The Comment Section with Drew Afualo - I LOVE TUNA MELTS. Ft. Hayley Kiyoko ｜ Episode 226

00:00:00.000 are we twins i'm freaked if i got my hair blonde you better watch out

00:00:05.240 hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of the comment section show sorry me your favorite

00:00:22.380 everybody knows me who cares about me on to the guest today we have the iconic the legendary 0.97

00:00:27.200 lesbians let me fucking hear you hailey kyoko oh my god i could hear the lesbians screaming 0.98

00:00:36.080 they're they're strapping up and they're ready to go i honestly i've been conquering lesbian 1.00

00:00:40.800 mountain lately like i just had lucy dacus on oh my gosh you're just taking us one like thanos

00:00:46.160 i'm taking a one by one collecting y'all i love it i'm so honored to have you here thank you thank

00:00:50.960 you so much for coming thank you before we jump into it okay i do have to tell you something

00:00:56.000 because there has been a running bit about you but not at expense oh my gosh what's been happening

00:01:01.720 behind my back it will be at the expense of my lesbian sister dayson she's not here

00:01:06.780 currently but i do have to tell you because i've talked about it on the show for now years

00:01:10.840 that you were my sister's lesbian awakening if you can believe it from lemonade mouth wow yeah

00:01:17.200 she was really into that movie and it was very confusing to me at the time because she hated

00:01:21.380 musicals and she didn't really care for the music so i was kind of confused i was like why do you 0.93

00:01:25.660 love this movie so much because she'd be gay yeah she'd be gay wow as hell her name's dason her 0.77

00:01:31.100 name's dason yes love you dason determinate be heard be strong be proud and i did ask her for 0.98

00:01:37.860 her permission to bring it up to you wow and she said yes and then she said i'm glad i'm not gonna

00:01:41.860 be there for when she was normally she's at every recording i do oh my gosh so i really yeah so i

00:01:48.840 had to get this out of the way wow yeah i had to tell you that thanks for breaking the ice you're

00:01:53.400 pivotal in her awakening and i'm grateful to you because i'm really glad my sister's gay thank god

00:01:58.580 yeah that's thank god for you there's only room for one straight girl and i filled the shoes we

00:02:02.820 can only have one yeah we can only have in the family yeah but i'm honored to have you you are

00:02:07.520 ledge thank you so much and i really want to get into what you've been up to lately because

00:02:11.580 obviously you have some really exciting project coming out soon yeah it's basically the most

00:02:16.840 important project of my life yes it's called girls like girls yes the movie the movie the one the

00:02:22.800 only the one the only I was saying earlier like it's so weird I don't recommend working on

00:02:29.420 something for over 10 years you don't think no I literally look insane but it's been 10 years

00:02:36.900 of trying you know girls like girls came out in 2015 it was a song a music video I wanted it to

00:02:43.000 be a film it wasn't working out I wrote into a book and um and then years years later it got

00:02:49.960 greenlit and now the movie is going to be in theaters which I also when we were shooting this

00:02:54.100 movie I was like I hope someone sees this film even the lead actress was like I don't I like

00:03:00.400 where is it gonna be I was like I have no idea and so to actually like be in movie theaters

00:03:05.180 nationwide June 19th is it's mind-blowing and to be able to know that we're like weeks out it's such

00:03:11.660 a odd feeling yeah I'm sure it's like it's been something I've been working on for so long that

00:03:18.420 i haven't been able to share with people and so now i'm just giving it i'm giving it away yeah

00:03:23.560 to the next generation does it feel like completing the circle a little bit totally

00:03:27.180 it feels like i'm completing the circle and also like start like people were like oh does it feel

00:03:31.900 like the end and i'm like no it really feels like the beginning because i've just been desperately

00:03:36.260 wanting a film like this to exist and like right how come it takes 10 years to get a film made

00:03:41.820 like this no for two girls falling in love ending in hope and um and i've like thinking about being

00:03:48.180 able to buy tickets to go see a movie like this in theaters to see myself like represented having

00:03:53.360 two asian leads and like all of it there's a lot going on and it's api month and it's a look at us

00:04:00.580 it's pride month yeah it's right there's a lot going on there is so much happening and all at

00:04:05.900 the perfect time i know and it's so funny because like some people would be like oh like you're so

00:04:09.980 niche or like what you do is so niche and i'm like how is it so niche we got asian americans which

00:04:14.820 are like predominantly everywhere right we've got queers we've got women it's like this is 0.78

00:04:20.720 mainstream yeah i was like girls is mainstream yeah what are you talking about we need this

00:04:25.620 especially i feel like uh girls like girls the music video i feel like has had a resurgence with

00:04:30.560 younger gays the new generation of gays in the last like five years so if anyone needs it it's

00:04:35.740 that totally and it's it's been really wild to meet people because i didn't realize how young

00:04:41.300 my fan base was when I released the music video in 2015 like some of them were nine like they come

00:04:46.800 up to me they're they're like 19 or 20 and they're like oh I watched that music video when I was nine

00:04:51.420 years old which is crazy which is so crazy that's insane and um and so it's just like it's so I'm so

00:04:58.400 excited for the new generation to get to experience it and also like have every generation experience

00:05:04.300 it like even I was saying like even though it's called girls like girls it's such a universal

00:05:09.140 story because whether you're straight or queer every single person has had that experience where

00:05:14.380 you've had to go up to someone and be like do you like me or not right is this going somewhere or

00:05:19.060 not right which is terrifying that feeling of being like either like happy or obliterated and

00:05:26.120 like getting your heart broken yeah everyone's experienced that especially at that age where

00:05:31.120 you're like everything is life or death yeah you're 17 you're like I'm gonna marry this person

00:05:36.120 like everything is the most serious thing in the entire world yeah i think that's beautiful thank

00:05:40.680 you so that's like the experience of girls like girls when they see it's like they are young but

00:05:44.680 like it's through the lens of more of a mature lens because when you're 17 you think you're 35

00:05:50.280 yeah it's true like you literally feel like this is it yeah do you ever get questions like that

00:05:55.560 from younger people especially when they're like i feel like i'm so far behind i feel like and

00:05:59.080 they're like 19 years old and you're like oh my god you have so much time well my lead actress

00:06:03.720 Maya DeCosta was 18 when we shot this movie oh my gosh and I I felt ancient I'm not old but I felt

00:06:09.680 ancient and I was like don't worry yeah I felt like the classic person of like you know things

00:06:15.360 will work out and once you turn 30 things will start getting clearer you know which is yeah

00:06:20.560 10 years 10 years plus away from you give yourself about 10 more years you'll figure it out

00:06:25.940 well this is like okay so this project is huge obviously but it's also like a directorial debut

00:06:30.940 directorial so I would love to know like how how was it directing how was it like existing in that

00:06:36.220 art form making your own piece of art it was like coming home I have been fighting so hard to just

00:06:42.160 be able to have an opportunity to do what I thought I would love to do and to be able to do it and be

00:06:48.400 like oh my gosh this is it yeah has been amazing because I've you know I grew up acting I did

00:06:53.820 lemonade mouth you know and i also was a musician and i realized i'm a storyteller i like building

00:07:01.640 worlds and so to be able to have the opportunity to build a world and cast and also like write the

00:07:08.860 music and have an album coming out inspired by the film like all the things that i've grown up

00:07:14.620 loving to do i get to do all at once as a director and so it really feels like i'm coming home and i

00:07:19.860 finally found oh my gosh this is what i want to do forever like really this yeah like this is it

00:07:25.100 like i want to make hopeful queer content i want to direct films direct tv shows and then i want

00:07:30.280 to write music for those projects and i'm like that's it how is the the preparation process does

00:07:36.960 it differ from like directing versus like writing an album or even acting like is the process

00:07:42.120 completely different is it one in the same how does it feel for you it's so different yeah i mean

00:07:46.880 for i mean also just as the creator and the director it's like the process of just finding

00:07:52.700 someone to finance the film people believing in the project believing in you like that was the

00:07:58.180 first seven years of the journey yeah and then to be able to get on set all of a sudden you have 50

00:08:04.220 plus people who are uh professionals in their individual line of work yeah and then you know

00:08:10.040 i don't think people understand and honestly i didn't really understand how involved the director

00:08:14.940 is like yeah the spoon that you see on screen that was a decision yeah like the napkin like we

00:08:22.340 would be i'd be making so many decisions on set yeah and people be like do you want this glass

00:08:26.200 or this glass yeah this is this and it's just like yeah and also too when you're making a movie

00:08:31.220 this size you've got 23 days 23 24 days yeah and so a lot of the times you have like five or 10

00:08:38.160 minutes to get a shot yeah and every second counts every second every single second you were rolling

00:08:44.220 and it's so wild like some of my most favorite scenes of the movie when like coley's just like

00:08:49.560 typing and like on her am and stuff like that are my favorite scenes and she had like 10 minutes to

00:08:54.880 do like three of those and it was just so wild because you just as an audience member you don't

00:09:00.680 get to see any of that and you don't really know how um intense that is and that's what makes

00:09:07.380 actors incredible because yeah they are having to perform at such a high level with so much going on

00:09:14.700 yeah yeah in such a condensed time frame and space so it's definitely different like when i'm writing

00:09:19.380 an album like you are on your own time time isn't money to a degree right you could be writing music

00:09:26.680 and then scrap the whole thing and start over and what i learned about films is what makes the

00:09:32.540 miracles is you have to make the best film possible with the time that you're given yeah and the tools

00:09:38.240 that you're given totally that is the challenge and when you're doing an album you you can start

00:09:43.360 over as many times as you want that's so and so with the movies you can't and it's like it is what

00:09:49.020 it is and then you're trying to improve it or adjust with the time that you're given yeah and

00:09:54.740 it's just like a ticking clock of like when you turn it in that's so interesting to think about

00:09:58.740 too i i feel like well i love that you talked about world building i think that's so wonderful

00:10:03.060 did you like did you watch anything or find yourself consuming anything when you were like

00:10:07.880 preparing for to make this movie like anything that helped you build your own world like in

00:10:12.860 your own head or were you kind of just blank slate i want to build from scratch i mean i had seven

00:10:17.120 years to like really marinate on what the world was going to be yeah when i the movie actually

00:10:22.520 got greenlit I actually didn't consume art I stayed very focused and I was also similar to

00:10:30.260 albums like a lot of times you'll listen to music for influence yeah but then when you're actually

00:10:34.680 writing the album you're only focused on yeah you don't want to outside influence right and so I

00:10:39.800 think it's similar when you're preparing for the film because you're you're trying to build a world

00:10:44.600 that you haven't seen before and it's like what does this look like and again what's so crazy is

00:10:50.440 you also don't pick your location I don't know if you know this but like I mean I'm sure like

00:10:54.960 I'm sure like Marvel movies I can you know but like for movies like mine you know you are kind

00:11:00.900 of like assigned a location depending on tax credits and whatever and so get this I'm on this

00:11:07.460 journey and I get a call and they're like hey we're going to shoot this movie in Kelowna Canada

00:11:12.800 have you heard of it have you heard of Kelowna I've not yeah nobody's heard of I do know a lot

00:11:17.120 of people film in Canada though yeah yeah so it's east of Vancouver and most people don't know about

00:11:23.500 it yeah and I'm like are you kidding me my grandparents are buried there and I grew up

00:11:28.500 going to Kelowna Canada oh my god what are the odds oh the universe it's so powerful do it I

00:11:33.500 literally had I was like oh I got chills I was like are you kidding and I hadn't been there since

00:11:39.820 pre-pandemic when my grandparents were alive and they're also a big part of this journey has been

00:11:44.680 connecting to my Japanese side and it's my my mom's side which is my Japanese side yeah and so

00:11:51.000 I'm literally on this tiny rickety plane landing in Kelowna Canada on this small airport yeah where

00:11:56.540 my grandpa used my grandma and grandpa used to pick me up we shot the movie like two streets

00:12:01.600 down from my grandparents house what the hell it was like out of everywhere in the movie set in

00:12:07.240 Oregon but like out of everywhere in the world yeah for that to happen and to have like this

00:12:12.860 homecoming yeah it it definitely like people go you know timing is everything trust the process

00:12:19.200 right and you know year after year this movie was not getting made it was so hard to like

00:12:23.980 hold on to that light right and so for that to happen i was like oh my god oh my god so spiritual

00:12:28.960 and that is i was like i'm not a religious person but i'm starting god like i literally was that's 0.53

00:12:34.900 the gayest thing about your movie it's the spirituality of that if you really think about 0.55

00:12:39.740 it yeah only lesbian movie could be made that way exactly i have the lesbian like magic 0.97

00:12:44.680 that is true looking out looking out isn't that freaky oh my gosh yeah that is crazy

00:12:52.500 i still have chills like low-key thinking about it i still have chills so i think that's so

00:12:57.320 powerful that's so incredible yeah how was it uh in the casting process for your movie

00:13:02.020 like being able to cast the two leads the coolest it's so wild and i mean you've written in book

00:13:07.660 too and but like when you're like envisioning characters it it was so interesting to be you

00:13:14.980 know prepping for this film and being like there's a girl out there that is living and has no idea

00:13:21.040 that she's going to be the lead of my film which is so fun you know and I'm like who is she what

00:13:27.080 does she look like where does she live yeah and so it was such a beautiful experience we had over

00:13:32.820 4,000 tapes come in, and Maya DaCosta, who plays the lead,

00:13:37.900 Coley, she was actually the very first tape I watched.

00:13:40.960 Like, I was in New York, I was doing work,

00:13:42.580 and they were like, oh, we just got a bunch of tapes,

00:13:44.440 do you wanna see it?

00:13:45.280 She's the first tape I watched.

00:13:46.580 That's cool.

00:13:47.420 And I watched her.

00:13:48.260 Again, spiritual.

00:13:49.100 Again, again!

00:13:49.940 Right, the touch, the feel.

00:13:50.920 I watched her, and there was a moment

00:13:53.440 where she was doing this scene in Sonia's bedroom,

00:13:56.580 the other lead, and she sits on the bed,

00:13:59.240 and everyone's tape would end there,

00:14:01.720 and she just let it roll for like 20 seconds

00:14:04.440 and she was just sitting in the space.

00:14:06.440 And I like all of a sudden saw the whole movie around her

00:14:09.300 and I was just like, oh my gosh,

00:14:10.940 she's gonna be the one to beat.

00:14:12.100 And so she ended up getting the role.

00:14:13.840 Very cool.

00:14:14.680 18, half Asian, from Canada,

00:14:18.480 and is so just like authentic and real. 0.99

00:14:21.480 Like she is Koli. 0.78

00:14:24.060 Yeah, how did it feel getting to cast Asian women specifically? 0.59

00:14:28.200 Because I feel like it's so liberating

00:14:30.640 And how beautiful to be able to cast people who look like you, especially people like us growing up the media we've been fed and consumed like hardly ever do they look like us.

00:14:40.020 I know. So how how did that feel for you?

00:14:41.980 It was so healing because she got to play a role that I dreamed of of getting an opportunity.

00:14:48.060 Like I dreamed of getting like an email saying like half Asian.

00:14:52.380 Yeah. Queer lead. 1.00

00:14:55.140 Yeah, exactly. To the T. Yeah. And I never got it. 0.99

00:14:58.760 And so to be able to give that space and opportunity

00:15:02.960 for someone who is very similar and authentic

00:15:07.700 to my experience and who also,

00:15:10.400 she really connected to the book,

00:15:13.480 it just was so healing.

00:15:14.860 I was like, oh my gosh, this is like,

00:15:17.000 what life's all about is like being able to help people

00:15:20.440 and create space and lift women up.

00:15:22.940 Yeah, and keep the door open. 0.99

00:15:24.560 It feels so good.

00:15:26.140 Yeah, absolutely.

00:15:27.380 I think that's incredible.

00:15:28.260 I'm like I'm writing right now I'm in the process of writing fiction books oh cool yeah but I'm

00:15:32.560 writing like fantasy romance kind of deal but it's I'm basing it like the the themes in it are

00:15:38.720 like Polynesian like mythological lore I'm already I've already bought it right I was literally when

00:15:45.200 I was writing and as I was like writing it with because I'm writing it with someone um and she's

00:15:49.820 black and she's like Jamaican so we were talking a lot about characters what they look like that

00:15:54.040 kind of thing my goal is to get it made into something 100 eventually well I was thinking 0.60

00:15:58.660 guess what no whiteys yeah not in my book nowhere to be seen nowhere to be found girl sorry and if 1.00

00:16:05.380 they are I'm gonna kill them oh my god I'm kidding I can't wait to read this book I'm so excited 1.00

00:16:13.980 I'm like when I sound like a horror film oh my god when I cast everyone I'm like everybody's 0.99

00:16:18.200 gonna look just like me everyone's gonna look like me and I think it's a beautiful thing well

00:16:21.540 I think that's the whole point is like,

00:16:23.480 it's like to know that I'm part of a club

00:16:27.220 of 5% of women directors in the industry.

00:16:31.380 It takes so long for us to be able to just

00:16:33.360 have the opportunity, let alone tell stories

00:16:36.520 that have characters that represent us.

00:16:40.160 And that's what's been so beautiful about this journey.

00:16:42.580 Like, you know, the music video was just like

00:16:46.140 a piece of the story and then every evolution

00:16:50.140 got me one step closer to my authentic truth and yeah and having a half asian lead and that looked

00:16:56.100 like me and reflected who i was and that's been a journey for me as well is embracing my um my

00:17:02.380 culture and my background and um i think it's been really cool that the fans have gotten to see that

00:17:08.640 evolution as i've gotten closer to my authentic truth and as i've gotten closer to my confidence

00:17:14.940 like I remember singing girls like girls in 2015 for 15 people in Michigan and there was no green

00:17:21.780 room and I'm like sitting in a minivan like in the back and I remember singing girls like girls

00:17:27.800 and I'd be like shaky I'd be like girls like girls like like looking around seeing like if

00:17:34.100 there was any homophobic people and right to come 11 years later to be able to be on stage knowing

00:17:39.780 that I've waved the rainbow flag to thousands and thousands of people and I can sing that song

00:17:45.120 with absolute confidence I think that also kind of mirrors the journey of Girls Like Girls and

00:17:49.620 the evolution from the song to the music video totally to the book now the film well and I want

00:17:55.600 to rewind to Girls Like Girls like the the out or the music video and the track itself like

00:18:00.640 the inception of it like why did it feel important to put it out at the time you did because you're

00:18:04.800 right at the time it was nowhere near where media is now especially with the acceptance of gay people

00:18:09.720 and if you can even call it that at this point yeah i mean we've kind of we're kind of back at

00:18:13.600 the same right exactly so it's like but art persists right and art and art is driven on

00:18:18.700 the shoulders of gay people and and women and most often times so like how was that putting

00:18:24.040 it out at the time like why did you feel it was important to put it out at that time i think

00:18:28.520 anything important is kind of scary right and it was very scary i'd finished my ep the side of

00:18:35.040 Paradise and last minute I decided to put Girls Like Girls on and that was the

00:18:40.560 first song I had co-written where I came out to the songwriters and I'm like I

00:18:46.800 remember Lily my co-writer was like what is the thing that you're most scared of

00:18:51.120 and I like cried to her and I was like okay and she was like well let's write a

00:18:56.520 song about it and I was like I wish I was confident I wish I could steal a

00:19:00.120 girl I wish I could do this and so the song Girls Like Girls is actually really

00:19:04.320 cocky and I wasn't that at the time yeah and so it was almost like manifesting

00:19:08.920 what I wish I who I wish I was at that time and and then here I am now very 0.88

00:19:16.280 confident yeah about being a lesbian hell yeah so sometimes you have to like

00:19:21.140 convince yourself that when you don't you when you aren't that person yet

00:19:25.360 absolutely you know yeah fake it till you make it kind of do exactly and

00:19:29.760 honestly and you made it girl period thank god i made it to the other side of the rainbow

00:19:34.480 thank god i'm here when my sister my sister is obviously as i said a lesbian but when before

00:19:43.260 she was like i don't know yeah i think i think i'm a lesbian even though the only serious

00:19:46.840 relationship she ever had was a woman at the time i think after a while like a couple years ago we

00:19:52.820 were talking about it and i told her honestly i think you are a lesbian and i think i think you

00:19:56.760 self you diagnosed yeah i was like i think you're a lesbian i think we should stop pretending i think 0.56

00:20:00.580 it's over for you and then she like laughed and she was like yeah you're right because i was like 0.78

00:20:05.400 yeah i was like there's only room for for one straight annoying girl i took that right so 0.61

00:20:11.680 unfortunately you have to be a lesbian now it's the law i love that yeah so i'm i'm really happy 0.61

00:20:16.080 that she is honestly she's made me cooler and that's how i feel about you i feel that way about

00:20:21.400 most lesbians honestly like the my friend caleb describes lesbians as the purest of us all which

00:20:27.340 i agree i agree and i feel like i feel like lesbians are so obviously so removed from male

00:20:33.760 validation for so long and they're on that tip way sooner than many many many other people so i feel

00:20:40.360 like that's why i gravitate towards lesbians specifically that's the truth that's why i'm

00:20:44.920 conquering lesbian mountain that's the whole truth yeah we're already at the top we're at the top

00:20:48.920 that's why i met you up here that's all i was like and i honestly i was just joking about this

00:20:53.980 the other day with my friend because i was telling them how first of all my gay friends forget i'm

00:20:58.080 not gay quite often and i know it's because i'm not annoying so i take it as a compliment i really

00:21:02.880 do i take it as the highest yeah but specifically with lesbians i'm like i've told my girlfriends

00:21:07.060 who are like token straights like that's me i'm like you should wear it as a badge of honor 0.63

00:21:11.460 lesbians are notoriously picky they are very are on who they like and we have a small group yes 0.99

00:21:17.100 they're very very picky and if they think you're funny and they think you're cool take your chips 1.00

00:21:21.260 i'm learning a lot about myself yeah i'm telling you i i and honestly like that's why i want to

00:21:27.140 talk to you about that specifically because i really do feel like you were one of the first

00:21:31.880 people i saw consistently talking about how important it was to be authentically who you are

00:21:36.960 and i think it's a beautiful thing and i think you being so young at the time that that song in

00:21:41.580 that music video came out it makes you so incredibly courageous to me and i think that's

00:21:46.080 you so powerful the fact that it's had standing power for this long I mean it's proof obviously

00:21:50.020 that you're so brave and important but I just have to give you your flowers for that moment

00:21:53.160 I think it's imperative thank you so much especially at the time yeah I mean it was

00:21:57.200 when I'm going back to what we were talking about releasing the music video was really scary because

00:22:03.440 no one want raised their hand to premiere it and that's when I knew I had something special

00:22:08.560 because nobody wanted to be a part of it they were all afraid of your genius they were just

00:22:14.160 scared of the storyline to be honest and so that really shows the evolution right and i ended up

00:22:21.280 releasing it a couple days before same-sex marriage became legalized in the country and so

00:22:27.140 there was a lot of really interesting and then it was like we're leading into the first trump era

00:22:32.520 there was a lot going on during that time yeah but you know the reason girls like girls exists

00:22:37.620 is because i i needed i needed that kind of music video i needed to be able to watch something and

00:22:43.800 see two girls falling in love and and making out and like i needed that representation and so i

00:22:50.200 think as creatives and artists and people we tend to try to take up the space that we wish we had

00:22:57.800 represented yeah growing up totally and i i was lucky enough to see a screener of said yes yes i

00:23:05.160 i was lucky that i was lucky enough and i'm not going to spoil anything but i will say there are

00:23:10.200 are many parallels between said movie and music video for the fans for all the fans who are

00:23:15.420 excited it's even better also you have a little cameo love look at that you're making it bigger

00:23:20.820 i'm literally in the movie for a point well i noticed one half seconds so clearly that shoot

00:23:26.960 was so crazy i was like wait i have to be in it you forgetting i should probably be in yeah i was

00:23:31.980 like but yeah okay so i i have seen it i don't want to spoil anything oh wait this makes it so

00:23:37.560 much more fun yeah but I do want to say though that I would love to know what you hope people

00:23:42.640 take away from it like what you hope people after they watch the film like what do you hope they

00:23:47.020 leave with if anything well I definitely recommend seeing it in theaters because I really hope that

00:23:52.460 anyone that goes to see this movie in theaters feels the love and support from their community

00:23:57.640 wherever they live yeah knowing that those people showed up that's a safe space for them

00:24:02.620 um but i hope people feel seen and i hope they feel seen by others or themselves um self-love

00:24:10.700 understood and represented i hope they they feel powerful to to chase their dreams and and live

00:24:18.600 their authentic truth and i think that's what girls like girls has been for me is like it's

00:24:23.240 been a journey i haven't always been accepting of myself i haven't always felt like self-love

00:24:28.860 and self-worth and you see coley's character going through that and we have a lot of parallels

00:24:33.400 yeah um she's a fictional character but like a lot of what she goes through is what i went through

00:24:38.960 when i fell in love and was saying olive juice to my crush and all these things and so i hope people

00:24:44.740 just i hope it's just like a big hug and people feel like they have their cup full you know and

00:24:51.040 they're able to chase their dreams like to know that i i survived 10 plus years of nose yeah and

00:24:58.620 And I got the yes, and now we're in theaters.

00:25:02.000 Don't give up on your dreams,

00:25:03.400 and it can feel absolutely impossible.

00:25:06.440 And even self-love can feel absolutely impossible.

00:25:09.460 And so I hope it just represents that,

00:25:12.300 to know that you can get to the other side.

00:25:14.180 I've found the love of my life, I'm engaged,

00:25:16.940 I'm chasing my dreams.

00:25:19.500 Don't give up on yourself.

00:25:21.180 Especially now.

00:25:23.340 Yes, we need queer joy.

00:25:25.180 And that's what this film is about.

00:25:27.380 Because we have so many wonderful films that cover other subjects and validates trauma.

00:25:33.780 But we also just need some lightheartedness and queer joy.

00:25:37.860 There's just as much beauty as there is trauma. 0.89

00:25:40.120 And I've said this many times, a world without gay people is a world I do not want to live in. 1.00

00:25:44.660 Oh my God, can you imagine? 1.00

00:25:45.880 And we're fighting for our lives, I'm saying.

00:25:48.060 And that's, I think, the most beautiful part.

00:25:50.840 is that it's even when your music video and the track came out was at such a tumultuous time

00:25:56.540 like politically and now your film's coming out at another tumultuous time but it's imperative

00:26:01.480 like it's imperative that queer art persists and continues to be loved supported and made

00:26:06.680 even in the face of adversity which is like unfortunately a hallmark of being queer in the

00:26:12.280 anywhere in the world but I just think it's so important that a movie like this comes out now

00:26:16.280 thank you and the coloring is also fantastic I think it's so cute in summary you love the world

00:26:20.140 I love I love that it very warm tone yeah very warm that's kind of my vibe I like people to feel

00:26:26.020 safe watching like you know plot lines that are kind of like quite tense and yeah um you're on

00:26:32.800 the edge of your seat and I just I love feeling safe honestly and I feel like warm tones even

00:26:38.200 like if it's a cool night summer scene it's still warm absolutely so that was definitely a combo I

00:26:44.060 had with all my um hod's on set is like it's in 2006 but we're not like shoving it down people's

00:26:52.240 like you know throats like it's like we're in 06 but it's also nostalgic it's timeless

00:26:57.220 and i don't want it to be distracting to the story because beautiful it's really about the

00:27:01.900 two girls yeah absolutely i think that's very evident first off but i am so excited for everybody

00:27:07.600 to see i don't want to say too much anymore i feel like i'm gonna spoil it but i said too much

00:27:11.320 we haven't even said anything at all it feels like we've said a lot though even yeah and even

00:27:16.480 so I will say too on a somewhat serious note my sister has told me many times that the hardest

00:27:21.360 person to come out to was herself and that's kind of a theme I feel like in this movie especially

00:27:26.320 was she she's talked quite frequently with me at length about how like she was the hardest person

00:27:32.100 to come out to even though even if you do have an unfortunate coming out experience with someone

00:27:36.400 else like herself was the hardest person and that's the theme 100% agree I definitely feel

00:27:41.600 like that was my journey as well it's like you are your hardest critic yeah and you hold yourself

00:27:48.100 back and so you you follow two characters and the other character Sonia played by Myra Malloy

00:27:54.240 she you you're watching her struggle and she's really holding herself back yeah even though

00:28:00.000 there's so much societal pressures and kind of like almost an unspoken thing like I grew up in

00:28:05.080 Los Angeles yeah I had such a hard time being gay like I knew I was a lesbian since I was like six

00:28:10.720 yeah and I grew up in LA yeah you know and so it just says so much about society and like being

00:28:16.440 able to read a children's book and seeing two moms like there's so much lack of representation that

00:28:21.560 we're slowly getting better at but all of those little pieces play a role play a role of the

00:28:28.220 narrative of who you're supposed to be even if you're surrounded by people that you know might

00:28:34.160 be accepting yourself as you know yeah the heart the one yeah the one that you have to break through

00:28:39.700 and you definitely see that with coley yeah her journey totally and navigating that with sonia

00:28:44.080 yeah and i think there was no one better to tell the story than you i'll be honest no one better

00:28:49.600 than to tell her story i was like i have to tell this i was like if i can't tell this story no one

00:28:54.700 can because this is so hard it's so hard to get a movie made like it's just you're just knocking

00:29:01.320 on so many doors and i'm just like focus features has been amazing and so supportive and again like

00:29:06.920 going back to the parallels of the music video people not raising their hands to then being

00:29:10.920 able to have the opportunity to be in theaters so please go see it yeah because like all of our

00:29:15.640 shows get canceled right like the suffix we're we need representation no for real we don't have

00:29:22.920 and consistent representation mind you exactly i agree it shouldn't be every 10 years or no like

00:29:29.400 only getting one season of anything i agree so we have to show up for you know and and show hollywood

00:29:35.760 that we exist and we're not just niche we're we're mainstream yeah hello are you kidding

00:29:40.480 everywhere the gays are everywhere and you want the gays to support you you need to make gay things

00:29:44.700 yes hello yes also you did mention uh to pivot to queer joy you did mention you're engaged 0.97

00:29:52.220 How was that?

00:29:53.200 I'm engaged.

00:29:53.780 Congratulations.

00:29:55.040 Thank you.

00:29:57.520 It's awesome.

00:29:58.760 How has it been for you?

00:30:00.160 It's so cool.

00:30:01.160 I get why, you know, when people get engaged or they get married, they're like always posting

00:30:05.420 photos, which are borderline annoying.

00:30:07.380 Oh, my God.

00:30:07.840 I know.

00:30:08.140 I got it.

00:30:08.560 I never understood it, but now I do.

00:30:11.220 I get it, too.

00:30:11.820 You just like get obsessed with each other.

00:30:13.460 You're just like, oh, my God, this is so cool that we're getting to do this like societal

00:30:17.480 traditional norm that we don't even really like care about.

00:30:20.400 care about or like align with you know what I mean like we never like it was never like we have to

00:30:27.200 get married but there was a moment where I was like I want to ring on my finger and I want to

00:30:31.640 like get to do the things that other people get to do that's exactly how I felt and I want us to

00:30:36.320 like make it our own and like do it the way we want to do it and so it's been so it was so cool

00:30:42.180 to get to propose to her and have her propose to me she surprised me in Japan and like oh my gosh

00:30:47.180 i love japan obviously it's like my dream and um yeah it's just been a really cool beautiful season

00:30:54.240 oh my gosh how's wedding planning been going for you it's been non-existent yeah currently that's

00:30:59.040 how i was when did you get engaged uh uh well i proposed to her in july and then she proposed

00:31:04.520 to me in december so i would say july love okay tea that's i've been engaged for two years my

00:31:09.720 wedding's coming up this year oh my gosh exciting yeah so i get it like i was like i'm cool to chill

00:31:14.520 here yeah we love being engaged i also have like the movie coming out yes like once i get through

00:31:20.560 girls like girls universe yeah then we'll start good chill being yeah we're still having convos

00:31:25.340 but we're not in a rush and that's how i feel i just love the engagement season it's it's so fun

00:31:30.340 it's so fun it's always like this old thing oh wait let me see your ring yeah i've seen it

00:31:34.940 oh that wait wait hold on let me see princess cut okay t look at us but it's slightly different

00:31:43.340 but they're both squares but mine's on the side oh t it's like a trois mois is it kind of like

00:31:48.460 it's called an asher cut um east west that's beautiful you're that's beautiful thank you

00:31:54.280 yeah we're twinsies look at us literally oh my gosh can you believe a man picked this out

00:31:58.300 he did an incredible job i know that's a good find sometimes i know especially when only women

00:32:04.780 can do that that's what i agree there are so many things that i know women can do good one yeah for

00:32:12.740 real honestly yeah i did because i when i got engaged a lot of people were like oh you picked

00:32:16.820 such a beautiful ring i think it's because it's i wouldn't be surprised that most women are like

00:32:21.580 this is the exact ring i want right i didn't look at anything i didn't look at cuts that's fun i just

00:32:26.760 knew like the year because we'd been together for seven years and then we got engaged oh my god

00:32:31.460 same no way oh my god oh my god i'm gonna pull up my feet yeah i'm freaked if i got my hair blonde 0.78

00:32:38.120 you better watch out I'm coming for me I'm gonna adopt a real you kind of thing going on

00:32:47.620 well yeah I when I got I'm so excited thank you look at us year seven look at us but I I was

00:32:53.960 never in a rush just like you yeah I felt the same way about especially about I feel like most

00:32:58.140 marriage anything is within white organized religion it's just so traditional yeah I know

00:33:04.340 that's how i felt too so even our wedding is super non-traditional in the way that we're doing

00:33:08.200 almost everything because i just don't want any of the i just want to get married and i feel like

00:33:13.900 you feel that way too like i'm very excited to get married and i want to do the dress and i want

00:33:17.920 to do the the ceremony and all that but there's many things i cut because i was like nah don't

00:33:21.580 eat it yeah well i think i think the perspective that you when you find your person and your

00:33:26.280 partner and you're starting to build a life you realize you're like oh my gosh every single

00:33:30.200 generation every single person has been trying to build the life that they wanted to build

00:33:34.260 whether it was big or small yeah whether they ended up staying exactly the way their parents

00:33:38.800 were or branched off yeah it's like you're always trying to make it your own yeah it just goes back

00:33:43.900 to constantly trying to just evolve as people yeah i agree because even at the beginning of

00:33:48.260 planning like when we were like thinking about the wedding as a concept yeah i was like i guess

00:33:53.080 i'll do like a semi big wedding yeah like what do i want yeah and i was thinking about inviting

00:33:57.540 people and then i was thinking about seating people and i was like that makes me want to die

00:34:00.660 i don't want to do that i don't want to do that so i like completely changed my entire wedding

00:34:05.240 because i was like no one talks about how embarrassing it is to get married in front of

00:34:08.200 people oh yeah i mean i don't i've never done it so yeah me either so that's why but i'm just

00:34:12.580 at the thought of like telling him my innermost feelings and like my uncle's right there yeah

00:34:17.580 right totally yeah that actually is quite weird so i was like we're doing private vows we're

00:34:23.940 gonna do private that's why i want to be close with everyone that's in the space exactly the

00:34:27.460 goal is that you don't have weird uncle exactly just second row yeah just kind of just hanging

00:34:32.480 out there totally totally either but i'm so happy for y'all i'm happy for you too i hope you enjoy

00:34:37.640 your engagement season it's the best thank you no rush no need i'm we're we're happy we're cruising

00:34:42.900 oh i'm so excited for you anything else fun or exciting before i get into your fun facts that

00:34:47.520 you want to talk about oh my oh outside of your glorious movie uh my what are my fun facts um

00:34:53.860 yeah no I just like I Becca's the absolute best and it's and again I think it goes back to the

00:34:59.840 girls like girls journey is like I grew up uh never believing that I could find someone

00:35:06.140 and have a healthy relationship and feel so loved and like seen and supported and

00:35:11.400 it's really really special that I get to go into this girls like girls era as a director

00:35:17.060 my directorial debut yes with an amazing partner I know like that's like just like

00:35:22.380 the sugar on top which i didn't i didn't even expect that would happen and for real um and

00:35:28.100 it's just it's really beautiful i love that you're so amazing and so cool i can't stand it

00:35:33.180 it's honestly unfair okay i do i'm gonna we're obsessed with each other yes obviously because

00:35:37.340 we're twins we're literally in the same womb look at us okay i do have some fun facts about you

00:35:42.040 oh my gosh we do have just what did you wikipedia i'm i'm i know i'm already you can tell me if

00:35:47.760 they're fun okay so you'll let me know they're factual okay okay so this first one says as a kid

00:35:54.220 you got scouted by nickelodeon at an ice rink i did oh so that was my dream as a kid to just be

00:36:02.060 discovered i lived your dream yeah so my mom's a very successful ice skating choreographer okay

00:36:09.560 and so my childhood was very unique i grew up in an ice rink all the time very cool and so

00:36:16.220 my mom was working and I was just ice skating and they were like we need an Asian girl to ice skate

00:36:24.140 in this commercial and they thought you were the cutest thing in the world I bet yeah I wasn't a

00:36:28.440 great skater at all really but even though your mom was an ice well like I can I can probably do

00:36:32.980 more than average like I definitely was like when I was in high school and I'd like try to like ask

00:36:38.100 a girl out but not ask her out I'd be like do you want to go to the ice rink like during the

00:36:41.560 holiday times when they had those patches of square ice with terrible ice skating rentals

00:36:47.420 where you can barely skate but like I could like do moves and I'd like show off I'd be like oh I

00:36:52.880 have my ice skates in the car and I'd like pull out my white skates like no game like thank god

00:36:59.000 Becca asked I know how to skate thank god Becca made a move on me because I had no game whatsoever

00:37:04.780 I'm like these girls are gonna love my white ice skates yeah you're like I'm just gonna go show

00:37:10.000 off at the ice rink yeah but now ice skating's cool i mean look at alissa we're we're we're on

00:37:15.280 track i'm honestly not a very good ice skater at all but we'll go ice skating on our next podcast

00:37:19.620 yeah yeah that's true we'll live record some tips yeah okay this says when you were five you were in

00:37:25.940 an ad advertising the internet itself yes is that true yes that is dating you a little bit it literally

00:37:34.020 the um the magazine i'm just smiling and it's like the inner their internet is awesome or so i was

00:37:41.540 like promoting using the internet so like now we have ai it's all my fault that's all on you hayley 0.98

00:37:47.680 i it's me that damn ad this is something i carry the weight of ai it's on your damn ad i'm just 0.97

00:37:54.960 like smiling like this no idea what i'm promoting that's crazy yeah i don't even think i got paid 0.99

00:38:01.640 either I think that was just for free yeah damn you should hit up Steve Jobs it's his fault

00:38:06.260 honestly were you doing a lot of commercial stuff as a child no I mean those are literally the two 0.91

00:38:11.640 things I did under the age of 17 and then my first like acting role I was 17 so people think

00:38:18.440 I was like a child actor but I actually just look really young so like when I was on Wizards I was

00:38:23.100 19 no way yeah how was Wizards how was that set it was cool I had no idea that it was like a 0.51

00:38:29.700 successful show so i just was like and i had like my spiky hair also they made you gay in that show

00:38:36.020 well i just was naturally gay no i mean like losing characters yeah but i didn't i didn't

00:38:41.620 know because it was just natural for me so i was like ah but apparently i was like giving off

00:38:46.580 the gay to selena but i didn't know and i just was like thought i was acting i've seen quite a few

00:38:53.700 edits of of like your character on wizards it's amazing what editing can do on tiktok but

00:38:58.900 But they cut all the scenes and basically they were like, they should have written in.

00:39:03.460 Yeah, it was giving.

00:39:05.260 You were rising her up bad, like in that show.

00:39:07.920 I was just slowly being an activist by like oozing my gayness. 0.98

00:39:11.600 That's your gay agenda. 0.92

00:39:12.860 All over TV shows and movies. 1.00

00:39:15.820 You were just leaving it everywhere.

00:39:17.380 Just traces.

00:39:18.820 Little speckles everywhere. 1.00

00:39:20.600 Little sprinkles of gay everywhere. 1.00

00:39:21.320 You follow the trail of breadcrumbs to the rainbow. 1.00

00:39:25.340 How was it like acting on sitcoms like that?

00:39:28.080 was that like weird or crazy or was it just another job too it was just cool I think for me

00:39:33.280 I I didn't know I wanted to be a director at the time but I wanted to be a musician

00:39:37.840 and I wanted to be a pop star so I just was doing everything I could to have experiences and

00:39:43.000 opportunities and so acting ended up being opportunities and a lot of the acting like

00:39:47.180 lemonade mouth I played a guitarist like there's a lot of like music involved influence yeah going

00:39:53.140 on and so i just i was just excited to like be a part i was like oh this is cool there's cameras

00:39:59.720 everywhere and i think that's an awesome way of looking at it like you know 10 years plus i was

00:40:04.100 like oh my gosh wizard that was a big show like like i literally because none of my friends at

00:40:09.260 the time like no one knew and then later they're like oh you're on wister i was like oh people

00:40:13.980 watch that that's cool same with lemonade mouth it's really interesting it was like not deemed a

00:40:20.220 success at all but it was like a cult classic kind of like jennifer's body yes it'd be yes

00:40:25.760 just like the only other girls like girls movie out there a movie that was not appreciated at 0.98

00:40:32.240 its time but it was later as it should be we're starving yeah the sapphics are starving for real

00:40:38.360 honestly i loved that movie too feed us okay this next one says that you were one-fifth of a pop

00:40:45.680 girl group that formed in 2007 called the stunners who opened for justin bieber yes whoa your lore

00:40:52.520 goes crazy i'm all over the place yeah you were a man of many hats i was like the cool chick in

00:40:58.560 the girl group who sang the bridges but i was like period the gay one but like in the closet

00:41:04.000 but that's also too like when i was in that girl group which was very short-lived yeah i got to

00:41:09.940 experience again i was like i want to be a musician what is that like and i'm getting to

00:41:14.320 tour and um also experienced the negative sides of the male gaze and like having to perform for

00:41:21.340 these old men at these labels and like you're 16 like it's weird yeah creepy so it was good

00:41:27.760 because that kind of ended and then i was able to chase my dreams and be like okay this is what i

00:41:33.460 don't want to do and this is like the environment i don't want to be a part of i'm like obsessed 0.99

00:41:37.780 with your attitude towards it it's very like i wanted to try it so i did i didn't yeah i fuck 0.90

00:41:43.580 with that yeah I like that you're just kind of like yeah that was cool yeah I love that idea 0.97

00:41:47.740 that attitude I mean and that I mean Justin was I mean that was his like I think it was like never

00:41:53.280 never say never era yeah yeah so like that was cool it was cool that's how I feel about most

00:42:00.520 things you know in this industry especially that's how I feel about most things and I think it's

00:42:04.760 important honestly I learned how to dance in high heels yeah I don't anymore I wear sneakers I don't

00:42:11.300 need that skill anymore thank god but you know I love how you're just so you're so beautiful and

00:42:18.620 talented that you're kind of just joining anything and then you're like yeah I don't like that

00:42:22.120 dropping that on to the next I think you're just trying I love that you know and it's like how do

00:42:26.680 you become what you who you know you are and who you want to become yeah like what does that look

00:42:31.640 like what does that look like how do you do that how do you get on tv how do you how do you have

00:42:36.240 an audience like I remember watching NSYNC and I was like I want to be them how do you have

00:42:40.320 girls screaming at you and like dance and sing with like a little mic like how do you do that

00:42:45.860 yeah you're just trying stuff watching boys and going yeah now i need to get into that that's

00:42:50.680 what i'm trying to get into literally yeah i'm obsessed what's your sign i'm an aries oh t

00:42:58.040 love that i love aries libra rising and sagittarius moon oh t okay i'm my son oh fun

00:43:06.060 Cancer moon Sagittarius rising okay oh look at us we got some sides yeah yeah fire in the big

00:43:10.960 we're balanced we're balanced one of my best friends from college was an Aries and she I

00:43:14.820 say all the time like I would have never had fun without her because she does everything fun 0.62

00:43:20.220 anything she's down to try anything yeah and she would have died without me so I think it's a win

00:43:24.880 win okay wow so we're do you want to hold hands yes there we go there we go connecting again

00:43:28.900 okay this next one says in an interview in 2018 you told diva magazine that you quote

00:43:37.620 have a serious obsession with tuna melts is that still true i love to

00:43:43.160 man the internet really has all the information what's your favorite tuna i recently thanks so

00:43:52.120 much for asking i just had one of my favorite tuna melts it's at apple pan and it's rye bread

00:43:58.500 with tuna but I love just a classic tuna like a little bit of relish yeah or maybe a little bit

00:44:03.680 of celery don't go crazy don't be adding parsley dill like we just want basic yeah some cheese

00:44:11.040 soiling the ancient text cut in a triangle slant I will eat a tuna melt with anyone I

00:44:18.820 love tuna like there's like when I go on tour like people would be like Haley go outside because I

00:44:23.720 like if eating i was like i'm like the tuna girl like even like at school like i would open up my

00:44:29.600 thing and i'd have my tuna sandwich but it'd be stinky so i'd have to like eat in the corner yeah

00:44:34.380 because everyone had something to say about it stinking yeah you're representing people in more

00:44:37.800 ways than one then yeah even stinky food eaters yes i am you're like i'm doing it for us listen

00:44:42.780 you have one life to live like eat the food that you want like don't listen to outside commentary

00:44:49.020 honestly and you have you ever um had ike's like the sandwich shop i've heard of it i haven't been

00:44:55.820 they have a tuna melt is it good it goes crazy interesting i might be going there today 0.86

00:45:01.260 fucking insane when i think about it really waters like a dog see i feel like a pit bull 0.82

00:45:05.280 i love making art but the thing i love also is food i love eating food like my dream is to just 0.98

00:45:11.940 eat food 24 7 all the time have to it makes me feel electric you enter a flow state when you

00:45:20.560 have a good i'm not kidding my friends i was like she's like she is in her flow state and i'm just

00:45:26.220 like oh my god that's that food was so good yeah literally i'm glad to see the tuna melt thing has

00:45:32.720 still held up over the years it's good to have passions yeah i think so side quests okay last

00:45:38.080 last fun fact um is that you were class president in middle school i was

00:45:42.540 i was did you take that title seriously girl i was campaigning so hard right i i was the student

00:45:53.420 council girl and i was in the closet but i had spiky flared hair and i worn a vintage blazer

00:46:01.720 a plaid blazer and i had a boyfriend who gave me a vintage brooch i'm painting the picture so i am

00:46:10.720 in the closet wearing a blazer with a vintage brooch with from your boyfriend my boyfriend who

00:46:16.300 is probably also gay your lavender marriage yeah my lavender marriage in middle school 0.95

00:46:20.920 campaigning for asb president right right and i won 0.99

00:46:25.000 so go ahead and I'm such an emotional hoarder that I still have that blazer

00:46:32.780 the plaid blazer that's great it doesn't fit obviously yeah but you're all but this is what

00:46:38.920 I won the presidency yes yes so I have to keep it and you know I will say this and maybe it's

00:46:44.020 coincidence maybe not but all of my gay friends all of them were involved in student council in

00:46:48.860 some regard we love we know how to organize yeah we have to it's it's fight or flight we'd be

00:46:54.600 organizing for our rights our safety we've been organizing since we were six years old that's all

00:47:00.920 you know it's all we know it's our flow state organizing and crowdfunding that's all you guys

00:47:05.660 know yeah honestly they're good at it yeah well those are all the fun facts i have for you would

00:47:10.580 you deem them to be fun they were fun and they were facts there you go period everyone give it

00:47:16.100 up for the fun facts thanks guys thanks amanda okay just to kind of close us out i do first off

00:47:25.200 want to give you flowers one more time i really do genuinely believe that you are imperative to

00:47:31.060 the space and i think that you have been so brave and so courageous for so long the fact that your

00:47:35.880 art persists is not surprising because it's beautiful and amazing but more specifically

00:47:40.340 your consistency with it has been inspiring and i really do think like genuinely i thank you from

00:47:46.800 the bottom of my heart for opening my sister's third eye to be a lesbian thank god but also for

00:47:52.100 a lot of people i'm sure you have been just paramount in their self-discovery and i think

00:47:56.440 you are so amazing and important and the fact that you're aapi alongside me it's another reason i

00:48:01.620 love you it adds to the totality of why i think you're so amazing but i'm feeling quite loved i

00:48:07.200 i just have to tell you that first but it means a lot because like and i mean you're in this

00:48:12.180 industry and space but we're so hard on ourselves right and it's just like you're just doing

00:48:16.940 everything you can and it feels like sometimes you're just like swimming against a current

00:48:22.260 and you're just like when does this get easy and i don't know if it ever gets easy but i'm grateful

00:48:28.460 to have been swimming against the current for 10 plus years and i have i have been around for a

00:48:35.920 long time and so it's been exciting to have this movie kind of start a new generation and a new

00:48:44.240 cycle and chapter and well I don't know if we talked about it but I also have an album coming

00:48:48.580 out that I that was inspired by the film and like yes I think when I did this movie I just was like

00:48:53.520 I gotta give it everything I got we're gonna we're gonna direct the movie we're gonna co-write it and

00:48:58.000 we're gonna do an album and we have all these amazing queer artists on the album which I think

00:49:02.560 is either out now or might be out in a couple of weeks

00:49:05.180 depending on when this comes out.

00:49:06.420 Yes.

00:49:06.760 Yeah, it'll be out in a couple of weeks.

00:49:08.240 Yes.

00:49:08.780 But my goal for that too is like people

00:49:11.780 who may not have access to the film

00:49:13.800 or, you know, my international fans

00:49:15.760 are able to at least listen to the album

00:49:17.180 and getting to experience it.

00:49:18.700 Absolutely.

00:49:19.900 But yeah, I really appreciate it.

00:49:21.540 It's been a really hard journey.

00:49:23.480 Yeah.

00:49:23.900 I've learned a lot,

00:49:25.360 but I'm just really proud to still be existing

00:49:27.800 and to still be putting out some queer content.

00:49:32.560 and joy and i'm so grateful for the fans sticking with me and um hopefully you know exploring new

00:49:39.180 fans in a new era i'm excited to maybe thrive as opposed to feel like i'm you know swimming for my

00:49:45.900 life no i know i for real and that's why i think it's so important to tell you how amazing i think

00:49:50.600 you are because i do think sometimes when you do it the right way and you do it the authentic way

00:49:54.980 sometimes it's the longer way it takes a lot longer why am i going the longest route possible

00:50:01.500 I know, and then it sometimes I feel like feels like almost like Sherpas when white people want to go up Mount Everest. 0.59

00:50:09.060 Right.

00:50:09.420 No one ever credits Sherpas for having made that trek hundreds of thousands of times to the top, 1.00

00:50:14.820 but they are transporting white people up there. 1.00

00:50:16.920 Right. 0.71

00:50:17.240 And sometimes it takes a while to get the recognition, but it's worth it, and that's where I think you're at right now.

00:50:22.180 I'm the Sherpa?

00:50:23.040 Yeah, I'm a Sherpa too, just so we're clear.

00:50:26.740 We're the Sherpas on the mountain.

00:50:29.380 Unfortunately, yes.

00:50:30.300 but we are on the mountain we're on the mountain yeah and we get to the top exactly and we survive

00:50:36.540 and come right back down and help people up and then we do it again yeah and i think that's

00:50:40.560 whoa i feel very seen yeah i've been chirping sherpa is that a word i've been chirping too

00:50:46.520 girl yeah and that's and i think that's what like why you stand the test of time is my point like i

00:50:52.780 really do believe that because it's authentic and it's true to you and it's meant to happen in the

00:50:57.100 right way and the way it's supposed to happen and i'm just so happy for you and i think this is such

00:51:01.520 an important film and the album as well as your directorial debut so my last question for you

00:51:07.640 is any advice you may have for any aspiring queer artists in whatever medium that they so choose

00:51:13.880 because you do it all but if you had any advice for them and they're worried about that current

00:51:18.580 like you know kind of pushing against them what would you say to them i think my biggest lesson

00:51:23.900 or epiphany on this whole journey is i took the long way to to get to myself right and so i would

00:51:31.780 say like my advice to any artist or someone who's you know pursuing their dreams is to don't take

00:51:39.800 the long way just like be yourself from day one and that it's such a hard it's such an easy thing

00:51:45.800 to say and it's such a hard thing to actually apply and do but that is truly my you know

00:51:51.480 encouragement because even like this album I went back to what I used to do I had unfinished songs

00:51:57.500 that I'd written when I was like 16 or 17 I finished them for this album and I'm like why

00:52:02.000 wasn't I doing that from the beginning like why did I go all the way around to try everything I

00:52:07.940 wasn't to come back to who I really am and so that would be my biggest challenge for you guys is to

00:52:14.540 to just don't take the long way around that just just start as you yeah and embrace that because

00:52:19.960 that's your your biggest power your superpower i mean looking at like my career my career started

00:52:26.320 when i was truthful yeah and authentic to who i was absolutely and here i am finding my purpose

00:52:32.300 and had i never done that or continued to hide or lie to myself right i would have a very different

00:52:38.460 life yeah and thankfully now you're in the perfect place at the perfect time and you're engaged oh my

00:52:45.600 on top of that wins wins wins all around well thank you so much for coming on the show you're

00:52:50.880 amazing i fucking love you i think i fucking love you i think you're incredible and yes another win 0.75

00:52:55.360 on lesbian mountain you guys are welcome for that so uh for those i don't know the two straight 0.98

00:53:00.760 people that watch me and don't know where to find you where can everybody find you oh just

00:53:05.000 hayley kyoko anything but you can see me in theaters june 19th yes you absolutely can girls

00:53:11.040 like girls very exciting and i'll be sitting in every single screening yes don't worry she'll be

00:53:17.680 at every single one row j 11 okay thank you all so much for tuning into this episode of the comment

00:53:23.580 section thank you so much to my amazing guest hayley kyoko don't forget new episodes of the

00:53:27.360 comment section drop every wednesday thank you so much my amazing guest hayley thank you so much

00:53:30.520 for tuning in and i'll see you next week

00:53:41.040 Thank you.

The Comment Section with Drew Afualo - June 17, 2026

I LOVE TUNA MELTS. Ft. Hayley Kiyoko ｜ Episode 226

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