Hello.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you so much for having me.
Oh, really?
It is so nice have you on the show.
I'm happy for both of us that you're finally on the show.
I'm acting professional and calm but I'm dying inside.
Please know that I'm dying inside me.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, I know that coming on the show
was very important to your mom.
Tell everybody why that is.
Yes, well, being on the show has been on my vision board
for five years, legitimately.
And my fans were so keen on it as well
that they've actually photoshopped
many pictures of us together.
And so people think I've already been on the show
because they're so good at Photoshop, but I haven't.
This is my first time.
And my mom always told me, she was like,
Lily, no matter what you do in life, no matter what movie,
no matter what TV show, I do not care unless you
get to go on Ellen's show.
Like, it is the marker of success for my mom.
And she made me promise that if I ever go on your show,
I have to bring her to the set.
So when I called her to say, mom,
I'm finally going to be on Ellen, and she said,
oh, my God.
And I'm like, yeah, we're going to Zoom.
And she goes, oh, that doesn't count.
And I was like, no!
[LAUGHTER]
Literally, that doesn't count is what she said to me.
So I guess I still have to make her proud.
All right.
Which means you'll have to invite me back.
Yes, I will invite you back.
As soon as we're able to have people in the studio,
you're our first guest back.
I promise.
That's for your mom.
10 years ago, you were making YouTube videos
in your parents' basement.
Now, you have a late night show.
I mean, that's incredible.
Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I'm very, very, grateful.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
I mean, you must have envisioned this, right?
If you have a vision board, you must have seen this happening.
I think the answer I'm supposed to say is, like, yes,
I envision this.
But to be honest, I knew nothing in 2010
when I started making YouTube videos.
I mean, I called myself superwoman,
which just goes to show the lack of business saviness
I had at that time.
[LAUGHTER]
And I still am on a journey of learning.
I made videos, which led to this career.
And even now, when I go on set, I don't know anything.
I'm learning.
Someone will come up to me, and they'll be like, yeah,
I'm the script supervisor.
And I'm like, what now?
You do what?
Like, what do you do?
I'm learning all these jobs.
The first time I went on the set, I started acting,
and the director was like, I need to say action.
And I was like, I don't understand.
What do you mean?
So I'm still completely a noob and learning,
and I'm just figuring it out.
Wow, you had never seen a movie where someone says action, even
in a movie?
Literally, I thought it was just a thing that
happened on screen.
Didn't think it was like a real protocol that happened.
Yeah.
Yeah, I see.
So you do all these sketches.
You do a lot of different characters.
But I think I know.
What is your favorite?
I had the privilege of playing a lot of characters.
Obviously, my parents characters are my favorites,
because I feel like, they're universal.
People do really see their own parents
in my parents' characters.
I do have to say this so I don't get in trouble, though,
my actual parents are not exactly like this.
They're definitely inspired, but they're not
exactly like those characters.
Those are exaggerated versions of just a lot of my aunts
and uncles.
But because of the time we're in right now,
I've really gotten the opportunity
to play Kamala Harris, which is fascinating for me,
because the first time I posted a video of me dresses Kamala
Harris, all I did was put on a wig,
and change my makeup a little, and all of the comments
were like, you look exactly like Kamala harris.
I thought this was Kamala Harris.
And I was just like, can we just say what it is.
It's just that we're both brown.
And this has never happened before.
I've never got to imitate a brown person.
Because no matter how hard I try looking like Joe Biden,
I have obvious features that will make that hard.
And so it's just Kamala and I are both brown.
And it's amazing.
Right.
I think it's hilarious.
So I want to get to this before we run out
of time because you film in a house, it's not your house,
but it's a house.
And you brought a medium to the house
and that house does not look like it would be haunted,
but it is?
Or tell me what happened.
Ellen, the house is 100% haunted.
[LAUGHTER]
Like, I don't know how to tell you this.
The medium of good witch, she was actually a good witch
came to this house.
I'm in the haunted house right now.
And she was like, oh, yeah, there's definitely spirits.
And that's what she said.
And she said it's haunted.
And then she was telling me that there's
a spirit that lives near the pool that sometimes will, and I
quote, tap me on the head.
And then the camera started acting crazy.
None of it was staged.
And she also then ended the segment by saying,
and these spirits could probably definitely come home with you.
[LAUGHTER]
That's incredible.
Well, I hope it's all cleansed now.
It was lovely talking to you.
It's called A Little Late with Lilly Singh.
It airs weeknights at 1:35 on NBC.
And like I said, next time people can come in the studio,
you're back, OK?
Thank you so much.
This is a privilege and an honor, Ellen.
I appreciate it so much.
Thank you, Lilly.
We'll be right back.