-Welcome to the show.
It's your -- it's your first time on our show.
-It's my first time, and I was so happy to be here.
I'm kind of nervous. -No!
[ Cheers and applause ]
It's always good to be a little nervous.
But we've hung out together. We've hung out before.
-We did, at the Met Gala.
-We were at the Met Gala together.
-Yeah. -We had a good table.
-Oh, yeah. We had a lot of fun up there.
-Yeah, we had some -- we got in some trouble.
-I know I did. I could dance my life away.
-Yeah. Who else was there? There's Lil Uzi.
-Lil Uzi. -Lil Uzi Vert.
-Erykah Badu. -Yes!
Pete Davidson. -Pete Davidson.
-Remember, Pete Davidson got up --
he got up to meet -- he goes, "I have to go to the bathroom."
[ Laughter ] And we're at this event --
this Met Gala, and we're all dressed --
Thom Browne and I think we were dressed.
And they were dressed really nice.
And Pete goes, "I have to go to the men's room."
I go, "They just announced
that they're starting the entertainment.
Don't go." -He goes, "I have to."
[ Laughter ] And I go, "Really, Pete,
this is a bad -- bad time. They just said --"
He goes, "Yeah, but they say that.
I don't think --" And we were all trying
to talk him out of it. -Yeah, for sure.
-And then he left. He's like, "I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I go, "Okay, whatever."
He leaves, and all of a sudden you hear --
[ Imitating marching band ] -[ Laughs ]
-Just marching band. -Yep.
-And this marching band comes walking in,
and who's the third person in the marching band?
He was like -- -Pete.
[ Laughter ] -Pete Davidson.
I go, "What are you -- I told you, dude." Yeah.
-But, you know, sometimes it happens.
-"Sometimes it happens." Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-You get caught up. -Yeah.
-He looked good while doing it, because he's a --
-He looked good. -He strolled in pretty cool.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. He looked cool, but I was like,
"Dude, you clearly do not belong in the marching band."
[ Laughter ]
I like those events 'cause you meet people.
You go, "Oh, that's the person I always wanted to meet,"
and then you just run into them.
Do you ever get freaked out when you meet someone?
-Well, I do. And it was kind of crazy.
When I saw you there, I kind of was like, "Oh, my God.
I can't believe I'm sitting next to you."
-No, stop! -Honestly.
-No, no. -I was like, "Oh, my God.
This is insane."
So, yeah, I do have those moments.
It's -- it's kind of dope. -But people come up to you,
and they freak out when they see you.
-I had this crazy moment, actually, with Khloe Kardashian.
She came up to me at the Met Gala,
and I did not expect that, and I got freaked out.
I was like, "Oh, my God." She said to me,
"Oh, you're such a presence, and you're living your life."
And I was like, "Wait. You think that of me?"
[ Laughter ] "What about you?!"
-Yeah, you are a presence. Can I just run down
some of your recent accomplishments, please?
-Okay. -Emmy nomination for "Pose."
That's not too shabby right there...
[ Cheers and applause ]
...to get an Emmy nomination.
Golden Globe win for "Pose." -Yes.
-That was off the chain. [ Cheers and applause ]
One of "Time's" Women of the Year.
Oh, yeah. [ Cheers and applause ]
And the winner of GLAAD's
prestigious Stephen F. Kolzak Award.
That is major right there. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Thank you. -That's 2022 right there.
Out of these right here, do you have a favorite
out of these, or they're all different in its own way?
-I would say the Golden Globes was my favorite
'cause it's such a prestigious kind of award,
and I never thought I would get it.
You know, being the kind of girl that I am,
you never think that you would get an award like this.
So, I was insecure, and I didn't think that I would, like,
you know, be deserving of an award like that.
And then, when it happened, I was just like,
"What is going on with my life right now?"
[ Laughter ]
-But you actually said that you didn't think
you would work again after "Pose."
-I did. I did. I know that's crazy, but I did.
-Why? -Insecurities.
-Yeah. -You know.
-Gets in your head. -Yeah.
Every woman, every trans woman in the world, they think that,
you know, they're not gonna be allotted certain things,
being who they are. And then it happens,
and you're like, "Oh, this is a pinch-me moment.
Snap." You know?
-Yeah. -"Oh, snap."
Yeah, I don't know where "Snap" came from.
-"Oh, snap." It's fine.
You -- You give a lot of credit to your mom.
-I do, I do. -And, yeah.
What does she do to support you when you were coming up?
-I mean, my mom just loved on me hard.
My mom is a strong Black woman, and she showed exactly
what a strong Black woman does, which is love.
And she cloaked and protected me safely.
And I just love that she did that throughout all of my life.
You know? -Yeah.
Did she know you were gonna be an actor?
-Yeah, I was really dramatic when I was a child.
[ Laughter ] So, you know,
she kind of knew that.
She had, you know, speculations of it and stuff.
She knew. She definitely knew.
-She knew, yeah. And is drama more your thing?
'Cause in "Loot," on --
Maya Rudolph, on Apple TV, you're very funny.
-Oh, you think so? Thank you.
[ Laughter and applause ]
-Yeah, I do think so. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But you -- which one do you like better?
-I love drama.
I love, you know, crying on the screen.
I like, you know -- -Crying?
-I do. -Really?
-I do. It makes me feel good.
I'm sorry, y'all. That's weird, but it does.
-"Loot," Maya Rudolph -- how did you guys meet?
Did you -- have you known each other or just from the show?
-You know, it's so funny. I met her three years ago,
I think, while "Pose" was happening.
It was at an event. I can't remember specifically,
but I remember fanning out over her and saying,
"I hope I get to work with you one day."
And she said, "You will." And I was like, "Okay."
And then boom, it happened. -It actually happened.
-Yeah. -Can you set it up for everyone,
what the show is about? -Yes.
So, this show, "Loot," is about a woman
who goes through tumultuous times with her marriage
and inherits all of this money from this rich man --
$87 billion.
And with all the privileges she has,
there's some things that she doesn't know about,
so she comes back to her foundation,
and she meets a woman named Sofia.
And they're like oil and water, but I think, at the end,
they come together so beautifully.
-Yeah, and -- and, yeah, you help her grow.
But Maya plays a ridiculous character.
-She is hilarious in the show. -She's unbelievable.
-Yeah, tell 'em. -And any rumors of season two?
I'm just hoping. -I think we are
gonna get a season two. I don't know.
But I do believe we will. -Yeah! See?
That's the way I do it. I like it right there.
All right, good. I want to see it.
'Cause already, I got to see like four episodes,
and I'm like, "Oh, yeah. I'm sold."
-Oh, you did? Okay. -Yeah, Maya snuck them to me.
-Oh, okay. -I want to show a clip.
Here is Michaela Jae Rodriguez in "Loot."
Take a look at this.
-We can't just fly to Miami on a random Tuesday,
especially when we have a meeting
with Councilmember Saldana today.
-Oh, I had Nicholas call her. We're moving it to a Zoom.
-A Zoo-- I hate Zooms.
I don't get to show off my personality.
How the hell are they gonna see my sweet side?
-Sofia, look at everybody.
They're so excited.
Look, they're taking pictures of my plane.
Don't take this away from them.
It's all gonna work out. Come on.
Come on.
-Fine.
♪♪
-She's coming.
You guys, she's coming!
-"They're taking pictures of my plane."
[ Cheers and applause ]
Michaela Jae Rodriguez, everybody!
New episodes of "Loot" are available every Friday
on Apple TV+.