Even if you are a person who tries to live in there like truth or I don't give a fuck or whatever, like we all have that thing that causes us to question if we are doing the right thing. And, look, I'm not going to lie. I haven't found a fucking penny today, you know. Yeah. Hi, everybody. Hi. Hi, hello, it's me, it's busy, Phillips, how are you? This is busy, Phillips is doing her best, I am doing my best.

Some days are better than others. This week's been particularly tricky, I think, for everybody.

Casey St. Onge and I, Shintaro Jackson or WEHI. Yeah. Now, guys, I got to tell you, you at home, I am not I'm not at my house anymore. I'm in. A different city. I have left. And I am never coming back. I don't know. No, I just I, like, had a crazy thing happen. And the crazy thing. Was that I like, freaked out and I had to get out of L.A. with my family and I think a lot of people are feeling that and, you know, in like recovery therapy terms, sometimes people call it pulling a geographic when you just, like, try to change your location to feel better about things.

I think that, like, collectively, a lot of people are pulling a geographic right now.

But at the same time, I had like very real health things going on and I couldn't breathe. And I was just feeling like so sick and weird and. We had been trying to like, you know, see, there goes my throat again. We'd been trying to find a house to rent somewhere else, like within the. General vicinity of Los Angeles. And we had been trying since we got back from South Carolina in August and like put in some applications like, no, we were just like rejected by everyone.

It felt like I was getting a sign. And I mean, this is like a real pivot. Like I'm like, it's crazy. And then I was talking to Mark. And. I was like, look, in New York, what is there is there something we can just rent in New York? And he was like, are you serious? And I was like, yes, the kids are on Zoome they would probably for school. They'd probably like it better because they don't even start school till noon, which, by the way, today it was the first day.

And they do like it better.

I can do like my podcast and all of my, like, zoo meetings from here on.

I have some I am working with this writer woman who lives in New York on a totally different project thing, and so that might be good that I'm actually in near her like, I don't know, I just was like.

But that wasn't it wasn't even like a consideration about work, it was just that I had like, you know, how, you know, animals get like right before there was a storm or like an earthquake or whatever, and they like. Fly away, yeah, real fast. I had I feel like I became one of those birds that was like I'm I got to get out right now and.

So we found this place and I was a great let's go. I like just backed up everything that we thought we could take for, and we rented this house for like a month and I feel like I just needed I mean, I don't know, it's kind of a geographic, but I do feel better. And I really also wanted to meet my friends, baby. And I said, Ted. Yes, well, that baby had just my baby had.

Well, who likes you? Yeah. I hope it makes you feel better. Feel like Casey's mad at me. I'm not mad at you. I'm I'm mad at everything. But I'm not.

I get it. I get it. It's just like it's just really hard and I just. Yeah. And I don't know what to do and I feel like everything's a fucking mess. Everything is a mess. It's one of those things that you can control. Right. And sometimes it's just I mean, know one can see my zoom, but last night I took every book and every picture off the wall in my apartment and started packing. We're not leaving for like two and a half weeks.

I'm moving apartments. But I was like, I don't need these books out. It's like a thing that you can control.

And no matter how big or small it is right now, like sometimes it's like, what can I do that will actually help me because the government won't.

Yeah. So how do you help yourself right now?

I feel like you have to do what you have to do. And there's no there's no rulebook for this.

There's no guidebook for how to feel better in this situation. So for me to try to tell you what you should do, I, I never could because like, how would I know?

How would anybody know? And there's other stuff for our people at home who like the stuff. I don't you know, it's interesting.

Like, I, I have such obviously like people think that I share logit everything online and and on this podcast, you know, even in just our five episodes, I feel like we've already covered I mean, everything from like pooping at a car dealership to I mean, I don't even know why, but like and more and more were that more where that came from bleeding on chairs.

But but there there's also like other extenuating circumstances in my with my home in L.A. and like and just why I really felt like I had to just get the fuck out and like move and I mean, just be away from it for a period of time at least, and figure out what we're going to do. But it's also really hard for me just because I, like, love that house. It's like where I had my kids and so, you know.

Like, I just. I think about birdie, there is a little baby and yeah. I know when people are like, are you, like, moving for good? I don't know, I might be. You got to do what's best for you.

It's a lot. You have to do what's best for you. I swear to God, I'm not mad at you. No, you're not. I'm like struggle, I swear to God. But even but even if I was mad at you, that would be my problem, not your problem.

You know, you're just you're just trying to do your thing. So, like, even I'm telling you, like, even if I was mad at you, I'd be giving you permission to not give a shit about it.

Well, I do, but I wouldn't be you. I know you don't care too deeply. I care, too. Can I just tell you guys what happened when we got to this house last night? So we were like, this house is really beautiful and like it's really nice, but it's not necessarily like set up for two little girls.

Like the bedrooms are not well, like something to look at rentals on Airbnb or whatever, and like you can find them where it's like here's the room with the bunk beds and here's the room with like the princess bed or whatever. Well, I mean, you guys know Marc Arless for our listeners at home, that's not his vibe. Like he does not gravitate toward.

Like that, for instance, when we did, I feel pretty in Boston. I trusted that when he went early with his partner, Abby, writing partner and directing partner Abby, and they got their houses that he would pick of a place that we would all be comfortable in. For the like Litoral, six months we had to live in Boston over the summer, he and I had and cricket was too, is that right?

Was she turning three, I think. Probably around three. Ataya, let's say she was little, she was in a stroller, guys. This guy is like found the best place is going to be great. He picked an apartment in, I don't know, Boston that well. But like, if you're listening and you do, I think you'll get what I'm saying. He picked an apartment in an area that's like the financial district in Boston that after five p.m., everything is a ghost town.

There's nothing there. Everything shuts down and there's like nothing for children like you. There's no part like you can't walk. And and the apartment itself was like like glass furniture. And like it was just I mean, it was like crazy. And here this house that we rented here looked look and looked incredible. But I just do think that, like, getting into any new place at night can be a little weird, especially for kids. So anyway, yeah, there's a lot of art in this house.

Oh, boy.

It's like some real art. And both girls in their bedrooms, the bedrooms are nice like that for for them to sleep in, obviously busy. What else would they be doing in them.

But they both like Bertie had like a. Visceral, like, oh, hell no, like the art sukkari, it's not great. I mean, it is a little scary. Yes, OK. All right.

There's like I, I, I would take a picture of it, but like to respect the privacy of the homeowners who I'm sure I'm and I really enjoy this house.

I'm not going to post it.

However, also I like art. It might be art. I don't know if it's all right. We might find I don't know.

Our friend one time she was staying in a place she rented in New York and she called me and she was like, there's a picture of you bare ass on a toilet in the stairwell.

I was like, oh, I know whose house. It was my good.

A former boss of mine that I given him like a gag gift of me pooping on his toilet because he hated when people used his toilet and he had it hanging in his room.

No, no, not Dave young man in his very fancy place that he didn't live in often and sometimes rented.

So I know that this can happen.

Art is a thing or two, then it's very personal. Oh, my God. We that first of all, though, I want that picture to you.

I'm going to like here's we're going to do I'm going to do like. A virgin, I'm going to use crickets, Koreans, and I'm going to like do like an approximation of Wyatt and I'll take a picture of it and I will post it for our visual learners this week.

So anyway, guys, I am doing my best in that. I'm like doing my fucking best. I don't know. I'm like a little bit flailing. I don't know what the heck I'm doing. I do know that I have my vote by mail thing coming and. That that I'm going to be able to vote even if I don't make it back by November 2nd. But I am feeling a little weird, but I do feel like weirdly feel better today.

I do feel better, like physically and it's good. I mean, the air quality is better there.

But for sure, there's no there's no question about there's no question about that.

But I also think that sometimes you have to do we keep saying it, but like and then everyone doesn't have that scope. Like, we fully understand that everybody's not able to pack up and move across the country, you know?

But like even like I have friends who, like, are just like but you'd just like sometimes it's like, what can I control? You know what I want nachos tonight. What can I control? You know what? I'm going to build new furniture. I'm going to rearrange my house. I'm going to start baking. And there are scope's of these things. And now there has never been a better time to be like, you know what? I'm going to do that thing, that's for me.

Yeah, I need to do with my health, my wellness, my good, my my whole being, I feel like you bring up a really interesting point, because I realized that one of the things that I've been struggling about with just this is that. This was the thing that I felt I just felt very strongly about it, like since we came back. From South Carolina, I was just like, I can't stay here anymore and. And I think that there's a version of myself previous to the pandemic or whatever, that would have just been like, OK, but that's crazy.

And so you're just going to stay put because that's what we do.

Like you just like you just stay the course of a thing and it doesn't make the most sense for you to do that. Also, there's also extenuating circumstances, like my husband's family is all on the East Coast and he's like, you know, there's like some health issues with his with one of his parents. And so I like we're closer if we need to be if we're on the East Coast.

So, like, yeah. Five, ten years ago, you've been like, I want to leave because my health and I want to go because to Mark's parents and someone would be like, well, that's selfish of you to say that out loud, but it's like, fuck you.

There's also like a pandemic of apology. I feel like because like even, you know, even if just what you're doing for yourself is speaking up and saying how you honestly feel about something, you know, some people never do that. I never did that until I was like in my mid thirties. I was always, like, biting my tongue for whatever reason. I didn't want to hurt someone or I didn't want someone to think of me in a certain way or whatever.

But it's like only, you know, you and only, you know, what's within your power to change. Only you know, what will what you feel will make you feel better.

So, you know, so but that's but that's like I think this is I think hearing this is valuable for other people.

Kacie, I know it's like right now valuable for me hearing what you're saying, because I do think that so many of us, like, feel beholden to what other people are going to think or say or judge us by. And like Casey and I had like an offline conversation where I wrote back and I was just like we it was like a whole thing. But I was just like I just I'm sorry I said this thing. I felt like people were going to judge me and I didn't.

Not just you, but like everybody. Yeah. And she was like, who fucking cares? Like, you know, it doesn't if people are like what she said, show to. But I do feel like that because historically speaking, A, that's been true. And be like for everyone and be. Even if you are a person who tries to live in there like truth or I don't give a fuck or whatever, like we all have that.

Thing that causes us to question if we are doing the right thing and look, I'm not going to lie, I haven't found a fucking penny today, you know what I mean? Yeah, I'm not kidding. And I might get to my penny. You got to get out there and get your wallet also to be very. I have to. Yeah, I didn't like doing that. Maybe when you move that fucking art, you'll find something back there.

OK, Santero, what have you been doing your best out other than packing two weeks early? I have been really trying to find a decent dairy free ice cream and I think I found one last night where it's made from cashew milk because, like, I was so mad that I, like, had to buy it because, like, I really been I really been stuck on my body just straight out being like, I know you're not supposed to have this, but you can't eat this cheese today.

So I, like, truly was in the store and like this week. And I was like, you know what, I'm going to drink this tea. I'm going to take my probiotic. I'm going to get a vegan dairy free ice cream. I'm going to try a new flavor. I'm going to try to listen to my body. And I went ahead and did it. It's called So Delicious, Dairy Free, and it's made from cashew milk and oat milk and almond milk and coconut milk are fine or whatever.

But I feel like they always taste like coconut, like I just it's like, oh, this is chocolate coconut, but this cashew dairy free ice cream, I put it in my mouth and I was like, all right, buddy, we can do this. We that that's what I did. I want to get that one, you know, which one was like advertised to me on Instagram.

And I purchased immediately what? Craggs Ice cream. Craggs Vegan ice cream. Oh, I'll put on weight. Listen, it's from that restaurant. Craggs here and there in LA, not here in L.A. because I'm not here in L.A. They're in L.A. and and I guess they were having they had like so many like crisis's restaurant in L.A. guys, Hollywood break. We're like not currently because pandemic, but it's like any time you're there, it's like definitely Jennifer Aniston is there.

And probably I'm like probably like if Howard Stern's in town, he's there.

It's like a crazy celebrity. It's like the Ivy. Before I moved to Hollywood, I knew that the Ivy is where famous people ate a salad. I think so. Yeah. I think the people don't. I think famous people don't really eat at the Ivy anymore, but they definitely eat at Craig Craig's. Craig's is the new idea because regular people from Tallahassee, Florida found out about the Ivy and they were like, no. Well, now I'm now regular people from Tallahassee, Florida, could know about Craig's, but there's always like a like a throng of paparazzi out front, like waiting.

It's on Melrose and like in West Hollywood. And but anyway, I guess they started making vegan ice cream because so many, you know. Famous people, in order to keep it quiet, you can't have any milk. Yeah, and so and so and it was like it's so popular and delicious that then they started selling it and I fell for it on Instagram. And boy, do I love it. It's all right.

I'm going to try it. I'm going to snickerdoodle, though, but it's really good. And it felt like I found the pin in the grocery store because I truly, really did try to get really good dairy free ice cream. But I hated all of it. And I was like, fuck, if I wanna spend seven dollars, you better believe it. Better taste good. So I decided to try it yesterday and I found a penny in the frozen food aisle and then I'm on board.

I'm proud of you. Casey, what have you been doing your best or not doing your best at this week?

Well, there was a thing that I was trying really hard at for a really long time, and it just wasn't working out. So I gave up on it. And so I feel like I didn't do my best. And that was that I was trying to find Chris Evans is Dick Pics.

But I really I love Chris Evans.

I think he's a great guy. I think he's he's always like a gentleman. And in case you don't know, I don't know how you wouldn't know if you're on the Internet. He accidentally leaked his camera roll on Instagram of what happened.

I couldn't figure it out. I think you shared it. He accidentally shared a screenshot. I don't know, because I never successfully found it. I think he accidentally shared a screenshot of his camera roll. And there were like possibly intimate photos.

There was a dick. But it looks like it might not even have been his dick. Like, I don't like a bunch of names of his face who is eidetic. Would it be a.. Maybe saying, I don't have her. And there's dick pics in my phone from the Internet, so I was looking for it.

But because he's such a beloved figure, so many of his fans just tweeted and posted nice pictures of him doing lovely things and being a hero and being fantastic, that it buried the dick pics to the point where they were like unfindable by the time that I found out about it.

So after, like several hours of scrolling, I eventually had to give up. So mission accomplished, Internet warriors.

And I'll tell you, like the reason I wanted to look at it, like the way that you look at a car crash, it's not nice, but it's hard not to look.

But also, I wanted to look at it, too, just to, like, balance the scales of justice a little bit. Even though I love Chris Evans, so many women have had their phones hacked and nude photos have gotten out on the Internet and like or more intense things from.

Yeah, more intense things. So, you know, so I just felt like, you know, I just wanna see it like it's out there. You know, there's a lot of things I wouldn't look at, but I did try to look at that one.

And I think I think for me, one of the things, too, I did in that no, I didn't know it was a dick pic. So I just saw Chris Evans trending and I was like, what is it? And then I looked and I saw it like immediately I was like, I got there early. I was like, oh, my gosh. But then the thing that really got me is how everyone, like, rallied around him to protect him and take care of him and be like, it's OK, you're a great guy.

And I was like, why can't we do this for women? Like, I really, truly respect that. Like, truly Hollywood. Everybody was like, this is fucked up and we really need to take care of cap. And it's like, wait, so you know how to be good to people whose nudes have leaked. You just have chosen for it to only be a white man that you cared about.

And I was like, OK, what really made me think back to that interview with Anne Hathaway when Matt Lauer asked her about the up skirt shot that was taken of her and like, she was clearly so uncomfortable and it was just like a really like what place did that have on the Today show?

It really made me think of all these situations where women have just been given the business over these similar things happening. But, you know, Chris Evans, because he is fantastic, handled it in a wonderful way.

And then he encouraged people to vote. Right. He said, now that I have your attention, let's vote. You got a little treat now you have to go vote.

And then you went on Tamron Hall in and he didn't really say anything. She asked him about it.

And but the way that he reacted made me sort of feel like it was a picture of his dick.

But I don't know. I don't know. There was a little I don't know to this day. I've not seen it in the in the instances like what what did they call it? Like the fat burning or whatever, when all of the actresses phones were and computers were hacked and there were all these like nude pictures and really racy things happening that was all vile.

That was like all a violation. He just messed up and like, put a dick pack out there like that. You know, that was a big ass, just like a. A very interesting no matter how you feel about Neutze, everyone is not on board for looking or looking at them, but I do think that there is a conversation to be had about how we respond to them, whether they're famous or not. So if your truth is that you would die to protect a dick pic from Captain America, you've got to hold that same fucking truth for somebody who's not a racist white man and yet speak up.

I because I do like Chris Evans so much and really not even like in a he's hot way. I just like him as nice and he's like, yeah, he's from Massachusetts.

So that's a big deal for me, you know. But he also just seems like like a really good guy.

So I of course, concocted like some story in my head that like maybe like subconsciously he leaked this nude to sort of balance the the scales for all the women that this has happened.

Do you think I I mean, he dated my friend Jenny Slate. And I do think that he has tried and expanded his horizon in terms of his feminist views and stuff. You know, like. Yeah, you're not dating Jenny Slate if you're a musician. Yeah. Yeah. It's not that's not. Yeah, that's not happening for you, sir.

There was also something saved on his camera roll that was like a thirst, you know, blue steel kind of picture of him that had been turned into a meme that said guard that pussy, which I was entertained, that he had that on his camera, that that I did.

So, yeah, maybe. But maybe you're right. Maybe it's like maybe it was like his weirdly feminist accidental feminist. It was his. I'm not going to give him any credit.

I mean, if you give zero credit, maybe subconsciously he was trying to like, normalize it so that next time this happens to a woman, we can all not act like next time this does happen to a woman.

Now, we can point to this incident because like before, we didn't have the proof that we had people. You know what I mean? Yeah, right. The man like that. Yeah, we got it. Yeah. Now we have it. So we got receipts baby. We got those got receipts guys. Right before we we're going to move on to our incredible guest who in the first time in Busy Phillips is doing her best history. What I mean, that episode episode episode of the six six.

Yeah. Happens to be friends with all three of us. Text, text. We all we all have each other's digits. They've eaten food together, volume. We've broken bread with free drinks, drink drinks. Anyway, before we get to that, I just do want to say because I just like opened my Twitter because I always like to know, is there something that's like happening immediately that we should talk about?

Because this is while we started talking. Did something happen? Well, kind of, yeah. Two things doing their best. I know Casey's a fan. I'm a fan. If you're not into the Nande Bushell and Dave Grohl situation. It's so cute. It's cute. It's great. It's heartwarming. It's going to make Hollywood great if you're not on Twitter. Oh, I'm going to post it. There's an L.A. Times article. I'm going to post it for you guys and is just really incredible.

Young Tammar, she's ten drummer. She's a ten year old drummer. She plays the guitar as well. She loves Dave Grohl, who is, yeah, a friend of disease.

And she this is the thing I know she loves Dave girl. She loves Nirvana. She loves rocking out. And she makes these really wonderful videos and she's like built this friendship with her idol, Dave Grohl. And, you know, I don't Kupferman, he's like a nice man doing something from like a young musician who, like, is good and seems to be happy. And he was like, you know what, let's fucking jam. And that's cool.

That's cool. The drummer for Nirvana, the lead singer from the Foo Fighters, had a jam session with the ten year old girl. And it's fucking cool. Yeah, I have to say, like I am friends with Dave. Full disclosure, I actually have known his wife since college. We went to college together, but like he's a great dad.

It doesn't surprise me at all. He's like an excellent father and like so down with kids and like just a really fun, good person and it's real. I just have really enjoyed this story in a time when I think so many things have just been so sad. So if you haven't you haven't got up on it. I really highly recommend checking it out. It's really cute. It's very cathartic.

Also, Lenny Kravitz is a big fan of hers. And what's so adorable, just to prepare you, is that she's an adorable British girl and she calls everyone Mr Grohl. And, you know, like she has a hard time calling them Lenny and Dave, which I think is adorable, but.

The Cornish accent, yeah, yeah, British accent OK, and then finally, this is actually news, Louisville settled with Briona Taylor's family, a 12 million dollar settlement. Here's a thing, significant police reforms. But I mean, Brianna Taylor, I literally cried for her, have cried and continue to that is taxpayer money. So fuck them. I don't know if we're cutting that out, but like, no, we're cutting that out. She's all right.

But fuck them. Taxpayer money. We pay for everything they do bad. We pay for it. And that's fucked up. So that's all I have to say about that. But it's like it's always good to just start to think critically and to be totally honest with you. Like, in a way, I didn't even think about that 12 million dollars as being taxpayer money until you brought it up. Santero. I was like, oh, yeah, that makes all the government's going to pay for it.

But I'm like, wait, who the fuck is the government? Oh, right. Oh, right.

I only wanted to bring it up because I do just feel like in the in this time and when there are so many, so many, many, many, many things happening and so many things to focus on, we have to remember. That we are capable of holding more than one thing, multitudes, maybe watch that video of that girl playing the drums and then donate to a bail fund.

Watch the video.

Now, listen, we're going to we're going to move forward. We're going to just keep honestly, we're just going to keep putting one foot in front of the other, pushing ourselves to do better, pushing other people to do better. Like you've done something, Louisville, you've done something. But we feel like you could do better. And we feel like there's still a problem that needs to be addressed.

And we'll continue to to push you to it. Yeah. Speak truth to power and ask you to, you know, to bring justice to Brianna Taylor.

Uh. All right, my heart, my heart, my heart is so happy, though, that we get that we were able, the three of us, to have our dear Ashley Nicole Black join us. And have a little chat about Pivot's and congratulate her on her. Like forty seventh Emmy nominations. You guys, we the three of us love Ashley, Nicole Black, so much such a.. Known her the longest probably, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Since Chicago. Chicago, seven, eight years. Nine years.

Nine years. When did you guys meet? Gosh, a really long time ago. We met we met online in like a women's writers group to that more morphed into like a radical feminist group.

Oh, cool. You're always like a part of the coolest things. OK. And I met Ashley. I mean, I followed her online and was a fan and like then just met her through KC basically. But yeah, I love her. And she's my friend too now.

So thank you guys. I really hope you enjoy this conversation and I hope it's as much fun for you as it was for all of us. Yes.

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So I love this program because I know that we're all like trying to stay out of public spaces, probably still trying to socially distant.

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I mean, because that's the thing, right? Like, I remember when I was a kid and glasses were so expensive and you get like one pair of glasses, you know what I mean? And if you break them, your mom is like, well, you better take those up because we're not getting you another pair of glasses.

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We love it. And also every pair of glasses they sell, they distribute a pair of glasses to someone in need. So that's really nice. And you can just feel fantastic about your new fashionable glasses because you're helping one of the one billion people worldwide who lack access to glasses. The important. Casey, thanks for bringing that up. Thanks, Warby Parker, for doing your part. Hi, Ashleigh. Hi, I'm looking forward to this all day.

Yes, I'm so glad, so happy you're here. I love you.

Yeah, I know. Let's just start this this interview off with full disclosure. Ashley, Nicole Black is not just a television star. She's also a very close friend of all three of us.

Yeah, I love her more than anything. You may be the closest friend of all three of us. Truly universal that we ever talk to. Maybe.

Yeah, even you're the only one that all three of us, I think, have texted that that type of like me and Chelsea and I listen to every episode of the pod. I'm like a stand off, like crazy. I've heard every episode in its entirety.

I have an evening stands when we talk about when we talk about taking it to the group chat. Ashley is a member of one of the very important group chats.

Yeah, very important VIP. That group chat really got me through Corer. I have to say, I was the VIP group of getting me through core. I have.

Yeah, you go, you go. You have like different group chats for different reasons. And like that's the group chat for like guys. I'm going to eat nachos only for the third day in a row and I need someone to tell me it's OK.

And everyone's like, yes, yes. Me and Ashley had a group chat with Amber Ruffin and like we watched Smash Smash live and we were like, oh, we three people who watched MASH.

OK, so together I never watched it. Was it amazing?

It's so, so good. I was it was so good. Yeah.

I'm maybe I'll watch it, maybe I should get into it. Well it's also fun. You have to watch it with someone who like has your same sensibilities because we were mad about the same stuff. Yes. We were like why do they seeking like that.

I love that show so much. And it has one of my biggest pet peeves about a show when a show will try to tell you this person is a better SIGIR, this person, you're like, no, I'm watching the show.

No. Yeah, I can hear their voices stop lying to me. It also did that.

It also did that thing where somebody is like the villain iest villain ever. Yeah. And then like a week later, people are like, let's give him another chance.

Did you guys ever watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? Yeah.

So I watched every episode Mito Mito since since we all like came from come from the comedy world. And you guys are sketch comedy queens. I was like fascinated by Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Guys, if you're not familiar with Aaron Sorkin's like, dramatization of behind the scenes at like an SNL, but what was so funny to me is like that they kept talking about how Sarah Paulson's character, who's like the lead of the Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, like, is the funniest person of all time.

And like, if you can't like and and she was so good at impressions, but like, it was clear that Sarah Paulson's best impression was the dolphin.

The dolphin do it like in every fucking episode of her doing the of her doing the dolphin. And obviously, Paulson is like an insanely talented person. But any time you write in that, this person is like, but she's not. Kate McKinnon is my point, you know what I mean?

Like, she like to be fair to her, she might be.

It was such like men written television where they're like, that's a catch up with how funny the woman is.

But they never gave her a joke. They never let her be funny. They never let her be funny except to do the dolphin thing. Yeah.

And then she does the dolphin thing and then she's like, what I like honestly, in retrospect, it was kind of funny.

How did you guys ever hear what is it true that that character was based on Kristin Chenoweth?

Well, kind of, yeah. Because like. Oh, because they were dating he dated her. You know, I, I like tested for the part that Kristin Chenoweth got on the West Wing.

Oh. Well we just love her and West Wing though. Yeah. I like testosterone. I really, I really like me and I should. Yeah. Tyler you and Tyler yet at the same time honestly. Not honestly. We kind of are if you think about we're just like, like very tall isn't she. Like six one. I am going to look it up right now because I really want to know if it's true. But I do think like usually when you made me this famous person busy, you've met more famous people.

I mean, like, they're so small, but. Yeah, and she's like, hell tall. Right. But she's very tiny heads every time I.

A famous person, I feel like my head is giant because they all have such small heads, really. I find it to be true. Big time, yeah. Big heads, big eyes, big features, big heads. I mean, my head is abnormally large.

How is your face?

I don't want to rat out who this person was, but one time I was at the Emmy Awards when Friends was like in its heyday and all the friends ladies walked by. And the famous guy that I was sitting next to, this older guy, he hits me on the arm and he goes, look at them. They look like apples and pencils.

Oh, my God, she's six feet. I just look it up. Yes, she is. Well, we're not here to talk about the jobs I didn't get or celebrityhood size or celebrity headlines. We're here to congratulate our dear friend on her, Eminem. Are you excited?

Oh, yeah, I am. But like, normally when it's the Emmys, you're like trying on dresses and doing all this stuff. And because there's no it's virtual, I keep forgetting it's coming because I'm not doing all the like crap. When you would do. Yeah. Do you think maybe you should do it just for fun.

Well I said I'll do the top half. I'm wearing sweatpants but I'm going to dress up at the top or, you know, the person that likes.

How many Emmys have you been nominated for? How many of you won you've like? I feel like you have some one one. I think we were nominated six times, six or seven times.

So how about you lost count, baby? I don't know what I'm talking about. And and how do you and how many times did you get to go?

And I've gone I mean, this sounds so Bragi, but I've gone every year since I started working in television.

I mean, shot up because of the power, the great I love the flex, the dress.

Sometimes I do feel like sometimes like all the writers don't get to go when they're nominated. Or do they always all get you know, I took in late night.

A lot of times you do because late night writers get individually nominated where it's like on a scripted, scripted show. Everybody worked on that episode, but one person gets nominated.

So but yeah. So that's fun. So you've gone before us. You've worn the beautiful dresses. Oh yeah. I think I remember you were there. Were you there last year. No.

Yeah. And we were you almost the same dress you would me. Yeah. Yeah that's right.

You had like other strapless version and I had like the version with sleeves of like red sequins.

Yeah. Remember that one. Yeah.

Was that the, the way I mean maybe that was I was the Golden Globes.

Yeah. We might get the same dress at the Golden Globes. We get a picture. No Michelle. But we didn't go to any party is she.

Was pregnant, I was like she was when she was pregnant, she said, we don't go to any parties. We left and changed and then went and ate at John and Binnie's. And I remember those because I was trying to fix yes, we changed in the bathroom. She walked.

She gave that good speech.

She she always she always gives a great speech. And we want to give a speech. When you when you guys when did you get to give the speech. No part of it.

Sam gave it.

So we should say for people that don't know Ashley, Nicole Black as well as we do, because not to brag, we're all friends. But she was a correspondent and writer on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, which is where she won that Emmy and was nominated so many times. But now now she's a writer and performer on HBO's Black Ladies Sketch Show. And that is what she's currently nominated for, an Emmy for that people are like, I hate this girl.

I hate you. What do you do?

Like, you're successful and like, nice. Like there are people who are nominated for stuff. And I'm like, fuck that person. I could lose everything forever. And then you I'm like, I hope you win an Emmy for directing even if you didn't direct an episode.

I want you to win all of the awards for everything I do.

Yeah, I like getting dressed up and to me that's I'm like, oh, if we get nominated for an Emmy, I get another dress. That's a lot.

That's so funny. It's funny. It's so celebratory.

I love that you love it. I don't love it. I haven't been in a while. But one time I went to the Emmys and at the last second I just decided I hated my dress and I just wore my slip away.

I remember that. I've heard this story. I know the story. It was a very nice slip and it looked like an understated gown. But I was like, I'm here in my underwear.

That's what people do, show up in their other rooms.

So, yeah, it's the first time I went I worked as a P.A. on The Simpsons movie, and when The Simpsons got nominated for their Emmys, they get nominated every year and they're over it. They were just like, who wants to go to the Emmys?

And my friend went and we had like bridesmaids dresses because we were just like, well, I was at a wedding this year. We put out our bridesmaids dresses for them. So, yes, I love it was great.

Also, by the way, that's essentially what the gowns are, you know what I mean? Like like last year I wore that Lila Rose dress. That's what I wore to the Emmys last year that like light yellow dress. And I feel like I've seen that little rose dress sense in a version of it. But like, just like it would be like a dress you would buy to wear to a wedding. That would be fun.

Actually, this year, if everyone who's nominated for an Emmy just got out their oldest bridesmaid dress in the closet and posted, I would take a picture of it.

I definitely cannot not put these titties in that dress that was not going to go over these really put it on upside down, honestly, then maybe not least it is a bigger than some hips, I'll be honest. Do you know, Ashley, do you know what the what the plan is like if you're as a nominee? Are you guys, like, zooming in or something when it's your turn? And then if you guys like, how is it working?

I, I really don't know. I think that's what it is. I think you're like in the zoom audience or whatever. It's just like such a weird and I'm sure this is weird for a lot of people.

It's weird to be like every meeting, Emmies, everything you're showing people, your house is so it's just so weird to me to be like, well you get nominated for an Emmy and your reward is you get to show people your health.

But also like, yeah, maybe maybe everybody should use the same virtual background or something.

Yeah, I'm I just sit in front of a white wall. Yeah. Now I never even thought about that. And it's also like a lot of times, I mean I have, I have yet to, I have yet to pop my imagery.

I have not gotten yet, but like a lot of it's like oh some people might have been nominated for the first time. And it's like if you win and then it's like, that's my dog. Oh yeah. Oh, my dog doesn't show in the audience it's butthole, please.

Right.

I would hope that like one of my children wouldn't show that would be concern. It's going to happen, someone's baby is going to like one zero one hundred percent, going to be a butthole this year, tune in. We call this a reversal for the first we want we want that butthole created a celebrity butthole. Oh, I love the Black Lady sketch show.

And I feel like you guys were very prophetic in your writing of it.

Unfortunately, yes. It seems really weird now, doesn't it? Yeah. And I hadn't even thought of it that way. But people started tweeting like you guys predicted this. What's going to happen next? Because on that show, there's a storyline where all the women are quarantined together and it's the running gag of the of the series.

Yeah. And I think we were like, what's the craziest thing that could happen? Often in comedy, you're like, what's the craziest thing that could happen? We'll write that. And now all those things are happening. What do you think it was and Ashley, what do you think it means? I mean, right now with the fires, the sky outside right now looks like the cutaway shot in that show.

I don't know if it really does. Yeah, I started freaking out. Are you freaking out a little.

I mean, I'm not I wouldn't say I'm freaking out, but I did finally. You know, I want to say, like a month ago they told everybody, pack a bag and I never did it. And then this week I looked at the sky and I was like, I'm going to pack that go bag.

So I did do that.

Can I ask you just like because I love black ladies get show.

I feel like it brought a lot of joy in to like our lives in a moment where we needed joy.

So a year ago, black ladies got show came out. We were all so excited for you and supportive and white and we loved it. And then, you know, then you guys got nominated for Emmys, I mean, and the world shut down. It's just a very different world than it was one year ago. Right. And I guess, like, I don't know, I'm just sort of curious what your feeling is even about like award shows, like about the Emmys and about like like given what the last six months has been, has it?

I don't know.

It's interesting because like, part of what people were talking about, about this Emmys is like a lot of black people got nominated, which is great. And I think, like, insecure is the best example of a show that, like, everyone was like, oh, my gosh, insecure got nominated this fourth season. It's amazing. But they've been doing amazing work for four years.

So I think when stuff like that happens, it is kind of a bittersweet thing to be like are unlikely to get show. Our director was nominated for directing the show, which she absolutely should be. I think she took sketch to like new heights with her directing, but she's the first black woman to be nominated in that category. And it is very bittersweet to be like, no, there have been like amazing black women doing amazing work for a long time.

And it's like kind of weird when people are, like, finally getting nominated for something.

Yeah, it's like that overnight success idea. You're like, hey, you you found about it last night. Then they were there at 10:00.

This is ten years in the making before I even got to show up, you know, so it's like a question to of. Yeah. Like do you ever feel not you because you've been to that I mean so many fucking times. But like I wonder if the feeling is ever like, oh, now you want to like, pay attention to the, you know, the work that's being done by people who aren't white, like cool. You know, like if there was ever that kind of like I don't know, like I just feel like.

The Emmys and the Oscars have just traditionally populated their voting bodies with the same types of people that, like, you know, have historically run this industry and they're very, you know. All the same, and so like people love to like point at the people who work in Hollywood, love to point to the Oscars and be like, well, the Oscars are so racist because they only nominated these films and blah, blah, blah. But in order to be eligible to vote for the Emmys or for the Oscars, you have to be working in the business.

The reason it's white is because you don't hire non-white people on your shows, like the people who are eligible to do that is out of the pool of the people who are working in Hollywood. And like it's a real thing in Hollywood where everyone can point to somebody else. The show runners are like, oh, the studios don't want us to be more diverse. And the studios are like, no, we would love more diversity, but the show runners aren't doing it.

And it's just like at the end of the day, it's probably you like whoever you is that's listening to you.

Yeah. I also think that like that we talk about the group that is like, yeah, sometimes I do want to be like, fuck the Oscars. Will I take the Oscar? One hundred percent. Do you know what I mean? And I think that's it's like a bunch of people who got Oscars been to the Oscars. No, no. Somebody's name, Oscar. It's going to be like, fuck the Oscars. And I'm would be like, yeah, but I would take a nomination that would help me a lot so that I can hire more black and brown people.

Give me the thing. Because until we get to a place where when I say fuck the Oscars, it's six people nominated for six black and brown. People know that, like, I want them to be like damn Oscars. So black, like two and two white people get mad about how black the Oscars are. Give it to me.

Give you the Oscar.

Also just I just have to say, I wanted to be on a recording. The basic ball, actually, my God is the greatest thing on television. And I know that that technically does it. It's on television forever. All the time is the best thing, the most relatable guy. Davis, is that is that your director? Dum dum dum. Yes. If you want a starting point, I feel like I don't know, I'm sick of shit.

Go watch the basic ball. It is perfectly shot, perfectly written by but actually go back and just literally a perfect sketch. A perfect. You can't hurt one of my favorites too because it just frustrates me so much. I, I love that there's so much more gay representation on TV, but all the gay people on TV are so hot and I just like I know a lot of regular gays, like a lot of people are just out here trying to get their kids to preschool, you know.

So I really wanted to celebrate the average gay.

And I'm so glad that baseball was so beautiful. And I was like, I embrace it, too. And I love that my basic ass is just on HBO. Yeah.

Finally a ball I can with this. You got to see it to be it. But guess what if you already basic go watch it, it's there for you.

That to me is like the best thing about being a writer performer is being someone who's like well I'm basic looking and I can't dance. Let me create a world where I can wait.

I also love your your, you know, action movie character Triniti.

So good.

I mean, just just talk a little bit about, like, how you came up with her, because I love it so much.

Yeah. I have literally always thought this is like part of I guess what makes me a writer, but also what's weird about my brain.

I am truly always believed in my heart of hearts that I would be a great spy because people like don't see me like it happens to me all the time.

Like I'll just be like walking down the street and a man will literally walk into me like one time a lady touched my face with her face because she got me.

I was like, Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you there. And I was like, I'm a large person. How could you not see your field of vision?

And so I just always thought, like, I would be such a good spy because I could just get in and out of the party without anyone seeing me.

And when I knew that I was going to do this show, that was the first thing that I was like, oh, I can finally bring this spy to life because I have a sketch show.

I just identified with it so much because like, well, I think everybody feels invisible sometimes. But I have also had that experience where people are like, you weren't there. And I'm like, I went there. We took a picture together and they're like, and then they're like, what?

What were you just saying? Were you just here just now?

And I'm like, I'm here talking to you right now. What? I've been here the whole time.

It's very frustrating and I don't know what it is, but I'll tell you that, yeah, it's strongly identified with that and it's just painfully funny. Yeah. When I was. In New York, people would always steal cabs for me. They'd be like, I didn't see you there. I was like, I'm touching the camera, but you're sitting on me. Why are you in my cab, actually? Oh, you can see me on your TV.

But it's such a weird thing.

I do think that it's like I do think it is kind of a superpower to be able to, like, disappear in a way.

I think it is.

I have come to enjoy it because it's like I got angry about it my whole life. I was like or I would be angry about it. But then I'm just I'm just trying to like, think about it like I mean, it's good for a party is great. I love to sneak out.

If you want to sneak out of a party, it's great if you want to sneak into a party and stay for 10 minutes, you know what I mean? Because if nobody remembers you were there, you were like, well, if you ain't going to remember I'm here, I could stay for ten minutes instead of four hours, like, make this work for me.

But if you want to get a drink at that party, fucking forget it. Oh, no, that's it.

You have hot friends for get me a drink. Yeah. Oh yes. But I have come to enjoy I feel like especially working in Hollywood, there is that moment like you know, you go on these meetings or whatever and people are like who's this bitch?

And then it always takes me five, maybe ten. It most minutes for that person to like lean forward and be like, oh my God, she's good at this. And I just decided to like instead of being resentful that I didn't get that from the first minute, I just like to clock and wait for it to happen. And then I'll just look at the clock and be like seven minutes and just enjoy the game of like, how long is it going to take you to notice that I'm here?

And it's like a fun thing for me.

Oh, I love that. To own that power because, you know, I loves to be underestimated. Yeah. Yeah. I said you love to be underestimated. I feel about I was just about to say that I was I was about to say I don't I did. It used to be the thing that was like that would drive me the most insane. Like when the person at the dinner party who like fucking went to Harvard or whatever would like look at me and tilt their head and say, oh, that was really funny, you know, like, yeah, motherfucker, I get it.

You know, like I understand what people's first impressions of me are. And it used to, like, really upset me and drive me crazy. And then in the last I had a turn and I was like, this is my superpower. My superpower is exceeding people's expectations. And like that, I'm able to get away with some things because they're not they don't see it coming, you know? And I think that's the same thing. Like on one hand, you could be like it's really fucking shitty that like that lady just walked into me.

I'm on the other hand, you know, that moment, the turn when somebody realizes like, oh, I didn't pick pocket her.

You stabbed her power, Ashley, is what I'm saying.

You have all the power, all those cards in your little hot hand and say, OK, guys, one thing you don't know about me, maybe you do. I don't know. I love pictures of things. I love pictures of things. I love artwork. I love the artwork that people send me. I love the picture of me on top of that sandwich. And what ends up happening is that I collect these things and they sit on a shelf in my closet or on top of my bookshelf because taking them to a framer is exhausting and a process that I do not have the time for the patience, the energy.

And to be totally honest with you, sometimes the budget, sometimes I would much rather buy one of my pretty dresses and get a bunch of things framed or like honestly, one thing framed. Like I always feel like any time I've tried, it's like what it costs, what to frame that picture. OK, so I have to tell you about an amazing new service that I've found that exists. I didn't find it.

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So but we invited you on to the podcast because we wanted to talk about a big pivot that you've had in your your life and times. So do you have, like, a big pivot story that you can share with us and our listeners?

Yeah, I mean, I feel like I have a lot. I think probably the biggest one is I started doing comedy when I dropped out of a PhD program. So most comedians get started.

I a die avoiding me. I avoided grad school for comedy.

You are smart. Yeah.

So what were you studying in your PhD program? I was doing performance studies, so I had gone to college for a theater and then I think like a lot of people after college didn't know what to do next. And literally one professor was like, you're smart, you should go to Northwestern. And that I just went like one person told me to do it. And I was like, all right. I thought I got it.

I would have that. And then when I got there, I realized that, like, oh, this isn't.

What I thought it was going to be, I actually really love teaching and I taught a lot and like the whole time I was like coming up in comedy, like the way I paid the bills was teaching. And I love working with students, especially in performance and writing and watching. People like find their voice and get confident is like the best feeling in the world. I love it. But so when I went to grad school, I thought, like, oh, I'm training to be a teacher.

I'm going to really enjoy this. But the thing is, teaching is like the least important thing you do. It's really about doing research and getting published and like being cool, like they have their own version of cool. And you're supposed to try to be the coolest. And I just wasn't going to be like I just didn't fit in that world. And I was like, oh, I thought I was just going to come and teach people to be better performers.

And instead I'm supposed to be like writing papers and then and getting cash and being cool.

And it wasn't for me, academia, academia with macadamia magic at the academy. I mean, that's how they say it, because it is academia.

I mean, I have a friend who has like her, like I don't even fucking know man like her. She's been in school legitimately since we got out of school. Do you know what I mean? And she's in her 40s.

And it is like such a journey when people go on that they really love exactly what you're saying, like the whole there's a whole system to it and like getting published and getting I don't know.

I can't for the life of me, it's not for me. It wouldn't be for me.

And I can't see that it would be for you either. It was. But I found out the expensive way. I wish that I had no that about myself. And so and so then you fat, you figured you were like, how how soon did you did you figure it out? And then how soon did you get the fuck out?

That's a really good question. I figured it out almost immediately and then it still took me four years to hear. Oh, me. Yeah, it was really tough because I feel like. When you're in like a prestigious institution or you're doing something that's like, quote unquote, the best people around you are like really invested in you, oh, you're going to Northwestern Big fancy school. Oh, you're going to get Dr. in front of your name. That's really important.

Not not a lot of black women get to do that. And I think just being young, I was like, oh, it's important to other people that I keep doing this. So I kept doing it even though I knew that I was not in the right fit. And it's like, you know, it's like wearing clothes that don't fit. It's uncomfortable all day.

It's also like an interesting thing that you said. And I want to go back to it because I think this could help a lot of especially women who are listening there.

There tends to be a thing where you feel as though even though in your heart, your gut, your brain, whatever the fuck you want to say, knows that a thing is off.

You're like, but all these other people have this thing on it. And therefore I'm going to power through because it's really important to my mom. It's really important to my friends. It's really important to my favorite professor. It's really important to all of these other people. And the thing that you need to like always remember is that you have to listen to yourself and your gut, like you'll save yourself so much time and energy and and.

Yeah, and but most importantly, money. Yeah.

I think also like there's a huge difference between realizing something isn't for you and stepping out of it and living your truth, which is a success and failure. And I think it's like, oh, I'm going to this big fancy school if I leave that I failed and people will think that I failed. And even if people think that, like, fuck them, you knowing in your heart, oh, this isn't for me and I'm going to go find the thing that is is successful.

Like I remember like we were at Second City whenever people would leave Second City, whether they got fired or they chose to quit, everyone would say congratulations. Like the thing to say was congratulations. There would be like a congratulatory showed. I remember starting out being like, why would you congratulate someone on getting fired? But like, if you're going on to your next thing, it's congratulatory, you're leaving, you're going to the next thing you're about to level up.

So actually, when you decided that that school wasn't for you and that you weren't going to finish your PhD, how is that moment when you told people like how did you do it?

I did it. I would not recommend how I did it. I rolled it out very, very slowly. I was like, I'm taking some time off. I'm taking a sabbatical. My sabbatical is getting longer there.

Finally, like, are you ever coming back? Actually, no.

So I, like, really slow, played it and didn't do it confidently. And it really, I think in response to that, made other people not feel confident about it. Like, of course my parents are worried about me. They're like, you're dropping out of a PhD and you're like doing commercials and sketch comedy, like, how is this going to work?

So I think like now and if I was in that kind of situation, I would just confidently say, I'm leaving this and I'm going to this. And I think it's going to be great or even I'm leaving this. I don't know where I'm going, but I know I'm going to be I'm going to have different problems at least.

Do you feel like that decision kind of spurred you onto faster success because you felt like you had to make a make a go of this after?

You know, because one thing I do want to point out is that one of the first things you said was, oh, I've gone to the Emmys every year since I started working in TV. And like that to me comes exactly from the place of you leaving your PhD program at Northwestern to pursue a thing and feeling like, oh, no, I'm going to the fucking Emmys this year. You know what I mean? Is that true? Do you feel like that was that was a driving factor for you to, like, get there?

There are like a lot of years in between, but I will say I felt confident during those years because it was like I chose this. I took a bet on myself. And also I wasn't like, I'm going to leave grad school and then I'm going to go to the Emmys. I was like, I'm going to leave grad school. I'm going to be a working comedian and especially living in Chicago, rent's not too crazy. There is like I know that I can make a living doing this and I don't need to be like famous or anything like that.

I enjoy doing this thing. I'm good at it. This is my purpose. And I'm going to live and my purpose and I'm going to live and my purpose in my pretty cheap apartment. So I'll probably be able to eat and I'll be fine. And I think like this success came later. But I do think that it was able to come because I wasn't like starving for it. I was like, I want to tell stories. And as it turns out, people will give you a shiny.

If you're good at telling stories, but I would have been able to tell them either way, like when we were at Second City, they have their main stage, which is amazing. And it's like a six person cast who writes their own show and performs it. And I was always like, I want them to pick me. I want them to pick me. I want to be on main stage. And then if you think about it, you're like, well, if what I want to do is write my own show with six people, I can just go get five friends and we can write a show and make it.

And we're doing the job and maybe we're not making as much money as them. And we don't have, like a fancy poster and all the things that they have. But if the part of this that's important to me is the fanciness, I'm always going to be possibly disappointed because I can't force those people to give me that. But if the part of this that's appealing to me is like me and my friends telling stories and making each other laugh and making an audience laugh, I can make that happen anywhere.

And I think, like once I decided that that was the part I wanted, the other stuff kind of came with it like it was the same thing. When I worked for Sam, I applied for that job as a writer and as someone who is also a performer. I really like was like, how is it going to feel to watch someone else tell my jokes? And they're going to get the applause and they are going to get all of the accolades of how funny they are because I wrote jokes and I am OK with that.

And when I decided that, I really was like, I love Sam, I want to work with her. I want to make her seem like the funniest person in the world, which she already is, but even more so because she'll have 10 brains adding their brain to hers. And so I was like, I'm perfectly fine with being outside of the spotlight and just supporting this person. And then a few months in, that person invited me into the spotlight with her.

But I don't think that would have happened if I had gone in and being like, I'm probably as funny as Sam.

And like everyone should know, I think that a mistake that a lot of people make is holding on to an idea that they should be somewhere else.

And I think that, like being able to recognize where you are in that moment and being grateful for that opportunity and doing the best you can at that thing is part of the in one of the ingredients that can help in any industry can help you rise, because I think too frequently people just get bogged down in this idea. It's like, well, that should be me. I should be that person. And if you're always if you're coming from if you're operating from that place, your work's just not going to be good.

It just won't be. It'll be it'll be it'll serve as something. But it's not going to be the best it can be and it won't shine. And I think like you acknowledging. That you were concerned about it, but then you were just like, you know what, this is where we are and I'm going to like help this other lady to shine by doing all of the stuff.

She was like, hey, you're pretty shiny yourself, shiny friend. Come on. You seem like not an asshole.

Yeah, I've known Ashley for a long time and even in Chicago when she was teaching, I think one of the things that she just said it, too, is that she did great work. You've always done great work. You did good work. You did great work in Chicago. And I think that that is a thing that I think people don't think about. They'll be like, I want to work. And it's like, is it good, though?

And every sketch show I saw her in, every insecurity that call writing six shows, every writing six show that I saw you like. Right. You wrote one I auditioned for it did not get it, but like it was good because I read it. That was like I would like to be in this show that Ashley wrote that I don't get paid for. Everybody wants to work, but like you do some good work and good work. Yeah.

And enjoying the process of work because I mean, it is I mean, I think like Tina Fey said this, like, you're so often going to be working at two o'clock in the morning, you better fucking love doing it.

And it's not always the like fun, glamorous parts.

You are such a hard worker. I think if anyone hates you for anything, it's that working harder.

Everybody thinks you deserve every Emmy to go, every, but you just have so much more stamina to work so much harder than many of the people that I know. And people are like, damn it, you're like the Hamilton of sketch comedy. I really did.

She was nice and I actually wrote the other fifty one.

I don't relate to writing the other fifty one and being the person who's so angry about you though honestly, so much like I both I observe and hell yeah. Sam and Sam. Yeah. If you aren't Burr and Hamilton who are you. I don't even. Yeah I was the one who was always sick. Madison, you're Madison. Here's the Hollywood break.

Doing a TV show and especially the writing of a TV show is all just like a giant school group project.

And there are always shirkers and there are always people who are like, well, I guess it's me.

I got to bring it home. I got to earn us all a, B plus. And mostly it's like a lot of white men. You're right. If you don't like white man, don't go out to television, you're going to be surrounded. Yeah. Brown and much like the founding fathers, it's all white now.

So true. So know. Are you you guys are back in the room for Black Ladies sketch. What do you call it.

I call it likely get show.

I usually just say the sketch show when I first moved here, you know, you're like you have to get an apartment and stuff like that and people like, where do you work?

And every time you say Black Comedy sketch show, it invites so much conversation, like a sketch show. I can't get it for you.

Oh, my God. I like that show. Our show. I work on a sketch show, one of many we're not. So we actually completely finished writing it and we were supposed to start shooting and then it happened. So we're literally just waiting for a coke made to be good enough so that we can shoot.

Oh, boy. Oh, OK. Have you thought about doing like have you thought about doing like the whole protocol of like quarantining together and all that. Yeah. Yeah. You want to, you want to pull a Tyler Perry. I don't know.

You know I'm very curious of people who have done it because I haven't done it yet. How I'm like a very anxious person under the best of circumstances and like under the circumstance where every work day starts with someone putting something in my nose, I'm curious how good of an actor I'm going to be.

I would be convinced that someone was like dirty will hinder and sneak anybody whistle. It's human nature. I mean, somebody's going to get horny at some point. That's what I mean. Like, there's all kinds of things, you know, it's like it's not just horny.

It's like it's like cook. These are also like the people, the people who are the people.

I am getting quarantined have like wealth and hotness. It's not like when you're like fourth grade and you go to sleep away camp and you like go out to get some marshmallows. It's like S.W. like teen hot stars are just locked in a hotel room together. They're all leave the fuck in the hotel. There's going to be this show hovick.

Maybe it would be like. Specked, that's actually a very good point. What Americans are going to do is grown kids and it's like, oh, those 14 year olds got that.

Thirty two year old man who makes a million dollars a year pretending he's 17.

Yeah, OK.

Like I did I did a commercial shoot for Olai and I'm going to tell you something. And like, they followed all the protocols and blah, blah, blah, blah.

I was pretty freaked out, especially because as the performer, because I'm on camera, I'm not wearing a mask. Yeah. So like you are as the performer, the most exposed basically. And you just don't know, like you just don't fucking know. Yeah.

I think I will be very anxious. I know. Like one thing I know about myself is I will like dread and dread and dread things and be so anxious because that's my personality. And then once I start doing it, I usually just like settle in and it's fine. So I just have to tell myself as I'm freaking out, you know yourself, you know, you're going to you're not you haven't killed yourself yet. But it is it is weird to imagine acting while you have that cloud over your head.

And it seems hard.

Oh, no, no. You OK? Around the camera or busy. It was the my zoom recorder, which is not this. There's too many things called zamka things. Yeah. My Zoomer because I have the Velcro tied up.

The cords weren't long enough. I leaned back, the cords pulled. I was trying to keep my cords tight.

Ashley, I don't know how you feel about your Gord's, but I know that you guys are hard management.

Do you guys know that Ashley is the last person I saw other than my family before the world shut down? We went on a we went on a date together to see Oprah's 20/20 vision or.

Oh, that's right. And you go down, get far without talking about Oprah. Oh, my God.

But wait, first of all, guys, because of the pandemic, I feel like we all forgot that Oprah fucking fell down on stage.

Yeah, yeah. We need to talk about it. Let's start from beginning to end. Let's we need to do everything, every detail.

Guys, we got tickets from, you know, not to brag, but somebody that worked for Oprah.

So it was good.

We knew that we were sitting down, you know, down front, but we were super late because the traffic was so bad. And then this like Usher was like, I'm going to bring you right down because Oprah's already on stage. And so we were like, so we sprinted down to our seats. And then there was like a mix up. Some other bitches got in our seats.

Fuck that, that it was a mix up. Yeah. Yeah. So I doubt it.

We were doing that thing that you do in a theater where you're trying to like not be in anyone's way, but you're trying to straighten out the problem with the seats and we're like half crouching down and all of a sudden you just hear this gasp the entire forum gasps and we like get aware of what's happening.

And like Oprah has wiped out on stage and she's wearing like little heels and like long pants.

It was just like a get out here waiting to happen. Then the heel is going to get stuck in the little pants.

And so and so that was shocking. And then what we hadn't even realized was that like then suddenly someone was like, excuse me, excuse me. And like, rushed past us. It was Stedman because he was a dead man.

Steadman broke into an immediate run the second Oprah started to fall. He's at the lip of the stage to take care of her. And I was like, I need a Stedman. That might be my biggest takeaway from now on the 20/20 vision tour.

Everybody needs a Stedman.

Ashley, we're rooting for you always.

We're so excited about your virtual Emmy noms this year for black ladies. Chacho, well deserved. And I hope that you guys take it home and I hope you guys get to film sooner rather than later, because I do personally want some more. Sketches in my life from you maybe does this season involve getting out of the apocalypse and quarantine? Because maybe since you made the first thing happen, you maybe make it unhappen?

Yeah, maybe we should just like and then they all get a million dollars and win an Emmy.

Goodbye. Like, if you're my friend, I can't wait. I'm just like I'm very. But also I'm really glad that you took your pivot. Listen to yourself. Didn't go for the Ph.D. and instead of, you know, decided that comedy was the journey because it really is clearly the journey. And we're so much better, all of us, for you being in this world. And I feel better.

And that is I don't want to drink every night. So I know that life is better this way.

Interesting. I have never had that experience. Oh, I don't know what that is.

You need to drop out of your PhD program or go into one. No, no. Maybe.

Maybe that's the key. Maybe. Well, actually, we love you.

Really love you all so much that you guys. Thank you. You guys keep me company. So I'm glad this time I got to talk back. I hope you come back a million times.

I will. I'll just start pivoting more and life so that I have a reason to come back.

Oh, well, you know, but then I was just thinking just now, if one of us can't make it Ashley Nicole Black, I'll be the Joan Rivers of the country.

Joan, you are our Joan Rivers, actually. All right, guys. Love you. And well, we'll talk soon.

We don't have anything by.

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All right, guys, we've got two cats, I know that our dog, Gina, really is the star of my Instagram, but I do have the two cats. Listen, I don't have a litter box. I never have, um. I'm not fond of the way that it smells. I have two cats. It's double the amount of things that they leave in that litter box. And I just feel like it's a constant battle and then this is a true story.

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And, you know, if you're a cat person, you know, sometimes you gotta be careful with the changing of the litter because you don't want the cats to be like, what is this? I'm not going to use this because I had cats get mad. They're finicky. They like want the stuff that they have had in the past. And you have to be real careful. But our cats immediately just went on right into that pretty litter box. It's kitty litter reinvented.

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I love her. I long for Margarita's with the four of us.

And by the way, while we await news that whether or not a black lady sketch show won an Emmy or not, they did win a T.S.A. Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sketch Variety Show. So that's the Television Critics Association.

Congratulations, the Television Critics Association, as a wonderful award to get it.

It is a T.S.A.. Is that what I have? Did I have that? No, I have a Critics Choice Award. I have won award guys. I won one award, but bring it up forever. It's good to win because the critics are the people who tell other people to watch your stuff and the people who are are like whose job it is to be like, watch this, love a black lady sketch show. In this instance, I'm going to be like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's just fun to win an award even if you win one you never heard of before. And people are like, oh by the way, you won like such and such an award.

You're like, fuck, yeah, this is something I like. It is funny because I do think there there becomes such a thing where like people are like awards don't matter. I mean I do it, you know. Yeah.

Guilty but but I'll take having one one one time I will say there was no bigger rush and literally I was like Meryl Streep must feel so fucking good all the time.

All the time. All of the time.

Awards don't matter when you don't win one, but when you do win one. Yeah that makes a little is really cool.

It's really a cool and really fun. Well we just adore our sweet Ashley. And if you haven't watched Black Lady sketch show, maybe you want to just check into that tonight because maybe you need to laugh. Let's just laugh. Definitely.

There's a really good Patti LaBelle sketch on there. Oh, so funny. So if you missed the versus go watch Ashley Nicole Black's Patti LaBelle sketch because it is very fun. We didn't even talk about verses.

So Miss Patti Bell pass, my friend, our friend, Miss Patti, who is a guest on Busy Tonight and wanted busy to drive her to her concert in L.A. the next time she was performing, because Massoudi has a garage full of amazing cars but does not drive and doesn't drive.

You know, and one thing I love about Miss Patti is she she's been on a lot of shows that I've worked on, and she always just acts like she's like a member of the family when she comes around. And she always will usually try to tell me a little prince memory because she knows that I love Prince.

She brought us pies. Yeah. Talk about some hospitality. Yeah, no, she brought pies. But she also was like, what you saying is true. Like most of the time when a guest goes on any talk show, they sort of like stay in their room with their team and they don't come out until it's time for them to go on set. And then they go on set and they talk to the host and then they don't talk to anyone but their team in between takes like in between on commercial breaks or whatever.

And and they'll be nice and cordial, but they're just like in their zone and they come and go. How do you like in our craft services room, like chatting up the crew. She was surprised. She was so nice. She was like, I love all this girly shit. That's what she said. Okay. Yeah, she was like, this is a show for girls. It's so it was so she got it.

She just shot it fun. And I was worried that she wasn't going to maybe feel me. I don't know. I just I didn't know how she was going to feel about the guy. And I love energy. She's got chatty energy. Yeah. So fun. So nice. And those guys were fucking banging the Patti pie season. So get yourself out there right now. Yeah, they're hard to get to. That's why she brought some because they fell out.

They sell out. I bet we I bet we can contact her directly about travel for Thanksgiving and a month or two or whatever. What is time. We don't know. We have this Thanksgiving right now baby. Oh my God. I have so many we have so far to go before we even get to that dumb turkey. I can't even. Oh, also, groups have been formulated, but there were so many of you that they're continuing to be sort of sort of together for the sent out.

Yeah. Sent out. So if you haven't received your group chat assignment yet. Please be patient, it's coming, there's just we don't have you guys, we don't even we don't even know how this works. So, like, we're trying our best, but it's our producer, Laura, like, has taken it very seriously and has been really trying to make sure that you guys have something in common and and just and just hold tight because those group chats are coming.

Have some people gotten them now, Casey? Some people, yeah. It started. It started OK. Well, we want feedback on the group chats to let us know how it's going. Yeah. And give us the feedback. As a group, I don't want one person like ratting out the group chat and then you're going to have to deal with it in the group. That could be too complicated. So the whole group, if you want to write us as a group and tell us how it's going, we would love to hear it.

Let's get some let's get just one letter. I think we have time for Ciardi a letter. OK, this is from Dylan. I can't really pop this picture up, but I will say this. I love the color combination. It is like a very pleasing pink and mustard. And then I can see your little face and I like your curls. OK, and Dylan says just some love and maybe some advice. Oh, hi. Positioned here.

And see, first of all, just want to say thank you for this podcast. I've been feeling super lonely and listening makes me feel like I'm hanging out with friends. I'm in love. Oh, that is so nice. We love you too. And you are hanging out with friends. Yeah, we're buds.

Honestly, oh, guys, you know, no one goes out anywhere, but I did have a lady come up to me and say how much she loves the podcast.

Yeah, fine. OK. All of that back to you is hard because we're not like in public, you know. It's just like I go out, you're like, why are you talking to me? Oh, yeah, it was someone nice.

Someone sent me a mug from Puerto Rico also.

Oh yeah. That prints mug I saw. It was so cool.

Very nice. That's really cute. How do you get your address though. That's creepy. Sorry. No, I told they they were like we bought this for you. We'd love to send it to like a P.O. box. And I was like, I'll just give you my home address. That's my deal. All right. Maybe we're going to get a P.O. Box for keys. Second, back to Dylan. Back to Dylan. Second, I would love some advice.

I'm a graphic designer and my job is up, is pretty decent, but I keep feeling ungrateful for it. It's not creatively fulfilling, but I need health insurance and a steady income. Do you have advice for how to shift mindsets or even just advice for finding jobs that you love? Thanks so much. I hope you're having a really amazing week. Dylan. Dylan, amazing. This is a hard one. I do think that. I don't know how old Dylan is, but she looks like she's in her 20s to me.

Yeah, and I think that your twenties can be the time when you're like. When you when you have the realization that maybe your job is not going to be the most exciting, exciting and here's the thing.

When you're in your 20s, you're working your way, you're working your way up a little bit. So sometimes you're doing a job that is going to lead you to something that might be your dream job. But there's like a lot of shitty aspects to it because you're just starting out. If that's true about you, Dylan, if you're sort of like on the young side and on a more entry level path right now, that could be like that's what those jobs are.

They are jobs you wouldn't feel grateful for necessarily. Let me just tell you can I tell you the thing that my trainer, Angela, who I like love so much and I was like having this point like in my career where I was feeling like I should be I don't know, I just was I was feeling very ungrateful. I was like, I deserve more or I should have more people should I don't know, like it should just be better. Yeah.

And she just went on this whole run Insull cycle one day. She now has her own gym called Army, which is also great, and they have a digital streaming service. And I'm just giving her a plug because I love her so much. And her whole thing was like, I don't know who needs to hear this right now, but I need you to know that you need to sit in gratitude in the waiting room. And I know that you're sitting in this waiting room right now and you're annoyed and you're like, this isn't fun for me.

And I've read all these fucking magazines and this waiting room is boring. And I saw that they already called that other person in and the other person got called in. And I'm way better than that person and, you know, X, Y and Z. But what I need to tell you is that you don't know what doors opening next. And if that door opens and you are not sitting there and gratitude, you are not going to be able to walk through that door, that door will be closed to you and the door will only be opened to you if you're able to, like, sit in the waiting room with gratitude, have gratitude in the waiting room.

And I just like really took that message in. I mean, it felt very purposeful for me on that particular day.

But I think about it frequently. I think about it when I reach points like what I feel Dillon is feeling right now, which is like I just don't feel I just don't feel it, you know? And I just think, like, well, you don't know what's next. None of us possibly could. Right. But if you just start to think how lucky I am, I do.

How many people have been furloughed or how many people are out of work right now or how many people wanted to be graphic designers, but like couldn't even go finish school because they had to stop because their mom was sick? I'm making up stories. I don't know those people. I'm just saying, like, there are all kinds of things that you can, like, hold on to in order to be grateful. And it changed my entire perception, like as a performer and as an actor.

I don't know, maybe this is cheesy advice, but I think it's good timing.

I agree. Like for me, I, I did a lot of jobs while I was trying to become an improviser. And I think the model that I live with, especially now, is that it's what is for you, is for you and what is for someone else is for someone else. And even though you might not be exactly where you want, I mean, I worked at Apple for years because they have being an insurance, not because I felt it in my soul to sell laptops, you know what I mean?

On Saturdays I did all the improv I could step into one night, and then Monday through Friday, I sold computers so that I could get health insurance.

By the way, Dylan, it sounds to me like you don't sound ungrateful. You're saying that you need health insurance and you need a steady income. And it sounds to me like you are grateful for having those things.

And what is what you're not grateful for necessarily, is that you don't find the job creatively fulfilling. And I have to tell you, like, as someone that had, quote unquote, a lot of dream jobs, not every aspect of those jobs are ever like I'm never like, oh, thank you for allowing me to do this task. Like, you know, at some point, work is work is work, you know. So but I agree so much with what Santeria is saying is that, you know, you're an artist and art and commerce work hand in hand all the time.

So I think you need to like, do you know, do what you have to do to earn those things that you're grateful for, that health insurance and that paycheck and let that, like, give you energy and, you know, sort of lift you up so that in your own time you can, you know, whatever illustrate a children's book or paint or whatever it is that like feed your artistic soul and then like feed your stomach with your paycheck.

Yeah.

And then but then I guess the question sort of Casey is a little bit like, well, my job is exhausting, so. When when am I? What am I doing? You hear so much about, especially like women writers who are like raising kids and working jobs and then getting up in the, you know, before dawn in the morning to write these incredible novels. And I think it's like a particularly familiar problem to women who are trying to do art on their on their free time.

So, yeah, I think then that becomes a whole other question, like, are you maybe depressed because if you're depressed, then that's an issue that you address in a certain way. But if you're not depressed and you're not being like situationally depressed by your job, then I think it's a matter of taking control of your time in your life and your priority is a little bit and being like, you know, do you have a situation where you can talk to your boss and say, like, it would really be meaningful to me to be able to attend this art class on Wednesday night or to teach this art class on Wednesday night or, you know, even within your job, it would really be meaningful to me to work on some pro bono projects that are like helpful to the community or to mentor interns that are interested in getting into graphic design to, like, remind you why you're passionate about it in the first place.

I mean, maybe it's a little tricky because graphic design is one of those things that can, like, lull you into thinking it will be creatively fulfilling. Sure. But I also like in the same way I have. Have writer friends as an actor got to a place in certain jobs where I was like, this is not creatively fulfilling to me, like, you know, it's just like it becomes it just becomes a job.

Did you know? And like, when that happens, you do have to go outside of yourself and like to be to give myself a fucking compliment on how I did that. It's a little bit how I became involved with Thrilling Adventure Hour. Yeah. Which was that I was on television and it was like it was good. But I mean, if I'm just being honest, it was like, like creatively fulfilling is not exactly what making TV was, was for me as an actor.

Sometimes, sometimes there would be days. Yeah. It's like so whatever are they writing for you. I mean like as a writer, like you take the job you can get and as an actress you are great at what you do. But everybody in the writers room is not going to always be like and how can I make busy Philipps Bill. Right. No, that's not.

You're there to serve us like a story and a whole thing. And these guys that I knew were like, we do this like a stage show and it's kind of in the vein of old time radio and it's weird. And they're singing and you do different weird voices. And would you like to come try, like, be a guest star in an episode like in a in a show? And I was like, yeah, sure. That sounds fun.

It's on a Saturday night. I was a new mom. I was on the television show. I had a husband at the time. It's the same husband, but different, you know what I mean?

Who was not particularly like helpful to me in child rearing and stuff. But I did have Eliana, who is an amazing nanny who helped me out. And even though I was like on some Saturday nights when these shows were I was like real tired. So I went and did it once, and I like it was so fun and I felt so great and there were months where, like Saturdays would roll around and I was like, oh, I'm really tired.

I could sleep. But I would go do it and I would feel energized, like so excited and so creatively fulfilled and like do something that surprised myself on stage or something that, like, made Paul F. Tompkins laugh, which is like my favorite thing in the world. And then and then it was like, you know, made the other stuff, like, easier to sort of deal with. Yeah. Not everything's going to make you hard, but Santeros writing right now, she's got a job, so she's just clicking away over there.

Less more jokes for Amber. Robin, I know. I just saw something that I to respond. It was an emergency. It's like, oh, it was an emergency.

So anyway, there are some ideas for all of us to reveal and we hope we hope we helped you.

Let us know how it's going. Maybe someday you could you would be creatively fulfilled by designing T-shirts for a podcast.

Oh, guys, we have to talk about merch. People are excited, people are talking and people are giving us cool ideas. I feel like we could sell at least seven T-shirts. I mean, my mom would buy three. Yeah, that's that's true. My mom would probably buy a couple, too. Well, I we're going to work on the merch guys. Look out for the group that's being sorted. It's essentially Hogwarts over here, although fuck.

Except not. Yeah, not transpolar. Not like Hogwarts, Jake.

She wrote another trans phobic book. What's wrong with the middle of it? It's so while it's like if you earn a billion dollars, you literally ain't got you got to write no more books. You got to say nothing. You can go now.

You got to do with all these. You know, the kids say she's high on her own supply.

Yes. The kids do say that is not what I think. Like old kids from the 70s, from the 70s.

She got so annoyed. Anyway, sorry I brought that up. I just clearly didn't need to know.

Hogwarts is beautiful. She is a piece of shit.

What a terrible turn of events. If you are anybody but J.K. Rowling, please email us. Busy doing her best at Gmail dot com to ask us an advice question that maybe we can help you out with. You can follow us on Instagram at BP is doing her best. And also, if you're not J.K. Rowling, please subscribe to our podcast wherever you get podcasts and like maybe write a nice review if you feel like a review would be so nice.

But if it's mean, take it to your group chat.

Yeah, subscribe. Download like subscribe that. Subscribe, guys. You know what to do. Hit that button down there in the left corner room. I am busy Philipps.

Joined by Casey St. Onge, Shintaro Jackson, two wonderful, beautiful human beings, we are all three of us. As are you doing our best, we will be back in one week next Wednesday. Love you guys. We love you. Take care. Bye.