-Welcome back to "Late Night."
We're here with the fabulous Wendy Williams.
You've been doing this 12 years, on your television show?
-Yep.
-You've also been doing radio forever.
Do you ever -- It's hard for me to imagine.
Do you ever get nervous talking to a celebrity?
-No. -Ever?
-What's the worst that can happen?
-It's true. I always --
-[ Laughs ]
-I will say -- I don't know if this is true for you.
I sometimes get a little goose-bumpy
if it's someone who was famous when I was a kid.
You know, that I can't believe that I get to talk to somebody
that I grew up looking up to.
That's what gets me nervous. -Agreed, but it's not nervous.
It's more like -- It's like when you were announcing
that I was coming out,
I was, like, a little moist in the eyes,
'cause, like, you know, "Wow. I'm part of 'Late Night.'"
-Yeah.
-I'm a guest on a big late-night talk -- It's Seth!
-Well, I think that -- -And I didn't grow up with you.
We came up together. -Right.
-But just the idea that you're here amongst these people.
-It's really exciting.
I feel the same way when I'm on your show.
It's really fun to be a part
of anyone else's cultural institution.
-That's what I say. -Yeah, it's a really cool thing.
-Yeah. -You -- I've heard tell...
-Uh-oh. -...that despite --
This is not an uh-oh. -Okay.
-That you might want to one day widen your portfolio of jobs
and include college professor.
-Oh, yeah. -You'd like to be a teacher?
-Yeah. -What would you want to teach?
-No, a professor. -A professor, excuse me.
-With the glasses. -Oh, you would wear the glasses?
-And the proper costume. -Really?
-"Hello, students." -Oh, that's very good.
-Mm-hmm.
-Yeah, I would think professor right away.
-Yes. And I would want to profess,
you know, in the latter part of the talk show/no talk show.
You know, the talk show is great,
but I can only do it so much.
You know, I've got to go home and moisturize, Seth.
I can't be running the streets forever.
-Gotcha.
-But I do want to -- I find that --
You and I went to college, and I feel as though --
I don't know about your experience,
but my parents wasted a lot of money
on me being a communications major.
-Yeah, well, I was radio, TV, film. That was my major.
-See? -Yeah.
But I don't think anything --
You know when I realized I didn't learn anything?
Was when the pandemic started
and I had to do all my own tech and everything.
-Yeah.
-I was like, "Oh, I should've paid attention."
But I didn't. -Yeah.
-Yeah, 'cause I think there were classes on everything
I didn't know how to do.
-Well, I didn't have those classes because now,
you know, like, with the show,
they would do the pandemic hook-ups,
but in terms of, you know...
"Stop saying 'like' so much," Professor Eastman used to say.
"Stop saying 'like' so much."
-Have you managed to stop saying it?
-I'm back to "like." -Yeah.
I'm pretty bad with "like," too.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-And Professor Kosberg would say, you know,
"You need to come to class more,
and you need to, you know, do your thesis."
And I'm like, "But, Professor Kosberg, all due respect,
have you ever been on a microphone?"
She said, "No, Wendy.
I'm Professor Kosberg, and I know what I'm doing."
And I was just like, "Oh, okay."
-When were you -- At what age were you first
on a microphone on a radio show?
After college? -No, during college.
-During college.
-I was an intern in Boston at Matt Siegel at KISS 108.
-All right. -Yeah. KISS 108.
-Yeah, I remember KISS 108.
-Yeah, the internship was good, and Northeastern was good,
but only 'cause I made it good.
You know, I used it for what I needed it for.
But these kids, you know, when I go to profess,
I want to tell them, you know,
don't ask me about what does it take to be a talk-show host.
How about this?
Clean up your Instagrams. You know what I'm saying.
-You mean clean it up so that there's never a point where you
get offered a job and your Instagram costs you the job?
-Yes, yes. -Yeah.
-And where's your internship? -Mm-hmm.
-You know, and who have you gotten next to for mentorship,
which is different from internship.
-Yeah.
-Do you know what I'm saying, Seth?
-Lot of different ships out there.
-There are a lot of different ships.
-Lot of ships in the harbor as you like to say.
-Yeah. Mm-hmm. And money per hour.
That's what you're going to have to make.
You can't just jump in and think
you're going to instantly be this person.
You're not -- No.
One of you in this class will be that person.
The rest of you...
-I feel like, if this was the first class,
I would feel very, I don't know, disenchanted.
-Good! -Okay.
-But I want you to come back tomorrow.
-All right. Well. Now I'm back on board.
That was very effective. -Mm-hmm. Yeah.
-I feel there's a real give-and-take
in Professor Williams' class.
-[ Laughs ]
-You had a documentary about yourself called "What a Mess!"
-Yes. Mm-hmm. -Did you agree to this title?
-Yes. I titled it.
-You titled it yourself? -mm-hmm.
-And was it hard or liberating
to open your life up for everybody to see?
-100% liberating.
-That's good. -100% truthful.
100% -- Everybody who was in the documentary,
including my late mom, who passed away
since last time we saw each other, but, you know --
Yes! You know, tell your truth. This is what it's like.
This is like when I profess.
"Look, you kids.
[ Laughs ]
This is what you might have to go through."
-All right. Well, I look forward to more professing from you.
You're very good at it.
It is always wonderful to be with somebody
who is truly their authentic self.
Thank you so much for making the time for us.
-Thank you, Seth. -That's Wendy Williams.
And "The Wendy Williams Show" airs weekdays.
Check your local listings.