IT'S OKAY TO BLEACH YOUR EYEBROWS Ft. Miss Benny ｜ Drew Afualo ｜ THE COMMENT SECTION EP 76
Summary
Join Drew and Benny as they discuss the SAG-AFTRA Writers Guild strike and how they are fighting for fair pay and equal pay for all actors, writers, and producers. This week's guest is Ms. Benny, who stars in the Netflix comedy-drama, Fuller House.
Transcript
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Hey y'all, it's Drew. Before we get into this week's episode with the wonderful Miss Benny,
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I do want to let y'all know that this was pre-recorded two weeks before SAG-AFTRA joined
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the Writers Guild on strike. So in this week's episode, we do discuss TV and movies. However,
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again, this was recorded prior to the strike. Now I want y'all to know that both Miss Benny and I
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stand with the writers and the actors in holding out for fair compensation and wages. So make sure
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y'all support where you can, and we love y'all so much. Okay, enjoy the episode.
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Because that's what it's all about. Gender expression is purely for attention.
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I'm biohacking my body. I'm zapping hair out of my face entirely so that you'll look at me and say-
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Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the comment section show starring me,
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your favorite. Everybody knows me and nobody ever cares about me anymore ever since we went
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to Spotify. Anyways, on to the amazing, wonderful guests. Today we have the iconic, the legendary
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I am so happy to be here. I feel like I'm on like at a public school if they had like a
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little news report that they put on little screens. That's what I feel like I'm doing right now.
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No, I love it. It's very colorful. It's very sweet. I feel very bright. I mean, I don't feel
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very bright, but the set- It's all right. The set makes up for it. Yeah. And we matched
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in our somber colors today. I know. What are we going through right now? Girl. Are you
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okay? How much time do you have? Right, right, right. We can talk later. We can talk about
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this some other time. I'm so happy to have you. Oh my God. You living icon, living legend.
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Living? I don't know. I'm here. Existing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Surviving. Booked right now.
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Mm-hmm. Present. Yes. But busy. I'm excited to be here. I feel like everything I've done
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recently has been over Zoom. Really? And so, like, truly so excited to be in studio
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right now. That's nice. So excited to physically see you and not worry about my Wi-Fi going
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out. It's very exciting. I'm so happy to have you. We're big fans of you here. Oh my God.
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And I know you've been real busy with your amazing Netflix show, and I know you're on
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Fuller House, and you've been in the game recently. And how has life been for you? How
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has life been treating you since your new show came out and everything? It's been great.
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I mean, I sort of stacked my month of June to be, like, just putting so much shit out.
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And so, I put my first EP out at the beginning of June. How exciting. It's so great. And then
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I ended June by putting out the Netflix show. And so, it felt like just, like, the craziest
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pride of my life. And then, now I'm just sort of in, like, the aftermath, which makes it
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sound like something bad happened, but I mean, like, the after show. It's like the point where
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you get to finally talk about everything you've been working on. Absolutely, yeah. And it's weird
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because it feels like I just filmed this show. But I mean, we wrapped over seven, eight months
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Yeah. So, it's just weird. It feels like this has been a long time coming. It took five years
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to make this show. So, I'm just like, have at it, read it, make fun of it. It was very
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much made to be, like, hate-watched and have people make silly memes about it. And so far,
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I've been seeing lots of really positive responses. My agent actually told me she really likes
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to your show. Oh, does your agent want to hang out sometime? Yeah, she was like, it's
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so good. I was like, I'm like, she was excited that you were coming on. That's so sweet.
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I know. What was it like filming the show? It was really fun. And working with, like,
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Kim Cattrall. Working with Kim was crazy because I just have always been obsessed with her,
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specifically in Sex and the City, of course. And when they were casting the role of Madeline,
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I just kept bugging the producers. You'd be like, it should be Kim Cattrall. And they
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were like, we'll see. And I was like, Kim Cattrall. They were like, we'll see. And then finally,
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one day, they just were like, it's Kim Cattrall. And I, like, fell out of my chair because
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I was like, I cannot believe this is happening. Did you request a casting credit? Yes, I
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absolutely did. And I am responsible for her career now. For all of her success. You're
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welcome. You're welcome, Kim. No, it was so crazy. And it was just weird because, like,
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knowing her as Samantha Jones, you, like, you kind of want to, you don't know how she's
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going to be in real life. If she's going to want to banter, if she's going to want to not
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banter. And so anytime I was on set with her, I just was trying to have those
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moments. I remember the first time we actually met, I was wearing just like a
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big office T-shirt with, like, basically no pants. And I walked up to her and I was
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like, hi, I'm a big fan. So excited to work with you. And she goes, well, look at
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you. And I was like, look at me. And she was like, who needs pants? And I was like, I
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can't believe it. That seems so on brand for her. Yeah, it was pretty perfect. And
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then, like, the rest of our, like, weird banter was always about, like, the fact that we
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were in high heels all day, every day, which I was like, oh, my God, I'm like, shit talking
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high heels with Kim Cattrall. This is so crazy. Like, so do you think she did this on set
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of Sex and the City? It's like, I'm like, basically Sarah Jessica Parker. Like, this
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is so fun. That's just what other people have said about me. I'm just here to acknowledge
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what's my truth. That isn't me and Kim Cattrall. I hate wearing heels. Yeah, it's fun. And
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then she, there was a day where she was supposed to be holding a little puppy dog and the puppy's
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name was Tequila. And so there was a day where Kim would, she called me over. And anytime she
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did that, by the way, I was like, pooping my pants. I was like, oh, my God, am I in
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trouble? I don't know why I would be. But if I am, I'm so sorry. And she called me over
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and she was like, Miss Benny, have you ever met Tequila? And I said, honey, have I? And
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she laughed. And you said, got him. I said, got him. Check. It was really sweet. So yeah,
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it was crazy. That's amazing. That's so incredible. How long have you been acting
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for? Oh, God. I've been acting since I was like 11 or 12 when I used to do commercials
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in Texas. I did like Nerf Gun, Super Stokers. I did a Furby commercial that was like the most
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hellish experience I've ever filmed. Why? I want you to imagine. Okay, so it was Texas. It
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was in this like warehouse studio. And it was when they had started to make the Furbies
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like alive. They had like the digital face. And they were like, they were like kind of
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AI where it was like they supposedly reacted to how you treated them. Got it. Got it. And
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they were like the pre Megan, but like Furby form. And then so I walked into the like filming
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location and they had built like a super colorful like party set for like kids. But then the walls
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were lined with the Furbies. The Furbies were like a chandelier. They were like everything
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was made of Furbies and they were all on. So it was just like loud chirping. And then
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they had the audacity at the end of the like 12 hour shoot to say like, we also will give
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you, you can have one. You're like, I rebuke. Thank you very much. I said, I do not claim
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her. And I immediately I think I gifted it to one of my friend's kids. And I was just
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like, Oh my God, I thought of you. And by that, I mean, I need to get rid of this demon.
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I'm passing this on. Yeah. I don't know where that kid is now, but I can't imagine they're
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doing very well ever since I cursed them. Furbies are ooky spooky. I do not like them.
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And they never needed to come alive. No, they didn't. They absolutely did not.
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None of us did really. I don't think any of us. At the end of the day.
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What's that spy kids quote where it's like, do you think that God stays in heaven because
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he too fears what he's created by Steve Buscemi? Do you know that line? That is crazy.
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Yeah, I do. Even as a kid, I was like, whoa. And it's so real. So real for that.
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And he's talking about little dinosaurs on a mountain. And he's talking about Furbies.
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And he's talking about Furbies. And us. Literally. And us. Furbies. Just the two of us.
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That's us. Just the two of us. Do you personally identify with a Furby? Because I do.
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They freak me out. I remember my brother got one one time. I think in like a white elephant
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game. And he was kind of spooked by it too. Because he was young at the time. Yeah.
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And he was like, I don't like this thing. Because it was almost like it was listening
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to us. Like the Alexas. Yeah. You know, they're like listening. Sometimes I talk and I just
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be talking. Sometimes I just be talking to myself. And sometimes my Google responds to
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me. And I'm like, girl, I wasn't talking to you. With like opinions. Yeah. She's like, well,
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that's because I'm like, shut up. Like I say things like that. And then my Google
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go, that's not very nice. The attitude. But also like keeping you in mind. That's
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really funny. I've only seen like the videos of people's. I think it's Alexa that like
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periodically just laughs. And I can't think of anything worse than walking around my
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house. That would scare me. Interviewing myself like I'm doing like 60 minutes or
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something. And like being like fully in character crying about like an Oscar that I'm
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probably winning in this fantasy. Yeah. And then all of a sudden I hear like an Alexa just
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be like. Not her being shady. It's awful. But again, keeping me in line. So maybe
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there's something to do there. But yeah, sometimes when I was when I was working, I
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would do those, you know, those Vogue videos they do where they get ready with like
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they do their skincare. She's doing a thousand steps of moisturizer. Oh, so good.
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Or they do their makeup or something. Yeah. Sometimes you just pretend when you're
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doing yours. You're like, next, I'm going to be going in. Oh, if I'm late for anything,
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it's because I was in my mirror being like, and I'm going to take this decision now. It's
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bougie. I know. But I got it recently and it's really changed my life.
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Don't skip your eye creams, ladies. It's really important. I like to put on the under eye
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mask while I do my eyeshadows. It keeps it hydrating. It just fall out. Meanwhile, not
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doing the step. Just saying I'm doing it and then not putting anything on my face. No
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products around me. There's a really fun performative aspect to doing. I don't know
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if you've ever done like any sort of press up where you like have to do your makeup and
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they like set it up. But no, actually, no. I had to do it. I had to do one like yesterday
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for some beauty brand and they they wanted me to film it like real. So they were like
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filming at home. We want it just like propped up like as if it was whatever. And like I
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think muscle memory. I just was like, OK, I'll like do my makeup how I always do. But
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then I forgot that I'm like I'm basically a drag queen because I'm doing like trans
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makeup, which is like beard block, like 10 stages of powder. And so like while I'm
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filming it, I was like, this is going to be promoted to like our like cis moms and like
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their friends. Like they're not going to understand why I'm painting my face like a
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pumpkin. Maybe they find it entertaining. Color theory. Yeah. It's important. Allyship.
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Yeah. Are you an ally or aren't you? Are you an ally? Do you support this pumpkin or not?
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Prove it. Literally prove it. God. I'm with you. I think too. I with. I feel like when I do
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my makeup, I don't talk at all. So I feel boring when I do it. So I haven't had to do
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anything like that yet. But I also have a professional hair and makeup artist. Like
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I did one one like TV thing like with a brand and they told me to come. They're filming with
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like high def cameras. And they were like, oh, the focus is skin care because they do
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skin care and makeup. And then they're like, we want you to come bare face. And I'm
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like, right. How bare? Because I'm two weeks. I'm like two weeks away from my major hormonal
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stages, which means my skin's not skinning. And then I was like, when you say bare, do
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you mean like bare or do you mean like no makeup, makeup? Right. And they're like, well, it's
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really up to you. And I was like, OK, so no makeup. Makeup's good. Sounds good. Right.
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I did not get that memo when I first started doing makeup videos like for whatever featured
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content. And there's like a there's a video. I've tried to get it pulled before, but it
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just like they won't. They're kind of like you made this bad lie in it. There's this
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video I did where I was supposed to be doing my makeup on an airplane. So I'm like on an
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airplane set. And the idea was they were like they like really stressed the come bare face
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thing. And I didn't know at the time that no one like that's just like no one does that.
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You usually show up with like foundation and then you're like, I'm just doing eye makeup.
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Right. So I showed up completely bare, bare minerals down. And I was like, OK. And
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then I did. I had a horrible mistake, which is I didn't bring anybody, which I've learned
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now for like personality videos. I'm like, bring a friend because these people on the
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crew a lot of the time sometimes are like, at least for me, sometimes they're like straight
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and sometimes they're like dudes. Oh, yeah. I know you don't really like to talk about
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straight men in any of your work. So I'm not. Oh, I love to talk about them. I like
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to talk shit on them. Right, right, right, right, right. I actually, funny enough, saw
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the like Jonah Hill stuff when that first came out and I was like, I just know you're
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having a field day. I was like, I just know your stock just went up. I was so excited for
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you. But yeah, anyway, anytime I have those videos, I'm like, I've learned two things.
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Don't come bare face even if they ask for it. And bring a friend who will laugh at all
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your jokes in case the straight people on set don't.
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You're telling me. Sometimes I'm firing off jokes and I'm like, man, is this thing
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on? You're like, are you guys just the most boring crew on planet Earth? Everyone must
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have like headphones and their focus on a call or something. It can't possibly be because
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it's absolutely not me. I can tell you that much. I'm hilarious. I'm glad. Yeah, I feel
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that way, too. I get what you're saying, though. It's nice to have like someone with
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you. I always have a friend. At the end of the day, it's nice to have friends. It's nice
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to have somebody that you like around you. I always bring my mom and my sister to like
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anything I film, anything and everything I film like. And it's like a running bit now
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with people that I are used to seeing me and filming and any kind of filming capacity because
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they're like, anything you drew, she has like a plus nine, which is true. I always bring
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it's always just my family. Like, yeah, my entire family. I'm like, I'm going to need a
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plus eight if that's cool. I love that. And then they're like, you get one. I'm like,
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okay, four. Final offer. Right. Four. Final offer. You got to start with 12 so they work
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you back to eight. There you go. That's the trick. You overshoot. Yeah. And then they're
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like, I'll give you two. I brought my parents to something for the first time, which was
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when we did like the, it wasn't like a traditional premiere, but it was what we were doing as
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a premiere for Glamorous. Yes. And I decided to invite my parents because I was like, oh my
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God, they'll get to see me all glammed up for the first time. They'll get to see some of
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the show. Like, it'll just be so great for them to celebrate. Yeah. And so they came and then
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I forgot that it was like a Q&A that I was doing. And so there I am like up on the stage
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answering questions. And the moderator was like, so what was your upbringing like as a
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queer person? And how do you feel now? My parents and I have been on a journey with that. They're
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super supportive now. But I realized that I started to earnestly answer. I was like, well,
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growing up in Texas sucked. I was like, it was really hard for me and my environment was
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not great. And then I realized they were like right there. And so then I was like, but now
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it's great. I love visiting. I miss Texas so much. The food is just so lovely. Like
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I've pivoted so fast because I was like, oh, for the first time I've had my parents directly
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in front of me. Yeah. They thought it was funny. You're just so honest, girl. What's
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your sign? I'm a Pisces. Love. Yeah. I wish I knew more about all of that because every
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time I tell people that they're like, that makes so much sense. And I can't tell if they're
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reading me or if they're like, oh, I love that. Yeah. It's always like, I, yeah, they're
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like, oh, yeah, I think you're, you're just fighting your emotions every day. Yeah. Find
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those demons, girl. There's a lot of them. I honestly, this is their vessel. I'm just
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a guest. You're a guest in that house. Yeah. I'm an uncomfortable guest. The one that like
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you're out, you offer water and they're like, no, I couldn't possibly like, that's how I am
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in my own body. Yeah. When you're, uh, talking about like premieres and stuff, I'm sure you
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do lots of like work things. Like, have you ever had anything embarrassing happen when
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you go to like premieres or like events or brands or, um, I mean, sometimes, I mean, I,
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I did this, there was a, uh, it was the LGBT centers gala that they were doing recently and
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it was like the first carpet that I had done in a, like, I think since I had started transitioning
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even. So I was like, I really want to like show up and just like gag people, really give
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them something. Um, and for whatever reason to me, that meant bringing like a Momo stuffed
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animal from avatar, the last airbender being like, this is my new thing. I was like, I
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have red hair now I'm debuting it. And then I went on the carpet for it and they like took
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the photos and I was like, Oh, I feel so fierce. And then the photos came out and there's like
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fully a hair from my bangs, just like plastered across my face. And I was like, first of all,
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homophobic that no one said anything. Second of all, transphobic that the photographers
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took and posted the photos. And then now when press runs about me and they like pull those
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Getty images, sometimes they pull that one. And I'm like, there's like clearly, it looks
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like I'm trying to do that like editorial thing where it's like wet hair plastered to
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the face, but it looks like I didn't finish. It just looks like I did one and then I had
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to go to coffee. Um, love. Yeah. I actually, I actually have a Getty like that too. At a party.
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Yeah. I was like, Oh yeah. I was at a Rolling Stone party because I was, um, in their creator
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issue. They featured me in there. And so it's like a big, it's like a big party at like the
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mansion. They filmed Scarface at whatever the fuck people were doing. I'm like, yeah, I'm
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like, period. I've never seen Scarface. I've never seen Scarface. Uh, all the film bros
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are like, what? They're the ones who love watching. They're like, we love when you take
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us down. Uh, yeah, I, I, I was on that carpet. It was like the world's tiniest. Like it was
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like this short, this shallow, like the photographer. Yeah. Like if I reached out, I could grab the
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camera. Like that's how close they were to me. And so like, I'm like, okay, yeah, no,
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for sure. Great angle. Love that. Super uptight. Love. And it's like a DMV photo. And so they're
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taking, and I'm like, okay, so I'm like, okay, I'm going to look up Getty's later. When I
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saw them, girl, there's like a big, like I had like a big blowout. So my hair is like curled
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out, but there's one hair that's like this and it's so distracting. I didn't know it. And I don't
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use facetune. So I was like, maybe I could facetune the hair and I don't know how to do that. Like
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I don't have the tools. You just have like a blurry brown line across your forehead. Cause you're
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like, that'll do it. Yeah. So then when I posted it, I literally just cut my head off because if you,
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if like when I, uh, in the grid, I literally just, it was like, I cut this whole house so
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you couldn't see the hair. So you look like a Facebook mom that like didn't know how to crop
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the square. Yeah. Like I didn't know how to, how to work the dimensions on Instagram. I love that.
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I love it. It's like, there's an issue with something. I'm just going to crop it out.
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Delusion. I'm going to live in it. It's like lips down. It's very like seductive and like sweet,
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but it's just because there's like a wonky lash. Oh yeah. It's delusion at its finest for me.
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Yeah. At this same event that the hair fiasco happened, I, I wore this pair of shoes that
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were like, you know, like the clear like PVC vinyl or whatever. I, they were like, that's
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how the toe part was. And yeah, those hurt. I don't know about you, but I am one of those
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people who worships and believes in the house of press on acrylic toenails, specifically
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French tips, because I'm just too lazy to go get like my toes. I feel you. So I'm like,
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Oh, I'll just press them on. What I didn't account for is that your feet get really sweaty in
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those PVC things. And so this didn't show up in the photos, thank God. But at some point
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in the hour and a half I was at this event, all of the toenails came off within the shoe.
00:19:00.140
They're just floating in there. So literally I like, I got in the car after and was like,
00:19:03.980
that was fun. I went to take off my shoe. And literally I was like, where are my toenails?
00:19:08.120
And I was like, there's like some under my foot. There was some like in the tip of the
00:19:11.240
shoe. And then there were some just completely gone. So like, there's just toenails all over
00:19:15.420
the LGBT center, which I'm sure I've, there's been a, uh, lost and found of toenails over the
00:19:21.100
breadcrumbs all over there. Like Hansel and Gretel. So then I was so embarrassed. They had
00:19:24.620
like a roaming photographer and I was like, any photos they took of me, it could be at any state
00:19:28.100
of toenail. Like I have no idea. Yeah. Honestly, who's to know at that point? I'm also just a mess
00:19:34.260
with press songs. I mean, I, I'm such a press song girl and, uh, I did KTLA, which was the only time
00:19:38.900
I've ever done anything live. Yeah. I was so terrified. And I had these press songs on and I kept joking
00:19:43.980
that one of them was going to fly off on air and I was going to be like so embarrassed. And then while filming
00:19:47.960
it literally, I went to put my hand down and my hand like scraped the table and one just flew off.
00:19:53.440
And I didn't know. I was like, you only get like a minute and a half. Yeah. And if you're live,
00:19:58.360
they are like ready to cut you off. And so I was like, do I make a joke or do I just like let it
00:20:03.000
fly? And so I just let it fly. There's just a nail. I was like, great. This is my impact. I also on that,
00:20:08.960
um, interview, I was trying to make a metaphor about queer people just wanting to live like normal
00:20:15.520
lives like everyone else. And so the metaphor I usually use is like, I like to get up in the
00:20:20.180
morning, have my coffee, go to the grocery store, come home, go see my friends, like everyone else.
00:20:25.400
But I got like nervous and I was so like, uh, I felt rushed with time that I literally was just
00:20:29.640
like, queer people are just like you. Like I like going to the grocery store. Like I literally just
00:20:36.200
like left it there. So then my legacy has now become that I like going to the grocery store.
00:20:40.820
Um, and they're like, okay. Yeah, literally. Great. I think the interview. Thanks Ms. Benny
00:20:46.460
for your contribution. I know like I'm really at the front lines. I I'm not quite throwing the
00:20:51.280
first brick at Stonewall, but I'm definitely picking up a brick at some point. You're over
00:20:55.240
there. You're in there. Trader Joe's. Yeah, girl. Ontario, the wait is over. The gold standard
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There's like one of the first live things I ever did was I hosted a carpet for Black Adam like the
00:22:04.920
movie in New York and it's in Times Square and they told me like maybe an hour before that it was
00:22:11.640
going to be live and I was like oh period love that. Nightmare though. Yeah love that and so it's
00:22:16.700
live streaming on TikTok and then they're also streaming it to the big screen in Times Square so
00:22:21.700
like where the big bleachers are that everyone can like look at that screen like you're watching me
00:22:26.820
and Chris Olsen like we host it together so we were like oh slay love that for us so they're like
00:22:33.720
it's live so you got to be careful what you say like don't cuss don't say this don't say that we
00:22:37.800
have in-ears so we're like listening to producers at the same time and then there's an echo so you can
00:22:42.660
like hear me like 10 seconds later and so Chris was like this is too much for me and I was like I
00:22:51.680
know it's a lot it's like well it's like it's okay we got it I'm like holding us down even though
00:22:56.380
I'm nervous too I'm like we got it. I love you taking the position of like babe we got this. Yeah
00:23:00.460
so easy. And I before I went there because I walked first and then I went back to my spot
00:23:06.780
and I told them when I go back to my spot are you guys okay if I change shoes because I'm not going
00:23:12.080
to be able to stand in heels for like four hours interviewing and they're like yeah yeah totally so I
00:23:16.940
like brought a flat shoe my manager bless him was holding them in a bag for me. Love it. And so I
00:23:21.340
changed my shoes and I'm like you're not going to see my feet at all right and they're like no no
00:23:25.160
not at all I'm like okay okay I'll take the word of the producers I'm going to trust you and so then
00:23:32.100
we're live and we're like they they're like oh banter like just like kind of talk about what you're
00:23:37.080
wearing and talk about Times Square or whatever we're like oh are you excited to be here like we're
00:23:41.060
like talking to each other like yeah and I was like yeah girl and then we're talking about each
00:23:45.020
other's outfits and I'm like well I had to change my shoes because I can't stand in heels but
00:23:48.260
you know it's all right and then the cameraman goes down like this girl my feet on camera my feet
00:23:54.160
in Times Square your flats my flat and my bare feet like I'm like my dogs are out and you're
00:24:00.380
putting them in the Times Square billboard everybody passing by is like hell yeah we got some toes
00:24:05.300
oh now we're talking that's crazy and Chris was like on the mic he's like yeah and he goes oh and
00:24:11.920
they're on camera because they're like so not only are they on there he's calling out that they're
00:24:15.980
they're drawing attention to the fact that yeah and then we're looking at them and I was like
00:24:20.480
speechless did you give a wiggle I was like well I had no choice but to like move my feet I'm like
00:24:25.640
yeah okay well we can pan that back up we don't have to look at those at that point you just have
00:24:29.660
to like plie or like do something so weird so that you just like spread them really hard yeah like
00:24:34.940
push your toes over as far as you grip the front of my sandal white knuckling your toes um my like
00:24:40.920
one of my funny Kim Cattrall stories is we we were in heels all the time on the show but
00:24:45.300
obviously again if they're not on camera like we would wear comfort shoes and for me mine were like
00:24:50.480
my platform purple crocs with I love platform crocs they're the best they're kind of hard to walk in
00:24:56.360
sometimes because they're rubber so you're literally just like wobbling but yeah love them so much they're
00:25:01.080
also like the height I am in heels so it like works for like height camera stuff I don't know
00:25:05.340
technical things people have relayed to me but yeah I uh Kim's were like a chic like I don't even
00:25:11.420
know what's like cork it's very like Lizzie McGuire shoe like it was very chic I should have taken that
00:25:16.500
note but I had this recurring bit with all the castmates where like right before a take would
00:25:21.940
start I would look at them and be like oh you have something oh I'll tell you after and then like they
00:25:26.840
panic it was like a horrible prank I would play but I got karma got its kiff for me because then I had
00:25:32.560
I was about to do a scene with Kim who I'm like so intimidated by no matter how many times we work
00:25:36.180
together and we're about to walk into the scene they're like calling all the things and then
00:25:40.460
they're about to say action and she just looks down at my shoes looks at me and just goes
00:25:44.540
and I was like she got me she gagged you she literally twisted my own game on me
00:25:52.800
and you know what she was right my feet did look funny
00:25:55.340
she kind of ate me up a little bit you know with crocs they're little holes and you can see your toes
00:26:00.240
she could see like the space in between my toes where I didn't have gibbets it was so
00:26:05.040
embarrassing um but then when I went to like tell the other cast about it I was like I can't believe
00:26:10.060
Kim said that they were like you act like you don't literally do that girl that's different yeah I'm
00:26:14.820
like no that's different I'm like being silly she was malicious girl that's comedy look it up yeah
00:26:20.680
she got a good laugh and uh she got me I do get what you mean about the the height disparity thing
00:26:27.000
are you tall are you tall I'm like five nine I'm not really tall okay I'm pretty I'm pretty tall
00:26:31.980
without heels but like uh I filmed some sort of like commercial thing and uh the guy I was filming
00:26:39.480
with is like I'm six feet tall so the guy I was filming with is like probably like 5 10 5 11 okay so
00:26:46.540
when we did wardrobe like when we had meetings about it I I was getting styled for and I told
00:26:51.760
them like oh just so you guys know I'm tall right like I'm tall bitch like uh so optics wise if it
00:27:00.280
matters like I maybe don't give me a heel because I'll be like way taller than him and then I'll be
00:27:06.280
looking down and I don't know if you guys yeah I don't know if you'll like that so and they're like
00:27:11.460
yeah yeah yeah no worries they style me they put me in pretty high heels so I'm like okay well maybe
00:27:16.620
he's tall I don't know right and so we get to the shoot and we're like fully ready and we stand next
00:27:22.780
to each other and like I'm like four inches taller than him and when I saw them all they were like
00:27:27.780
oh you meant tall like tall tall and I I think they meant like five petite tall like a small tall
00:27:35.120
like little girl tall that's crazy did they put them on like an apple box or something no they
00:27:40.860
changed my shoe they cut off my leg from the knee down actually I'm stubborn from this yeah they
00:27:47.220
made me sit yeah no they literally put me in a like a I was calling them like eighth grade promotion
00:27:52.340
heels you know what I mean like the little tiny like square block heel at that point you should be
00:27:58.620
barefoot that's what I'm saying I'm like what's at one point because I was just standing for hours
00:28:03.320
like we that shoot day was probably like 10 or 12 hours I literally told them I'm like do you guys
00:28:08.080
mind if I just stand in my socks is that cool it's like more inconvenient to have like if it's less
00:28:13.380
than a kitten heel yeah it is it was far less than a kitten heel it's harder to walk in yeah then you're
00:28:19.880
walking on like a mighty bean yeah it's like not on a jelly yeah it's like not even it's not supporting
00:28:26.200
anything yeah and it's like they pinch so hard because the shoe is just so the way they're built is
00:28:31.720
just so awful so I was like do you guys care if I just like stand in my socks right and they were
00:28:36.620
like oh no no yeah you could take them off and I and I took them off and it didn't matter because
00:28:40.720
then we were more eye level at that point anyways because he had like a a healed like loafer on they
00:28:45.680
should put him in a pump that's what I'm saying I'm like why don't you give him a heel and let me
00:28:49.720
stand in my flat shoe one of my favorite things is when I um anytime that I when I was like presenting
00:28:55.000
as a boy and I would do these acting jobs where I had to have a stunt double for whatever reason
00:28:58.820
um the stunt double they like they just cast who's like adequately able to do this stunt they don't
00:29:04.480
think about like the optics of what I'm doing in the scene and so the amount of times a stunt double
00:29:09.540
has come in who's usually like a straight guy and then he has to put on whatever shoe I was wearing
00:29:14.760
to do the stunt and he's like never walked in heels so then there's like a shot where all of a sudden
00:29:19.280
I'm just like oh like running in these heels it's they're lucky that I like camp because I think
00:29:26.480
that's so funny that's something really amazing about it being me being like oh let me just jump over
00:29:31.780
this really quick I mean it like cuts like the Hulk like jumping over in a pump like that works
00:29:36.920
for me but I imagine it wouldn't work for everybody I'm just a different kind of girl that's crazy a
00:29:42.520
stunt double is crazy I knew someone to me is crazy I knew someone that did a um they had a stunt where
00:29:48.420
they were in high heels and they were on a motorcycle they were like driving a motorcycle and
00:29:51.620
then they like get off the motorcycle really fast and like I don't know do some cool thing yeah and
00:29:55.800
so they had like a motorcyclist stunt double but he was like genuinely so butch and had never even
00:30:02.180
touched a pump in his life I don't think he even understood what a pump was so then they put him
00:30:06.660
in it and he like does a motorcycle thing and then he gets off and just like hobbly-lobbly like
00:30:11.080
walks over and my friend was just like how do I like teach this guy to like strut in the like 30 minutes
00:30:19.740
to like serve cunt right it's like do I have to play the cheetah girls like I have to start young
00:30:25.180
you gotta inspire jump right away I know it's a process yeah there's baby steps to being um a diva
00:30:31.020
either you got it or you don't and that's what we've always said yeah and that's what I've always
00:30:34.800
said and I've always said that literally when it comes to diva hood okay so on to our topic for today
00:30:42.040
today our topic we're going to be talking about living authentically as yourself so you're someone who
00:30:47.600
I read your time piece by the way which is so incredible and I find you so inspiring in many
00:30:53.580
different ways obviously you're hilarious and so talented but I also find you very inspiring for
00:30:57.400
how you're choosing to live so authentically and still actively working and having an online presence
00:31:03.040
so what has that journey been like for you oh my I mean it's been a long interesting journey because I
00:31:11.640
uh I just like started out being a public person on YouTube and doing music when I was like 15 and
00:31:18.060
at that point I hadn't like fully formed my identity but at the same time I was being given like notes on
00:31:24.800
my identity so you have this weird thing where and I'm sure you feel this all the time too but it's like
00:31:29.620
you're being rewarded for something you're exhibiting publicly at the same time you're deciding if you
00:31:34.260
even like it yeah so then you're in this weird thing where you're like I don't even know what I like
00:31:39.120
purgatory yeah and so I landed in that for so long which complicated so much of my self-discovery and
00:31:45.440
then I like unintentionally kind of stepped away from social media and everything when I was like
00:31:51.640
20 21 at the beginning of the pandemic and then um that sort of allowed me to like take inventory
00:31:58.320
of everything that I had sort of done and it's funny because a lot of the work that I had done
00:32:03.100
was exactly what I want to do but I just was so go go go I hadn't processed it so
00:32:09.020
it's funny like my intro to like music and my intro to being a youtuber was always about
00:32:15.180
gender related topics and self-expression and then now looking back I'm like how did I not know I was
00:32:21.460
trans when I was literally 14 being like I'm just such an ally I think if you like to express yourself
00:32:27.280
differently that's great like I the signs were all there I just wasn't reading them and yeah now I'm
00:32:33.320
just super grateful that I get to um sort of opt into that position rather than before I felt like
00:32:40.180
oh I'm here now I might as well like be this yeah I love being authentically me and I love doing it
00:32:47.020
the way that I do it oh perfect okay so and we're also gonna kind of talk about how the internet can be
00:32:53.520
like a way to be representative for so many people whether it's intentional or not so I feel like once
00:33:00.080
you get the platform it's like what you said it's now you're choosing to opt in as opposed to like
00:33:05.680
yeah almost being like and well I might as well do it since I'm already here yeah which I totally get
00:33:11.340
so um first video we're gonna look at oh for those of you who aren't familiar what we do here on the
00:33:17.500
comment section is we bring videos that I was tagged in that are applicable to our topic today and then
00:33:22.140
we either make fun of them kiki about them or I guess that's pretty much it nothing really else to it
00:33:28.880
only two options only two options someone or you kiki with them that's how I navigate through life
00:33:34.460
exactly okay so this first video um has pictures of a couple with the caption I started dating my
00:33:41.220
boyfriend when I was very feminine and went by she her then after four years I came out as non-binary
00:33:47.060
in the end is a video of them super happy and crying with the caption and today he referred to
00:33:52.140
me as his partner instead of his girlfriend for the first time which is so sweet we don't get sweet
00:33:57.900
videos very often on here that's what to say I was like I was like waiting for this to turn she's
00:34:02.100
like and then I whooped his ass and I was like right right well I'm uh you know obviously it's
00:34:07.980
called the comment section so the comments are always the worst part right but very often not
00:34:12.540
very often do we have videos that are sweet oh and meant to be sweet yeah like in their very nature
00:34:18.660
and intention so this first comment obviously I can confirm that all these comments you can't see the
00:34:25.300
names but they're all ugly men okay but this first one says I'll never understand why this generation
00:34:30.600
is so starved for attention because that's what it's all about gender expression is purely for
00:34:37.780
attention I'm biohacking my body I'm zapping hair out of my face entirely so that you'll look at me and
00:34:44.400
just for attention yeah no I yeah I mean growing up queer I literally the the number one thing I was
00:34:50.900
like don't draw attention like keep people away you know I can't help it that I'm just so magnetic
00:34:56.900
people just want to look at me I'm just so popular I mean I can't help it that I'm so sexy
00:35:03.280
and so funny and so smart humble and so humble what always blows my mind about those kind of comments
00:35:09.580
though is because I get these on my like I just started tiktok recently and I've started getting
00:35:13.320
those comments now and it always blows my mind because I'm like isn't tiktok algorithmic yeah I'm like
00:35:18.420
how is this showing up on your feed calls coming from inside love giving the girls attention
00:35:23.240
that's why I always think like is is that the case maybe or do you just want to give them all
00:35:35.280
your attention like I don't know are they just drawing your attention like do they want attention
00:35:40.520
or is that just something that piques your interest it's also like sometimes I found like when my time
00:35:45.780
article came out a lot of the like transphobic backlash like was kind of complimentary in a
00:35:51.340
weird way where like there was one guy in particular who responded and was like oh this guy's had a lot
00:35:56.520
of good work done and I was like I haven't even had ffs I was like you think I look that good like
00:36:02.920
he was kind of calling me hot you're like I'm serving con no he literally was like wow you literally
00:36:09.160
have you look great it was if you take out the like man part I was like this I actually like this
00:36:15.900
comment a lot you're all misgendering aside you're attracted to me yeah I was like you could maybe
00:36:20.900
misgender me a little if it means you're gonna say I look amazing there was I I've gotten comments
00:36:26.840
before that were like it's like they're glam photos so obviously like I'm in like two hours of hair and
00:36:32.100
makeup so obviously I'm serving your body is like three inches below whatever you have on exactly like
00:36:37.060
I'm I'm super like operating from the highest level of like beauty at that point uh and I'll get
00:36:46.540
comments like yeah she this looks good but like without those hundred pounds of makeup I'm like
00:36:53.700
pause I made that pee pee wiggle a little a little bit and you're like and guess what I have the
00:36:59.380
makeup I'm like six more weeks of winter huh I heard it I love that I also love that like I find
00:37:07.000
that comments like that are people who are like uh you tried to trick me and you almost got me
00:37:12.740
but you didn't get me this if it wasn't for those meddling kids yeah and I've always like
00:37:17.120
do you think do you think that I'm just like a I'm stiff in here for like two seconds I mean if I
00:37:22.160
have a full face of makeup I'm going everywhere with that makeup it's not coming off until seconds
00:37:26.680
before I go to bed exactly and sometimes not even then yeah I don't advocate for that but I will
00:37:31.920
say it's true Sam Sam I've woken up with an eyelash on my forehead before I've just been like that's
00:37:36.780
my new eye I've woken up and it's missing off my face and I don't know where it went yeah yeah you
00:37:41.340
don't even know if it's at your house it happens to the best of us I used to but someone has it I'd
00:37:46.300
get drunk at house parties I would just be like watch this and I'd take my lashes off and like put them
00:37:50.120
on like a potted plant or something and I always to this day wonder at what point somebody who like
00:37:55.800
whoever's house it was was like cleaning and was like is that those fucking eyelashes on my like
00:38:01.880
that's your calling card like Zorro yeah that's how you know I was there scene of all my crimes
00:38:07.340
oh my god one time I think one of the few times I like didn't remember everything from like me and
00:38:14.380
my friends we had like a raging Super Bowl party when I was in college and I remember the next morning
00:38:19.020
I'm like why does my throat taste like ash like did I like eat a pile of ash and someone's like
00:38:25.600
oh you were smoking cigars all night cigars who has cigars hello father I'm like we're all
00:38:32.120
teenage girls like who has cigars I love the idea of some girl at a Super Bowl party
00:38:37.180
all right guys I'm pulling out like a three inch diameter like and then my friends show me pictures
00:38:43.340
of me holding it I said where did I get that I just let me smoke a random cigar I hope the first
00:38:49.620
photo was like the full length cigar and then the next photo was an hour later and it was like a
00:38:53.400
tiny little nub and you were just going in yeah I wouldn't be surprised if I ate it like a carrot
00:38:58.860
stick that's what my throat is like a shark bite literally I was like like a popsicle you think it's
00:39:04.560
one of those jerky sticks stick up the whole car that was me going watch this and I just eat a cigar
00:39:09.760
hole yeah and everyone was like you just did that you were like and that's called being a performer
00:39:15.760
honey you could never oh it's called comedy look it up yeah oh my god my teeth are just ash black
00:39:22.360
like they're just coated and it's like that chocolate trick where you like chocolate like
00:39:26.380
frosting you put on one tooth but it's a cigar it's like horrible they're like she's she's honestly
00:39:33.080
she's my friend okay be nice to her that's them defending me that's so sweet oh my god well thank you
00:39:40.300
so much to the wonderful miss benny for joining us today you are an icon and a legend I adore you
00:39:46.480
thank you I think you're so fun before we leave do you want to give any advice to anyone who may be
00:39:53.160
struggling with or grappling with wanting to live authentically as themselves whether it's in real
00:39:59.680
life or online yeah I mean these are things that I'm actively learning about my transition right now
00:40:05.420
and myself right now um the two rules I'm trying to follow are to be patient um I think sometimes when
00:40:11.860
you're wanting to be yourself you want to go from like zero to RuPaul like you want to be like there
00:40:16.160
and you just have to be patient with yourself and realize you're in like a new stage of puberty a lot of
00:40:21.260
the time and like relearning things that no one ever taught you when they should have um and the other
00:40:26.420
thing I say is to protect yourself whether that means to advocate for yourself and speak up for
00:40:30.860
yourself or if it means to take time to heal to give your brain some space to get your nervous
00:40:36.960
system together um those are like the two principles that I found have been so helpful for
00:40:41.180
me as a when I was living as a gay man and now as a trans woman just allowing myself the space to
00:40:47.080
enjoy the transition and enjoy the time I mean being your authentic self is not a destination it is a
00:40:54.120
day-to-day thing and you know some days you just it's not happening and some days it is and you
00:40:59.520
gotta honor that when it happens yeah absolutely and also if you're thinking of bleaching your brows
00:41:04.640
I get it I did it you should try it but just make sure you have the other color you're gonna put in
00:41:12.020
to fix it later there just so you have it just in case yeah you need that I recommend that sound
00:41:17.880
advice yeah if I'm here to say one thing it's bleach the brows but understand there's a time limit have
00:41:23.500
a safety net yeah have a plan b when it starts growing in and you're like I don't want to do this again
00:41:28.280
well thank you so much to the amazing miss benny for joining us this week uh where can
00:41:35.160
everybody find you everyone can find me at miss benny on everything except for tiktok I'm I hate
00:41:40.580
miss benny um it's not indicative of how I feel about myself at all I'm sure but uh we can talk
00:41:46.440
about that later um otherwise you can listen to my debut ep swelter or you can watch glamorous on
00:41:51.940
netflix very fun show very silly please hate watch it please make fun of me it is such a good time
00:41:58.160
thank you so much for joining me I adore you you're hilarious and thank you so much for joining us
00:42:04.000
on this episode of the comment section show remember new episodes drop every wednesday
00:42:08.000
exclusively on spotify and I'll see you next week bye