Kylie & Jennifer Hudson on Kelce Genes Takeover, Toddler Spa Days & Viral Spirit Tunnel | Ep. 39

Not gonna lie. I'm blaming the full moon. Eagles lost, Phillies lost, Chiefs lost. Trash. Absolute garbage. I'm blaming the full moon because I tried to every seat in the house. So that couldn't be it. Let's get this podcast started. Welcome back to Not Gonna Lie. A Wave Original brought to you by Hannah Anderson. I'm your host Kylie Kelsey. My mom is one of my best friends. Shout out to Lil' Least. I do famously got a knock on wood. You know the drill. Also, these are not Easter eggs. We're not that clever. And I'm a former Cabrini College sports announcer. I would say that I called women's or men's soccer the most. I did call one basketball game and a couple women's volleyball games, which that took a lot of studying. But we got through it. And I don't think it's the worst thing I've ever done. So look at me trying to stay positive. Coming up on today's episode, I've gotten absolutely stacked Doom Scroll the Week featuring the winner of this year's Fat Bear Week. Yep, you heard that right. Oh my gosh, it is an absolute honor to get to witness what is comparing fat bears. Unreal. And it looks like women's basketball is coming to Philly sooner than we thought. That's right. That unrivaled announcement was exciting. After that, I'm going to be joined by an egot winner. I truly have no business speaking to. You know her from American Idol and her hit talk show, the Jennifer Hudson show. If that didn't make it obvious, guys, it's Jennifer Hudson. It's all coming up. But first, let's get to some real one comments of the week. First up, yeah, there was a 12 minute jump. Two weeks in a row on the runtime of this podcast. And some of you in Queen Emma's court commented with absolute horse shit like this. At Colleen said, "Queen Emma did it again at one hour. Get the front door out of here. Get the French toast out of my face." Queen Emma asked, "How are you feeling about two cool 60s in a row?" And then she said, "Girl, should we make it three with a turtle emoji?" No, we shouldn't make it three. How about that? Garbage. Next up, a lyric from Life of a Showgirl inspired a viral tweet. And I have to admit, they got my ass. They really did. The tweet says, "A whole block full of baby Kelsey heads." Someone commented on that tweet and said, "The fate of Kylie Kelsey." First of all, the lyric is, quote, "have a couple kids got the whole block looking like you from Wishlist," which is my favorite song in the album, I think. I've said it so many times before the Kelsey jeans are strong. And here is, here's a moment that happened this week. This week was Uncle Trav's birthday. And in true celebration, there were a number of photos posted on a carousel on Instagram. I believe by the chiefs and new hives that were, oh yeah, I did, Brad, believe it! The other podcast and the chiefs collabed on a carousel of photos for Uncle Trav's birthday that included a photo of my husband and Travis. And I will tell you what I think I've given up on the Ellie fight. It was so obvious. It's Ellie's eyes. It's her eyes. And the worst part was, is it was in that photo where I was like, oh shit, is that Benny's face too? Which is to be fair, I have not thought for one second that Benny resembled me at all. So that was fine. It was Ellie that broke me. So the jeans are strong, guys. I don't know what to tell you. I've been saying this from the beginning. We saw why it come out. It's like we cloned Jason in girl form. It just, we don't have a fighting chance, okay? But luckily they make very cute children can confirm very cute children, those Kelsey's. Because that baby picture was freaking a, that little kid picture of Jason Travis was so cute. We do have half the block already covered, especially when they scatter, which is the thing they've been doing recently. They think it's funny. Speaking of the girls, we have listened to Life of a Showgirl. There are some bops on there. I think everybody knows. One of the songs that Ellie and I have been bopping to on the way to school is Opalite. Great song. The lyric my brother used to call it eating out of the trash. Outstanding. My favorites on the album are definitely wishlist. Opalite. And who are we kidding would? Here's the deal. Do I need that much detail about my, specifically about my brother-in-law? Probably not, but also. Good job trans. That's it. Guys, yes. A thousand percent, yes, that's women supporting women, Pradia. Okay, moving on, let's get right into Hunky Doom Scroll the Week. Upon intended, you'll see what I mean. First up on Doom Scroll the Week, we no longer have to wait until 2030 for professional women's basketball in Philly because Unrivaled is coming this January. Queen Emma rolled a clip, please. Okay, there was an announcement in Love Park in Philadelphia that Unrivaled, the three-on-three women's basketball league will have two games played in January. In Philadelphia, get out of town. No, get in town. I do have January 30th blocked off on the calendar because, of course, I want to be there for this. I hope that people feel encouraged and welcomed into the Philadelphia area. And I hope that this is just a small glimpse into how we are going to love and support our team that comes in in 2030. I think we can show up and show out, and I think that we can make our city proud. Speaking of the WNBI, I've just been given yet another reason to be a fan of Caitlin Clark. Roll the clip, Queen Emma. She and some of her fever teammates were at the Colts game and Caitlin a diehard chiefs. Is the only one not wearing the custom jersey they made for her? Nailed it. You fucking nailed that. You nailed that so hard. Here's the deal. Very kind of the Colts organization to give a customized jersey. This is customary. I've seen it happen to my husband many times. I co-sign this decision very hard. I think that Caitlin nailed this. I think that when you are raised a diehard fan of a team, that this is the only appropriate response to being given a jersey of another team. So yeah. Yep. Nailed that. Next on Doom Scroll. First, we were a turtle podcast. Then a hippo podcast. Well, now I think it's safe to say we're a brown bear podcast because the winner of Fat Bear Week 2025 has been crowned and you guys his name is Chunk. Queen Emma, the clip, please. We have a winner. Chunk, a towering brown bear with a broken jaw has taken the top prize in Alaska's popular Fat Bear contest. This is Chunk's first win. After narrowly finishing in second place, the three previous years. By the way, Chunk weighs an estimated 1200 pounds. Chunk received the most votes in a competition between 12 brown bears where people picked the bear. They believe best exemplifies fatness and success. Perfect for him. In their preparation for winter, hibernation, okay? A couple of things here. One being the most important, I think we should point out. One of the things that they shared about Chunk is that he has a broken jaw, okay? So for him to become the fatdest bear with a broken jaw, I don't think that we are properly acknowledging the adversity that he had to overcome to fat n' up, okay? He was so dedicated that with a broken jaw, he's still consumed enough calories to be the fatdest bear. Perfect. I have seen a bear in the in the wild, did I freak out, yes. Was it like a freak out scared? Absolutely not, 'cause I was in a vehicle and the doors were locked. That's key, 'cause those suckers can open doors. Yeah, I believe the bear I saw was a black bear. And it was on the way to the Dickerson wedding. That's not, that's out for real. We were going to see Landon and Brooke get married. And we saw one on the way up the mountain. I was very excited. Who you not more would like to know if Jason and I saw a bear on a hike, would he ditch me like he did with the shark? Couple problems with this question. Number one, would Jason be on a hike? Probably not. I don't think he would ditch me. I think he would stick around. He doesn't, it doesn't feel as dire as him coming in contact with the shark. But maybe I'm wrong, we'll have to ask him. Am I a national park scurly? Yes, yes I am. I love and support the national park service. And I think we all should, because it is preserving parts of our country that are beautiful and representative of the land that we get to call home. Like beautiful national parks, taken care of by our wonderful national park service. Shout out again to Fat Bear Week and the Cat My National Park Conservancy. They exceeded their fundraising goal and raised over $430,000 during Fat Bear Week. If you wanna donate, we'll put the link in the description. The last thing on Doom Scroll, TikTok or Green Megs and Ham, just shared a very seasonally appropriate mom hack and I'm taking notes. Queen Emma, please roll the clip. It says mom hack, if your child ever wants to play, but you have low energy, just tell them your corpse then needs to get ready for a funeral and let them do your makeup. I love low energy kid activities for parents. There was a period of time where we did spa day. And I provided a brand new paintbrush with a tiny little like bathroom cup of water. And that was great. We were, I had my eyes closed and we were painting clean water onto mom's face. And at some point, I peaked and I opened and realized that then it was dipping the paintbrush in the water, sucking the paintbrush dry. Well, I guess not dry. Sucking the water out of the paintbrush and then painting my face. So I was getting a spit facial, which I could have done without. I could have lived my life not receiving a toddler spit facial. I then quickly realized that spa day could not involve me closing my eyes. And that's okay, I'm okay with that because I still got to lay on the floor. Another one that we've been doing recently is massages. They're not actually massages, but my kids are young enough that if they wanna beat the shit out of my back, it's still kind of relaxing and they're not what I can ask them to not do it as hard as they possibly can and they actually listen. So I love that I said they actually listen like it was a surprise, but for anyone who has children, our kids ages, then you know it is kind of a surprise that they listen to that. We regularly have ended up with stickers all over our faces. That was an activity that specifically why it really enjoyed when she was younger. She enjoyed putting stickers on both mine and Jason's faces. I think I have a video of that somewhere, maybe Brad can cut that in here. But it's, it really was easy because you sit and you get, I mean it's, you wanna get not so sticky stickers. That is, that shit will hurt. And I think you also wanna make sure you're not putting it on eyelashes or eyebrows. So you know, you're not waxing your face. I have tried a number of times to have the girls do my hair. But we cannot grasp the concept of only brushing down and then when we are old enough to grasp the concept of brushing down or we're being light on mom's hair that day, we transition to, well now I need to put it into an elastic or a ponytail holder and we don't quite know how to do that. So it ends up with like a lot of this, a lot of like smushing hair around and just sort of like circling your hands, almost like they're making a meatball with my hair. And then it ends up, you, that ends up as a rat's nest as my mother would call it. I do love doing it though because every time Ellie does my hair, it looks, nobody tell her I said this, horrific. And every single time she goes you look beautiful and it is the sweetest moment. I'm like, you know what? I do look beautiful. I'm gonna wear it like this to dinner with dad. It's so cute and I love it. And also I get to sit there while they do it. So 10 out of 10. Hi, the recommend nine out of 10. I recommend that one point off is for hair loss. Here we go. That's it for Doom Scroll the Week. Coming up, Jennifer Hudson is about to join me. But first, I'm gonna rave about Hannah Anderson pajamas. If you're a real one, it was only a matter of time before you found out about some of my favorite kids, PJs from Hannah Anderson. I've actually got some right here with me because these are some of the holiday prints for Fanny. Look at how freaking cute this, look at the little tree. Oh, focus. Look at the little trees. My goodness. It's only October, but if you're a planner unlike me, they've already got holiday prints in stock. I love Hannah Anderson pajamas because they last. They last. I have had pajamas that why it wore, that fin will now wear. And that's so cute. Hannah Anderson just dropped their new 2025 holiday pajamas for the entire family. And there are so many new and fun colorful patterns this holiday season. You can mix and match with the full family. And when I say full family, I mean it. Guys, they even have dog pajamas. Oh, I love it. And it's the perfect time to check out Hannah Anderson pajamas because their exclusive friends and family event is happening right now. You are invited to Hannah Anderson's family and friends event at Hannahanderson.com, backslash and GL. She's one of only 21 people in history to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. You know her from American Idol. The voice, dream girls, sing, respect, and of course her hit talk show that just kicked off. It's fourth season. And now she's officially not gonna lie. Jennifer Hudson, welcome to the show. - Thank you for having me. Happy to be here. - Of course. I am so excited to talk to because I, of course, was introduced to you from your American Idol days. - Wow. - We were up. We were a big American Idol house. - Oh yeah. - Huge. (laughs) - It was a family event. Similar to like a Wheel of Fortune situation. - Yeah, okay. - Family event in our house. - Okay, okay. - It was a staple. I remember specifically the people who gave us goose bumps. We were, that was always our threshold of life. - Okay, that's how you know who you were gonna go for. - They've got it. - They've got it. - Exactly. - Mm-hmm. - And you provided goose bumps on a regular ass basis. - Thank you. - I mean, I was trying to-- - I don't think I need to tell you that, but your talent is kind of mind-boggling. - Thank you. Now I'd love to start by talking to you about your show. You just kicked off season four of the Jennifer Hudson show. Congratulations. - Thank you. - I can't believe it. - Now every week on this podcast, I always say I'm joined by a guest. I have no business speaking to very much. Like yourself. Are there any times in your show where you've had a moment similar to that? Or just a guest that you still can't believe you get the opportunity to speak to? - Finally, all the time. Like I, yes, sometimes I have to like remove myself from it to be able to get through it. Or sometimes it overwhelms me to the point. Like if it's someone I'm like crazy, crazy, like a fan over, then my brain starts rushing, like, oh my God, I want to ask him this. I want to ask him now, I want to ask him this. And then before I know what the time is up. So that varies for me. And then a lot of times, like, I'm realizing dreams right there in that moment. Like I just had Jennifer Holiday on the show. When I had, you know, like the original drink goes on Mariah Carey, like, wait, how are you on my show? And what I got to show in my cherry is like, my mind works like that in those moments. - One of my favorite parts is the spirit tunnel. Those clips are constantly going viral. - Yes. - Before I play some of my favorites, do you have a favorite? - I mean, they're all good. And they're only getting better and better. And people getting more and more creatives. - And it's like, turn an event at this point. Let's see. Okay, of course we all love the air in. - Yeah, that's the, that's the moment. It depends on the chat and then how to guess. We want to see what they're going to do. And then I have a monitor so I get to watch them as they're coming out in real time. I was saying like choreography, beckers won her, she got an MV team. - Yes. - Yeah, the rookie of the years. Like we're having moments in the tunnel. So every show is a new one that tops the last one. It's hard to say. - So who is coming up, who is the creative mind behind this? Who is coming up with the chat? - What's going to be yes. - The staff in the crew. Like I don't know when they rehearse. I mean, it's rehearse, but they get me too. Okay, and that's how it all started. Like I will come out the dress and roll or out of the office and they're out there like rooting and chanting me on. And then I was like, "Yeah, we need to do this for the guests. "We need to show the world this." Like people should see this. And then we started doing it for the guests as well. And now the whole, when I say the whole world is like doing spirit tunnels. Even when I'm in hotels, I'll see the staff line up. And I'm like, "Lord, they're about to spirit tunnel me." I was at a mixed games not too long ago. And they lined up. And I was like, "What are these people doing?" They did a spirit tunnel. Colleges, churches, clubs, everywhere you turn. It's like, we brought the, you know, help bring the world joy. I love that. And also it is exactly what you said. It's layers to it. It's the creativity of your team and what the chant is going to be. But also the reaction from the guests. What are they gonna do? How into it are they gonna get? Some of them are vibing in a way. I was not expecting. But see, that's what's cool about it because. I love it. It allows them to just let their guard down, even before they come off of the interview. Because as soon as you hit the door, you know you are here to be loved on and celebrated. Have your moment. And so they completely like lose sight of like any guard they may have up because they're so indulged in a moment. Like I said, I have a few spirit tunnel clips here. I'd love to break them down with you. Okay. The first one is Usher. Yeah, we got Usher. ♪ Got us feeling like we're ready to roll ♪ ♪ Put us down ♪ ♪ The watch out, yeah we got Usher ♪ ♪ We got us feeling like we're gonna roll ♪ ♪ We said let us feel like we're ready to roll ♪ The skate is our just. The part that gets to be about this is like, we know he's smooth. Right, we know that. To get on skates. Yes. And just literally glide through the spirit to. I mean. That's what was ready. He said this thing. He was so ready. He came like, this is my spirit tunnel. Exactly. And that's what it is and was. And so to see him get in, get in it and represent like that. Now there was a top comment on this. And it said, everybody was at work today. That's funny. Was there an unusually high participation rate that day? It did feel especially full that hallway. I mean, it is Usher. So, you know. I gotta. The more the merrier, it's like. But that's the thing, it's anybody. If you wanna hop in that spirit tunnel and cheer whoever own, if you loving them that much, come on out, you know what I mean? So, it's a vibe, it's a moment. And depending on the stars and how much they wanna love on them, sometimes they get bigger and bigger. And each one is different. I love it. Now, one of my personal favorites you just mentioned was the Pagebackers when she received the WMBA Rookie of the Year award. Queen Emma, can you roll that one? Hey, super power, she's the one! Hey, ladies and gentlemen! I just love that people get to show off their swag. Yes! Hey! I'm here to present you with the 2025 WMBA Rookie. And she says she was nervous. What should I do? She did great. And then she had an amazing surprise. It is so cool that this has become an opportunity to share something like this, which is an incredible accomplishment. Man, yes, to be a part of that, to see her receive that. And for them to want to do that in the spirit tunnel, it, again, once again, raise the bar. Now, I'd love to throw it back to your first-ever TV appearance. Oh, which was, of course. Girl on "American Idol." I also had Kelly Clarkson here. And she talked a little bit about the audition process and not knowing what to expect. You were on the third season, so you had a little bit more understanding. I got to watch Kelly do it first. Exactly. What were your expectations going in? You know, that's a good question, because that's it. Originally, I was like, when I go, I'm going to win. I'm going to win. But then, you know, as time went on by, and you get to see how huge the show is and became, you get a little nervous. And by then, I was like, you know, I want to do it for the experience. And what an experience it was. I feel like I hopped on "American Idol" rollercoaster, and it has been going ever since. Because, look at all the things I've gotten to do, all because I went in audition for that show. That's when everything started for me. Now, what do you remember the most from your audition? Ooh. Man, because there's so many different phases to the audition. So, like my original one was in the Georgia Dome football stadium, you know, and singing in the middle of the field, the football field there. But then, I remember when I sang, and I told, you know, Simon and Paul and Randy, hello. I'm not the average cruise ship singer. And I do think I'm the best. And I had this big go here. And I said, I'm going to sing "Share Your Love With Me" by Miss Alita Franklin. You know? Now, does that feel like you accomplished a full circle moment when you ended up playing "Aretha" in the movie "Respect?" Because I feel like you manifested that. I would have never guessed. If you told me that then, that one day, I would be handpicked by Miss Alita Franklin, and get to play her, I was in my girl, go sit down. Yes, that's how my life works. And so many full circles over and over again. So to think back to even this big hair right now, I'm paying tribute to my introduction to the world. I had the big hair. And I was like, my name is Jennifer now. You know, here I am 22 years later. I do think being an avid American Idol watcher, people like "Aretha Franklin," people like Whitney Houston. Whenever someone stepped up and they started their audition with, "I'm planning to sing a song by one of the greats." Yes. There was always this moment of like, "I really hope they nail it." Because there is a reason they are the greats. Yes. And so for you to not only nail that audition, but then again, to end up playing "Aretha" is unreal. And just it really, I always say, there, I would love the ability to just belt out and know, like really hit one heart. Sure you can't. I feel like, oh, nope, can't, definitely can't. But I will tell you, it seems like one of the most satisfying things you could physically do. I just think it must feel good like for your soul. Listening to you is like scratching that edge. It is, it's just, it's fulfilling to hear your voice and the power behind it and the control you have and the soul behind it. It just feels, oh, God, it's so good. I'm going to be fangirling over you. Thank you. You know, but it's a spirit, it's from the heart. So that's what I'm like, it's all about the energy. If you reach down there enough, I'm sure you could do. I know for a fact. I want you to be right. But I'm very sorry to disappoint you. Okay, but I got faith in you now. Thank you, I appreciate that. I will try my best to manifest that in the privacy of my shower. Okay. Okay, let me have that. Thank you. Now in your audition clip, Randy references that you were singing on Disney Cruises up until that point. Did you have a favorite song? Well, I got to be a Kaliope the hit, using Hercules the musical, and the Circular Life Solo is in the Disney Dreams. Circular Life is one of my favorite, like top five favorite songs ever. And you know what else? It's like I said, my life works in full circles, like everywhere I turn to the point I should be dizzy. Because right before I went to Idol, like I said, I was on the ship singing Circular Life, having no idea that Elton John wrote that song. I would have never guessed a few months later I would be on a show. called American Idol and Elton John would come in and be the celebrity star was teaching us their songs and guess what I'm saying? Circle of Life and he played it for me. And that was my biggest we manifested that. One idol. So I went from the ship singing it to singing it with the man himself, and it was perfect. Yeah. Now coming in on a different thing we could probably manifest is a live action version of Hercules because if you already have practice as a muse. We are the muse's goddess. It's all the class. Listen, I'm ready. Just call me. I'm ready. Okay. Disney. Let's get this moving because we're all waiting for it. Yes. We all need it. That's my dream, bro. Now Kelly also talks about when you two were coaches on the voice and how much you appreciated being able to help the contestants who were in the position that you were once in. How did that feel to be able to help people along their journey? I think it made a huge difference from our perspective, Kelly and I, because we were once them. So I think we listened from a different perspective. Say if the contestant got up there and they wasn't at their best, well, come on, they're auditioning in kind of the whole world. Of course they're nervous. We'd consider those things. You know what I mean? We had a different sense of empathy for them and understanding and compassion because we were contestants too on shows like this. So a lot of times like I would pick a contestant like, why does she pick this contestant? But they're contestant and it's like, well, you know, it's considering a lot of different things from that perspective. They're auditioning in front of the whole world. That is not easy to do. And you've got celebrity mentors sitting here in your audition in front of this nerve wrecking, you know? So I felt like it was helpful and it made us different as coaches. Now would you ever consider returning to American Idol or the voice? Yeah. Oh, what? I enjoy it at all. Now I wouldn't go on American Idol as a contestant. No, no, no. I'm not you master that, you're good. As a mentor or a judge on, because I do is judge on the voices of coach. Coach. Even those are two very different roles, but yes, I love my experience in both. Now you went from American Idol finalist to Egot. And it didn't take you long. You won the Oscar for Dreamgirls just two years after Idol. Is that right? Yes. First film. Ever. That's incredible. That's incredible. Thank you. I just want to give my lines right and make Bill Cundin proud. Now, where does accepting your Oscar rank as far as the most surreal moments of your life? Woo, well, I was up there very, very high, I mean, probably maybe in the top two, three times. To do it on your first film is, I mean, and I had never acted before other than being on the ship singing and they're right in Hercules the Musical. Who knew that a Disney cruise would prepare you to be an Egot? I mean, but, oh, that's a good question. I don't know. And then that is the thing, if anything, that could take one of those top spots, because even when I wanted to, I didn't even realize I had wanted until the whole one was like, "Egot, Egot." And I'm like, "Who the, oh, are they, they don't know me." Oh, they're talking to me. Yeah. You guys already know about my love for Hot Girl walks, and now they're about to get an upgrade, because Peloton just came out with a brand new cross-training tread plus powered by Peloton IQ. It's cross-training reimagined with features built to feel like it actually gets you and how you like to work out. Speaking of, I personally like to work out without any of my children standing right next to me asking me to open their snacks, fill their water bottles, or change the channel on the TV, which is in a completely different room. But they still find me, it's like they sniff me out. My ideal Peloton workout these days is typically a class. I love the tread plus. It's comfy on my joints, it feels good, and you can work within the parameters of the class and do it to your own challenge. And you can challenge yourself to beat previous classes that you've taken, which I love a competition. I do. Peloton also has the best features including Peloton IQ, which tracks your progress and suggest weights that challenge you so you can get stronger. Let yourself run, lift, sculp, push, and go. Explore the new Peloton cross-training tread plus at 1peloton.com. As a podcast host, fundraising event organizer and high school field hockey coach, I know how important it is to build a great team. You need the right combination of people who are excellent at what they do, all working towards the same goal. And on NGL, that goal is to make this unprofessional, professional appear, well, professional. The same goes if you're hiring. Obviously, if you want your business to be a success, you need to hire the best people for it. Well, guess what? These people are a lot easier to find than you think. Just go to zippercrooter. And right now, you can try it for free at zippercrooter.com/ngl. If your hiring zippercrooter smart technology shows your job to qualified candidates immediately. If you're actively looking for a job, zippercrooter matches you up with relevant jobs in minutes. So build a team as solid as my beloved birds with zippercrooter. Four out of five employers who post on zippercrooter get a quality candidate within the first day. Just go to zippercrooter.com/ngl right now to try it for free. Again, that zippercrooter.com/ngl. Zippercrooter, the smartest way to hire. I would love to talk to you a little bit about motherhoods. I saw that your son is now 16. He is 16. And you said he's getting ready to drive. Yes. He better be soon. Come on. How do you feel about that? You know, I'm a little nervous. I am. Will you be the one teaching him? You know, here and there, but he needs a better instructor because I'm still working on parking. Remember that. Sure. Okay, sure. We're going to need someone else to tag in for the parallel parking. Exactly. I mean, it's just time. You know, like, he looks like a full grown man and I'm driving him around. And I'm like, this saying really, you know, this don't seem right? I feel like you go to the store, you drive yourself here there. You know, it's that face of life that he's in, but as a parent, we get nervous. You know, like, okay, because then those words of kick in, is it going to be okay? Where you going? And don't stay out too late. Be careful. Don't be driving crazy. Those things will probably pop up in surface then was like, why would she encourage them to drive? You know, but it's time. Now I have said a number of times, our oldest daughter is six. I keep making the joke of like, it's crazy that I'm 33 and a teen parent, you know, because it just feels like I'm not old enough to be here. No one ever feels like they're old enough because I, I, I, I, so you're still having that. That's still like, I almost have an adult that's like you say like, I'm the world. How do I have? How do we get here? Yes. So everything. You're going to feel that way. Okay, perfect. I wasn't sure if it was going to wear off into the, like into the teenage years, but I'm very much in the camp of like, there is no way I'm old enough to be responsible for a six-year-old. When did this happen? Yes. When they look and then they start to look old, like the idea of any of my girls being 16, I'm like, but it is coming quicker than you realize, okay? Enjoy this face right now because when your babies get about 11-ish, my son was about 12 years old. He went in his room, took a nap. He can, I used to call him monks. He came out that room and I was like, who is this man? And where is my monk? Because just like that is like, it flipped and then all of a sudden, you have to find a new way to be there for them because they go through so many phases so quickly. And it's that saying, like when you first had the baby, oh enjoy it because before you know it, it's going to be, there'll be grown. We think experience that's like birth to like 18, no, it kicks in way sooner. And at this point, my son says, hey, I'm a let's go, I got to go do this, all right, I got to be a school. Hey, my girlfriend is doing this. What? Hold on. How did this happen so fast? Yes. Now, what is the outside of coming to those realizations? What would you say is the toughest part of parenting a teenager? Trusting our teachings. And what I mean by that, to me when they get in the teenage phase, that is when you get to see. Who are you? You're wrong. And then I raise. Yes. What all did they receive that all the seeds we planted and then bringing them up? Because now they're going into the world on their own in a lot of ways, at least they're starting to. And so at a certain point, it's The hardest part is not doing. Like, oh wow, I gotta let you figure it out. I gotta let you go through that. You have to piece it together. Do you know your schedule? Where are your things? Like, 'cause it's parents, we're always there. We're always doing, we're always helping and all of that. But it's the phase of like, I gotta let you figure this out on your own. And it is so interesting back to what you said about people saying like, enjoy the moment. And you think they're saying, enjoy baby to 18. But this is his opportunity where he is gaining that independence and he's leaving you to go be his own person in a way - And it kicks in. - With a home base of still your house, right? - Exactly. - But you're getting to watch the person that you've raised. - Yes. - Oh gosh. - Yes. And it comes way quicker than you realize or seeing what they're into. Like, what are you into? What do you like? What is, it's like you're rediscovering your kid in a way. You know? Because you're learning who they are becoming. You know, all of those things. And so it's like, it's almost like when you're pregnant, you're ready to have the baby. What is it gonna be? Is it gonna be your boy or girl? Is it gonna look like Mama Dan? Who is it gonna look like? But when you get to this phase, it's like, who are you? What are you into? What do you like? Hmm. - Now, I wanna switch gears and I wanna ask you a little bit about sports. - Okay, ooh. - 'Cause I know you're a big basketball fan. - I am. I'm a basketball fan about mump. - Now, I was just talking about the WNBA coming to Philadelphia in 2030. We're getting a team. - Congratulations. - And I saw, thank you so much. We're very excited. - Nice. - Now, I saw that you went to the oral start game this year. - Who is your team? - Well, I better go with Chicago. Chicago, sky, home team. - That's my home team, but I love Vegas too, 'cause Asia Wilson is like my favorite, okay? But I got a rule for, you know, injuries is in Chicago and that's my hometown. And when I went to the game not too long ago, I was kind of torn. I'm like, but Asia on this team and then injuries on my hometown, some cheering for everybody. - Okay, yes. - Women supporting women, we love that. - Exactly, that's what it's about. - Yup, yes. - And I love, I also love that my boys do too. Like to hit them like, yo, ju-ju, age of reason, like there's mad into it too. You see the boys get into it. It's like, yeah, I better recognize. - That's how you know you're raising a good man. - That's right. - Now, you also performed in the NBA all-star halftime show and played in the celebrity game. - Yes, I did, yes I did. - Which to do enjoy more, performing or playing? - I don't even know to answer. You know what, I enjoyed the whole experience I did. It was just, but it was like a jayhood take over in Adjoy. But you know what, I would have to say, preparing for playing in the all-star game. And 'cause I literally prepped for like months, although my hand never touched the ball. And I remember my, my son said, mama, mama, you on the wrong side of the court. (laughs) He said, lock in, lock outside. Oh, I can't shame my kid. I removed my nails for the game. - Oh, you meant business. - I meant business. I trained with all my boys. I go from the boys to the men and I play games with them. They prepped me leading up. - That's perfect. I played with lethal shooter and all for months. - And never touched the ball. - But you were ready to and that's what matters. - Yes, 'cause I take everything seriously and I had so much fun. And of course I got a lot of cool points for my boys. - That's incredible. - Yeah. - Now, one last sports question 'cause I have to ask, are you an NFL fan? - You know what? I go to Super Bowl every year. - Okay. - And are the barriers your team? - I have one football boy and that's Jeremiah. So he keeps me abreast on the football. Now my team. - My team, of course I gotta go with my home team. - The barriers. - But Blasher is all about Philly for me. - Yes, it was. - Yes, it was and I knew Dave was gonna take it. That's all I had to say. - Did you? You could feel it. I called it. - I love that. Thank you so much. We appreciate yours. - Yes, I did. - This week was not our week, but we're gonna get back on track. - That's all right. - It's fine. - Yes. - Now, you sang the National Anthem at the 2009 Super Bowl. It is highly regarded as one of the best renditions in Super Bowl history. - Wow. - Like multiple lists. Would you ever do that again? - Well, don't fix something that's not broken. I'ma let it say where it sits. - That's fair. - I'll be selfishly. We are in a rotation of going to Super Bowl's at this point. Just out of support for the NFL, but hoping that my brother-in-law will be competing knock on wood. - I'm sure, I'm sure. I'm gonna knock on wood too. - Thank you. - I was watching the game last night. - Yes. - And selfishly, I would just love to witness that. - Wow. - Oh my goodness. Listen, too. - Seeing at the Super Bowl is, it's nothing like it. It's like one of the highlights of any artist career ever. So, you know, it's precious. Now, one of my favorite National Anthems is Chris Stapleton. - That Arizona. - Oh my God. I was there. - It was so good. That was one I am very, very grateful to have witnessed in person. - Me too. - It will be ingrained in my brain forever. - Yes. - Because while he was singing, they cut to, I wanna say it might have been my husband, but I blacked out a little bit with a single tear. And I was like. - Yes. - Now I can't hold my shit together and proceeded to cry uncontrollably in the stands. - Oh, I don't blame you. - But it was unreal. That one was very good. - One of my ultimate favorites for sure. - I cannot thank you enough for coming and chatting with me today. It has been an absolute honor. - Thank you. - My honor, thank you. You are a fangirl one more time because I have to for good measure. You are an unbelievable talent. I am so grateful to get to speak to you, but also to just get to witness your journey and to get to see all of the wonderful things that you're creating for everyone to enjoy. So thank you so much. And I can't wait to tune into season four of the Jennifer Hudson show. - Season four, same thing. - More spirit tunnels. - That's right, baby. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you for having me. - Thank you so much. - That's an honor. - And that's a wrap on another episode of Not Gonna Lie. You can find even more clips from my longer conversation with Jennifer on my YouTube channel on More Shit Monday. I'll be back next Thursday with a brand new episode following Not Gonna Lie on all social media at NGL with Kylie, listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Not gonna Lie is a wave original brought to you by Hannah Anderson. Thanks again to the real ones for tuning in. Wow, fucking suit my ass. Okay. (upbeat music)