From Emmy Snooze to Jussie Clues (with Lavelle Dontae) | 70

you watched it at me's anywhere special last night yes my couch oh my home where i pay rent that's special to me like i'm making use of that right too yeah yeah yeah yeah i um ordered some pizza and i opened a bottle of rosé and i said let's let's get to work i forgot they were happening outside that is well yeah you wouldn't have missed a lot you wouldn't have missed a lot honestly um where'd you watch just at home yeah i was like moseying around well i was gonna go out and then i was like oh i should watch the emmys yeah and i did well um what did you think of the host nate bergatzi bergatzi how do you say his name bergatzi bergatzi i don't know how many times i need a super cut of how many times white people have the most complicated names and they want to act like black people make it difficult anyway um i pass i did not he just seemed like sloppy low-key it really seemed like under rehearsed that was the thing i felt like no one was like even people like reading i'm like is this the first time you've ever read aloud yeah like like i'm talking about reading the teleprompter it was like what is you know who um uh what i did like were some of the presenters but then some of them went on for way too long absolutely and i was like oh my god jennifer coolidge this is the longest thing of the night right here and normally like her name is jennifer coolidge and i was like oh my god jennifer little shtick works for me i'm jennifer coolidge emerson alum if you will but i was like let's keep it moving shall we yeah did you okay lover hater of the um hundred thousand dollar hater boys and girls club hater every year we are subjected against our will to these like get off the stage schemes you remember anthony anderson making his mom cut people off that was awful yeah um this year it was like uh started the night with a hundred thousand people and i was like oh my god this year it was like oh my god this year this year this year this year this year this year this year to the boys and girls club and then every for every second people went over 45 seconds money was subtracted and for every like second they went under 45 seconds yeah money was added and i guess in theory it sounds like maybe that's like a fun you know activity but it really just felt like ghoulish to to be like adding and subtracting money to charity based on like i don't know how long seth rogan talks like and even like the the timing of like them showing the little like ticker like the money like going in the red you know i was like okay well you can't do that to the boy from adolescence like he's literally a child leave him alone yeah like you can't do that when someone's like talking about how they never thought they were gonna make it or you know something like that like it just felt really like cruel and i think they had kids there too but all for it to just not matter at the end but i think the not mattering i was like well duh they're gonna have to like of course i mean imagine the they invoiced the boys and girls club when they were like negative 440 000 imagine they're like so actually you owe us money now but i just was like i'm getting over this little bit very quickly yeah yeah and it also put the host um nate bergazzi in the like really i think strange position of like being happy when people would go long because he's like oh i get to save some money and it was such a like sitcom dad like or like i i don't want to spend any money and it's but like don't you want the audience on your side don't you shouldn't this be like a like a goodwill thing and not like uh okay here comes the miserly you know millionaire comedian who's talking about like i don't want to have to donate money at the end of the night it was just weird you think he's a millionaire he's like one of the number one touring comedians really yeah i didn't even know his drag before this i yeah i didn't know he also has like two netflix specials oh i'll watch yeah i was about to say it was last night last night was audition to get in your heart yeah that was i didn't realize it was like that okay well good for him he booked it um other like we i guess we got through some lows but highs of the show um okay tramell tillman winning that speech i the speech that cut to his mom like all of that i was so i was so into um that was like maybe maybe one of the speeches of the night for me deserve that emmy it went alone just for that dance number yeah that's for the way he moves in several periods i also loved the moment of hannah einbinder like clapping for gene smart and then her like turning to the camera so you could see her um like free palestine pin i thought that was like what a great use of celebrity like just savvy like yeah i thought that was really sweet um and what else what else what else what else oh i guess all the um all the pit wins of course like banging our pots and pans i listen i i can't wait for my shift at the hospital where i'll be giving out ketamine like it's candy wow um come on bushwick what about your favorite moments uh noah's win particularly more so than the pits drama series win yeah that man that is a man that is the original man that is man with a nose for sitting let's just say that let's get that on record for so this is a family podcast what is a family podcast so this is a family podcast i we say that every episode before i say something so heinous and inappropriate but his obviously i was so happy for his win uh he worked his little ass off in the bit i uh i'm vlogging on a zuck duck to make an appointment that's my man i'm moving to pittsburgh that's how oh no for him i would um hannah i'm by her speech and i'm gonna say something really earnest right now um hannah and i both went to willow's community school shout out if you know you know which was i always make fun of us it's very like feelings first like we didn't get grades we just got vibes but it felt really fucking cool to see a particularly young celebrity who like still is take up space just to say fuck ice and free palestine in a way that i mean you know who else did it javier bardem yeah javier bardem and his kafia on the carpet period yeah and i feel like it was a real testament to a tide changing and i think um hannah who's someone who's jewish and like very you know proudly jewish has been taking up a lot of space online uh in a real committed way to make sure like that is clear when you see her name you know she's someone that advocates for palestine so i was i love that speech it got all the attention that it deserved um and also this is i don't even watch a penguin but you know whose speech i loved um i don't know what it was kristin miliani miliani yeah when she at the very end just goes i love acting it was it like made me cry it was so earnest and sweet wow like i just i don't know i felt like really proud of her for a show i've never watched and a girl i've never really known to be honest and i said that's my sister and a girl you've never really known she just loves what she does it's so cool well listen i i think that works i like it it reminded me a lot of like timothy chalamet yes it's like i want to be one of the greats i think that's i don't think there's anything bad about being earnest and i think totally another great thing about last night is that there are a lot of first-time winners and a lot of people that felt like surprising jeff hiller um from somebody somewhere that was i mean that was one of my favorite moments but also i've never watched somebody somewhere just to be i like bridget everett but i just have never watched the show um but what i especially loved is that when the camera was on i was like oh my was on like everyone in his category like um bo and yang like a lot of other like gay men yeah and every michael uri who's amazing and oh mary um every single other person seemed honestly so over the moon for him and like that level of just like cheer and community i thought like that was like the moment that i was like oh wow i might like start crying it's like wow that's so amazing i will say i cracked up at that one category where um all almost all the directors except for one of the man one like you gotta laugh i'm not saying he's undeserving but i was just like that's of course no come on totally totally totally what's her name um effie from hunger games the way she set it up being like he's gonna win and he did yeah and we i mean we can't talk about the emmys without talking about the kid from adolescence shout out to his work um being like i was nowhere three years ago you were 12. i love the youth you think shout out to his work is also like a crazy like we can't let that moment go underappreciated i just so clearly didn't watch adolescence well i have to say i have to bring us back down oh okay there's i am like getting the ick from like all the steven colbert stuff like i i like steven colbert like it's fine but like it was like too over the top it was so weird to see him like on stage like you know talking about his work and i was like oh my god i'm so excited to see him on stage and i was like oh my god i'm so excited to see him on stage and i was like oh my god i'm so excited to see him on stage and i was like oh my god i'm so excited to see him like literally the emmys were on cbs um and then his like resistance kind of hero speech like i love america i want to make sure about love god bless america it was just so like whole when you brought america into it you brought me out of it i was like what do you mean a decade of all this work and you're more committed to this country than ever fuck this country i was like oh so you weren't listening when hannah einbinder was up on stage no it's like what do you mean a decade of it was it was it and everyone chanting his name too i was like okay it really just felt like one of those like you know hollywood in a nutshell moments of like michael moore talking about bush yeah at the oscars like getting booed whenever he won his oscar and so like this is like what the like warmth in the room is for it was just so like and also i did not like the golden girls tribute and i love reba mcintyre but i did not and well who are the other two because they were struggling pitching it was beyond pitchy. also where was where was my where's my friend where was the the gospel remix of uh golden girls oh wake that up yes but reba i thought was caring no re always i mean period a single mom works two jobs and two of the other jobs were on stage with her right there and she said i guess i'm working three yeah wait i didn't who were the other girls uh i can't remember okay good other other country singers yeah that was tough also wait did gilmore girls do anything you wait let me guess you seem like someone that would watch gilmore girls and like it do you maybe that's because he's wearing this dress but do you why does the dress have the dress is like the dress is like a good girl dress and this is a bad girl yvonne that's under his name um that was like did the reunion to the no no i wasn't i would watch it but i wasn't ever like a really gilmore's girl like you for you hell no i did not i did not like that dynamic and every time i saw her sad eyes i was like she seems too depressed for me i can't i can't take this on not the mom the daughter sorry you don't have any time for any any depressed people oh my goodness what does that mean i sit in solidarity oh no no um well speaking of tv have you watched the paper i watched three solid episodes okay same and how are you feeling about it not good yeah so the paper if you're not familiar um is the office like kind of spiritual sequel spinoff from greg daniels and one of the guys behind nathan for you oh really yeah yeah and it's set at a um newspaper a local newspaper in toledo ohio wait pause on that for a second i was going through the spotify comments to see what people recommended us watching and i saw someone write not the paper and i was like well i already pressed play so shit yeah um yeah it's just not people said it gets better but i just the investment isn't there for me and i also think that setting it at a um like this like conceit of them like being reporters and going out into the field houses them on such different tracks that i'm like wait the office is about us being together doing like busy work they talk too much about like the actual work of the company when like how much of the office talk about the business of selling paper it was all just like the meetings were nothing it's like do you need paper don't you yeah i will i will say i like oscar being back in it or having a tie through and also oscar has aged like fine wine oh not a day he looks good as hell and that's what happens when you turn gay so remember that turn gay people are born gay not always i'm just kidding please don't kill me i'm just kidding i do want to have a moment for scene number one when i think it was like bob vance like the first scene in the show oh yeah bob vance is like well i keep in touch with um who stanley i think because we both have schnoodles oh and listen remy is a schnoodle so i was like oh and you are so stanley okay literally one of the the earliest most screenshotable moments between hunter and ivy is there's this clip in the office that there's a new black guy hired and he looks at stanley a young black guy and he's like oh my god i'm so scared i'm so scared i'm so scared i'm so scared and he's like and then stanley goes so this is hunter yvonne harris and me in film 101 class at emerson college for certain and also the text that you sent me once you remind me a lot of stanley from the office emotionally that is well not physically but you also have vacation stanley energy too oh which is like when you're up you're out you know what i mean like he don't play no glasses on roof that like that is you i wonder what office character are you you know michael i'm gonna say michael yep you are the michael that's my man like i said oh geez how have i enabled you you are so lovable and also like so problematic at the same time but like like doing no truly you want the best but you also will just like go like full charge into a bad idea but and i love that about you they're like here she go again we'll see her on the other side don't mind kelly this though oh you know there's yeah there's always like a little a little dumb bitch inside of me yeah well that's inside of michael scott too behind every strong woman is a michael scott spirit and like kelly kapoor attitude okay this whole conversation i need to end it now it's like it's it's like two buzzfeed i know i know gross i you know what i'm i'm staying standing on it though because i think people are afraid to make the office references in twenty twenty five and i'm not i don't care it was a good show call me call me a loser call me corny i don't care something that people actually don't know about me is that i used to be an office super fan when i was in middle school did you have it as your ringback tone the theme song uh no i didn't have a ringback tone because i had at&t oh um but i actually did this i want to show you i hand painted fan-made merch because i loved it so much i have so many notes on that we're gonna superimpose the craziest image i've ever seen the color choice is fucking diabolical i know i know but i wanted to show it to you oh my god just to prove to you how i was i yeah you would be seeing a psych the next day if i was like oh my god now i'm not insecure now now we can cut all of this never mind no it's bad please no no no no you know what you you kind of this no this is very michael because michael would always do mean stuff and then like act then he would come around in the end and be like oh wait i'm actually like trying to like i take it all back like the day he saved his own life um anyway michael's thoughts or michael scholars what when michael promised all that money to that black school and then he couldn't like yeah i would do i would end up in something like that yeah you and nate bergazzi apparently um amazing callback sorry great callback anyway if i continue which i guess i will it's going to be because of something that i've been doing for a while and it's going to be something that i've been doing for a while and it's going to be like sabrina impacciatore is that esmeralda yeah oh yes yeah she's the only one that i'm like oh this is like real office and i need people to meet her at her level yeah yeah she's doing she's holding it down for me yeah i'm i'm holding space where i'm watching that speech for uh dietrich i kind of like oh yeah the black guy yeah yeah he was on um what was that one that high school show that i liked a lot on netflix i'll keep i'll keep watching for them yeah i'm gonna need to get better though i'm gonna hope and pray but wait there's more this week in addition to the paper and the emmys we are talking about the jesse smollett documentary on netflix and also we are joined by my app salute fave lavelle dante um so let me let me say this let me say this you're looking for a home for your worst opinions are you a hater first but a lover of pop culture second consider this a glorified group chat but we're not calling you out no no no we're calling you in it's a safe space to talk shit but of course from wondery i'm peyton dicks and i'm hunter harris and this is let me say this let me say this let me say this okay so i got a text from a friend that was like lol pressing play on jesse smollett doc you would so do this i'll be there i then press play and i text enter so there's an attorney with braces and a bottom lip ring i'm gonna need you to press play so let's go back to this what what is it that you would do exactly exactly because there's too many options for that answer unfortunately oh brother okay so for those of you who don't know are not up to date on this issue which i remember this all happening kind of in real time and honestly being like i'm actually at capacity i i can't really i won't be i don't have the bandwidth to be following it this closely um so basically in january 2019 um jesse smollett who was a star on empire claimed to have been a victim of a hate crime and then later the chicago police accused him of staging the hate crime he said that he was walking on the street um kind of like at night and um someone like two white guys approached him and they said this is maga country and you're that inward f word from empire which is where i said let me stop you right there say it say the true thing so say the honest thing well i how many empire fans are also maga it's crazy cultural crossover like what i okay so you love donald trump and you also love lee daniels it's kind of like being like so then smollett was arrested in charge with filing a false police report but the charges were dropped and then in 2020 he was re-indicted and eventually convicted on five felony counts including lying to police he was sentenced to jail but only served six days and when they arrested when they were taking him to prison he said i am not suicidal i like this is this is all you know miscarriage of justice um the illinois supreme court overturned the legal consequences and now we are with this documentary yep okay yeah hear me out I pressed play being like, now what the hell are we going to learn from this? When I saw a Subway sandwich bag swinging neat and clean as day post a hate crime, that's what I knew. I'm kidding. I think the strangest part to me, outside of the Empire-MAGA crossover, is that he said that they put a noose around him. And then they have footage from the police of them interviewing him while he's still wearing the noose. And they're like, well, do you want to take it off? And he's like, well, yes, I would like to. But then later in the confessional, Jussie Smollett is in the documentary. He's talking heads and stuff. And he says, well, I had taken the noose off, but obviously I put it back on for the police to see it. And it's like, so that's not obvious to me. What? But because I do believe he is guilty of being. Being a narcissist, it actually makes sense that someone like him would do that. To be like, look at this. Take it in. Copper. Look at this. That feels in character with the way that he, at that same time, was kind of parading around. I just feel like there's so many Black celebrities, specifically men, that were really trying to take up space in the race war in a way that was uncomfortable. As a figurehead, kind of way. And they allude to that in the documentary, too. Where like. It was a bit odd the way he was trying to position himself in that way. Right. And so it kind of checks that. I mean, it's insane for anybody else, but it kind of checks that he would do that. Yeah, yeah. But I'm just saying that impulse to keep it on and then to take it off and then put it back on, I'm like. Performance art. I don't know about this. I think that there is some probable cause, I guess. So the police say that he had hired these two. Two brothers. One of them was like his trainer, like another actor who was on Empire. Another one was just like that guy's brother. Two Black people as well. Yes, Nigerian men. Yes. The police say that like these two Nigerian brothers who were friends with him, or like one of them was his trainer, that he had paid them to like fake this attack. And then they say that like, yes, he paid us. But it might be that the police had kind of like convinced them to testify against. Smollett because they had like a gun, prior gun charge and like being caught with another gun would have like sent them to prison or something. But I don't buy them, but I also don't buy him. Yeah, I definitely don't buy them. They really seem like opportunists to the max. Of course, the end of the documentary when they're plugging the shit out of their upcoming book and the one that can't remember the damn title. Yeah. Very us. We're ones like, wait, what was it? And you're like, you got to be off book. We were preparing for this. But it just all feels like a mess. Yeah, it does feel crazy. And knowing that they were aspiring actors too. If you're an aspiring actor, warning sign, red flag, ladies. Like actors are crazy people. But they don't sit right with my spirit. Jesse, even before all that, didn't as well. Yeah. But I think something that kind of started to convince me were there are these two eyewitnesses that we never heard about that both identified white men. Yes. Two white men. And there's footage of the, I think it was like a hotel. A hotel clerk or some front desk worker sees a white guy allegedly run by. And then the tape that was given to the police has 10 seconds that are just skipped over. Yes, the security footage. Yeah. How can you use that? No, I mean, no, that's what I'm saying. And there's also no like physical evidence linking the two brothers to the scene. Yeah. So it's all just bizarre. Yeah. Except for an Uber ride, I guess. I didn't really notice it. Oh, yeah. I don't know. But also it kind of feels like that the documentary is part of the mess. Yes, for sure. It's like, I just don't know. I don't understand. Like the framing of everything is so like, I think pretty transparently pro Smollett. Yeah. In a way that like I read an interview with the director where he was like, I, let me actually pull it up because this quote, I was like, no, my brother. He says, he was asked by Variety, this doc is being released during a time when Smollett is making forays into rebooting his career as an actor. Do you look at this film as a stepping stone for him? The producer says, this is certainly not the purpose of this film. It's not a miscarriage of justice film in any way. It's more an opportunity for people to watch, watch him and see what they believe. So no, it's so intention of mine of the film to help rehabilitate his career anyway, which I'm like, it, I don't think that's true. Like, even if it's not like expressly to rehabilitate his image, the film obviously sides with him at the end. Like they save so many, you know, details that are like seen as smoking guns, like presented as smoking guns. That claim his innocence in a way that I'm like, I mean, I don't know how you in this movie thinking, like, I just don't know what happened. I'm just like coming away from it thinking maybe like two things are true. Like some version of a hate crime occurred. Maybe not the colorful story that Jesse told. So yeah, yeah. It's all, I don't know. We did say this about the mother in the texting movie, but not a crime to love attention. Everything else. Absolutely. Jesse Smollett, same for you. Oh Lord. Same for you. Yeah. Watch it. Report back if you have it. There's a Michael Scott coming out. I know it is. I know it is. Let me get away from this mic. It's a little too hot in here for me. I am so excited today. Yeah. I'm wearing a dress. I'm like, I like, I like dressed up for the occasion. Today we have truly my favorite person on TikTok. My favorite comedian, Lavelle Dante. Lavelle is a standup and TikTok creator. And I don't know how you've gone like diamond in my home. Like I'm off the hook on so many of your videos. Thank you so much. Oh my God. You're like, oh my God, a fan. That's sweet. Such a good introduction. No, please. I'm like such a geek. Okay. We have a question that we ask everyone who comes on the podcast. Yeah. Do you consider yourself a lover or a hater? Let me say this. Okay. Into camera. One more time. Yeah. What do you mean? Like, I'm a lover. Like, what do you mean by hater? Like, hating on people? No, I mean, you know, like, I would say hater is someone who has very specific standards and expectations, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. That's me. That's me. Me, too. But I'm a lover as well. I think I'm a tough lover. Oh, just like my mother. Yeah. I'm familiar. I'm off book on tough love. No, but it's like, you know, you have to sometimes, like, really set your boundaries. You have to show people how you want to be loved in order to be, like, comfortable and for you to be able to, like, love them correctly. So maybe I'm just, like, mean, but I'm nice. You've done so much already. I mean, but I'm nice. I'm a lover, but a hater. Yeah. Okay, the duality of man. Are you a lover or hater of, like, TikTok comedy? Love. Yeah. I love. I love because it's, like, so much new things that we can bring to, like, entertainment and to, like, just humor and just taking people away from all of the crazy things that's happening. And it's, like, literally, like, evolving. Like, the way that I perform comedy, whether on the phone or live. Like, it's just, like, completely different. And that's probably why, like, people like me because I am able to relate to the new generation and the new form of, like, entertainment, which is our phone. It's not TV anymore. Well, it is, but it's, like, the phone as well. Yeah. I like how you call it the phone and not, like, the internet. Like, it's a different phone. It's different. No, it's different. No, it's different. Wait, I don't know how old you are, but did you grow up with Vine at all? I'm 25. You bitch. Oh, get out. It's an order. I just turned 25. I'm 26. August 26? I'm a Virgo. Virgo, period. Oh. Period. Taurus. Tatted. Yeah. Leo, not tatted. Okay. But it announces itself, I think. I love Leo. It announces Leo. I kind of grew up with it, but I didn't have a phone until, like, 11th grade. And that's how it should be, actually. Wow. Yeah. So I was just in my room, like, drawing all the time. Just singing and just doing stuff. Talking to my family. We was very, like, we was basically online. I wouldn't say Amish, but. Say more. Well, I wouldn't say Amish. I would say it was like a very, like, almost 90s upbringing, because we had to communicate. Like, we had to just be in each other's faces, watch TV every now and again, but we would just have to, like, be together. Like, there was no technology interrupting, like, our family dynamic. I think I discovered you from a video you made that said, and I quote this literally all the time, if you pull out a motherfucking Ouija board, I'm singing the OST. That's the oldest hymn I know. I literally repost it maybe, like, once a month. Like, it has gone from my house. When did you feel like social media, like, the phones were kind of popping up for you? Like, when I was, like, growing? No, like, in your comedy career. So I was making content for a very long time. Okay. Like, everybody, like, kind of just got introduced to me, like, 2023, because I was active duty in the military. I switched to the guard, and then I was like, I need to leave. Go back home and focus on the Internet. Okay. And then the week. that i left my base all my videos started going viral and that's and that's that's the artist's way oh d yeah yeah yeah but um i think just like around that time like it was just like everything just started happening because i look was like practicing social media i guess for so long because it was like throughout covid because some of the videos that i i repeated some of my jokes because my first page deleted so i'm like oh well like the ouija board joke yeah i said like i was not exactly that but it was like a joke about like halloween and spooky stuff and i was like oh i need to say this again i got some more followers now so yeah i think just around that time just was like boom boom and then i was like i can't stop i don't want to go away so i would wake up in the middle of the night sometimes it'd be like 3 a.m and i would just grab my phone and be like let's lock in put those little glasses on and like yeah oh yeah i love your prop work is incredible i don't even know where my glass here they are that's why i can't hear that well oh and i do have to ask the honest question which is is there anything in there any prescription yes i have astigmatism which one of us has astigmatism but okay so a lot of people think they're not real because i like um look over them like that yeah but that's because the glare because okay when i first started doing content i was only using my front camera and then i was using like beauty mode a lot and i didn't like that because that wasn't my skin and i was like i didn't want to like build a build confidence in a version of myself that wasn't real and i didn't like looking at my face while i was telling the joke or being funny because it would make me overthink because i'm looking like oh look at this face i'm making or look i have a zit or blah blah so i just start using the back camera with the flash on because it was like you're gonna see me and i don't want to see myself as i'm performing and i'ma post it so i'm always just like and then i just let it go that way i don't like be insecure but it really like helped me with my confidence damn wow raw uncut unfiltered and it's like the closest yeah i feel the spirit of my mother every time i watch this wow that is so not the way like anyone else is moving online i feel like in terms of i mean i do think like tick tock obviously there's an algorithm play there that like as native as possible you want it to feel as organic that way the amount of skincare products i am like sold on tick tock when you have a full filter on yeah is doing that thing for me i just don't like that i didn't like even like because you know like my that's probably why y'all like me so much my target demographic is women yeah when i first went viral like way back it was way back but like 2020 i made a video saying like listing the reasons why women deserve to be angry it was like it was so many people that posted that video and it was another video i had it was like a little bit like deeper and i was like oh my god i'm not gonna do that it was like a little bit like deeper and i was like oh my god i'm not gonna do that it was like a little bit like deeper and i was like oh my god i'm not gonna do that it was like oh my god i'm not gonna do that it was like a little bit like deeper but i just looked up a statistic something told me to look it up and it was like the amount of women that have been essayed or sexually harassed and i just made like a quick video i was like i did not know like one if i have women blah blah blah and that video has so many like comments and views and it was literally like their testimonies and it was just like it just it really tugged at my heartstrings but from that point and basically my whole life i've always been like okay women women women women and the way that i've been navigating the world and social media i want it to be a reflection of the confidence that i want women to have well that was a word and that's actually why we brought you here today oh yes actually we did i did see your video the other day about how you're like you believe you like women more than straight men do like yeah no straight men don't even like women straight men actually hate yeah well no straight men are straight i've never met a straight man i think all i think all men are by bare minimum i'm just i'm gay so i don't really uh deal with that suffering what we came to actually the last time we talked was i was like oh lesbians like so crazy and hunter was like you know what's going on in the straight world you know do you know what men are up to yeah they're going through a lot i know i said you know what condolences yes yes i hold space for your experience i love when you give advice to straight women who ask you questions about like you know should i dump him what should i do what should you what are like some of the craziest sort of fan comments or interactions you've had interactions would be like somebody kissing me on the cheek oh just like i love you wow but maybe like a email one email i got usually the emails i get sometimes they're like um bill do you think my man is gay and i'm like yes actually i stopped reading that yes you know more than i do yeah and you sent me this email in the middle of the night so right right you have a hunch you're sending me an email asking if your man is gay he's probably gay and y'all they don't even give me like any details any insight no pictures no it's just like that's the only question wow okay growing up were you like a a class clown were you so did you always know you were funny yes when did you lean into that yes i always knew i was brilliant um yes i was like the class clown but i was also like very very smart i'm my job in the uh military i'm a meteorologist oh wow oh yes which is crazy weather forecaster um but i was the class president i was a drama club president i wrote a play i used to do public speaking all the time oh yeah you're a virgo for sure period but i was always funny and i never really thought about how my humor could be a career like i used to watch stand-up and stuff but i never like just imagined that i was just always thinking of like very practical things because you know when you grow up in certain neighborhoods you only think of like the way to get out you don't think of like your dreams and art and stuff like that and there wasn't a lot of people who were living like that and i was like oh my god i'm like oh my god i'm like oh my god i'm living that life for me to even see like okay this is possible so i only thought to myself like maybe i need to stick to being smart like do something in stem yeah okay i have a question i don't know this are you a barb a barb i love her however i didn't grow up with a phone so there's a lot of music and a lot of artists who i weren't able to like build that relationship with i like grew up listening to my mom's music oh that okay that i can see a lot in your stuff because you love like a heart and soul compilation like you love the old stuff i love it do you feel like most of your comedy is informed by your life or is it it's my life and my experiences because or my analyzing because virgos are very like i i know oh virgos are paying attention i'm talking to y'all but i don't i'm paying attention to him wagging his legs like i'm looking at everybody but um i'm crying i'm looking at everything like what's going on but um yeah i think another thing well the main thing that comes from like like my source like when i'm like spewing out different stuff i've seen so many women or black girls that i knew growing up get disrespected by men yeah whether it was cheating on or like just just crazy stuff happening like from middle school to my adulthood and it never made sense to me because the women that would be coming to me telling these stories for one i'm like why are y'all still together but two is like how is this happening to you like i see so much in you like i am doing more for you than this man that's having sex with you like i'm opening the door for you i'm paying for your lunch like i'm very like my mama taught the boys about like chivalry you know like my sexuality changing the thing you're not touching the doorknob and you're not paying for food if you're one of my friends and your girl oh i love it oh we got a lincoln bill this is the first good man oh i love it yeah what is your favorite joke of like of your joke my favorite joke yeah that i've ever said oh i don't know i have too many and then like now that i do stand up i have like long like sets like i have like three different hour long sets wow yeah um i would say one of my favorite videos is me with that pixie cut wig on when i was like shuffling my head yeah yeah because that's that's like the most viral thing now it's like a meme again it's a meme on twitter like if you see me on twitter it's like a meme on twitter it's a meme on twitter it's a meme on twitter like if you search my name it's in the gifs and it's like a filter on cap cut like everybody is making their own memes of that right now so i guess i'm loving that right now and that was such like a random day i just came to my friend's house and i was like i didn't make any content today like i have to make some content blah blah and i brought that wig let me put on this wig and i was doing other videos and then i was like let me just do this and i set my thing down and i just did like that and the first time i did it i blushed out laughing and i was like oh i gotta do it again so i did it and when people don't know there's more than one version of it it's like one where i'm like leaning down and one is leaning up it's like barely a difference but i posted both just so it can be like a little lower just so people can think it's like um the mandela effect like i know they're going to be looking at like he did not do this last time it's two of them do you have a favorite moment of the internet for 2025 so far of me or everybody of everybody anything i don't even know like what's been going on honey okay i met shelly i was just gonna ask if you were a love island um i don't have a tv oh you're better than all of us i didn't know wow you're better than all i've been reading books and just listening to music you're better than all but i didn't grow up with a lot of technology so it's like i'm just used to that i get overwhelmed very fast too when it's like a light going on like new york there's too much hustling bustle for me i really need to sit down somewhere but i met shelly i would say maybe love island seeing um alondra and shelly like being able to just like blow up you know i just love seeing like the success of black women like it's like and she was there and She was so nice. Our birthday is a day apart. She got my mama name. Wow. I was just like, wow. But I don't know. Maybe them. Or I can't even think of everything. A lot has happened. It's been a long year. It's not even over. It's really like a long year. I don't know. Maybe that. And then just like, maybe not an internet moment, but just the way the internet has allowed me to connect to a bunch of people. Like this year has been more than ever. And I think one of the reasons why, and this is very crazy and it's probably very toxic and I'm looking for a therapist. Let me get out of it. Every day when I make content, I do not give myself credit for what I did yesterday. Like I don't care about it. It doesn't feel important. It doesn't feel relevant. It doesn't feel like, I'm like, if I did not doing nothing today, right now, that's trending. I'm not good enough. So I just like push myself and it's like, I have to give myself some grace. Cause then like, I'll be doing all that and I look at my phone and I'll be, having like a bunch of hundreds of likes on everything because all my other videos are going viral. Even the first video that I ever posted, people still like and comment on it. And I'm like, you're doing good. You can sit down. Nobody's talking. I'm not, nobody, I'm not mentioning nobody's story. Let me get a new picture. Let me get my ass in the park or get some new glasses. Last question. Tell, wait, tell us more about how you feel about New York. I made a whole video. I was on live rant about New York yesterday for like 20 minutes. Right. Which I hate this place. It's okay. You know, I like, okay. It's a love hate. Okay. Cause it's a whole new world. Like, um, y'all know Infinata Mama? Yeah. She's gone with me through many. I was at Infinata Mama with my friend, Michelle. She got like some videos, like that one friend, that one girl. Okay. Anyways. Um, we was just in there and it was so many people that was already in there. And then we placed our order and I was sitting down and I was just looking around in there. And hearing like how it just sounded like we were in like a buffet restaurant. Like it was so many people. And I was just like, I just started losing it. Like I almost was going to have a panic attack. And I was yelling at my friend cause she sat on the other side cause it wasn't like yours. I was like, Michelle, what the fuck is we doing in here? And she was like, what? I was like, uh-uh. I'm not finna sit in this long ass line for no hot pocket. I was just so mad. Not too much on Infinata Mama. It's good. It's so good. But that, that is like a normal. Infinata Mama conversation. But I was just like, what is going on? Because that's so not normal. Like the experience here is like, hey, we just gonna wait for 50 minutes. That's not regular. New Yorkers love a line. In the South, if the line too long, if I pull up to the drive-thru and it's too many, I'll be like, I'm out of here and I'm gone. I've never been on the train. On the subway. And I'm not going down there. Literally the spirit of Alicia could use my mother. Oh my God. I'm not going to hell. Up here. I'm not going down there. There's rats and robbers and flashers and dancers. And there's dancers. And no escape. When them doors close, you just in there. I've been seeing trains. Don't they stop sometimes? You get stuck. Yeah. Not like stuck for a long time though. No. Hell no. Hell no. I would never. Taxi. I do like it though. I love the views. I love the lights. I love. You know, the excitement of it all. I love each time I come here, like I can just have parties and I meet people and you know, I love that there's a lot of creative people here and there's so many different jobs. Like you'll be with an Uber driver. He turned around and tell you, oh, I'm a director of blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm just doing this with some side money like, wow, but I, it's just too loud. Yeah. I like to be able to go to sleep, you know, maybe open the door, get some fresh air. You open the door here, you hear the horns and people yelling all night, get out of the way, move bitch. And you, my hotel, my room is like on the 24th floor. I'm like, how do I hear these people? We project. We project. And it's pigeons. No. Oh, the pigeons thing. We can. Yeah. The pigeons are nasty. But thank you so much for coming. Thank you for having me. Oh my God. Let me say this. Yeah. Beer, beer, let's close out. Oh, yes. Oh, I love it. I love when our guests work. I love a brand supporter. Thank you so much. And where can people follow you? I need to order these. Do your work. And you, I think we might have extras. Yeah, please. Where can people follow you? For you, it's free. Oh my God. But I'm saying, don't you sell it? No. It should be available for purchase. Let me say this. You selling your shit out of this mug is not cracking me up. I love this. But I'm Lavelle Dante everywhere on all platforms. L-A-V-E-L-L-E-D-O-N-T-A-E, just in case they spell it wrong. And I got a song out. Do you hear me, y'all? You should listen to it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. I love you guys. Can I share with you something that changed my life? Yeah. So I got my braids done. Yeah. I hear you. Thank you. Parts of you, right? Thank you. And I did not bring enough human hair. And I was just like a little, it was like not a full bundle. Usually she needs like a full bundle. Yeah. We go to the same braider sometimes. So you know who I'm talking about. I love Stacey. Um, but I was like, shoot, like, what am I going to do? I don't have time to like go to the store. It's like my appointments coming up, you know, whatever. And she said, why don't you just call the hair store, Lugos, where I always go and ask them if they can just put it in an Uber courier. Oh, smart. And send it to you. And I was like, I never thought about that. I'd never thought about it. Were you in the chair? Of course. It completely worked. Like they, it was so easy and so simple. And I was like, I don't know. It, it like truly changed my life. Like technology is amazing. And I've always said that. I, yeah, I'm a woman in STEM now. Taking out my phone and Uber courier hair to my, to my braider. Wow. I've never done that. Yeah. But I guess I will if I need it. If you're in a, if you're in a tough spot. No, I actually, I always forget that I bought hair. So I, under my bed, I have a whole like thing. I am, I have so, I have so much like, I have so much like random hair that it's like. I know. I'm like, what color do you need? What? A new cut. A new color. All under my bed. It's insane actually. But braids looking good. Thank you. How's your fashion week, babe? I'm too old for that. Too old for fashion week? Too old for fashion. Yeah. Yeah. I just think like I've lost the spirit of, um, standing in a line and being in a party, holding a drink and looking around at each other. Like. Yeah. I'm losing the ability. Some, some hits. Shout out to Valentino Beauty. Oh, I lost an earring. At Valentino Beauty. That's how it felt. That's how it felt to be at Studio 54. I was like, I understand why people do quaaludes in that place. I was like, oh, this was, they turned up in here. Um. But that was like the only thing I felt like I went to some, you know, I feel like, uh, I went to the Theophilia show. That was great. Oh, yeah. Shawn Landry. Oh my God. I'm wearing the lead. Yeah. Oh my God. She's the tiniest woman in America. Is she really petite? Blow her over. Wow. She's so small. And I thought that. I was like, I've never seen a smaller woman in the world. Be rude. And then she, I go on Twitter and she had quote tweeted, um, a photo of, um, her and Edwin, the designer. And in the photo, it's them serving. And then she is like, LOL, they didn't believe my measurements were 24 inches. Like they had to double check. That being the quote tweet, you go off girl. I, yes, I saw that quote tweet and I was like, oh, that's so funny. Yeah. We got to talk about that walk eventually, but she, I believe in growth and I believe in women and I believe in her. Did you see Huda's walk? Huda walked something? Sorry. Yes. Yes. Um, Rick Ross, a Rick Ross brand. I love this like truly organic laugh. Um, yeah, I'll show you the video. It is, um, maybe you shouldn't. I might not have something like, not while the mic is on. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Fashion week, it puts a chill down on my spine. It's not for me. I, I need to like stay home. You and Lavelle. That's all I'll be practicing is staying home. What you up to tonight? Let's link and build inside together. And I love that in a woman. Yeah. Well, that's it for this week. As usual, we are two online, so you don't have to be. Follow us on socials at lemme say this pod at Hunter H and at Peyton Dix. Let me say this is hosted by me, Hunter Harris. And me, Peyton Dix. Let me say this is a production of Wondery. Production services by DCP entertainment for DCP. The producer is Ryan Ronkema and the executive producers are Adele Coleman and Alyssa Brittis. Our theme song is by Scott Velasquez. For Wondery, our managing producer is Taylor Sniffen. Nick Ryan is our senior managing producer. Our producer is Kate Young. Our senior producer is Brian Taylor White. The executive producers are Aaron O'Flaherty and Marshall Louis. Hi, I'm Nicole Phelps, global fashion news and features director at Vogue and co-host of the Run Through podcast. Each week on the show, our listeners get an all access podcast. I'm Nicole Phelps, global fashion news and features director at Vogue. On Tuesdays, join me as I interview influential designers like Calvin Klein, Rachel Scott and Simone Bellotti. On Thursdays, join Chloe Mao, head of editorial content at Vogue US and Choma Nadi, British Vogue's head of editorial content, as they explore fashion through the lens of culture with guests like Doja Cat and Margot Robbie. Listen and watch the Run Through with Vogue wherever you get your podcasts and Vogue's YouTube channel.