my skin. Yeah, anything you're putting on your body, on your skin, something, again, I've said this before, your skin is your largest organ.

I don't know if you know that, people. I've said it before, but in case you're tuning in for the first time, your skin is your largest organ. Anything you put on your skin absorbs into your body, into your bloodstream. So you always want to make sure you're putting the safest, best quality products on your body because it's going in your body. And given what's going on in the world today, like why not focus on your skin and your health, right? True Botanical products can be calming during these stressful times and are delivered straight to your door.

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something that is very important and you should want when it comes to things that you're putting on your skin. So you've got to try True Botanicals for yourself. Get 15% off your first purchase at truebotanicals.com slash V-I-A-L-L. Get 15% off your first purchase at truebotanicals.com slash V-I-A-L-L. Truebotanicals.com slash V I a true botanicals.com slash V I a L L magic spoon. Listen, uh, I love cereal. I love cereal. Uh, I don't know, uh, when I was growing up that, you know, sometimes, uh, to me, I eat cereal now as a dessert. Right. Uh, and then I, I discovered magic spoon. And once again, I felt like I was eating something I love without the guilt of eating a ton of it. Because Magic Spoon, what it

is, is grain-free cereal. I don't know what you know about grains, but they're not necessarily healthy for us. They cause inflammation into our body. It doesn't matter if you're allergic to grains or have celiacs. It's not really healthy for any of us. My doctor is constantly telling me to eat less grains. Hard to do because I love grains. But when you are eating Magic Spoon, you're eating delicious cereal grain free. So it's also got zero sugar. Sugar destroys your body. It does.

It destroys my body. If I'm being honest, I eat a box at a time. I mean, it's not the biggest box. And then when I do, I don't feel bad about it because I don't eat any grains. I don't have any sugar. And it has protein in it. My favorite is the Fruity cereal. I also love how they keep their packaging and designs. It's just fruity. It says fruity. That's all. That's all you need to know. It's delicious. It's fruity. It's grain-free. It's Magic Spoon. So go to magicspoon.com slash V-I-A-L-L to grab a variety pack and try it today. And be sure to use our promo code V-I-A-L-L at checkout to get

free shipping. And Magic Spoon is so confident in their product, it's backed with 100% happiness guarantee. So if you don't like it for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. That's magicspoon.com slash V-I-A-L-L and use the code V-I-A-L-L for free shipping. We thank Magic Spoon for sponsoring the podcast. How's it going, Laura? It's good. I feel like I've reached a new level level of tired where it's just full pep no um the the past exhaustion phase where you're you're kind of a little crazy so i'm excited for this interview yeah it's it's uh it's gonna be fun i'm uh i i too am have gotten more and more lethargic uh throughout this quarantine even this morning i uh i uh i indulged a little bit too much last night i don't know why but um so yeah i'm i'm dragging ass but also like i'm just kind of dragging ass through the i get my work done i'm a little bit more

efficient because i don't have to commute and then i have less less day left and i'm just kind of like i guess i'll just do the same thing as I did yesterday. And I'll just sit on my couch. It's crazy. My, um, my boyfriend and I are doing this healthy 30 thing. We're trying to be healthy for 30 days. This is just something he created. Um, and it's not like based on anything and it's,'re not drinking for 30 days we're trying to work out every single day and we're just trying to be quote-unquote healthy not sure totally what quote-unquote healthy is but that's a brave thing to do during quarantine i know i'm already regretting it on day three and and the best thing is are we day four okay the best thing is, are we day four? Day four. Okay. The best thing is, if one of us falters and doesn't have a good day, we both have to start over. So it's the stake you're high. So you have to do this for 30 days?

And by the way, we don't have to do it, but we have to do it. You know what I mean? So wait, you guys have to do this for 30 days and you have to do it together or you're starting over basically if one of us uh stops that's the pact between us or we have a bad day we drink we don't work out we both have to start over well the working out part is easier to hold yourselves accountable because i mean are you guys working out together or or you're just like hell i worked out like what does workout even mean do you do a push-up that's it's actually a great question for me it's like going out for a run would qualify as one um if i'm inside if i'm inside that i want to do something for at least 20 minutes that's my my kind of situation but

there are no set parameters between the two of you of what constitute a workout like if you did five it's a good point if you did five squats can i do that for 20 minutes i don't i it's not my it's it's not my health journey i'm i'm just curious because like if you drink, you're like, oh, well, I cheated. But the working out, very, very great. I think for us, it's like a 20-minute workout or a run. That's the- And you're on day four. Is there anything else other than not drinking and working out that this also includes? Can you eat whatever you want?

I think we're, the eating is a little bit of a gray zone, right? So I think we're trying to be healthy. But then last night we had takeout Thai food. So does that qualify as healthy? I don't know. I mean, listen, I think it's great that you and your boyfriend are doing this together. I mean, listen, I think it's great that you and your boyfriend are doing this together. And somehow the look in your eyes feels like things haven't been quite figured out and you know it. I give it 12 days. Yeah. Wow.

I don't think you guys are going to finish. I'm ready for that challenge. Nothing motivates me more than someone. I don't know what I, I know, I don't know you well enough to make this type of a, a assumption. And I don't know your boyfriend at all. Like literally. But I like the assumption that's happening based on the five minutes we've met. Well, what I'm saying is, is it sounds like, and I, I like, listen, you guys are coming up with things to do during quarantine.

Totally. And you're trying to like, well, let's do a positive thing like let's be healthy some very loose parameters here very easy to cheat or you know is it easy to be flexible and motivate yourself a little bit more that's all I'm saying well sure that's what I'm saying by like day 12 or 13 you'll be like what are the rules again I don't know like yeah I'm pretty sure By like day 12 or 13, you'll be like, what are the rules again? I don't know. Like, yeah, I'm pretty sure. Like, I got out of bed. I worked out today. You know?

It's going to come down to that. Well, my favorite part is the title. I'm like, Healthy 30 doesn't even really have a catchy ring to it. I like that you guys gave it a title. It does. It makes it. Yeah. I do like that it does make it very official as if like there's uh

like you can search it on online or something and totally but my favorite part is like i'm not documenting on social media like it's really just for the two of us which i think is hilarious um so being on social i i know you've talked about this before i've just learned this about you you have a flip phone i have a flip phone yeah why uh tell me like you've talked about why not yeah i feel like are you doing it to be ironic no or is there a functional purpose okay okay few things few things Let's break it down. First of all, walk me through this. First of all, let's, let's, let's, let me give you some background about this trick, right? So first of all, I don't love change and I have had a flip

phone my whole life. That was my first phone. And I just have kept having flip phones. It was just kind of like what I had. I was used to, I was like into it. Then when I was around 16 and I was like the second season of the Disney channel show I was on, uh, everyone was like, you need to get social media. And I'm like, nah, I don't really want to get social media. And everyone's like, no, no, you have to get social media. And so I was like, okay, let me look into it. And I got an iPad. So I got this iPad to do social media. And then, you know, it has all the other smart device aspects. You can

do email, you can, you know, do other things, but the really big ones are email and social media. Right. So from there, that could have been the moment where I could have gotten an iPhone and made, you know, quote unquote life easier. But I liked one that my flip phone is indestructible. Like I've dropped it so many times. It's been like in soaking water, like everything it does. It just doesn't break. Right. Um, if I, and the iPad's big enough, it's a mini iPad, but it's big enough where I don't drop it the way I know I would drop an iPhone and break it in two seconds. I just know, I know myself, I know what would happen. Okay. Second, I do like the aspect of being able to separate myself from social media and emails, but not necessarily completely cutting people off from talking to me. So if people want to call me, um, texting is kind of hard on the phone, but if people want to call me, they can, and

I still can be separated from not having the temptation of looking at my emails or social media and have that situation. Now that, um, all kind of went badly when I started dating someone who was an international, um, person who had international phone number because I couldn't talk to him on my flip phone. So I had to bring my iPad with me in order to text and talk to him. And you but still didn't feel like making the transition be like, you know, this was a good run. I'll just get I had it for years. I've had it like literally for years. It was like the way I was doing it. Um, so now he has a domestic phone and so that has made things easier, but I feel like

it has been broken a little bit, but the aspect still stands that I can just leave my iPad at home and not be tempted by email, tempted by social media, and still have the prospect of someone contacting me, if my family had to contact me, if my manager had to contact me. So I like that idea, right? It's not as foolproof as I would like it to be. But I mean, I, it's fascinating. It's a I give you a lot of credit for doing it. I don't know if I need credit. Well, there's certainly some benefits of what you're doing. I'm assuming you find... So when you're out and about and you just have your flip phone with you and you've left your iPad at home,

and so people's ability to connect with you and your ability to... You don't have internet access on your flip phone. Right. No. So while everyone else is at a party and buried their faces into their phones, like, what are you doing? So totally. And it's funny because it's like, sometimes I love that and sometimes I don't.

So if I go to a red carpet, right, I'm like not prone to bring my iPad with me me or i will but it's just like an extra accessory that's with me um but because of that i'm not necessarily because it is a little bit bigger it's not huge it's a mini ipad just want to clarify um chrissy's just like no it's actually ginormous but here's the question here's the question. Here's the question. Like I get the, why don't you get like an old iPhone, but you still use it the same way as an iPad so that if you do take it out, you're not clunking around this mini iPad, which is still big. I think, I think one, I'm stubborn. I'm going to, I'm going to admit it and accept that that is an issue, but two, it does complicate things because I would get a number on this iPhone. Like that's the whole thing.

What's nice about my iPad is that it does – this is going to sound terrible, but it has cellular service. And so I can – if I have it with me, I can check email and social media on like the drop of a dime. But if I got an iPhone with cellular service, I would have a number. And then all of a sudden, that does complicate things because then it's – i just know what's going to happen it's going to be like you're like you're holding out you're holding out yeah a little bit i have to say i don't you're like that you're like that person you're like that person who like missed that like they didn't go and see titanic like everyone else did and then you just like really enjoyed telling people i've never seen titanic you know what i've never seen it and now you definitely like really enjoyed telling people i've never seen titanic you know

what i've never seen it and now you definitely won't watch it just because everyone's like yeah every time you go to a party i have to say i am a little that person but that has that joy for my life has faded a little bit because i've talked about the flip phone so much. So it is more, I think, a stubborn thing from within where I'm like, I will not change. But I know change is a good thing. And I know that it is inevitable. Like I'm going to have to get an iPhone. It's just going to happen. Does your boyfriend like it?

Like, what does he think about it? I got to assume that sometimes get frustrating for him. He thinks it's bullshit. He thinks every time I tell the story of being like, I can disconnect and I can have my flip phone. He's like, that's just not true. He's like, you have your iPad. You're on social media and emails with your iPad.

You're not disconnecting. And then I would argue with him being like, well, but I can if I want to. And if I go to the beach or anything, there are times when I totally disconnect but I can if I want to. And if I go to the beach or anything, like there are times when I totally disconnect. I can if I want to. That's a wonderful excuse often used in any relationship. I can if I want to. I mean, I don't ever, but I can. I like options. I like options. I like it. Damn it. That's great. So you have a new song that just came out last week. Congratulations. It's called Can't Hold On Forever.

Can't Hold On Forever comes out, yes. Tomorrow or last week. Okay, cool. It's out last week, people. It just came out last Friday. Check it out. It's out last week, people. It just came out last Friday. Check it out. And then you dropped one last month when you wake up. Now, I'm looking at these lyrics of the songs, and I'm curious. You write the songs. Yeah, yeah. you writing these based off your own personal experiences or are they kind of a hybrid of like your experiences and like stories you heard from your friends or just like what you see on the

internet um great question and i think there's not a simple question for my songwriting process for all songs but with those i would say all of the above with what you just said with songwriting right but for those two particular songs um they're both interesting one when you wake up is definitely based on personal experience but not necessarily the experience you would think so obviously i put it in a situation where it's like in itself feels like a romantic personal relationship feels like a booty call obviously it sounds like you're you're dealing with a fuck boy and you want to date him and he's just like uh i don't know send nudes and you're like no like let's be in love and you're like

he's just more like send nudes you know i mean right like 100 that's kind of the idea that's the that's the metaphor that's metaphor but it was actually my experience in a professional relationship that obviously did not involve sending nudes or involve a booty call, but the idea of what do you mean by professional? But yeah, so basically I was in kind of the situation where I was super frustrated by professionally what was happening and more on the prospect of like things weren't changing and I didn't feel wanted in the way that I wanted to be wanted or appreciate in the way I wanted to be appreciated. Like, right. I was really kind of just wanted for one thing and I was super

frustrated by that. And I, I, you know, with that frustration, I came into the session and wanted to have a song about being in relationship with someone who makes the same mistakes, who keeps saying that they're going to change and they don't, and who doesn't appreciate all of you. And what do you do? Like, do you walk away or do you stay with it um obviously in songwriting the key is not you want it to come from personal experience on on your your the most ideal situation but you have to be careful about making it too specific and too personal like if you're like professionally like it just it's not gonna really connect to people especially especially

because i'm in the entertainment industry and it was coming from a person who's in the entertainment industry and obviously a lot of my listeners aren't people who are in the entertainment this wasn't someone you were it's not like you were working with them professionally and you wanted something romantically it was more of a metaphor of totally they you felt like you were being pigeonholed and you wanted to totally that it yeah okay it was yeah it was a little bit of that and a little bit of getting promised something and then not having a follow-through at all right and have you ever dealt with fuckboys and and before your loving boyfriend now? Oh, for sure.

Oh yeah. But I've not never in that, um, never having a go as far as getting intimate with them and then not following through on something. But for sure, having, having a relationship where it's like, I mean, relationship seems like too intensive a word, but having a connection with someone and having a little bit of a mini fling and not having it go to the place that you want it to go. Like that's, I feel like a very- In most of the relationships you've had, and I don't, I use relationships loosely because,

you know, friends are in a relationship. I don't mean like romantically all all the time but in your potential romantic endeavors uh do you find that you were the one who had more of the power or they had more of the power early on you know i think i think who is chasing who? I think I don't like to chase. I'm not a chaser. And I actually, this is going to sound kind of interesting,

but I find it really unattractive when I have to chase. Like I, I'm not sure why I'm really actually quite thankful to have that mentality. When you say unattractive, you, you see yourself as less unattractive. No, I find is gonna sound weird but i find it i'm not attracted to someone who i don't feel is attracted to me like if i feel like someone is not attracted to me and is not putting in the work i like instantly don't feel attracted to them it's it's kind of an awesome thing in some ways, but in other ways,

it's the opposite of a lot of young women out there. In some ways though, I think that has been shaped by my, uh, experience and being in the entertainment industry. So young, you know, you have to understand I'm dealing on a professional level on a constant basis with rejection, with trying out for something and then not getting someone being like, I don't want you. So I think in my personal life, I'm like, I don't have the time and energy for that. Either it's like you outwardly let me know that you're into me or I got to kind of move on. But with that, there have been times when I have had initial feelings for someone and then not felt an instant reciprocation or an instant something and kind of just like didn't pursue it. And then looking back, I'm like, well, that was, I think a little

bit motivated by fear as well. Not just a, uh oh i'm not attracted because they're not attracted to me like i think there's a few handful of times i could say where the person could have been attracted to me and i just because they weren't chasing me i was like oh no man i'm moving on you know what i mean like no i get it i mean listen we we all can kind of overdo certain things, but it is probably a healthier approach than the latter of we all have wasted a lot of energy and time chasing things that weren't available to us. Well, that's my business. That's like that's the whole thing. That's like literally my professional life. And so, too, that's already so psychologically exhausting.

So to have that in my personal life as well, I'm like, I just, I can't, I don't want it. I can't. So the trick for people who do this in their personal life is to try to get rejected all the time in the professional life. I don't know. I don't know if it's shaped by that. I don't know if it's shaped by my upbringing. Like my, I come from parents happily married and together. And I know they both went through their struggles before they met each other, but I feel like they did set up a pretty healthy dynamic between the two of them for me to see. Um, but yeah, I don't know. I don't know where it comes from. It's always been a thing where like I'm not a text first person, which I don't know if that's a good thing sometimes, but I'm not.

That's not a rule you have. You just don't like it. Yeah. Or is it a rule? Are you a rule person? Or do you have like, these are Laura's rules for herself and you have to follow? Or is it you just don't feel like it? It's an interesting question because I would you just don't feel like it. It's, it's a, it's an

interesting question because I would say I don't feel like it, but with my current boyfriend, I felt like there was a rule in my head where, which, okay, Nick, I'm curious to hear your opinion on this because I feel like I, he and I disagree about this, but if someone finishes the conversation, right? So you have two people and someone finishes the conversation. Don't you feel like the next person should start the conversation? Give me an example. I'm not sure I'm following. Chrissy has a look on her face. What the fuck? Chrissy's like, what are you talking about? No, no, no. You guys get it. You'll get it. Let me explain. Person A, person a person b okay i can already guess what point of view your boyfriend has but continue person a person b are talking right yeah person a by the way the conversation doesn't

necessarily finish but person a says the last thing like person b just said a joke and person A said, ha ha, that was funny emoji or something. Conversation ends, right? Don't you feel like, I like housekeeping this. This is on text? This is on text. Person A just finished it, said, ha ha, that was funny. But not to person A, it doesn't necessarily try to finish the conversation, but it just kind of happened.

It just organically ends. Organically ends don't you feel like person b more often than not should then restart that conversation rather than person a double texting being like hey how you doing today no i feel like this is a person who has a flip phone perspective yeah Well, I actually find it ironically bizarre that you because I can guarantee you your boyfriend is the one who's saying no. And you think that someone there should be some sort of even balance, which I do think is ironic coming from the flip phone person that she has these rigid texting rules. sting rolls um what here's what i think i think that i think that that all sounds nice that's like a nicety i i don't know it's nicety even a word uh it's like something that seems nice it sounds nice in theory i get what you're saying but if you're being literal with your interpretation interpretation then that sounds really exhausting i just feel like why why am i gonna put in that extra i've just finished the conversation i don't want to is this an actual relationship like this

is between you and your boyfriend right this isn't now this isn't now this is a let me early early stages early stages before we were dating. This is like the courting session. Okay, then it's slightly less radical. Thank you. However, I do think like when you're dating someone, a good sign that there's potential in this relationship would be that it does feel generally easy. And so this all happens organically. But if you are going to sit there and look at your text and go, I mean, I got something to say,

but I can't say it because I text him last without a response. So I'm going to have to wait till he texts me to validate that he's into me before I say this very arbitrary and trivial thing only to get a ha ha ha lol like that seems like a lot of thought into like you know what I'm saying like I understand you want the reciprocity and you want there to be an even feel but like on a one-for-one basis it seems a bit intense I think it depends the situation and I think it depends the situation. And I think it depends the state and stage you are in, in the relationship. Give me a stage in which you think this would be, give me a stage in which you have, like, you're talking about Peter butter and jelly sandwiches and they're like, I cut my crust and you're like, I don't.

And you're like, ha ha ha, crazy. And then all of a sudden, like an hour goes by and you just want to be like you something popped in your head totally arbitrary you're like wait do you like grape or strawberry jelly i didn't even ask you that like you're gonna look at the text thread and see that they you text them last saying ha ha ha and now you like have to wait to ask grape or strawberry. I think this is the wrong situation to look at it. I think it's you have to think of it in the way of before dating. So it's like the courting situation. Okay.

The conversation isn't necessarily about peanut butter and jelly. But yes, it could be an arbitrary conversation. And it's more in the way where neither one knows if the other one is into them and he lives in another country and all these different things but for me i'm like well i don't want to i i just finished the conversation or i was lost in a text i don't want to i don't know what you're doing are you working what are you doing'm not going to like do a double text in that moment. If you're working, I don't want to bother you. I want you to do your thing. And then you just text me after you're done because I was the last person to text. I don't know.

Here's what I, here's what I think. I think, uh, and I mean this in the nicest way. I think you like control. And I agree with that. And to you, it's more about, because you don't like the unknown. So you're just like, okay, well, for sure, text me last. If I send him a text, I recognize he could be busy doing something, sleeping, I don't know where he is,

like at what time, I mean, you probably know the time. And if he doesn't respond back right away, I'm going to feel like I have less control. And then I'm going to get in my head and I'm going to start wondering what does it mean? And does he not like me? And then you're going to like spiral. And so for self-preservation purposes, you, you, you don't do that. Like you get ahead of the game. You seem to know yourself well enough to like, that is a good observation. I feel like for sure. I like control. And I think for me in the beginning of something before even like dating is official, like the beginning of something I'm like, well, I just have a lot of different things in my head being like, well, what's happening? What's going on? Are we on the same page? Like, what are you

thinking? What am I thinking? Even once the dating aspect happens, I'm a little bit like, no, of course the double texting is out the window. You don't have to double text is fine. Like I double text out all the time. It's ridiculous. But it's like the beforehand for me, I'm a little bit like I have to see an equal reciprocation. I have to like I have to see it and I have to feel it if I'm going to go to the actual level and pursue it. I mean, listen, you're in you have a boyfriend. So sounds like things are working out. And I will say I definitely I know I, no, no, no. Actually, I personally, if, listen, I think there's always a balance, right? There's no, no one has a point of view or a position on something.

And then kind of, as you pointed out, it can have a lot of positives in your life, but there are some like negative aspects about anything that we have. For sure. Tendencies of doing. some like negative aspects about anything that we have tendencies of doing. I think in general, it seems like, again, I would think that your point of view is more positive. The fact that, you know, knowing what you want, being confident and not chasing, you know,

boys or guys or like just not chasing affection that it isn't there is a far more healthier approach than being drawn to guys or women if you're a guy that they don't like you and and which a lot of people do you know and then you run the risk if of having your soul uh qualification of you liking them simply as they like you it's like what do you like about them i don't really like me you know like and so you run that risk where they like you. It's like, what do you like about them? I don't know, they like me. You know, like, and so you run that risk where you seem to, that's your baseline. For sure. Which I think is good.

But yeah, within that, like you're definitely protecting yourself. And you like- He's gonna love that you're on his team for this. Yeah, there's definitely some self-preservation there yeah but it's i don't disagree i don't disagree for sure it's funny though but it's um it is funny when you're in a relationship with someone i was in a relationship with someone before dating him so i my first year's relationship was before my current boyfriend. And it is funny, one, just the different ideas and ideals and mentality that

you have when you're in a serious relationship with someone. And two, then when you're dating someone else and having to adjust and be flexible to a new ideals and mentality than the other new ideals mentality you just kind of like became flexible with. It's interesting. If it doesn't work out with this gentleman and you start dating someone else, I would be curious if you'd be willing to try double texting someone. Oh God.

See what that feels like and get that rush of excitement to get out. Oh man. Listen, if it's a quadruple, if you're like sending five messages on response, that's a red flag or a bad sign. But I think that it's always fascinating. You think the second text is fine?

Well, I've always like, I'll do it on my questions with Nick. I always get a lot of questions about like, he's a bad texter. And quite honestly, I've never really understood. I mean, I know what they mean, but I don't get that. Like as if that's like an actual dating quality. I mean, I understand that's a form of communication that we as a society heavily rely on, but that's not like a qualification as a person. I don't know. So like so much effort and strategy goes into texting, which I still think like, yeah, like texting is a great way to communicate with someone

with people we know, you know, people we have relationships with people like we've met and like understand their sense of humor and things like that. It's like, it's an efficient way of communicating so that we don't have to like call and talk because we can get yes or no answers. It's not a way to meet get to know someone like when you're in a long so we had to start long distance right away sure so when you're a long distance even on the courting situation it it's all on text that's the whole thing it's funny um maybe you can facetime and zoom and well we didn't facetime for a really long time so you spent a long time getting to know someone without like talking and seeing like their body language and.

Totally. Like when you say something and I'm looking at you now, you're smiling. Right. And you could say it. Got it. And I know that you're saying or versus like you text it like short of like, you know, well, I got gotta send like four emojis to let her know i'm not being sarcastic but like how many emojis can i send without her thinking he's sending too many emojis i don't well strategy see strategy no i know there is it's it's a it's a thing it's like

so for my my first birthday of us um being together like being in a relationship together we what's funny is we um we met and we didn't start dating for a really long time so we actually met writing can't hold on forever and which is a whole other kind of conversation story so you guys you guys co-wrote you and your current boyfriend yeah and this song and his brother and one of his really good friends and then this other guy that no one really knew in the session but he got said in the session so it was actually quite a a large session i remember in my calendar uh he and his brother sometimes go they don't really but they sometimes go as like the mac bros and i have in my calendar of like you have a session

like the mac brothers here blah blah and i come And I come in, there's like four guys. And I'm like, how big is this family? How many brothers are there? But it was really just two of them. And then two extraneous guys. Chrissy knows the other guy. Shane was there as well. And, and then I got him Justin.

But so we met and we, nothing happened. There wasn't any kind of situation. I had a boyfriend and he lived in Australia. So in my head, I'm like, oh, there's no prospect. It was a professional relationship. And songwriting is a funny professional relationship because you go real intimate and real deep right away. You meet someone for the first time in a day and you're like,

okay, what are your deepest fears? What do we, what are your biggest insecurities? Speak poetry to me. Totally. It's, it's a weird dynamic. It's a super strange dynamic. And when I first started co-writing, it was a dynamic I wasn't super into and used to. Like I was, I would always, I'm not sure if you know this, but I like self-preservation. But I, I would always, um, I'm not sure if you know this, but I like self-preservation. Um, but I, I would always tell what I wanted to write about in the story for meeting or like in third person being like, well, I think what happens is that the girl in the song, she's feeling this, this, or this. Like I couldn't say I, or I couldn't say this is my experience. Um, cause it was

uncomfortable. It's like you meet someone for the first time and you're like, this is my experience. Um, cause it was uncomfortable. It's like you meet someone for the first time and you're like, this is what just happened to me. And I'm so happy about it or upset about it and mad, angry, sad. Um, but when I, when I went through my breakup, it was the first breakup I ever went through. I truly, I'm not sure what it said in me. I was also going through kind of like professional issues at the same time. And I like got so personal and intimate in my sessions. Like I was just like bearing my soul and I wrote the best music I ever had. Um, and then when you were honest with like your actual feelings that, that I'm assuming you felt a little bit more, uh, empowered or safer?

I mean, like I think sometimes the reason I ask like when we're guarded and we don't want to like things to get out there about who we really are because we're always afraid, especially in today's age of like the cancel culture. And then you put something out there, which is again, like just vulnerability and then have people accept you for it. I'm assuming that was a great experience. Great experience. And I think for me, it was like, it sounds a little, it sounds a little cheesy, but there was suddenly this realization of how empowering, how empowering it was to be vulnerable. Like there was a lot of power and strength in

being vulnerable that I wasn't used to. And I felt really good about it. Um, and it was scary sometimes. And, you know, I was, I went through like every detail, I would go over the story of what had happened, like in so many different sessions I did, um, you know, uh, writing camps where basically you are writing three to four songs a day and so i would literally be going over the story of what had happened um like three or four times a day so that was like a little sometimes you were the heartbroken one in that relationship it's complicated it's a complicated one it is it is and see that's no nick because this is actually this is my frustration actually my frustration was i was the one who initiated the breakup but

it what was frustrating to me and actually from like a music perspective you know you know when you're going through it well let me ask you you this, knowing you and I mean, by knowing you for 38 minutes, did you, did you initiate the breakup? Cause you felt like he, he was falling out of love with you and to protect yourself, you broke up with him and try to beat him to the punch because you felt like it was coming.

Um, no, it is like, it is, it is. I, I think it might be a story for another time because it's a pretty intense story. And I think what I was frustrated by was even though I'd initiated it and it was coming from me, I was still heartbroken.

Yeah, totally. And I think that was what was frustrating to me is even looking into music and looking into different things, it was like, there was a level of either with songs, whenever there were breakup songs, it was always from the perspective of like being broken up with like, I, the, there's this devastation and blah, blah, but there really are rarely any songs that talk about the heartbreak that come when you initiate it, when you are like, you're still in love with someone, but you're like, this isn't working for this, this, and this reason. Um, and it was, it was tough. It was a really, it was a weird thing. And, and around the same time, it was a very weird moment in my life.

I went to go like film a movie and blah, blah, blah. After, after kind of it happened officially and around the same time, my current boyfriend, who is in Australia, we started texting a little bit more. And so that was kind of the born from that situation, something that I did not expect to happen at all. Um, and so it was this weird moment of like dealing with my breakup and dealing with the heartbreak from that, but then also falling in love at the same time, which I never thought ever, ever,

ever that I would be the kind of person that went from one relationship to another. Like I always looked at those people as, Oh, how long of a process though? Like, you know what I'm saying? We broke up.

And some people, yeah. Some people go from like a day to a day so like dealing with a breakup and meeting someone it's not that big of a it's not yeah and i think i think that was kind of interesting for me too i think you asked earlier about rules right for me having rules and i think without me even knowing it i had built rules in my head based on my parents relationship based on other things where i thought this is what happens. And I think what you realize at a certain point is life is going to happen. Like life is life. There are no rules sometimes. And you just have to

adjust and act in the best way you can with the situation that is presented to you. And so I, we broke up in April and then my current boyfriend and I, we weren't official. We like, we're talking a little bit, but we weren't official until July, but we had been talking like a bit. So it was, but when did you first start it? When did you first start talking, first start talking? Well, it was, it was weird, right? Because we had had a professional relationship before, and we wrote this song, and we had kind of written a few other songs,

me, him, and his brother. So we had been talking in and out and a little bit from that, and that was way down the line further. And then when I broke up with my boyfriend and I was kind of like, there's a little something here. I was in Georgia filming a movie and I kind of started initiating a little bit more, but then this is where it kind of comes in

where I was, but I also was like, I'm not going to double text. Like if he, this is when the double texting kind of came in. So like in May, in May-ish. And then we had, we had our first FaceTime and in like end of May. And we had like a really kind of frank, honest conversation. And from there, from all of June, it was like, we were, we were definitely on the same page about certain things. And then July was like, finally making it official. And he's, you're a quarantine, quarantining with him. Yes, he has his own place. So he also, I mean, he is funny because he still works from home he even before quarantine

he works because he is a songwriter um but yeah so he kind of goes from my place to his place or vice versa and that kind of situation nice now and now your new song it's different than your last song in april more about uh embracing the moment yes totally which is kind of like honestly like it's like something a fuckboy would say be like oh 100 so like your two songs are kind of fighting against each other like your two like your one song is like i mean i want more i'm in love and then the other song is like the fuckboy me like let's just like let's not worry about tomorrow like let's just live in the moment you know let, let's get naked, you know? Well, to be honest, I actually love that because I feel like these group of songs that are coming

out that I'm putting together and I'm still in the process of writing some and blah, blah, blah. But the whole idea of these songs is that they're offering different perspectives, right? So my last EP last year was the me EP and it was kind of my perspective on certain things. And so this new era of music is the you era. And the goal for me is writing and having these different perspectives throughout the, throughout the releases and throughout the song. So each you means something different to me, if that makes sense. Yeah, no, I mean, listen, it makes total sense.

And we all want different things at different moments. And sometimes we are the, you know, and it always just depends on how we're feeling, you know, you know, the person who likes someone who's not feeling like maybe they're afraid that they don't, they're not being liked in return. They're,

they want more. And the other person in a different situation, you're like, you're crushing on someone and you're just like, I don't know if I want to marry you, but you're hot, you know? So let's,

let's just focus on right. You know, I don't want to make promises. I can't keep, you know so let's let's just focus on right let's have a moment you know i don't want to make promises i can't keep you know um so and everyone's like that men and women um well even just talking about like the different perspective my favorite thing is tom my boyfriend and i right we we wrote this song um and in my perspective exactly what you thought like it is i wouldn't necessarily necessarily say it's like a fuck boy moment but it's a moment of like hey we have this moment right here right now let's just be together let's just have our moment let's be present with each other but in his head when we're writing the same song i thought we were on the same page

he was like when we talked about it like months, he's like, I thought it was a breakup song. And I'm like, it's definitely not a breakup song. It's definitely a like, let's be here. I don't know you. Let's like make the most of this moment. Let's just make some bad decisions and see what tomorrow brings us. I don't know.

But I love that his perspective is that it was a breakup song. And I'm like, I guess looking at it, you can look at that i guess but i did not get that when i was writing it well i mean it could be a breakup song in the sense it's like we're gonna like have some fun tonight and tomorrow not so much you know like totally so there is there is that uh i have i've always been curious you know uh you know obviously you got your start being on kind of part of the

Disney family which has a certain brand of kind of wholesomeness and especially now when we have the culture your fans have a level of expectation especially kind of your OG fans is that who you are? do you struggle with that? your fans have a level of expectation especially kind of your og fans uh

is that who you are do you struggle with that and do like do you ever like want to like put things out there whether it's on social or just act a certain way and and then you're afraid that you're not living up to this kind of uh wholesome expectation that uh anyone expects of you or is this or or like are you just generally a wholesome person? You're like, this is super easy for me. I think three things, three things, right? So I think one, it's funny, because I have been in the business before Austin Alley, right? So I started acting when I was five. I like have I was in kind of actually a bit more adult stuff. I was in the Sarah Silverman program. I was in super bad. Um, and with that, I always looked at my job at Disney channel as something that I was crazy grateful for because it was like, I could do music finally. So that was awesome,

but it was a job, right? It was. And it's funny because Disney for sure, like it means a lot of things to people. It has, you know, their brand that they are really, um, you know, careful about, but I always had the aspect of like, this is a job I'm getting employed by someone. I love working with the people I'm working with. I love the Disney family, but they aren't also totally necessarily like a family, like it's a job. Right. So I think having that perspective was super helpful for me because a lot of people do start with Disney Channel and it's very confusing because it really does feel synonymous with who they are. It feels like their employer is their family and that gets really confusing when they're

like, well, I want to do different things or blah, blah, blah. And I think that kind of gets a little messy, right? Two, I think a lot of my fans from Austin Alley, you have to understand it was on when I was 15. I'm 24, almost 25, 10 years later. So my fans have grown up with me. Now, obviously with Disney Plus, like you're getting a whole new age and demographic of fans, but a lot of these fans have grown up with me and are expecting content that is authentic and genuine to me, right? It wouldn't make sense for me to make the same music, make the same decisions, make the same, any sort of choices that I would at 15. Right. It's like, that just

doesn't make sense. I'm I'm it's almost 10 years later. Um, but with all that said, I, whether it's posting on social, whether it's writing a lyric in a song, whether it's choosing my acting projects, I definitely always have two minds about it. For me, the first mind is like, how does it genuinely authentically make me feel? Like, does this feel right with my journey? Does it feel right with who I am right now? And two, then I think of like, you know, for my EP last year, I had a song called F.E.O.U. That's for fuck each other up. And that song was like, for me, Oh, is this, what does this mean? Putting it out? Like, what does this mean for people who follow me who are younger? What happens when I perform it? Like I did have all these questions because for me, I, it's, it is a, it's a strange thing, right? You do have people who look up to you or who are younger. You have, for me, I'm

actually never worried necessarily about the younger kids. I'm worried about the parents. I'm like, I'm like, Oh God, like, what are they going to think? Um, and I think the decision I always kind of come to is, well, does it make sense with me? And does it feel like something I would say or something that is genuine? And if it is, if it makes sense for my journey and if it is genuine, then I'm say, or something that is genuine. And if it is, if it makes sense for my journey, and if it is genuine, then I'm like, yes, like that, I'm going to do it. I'm going to make it happen. But you know, even with social media, I have a, I have a thing of like, do I, do I curse on social media? Right? Like, do I write the word fuck? Do I write the word shit? i write the word shit and it's always a little bit like well i actually feel weird texting the word fuck and shit like i just that isn't genuine to me at all i can say it like

i'm i'll say yeah i kind of agree with you there i don't i mean you know what i mean like i i have a i i swear a lot but i'm i don't often write it out yeah i don't know it feels weird often write it out. Yeah. I don't know. It feels weird to write it out. I'll put like a, I'll put like an at symbol or an asterisk. Totally. I don't know. But like for even texting, I'm like, I don't do that. So why would I tweet that or Instagram that? But I know that I know I have friends. I know lots of people who do text it all the time and who do feel completely authentic and genuine posting and using it. But I'm like, that just doesn't totally make sense for me in on a regular day basis. So why would I put that a part of my brand anyway, if, if that makes any sense? Yeah, no, totally. It's always this kind of fascinating,

like, obviously, the most known example is like the miley miley cyrus where she went from she there was a you know distinct kind of okay i'm done being hannah montana and i'm going to be miley cyrus now and in case you weren't sure what that meant she made it very clear but i think miley is the queen of doing whatever feels authentic to her you know what i mean and i sure yeah she's like do you ever use that as like you know what i mean and i sure yeah she so like do you ever use that as like you know you're not gonna necessarily go the same path what she did because that's authentic to her and may not be authentic to you but you know i no one is i mean i'm just kind of the anarchist we're like no one's if you say you're you know super genuine and you're

just like this you know rule follower, listen, you have skeletons. Everyone has things they say or do or a dirty joke they tell in their head or a sense of humor. We all do things. And sometimes a lot of people will be like, well, I know I'm not perfect, obviously. And then you ask them to talk about it. They're like, well, I'm not really sure I'll have to get back to you. But, um, but yeah, so it's just the question of just kind of putting that actually out there has got to be something you think about. I think less necessarily about my quote, unquote brand and more just because of the psychological

effects of social media. I'm very careful about what I post, but I think that comes even from, you know, I don't know how you feel, but like every time for Twitter, for example, I'm like, is this funny? Is this, is this relevant? Does this make sense? Like I overthink it for sure. And so, and I think that necessarily, I think that does come more with how social media is. Social media can be such a weird thing. And it's really weird to use it as a business platform and as a social platform. You know, I use it for both as I'm sure you use it for both too. And that's like, those are really two different hats to wear. And it is, it's strange and they overlap and that happens, but I definitely am an overthinker when it comes to, when it comes to posting.

Cause I just think it's hard to put who you genuinely are in the moment through 143 characters or through a photo that was taken at a photo shoot or any of those kind of different things you know yeah yeah totally uh do you so what you were on are you smarter than a fifth grader yes like one of the are you still smarter than a fifth grader i was because i remember watching the first show i mean like i'm definitely not i'm stupid apparently i was og I was an OG. I was an original grader. I, um, I did a game the other day for like a press thing where they asked me actual fifth grade questions and I passed. You did? I was, yes, but still got it. I played, I played that game with the same press outlet a year prior and I did not pass. So, uh, maybe. How did you, how did, how did that happen? Like,

were you just like your, your parents knew someone who knew someone or like, were you just a really smart person? No. Well, I listen, I love school. I do. I'm, I'm a bit of a nerd. Um, I knew we're family friends with the person who was one of the heads of Fox, that one who was like overseeing the show. And so he knew me really well. He knew I was a fifth grader. He was like, would you want to be on the show? And I'm like, oh, this seems awesome.

The big thing for me was like, is this going to compete with pilot season? But it was like a super nonchalant, easy thing. And it was exciting for me that my friends could actually see me in a show because they hadn't been able to see me in a show before that and i don't think anyone actually believed i was an actress i think they just thought i said i was an actress um i'm like haven't you seen the first uh season of dexter um and my 10

year old friends are like no uh wait are you on the first season of dexter yeah who are you i'm like i'm young deb you're young deb i know which i actually don't really look like jennifer carpenter but i think she's awesome i was like i might be like coolest thing for me that you've ever done but i i was i didn't watch the show then because i was quite i'm so so good i'm gonna go back and look now it's it's such a good show i'm like and my sister weirdly she's an actress as well she was on the fourth season of dexter playing a completely different character she was trinity's daughter trinity killer's daughter wow yeah i know and i'm like i always

say vanessa not to be controversial but i'm like we were on the best season of dexter for sure come on first season one and season four give me those were those were some of the better ones season two is really good three and then after as far as i'm concerned you can stop watching after season four but uh one four one and four were one two and four are the best seasons i i have to say like re-watching it i i think as a fan because when I first watched it one time, I was the same way. I was like, after four,

it's I'm not into it, but rewatching it, there is some merit in some of the later seasons as well. For sure. I mean, they're not like five's fine. It gets really weird after that. And then I don't,

whatever the last, yeah, but like they were like the last season is useless, but I think five was okay uh but it wasn't it wasn't quite quite the same it was like okay how many serial killers do zeke live with like i mean how many like like everyone every third person in miami is a serial killer season four was unbelievable season four four was like. Awesome. Crazy.

But yeah, so basically my friends could actually see Ari's more than a fifth grader. So I was super excited about that. But yeah, it was a little stressful. It was a little like, oh, you have to know, you have to know your shit. Like, you know what I mean? Like you're asking all these different questions and different subjects. And some of these contestants are going to depend on you and man i was i was stressed for sure all right laura we're gonna we're gonna wrap things up a little game that we play oh dear chrissy is yes it's our am i going to join you yeah yeah our it's called do you know me it's real simple um is this technically technically chrissy

you should win i uh i generally win at these things but if it's what i think it is chrissy's gonna dominate i don't see i feel like i'm gonna fail miserably no no this is all about you laura so do you know me it's like there are these random questions so i'm gonna ask a question you know okay does laura x y or z does laura this or that okay don't answer immediately laura christy and i are going to guess okay the answer still got this all right we're gonna play it's gonna have five questions and if you have an anecdotal story feel free to share it and there's no pressure to elaborate you can simply just answer the question and we'll go from there uh ready do you know me with laura morano question number one can laura name five Tom Cruise movies? Can Laura name five Tom Cruise movies?

I'm going to, now she's a, you know, certainly Tom Cruise and you, sequels don't count. Sequels don't count? No. Okay. Like you can name one of the movies in the series of movies

that he might have done for a franchise, if you will. You get what I'm saying, right? But, like, one, two, three, four, five does not count. I'm still going to think Laura can do it. She's going to struggle with four and five, but she can pull it off. I don't think Laura can do it. I think she's going to struggle with four and five, but she can pull it off. I don't think she can do it. Okay, is it mine?

My turn? Go ahead. Yeah. If you can do it. I think you're not sure, but... Mission Impossible. Okay, yes, one. Risky Business.

Two. Jerry Maguire. Three. Rain Man. Four. Tropic Thunder. Five. Boom. Well played. jerry mcguire three rain man four tropic thunder five boom well played off to a commanding lead nick one has laura read her horoscope this week has laura read her horoscope this week

this week has laura read her horoscope this week oh um i'm gonna say no i think uh laura isn't into horoscopes as much as other people might be she's read her horoscope she knows her horoscope she's not into horoscopes as much i would agree besides i don't think you can look it up on your flip phone so okay so no i did look at my horoscope this week, but I'm actually super into horoscopes. Okay, I still got it right, but never mind. You still got it right, but no, I did not look at it this week. Okay, all right. Got one.

Two to one. Two to one. All right. Got one. Two to one. Two to one. Can Laura spell the word handkerchief? Can Laura spell the word handkerchief?

Hard for me to answer because for a million dollars, I couldn't do this off the top of my head without writing. Like if you were asking me this question. Laura, I believe she can uh are you smarter than a fifth grader nerd yep um agree i have the spelling in front of me um okay so handkerchief um okay so i would I would say like a spelling bee, do it like a spelling bee. I know you're talking about, and I'm, I'm happy to use it in a sentence for you. What is the, uh, what is the root? What is the origin of handkerchief? Um, I have two questions in my head of certain things.

I'm like in between, but let me go for it. I'm not sure, guys. I'm going to be honest. But I really appreciate the confidence. H-A-N-K-E-R-C-H-I-E-F. Close. You forgot the D. Handkerchief.

It's handkerchief pronounced. I knew there was something missing. You forgot the D. Okay. Wow. It's okay. The score is still the same. It's okay.

Yeah. Chrissy's like, it's fine. As long as Nick didn't get an extra one. And last question. Can Laura name the president on the $20 bill can laura name the president on the $20 bill i do know this answer i'm gonna say she can i want to say andrew jackson correct uh all right uh well those are those are five i mean i won i mean i don't know if we wanted five was that five or four that was four right fine okay i don't right it was the tom cruise question all right two quick ones i think i know the answer to both of these. One, can Laura drive a stick shift? I mean

a car. I'm going to say no. I'm going to say no as well. Is Laura part of the Mile High Club? Also, no. No. I don't think so. I guess I'm very predictable because yes, no to both of those.

I don't think either one is mutually exclusive. Or maybe everyone who drives a stick shift just knows how to how to get it done in an airplane um it's possible maybe but yeah no to both okay all right well close one uh that first that first uh Well, close one. That first Tom Cruise. How do you... I mean, he's done so many. He's done so many.

And Tropic Thunder is one of my favorite films. That was a great... That was a great... I wasn't even thinking about that one, but that was a great, great plus. And he's so, he's so creative. One of his best roles. It's like his best role, yeah.

I think so too. Yeah, it was really good. Laura, thanks so much for joining. it's been a ton of fun uh can you uh plug all the things you're doing right now and where can people find you if they want to check out your new song or follow you on social and etc etc yes um well i have two new songs out right now can't hold forever as you said came out last week You can stream that and listen to that on any platform that you would love or choose. When You Wake Up came out last month. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Laura Marano, which is L-A-U-R-A-M-A-R-A-N-O. And then Facebook's Laura Marano Official.

Just got a TikTok. I actually, I think my TikTok's Laura Marano. I don't know what it is, to be honest. How are your TikTok-ing skills? So I was on it. Are you just dancing? I was on it when it was Musical.ly. And then I, like, forgot my password and wasn't on it for years.

Because it used to be Musical.ly. And now... That was the platform? That was the platform. And then TikTok bought Musical.ly. I'm not sure what happened. But it's like i had a musically account so i had a tiktok account gosh without having the tiktok account um yeah you know

it's it tiktok's an art it's it's it's a full-on art that i don't know i was into it for like four days and then i totally i still have it i don't know but you did it with style nick and that's what matters that's what i just don't have it in me to like spend an hour it's so long to like learn a dance it's like if I did it once it's funny ironically totally

you're like okay I'll keep doing it focus my time on roller skating well Laura it's been a pleasure thank you so much for joining us congrats on all the success that you have or are having and continued success and look forward to seeing more of you

in the future thank you this is so lovely and I love Chrissy she's the greatest she's the greatest well guys thanks for listening as always don't forget to send your questions at asknickatcastme.com

cast with a K for Ask Nick episodes thanks for listening and we will see you on Monday