-Now, y'all, it should come as no surprise,
but I like to have a good time when I work.
[ Cheers and applause ] That's right. Why not?
And the one thing that makes work fun
is that so many of my employees are also my friends.
When I first moved here, I didn't have very many friends.
It was just me and my recording equipment.
So I did what everyone else in Hollywood does --
I hired friends.
[ Laughter and applause ]
But let me tell you, being a boss and a friend can be tough.
No one likes being told what to do.
I get it. That's why I describe my management style
as Regina George's mom from "Mean Girls."
[ Laughter ]
And I keep offering everybody cocktails and saying,
"I'm not a regular boss. I'm a cool boss."
[ Cheers and applause ]
But I can't turn off my work brain,
which I'm sure is very frustrating
for people I work with.
Sometimes we'll be out -- this is true, y'all --
we'll be out having a good time, and I'll just turn
to a co-worker, and I'll be like, "Vodka?
By the way, you should really get me those notes ASAP.
Okay, shot!" [ Laughter ]
Some of you may know Taylor. You all know Taylor?
Make some noise for Taylor. [ Cheers and applause ]
Taylor's a good guy.
Taylor works for me, but he's also one of my friend friends.
Friend friends. See what I did there?
You know something is serious when you say it twice.
[ Laughter ] Like, how before you're ready
to tell someone you love them you say, "I like like them."
[ Laughter ] Well, Taylor's my friend friend.
And Taylor can tell you from experience that my employees
never know when I'm in friend mode or work mode.
Like, we'll be getting lit and having shots,
and I'll be like, "Ooh! I need you to edit
a video for me tomorrow," and he'll say,
"Lilly, we're in a moving limo, and I'm very drunk."
[ Laughter ]
And then I'll privately think,
"Hmm. Taylor doesn't work as hard as he used to."
[ Laughter ]
I'm kidding! Taylor's amazing!
[ Cheers and applause ] Love you, buddy.
Well, because I'm around my assistants all the time,
it can be hard not to overshare with them.
Every morning, I wake up and I remind myself in the mirror,
"Lilly, Sergio is your assistant,
not you gynecologist. [ Laughter ]
He doesn't care what's going on with your lady parts."
[ Laughter ]
I feel like I have to say I'm kidding.
Don't worry, NBC.
This is not another Matt Lauer situation.
I got you. [ Audience "Oohs" ]
Oh, yeah. I said what I said.
[ Laughter ]
Sometimes I'll invite my team over for a party,
and it's confusing, because they're not sure
if they're supposed to have fun or work.
Like, recently, I had a party,
and my assistant didn't even RSVP
because he thought he was going to have to work for me anyways.
And I was like, "Sergio, you're here to have fun and relax.
Have fun and relax." And he was like, "Okay.
But can I make you your drink?"
And I said, "Obviously. Get to it."
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ] It's tough, though.
It's tough, because in the past, employees have gotten
too relaxed and started slacking on their jobs
and talking to me differently because we're friends,
and that's when things get complicated.
It's kind of like that moment when white kids
start referring to their mom by their first names.
Like, "Yeah, I got it, Patricia!"
[ Laughter ]
Straight up, as a brown person, I'm like, if I ever
called my mom by her first name, I would get whupped!
Whupped! [ Cheers and applause ]
I'll be honest, I didn't even know my mom's name.
[ Laughter ]
And it's a weird dynamic for me, as well.
Especially when I'm the boss of people that are older than me.
It's especially weird because of my Indian upbringing
and the way I was taught to talk to elder people.
Like, just today, I was talking to my producer, Polly.
Like, "Hey, can you help me with this monologue?
Cool. Thank you, Auntie."
[ Laughter ]
And, honestly, I've just decided,
it's on my employees to decide where to draw the line
between friendship and work. It's not on me.
If they leave it up to me, I'll show up to their house
for a sleepover as Lilly, their friend.
And act just like any other friend.
We order pizza, we play "Monopoly,"
and I pick the movie.
The only difference is, if they say no to the movie I pick,
I can fire them."
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
It's fun to work for me. [ Laughter ]
Ultimately, being a friend and a boss
is all about finding a balance.
On the one hand, you want to be friends
with the people in your team.
Of course, you're spending so much time with them.
It makes sense.
On the other hand, you can't call them to vent
at the end of a long day at work.
Like, "Hey. You know who's being so annoying at work today?
You." [ Laughter ]