Transcribe your podcast
[00:00:00]

I feel like I'm simply just walking in my destiny. You know, I feel that I'm not really doing anything but what I'm supposed to do, you know, and walking boldly in it, like I'm not shy about it. I don't feel like I need to apologize for, like, none of those things.

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The emperor does have clothes. You're on the journey and you're not about the destination. You're just going through and just. Yes.

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And by the way, the emperor has on a dope gown.

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Wow. I love that. Hi, how are you all, Bethany? Here you're listening to just be with Bethenny Frankel, so each episode will likely start with a rant and a rant is something that just like I think about or I might obsess, even though I'm not supposed to, somebody might say to me, why do you care? I don't know why I care. I care about minutia. I only sweat the small stuff. I don't care about the big things.

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I care about nonsense. I care about local gossip like I really do. I care about local stupid things that don't matter. I care about people that you guys have never heard of that maybe went to my high school or some random small nugget of nonsense. It doesn't matter. So the rant is just going into some dumb little detail. That doesn't matter. That's not important. That's OK. Changing the whole world. It's just like maybe a little bit of gossip, a little bit of something I think is bullshit.

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Calling something out, calling someone out, not in a nasty way, just like what I think about it. But here's the thing. I often say something. I'll have this thought in my head and that I won't want to say it, maybe because the person has twenty five million Instagram followers or something. And then it's like, why would I walk down that road? I don't care. I'm walking down the road. If they don't pay my rent, I could talk about them.

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So a lot of the things I think are about certain people in their actions and I'm just thinking they don't have my fucking rent. Oh my God. That reminds me of a story. Yeah. One hear a crazy story. I'm friends with Sia, the singer, and I met her at a party at Mark Burnett's house. And I didn't know who she was. I didn't know who she was. I'm under a rock in many ways. So it's not because she is not amazing.

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I didn't know who she was. So I was a Mark Burnett's house and she came. What woman came up to me and she said, Oh my God, I love you. And I'm paraphrasing, I love you. And she wanted to talk to me. And we ended up talking about like relationships and psychology. And so when I was leaving, I said, Did you want to get a picture with me? Because I thought she was a fan.

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So she was laughing. She was like, no, I didn't know. She was also the most private woman that ever walked this planet Earth. OK, so I didn't know anything. So then we got each other's numbers and we just connected. We connected. This party started. We got each other's numbers. So I was going out to L.A. and I won't say where she lives, but she asked me if I wanted to come stay with her for like two days.

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So I said, sure, just like I was a really new friendship. We were texting. She donated to one of my charities and I just thought she was really interesting. So I said, yeah, sometimes I'll do something really out of character. I'll just like, fuck it, let's do it. So I went to stay with her. So we were sitting by the pool and I said, You have any music, is there any music or do we have or like to have a stereo or whatever, like and she was like, I don't.

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And I said, oh, I go like what can we listen to some music? So we put on some music and I don't remember how it came out. But she was like laughing because the irony that she doesn't have any music or didn't have any like music device. And so she said that she wrote Diamonds by Rihanna. What the fuck are you talking about? You want diamonds by Rihanna. How long did it take you to write that? She said seven minutes ago.

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Excuse me, who are you? So then she told me that she likes Chandelier is her song. I'm like, what? So I had no idea who she was. So the reason I tell the story is she and I so listen to this. The most private person that ever lived, Sia and I are at a hotel. At a hotel, OK, and a nice swanky hotel. So I'm saying when I'm making up a name for her, if anybody comes up, I'm like, is my friend Charlene or whatever, you know, people came up to me.

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And it's just ironic that people are coming up to ask me for my picture when she's a thousand times more successful and famous than me and no one realizes who she is because of her sort of alias.

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So long story short, we're sitting at dinner and we're talking about people we know in common and Hollywood people and famous people and powerful people. And we're just telling stories and like dirt and t we're spilling t just personal that we're personal about our own lives to our own relationships, our own experiences. We're going, OK, wait for it. The maitre d walks over to the table and says, Hi Bethenny. I said, yeah, this is one Instagram like just first started.

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He said, I'm getting a lot of calls to the hotel. Your Instagram story is live. Holy mother fucker.

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I'm sorry.

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Was Sia the person who literally has an alias and you never see her face was the most private person in the entire world? Oh, I said, see, I could say, see, I just shit my pants again. So I'm sitting with her and the fucking manager walks up and says, my Instagram story is live. Now, side note to how amazing my fans are, because I could imagine if this was Kim Kardashian, they'd be like, oh, let it ride.

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People are attacked. So I go on my thing. I look at the comments like Brussels sprouts, the mushrooms. Shut up, shut up. Your Instagram stories like, no, they don't know I'm sitting with her. So she hears it. The guy comes up, she hears it. I'm like, holy fuck, holy fuck. We're both like, literally the computer is like rolling in our heads. Like what I say, what I say, what I said and what have I said that I say that did I not.

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OK, but she's just a person with an accent like she's not no one knows who she is at that time. She's a human. I'm sitting it. It's my Instagram story. So long story short, I look at dynamic is probably find you're fine, find nothing. You didn't say anything. No one knows it's you, blah, blah, blah. It's my story. I look at it, I go, they're not paying my fucking rent.

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Who cares all the people you talked about. So she goes, I live for you. I live for you. Because that's what I said. She goes, you have the balls of a burglar. I don't give a fuck. So that's the story. That's why I do the rants, because what do I give a shit? They're not paying my rent. They're paying my rent, I will not be fucking talking about them, trust and believe me.

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So today we're going to be talking to Bozsum, a St. John, who is the newly appointed chief marketing officer, a.k.a. CMO at Netflix. OK, that's gangster. She's worked for major companies like Pepsi and Endeavour and she has made a name for herself as a powerhouse in the industry. Honestly, this conversation really makes me think about unconventional wisdom and the strength we get from overcoming hardships in life. And no one knows this better than she is a black woman who moved from Ghana to the United States when she was a kid and she was completely different from everyone in her community.

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She ate differently. She looked differently. She spoke differently. Her family looked differently. And she used that to her advantage.

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She came from a place of yes, it's honestly something that would knock most people down. But she took it through her life and she's been doing business her own way and in an industry dominated by white men. So you guys are really in for a treat today. He or she is Bozsum a St. John.

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Hi, Buzz. Hey, Bethany, I want to introduce everyone to Bozeman St. John, not everybody even knows who I am and not everybody knows probably about you. You had an incredible resume, which I definitely sort of want to get into a little, but that your new gig is being the CMO of Netflix, one of the FANG stocks, which is pretty major, as I'm sure you're not jaded about it, that it's OMG moment.

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Yes. So I, I we booked you before this and I feel like I mean you've always had an amazing career, but I feel like I bought the stock before. It really just really went through the roof. So I'm so excited.

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Well I've always, always felt that like not only are you an influencer, but you're a very sharp businesswoman. And so the fact that you were able to predict this moment, I'm just going to give you the credit.

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I mean, I think I'd bet on you in the frickin day.

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I mean, I think I'm part of why you got the job. Let's face it, obviously, that you said you were doing the Just B podcast with a woman who was on Real Housewives of New York City. And they were like, you got the job. I'm sure you mention that.

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So how do you get a job like that? I know you already had a major job as a CMO of Endeavour, and I've been represented by Endeavour and they're a powerhouse. And you've worked for so many major and you've worked at Uber. I mean, you've had major jobs, but. Yeah, how does one get the job as the CMO of Netflix, like the company that's changing the world at this moment and such an influential company?

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Oh, OK. Well, that funny enough, I think you meant that question very innocently, but it's actually kind of heavy. OK, good. Let's go. Because yeah.

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Because I gosh, how do I even frame it up. I feel like and this is like total transparency, vulnerability, the whole thing. I feel like I'm simply just walking in my destiny. You know, I feel that I'm not really doing anything but what I'm supposed to do, you know, and walking boldly in it, like I'm not shy about it. I don't feel like I need to apologize for, like, none of those things. You know, I'm not I'm not crowded by the feelings of, like, being an imposter or do I belong or any of those things.

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I really don't.

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The emperor does have clothes. You're on the journey and you're not about the destination. You're just going through and just. Yes.

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And by the way, the emperor has on a dope gown. Wow. OK, the emperor is over here sashaying down the streets in a glitter and sequins and a big bow. And I love that, you know.

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And so I really feel like the the answer is in that I have really followed what my instincts are. But early on, I had a lot of advice from people who would say, OK, well, you know, weigh the options and, you know, does this job make more money or and I'm so grateful that I decided not to listen to any of that. You know, that I really all I want to do is just what I wanted to do, you know?

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And it didn't matter to me if somebody thought that something had more prestige or, you know, certainly people who said good, good friends, you know, everybody has good intentions, but good friends who said like, oh, but, you know, you'll have more of a chance of reaching the top if you go over here. But the job was boring as hell. Got it. You know, or it was just not cute. And I was like, no, I don't want to do that.

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And thank God you're saying that you always have gone with your gut. Yes. Which is huge. But it's not easy to go with your gut because sometimes you can't figure out what that is. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it sounds so simple, right. But it's so scary. I mean, even in this move when I knew that I wanted to take the job or that I wanted to seriously, seriously consider it, I was scared as hell.

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I don't blame you. You know, I was just sitting, like, thinking like, oh, OK, am I going to do this again? Like, really am I am I going to make this move? But the truth is the truth of matter is it in my heart of hearts, I know I wanted it, you know, and sometimes that's the scariest thing is to confront that truth, to confront it and know that, yes. You want it.

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Well, what you want to do and sometimes there's something you, quote unquote should be doing even in personal relationships. There's sometimes something you're supposed to be doing because it's. Yeah, whatever one says you're supposed to be doing because everybody is advising you. Right. Right. And people you love are advising you.

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Like, for example, I was a lot of people on a talk show. And when I was given a talk show, how could I not do it? But my gut said that I remember a year before it started, I said, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? Because it's like hundreds of people and it's a juggernaut. And you're you know, I felt I eventually felt suffocated. But there have been the opposite thing that seemed like I was going to be a train wreck.

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The Housewives, everyone told me not to do it. Everyone told me not to do this. Skinny girl. Margarita, it's a cocktail. Everybody has a cocktail. It's never going to work. It's a man's business. But the wildest ideas that you and your gut think you should do for the weirdest reasons, coming, going, leaving, staying. Those are the ones that are, you know, the most powerful. And you are when you jump you.

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Yes, and and the thing is that I honestly believe that, you know, the spirit or your gut or whatever you assign, you know, that that voice to only speaks to you, you know, doesn't give them messages to your mom or your boyfriend or your best friend. Those messages don't go to them. They go to you. And so, yeah, if somebody else thinks that's crazy and they're like, God, why would you put yourself in that position?

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Why would you want to be on TV doing that thing? But you feel like it's the right thing for you, then?

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Hell, yeah, you go for it. I completely agree. All right, so I want to know what it's like to be a maverick walking into work in a sequin outfit, loud and proud through the hallways, but having to work in the corporate world. So you have to play the game like you have to follow some rules, you have to have some boxes. And I want to know what it's like to kind of have to be accountable in that structural way, but yet still have your own identity.

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Yes, yes, yes, yes.

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Oh, that's so deep. It's so complex. You're right, because we all have our unique power. Right. Which comes in our identity. But it also just comes in our personality, you know, and therefore how you interact with people in the world. And we're often so saddled by the ideals of what you're supposed to be. There's this one phrase that I truly despise. It's the you know, you have to dress the part or dress for the job you want.

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And I'm like, I want to know who decided who wrote that. Right? Who said that I need to look this way for this job. First of all, no one's seen somebody like me in a job like this.

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Yes. So it doesn't exist, you know what I mean?

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And so I feel like if I were to follow that, then I would be I would be fake. I wouldn't be true to myself. And so it makes me pause and really reflect on what that means. And so when you are a disruptor, you know, when people haven't seen someone like you in that space, I think it's actually just a disservice to yourself to have to fit in to whatever box it is that they created. And so why not challenge that box?

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And that's and I get that. And that's amazing. But I do want to switch gears a little bit. Your daughter, Layal, who is 10 years old, the same age as my daughter, both single mothers. I get it like I have my own set of rules for her. And I you know, I'm always, you know, just telling her to walk proud, have your own identity. But how did you where does that really come from?

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Do you know where it comes from? Some people, just maybe baby, maybe you were born this way. I don't know. What does it come from?

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I think it is a combination of being born a particular way, right. That my just my constitution doesn't allow me to try to fit in. But I also think it's it's also taught you know, it's kind of the nature versus nurture argument. So it is it is taught, you know, by my by my mom, who I give a lot of credit to. And it's also a lot of practice on my own. You know, that, again, it's not as if it's a done deal.

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Like I'm I'm finished growing or evolving and I just live, you know, it's like I'm evolving all the time. And so that means I constantly have to show up in new ways. You know, I've never been the CMO of Netflix before. Right. And so and so this is going to be a new a new thing, you know, and I'm not the same person I was two years ago when I joined Endeavor. Yeah. And so I'm going to have to, you know, bring that newness into this.

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But yeah, I think from early days, I certainly you know, there's actually one story that I've told before, but I'll tell you, which is that when I was 12, my family immigrated from Ghana in West Africa to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I'm sure you remember when you were 12, you none of us like being twelve, right? It's not exactly a little awkward. You know, you're trying to figure out where you fit in and the whole thing.

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And the last thing you want is to be different from anybody else. That's the very last thing. I mean, our girls hopefully will be watching us and and we'll be able to advise them better. But I have no doubt that when our daughters are twelve, they'll be looking at themselves, looking around, saying, oh, God, OK, how how does this work? How does my arm, my wife, my arm so long, you know, like all the things right.

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You just start to look at yourself. And at that age, you know, being in Colorado Springs as a black girl from Africa was not the thing.

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No, no, I can't imagine. Nobody looked like me. Nobody talk like me. Nobody ate the food I ate or listen to the music I listen to.

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Oh, my. Oh, that's so major. It was just like the most disruptive of moments. And my mom, God bless her, she just, you know, I think not even directly because, you know, she's she's not the type of mother who just like preached that you she rather showed. And I I don't know if she even knew at that time, like, how impactful her actions were, you know, but I always go back to those moments because like, for instance, we would be you know, I would invite my little friends over.

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Right. And I was just trying to get along right. Just trying to fit in. And they would invite me over to their house for, you know, Friday night pizza. Right. Watch a movie or whatever, the wonderful play date.

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And when it was my turn, my mom would not order pizza. You know, she was just like, no, just like we're not going to eat pizza.

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We're going to eat our food. Wow. They're going to eat Ghanian food. Right. You know, and I was mortified. I mean, mortified. Like, I was just like, why why can't we just order the Dagong Pizza Hut with the. Pepperoni on it so that these girls won't think I'm strange and they already thought it was strange because you were from Africa. That sounds like torture because people can be so mean. Oh, totally, totally, totally.

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And my mom took it a step further when they would come to the house, not only would she not order pizza. My mom speaks five languages. She refused to speak English to these poor little white children.

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Oh, my God. She was just like she was like when when they enter our house, they're going to speak our language.

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I was like, What, are you crazy? Like, what are you talking about? And she would do it. But the thing that it taught me, Bethany, was that I didn't have to apologize for who I am, you know, that I never had to assimilate to somebody else to make them feel comfortable.

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Yes, but it's hard, right? Well, my I had there was a lot of violence in my house, and I would just make the mistake of having people over and every dish in my house would get smashed or there'd be some crazy fight or some tumultuous thing. My friend of mine would say something. My mother in the other room would say she'd say, I'm not a PTA mom, OK? I'm not going to bake fucking cookies. And life was hiding.

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My life was like, oh, my God. Right. And so that that that's not the same because you had a mother who was completely supportive and an individual. But when you are a kid and you have like a different household, that's not just like PTA normal. It is. You know, that is a traumatic time. Yes, it is.

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It is.

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And this is the thing about I've actually contemplated this quite a bit why it is that people who go through the things we have gone through or any any version of that. Right. Like you said, maybe not a perfect household regardless of the circumstance. Like, why is it that we're able to turn those experiences into something more positive? You know what I mean? Like the lessons that we learned from those experiences. I think they they truly shape us.

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And I think part of it is not hiding from it. Right. You just said you spent your life like. But we eventually we come out. My God. Right. And you've told the story. You've told your own story. That gets to me. Listen.

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That to take that power, I couldn't I I don't believe I could do your job. But I can tell you something. When the cops used to come to my house because of domestic violence happening in my house, I could be the CMO of Netflix and go through that again. So I tell you that your childhood was probably harder than what some of the things you experienced as a black girl from Ghana and in white America was probably harder in Colorado Springs was probably harder than any task you'll have to do at Netflix.

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And I'm sure that's a really hard job. You're you're right.

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You're right about that. And the thing is, it like sometimes I am sometimes I'm still mad about it and for being, again, totally honest, because I'm just.

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But why why did I have to do that? Like, why did why did that have to happen once when I'm just grown up in Ghana with everybody else who look like me, ate food like me, spoke the same language I did like, why did I need this disruption? But then we wouldn't we wouldn't be who we who we truly are. And that sounds so corny, but it's so true, which is that I am now I've come to a place of gratitude, really.

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I have it's taking some time and sometimes I'm still mad, but I've come to a place of gratitude where it's like, yeah, you know, that's why I'm able to walk into these boardrooms where no one looks like me. And I don't expect that they look at me and see their neighbor. Right. You know, I know that they look at me and see some strange tall black girl and wonder what in the hell I'm talking about and what I'm doing, you know, and it and it allows me to just continue holding my head up high because I've already faced that.

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I faced it right then like this. It's been like this forever.

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So nothing's really changed as you and if you really, really embrace and are fueled by being so, so different and so powerful than you know, it moves you into places that you never thought you could go. People do know, obviously, that that a black woman has way more challenges in business than a white man. But I want to know if there is anything about being a black woman that has helped you in business. Like meaning and I don't mean like based on the experiences you had as a child, which made you stronger.

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I mean, like something more unexpected, you know, that we wouldn't even imagine.

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You know, I am consistently and continuously underestimated all the time, OK, all the time because of not just my blackness, but also, like I said, my my love for sequins and all things like glitter people, I don't feel that they usually take me very seriously, you know, when I'm sitting at the table and probably dismiss me most of the time.

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And so when I then come at them with my knowledge and the ideas and all those things I can I'd like, it's so much fun. Like sometimes I just watch people react and I'm like, yeah, you didn't see that coming, huh? Yeah, exactly. Sit down. Yes.

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You know. And it's so and it's so good, it's so it's so wonderfully affirming, but it's also really frustrating to, you know, because I'm like, seriously, how much more do I have to prove? Like, are you kidding me? Like, look at where I've been. Look at the things I've done. Like, how much more do I have to prove to you that I actually know what the hell I'm doing? Right. But it is it is my power, though.

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It's absolutely my power. Absolutely.

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I want to talk about one other thing that I've been meaning to talk to you about, and it's going to be related to audience, which we'll get back to, which will connect back to Netflix. But I've never really understood. I never really understood. And being on television until I was really on television, what the audience is, I never thought about who they are until I was on reality TV. And then I realized, oh, wait, these are living, breathing people who when I go through a breakup, they feel like they identify with me.

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And I know who my audience is conceptually, but I never really thought about exactly who they are and how an audience grows. And this is exactly what you're thinking about, I'm sure, in your new job or some of it. Yeah.

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So a few months ago, when the Black Lives movement really had taken hold after the murder of George Floyd and the world was going crazy and I just wanted to find my entry point. I wanted to give back to the black community in a way that seemed authentic and genuine for me, you know, and also knowing my place as a white woman in America. So but I do have a voice and I do have the means and I do have a platform and be strong has become a real reputable charity, charitable initiative.

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So I thought that raising and donating money from be strong to to small black owned businesses was a great way to make a mark and to help a community that had been hit hard, not just financially but emotionally. Like that was just a moment where, I mean, it was just enough, you know, the black community had hit the wall so and so. I just I thought it was a great idea. And I still think it was a great idea to raise money for small black owned businesses.

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Well. I cannot explain the backlash I got, I was called a racist, people were criticizing me for giving back to one community and not another one and not wall. And, you know, the problem is, I mean, it was crazy.

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It was outrageous, crazy, crazy time. I just it's there's so much craziness and so much anger. And I realized. A lot of who my audiences and I was embarrassed. I mean, that's the truth. I was thinking these are my people who have bought my products and are threatening not to buy my products for this. And I was thinking, fuck you. Yeah. I mean, that's what I was I was literally thinking, fuck off.

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Right. And so anyway, I just found that fascinating because that was a different side of people using the word racism. And I just like I was like I was absolutely stunned. So I just wanted to tell you that story.

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But that's the best news that you are on the right side of history. And it's never been easy. Never, ever, ever been easy to be on the right side because people love to just keep doing what they've been doing. You know, change and disruption is very uncomfortable. It requires sacrifice and it requires actually looking at yourself in the mirror and being like, oh, am I contributing to the problem? Like, I know I'm not a bad person and I know I love everybody, but am I contributing to the problem?

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And how do I contribute to the solution? You know, then once you start to do it, other people then have to check themselves. That's what you feel. You know, that's what they're reacting to, is the reaction of looking at themselves and being like, damn it, if Bethenny is going to do something different, like, why am I have I have to do some two and they don't want to do it.

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I don't want to do it. And so it's really their reaction to themselves. It's not even a reaction to you. And that's what is so ridiculous about it. But don't we see this all the time? Right. We aren't taking out their anger on you because of you. They're taking out their anger because of themselves. They are pissed at themselves that they don't have the courage, the strength, the ingenuity to actually create solutions. And therefore, they have to take it out on somebody who's actually doing it right.

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Here's the thing. I like the forum. I like to speak to people. They were sort of like it was I had never had my Instagram be like a rally. I was listening to people commenting back and forth. And I don't mind if there's a conversation. I want to hear people's opinions. I think people were you know, people vote in secret and are so taboo about politics, because if you say what you really feel, people bully each other.

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People curse you out because you don't believe what they believe. People will say, oh, I'm educated. And so you are not. So you don't know anything. But the person is not educated. Get to vote also. So you got to listen to somebody who's not educated, somebody who is educated. You gotta listen to everything. So I enjoyed listening to it all because then I'm hearing who the who people are like. You can't just like only listen to your own thoughts.

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Yes, yes. And that's what people are doing right now. Politics in the world. People are only listening to their own thoughts and other people are filtering down. So everyone's got this costume on in this Instagram filter on. They're pretending to be instead of saying who they really are. And it's annoying. And that's why I did a podcast.

[00:28:06]

Exactly why I love it. I love it. Listen, I'm glad you were right.

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By the way. I've been advising a lot of business leaders, a lot of people who are in the public eye about what to do in this moment.

[00:28:16]

And it truly is about your own evolution, you know, and we have this paralysis of perfection that is so detrimental to us.

[00:28:25]

Fear based. It's all fear based. It's off your base. And by the way, if we all remembered that we are actually human in that we are on a continuum to evolution, we wouldn't be so scared. It's like, yes, of course you're going to make a mistake. Of course you're going to say the wrong thing. Don't be scared of that. Do it anyway. And then when you learn the lesson, fix it. Exactly. And by the way, you might do it again.

[00:28:45]

And that is OK, too, just as long as you keep moving forward, as long as you keep learning, as long as you keep shifting, as long as you keep evolving, it is OK. And I wish that from the other side, right. For those who are into council culture, that they'd actually be more empathetic. I wish that was the right. Let it breathe, you know, to allow allow for mistakes to happen, allow for a learning and growth to happen because the pressure to change not just individuals, but corporations and therefore a larger society is based on failure.

[00:29:17]

You know, it's based on people making mistakes, doing the wrong thing and learning from them. But if we're not open to that, then guess what?

[00:29:24]

There is no growth. There's no change. So we have to do it. We have to be open to. Exactly, exactly. How do you know exactly who your Netflix audience is, and I don't mean just statistics and focus groups. I mean, who is your audience? What are you growing your audience to be like? What how are you bringing entertainment with social responsibility and also, you know, so much content and so much competition.

[00:29:50]

It's you know, it's a gold rush and how to, you know, let let let shows breathe and not be a cancer culture while also being one of the four.

[00:30:01]

You know, when I say fang stocks, people may not know Facebook, you know, Amazon, Netflix, Google.

[00:30:06]

So how are you navigating that?

[00:30:08]

Yeah, well, I won't pretend as if I know all the answers just yet, but what I know is what I have already done and what I believe is the right thing when you're talking to audiences and engaging them. Right. I am 100 percent human. We often are so reliant on the algorithm and on data and on subscribers and figuring out growth in a way that is not human. You know, we forget to pay attention to emotion, rationale.

[00:30:37]

You know what people are not just feeling, but how they are dealing. You know, this very moment in time is so different from any other.

[00:30:45]

And so what is the real value and role that a company like Netflix can play or how can it be a companion in everybody's lives? Right. You know, right now there's no expert on that. No, there's no. But I knowing what the human condition needs right now and what they need in their entertainment and what they're digesting and yeah, people need different things.

[00:31:08]

And so it is less about how to just continue growing subscribers. But I believe that that happens when you do it right anyway. You know, and remembering our humanity, you know, it's like and by the way, that I oh, I also say, you know, focus group of one all the time because it's like whatever you're feeling, other people are feeling. Exactly. You know, if you're feeling nervous or anxious, scared, maybe a little hopeful, a little innovative, you know, maybe you're feeling closer to family or friends or you're trying to find your comfort.

[00:31:37]

So it's everybody else then. So how is the product or service that you have solving that for people? How are they coming to you for that comfort or for that piece or for that joy? You know, what is the emotion that you're trying to solve? And that's the only way to create real plans that will engage an audience. That's it. That's the only thing you can do other than that, probably failing.

[00:31:59]

And you're telling people at home basically that the best ideas are usually the simplest ones, not the most complicated ones, the most. You know, the simplest one. I want to ask about your husband, Peter, who passed away. Yes. Almost seven years ago. I'm very sorry. And I want to know what he would have said now about your where you are in your life and where your trajectory has taken you from. You know, the time that you were together.

[00:32:27]

And when he passed Manderson, I he he would be so tickled. I think he'd be so excited and just like would not be able he would not believe it.

[00:32:39]

He really wouldn't really. Yeah. He was so much more tempered than I am.

[00:32:46]

You know, there was only one peacock in the family. Exactly.

[00:32:49]

He was the one that kept me grounded and actually something very basic but but maybe a little profound is that he's the one who who had my resume really. And when he died, I didn't know where it was.

[00:33:00]

Oh, you mean literally literally had my breath, me, like literally on his laptop, had my resume. If there was another job I was going for, he'd be the one who'd update it, you know, because he was just practical that way. And when he died, I was at Pepsi. It was like, you know, the best of times and worst of times in 2013. It was like, that is Super Bowl. I orchestrated for Beyonce a Super Bowl halftime show.

[00:33:23]

And it was also the same year Peter died. And it was just like just the most dramatic of years. And coming out of that, I was like, OK, I, I think I need more. Imagine this, Bethany, as I need more change. OK, something something's got to like. I got to do something. You know, I can't just sit in my apartment in New York and shake it up like I needed. I just needed something.

[00:33:48]

And so I met Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre and Ian Rogers, who were creating a new business off of the Beats by Dre business. They were going to start a music streaming service and. I literally I had a panic moment because I was like, I don't have my resume and how will I even recreate one?

[00:34:09]

And it was like when I tell you, like, my soul shook, you know, like just unsettling, unsettling. And it seems like such a small thing. But it was such a big like you think of all the other things that could scare you or. Yeah, you got to move across a country. You got to start this other business. You have never you've never heard of before. But no, it was my resume. That's crazy.

[00:34:30]

And I was like, I don't have it. And Peter had it. And the fact that I have not used a resume since that day is one of the blessings that I know he is orchestrating. I know it for sure as I sit here and talk to you, because there has not been one job since then that has asked me for a resume.

[00:34:49]

That's amazing.

[00:34:52]

Oh, he would be he would be laughing at me right now being like, see, I told you, you're going to be fine. And I told you you'd be all right.

[00:34:58]

That's so funny. That's amazing. I mean, that's better. My husband passed away and had my resume is better than my dog ate my homework, I will say. But you don't need either excuse and wow. Oh my. Got so good. Good.

[00:35:13]

I've never I've never actually told anyone that before. Wow.

[00:35:16]

Well I know I could talk to you forever and I want to meet you in person one day and have a drink and I want to see what you're wearing actually drive right now.

[00:35:24]

I am, I am in Cabo and I am taking a little break and I am in a fire orange reddish bikini with cutouts and a full face of makeup, because that's what I do.

[00:35:39]

Well, maybe you'll send us a picture and we can post it on the day that this airs. And then what will you wear? What will you wear on your first day back to work in the office? It's my last and final important question. What will you wear in your first day back?

[00:35:51]

Oh, gosh, that's a really important question. Oh. Oh, that's a hard one. I think. I think it has to have sequins. I'm dying. I just feel like I'm shining bright. So, yeah, it's got to be sequenced. That's I'm going to do all right.

[00:36:04]

Well, the next time I wear my sequins, I'm going to send you a picture. You are amazing. I'm so thrilled that you're my first guest if it's symbolic and it starts this off at the right tone. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you, Bethany. This is awesome. I'm so proud of you. And this is a great, great, great platform. And thank you for using your voice. Really, I'm so inspired.

[00:36:23]

Well, I'm proud of you, too. And everything you do with Pencils of Promise and just I'm just proud of you also. So have the best time and Cabo and go get him at Netflix. Oh, right. Thank you, Bethany.

[00:36:37]

Wow, how amazing was that that was just so fascinating and interesting and, you know, good unconventional wisdom and what a powerhouse woman. She uses what could be perceived as a weakness by somebody else as a strength and just walks in with sequins and wearing bright colors and just says, here I am, I am the emperor and I have new clothes.

[00:37:04]

But is that the emperor's new clothes? What is it? The Emperor. The Emperor has no clothes, not new clothes. Sorry, I am the emperor and I do have clothes in there.

[00:37:11]

Amazing. Thank you for subscribing. Thank you for listening. And remember to comment and post and go on my Instagram. We want to hear what you think. So I'm excited to be back here with you again.

[00:37:25]

Talk soon. GSP has hosted and executive produced by me, Bethenny Frankel, Brail Productions and Endeavor Content. Our managing producer is Samantha Allison and our producer is Caroline Hamilton. Corey Preventer is our consulting producer with the ever faithful. Sarah Cattanach, as our assistant producer for development executive is Nayantara. Roy just B is a production of Endeavour content and spoke media. This episode was mixed by Sam Baer. And to catch more moments from the show, follow us on Instagram and just be with.