Yvette Nicole Brown on Why It's Never Too Late for Love

There are people who make you laugh, and then there are people who make you feel safe while you are laughing. Yvette Nicole Brown is one of those people. You know her as Helen from Drake and Josh, classic, Shirley Bennett from Community, and a career full of characters with heart, conviction, and just enough side-eye to keep everybody honest. She is also a producer, advocate, caregiver, wife, and the host of the Gracie Award-winning podcast, Squeezed. Now she is stepping into the Audible universe of The Weddings of Lady Miss Jacqueline as one of its incredible narrators. Today, we are talking about the many lives inside one woman's voice, the voice that makes us laugh, speaks up for what matters, cares for the people she loves, and finally says, I get to choose joy. So get comfortable, because this one is going to make us laugh and give us all the feels. Baby, this is Kiki Palmer. And baby, this is Yvette Nicole Brown. No matter what. What we're doing in the car, just chilling. Pop on Amazon Music. Sit back and listen. Life, love, sex, science, covering it all. Especially the bad, because money always involves. No matter what it is, we're going to make it make sense. Nothing else to do but kick it with the homies and kids. So grab you a drink and a snack you enjoy and get into the vibe that only one can smell. You know it's your girl. Baby, this is, this is Kiki. Baby, this is Kiki Palmer, yeah. Today's episode is. Brought to you by our presenting sponsor, 7th Generation. I know I'm extra. They know I'm extra. We've made peace with it. But my cleaning products don't get to be extra. They get to work. 7th Generation keeps it simple so I don't have to pretend otherwise. Let's get in today's show. Come on out here, girl. I had you back there for a minute hearing everything. You look so cute. I'm not even honking. We both knew to do the platform. Listen. Come on, girl. I was like, I gotta let you in. This is for you. Ah! I love gifts. It ain't, listen. You are so. First of all, when I did. Just a classic. Your show. OMG. True Jackson VP. Do you remember what you gave me when I. You and Ashley gave me earrings. Oh my. That I still have, by the way. Oh my gosh. Shout out to Ashley. Yeah, I still have my little earrings. My dear Ashley. Oh my gosh. Hi, baby. We had so much fun on True Jackson VP in those days. We had a good time, baby. Girl! You were number one and killing it. Wait, can I look at my card now? Should I wait? You can look at it now. This is a little something. I just wanted to give you a little something. I'm a big card person. You already know that. Oh my gosh, yes. I hope you like it. It's just a little card. First of all, butterfly. Come on, I love butterflies. That's my baby. My little baby. Kiki, I remain so proud of you, the woman you've become, and all the good and whims that you put into the world. The sky has always been the limit for you. You, baby girl, are one of one. I adore you and I'm blessed to call you friend. I love you so much. You know I love you. This ain't even no news. Oh my gosh. This ain't news. I love you so, so much. I love you, baby. I love you, baby. Oh my gosh. Shout out to Andy Gordon for putting us together. Man. Shout out to him, right? That was a good time. That was a good show. Very good time. Very good show. Absolutely. Oh, this is beautiful. See that? So it can be an ornament. It can be something you leave on your desk. Right on the door. Oh my gosh. And it says, be the light, because that's what you are. Be the light. How beautiful. You're always the light. Every room, you're the light. Oh, just love me. Takes one to know one, girl. Listen, we're doing the best we can over here. Okay. Well, let's get into it. I'm so happy to have you on the podcast. Have you been? Long overdue. You know, I always do my pre-show pull-up questions. Let's do it. I'm ready. I'm prepared. Do I got to get it? Now, your platform or mine are going to get it. All right. They've evaded me. All right. Okay. So, your zodiac sign. I can't believe I don't know your zodiac sign. Okay. So, I did homework, because I knew you were going to ask this question. I mean, of course, I know. I'm just doing the same thing Tracy said. I know I'm a Leo. Hello? And everybody knows. Period. I'm a Leo. Come on now. Come on. So, I'm a Leo, and my ascendant is a Virgo, which explains so much. It explains us. My Pluto is Virgo, which explains so much. And then my moon is Taurus. Oh, I love a Taurus. And I also have Leo in Venus and Sun. You're very balanced. I'm very, is it? That fire is keeping it amped up. Because I don't know. I was looking forward to you telling me this stuff, because I saw it, but I don't know what it means. Well, what I hear when I'm thinking about it is, first of all, Leo, that Leo energy is strong. That's why you're so fierce. You're always getting out there and making things known. Taurus. You know, a lot of people get. I don't want to give all the aesthetic credit to Libras, but Tauruses are very aesthetic. They're beautiful. They know how to align things, make them right. Okay. You know what I'm saying? They have a particular way of doing things. Yeah. And then the Virgo, I mean. Well, Selah, you. You know, you. Does it need to be said? I mean, Michael, Beyonce. No, need we say more? I don't think you need to say anything. No, no. Yeah, it is. Your love language. What is your love language? How do you like to receive it, and how do you find yourself giving it out? I am a words of affirmation girl. Like, I love. Well, you should know this, girl. Well, I just received it. Yeah, because I love to pour into people. Like, I'll pour into strangers. I'll be at the, you know, the frozen food section. I'll be like, you know what? Let me tell you something about your hair. The way you do it, I just love to just put a little something in there. So, words of affirmation. And I think quality time, but I'm such an introvert that it's got to be one-on-one quality time. Yes. You put me in a group, girl, and I'm like. It's so crazy how you said. I mean, like, I get it because I can be an introvert, but isn't it so funny that we're still so out here with it, though? You know what? You know what it is, though? I tell people this all the time because no one believes I'm an introvert. I'm an introvert that likes people. Yes. So, if you like people, then you enjoy the time. But the thing is, once I've had the people time, I'm going to be in fetal position trying to get myself together for about two or three days. I need to recharge by myself. It's so true. I need that recharging because also, I feel like you probably can relate to this. I really just get very hospitable. Yes. Anytime someone is in my presence, I'm not. Look, we both got to be here. I'm trying to make sure I have a good time, therefore you have a good time. Come on, girl. You know, so. That's right. But when no one's around, it's like. Exactly. But this is the thing. I don't think people realize when you're. I think of myself as an outward-facing person. So, my motto is always, I want everybody to be all right. Yes. For sure. So, people don't realize that takes a lot of energy because I'm always. I'm going through the room like, what am I here for? Who am I here for? What am I here for? And so, I try to always be a respite and a refuge and not to be the problem. Oh, respite and a refuge. So, I'm quietly somewhere in the corner. Come on, get me when you're ready. And if you need me, I'm here. That's how I move through life. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. What is something your friends roast you for, if there's anything? Ooh. Yeah, I'm a little bossy. Come on, Leo. Of course. I'm a little bossy and a little bossy. Yeah. And my patience is bad. I found that out getting married. My husband has let me know, listen. Oh, my gosh. You are lovely, but calm it down. That's what can be so scary about getting so close with somebody. They're about to start telling you about you. But this is what I think about marriage. And I'm no expert. I'm like a year and a half in. But I believe that. Being married, it's your job to make your mate palatable for the world. Interesting. So you at home sloughing off the rough edges, saying fix your face, you know, maybe don't say that, whatever, so that they can go out in the world and everybody else can deal with them. So it's your job to get that person together. So Tony's at home like, listen here, player. Like, yo, the way you impatient, that ain't good. And so now I'm like, okay, if I do better for him, I'm doing better for the world. Yeah. I love that because it is collaborative, I would imagine. It really is. I mean, I haven't had, not married, never been married. But I love the idea of this person here checks and balances and making sure I'm good and I'm making sure they're good. Yes, what it is. It feels very safe. Everybody need a person to make sure they're good. And listen, it doesn't have to be a mate. Just my mom and my dad. But it don't have to be a mate, though. You know what I mean? Y'all remember, I didn't get married until 53. So if I didn't have. Who was taking care of me up to that time? My mother, my friends. So it's like it doesn't have to be a mate. And I love this because you talked about this when Tracy was on and I'm always big up. And Tracy, I think that they tell women that we have to check off all this stuff off the list. And if you haven't done it by a certain time, you've somehow failed as a woman. And I think what's so great about me not getting married to 53 is that I had a full, rich life. And had it continued, I'd have been great. They seem to think that we're not happy if we don't have nobody. And it's just not true. And so I tell people, if you want to get married, great. If you don't want to get married, great. Just build a life that works for you. I love that. There's so much more that we're going to get into about that, especially even the process in which of whether you do or don't meet that person. Right. Just the process. Just the process of having fun and dating and companionship in the middle of all that. So we'll get into that. Last question on the pre-show pull-up is, what is one movie you could watch over and over again? I can't wait to get into your movie taste real quick. Oh, God. It's got to be just one. Okay, give me top three. Give me top three. Okay, I'm going to give you top three. Princess Bride. I actually don't know. Don't get me. I know you know what I was going to say. Kiki! I don't think I've ever seen Princess Bride. Kiki, we got to stop the podcast and watch it right now. You ain't watched it tonight. You've never watched it? I've never watched it, girl. Let me tell you something. First of all, it's okay, and I'll allow it, and I know that you're going to have a time in your life, but I wish you had seen it at like 13 or 14. Really? It is a foundational movie. Just what it teaches you about love and about family and about honor and loyalty and fighting and believing again. Who's all in? Carrie Elwes, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal. I know him. Carol Kane. You know Robin Wright. She was in Forrest Gump. She played Janae. Janae. Janae in Forrest Gump. Jenny's life went so awry with that. Oh, yeah. Jenny went through some things. I hated that about Jenny. Yeah, she had to suffer through some things. Ooh. Man. That was tough. Man. Yeah. So, yeah, Princess Bride, you said watch over and over again? Yeah, so Princess Bride. The Wiz. Oh, The Wiz. Come on. You can't win. The Wiz, baby. Yeah. I don't know if you know this one, but I think this is another one you should watch if you have not. All About Eve. It's about that little girl when the mama says- No, you're going to love All About Eve. All About Eve. What happened to that? All About Eve is a story of- An actress. A famous actress who has this- I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Demir. No, no. That's another one. Oh. Who has this little bitsy comes in and decides she's going to be all nice to her and act like she is for her, but the whole time she coming for her spot. All About Eve. What year is it? It's black and white, isn't it? It's like 56. Betty Davis says, it's going to be a bumping night. Yeah, you're going to love that. All About Eve. Watch All About. I promise you, you are. Girl, you got me some movies tonight. I'm thinking you might want to remake it. You could remake it. And I don't know which role you'd play. Maybe it's Angela Bassett in me. Y'all, we done did something up in here. We done did something up in here. And it's Angela Bassett in me. All About Eve. I'm coming in. I'm trying to take a spot. I kind of want you to wait until you could be Margot Channing. Like, I want you to get like another 10, 15 years on you, and I want you to play Margot Channing. But maybe you do it with Angela now, and then you come back in 20 years, and you're Margot Channing. You start this evening, you do Margot Channing. And he's going to be like China McClain or Marseille Martin or somebody. Yeah, just make me a producer. All I say, make me a producer. Woo! I love that. We got our next project. We got it, baby. We got it. Okay, so you are known, and this must be a heavyweight, title, however I feel you wear with grace, you're like known as one of the kindest women in Hollywood. I hope that's true. That's lovely. I feel that it's true. I know you, and I know so many other people know you, we all feel that way. But there must be something that gets on your nerves. What are some of your pet peeves? Have you seen my threads? Threads is so good. Threads is so fun. Threads was a good answer to X. It's a good time. It really was. So I am very angry about what's happening in the world. Yeah. I am so disgusted with where we are. And then also when I think about where we could be. Look, I know everybody's trying to make sure their family is good. I understand. It's like, you know, hey, I just got to make sure everything's good in my back door. But I agree with you, like, on a global scale, or national at least, you know, it's like, yeah, like, how can we all come together? Because what you think is just my problem is just another perspective of your same problem. And also, if it's a problem for me now, it's going to be a problem for you in about 10, 15 minutes or days or whatever. Because it all, that's the one thing that does trickle down. The finances don't trickle down. But the struggle does. So when you can't pay for gas, you can't buy groceries, that ain't a black person problem or a gay person problem or a trans person problem. That's a societal problem. And I probably feel like a lot of people feel this way, that I don't want to, like, slip into apathy. Maybe you can give me some encouragement on how to stay, you know, hopeful and engaged. Because you kind of feel like, I don't know if we going to do it. You know, not like that. But like that. I'm going to say this, though, Kika. I know for sure that black people are always going to be okay. Because we've always had to be okay. And you notice that as everything is happening right now, we're really okay. All right? Or as how we've always been. As okay as we can be with a boot on our neck. We know how to do this. I want to get to the point where we no longer have to do it, but we at least know how. And this is the thing. I understand the apathy. But the way we get out is we have to get the people making these decisions out of Congress. So you have to vote. But you know the people are going to say, oh. Well, everybody's a crook. Everybody's not, though. Because I think that's also a big part of it, too. What's happened now is no one trusts anyone. But that's what they put in place. They want you to think that everybody's the same. But if you think everybody's the same, just think back four years ago or two years ago. And was it better for you? Yeah. When Barack Obama was in, was it better for you? And I'm going to tell you that it was. So that means that they're not all the same. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I just love talking about this kind of stuff because I'm always trying to figure out how. Like, obviously, I'm engaged. I'm voting. But I'm also a big believer about being honest about my feelings. And sometimes I do feel down. I want to know that I feel hopeful that I can make a difference. And I know that I'm not the only person that feels that way. So I appreciate what you're saying. But also, you got to ask yourself sometimes, why do they want us not to vote? If our vote didn't matter, they wouldn't be trying to make us apathetic. They wouldn't be trying to tell us that both sides are the same, so why even do it? Why are they so insecure? Why are they insisting on us not voting if voting did not matter? Think about that. They know where the power is. They know. So I'm just saying, I want to do what they don't want me to do. Right. I'm defiant like that. Oh, you don't want me to vote? You don't want me to vote by mail? That's exactly what I'm going to do. But that's just me. Yes. But we got to talk about it. We got to do it more. I think also the whole getting together, like the whole keeping us separated, not allowing I'm mad at you, so you're mad at me, and we're mad at each other, and now we can't. That's a big thing, too. I think a lot of that is online, too, Kiki. I don't think a lot of that is real. I think that these. I don't believe in cyber warfare. I stopped actively using Facebook in 2016 when I found out the role they played in all that disinformation and misinformation. I'm realizing now, especially with AI, we're not going to know that we're talking to a person anymore. So a lot of this dissension and I can't stand you and these little comments, a lot of them are not real people. So I think we're more together than we know. We know. I say that always when it comes to the black diaspora. You better say it. There's a lot of stuff on there that's always trying to. You and you and you and you and you. No, we love each other. We love each other. I don't care where you're from. I don't care. You just show me a little bit of melanin, we down. I'm down. I really love that. It's true. The internet thing, and this is why so much for me is always being about, like, how can I curate a space? How can we be a community? Why does it have to be once a year with Essence or once a year with CultureCon? How can we make it a consistent once a month gag? That's good. How can we be getting together, talking on live, anything to just be in communion and create a safe space to actually see reality? Not just think what we're seeing online is reality, but how we're actually engaging with each other. Come on with it. That's so big. So wait a minute. When you were a teenager, because I thought this was crazy, you basically stalked Michael Bibbins. I did. A Bell Bibbins. So tell me exactly what Teenage Yvette did and where that audacity came from, girl. You know what? I always thought that I would be a. I wanted to be a singer. That's what I started off as, right? And if you ask anybody from high school, everybody thought Yvette's going to be a singer. And so I felt, once I found out Michael Bibbins was managing folks, I was like, well, that's my way in. I'm going to find Michael. I'm going to sing for him. He's going to manage me. My friends thought I was crazy. And then BBD came to my college town and did a show. And I went to the show, went backstage. I love to say his name, Jeff Dyson, is a longtime New Edition bodyguard. And he was at the backstage area. And I was like, Mr. Dyson? I need to get backstage. I have to sing for Michael Bibbins. He said, you are not going backstage. I'm sorry to hear that that was your plan. It has not happened. I was like, you don't understand, sir. I got to do it. And I, to this day, and he, to this day, he said also, he doesn't know why he did this. He said, you're not coming backstage, but the guys are staying at the Cuyahoga Falls Sheraton. And if you were to happen to be in that lobby by maybe 12 or 2 o'clock in the morning, you could see him as he comes in. 12 or 2 o'clock in the morning. That's so music. Man, that's so. That's so music industry. That's so. I was like. It's so music industry. It was like 10. I was like, what am I going to do for two hours in a lobby? But he told me where they were. And so I went and sat in the lobby and waited for him to come in. And, you know, I always like to tell the joke, there were a lot of women in that lobby and they were there for other reasons. Okay. And I'm in there in my little overalls, my little gap overalls. Looking like Janet. Yeah, like, Mr. Bivens, can I sing for you? Now, Mike is like maybe four years older than me. I was like, Mr. I followed him through that entire. And I think I was 19, so he was like 23. I followed him all through that lobby. And then he kept saying no. He was like, I'm tired. No, no, no. So I'm like, well, I tried this. I thought this was my moment, but I tried. So now I'm walking out of the hotel. Now, this hotel was an atrium hotel. So the lobby's in the middle and all the rooms are on the side. So if you're in the middle in the lobby, you can look up and see all the floors. So as I'm walking out, I hear singing. And I look up and there's Michael Bivens on like floor six, listening to somebody sing. After he done told me no like three, four times. Now I'm pissed. Right. So I get on the elevator. I go up to the floor and I'm across from him like this. While the person's finishing, I'm like this. And he looked at me. This is crazy. He looked at me and he was like. And I looked at him and I was like. Well, go on and sing then. Yeah, because why you told me no? Why you told me no? We didn't even have to be here, man. We couldn't finish this in the lobby. And I got to sing with a bad attitude. And I got. But I'm going to sing the mess out of it. So. What did you sing? I sang Go Outside in the Rain by Melaira. I don't know. You don't even remember that song. Go ahead. It's a dope. See, now you didn't play it. Let me see if I can do it. The day's begun. And there's no one inside this empty house to love me. So it was that. Oh my God, your voice is so good. I ain't sung it in 20 years, y'all. It's all right. The breathing is bad. It's whatever. So I sang that, but I sang the whole thing. Thank you, baby. So I sang the whole thing, the chorus, everything. And so he's still pissed. He's like, what's your name? I said, Yvette. He was like, what's your number? He wrote my number. He wrote my number down. Wasn't no cell phones. He wrote my number down on a piece of paper. Called me the next day. And said, I want to, what you sang to me was dope. I want to manage you. What? It was like that. Oh my. It was a voice message. It was a voice message on an old answering machine. Came home from work and Michael B. was on my answering machine. And I was in East Coast Family. That was it. Oh my gosh. And so over the years, I mean, as you both have continued in your careers, what has been y'all's relationship? Are you guys? Oh, it's so deep. So new addition fan to. Being managed by Michael Bivens. Then I graduated from college and moved out here. Worked for Michael Bivens as his assistant at Biv 10. And then played his mother in a new edition movie. And we stayed friends through all of it. Yo. And I am still cool. I still talk to his mom. Just talked to him a couple, like about a month ago. That is crazy. So I mean, you were really, I mean, I do feel like this is like, I know a Leo that would do some crazy. Crazy, right? Like, have you always just been like, yo, I'm going to go for it? I just always. But brave like that? I believed that life should be bigger than what I saw. You know? I grew up in East Cleveland, the hood of East Cleveland and single family home, single parent home. And I knew what Cleveland was. And I just wanted more I wanted to I dreamed bigger And my thing is What I got to lose I sang for I sang for Gerald LaVert Come on Gerald LaVert In the underwear section Cashin' on Yes In the underwear section Of a department store one I would sing I sung at grocery stores They need to bring that back By the way Like nobody does that anymore Yo can I sing for you They do Because first of all Most people can't sing At the drop of a hat anymore Cause it's all the tune It did it to them It did all the tune And just made everybody Just not know what they doing But back in the day That used to be a thing You had to have Can I sing for you You had to have your Little eight bars ready to go Sharon had me ready Didn't she have you ready I bet Sharon was ready When she got her record deal Huh You know I know Your mama had a record deal You know I know Where you come from Yeah So you had to have it So East Cleveland What do you think That East Cleveland taught you That Hollywood never could Or that helped you in Hollywood Man East Cleveland taught me To be tough East Cleveland taught me To take up for myself East Cleveland taught me How to be kind I know it's a tough It was a tough way to grow up Yeah But everybody From East Cleveland That I know They're kind people Just don't Don't try me Yeah And that's what I tell people now I think people think Because I'm on Disney That I'm no longer From East Cleveland Come on When does your East Cleveland Come out the most Is it with you and your family You know When I'm home for sure But the hard part Of East Cleveland Comes out online usually Because I have to I have to let people know I don't I don't know why people try me I don't know why they do It never ends well for them Okay It never does I also think people Sometimes try people That are nice Do they I don't really Know why Yeah but they don't realize Nice is a choice You gotta understand I'm kind By nature I don't take my kindness For witness I came here kind My mother raised me to be kind But nice is a choice Like if I'm nice To you I have chosen To be nice to you Because you know We know too many people That don't choose to be nice We know too many people Going through life Just treating people horribly Yes So know that if someone Is kind to you And nice to you They are choosing to do that Yep So don't Don't run afoul And also Everybody's not kind Everybody's not nice So like I don't know why When I'm being kind To a nice person I'm just so glad they there Exactly I'm not thinking about Pissing them off And my thing is Just really be kind You need to drive me crazy People that pretend They're kind and they're not And you can always tell You can Look a little closer You go You really can Tell them You see what they're doing They trying it Now I thought it was cool You worked in college radio I did When you went to University of Akron I did Come on Come on Come on research Come on Because I can actually I live for the radio of it all Like what was your personality Like on there Were you So I did Funny I did the soulful journey So it was I went to a white school So it was It was Most of the station Was usually rock During the day Come on soulful journey So I did the soulful journey So I would come in Like I think I was like Eight to ten And I would play You know R&B songs And you know And then I became Program director So then I got to choose What was played And my My stamp that I left I don't know Program director Let me tell you something So I don't know If they still do it But I decided That because we weren't A metered station Which meant What we played Did not affect Sales or billboard Or anything I thought We don't have to play We don't have to play The single So let's have a new album Come out And let's listen And find the B-side That we think is as good As the single And we'll be the only station Playing this new Usher album Or this new Usher song That nobody else is playing Yes And this is before streaming So the only way You could hear The other songs Is if you bought the album Most people wasn't Buying the album back then So we could play something Nobody See what I mean I love that And I feel like That needs to be brought back Just the vibe of curation I mean I know They do Sometimes stuff Like with the playlists On Spotify or whatever But just like Again a VJ A person That's actually Taking you through it You should hear this song I know this is great But have you heard this Right And I've always been A B-side girl Like you put an album out And you talk Something like Thriller I love Billie Jean And all that But Baby Be Mine Baby Be Mine If you don't know About Baby Be Mine You ain't even Dug into the Thriller I mean that's me With Full Moon I mean everybody Likes Full Moon But When You Touch Me You know what I mean They don't know Nothing about When You Touch Me Thank you Come on Like this So many I want you to Baby Yes They don't know They don't be knowing You got to go deep You got to go deep To the B-side That album Full Moon is a vibe Oh my gosh Full Moon is a From top to bottom Brandy's a vibe She's got to be stopped Brandy's a vibe She's so good She's so good And you know what It is about her It's similar to like With Lauryn Hill Where it's like Sometimes people are so good It flies over your head Yeah you feel like Everybody Because they make it So effortlessly Like Brandy is so Effortlessly good That you don't really realize All the Like the Everything that's going I don't even know If she realized The skills she got You know what I mean Because I remember one time I remember with Whitney Whitney was interviewed And she said once That she She wasn't aware It's always just been her voice So she wasn't really She didn't get it Like everybody being like Oh she didn't get it I don't know if Brandy Even gets it Yeah I don't know if she even know Because for her It's just This is my ear This is what it sounds like But it's kind of like you Kiki Stop That's how you go through the world And you do the things that you do You don't even know what you do You're just being you And everybody else is like How does she do all the things Just who you are One of one What'd I say What'd I say in the car Did I say one of one OMG I just love you I ain't lied yet Growing up For you Were you The funny one The peacemaker Were you the church girl The truth teller Like what was your These are all good questions Baby this is Kiki Palmer Yeah I am By every Definition A lot My outfits are a moment My reactions are GIG I've been called dramatic In three different group chats This week alone And every single time I said Correct That's just Who I am And honestly I've made peace with it But somewhere along the way I learned There's a difference between Extra where it counts And extra where it's just Showing off And my old cleaning products Were absolutely showing off And doing more To cover up Than to actually clean Girl Sit down So I switched To seventh generation Bio-based cleaning power That handles the job Without the theatrics Plus No dyes Artificial fragrances Or bottles Full of ingredients Auditioning for a part They didn't get It just works And it doesn't need To announce itself While it's doing it Seventh generation Provides a powerful clean Without anything extra So If you already bring The extra To the function Make the switch today To seventh generation A powerful clean Without anything extra My son Leo Sees everything I mean that literally The kid Misses nothing Every detail Every person Every moment That most adults Would walk right past He is fully present For all of it Traveling with him Has genuinely changed The way I move Through the world Because he reminds me To actually be in it And what I've learned From traveling with Leo Is that the best trips Aren't about where you go They're about What you're dropped into When you get there A neighborhood That has character A home That has a backyard And a kitchen And a living room Big enough to actually live in A super host Who points you toward The coffee shop And the park And the spot That doesn't have a sign But absolutely should When I book a stay On Airbnb For us It's not just Finding a place I'm building the world He gets to explore For those few days And watching him explore it That's the best part This Is Leo's Summer Find a home On Airbnb And build That world For your kids There was a summer Where I was 11 years old On a movie set Learning a hundred lines And somehow Still having the time Of my life Because that's the thing About being a kid You don't need The conditions To be perfect You just need To be present Free And completely unbothered By what comes next I've been chasing That feeling Ever since The blended Pink energy drink Is how I find it now Strawberry Acai Real strawberry pieces Coconut milk Completely blended And frozen And so good It's irresistible The second is in my hand Whatever is on my schedule Can wait Leo and I Are going outside Honey We have lines to forget And nothing to do Little Kiki Will be satisfied Trust me on that Unlock your best Summer memories With the blended Pink energy drink From Starbucks Available now Order now On the app Or find it In Starbucks.com I was a class clown Come on Respectfully Cause I ain't going To the principal's office No You gonna get these jokes But you gonna get it When she ain't looking Or she can't tell it's me But you gonna get these jokes So I was respectful And I also was nerd I was like front row center Catching the knowledge As soon as it came I was a voracious reader Kinda nerdy But popularly nerdy Because I Everybody could sit At my table Like I've always Really loved people So I remember When I moved from The hood to the suburbs When I was in fifth grade And it was like culture shock Cause I'm like in my Wrangler jeans And my pigtails And these girls are in like Jordache jeans Hair is permed And I was like What is this world? And then you know They took one look at me And said absolutely not And were like This is she ain't it And I remember going like Even at ten years old I was like This seems dumb Like why do they Who I just met I don't know them I don't know their character Or anything about them Why do they get to decide My worth? Why do they get to decide Who's Who's cool? And so I instead decided That the underdogs Were gonna be cool And everybody Can hang together And so I just kind of Have always looked at it Like We have to find a way To make it make sense For us And to make it make sense For other people And you don't let Other people tell you How far you can go In life I've never let anybody Tell me how far I can go Yeah I decide Me and Jesus Yes Together I love that What you just said about that Cause I think it's so easy And I don't know why That it's like that But I think it is very easy For people And whether it's race Or money Like you say You know This person has money Or this person and a different background, you so easily can give your power away. You better hold on to your power. But when you decide that, like, actually what I matters means most, that's literally all it takes. But also when you think about it, look how silly it is. These are my fellow 10-year-olds deciding that I'm not cool enough to get the pizza at the table. Just because my hair's in the natural form? Because my hair's in the natural form and I got on the wranglers? What is. It's just dumb. It's dumb to me. And it's the same. I feel the same way in Hollywood, really. Like, when I came to Hollywood, I was like, I don't. Nobody gonna tell me where I'm going, what I can do. Yeah. I always felt that way as well because I felt my personality, because I was, you know, bubbly or whatever you call it, and I was talented, people would let the things that weren't really considered cool fly by. But I would still feel it at the end as like, you only like me because I can sing and I can dance. Or you only like me because you think I'm funny. Right. But, like, if I didn't have those two things and you just had my interests you would think I was lame. Right. And so I always hated. I never really wanted to lean into. Even when I've had different moments of cool crowds being like, yeah, Kiki, I've always been like, yeah, but you. But you don't really like me. You don't really. You know, you don't really like what I'm about. And so it's like, I like. I'm so uncool. Yeah. I had a moment, going back to people knowing you, I had a moment recently where I was just like, somebody attributed something to me that I didn't do, right? They attributed something to me. And then they said something to the effect of, you know, this is what you do all the time. So not only had I not done it that first time, I don't do it. And I decided in that moment that I was going to leave them to it. I wasn't going to go out of my way to defend myself about it. I just was like, you don't know me. Like, you're showing me that you don't know me. So I don't know what we've been doing all this time trying to, as friends, because you have no idea who I am. And that's okay. But this is now telling me that this is where it ends. Yes. I'm always going to be kind and friendly and whatever. But as far as trying to extend this and let this live beyond this moment, I'm good. Because I think, this is the one thing about me, and I think you know this to be true, who I am is right here. I'm not fake. I ain't never been fake. This is who I am. And if I say I love you, I love you. If I say I'm for you, I'm for you. Yes. And so you never, none of my friends or even strangers that meet me have to ever question, does Yvette like me? Is Yvette for me? Yes. It's obvious that I do. It's obvious that I'm for you. So if you can see all that I bring in the world and still think I'm not for you, and I've actively been doing things to make your life. But that can be tough and that can be scary, especially in close relationships, to not let it penetrate you. Yeah. Like, it's so interesting, right? Because we know we have relationships and like, you know, yeah, we learn things from our friends. They let us know stuff. We tell each other stuff. Like, sometimes they're hard conversations and we trust them to really be, you know. Yeah. But then sometimes somebody might say something, somebody that you're really close to that you could say, like, I trust you. Yeah. They might do something or say something and you can kind of gaslight yourself and be like, well, no, no, no, they wouldn't. But to get to the point of. You know how that is? I do. But let me tell you something. Let me tell you something, young woman. First, your mother always knows. Has she ever been wrong? No. She actually hasn't. Fran was never wrong. When I tell you, may she rest in peace, when my mother would meet a friend of mine or a guy I was dating, she would tell me immediately, that one ain't for you. That one ain't got you a good interest in her. And it could be my best friend. Watch. She'd be like, watch and see. That one right there? She ain't never been wrong. The ones she said would be my ride or dies have remained my ride or dies. The ones she said weren't worth it or weren't for me were not for me. So what I believe is that there's always a tell. If it's a close friendship and. Check with Sharon now. But if it's a close friendship, right, and they've done something wrong, we're all human, right? Mistakes happen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If they did not intend to harm you and they just happened to harm you and they're sorry, that's different. But I done ran into some dolls. Yeah. Me too. Who are actively trying to take you down. Yeah. And I can't, I do friendship at such a level, I can't have somebody in the boat plugging, I mean, making holes. Yeah. We either whirling together or bailing water together, but you can't be putting holes in the boat. Not the way. And I've met, I think I've met, like, what's been weird, or I don't want to say weird, but been difficult sometimes for me in these, in friendships or relationships where things have gone awry, is that you don't even know you poke, you a hole poker. I don't know. Like, a lot of people, You don't know you. Not only you don't know me, but you also don't know you. That's really messed up. Because I think I almost would prefer if, this is a Dexter's lab ass. Like, she's. But a lot of people are like, wah-ha-ha to their own life. And it's like, you don't even know you, ma'am. So it gets to a point where it's like, that's why I'm scared. I'm scared because I don't know if we're in a horror or a comedy or a romance. It's killing me. Isn't that nice? Yeah, because this is the thing, too. Like, they don't need. To their own detriment, too. Like, you don't know you to your own detriment. Like, your life is raggedy because you don't know you. And you blaming other people for your. Huh? Come on. You don't know you. Come on, man. You don't know you. It's so true. Ooh, it's rough. That's rough. I hate that form. I hate that. Me, too. Me, too. When did you realize that your voice was your superpower? Ooh, setting up and speaking up? Yes, speaking up. Or even just that people followed you. You know, I love John Lewis, Representative John Lewis. May he rest in peace. And he used to always say, it's important to get into good trouble, necessary trouble. Yes. And I don't know that I knew my voice mattered or even that I still. that I even know now. But I do know that it's important to speak up about things that matter. And it's important if there's injustice happening or someone's in trouble or someone's harmed and you have a platform to make it better for them or to sound the alarm, I believe that's what you're supposed to do. I do not believe that any of us that are blessed to have lights on us and mics in front of us, that that's happening just so we can be like. That's not what it's about. Yes. If all you are concerned about is your clothes and how cute you are, you're missing it. Yeah. You have to be on this earth to do something that makes it better for other people. Come on. Period. And so for me, my thought is, one, I have a college degree. Two, McDonald's is always hiring. Three, I need to be able to sleep at night. Mm-hmm. So I'm going to always say what needs to be said. And I don't care what I lose. And where's the camera? Which one? I don't care what I lose. Take it. This one. Take it all. If it's for the right reason, take it all. That's what when people say something to me, you're like, no, when someone says to me, well, I'm going to screenshot this do it. Screenshot it. Do it. I also like what you said about the McDonald's because I think a lot of times people feel they put this pressure on themselves of being too good. I don't work anywhere. You know, or people use moral, this whole thing online now where it's like, well, that's not, well, actually, and it's like, we all trying to live. We trying, do you understand? Do what's best for you. Do you understand how quickly I would get a job anywhere if this dried up? Do you understand? Well, you have to. I don't know what people don't understand. We're all under the same, big ass thumb. Exactly. You know, not any one of us. Now, maybe somebody that's in the trillions, in the billions, but that's not neither you or I. For sure ain't. So it's like, I don't understand how people don't get that. But I don't even aspire to be that. You know why? It's not needed. Because I don't think you can get there without stepping on some necks. And I'm not, I will never, and I defy anybody in this industry to ever say I did anything underhanded. I have never stabbed anybody in the back. I ain't never stole nobody's show. I've never tried to steal somebody's show. I have sat in for people and said, I'm holding this just until they come back. Don't ask me about doing it long term because I'm not going to do it long term. I'm in this seat until they come back. Yeah, yeah. That's how I live my life and I've never been without. So this idea that you got to stab people in the back or talk about people behind their back or do all this dirty stuff to get ahead is a lie. Yeah, yeah. It's a lie. And then it's now conflated because of all of that. It's now been also any time somebody is a little bit successful, you assume those things about them too. So it's like, damn, everybody that is doing good in their life, now they're all terrible too? Like I don't even know how to. Maybe God blesses people sometimes. Maybe God says, well done, my good and faithful servant. Go on, here's a job for you. Exactly. Maybe that's what it is. You treat people good and good things happen. You and I were both, obviously you were on, you did Nickelodeon with me, True Jackson VP, but you also were on Drake and Josh. Yes. I mean, Drake and Josh taking it back to those days. What was it like working with them in those early days of comedy? Because they really were, I mean, they were a huge influence to comedy of that time in that time. I think geniuses, I'll throw Kenan and Kel up in there too. Oh gosh, Kenan and Kel, they was the ones who started the whole. Forget it, they did all of it. I have always been so impressed with child actors. Yeah. Yourself included. Because this business is tough. Yeah. And to do what you guys do while still going to school, still going through puberty, having to be. Find that sense of self. Yes. And be an adult while growing up in front of a camera, I don't know how you do it. And those babies were already rocking and rolling by the time I joined them. By the time I joined the show, I didn't start acting until like 2003. Well, I did commercials in the late 90s, but I didn't start on television until 2003. Girlfriends was my thing. Girlfriends. Girlfriends, baby. And so they were already doing it. And so I was actually on set like watching like, oh, okay, so that's, okay, that's how we do this. And I learned a lot from those babies and have continued to pay forward what I learned. And I always try to pour back into all the young people I meet. And even if it's an older person just starting acting for the first time, I try to pour in because one of my favorite quotes is, a candle loses nothing by lighting another. That's right. So this idea that we got to go through life like this. We're supposed to go through life like this so that whatever God gives us can also overflow into someone else. And so this is a thing that we've learned through, I think, Mackenzie Scott. She's the billionaire. Mackenzie Scott, she's the one who— Yeah, giving away all the money. She has given away, I think, like $200 million, $300 million, and still has a billion. That's crazy. My numbers are bad. But my point is, however much she's given away, the interest she's gaining on what's still in the bank, she'll never be able. So she proves that you can be more generous. We ain't judging nobody. We just think you should do better. In my mind, you know, that's how I feel. That's how I feel, too. Okay, so what did you think coming out of when the whole thing was out with Nickelodeon? Were you shocked and gagged? I mean, you know, I was on Nickelodeon, too, so I mean, what were your thoughts? Were you shocked? I was shocked. I was. I mean, listen, in the scheme of things, with the way— With finding out about these Epstein files and everything else, no, I'm not shocked. That's what I was going to say. People nasty. In terms of molestation and child, people taking advantage of children, in that regard, I wasn't shocked. But I was, you know, damn, like, I think we were all wondering probably, too, like, specifically with that, like, no one saw anything? I can say this. I didn't see anything. And this is what's—now, there's no—there were no—what happened to Drake happened before Drake and Josh. It happened. It happened, like, the—between the pilot and—so I found out what happened to him watching that documentary. And I was—I reached out to him immediately, like, oh, my God, baby, if I'd have known, I'm so sorry. But I can say, being on set, I never saw anything—I've never been on any set and seen anything like that. Because, like I said, I speak up. What—it ain't going to happen to me seeing it and not say something. I would have absolutely said something. And so the idea that it's been going on for so long—and, I mean, it's— But you listen to people like—like, Corey—it's Corey Feldman. He talks about it. So I'm saying it's a—it's a dark, dark thing. Yeah, it's dark. Yeah, it broke my heart hearing that. Yeah, it broke my heart. I really do hope, you know, that he's getting whatever he needs to get through this. It's a lifelong thing, but I really do. And I hope everybody that did—that had something to do with that, you know, is punished. I hope so. Now, you said people still stop you about your character, Helen Dubois. Yeah, Dubois. Dubois. Helen Dubois. Helen Dubois. Ophelia Dubois. Yes! Now, if Helen managed a movie theater in 2026, what annoying audience behavior would somebody ban first? Ooh, what would she be mad—what would she be mad about? You know, I was about to say talking during the film, but I think Helen would enjoy that. Because I think Helen would—I think that's what Helen would do. She'd be in there talking back to the theater. I think she'd be mad about bringing in snacks. Because she got— All that chompin' and— She got her—no, but just because the money she'd be losing. Don't be bringing in no Kit Kat up in here. You buy it from the concession stand. I think she'd be— She'd be very upset about sneaking in snacks. That's—I'm going—that's my one. That's my one. Yes! Why do you think that character resonates so much with people? You know, I don't know. I just posted something yesterday. We did a spring break episode, and MTV came to the house, and Helen sings. I'm so excited. And it's so funny, because I don't think of my characters as me. Like, Helen's her own. Yes! She's her own thing. Me too. I totally figure that. Yeah, she's her own thing. And I watched, and I was like, she's really funny. Like, I get it. Like, if I was a kid, I don't know what it would have did for the adults, but if I was 12 years old or 10 years old watching that fool, I'd have enjoyed her, too. I'd have really enjoyed that. Oh, my gosh. So I think that's what it is. She's a vibe. I love that. And then came Shirley Bennett from Community. Shirley Bennett. I mean, sweet voice, sharp judgment, and a little, you know, shade. Yeah, a little bit in it. You know. How did you find Shirley's voice, you know? You know, it's funny. After I did—had been doing Shirley for maybe three or four years, I got asked to go back and reprise Helen on Victorious. Come on, Victorious. Shout out to Leon Thomas. And I was nervous, because I was like, I've been doing Shirley so long. And I was pretty sure they were different. I tried to make them different, but I was like, oh, God. So I went back and started watching old Helen episodes, and I was like, oh, my God. Like, she's—they are two unique people. So then I realized that if I lock into this woman, whoever the woman is that I'm playing, I can make her special. So I loved—I loved that Shirley ended up with a duality about her. Like, she's super sweet, but also very violent. Very violent. And I mean, I think that she— She got some bodies. I think there's some bodies somewhere. I love that kind of vibe, though. I love when a sweet character is also, like, low-key, like, nuts. Yeah, I think she'll kill you. Yeah, that's kind of like me. Yes, it kind of—yeah, it's me, too. I've been trying to tell people, don't— Watch yourself. Be careful. Watch yourself. But yeah, so I just wanted to lean into her duality. And, you know, and also, she's a very self-righteous Christian. And that's fun to play. Because you know that. You know I know her. You know I know her. And I'm not. I'm not her. Like, I'm a— I'm a very liberal Christian. Like, I— But Shirley's, like, again, she was— Didn't like gay people. She didn't like the Muslims. Like, Shirley's all in that. But swear she's nice. But swear she's the sweetest thing and crazy. Just like, you know, she would be a Christian nationalist if there was a black version of that. Yes, and I'm sure there are. We know there are. You're right. There are. There are some. So, yeah, so I just leaned into the foolishness of that. When you're creating, like, comedic characters, is it just kind of like— Like, for me, sometimes it's like, if I— I can envision their clothes and their makeup. Or other times it's just, like, a cadence that they always do. Like, what are some of the defining— Or the ways that you define the voice of a new character you're creating? It's definitely cadence for me, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even before clothes. Because especially when I was doing Shirley and Helen, I was a lot bigger. So I knew my clothes were coming from Ross or Marshalls. So I knew it was going to be, like, a colorful cardigan. Some type of print. So I already knew fashion wasn't going to be my way. Like, I would get no answer about who she was. From the clothes. It was all very generic. It was all— Oh, they dressed them both so bad. So, and no shade to the wardrobe. That's just who the women were. That's who they— Yeah. You know, and they didn't really— I don't think they cared about big women like that. They didn't— We didn't have a law roach— Okay. Trying to put together something magical. Yeah. So, anyway, so it wasn't that. But it was— I would listen— I would read the lines and I would go, what does she sound like? Because for me, comedy is music. It's all— Isn't it? I always think about that. It always is. It's music. Yeah. And when it's well-written, you can hear the ba-da-ba-ba, the da-da-da. Like, you can hear the flow. And so it's easy to find what cadence you're going to play in the midst of that music. How am I going to sing this piece? Right? So it's that. I love that so much. That literally is so dreamy to me when I think about that and when people— when I can relate to someone on that because I hear lines like music. It's music. And it's like, you should feel like— Even when I know, oh, this is the part of the movie or this is the part of the scene where things go wrong or this is where we got to get to. Yeah. It's like we're composing it through the words. It's so much fun. It's a composition. It's music. Yeah, absolutely. Now, is the true— is it true? I mean, word on the street is that there might be a community movie. Like, is this real? Like, should we just keep hoping and dreaming and wishing? Oh, how we laugh. Because we— I swear, Kiki, I'm telling you, if I leave my house, any day I leave my house, I'm going to be asked at least three times. Oh, my gosh. It's so good. Any time I leave my house. And it might be— just a mailman. Hey! Hey, good to see you. However, but yeah. Oh, my gosh. So, we are all on board. Like, we literally— we have a lively group chat. Now, Community Aziz is in there. No, that's Parks and Rec. But wait. This is Donald Glover, Joel McHale. Yeah, Joel McHale. Donald and Joel. Donald and Joel. Jim Rash and Ken Jeong. I love Joel McHale. He is so funny. He's a fool. He's a fool. He's an absolute fool. Oh, my gosh. Everyone on that show is certifiable. And our group chat is so much fun. I love the group chats. We got one on the verbs. And we don't be talking about nothing. Nothing, no. But it's all— like, we got a lot of bits. Like, we had a lot of bits. We had a lot of free time on the set of Community, so we were always trying to make each other laugh. And so, a lot of our bits have lived on. 15 years later, we're still doing bits. And so, we all— we just talked about this recently. We want to do it. Guys, we want to do it. It's just timing. Like, the strike did us in because we had our date. Everybody had set aside this month, you know, and then the strike happened and everybody had to figure out, well, what am I going to do with it? It's tough. And then it was— the moment was gone. So, we got to find another window where everybody is free. Well, let me know because I'll come in there with a little bit, bro. You'll come in. I'm ready for a bit. You know this binding, Kiki. Don't play. Come on. We'd love to have you. Let's do it. Dan, write something for Kiki. Now, what was up with you doing your own stunts on Criminal Minds Evolution, man? Okay. You wasn't— Well, first of all, first of all, America, let's define stunts. Let's start there because for me, stunts— I picked up a damn club. At this age, stunts could be In that case, stunts was running. Your girl don't run. So, when they were like, yes, we're going to have you get up and he's going to say something and you're going to run, I was like, how many times? Right. How many? How many times? Two of them. And then there was actually this thing at the end and I was going to look up her name because I want to give her credit and I'll put it on the line. Yeah. My amazing stunt woman had to run in front of a moving car and stop the car. Yeah. And I was like, the way I run, I'd be in a tail under the car. Like, stop in the car? You would do that. Stop, stop, stop because I'm running away from a killer. And so, she did that. She did that run and then I did, I kind of came in and they said, she does? Yeah. So, those are my stunts. I love that. I love, I try to do a little something but I do, I'm a big believer like, you just shouted out that young woman. Stunt people, they're amazing. Brilliant. You know, like, they do their thing. Brilliant. They're on point. I know some stunt doubles. My girl, Nine-Nine, who I just did Spaceballs with, like, some people, some of them go so far as to get the same size as you. Oh, yeah. Be the exact, get the, everything you do. They had to make, Porshana, who does hair on Criminal Minds, had to create these locks. It was a year ago. I do these locks every summer. So she had to redo these locks. Shout out to hair by Ash Nicole. Oh, period. It looks good. Thank you, baby. But Prashana on set had to recreate this look for my stunt person. Wow. And it looked just like my hair. It was amazing. Yeah, I love that. Same thing with Eddie. Eddie has a guy he's been with for years named Skokie. That dude look like him to the T. Like body walk the same. Did you just drop Eddie Murphy? WD? You gonna? I'm just saying. We gonna do it. You ain't gonna just throw Eddie out. Can we talk about the real thing? Eddie just called. Eddie D. Murphy. That's what Eddie. We'll talk more about Eddie. Eddie. Anyway. Anyway, since you called me out. So wait a minute. We gotta talk about what happened between us that everybody reposts every other day of the week. Man, I love it. Every time I see it, I like it. I've said it. I've heard it. We all know the saying, you need to go see that lady. And sometimes, you know, we give an excuse. I'll deal with it later. It's probably too expensive. What if it doesn't help me? Meanwhile, we're still struggling and somebody's worried. But with some research, I found out about Rula. It's a real health care company. Sessions average about $15 with insurance. And they tell you that cost before you book. Providers are vetted. Outcomes are tracked. And the majority of patients report genuinely feeling better. You can find someone who specializes in exactly what they're going through. Don't talk yourself out of therapy because you think you're going to get better. Don't talk yourself out of therapy because you think it'll cost too much, won't work, or you have no idea where to even start. And trust me, that advice goes both ways. If you're ready to stop talking yourself out of finding care and making progress, then head to Rula.com. That's R-U-L-A dot com. And take the first step. Dear Diary, I'm writing this down just to make sure I remember this feeling. It was one of those days that kept stacking things on top of each other until I almost forgot to stop. But once I got a blended pink energy drink in hand, something in my chest finally let go. Between the acai and the coconut milk with real strawberry pieces mixed into the frozen blend, and let me tell you, it tastes like the best possible version of today. Some days you just gotta admit, you can't fix everything. Some days you just find your moment, and today that was mine. Unlock your best summer memories with the blended pink energy drink from Starbucks. Order now on the app. So, let's take it back. 2022. I was doing hosting Password. Brilliantly hosting Password. Oh my gosh, thank you. So good. And we had you on. You're playing a game that I got a chance to play. And I got a chance to play with you. They give me the word Titanic. They do. And I prompt you with Rose. I'm gonna put it like this. You're real talkative. You're real. She's confident. She's confident. Rose. Rose. Rose. Rose. Oh. Oh, see, I don't want to get it wrong, but I think it's. Rose. Oh my gosh, ladies. I think I'm gonna get it wrong. No, you can't. Okay, one more time. Rose. This is getting harder. This is getting harder than you think. You bet. It's Rose. It's hard. You. Listen, there's a lot of black conversation happening in the eyes. But I'm about to let my sister down because I have no idea. No, you're not. Because. All right, here we go. I hate myself. No, you. Just say it. Just say it. Titanic. I mean, we became telepathic in that moment. You know, it's like. We telepathic. Anyway, but this is the thing. This is what I. I'm glad we're having this conversation because I want people to know. I knew it was Titanic the first time you said it. No! I knew it was Titanic. Now, this is what's crazy, and this is something you did, and I think I told you this before. I said to you, I said, oh, I don't want to disappoint you and let my sister down. And you said to me, you can't! Not, you can't. You can't! And when I tell you, when you. You, in that moment, baby girl, you poured back into me. From black woman to black woman, like, it is impossible for you to let me down. It's impossible. You can't let me down. Because one, you just can't. But also, I know you know this. I know you know. I know you know this. I know you know. And so then I was like, in my mind, I'm like, I know it's Titanic. I know it's Titanic. Yeah. It's Titanic. And then, so when I said it with resignation, like, I hate myself. Titanic. And it went off. I was like, that was me, like, I knew it! Because I knew it! But we had, we locked in. We locked in, baby girl. Like, what is that? What do you think that that is? Like, what is that? Like, I just imagine, like, where do we get that thing in our culture where it's like, I'm looking at you and it's like. Because we know each other. What is that? This is the thing. This is the thing that I wish. And I hope this is not offensive. No. I'm okay if it is. At this point in life, and I say this, and I've said this to white people, and my white friends have been like, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Black people know white people better than white people know white people. Okay? We have, especially people in my generation, have endured microaggressions and a lot of mess at school, at the doctor's office, at work, from white people. I love y'all, which, some of y'all, for our entire life. And we've had to code switch and mask to survive, right? Because of that, we have a shared understanding of what this world is for us, what this country is for us. So when we are somewhere, and we see some foolishness, and we know what the foolishness is because we've experienced it our entire lives, we see it, our sister sees it, our brother sees it. It creates a language that exists in the margins. In the margins. Because if there's a system or there's an institution that I'm not a part of, that doesn't really acknowledge where I'm at. Or my worth as a human being. Then it's missing a layer. It's actually missing a very important layer that gives context around. Not only those people, but yourself, to your point. Because if you're not seeing everything, then you're not seeing everything. Then you're not seeing, and you're also not seeing who you are, or seeing what your behavior does to other people. And this ain't all white people, don't, don't. But it is an interesting way to look at and explain what that under layer is that happens in our community. But this is what it is, though. We are in spaces often that are not safe, where we cannot say what we want to say for fear of being seen as aggressive or whatever. So we have to do this to each other. Or, "You know it's your girl!" Girl! And now while I'm here with you, like this, then I go, "Yes, Mary, what did you want me to do?" I'll absolutely do that. I'd be so happy to do that for you. Please! It's just that, it's knowing where you're safe and where you're not. And if it's not safe to speak? Then I'm going to tell you here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it could be, it could be like, "Girl, you're so crazy. I'm going to holler at you." Uh-huh. You know by. And there's so many languages. This is a fun. That's a game in itself. So much. I'm thinking of now another game, another show we should host. So much. Where it's like, what you, how you say what you need to say, and you see if you can get them to know it. And you win every time. Oh, my gosh. That would be so fun. You win every time. Honey, when I tell you I'm reading between the lines. We got telepathy. I have seen a sister in a grocery store. I don't know her. She don't know me. Uh-huh. But I know her. Yeah. Yeah. And we see some mess go down and go. Yeah. And it's understood. You good? Okay. Exactly. Oh, my gosh. That is so true. I seen that happen recently. I was at a restaurant with some folks. And this brother was on the corner and like the, he would be, the guy was being so disrespectful to him. He was security for the place. And the guy was being so disrespectful to him and this dude, he starts doing pushups on the ground. And after this guy tries to humiliate him. Yeah. And I just said like, "Hey, brother. You good, brother?" You good? I like how you handle yourself. And it's like, we know. We know. It's like, "Hey, brother." You know, you just know. I got you. I got you. Like, 'cause that wasn't cool. And you gotta, you don't want the establishment to make you, you gotta remain calm. And also, and also, I don't want you leaving with that. Yeah. I want you to, I want you to feel loved. You. I see you. I see everything it took for you to not haul off and lose your job. Because this guy decided to disrespect you in the workplace. There it is. It's tough, man. It is, man. It's tough. It's tough. Listen. Like, anybody that's offended by what I said, I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. But I think that it's important for you to listen to what I said. And perhaps consider that maybe there is a part of you and your experience that you, that we may know better. Yeah, yeah. I think it's so interesting what you said, too, about like, and just in terms of this idea around opinions. I was talking about that the other day, where it's like, you know, people gotta be able to say certain things. Now, I think we can get into differences when it comes to, like, government officials or people in big, major power positions. You know, I think there's a level of responsibility that comes around those opinions that should be thought about more clearly. But when it's just like somebody online, you know, or you're just listening to somebody on some, you came to somebody's page, and you don't like what they said, I don't care. This is what they said, you know? I don't care if you like it. I want to back up one more time, because one of my dear friends is one of my makeup artists. She's my main makeup artist. My friend, Beth. She's an amazing lady. Beth and I had this conversation three days ago. She was talking about the state of the world and what's happening with the economy. and how everybody's suffering and how no one seems to care about anybody anymore yeah yeah and she got emotional and she said i was watching the news and watching how people are suffering and how people are being treated and i realized that this is what black people have dealt with in this country their entire lives and she said i've been doing it for 15 months and it's debilitating so many people i'm not you know love to bet and this is love but it's like i i do find it interesting how they're only like sometimes human life is the last thing that wakes people up like you know you you know hearing about somebody being killed in the streets you know what i mean a young boy not coming home mama can't find him that's not what that's not what it is and to and to her credit i want to give her her love she actually said and i know it's crazy that i'm just figuring it out now but this is the thing they're siloed she's liberal but i'm saying the people that are shocked by what's happening in the world and and those that still don't believe it's actually happening or think it's only happening to the bad people i think that they're siloed so how do you reconcile that when you go out into the real world and you're around black people and you've never been around them did you see the video recently of the look of the white woman with the baby and the cake no tell me about more of it this oh it went viral so this white woman was out with her husband and her kids her daughter and her her son and they the little girl little toddler wanted some cake and there's black family having celebration oh i know this and she wanted to go over there and she said what my what my toddler wants my toddler gets and i wrote about it and i was like perhaps this would have been a teaching moment for your toddler where you could tell your toddler everything you want you will not have in life this is a good life lesson you can't have everything and it actually helps it helps your child it's good for them no and i get every chance i get leo that's not yours that's not yours sweetie mama can get you something maybe we will see but at the end of the day you gotta let that back let that go let it go that's not he's like he moves on but but listen you're gonna learn it in life you better learn it at at three in the safety of mama where she can maybe order you some cake of your own then learn it out in the streets or at your job learn it today and i think some people run to that to silos in that regard because they think it's going to give them safety you know what i mean but they're learning now that it's not and that's what james ballen said james ballen said that years and years ago he said it's not true it's not if i'm just treating another person bad and you're believing that will just that's not me i'm gonna just i'm gonna just be over here because i don't want that to be me it's gonna be it's only going to be just a matter of time before it's going to be you you know it's and this is the thing life is tough enough we just need to love each other that's it just love each other i don't care how much melanin you got or don't got if you're a good person come on over here yeah that's a good person sit on down and let's build yes and i love them i love that you also shared the conversation with beth because those are also real genuine conversations that we should be having with each other and she's a good friend and she's got a good heart and i was you can't always expect everybody to get it all the time like you know what i mean you got to give people time to get it because this is the thing um every single person wants to eat good food have shelter and and be able to go to the doctor this is universal yeah we are all the same species can we just come together one race one race one race what are we doing it's so true it's so true and i i i just give it all to god you know that's all you give it all to god at a certain point so i can do um i want to switch shift for a moment and talk about your father um and how he was uh in your fifth season of community he was diagnosed with alzheimer's yeah and you decided to leave the show to take care of him i did that's a really big thing you know what i'm saying it is because you're in the middle of your career things are going great is it wasn't a big deal to me really you didn't even think about because also somebody could say it's going to be expensive you know where you're going to get the money if you don't you know in my in my mind and i'm not being flippant about it in that regard no no you're but yeah yeah what i want to say is that this man taught me how to use a spoon he won't he needs me to take care of him i'll take care of him i do not take this industry i'm not precious about this industry i am not someone whose worth comes from being on television or being known i don't get a a puffed up ego about it i'm yvette brown from east cleveland i've always been yvette brown from east cleveland i'm gonna leave here yvette brown from east cleveland and omar is my daddy and omar needed me so i will leave every show that's why i think people that don't realize that when i say if i lose it i lose it and i'm not hoping to be uh jobless or hoping to be begging bread but i'm saying if that is where speaking up and being a good person leads me that's what i'm supposed to be and that's where i'm supposed to be and so the way i looked at it is i can choose to stay at a show and neglect what my father needs or i can choose to trust god that he will provide and i can choose to stay at a show and neglect what my father needs or i can choose to be a good person and i have to ask these kind people to release me from this contract so i can go and take care of daddy because what happened was community got canceled and he was already something was going on we didn't know what it was and i was like as soon as the show ends i'm going to get him because i knew i couldn't do the show and care for daddy because the hours of the show so when it got canceled i'm like cool canceled on friday in cleveland by sunday packing him up took about a week to get all of his affairs together we were on a plane back here within a week and a half right and then community got picked up on yahoo screen and my contract was picked up so then i had to go and beg them to please it wasn't even begging i just asked could you please i have to take care of my dad could you please release me and sony and dan harman released me and then maybe was it a month i get a call from cbs about the odd couple reboot and they're like we'd love for you to come on and play matthew perry's assistant and then i got a job that was a 20-hour week instead of an 80-hour week and so and the job was seven minutes from my house i could go home and see daddy at lunchtime i could bring daddy it was an entire different entirely different world you know and that's what trusting that god has you right i think about raiders of the lost ark and i think about that leap of faith that harrison ford indiana jones has to take to save his father outside a certain death of his father if he don't take that step over that chasm to go get that chalice of jesus and fill it with some to save his daddy his daddy gonna die that was the decision for me daddy's going to die he's in cleveland no one is taking care of him he's going to die he's going to die he's going to die he's not well and you're the only child i'm not the only child i got an older brother yeah but i was the chosen yeah but i was the chosen one to do this and so i was the one that chose to do this and this is the thing about caregiving i don't i don't judge anybody who can't do it i don't judge anybody that's not able to do it i knew it was what i was supposed to do i'm only responsible for what i am supposed to do so i went home and got my daddy and then god provided and so that's and that has been this the case for all my entire life we talk about talked about jenny and forrest gump my entire career has been forrest gump everything i've ever done sitting here with you i got i didn't even know the email had come in and that this is kiki palmer wanted to see me i was waiting for the call i was hoping i got the call but i didn't even know the call had come in i looked at my my um my calendar and it said get it why did that fall i don't know why is it lord saying i'm saying good stuff he said yeah that's good stuff um but i got the i got look check my calendar and there you were you got the back i don't have i got an extra back oh hook me up wait but you need your back oh my god it's disgusting oh is it extra back i don't have the back i don't have the extra back so take it i'll do anything for you baby thank you for that extra back what you need i'm still good thank you so much but yeah so it's just that that understanding that god has got you no matter what it looks like yeah yeah in the moment it's true but it's hard for folks to feel like they can go ahead and do that so that's why i think it's important that you speak to and we share these testimonies um and again it's about it goes back to also what you were saying about saying what i gotta say no matter where it leads me being true and being in alignment is going to lead you to where you should be even if it seems to go totally against what somebody thinks makes the most sense you gotta make you gotta live a life that makes sense for you and do no harm those are my two things over the course of all that journey in that time did you ever have a moment of like uh oh this i'm angry or this is this is a lot on me or i mean i imagine absolutely as a caregiver and you know as a mom you're a caregiver you're a mom yeah right so there's moments where it's sunshine and roses there's moments when it's hard but i've all the way i always describe caregiving is that it's the toughest best thing i ever did or the best tough thing i've ever did so it's it's it's going to be hard but you can do it what i always try to tell caregivers are people that are afraid or starting the journey themselves because the one thing is that everybody's going to be here before we leave here you either be a caregiver or a caregiving nobody misses it every single person and again as i say if you're a parent you're already doing it right so it's scary because it's it's the unknown but what i remind people of caregiving is just love you love somebody you're gonna feed them you love them you're gonna make sure they clean you love them you're gonna make sure they got a little entertainment you can do it and so just lean in now everybody may not be able to do it in their home i was able to do it in my home for 11 and a half years everybody can't do that so don't even be hard on yourself if you can't do it in your home yeah like the guilt is the biggest part of caregiving for me i think it's and it probably is i'm not a parent but i can imagine as a parent the guilt like any moment i'm not i was not with my dad i was like i should be with my dad i was like i should be with my dad yeah right and i'm sure parents feel that well i'm not with my kid so it's it's that's all part of it but i always remind people also that if my dad was in his right mind and could say what he wanted to say he would tell me thank you and he would say go see kiki today you know what i mean he would want me to continue to live my life and so i do live and i spend time with him and then i live my life and i go back and spend some more time with him and then i live my life yeah and you got your gracie award um for squeeze your award-winning podcast where you really are letting out what what it was like on your caregiving journey but it's been also a real big support on people that are in theirs so that's really amazing congratulations on that yeah thank you um you're married They're married. To Anthony Davis. Shocking. You guys met, I have to talk about this because, you know, I feel like I've been a part of the journey. I've watched, you know, I'm engaged. Now, you guys met in an acting class at church. At church. Which sounds very fabulous. I love it. We was praying and we was performing. Faithful Central Bible Church, yes. Up in there. And, I mean, that sounds like the opening of a rom-com. Right. But you guys didn't immediately start dating then. No. So what was the journey of you guys staying friends and then you realizing that maybe this is my boo for real? It's so funny. When I met him, he was. Ooh, I'm ready for this. You ready? When I met him, he was married. Oh. Yeah. So we were just platonic. Glad to be there. We were just platonic friends in acting class together. But I thought he was just the nicest, funniest guy. Like, and everybody did. It's not like it was just me going, Tony's great. Everybody thought Tony was great. And so he was with us, I think. I think I was in class with him for maybe, maybe it was six months to a year. Because then his family moved back to New York. And I lost touch with him for like 25 years. No contact. 25 years. That's a long ass time. Some people weren't even born when we lost contact. And then he got divorced. And then his mom passed. And then my mom passed. And he saw online, because I didn't know it, but he had been following me. I didn't know it. So throughout the years, he was sending me little messages like, great job on this thing. Never DMs, just in the comments. Like, great job on this or blah, blah, blah. And I was like, oh, thanks. You know, I say, I respond to everybody. So I didn't know it was him. I was like, thank you, kind sir. And then when we got married, I was like, oh, my God. And then when my mom passed, he was in my DMs. That's the first time he popped up in my DMs, this man that I didn't know. And he was like, I heard about your mom passing. I'm really concerned about you. How are you? And I said, who are you? Who are you? And he was like, it's Tony Davis. Tony Davis? And then we just started talking again. He told me about his divorce and about his mom passing. We just started sharing with each other. And he instantly became my best friend. Like, we started talking every day. We started talking every day online. Then we were talking every day on the phone. And then we were FaceTiming every day. And the crazy thing about it is, I was falling in love and did not know I was falling in love. He never said, will you be my girlfriend? Let's be together. It never, it went from that DM to a ring on my finger. And I honestly do not know how it happened. Like, it just was meant to be. Oh, my gosh. It's crazy. What was it like when he asked you to marry him? It was so cool. So I knew, we had already, we had said to each other, that we, that he had to decide if he wanted to be married again after his marriage. Right. Because he'd been married a long time. He's 27 years married. It's a long time. It is. And I was good. You know, my cousin, who's a pastor, my cousin, Rochelle, we call her Roach, cousin Rochelle, she's a bishop now. Oh, congratulations. Apostle, she's a apostle. She had said to me, she said, God told me to tell you something. I said, wait, wait, what did the Lord say? Go on, tell me what the Lord said. She said, the Lord said that you need to decide. She said, the Lord said that you need to decide if you're a wife or not. I was like, what? Don't do that to me. She was like, if you are a wife, the Lord has someone perfectly crafted for you. If you're not a wife, he will keep you your entire life, exactly as you are now, happy and content. But you need to decide if you're a wife. And I was like, gotta decide nothing. Ten years goes by. Kid you not. Ran it, was, Roach came to visit my dad, came to LA. And she's like, I don't know. She's prophetic. And so I joked and said, yo, cuz, you got a word for me? She said, I do have a word for you. Same word I gave you ten years ago. God wants you to decide if you are a wife or not. How she remembered the prophecy from ten years ago, I do not know. And she said, you can play around with this. She's anointed. Exactly. She said, you can play around with this all you want. But you need to decide. And I was like, dang. And so I said, cuz, I think, I think I'm a wife. And why, why did you say that? Why did you say that? Because I just feel like it's going to be a lot of work. But what made you think that you are a wife? Because I kind of knew that I was. And I had already started. Really? And I had started talking to Tony by this time. Now, I wasn't thinking that I was Tony's wife. Yeah, but you felt that it was you. But I felt this pull. Now, now, now, now the whole family on that side is Christian and in church. I hang out with Roach. My cousin Stacy, her sister, calls. Yo, you're going to hate this because Roach just said you ain't on board. But your husband's coming. Now that you said your husband is coming. I had a dream. I saw, I can see him. You're going to be married soon. Bye, Stacy. Ring. My cousin Kim, the other sister. No. Four sisters. Kim. Only one that didn't give me was my cousin Sharon. Kim. Hey, so I heard you talk to Roach. Your husband is coming. You need to, the Lord told me to tell you that he's coming and you need to get ready. Because you're about to be a wife. Now that you've said that. They had not ever known that Roach gave me this prophecy. Roach just said what she told me the second time. And they were like, well, I can release the Kraken. So God had told all of them. Yvette need to stop playing. Her husband is imminent. And my husband was imminent. It's something to say about the opening yourself up to your truth. Because if you've always felt that, but never necessarily claimed that or walked into that. Because the dating pool. Yeah. It got pee in it. Yeah. It's the pee and little creatures floating around from the Cro-Magnon creatures. And it can make you say it's not for you. But what's interesting is, is that if you say it's for you or whatever that is for you, God already knows. And he was just waiting so he can reveal it. Right. But this is the other thing that I, when I tell the story, I need to tell the truth of this. I had prayed for a hedge of protection around me. You ever heard? It's a good prayer. Give me into this. My prayer was, Lord, please keep me concealed from anybody you have not sent for me. Yes. Right. Protect me from anything that I've not sent for me. And that's friend, lover, husband, not husband, husband sent for me. But if there's someone coming for me that you did not send, please protect me. I don't want to, I didn't want to do. No distortion. Yeah. I don't want to do no years of counterfeit. I didn't want to be so broken down in my spirit that by the time the man that was made for me came, I was not ready to receive him because of the mess I had been through. So I had a lot of singleness. I was single forever. And people were like, well, what's wrong with you? There's nothing wrong with me. I'm waiting. No, no, no. No, people do say that. Don't they say that? Not about you. I'm just saying about everybody. Because again, going back to what we said at the beginning, they believe that a woman by a certain point, got to have a baby, got to have kids. Why can't I choose what's right for me? Raise up off me. I'm good. Is there something wrong with me or is there something right with me? Is there something right? Or maybe there's something wrong. I've said this. I said this on Wendy Williams show. Maybe there's something wrong with society and what they believe a woman should be and have by a certain time. They don't do that to men. A man can be 65 years old and they say, he's a bachelor. They don't say nothing about when you're getting married to no man, when you're having kids to no man. They be honest like this. So I think I was fighting against that too. I'm like, you don't get to tell me what I'm going to be. Yes. Yes. That's so interesting. But also so good because it's hard when people are putting so much on you to know if what you want is you or everything that everyone is saying. So sometimes it's like, let me quiet the noise because I don't want my personality to also be just fighting against you. Right. I don't want to push something away just because you want it from me. And now I don't know. That's tough when everybody keeps. You said something good too. I wanted to give you your kudos for this. Somebody was talking about, I think you were talking to Steve Harvey. And Steve Harvey said that you needed to, a certain type, a rich man. And you were like, I'm good though. Like, I need a kind man. I need a loving man. I need a funny man. Why do we assume that a nice man is a rich man? Y'all kill me with that. Yes. I don't know why that's the thing. And it's like. Like, you're right. To me, look, I don't know everything. But I know what I enjoy is really somebody that's funny. Don't take they self too seriously. That's right. They listen to me. They like to spend time with me. My parents, my family loves them. They're a family person. They love God. What's better than that? None of that says got a million dollars in the bank. That don't say height. That don't say what they look like. That don't say money. The height would be preferred. But I'll do what I gotta do. But I'ma do what you gotta do. You know. I don't care. Listen, there's some lovely men, five, six. Don't sleep. I love that you bring that up because it is true. I do feel like there's something that they do to women that are successful in society where it's like, look, I get this idea that, like, you know, that's what a man cares about. But maybe we should stop telling men to care about that. Like, maybe this whole idea, and this is why we're in the gender wars, I feel like. Right. Because you're defining men on their value by what kind of car they drive. Exactly. What kind of job they have. Do you remember, what's his face, Kevin Samuels? Yes. Okay. People talk about the disservice that he did to women. And he did do a disservice to women. That whole rate yourself with some hotness. But beyond that, he did a disservice to men as well. Because in telling women that to get a high value man, which to him was a certain height, certain amount of money, whatever, they had to be a certain way. It made men who, I think somebody did the math, the percentage of men that make over $100,000 and are six foot is a minuscule amount of men. So that means all the women are going after them five men. And the rest of the women. And the rest of the men are lonely for the rest of their lives because money and height is the most important thing in a mate. And it also ended up feeling like satire. Almost felt like at a certain point he was being a satirical character, rest in peace, because it was like you wanted to actually show how when somebody, when you're saying you want this, what if this high value man is, it becomes this game of like a lot of people want that high value man. Exactly. So you're going to have to jump through. or you're gonna have to be perfect or you're gonna have to share and it's like And that's like, it's like that we prefer, we're cool with that other than just get a high value heart. Give me a high value spirit and soul. You know what I'm saying, a spirit and soul. High value soul. Like, who wants to be fighting for one man that is, you know, the most perfect bachelor in a Tyler Perry movie? Like, y'all got to stop. Y'all better cut it out. Y'all better find you somebody you can build with. I've been telling people, find somebody. This is the thing. Nobody likes mechanics anymore. No. You know, nobody likes firefighters. I need you to have something that you believe in, that you're chasing. I need you to get up, and I need you to be able to take care of yourself. You ain't got to take care of me. Be able to take, I can take care of me. Take care of you, though. So I don't got to take care of you. That's it. That's it. Everybody bring what you got, and then let's build together. I mean, and again, it's like, that's kind of home I grew up in. Yeah, me too. Neither one of my parents were loaded. They both was just working and doing what they had to do. Secretary and a custodian. My mother, my dad worked at a factory. First he worked in the factory, then he worked up to sales. My mom worked at many different jobs. She was singing from church. The church, whoa, whoa, whoa, God is good. I'm coming with her in the back. She just made $300. That's right. She's going down, and she's a teacher for mentally challenged children. I go up there to the school. We was hanging out with the kids. You know, those were the jobs that they had, and it was multiple. Never once did I hear my mama say, when we going on that five-star hotel vacation. You need to fly me out somewhere. I need to be flewed out. I never heard that from her. Never happened because she was building. So when people are projecting those, and look, I love Steve, taking it back. I love Steve. We love Steve. We both love Steve. But it's this particular way and vibe. But that's also- And if you're going for a particular role. But that's also his generation, and that's also Steve, I think, trying to protect you and make sure nobody takes you for granted or takes you for a ride. So Steve, we love you. Yeah, we love Steve. But I think why I love that you spoke back to him and said, but what about this, is because you were also letting him know, there's another way, Steve. And there is another way, and I hope that young women or older women my age are hearing that. And also me and Steve are doing comedy stuff. It was a bit. It was a bit and a bit and a bit. Right. But when people take things out of context. Context. It's important to shine the light on what the true part is, which at the center of what I'm saying is, yes, you should have somebody to have something going for themselves. Of course, I think that those things are important. But at the same time, I don't really judge a man's character solely by how much money he has in his pocket. I can't. You can't judge him. I don't just assume just because he has this amount of money that he's worth my time. You can't. You can't. You can't judge him by what they have in their bank account. You can't do it. I'd rather judge him by what they have in their pants. I'm playing. I'm playing. I'm playing. I can't joke with y'all now. Wow. That's crazy. I want to talk about the fact that you've joined me. Come on. Yes. Yes. I want to get on the fact that you've joined me with Lady Miss Jacqueline. I had the best. Girl, I am so excited. I mean, you are, first of all, you're voicing many different characters and projects. You're in Zootopia 2. Yes. And obviously Inside Out 2. Inside Out is one of my favorite Pixar intellectual properties. It's so good. It's incredible. My niece, she'd come up to me all the time and say, yes, I'm just a little anxious. I have anxiety. And I'm like, I know. I know it's because of that. And she know what it is now. But call it out, baby. Call out that emotion. And then obviously, like I said, you are in this incredible cast followed by Audra McDonald, Danielle Brooks, Jackie Harry, Jennifer Lewis, Michelle Batteau, Raven-Symoné, Cheryl Lou Ralph, Zachariah Porter. All of that. Me. I mean, this is the Lady Miss Jacqueline weddings, the weddings of Lady Miss Jacqueline. This character is like, you know, we were talking about Helen and we were talking about Shirley. This is like my first baby comedic character where I found my voice. That was during COVID, wasn't it? Say it again. Was it during COVID? It was. No, you know what? It started in when I started doing Scream Queens, 2016, and continued on. Has it been that long? She's grown and grown and grown. You were doing these videos back then. Back then. You ain't never played. Let me tell you all something about Kiki Palmer. One thing that I love about you is your ability to switch lanes. And some people will switch a lane and drive that lane exclusively until another detour comes and they'll switch. You do that. You do Frogger. Your lane switching is like Frogger. Like, you see an opening. I used to love that game. And you're in it, right? And you ride. Like, you don't wait for a lane. You don't wait for there to be a clear line in a lane for you to keep riding. You're going to ride in this lane and kill it. Oh, to get this good over here, let me. Yeah. And at the same time, to be able to do podcasts and audible stuff and TV and game shows and podcasts. Girl! Girl! Girl! Ain't it been a yes? Oh, my gosh. Praise God. I ain't never said no to you. I never will. I never said no to you. Well, I'm so happy that you joined because it just, I mean, I feel like I have some real crazy comedic, like, major sludge. Emma's coming through the door. Bunch of fools. I mean, please, I cannot wait for everybody to check out on Audibles the Weddings of Lady Miss Jacqueline. It's a great, great series and I'm just so glad that you're a part of it. Thank you for having me. And so I thought to myself, before I get up out of here, I got so much stuff going on with you. We got games. Oh, I got a game. I'm in a game, too. What do you want to do? Let's do it. Oh, here she come. I got to get myself together because Lady Miss got some questions. That's a good shake and go. Where you get that shake and go? Hold on. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay. She's coming together. She's in. She's in. Lock in. Lock in, though. There it is. There it is. Now it's happening. Now it's happening. It wasn't happening before, but now she at the door. She at the door. She at the door. Make sure your teeth, you ain't got nothing on your teeth now. Lick it off. Here we go. Yes! Yes! Now, Yvette. Yes, darling? I could ask you plenty of questions about this new Audible project, but let's be real. We all love to talk about weddings, and as Lady Miss Jacqueline, we're here for a ride. So who better to get into it with you than I? I know you've got tea to spill, so let's get into it. Okay. So, I attempt to only invite people I enjoy to my weddings. However, sometimes due to politics, hostile takeovers, real estate deals, royal bloods, bloodlines, and the demands of the groom of the moment, I've had to invite some people I do not enjoy. So, Yvette, Nicole Brown, was there anyone you had to invite to your wedding that you didn't like? And if you can't say names, tell us why you disliked them. Oh, I adore you so much. No, because weddings are expensive. And I ain't giving nobody no rubber chicken unless I like them. So I didn't bring anybody up in there that I didn't absolutely adore. And there's some people that couldn't make it that I invited, but everybody there, I absolutely adored. I love that. So I've walked down the aisle, swam down. I was promoting my hit single, Pool Vibes. I love pools, pools are the vibes. Just a little something for you. And I danced down, and I enjoyed that performance more than the marriage, mind you. The aisle. I've walked down the aisle 14 times. What song did you walk down the aisle to? Ooh, Best Part. Hmm. Yeah. Her, by her. By her. I love her. Yeah, you're the best part. She's so she. She's so she. Other celebs who reconnected with someone from their past and got married include Nelly and Ashanti, whom I adore. Of course, Jennifer Lopez. Over and over again with Ben Affleck. Mary Osmond, who I can tolerate as long as her brother's nowhere around me. There's she there. And someone I won't name, but I simply cannot stand. Fine, it's Carol Channing. Blech. Okay. So tell me this. What did you serve during cocktail hour? Ooh, we had, you know, I don't necessarily know because we missed it. You didn't remember because you got so lifted. We missed the cocktail hour. But I believe it was like some crab, a little crab guantani thing. Yes. And there was a little salmon something. And I think we even had those potatoes. A little Asian fusion. With a little bit of caviar, with a little dollop of the sour cream. Hors d'oeuvres. A little doves. Very yummy. Well, thank you so much. I really loved. I really loved getting all the nice tea details to your wedding event. I'm so glad for you and so happy for you and Tony. It's wrong. Why are you like this? Kiki. I have no idea why. Kiki. I just had to do it. Lady Miss had to come and visit you. Oh, my God. Her lipstick is so tacky. You could have left it on, baby. It looked good. It was all right. It was too much. It's all right. How do I look now? You look good. You always look good. Thanks, darling. Okay, so now it's time to get into a game. So this game is called Extra or Not Extra. And the rules are simple. One person names a category and the other person says what extra thing we used to do back then versus what we actually do now. Whoever's more evolved wins bragging rights. This one's brought to us by our presenting sponsor, 7th Generation. So let's get into it. Okay, yeah. Let me go with you. Let me go first and you can show me. Okay, great. If I can go first. Okay, here we go. You go first. Okay, this is my question for you. Prepping for a date. Oh, prepping for a date. Did I used to be extra or not extra? Prepping for a date. You know what? I think that it depends on who asked me. I showed up to some dates with no makeup on. Like, hey. Because he was cool. Come on, what's up? Or you didn't care. I was just kind of like, look, like, there's a lot going on. Yeah. But then there's been other dates where I've, I think it actually has something to do with what's happening with me at work at the time. How busy you are. How busy you are. What a bad person. But when I'm really, really, because I hate it, but like, dating is so secondary in my life. Yeah. Like, and it shouldn't be, because it's like, I want love and I want to have fun, but when it comes down to it, I'm like, I got to date. No, but the other thing is, though, yes, but you get to prioritize what matters to you in every season of your life. Dating is never getting a lot of life. If you take anything from me today, baby, please take this from me. You and you get to prioritize. You and you get to prioritize what you want to prioritize in your life. Now, do not push something aside that is actually a priority. Right. For the sake of work. Yeah. But if work. is the priority then be about it that's what it is so I would say I'm not extra you know back in the day I was probably more extra but now I'm not extra about because you following your own rules now okay okay here we goes um saving things just in case oh that'll get your house in order I need you to stop peeking in my windows and get out my business I am so sentimental yeah and so nostalgic and like this is especially this is the tough one because I lost my mom five years ago anything the woman touched if she ever touched it I have it like I can't like that's her and I think there's something I think I might have ADHD undiagnosed but I think I might have it because they said with people with ADHD one of the things is that their things become their diary oh things become how they remember you know it's a ticket from a trip you know I would see Janet Jackson here's my ticket stuff I don't throw that away because I wouldn't see Janet Jackson is my ticket stuff right so I have too much stuff it's hard for me to let it go and I'm learning so I'm very extra with that rainy day and also I think growing up poor yeah you like I might know we can't I might know that's still good that's a good box that box Kiki did a gift in that box the perfect size for when I'm gonna give Kiki Nick I know yeah so that's that's there's like that trash bag door that the drawer with all the bags model stores you never know you don't you don't take them when you go don't do you they ride in the right yeah this bad y'all pray for me okay I'm ready traveling with the three-year-old you can't even do then and now because you're right yeah that's not a good thing oh I mean that's for now it's always extra he is so extra Leo is so what I love about my son is that he has such clear boundaries and he's not afraid to say what he wants and what he needs you know what I'm saying and his characters is continuing to develop and it also is so funny because I feel like he reflects back the truest version of me I agree you know what I mean scribe was you yourself came here with boundaries oh my gosh I feel like I need more you came I mean you listen you came here and then they got beat out of you in this business right get him back come on get him back when I look at him it's like learn from that baby you know he's like girl you know to me and he takes everything I say and turns into his own thing I mean I just yeah Leo was extra he makes traveling extra but he's the most fun to be with the most cuddly love me he kissed me like seeing you as a mom has been just so lovely so you know I met you as a little baby girl 15 you I think you were younger than that what would you do hope you did true true I was 14 when I got it 15 like turn 14 15 okay so 15 okay yeah which is crazy I was wrong I said 12 15 but you but did we meet before then before we had met before then all right that's why that's why we work together yes yeah okay what you got for me okay I have for you holiday decorating who who talked who'd you talk to you who'd you talk to you I may still have a Christmas tree up oh my god from 2022 oh my let me tell you something but first time my life I got a family room I moved into a new house I family room yes and I put it in that corner it's so cute in that corner I don't know why to be up in there that's not even Christmas it's Christmas somewhere it's Christmas in my house 24 hours a day that's not so I would say I'm more extra now yo then when I guess we didn't really have Christmas or not kid we didn't have my jehovah's oh no we had my water in Jehovah's do they celebrate Christmas no they don't we were we were the hovers the povers ain't no Christmas Christmas at home so um yeah so I think as I got older I was like I'm gonna get a tree yeah and now I just like the tree I'm gonna leave it up when we when I was a kid we had the you know that tree that you just like it's got metal pieces do it oh we had to put the yeah yeah I love the 70s tree you know what I'm saying and now they try to be like oh you don't know get you a real tree get you a real tree man I like that mechanical pencil one mine has lights on it's three pieces it's already lit you know I'm a good to go well can I just tell you so much I love you talking to you and didn't feel like we're on a podcast we just chillin and talking and catching out to you I love you so much I love you thank you that's the game my final one since I make the rules laundry I used to run through way too many steps I couldn't even explain now I keep it simple with seven generation which delivers a powerful clean and skips the dyes and artificial fragrances in entirely so makes the switch today to seventh generation a powerful clean without anything extra today's conversation was a reminder that a woman never has just one voice or one life there's the voice that makes people laugh the voice that fights for what is right the voice that says I've got it even when she's exhausted and then there's the quieter voice that says I need your help I deserve love I get to choose joy to Yvette Nicole Brown story reminds us that caregiving can be an act of love without becoming your entire identity that speaking up can cost you something and still be worth it and that love doesn't arrive late it arrives at the appointed time you can be strong and still need support you can hold grief ambition humor love possibility and gratitude at the same time his baby there may be many lives inside of you and every one of them deserves to be heard I'll see you next time on baby this is Kiki Par baby is this this is Kiki baby is this Kiki Palma yeah