- My next guest is a talented comedian and actress
whose new book,
"Very Fat, Very Brave" is out right now.
She should add very funny to the title 'cause she is,
and I love her.
I'm talking about Nicole Byer, everybody.
Hey, what's up, Nicole?
- Hi, how are you?
- I am so good.
Oh my gosh, I love the flowers,
I love the whole vibe behind you!
- Thank you.
My roommate, John Millhiser, who's also a comedian.
He did this all while I was doing my makeup.
- Oh my gosh, he's so good.
Like an interior designer.
That's so cool.
I love your hair by the way, too.
- Thank you!
- That's so beautiful!
Yeah, you've been out on the front lines
at protests recently.
Has that experience given you hope,
or has it kind of deterred you?
I feel like I know several people that have gone,
and there've been different kinds of protests,
and different happenings in each one.
So, what has your experience been like?
- It makes me feel hopeful personally, because,
the protests have not stopped since May,
and we're now in June,
and I don't see them slowing down or stopping.
- Is there any particular moment
that has really stood out for you?
Since May and now we're moving into June?
- No particular moments.
I mean, it's just really depressing to wake up,
open Twitter and go, oh, okay.
Somebody else's dead.
- Yeah.
- And, I don't know if things will go back to normal.
I mean, at least not for black people.
We talk about it ad nauseum.
I talk about it in my standup.
So I don't know if there is a going back.
If you're not radicalized for forever,
you're part of the problem.
And I encourage a lot of white people
to read "White Fragility".
It is a wonderful book that truly breaks down
why white people don't wanna talk about race
and why their discomfort seems to
take precedent over learning.
- And why, I think a lot of people don't even notice it.
They don't see it.
You know what I'm saying?
- Oh yeah. - It's like, if you're in it,
you don't even see it a lot sometimes. And it's --
- Oh yeah, absolutely.
- Not until you listen and have conversations
to where you see the difference,
and you hear the difference,
that you actually go, hmm, okay.
I think that's a big problem about it too, is the ignorance.
I think educating oneself is probably
the most important thing you can do right now.
Other than listening.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- Well, I don't even know how to switch subjects on that.
(laughing) But I'm going to try and get a little lighter.
So we're not supposed to, there's no segue, Nicole,
I'm not that clever.
But I do wanna talk about it
'cause I know you protested during the quarantine.
But, we've all been doing completely different things.
that maybe we would've ever done beforehand too,
just to stay sane.
Because on top of everything that's going on,
there's just a lot of emotional
roller coaster stuff happening.
And, for me, I've started doing things
that I never did before,
or like things with my kids
that I never did before I had time for.
Is there anything that you've been doing during quarantine
that you never did before that you're like, sure, why not?
- Well, when I was a kid, I remember rollerskating,
but I don't remember like roller skating.
So I was like,
(laughing)
I wanna learn how to roller skate.
So I've been learning how to roller skate.
- That's amazing!
- What?
- That's amazing!
- Oh, thank you!
I skinned my knee two days ago.
(laughing)
Because I almost crashed into a Mercedes.
And I was like, God forbid a person has --
- I'm gonna take my knee out before that car.
(laughing)
And then I also I've been pole dancing.
But I've been doing that -- - That's hard!
- Yeah, it's so hard.
I did this class on Sunday and I'm so sore,
but it like --
- [Kelly] I can't,
I'm too heavy for that.
Like I can't hold myself up.
- I'm much bigger than you and I can.
- I'm just telling you from my experience,
I literally was like, nah, this fine behind ain't for this.
(laughing)
I know.
(laughing)
- It's hard that if you can do that, you are incredible.
- It's so hard.
- Yeah. - And I love it so much,
'cause it's like a tangible thing where you're like,
oh, I couldn't do this yesterday, but now I can do it today.
- Yeah, and it makes you feel sexy.
It's like working out and it makes you feel like a little,
well, I imagine it makes you feel sexy
when you're doing it well.
I wouldn't know, firsthand.
- I wouldn't know either.
I'm very mediocre.
- Maybe it's 'cause I was drinking the time I tried it,
but I, yeah, I was not good.
But Nicole, I love your book too.
Okay, I have your book here actually,
'cause I love it.
I think it's amazing because
that's one thing I love about you
is that you're so honest and in a funny way.
You're like this isn't, I mean,
so your book is called "Very Fat, Very Brave".
And I think I'm kind of aware of where the title comes from
because I'm a fan of yours,
but for everybody that doesn't know,
why did you title it that?
- So, when a fat woman posts on the internet,
a picture of themselves in a bikini,
or something revealing, the internet goes,
my God, you're so brave!
Which is the fully insane thing,
to be like, somebody who's wearing
a bathing suit to go swimming is brave?
No, they're just wearing the correct article
of clothing to do an activity.
- Well, and it's almost insulting,
'cause it's like --
- Oh, it's fully insulting.
- I always love that, and they're like,
Oh, you're so confident.
You just don't care.
And I'm like, what?
(laughing)
- You don't care?
'Cause I'm like, I spent hours trying --
- And like, I care about things.
Maybe just not things that you find important.
But I was like, let's not write me off like that.
Yeah, it's funny how they they're like,
Oh, you're so confident.
I'm like, I'm not confident.
I'm just being.
- Yes, yes.
It's so frustrating.
So it's very tongue-in-cheek.
I don't think I'm actually brave,
but I would love to meet somebody who is like.
Oh, she actually thinks she's brave for being in a bikini?
I want to meet that person to be like, really?
- I wanna have coffee with that person.
(laughing)
Well, in the book you have a way of dealing with haters.
And I want you to tell everybody what that is.
- Oh, I have so many different ways.
- I have a particular favorite, but, you go ahead.
- Wait, which one is your favorite?
- I like, whenever you say that,
'cause this is my thing I always say,
I think that's why I relate to it.
I'm like, do you have that much time
to sit at home and rail on me right now?
I don't even know you.
You could have just ignored it.
It's like,
look, I want your life. - Yes.
- If you have that kind of time.
You turn around and go,
I'm sorry your life is so little
that you're worried about me over here?
I love that. - Yeah.
I like that one too.
Another one I have is if someone calls you a cow,
you just turn around and moo at them.
(laughing)
- I love that!