March 5, 2025 • 61 mins
Curly and Maya take a trip down memory lane with their old BuzzFeed coworker and certified comedy queen, Jenny Lorenzo. Together, they spill the tea on what really went down in the BuzzFeed trenches.
Maya Murillo and Curly Velásquez are the hosts of the Super Secret Bestie Club with production support by Karina Riveroll of Sonoro Media in partnership with iHeart Radio's My Cultura Podcast network. If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review our show!
Follow Maya Murillo on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @mayainthemoment
Follow Curly Velásquez on Instagram and TikTok @thecurlyvshow and on Twitter @CurlyVee
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh my, got Curly. I got Jayla for the podcast
the j Lo.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
That's amazing. Well who's this old lady though?
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Oh okay, by Yama there?
Speaker 4 (00:09):
Oh yeah, oh uh sorry she said she knew j
Loo or that she was Jelo or okay, well body
that no?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Oh well do you know Jenny Lowe.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Anny, Jenny low got Jenny low Jenny Lorenzo.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hey, can she come here? It's me. I'm not an
old lady. I'm a youngish kind of close to middle
aged woman.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Both of you can get in here.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Get in here.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
My name is.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Curly and I'm Maya, and welcome to the Super Secret
Pasty Cloud Podcast. A super secret club where we talk
about super secret things.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, like secrets that are super that's what it is.
In each episode we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbreaks, men,
and of course face secrets.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Get in here.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Oh my god, thank you so much for using like
the iconic voice.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I love when you can pull it out.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So quickly, literally the icon and like that's like you know,
RuPaul doesn't do gigs. Paul will do gigs in full
drag and out of drag, but he charges way more
to do in drag.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Like well, yeah, I get it.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That's like you. So thank you for putting on the
full drag, like.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
The voice is bare minimum, the look on the whole
thing to talk.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah yeah, yeah, well, welcome to the show. Thank you
so much for being here with us. It is such
an honor to have truly just an Internet queen here
with us. Yes, like you know, icon trailblazer, icon, like
there would be none of us if it wasn't for
you in so many ways, So thank you for being
here with us. We did. We do this thing where
we asat you to write.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Are like to ask about like what who is Jenny Lorenzo?
Or like give us a bio?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Do you want to read this one?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I like the way you read it?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, So we basically I gave it a prompt to
tell me who you were, but like as a teenage
sassy girl. Okay, So it's Jenny Lorenzo is the Internet's
undisputed regina of Latino comedy and if you don't know her,
gas kuntu Vida. This Cuban American actress, writer and content
queen made waves of her hilarious, ultra relatable sketches, especially
(02:30):
as her iconic abuela character who basically is it's it's
in italics. Basically is every Latina grandma ever a founding
member buzz Beats Better Like. She's since built her own empire,
serving up culture packed last on YouTube TikTok and beyond,
whether she's roasting Cafesito addictions or schooling us on Latino
(02:53):
family dynamics. Jenny is out here proving that being bilingual
also means being twice as funny.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
That's good. You should put that one in your bio.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
We'll send this to anyone else.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I had a crush on you or something.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
I didn't have to give it prompts actually, which is
pretty fairy.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Mine was like, uh, she's a person who just called
me a poet.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
I was like, okay, okay, got to teach it.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
I was like, it's actually not anything about me.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Got to do so funny, It's like mine was like,
I got so I asked it to right mind and
it was like, oh yeah, it's like, uh, people like
our favorite pretty more whatever. And then I got I
tell you this, but I was like, is he single?
Asking to tell me about single? And he was like,
Curly has never been open with who he's dating, but
whoever dates him is going to be so lucky to
(03:45):
date someone like him. Thank you so much, Ai for
that sweetness. But I thought it was so adorable, like
it was so super cute any reason, welcome.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Thank you, super secret bestie club. Don't tell anyone, but
tell everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Think, how's your spirit?
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Very sexual?
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Super Mario.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yes he's farting all the way down that freaking pipe.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Man, so many things things.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
How is your spirit?
Speaker 4 (04:22):
How are you feeling? How life.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Okay? So I went to the cardiologists for your heart. Yeah,
I've been having like little chest pains over here. And
like the cardiologists is a woman. I typically choose women,
and uh, She's like when did the pain start? And
(04:47):
I'm like, well, if I'm being honest, since the election, Wow,
my spirit is doing great in like various other realms,
you know, like family, friends, questionable, my marriage, Like everything
is like in a really good place. But I'm in
fight or flight every day and I think a lot
(05:09):
of us can relate absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I signed a family group. Text messages to my family
all the time, and I'm like, so should I move
to Mexico or not? Like what's the game plan? When
do I know when to leave? What's the you know right, Yeah,
it's wild. It's just like this weird. I feel like
we're all kind of like vibrating in a different way
where I'm like, you know, what is the plan? Not
me sitting down watching like fucking Nazism stuff on Netflix
(05:35):
being like what did they do? Okay, how did they know?
Me sitting there asking do you see the similarities between us? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (05:42):
I mean there's so much, so much, so much.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yeah, my life lately has been a combo of like
I'm reading a book on fascism and I'm playing Hello
Kitty Island and you need to join we can? Yeah,
Hello an adventure.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
That actually sounds like it might be the game that
gaming people said.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
It's kind of like here's the or like Lord of
the Learnerings. Oh my god, stop my nerd brain is
like which one?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Which one?
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Like Zelda mixed with Animal Crossing, mixed with like kind
of farming games, but not really.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Like dream like Valley, dream like Valley.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes, yeah, would be a gamer. That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
It's so cute.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
It's between like I love talking, I love calling people.
I'll be on the phone forever between calling people.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
So he's always on dates.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So you can also like do co op, like go
on Discord and game with your friends or covers or whoever.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
So you can talk and just be talking while you're playing.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yes, yeah, okay, it's a different sector of gaming called
cozy game.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yes, yeah, okay, we're here, We're a hundred here.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I you will know you made it there. I can
I believe that you don't know cozy gaming.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
It's less stressful. The whole point of it is it's calming.
It's soothing. It's good for your soul.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
You're building something, cooking, something, farming, something I have with someone.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Okay, yeah, I just for me thin because I have
that time blindness that I was talking about earlier, Like
I just don't. I just literally I'll be like I
wake up. I don't understand how it's twelve pm already.
I'm like when did I do this? And then I'm
like I have to eat it because I forget to eat. Yeah,
Like my time thing is so bad that it'll be
eight pm and I'm like, I haven't eaten all day night.
(07:36):
It's many people are like, wait, you mean I might
tell me we'll be rumbling, and I'm like, I don't
have that, Like I don't feel that. Yeah. The only
reason why I know that I haven't eaten this because
I'll get slightly moody, like a little bit more, and
I'm like, I don't like how you said that to me.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Oh I'm hungry.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I haven't eat anything in sixteen hours. Oh my god.
I mean, but I wanted to ask you to, like,
how do you remember? So we go way back? You
and I actually go kind of at the beginning of
our careers together. That's crazy.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
That's actually might.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Get really emotional this episode because there's something.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
We're gonna we're going to go in a little bit
right now, I'm prepared for it.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So you and I met at BuzzFeed.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, years ago, almost exactly ten years ago in March.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I think it's more. I think we met eleven years ago.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Well, I just reached my ten year LA anniversary. Wow,
So maybe you met me in a dream.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Maybe I'm going to be I'm going to be sober
for ten years in November, but I had one year
of drinking prior to so you're probably not.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
The math equations are and like the adhd.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Off, but I'm for sure November.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I moved to LA in twenty fifteen, and what in February.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Okay, so that makes sense. So we're the same year,
it's the same. Yeah, so it'll be ten years. So
that would have been the one year that I drinking,
so I would have been sober by the end of
that year.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, because we moved here beginning of February
twenty fifteen, and then early March is when I got
hired as an Internet That's crazy. That's crazy, Curly Sat
you had your your receptionist desk canteen.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, I was in the canteen.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
It was the meet cute. What was the first moment
I think.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
We were like. What I remember was that we were
counting how many Latinos we got and I was like, okay,
we got one too, that's it.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And he might be we don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I think, I don't know. We'll count him early buzzbe days.
We used to be like, oh my god, there's another
black person. Oh my god, there's another Latino person. We
would get so excited because they were so little of us.
And so I remember people would come up to my
because I said in the front, you know, I don't
think you ever saw but the old reception in the
long prey was like a high up desk, kind of
like a dentist.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Like it was a massive I saw you when I
went in for my interview, and I remember member thinking,
oh my gosh, I know that face. Oh crazy because
you were all up in the BuzzFeed videos, which.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Is crazy to me because like I wasn't even I was.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
In the magic of BuzzFeed. You could literally be a
mouse rat mouse rat. What am I talking about? My brain?
My brain just went to the bank mouse rat oh
in parks and rat.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I was going to say, a kitchen rat. Okay, let's
go back. Let's go back your kitchen rat a BuzzFeed
and someone's going to walk up to that rat a
taste test. So you get instant Internet fame by simply
existing within And I.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Had insane hair and I dressed really crazy, so it
happened so quickly.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
So then you I remember you coming in and you
really being like in your own lane and really immediately
wanting to showcase your culture. And I would say, like,
not just Latino culture, but like Myami culture. Miami people
love Miami, by the way, It's very like you everywhere
reallyhere Miami people go. It's always like and when do
(11:09):
we talk about Miami.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
And this thing is there Miami in this outline?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, it's like how much Puerto Ricans love their Puerto
Rican flag. Miami people love Miami idiots.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Like we talked about the three five, Like I mentioned,
do you think.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
La people have that? Like do you think l like
people are like we we have hard I.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Think so, but I don't know that I would go
so I think yeah, and Phoenix people you don't hear
anything about it sometimes, but you're wearing it now six
o two sixty three for.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You though, So yeah, I don't know. I feel when
you think of La, when I think of Miami, I
just immediately go into like thing, think.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
That's the cruise, Yes, cruise, yes, I'm yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
I have a memory of when we were all at
in Miami together for Hispanics Size and it was the
year you won for New Crees and we went to
a nearby like Cuban Bakery and Curry is such a sweetheart.
He's and he walks in with me and he's like,
(12:19):
you know, like ordering she was like's like he's like
thank God, like you can maintain your sweetness. Ahead didn't
crack a smile and he's like, I know what you mean.
(12:41):
Now about Miami.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We were we were like, oh, customer service is different
in Miami, so just be prepped. And I was like, god,
I like noticed that, but you know different. It was
so different because out here we're like, oh my god, welcome,
how are you? I love you like a scorpio when.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
You exchanging and instagram afterwards.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
And then you never talk again for there.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Don't even know why they're even they're working to begin with.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
You're just like one of our things, like right away,
we have so much talk about. But like, okay, so
just originally we you make some of your first Latino videos.
It get they get mixed, they get like cut. You
don't you're not allowed to release them because there how
does it be I don't want you to release these videos? Right? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (13:26):
I want know that it was.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Fuck it.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
We're free now now?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
I think it's just like, use artificial intelligence and remove
that spece on my get immediately, Old Lady for a living.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Is it still there?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
We can take this out too, or it could make
a good.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Oh it's in the middle.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
That's why you can't even really see it from like
I have.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
A little gap to It's kind of cute. It's jammed
in there.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Someone has you can't see anywhere from here.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Okay, well I am greasy all right anyway.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Okay, So then.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Okay, so I and the two and a half Latinos
at the company, one of them being our girl Jasmine
on thi Vedros, and we were both in the same
internship group class whatever, and between the both of us,
we're like, we got to start making Latino content.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Let's do it.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Let's do it like it hasn't been presented on the
BuzzFeed platform at all. And we had a higher up
whose name I'm not gonna mention because he was ultrapisol,
but take a guess, my guy. No, you didn't know him, blessed.
And so every time me and Jasmine would pitch Latino content,
(14:59):
and at the time, we were on the unscripted umbrella,
so you know, it was like taste tests and like
that type of stuff, he looked like he smelled a
fart every time I would we would pitch. I had
(15:29):
a really hard time with that man. Oh yeah, and
you know that came to light later, but he made
me cry. I was like bawling, my eyes out in
the bathroom within the first few weeks of working there.
I remember one time he did sabotage my first big
video that was about Cuban culture, which was a Cuban
(15:50):
food taste test. I'll never forget that day because I
went home crying, went to sleep crying, and drove to
work crying. I was also un medicated, okay, and I
started taking process. Perhaps would have been scared angry than sad. Yeah,
(16:12):
battle it was. It was bad. Yeah, yeah, you know,
I don't know if you want me to go into
detail on that, but it was. It was a lot
and I remember he sabotaged it. You and I walked around,
we walked abound.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I was like, let's go, and I remember we had
a conversation of like kind of like we will have
very we will have a lot of battles, Like I
already knew that we're gonna have a lot of battles.
And I remember being like, and this is a really
cute memory that I was like, there's a Salvadorian restaurant
right down the street. Let's go and have some Salvadorian food.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
And it was my first time eating pooas.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah. Yeah, And we sat down and we had poopool
stas together and it was like, you know, this wonderful
memory of us. And I just remember we had no
idea what was in Stufre for us. We literally you
had just got there. I was still serving the lunches.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
I was still like literal pioneers.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
We just had and I mean fast forward, you know,
we get into this new team. Yeah, you know, we
kind of you know, I get moved out of the kitchen.
I'm in the illustrator team, and I'm I without knowing,
I just start drawing things that are very Latino already,
and you guys are like, oh, we're gonna start this
single video team. I'm like, well, I'll just keep drawing Latino.
I was drinking stuff, remember, Yeah. I would draw like
(17:22):
food things all the time. And so we kind of,
you know, we talked about the founders a while, but
some I'm like I was in the background too, you know,
really early on. And then when we moved to the Siren.
I remember you guys the four girls were brought in,
you Jasmine, Yessica, and Claudia Yes, and then I was
(17:43):
last minute brought in and then I was like, I
don't there was a meeting where they were going to
announce this new team for better like and I remember
I didn't go. I didn't go to the thing, and
I was like, I don't think I'm part of the team.
I think you guys just wanted me here to draw
for like a week. So I didn't go. And I
remember you guys came back. You were like, they said
your name, you were a part of this team.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
I remember, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And then I remember that from there on out, like
we announced that we had this team, and I remember
every single day, all five of us would stay late.
We would shoot, we woul shoot over videos, we would edit,
we would all be there like together, like we just
had created this team, and we hit the floor running,
you know, like creating content, doing all these things, and
we kind of went viral. I remember the leader of
(18:27):
the time coming up and talking about our team and
he said, this is the fastest growing channel after Tasty
at the.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Time, super Cute.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
We were growing really fast.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
We were growing really fast. Yeah, is it a surprise
to any of us, No, No, absolutely, because we know
the audience is there. You know, Latinos in America are
craving to be represented, especially because at BuzzFeed when we
started doing Latino videos even pretty little, like we were
(18:58):
a small team to begin with, first of all, and
it's tough audiences don't understand the mechanisms that went on
behind a company like BuzzFeed and how many people were
behind the scenes and stuff. But we were a very
small group. And despite that, we were really hardcore about
making sure we represented as many Latin American countries as possible.
(19:19):
So it would be like, Okay, we got to make
sure we get Peru, let's do Ecuador, let's let's do
make sure we have Afro Latinos, Chinese latinos, et cetera,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
And that was very important to us.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
It was very important and I and because of my
Caribbean background, I would also do taste tests that involved
like Caribbean culture in general, so Jamaican, Haitian, Behavian, et cetera, yea,
and that really meant a lot. To see the comments
and people were like, this is the first time that
my country is talked about.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
To us to make content. It was like we were
part of a movement. I cased the Latino Digital Renaissance
because it was like we were coming out and then
there was Mito Rescula Flama, and then every a lot
of other people started coming after us. But I remember
that at that time those were we were kind of
like the giants, and we were constantly in competition with
one another, like it felt like a little bit of
(20:13):
hip hop game medal, like it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And then even just out here like at the time,
like with the Yes the poets, right, like the Lokata
girls coming out with their stuff too, there was a
movement of young Latino creators who were also in the
circle in the ring with us, and it was so
dope to kind of find the medium, find like the
middle ground of us being from the children of immigrants,
(20:44):
being Latino but also being American, right, and also being
like I don't know if Agua is a girl or
a guy and which one is it?
Speaker 3 (20:57):
And we found our audience that way. There was always
gonna be some curmudgeon that's not.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
How okay to be honest. I'm like that too. Sometimes
I am that person, don't I don't want to be
that person.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
But I know that we're gonna be a little bit
like you.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Have this, I'll be like, oh, I don't like their Spanglish.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Okay, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Because me, I'll be like okay for the way that
I speak Spanglish. When I speak Spanlish, like the whole
phrase will be in Spanish and then it'll be one
word that's like off.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Oh no, you'd hate Miami.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So because I feel like I see a lot of
like pucket, Like so I was in.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
There, yes, is it like that? Like okay, so there's
like there's like a weird line here because there's some
like I'll see commercials or like hear radio ads where
they're pandering to like latinos, but you can tell like
white people wrote it and like the Spanglish makes no sense.
Yeah yeah, yeah, but in Miami it's very much like
(22:07):
he went to school the other day.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
But see, you're giving me phrases, you're giving me the
full it's not the full sentence you're giving me. You're
not doing like the one word that's.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Where I get you, right. I think the one word
is where I'm thinking where I get lost.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Yeah, because you're not going to go oh I caned
my my pellow. You're gonna be like this was I
looked out the window. If you on perro shipting.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
It's so juicus.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
We need to get at some point here, so we
needed to get to mention. Acount how many times are
we gonna mention?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Okay, so we are okay, so what you say?
Speaker 3 (22:48):
No, no, no, my brain. I love how we all
have ADHD here.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
So it's like.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
When I was saying, how it's it's not a surprise
to us, how well Pedro like did. Yeah, it was
a surprise to the higher ups at BuzzFeed, and that's
why it took. It took so much teeth pulling to
get them to take us. Seriously. Remember, I don't know
if you remember this, but before Bettle like, they put me, Jasmine,
(23:17):
Norberto and Alex in like a pod. They called it
a pod, and it was like experimenting, like let's see
how well if leto there's a thing here, you know,
and it felt so weird, Like I think we were
(23:39):
the first ones to bring in belucas and costumes because
Buzzfeat at the time was very much like play yourself. Yeah, yeah,
I'm just an awkward.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Girl, You're like yeah, And we were actually like funny
and doing.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Sketch crazy shit. Yeah, Like I had my husband David
playing at thelenovela star and fighting with this guy on
the rolling around and like all the white people.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Were like so good, like it was but like from
the outside at that time, like you were one of
the first people I saw on better like and then
it was like gutta yeah, and then it was you.
I remember being like, that's exactly like my brain changed.
The chemicals in my brain changed forever, Like do you
(24:23):
guys realize that that like the chemicals in children's arm
with a child, but like brains were changed.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
People growing up. I get young people who have now
grown up and they're like, thank you so much for
doing what you guys did, because we had just never
seen ourselves in that way. And I forget that. I
forget that, like people you know, didn't have that. And
even though nowadays with TikTok and.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
It's easy to forget because there's so much easy.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
To forget, but there's some people who are just like
I just remember that you were the first person I
ever saw do that, and I had never seen somebody
like you. I'd never seen queer person who had big
hair and big rings and necklaces and was like, oh,
I'm and it looked like you and Latino, you know
what I mean, like the Disney.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Video, Disney that you know video on the Slena video
changed my life for that. I was like, I remember
putting that on my like vision board. I mean back
then it wasn't even like really vision boards, but I
was just like I remember being like, I if I
were ever to go to BuzzFeed, I'm like, I would
want to like do a mentorship with Jenny Lorenzo.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Yeah, she's always when I go there.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Well, you know, so let's get into it.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Still good friends even though I never worked together.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I know I was.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
I was.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
I just remember being like, whoa, this is like really special,
and I remember being like, this is what I want
to do. This is exactly I was already kind of
doing it like through vine or YouTube, but I was like,
that is where I want to go. I want to
move to LA and I want to be there and
I want to be in that crazy.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
No.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
I came to LA for BuzzFeed in twenty sixteen July, right.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
A month after this crazy.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Month before we have this crazy I honestly think that
there's a there's two things that I think I remember
about BuzzFeed. And I think the beginning of the end
was us going to Siren, moving to Siren. I think
that that was the end of our innocence as a
young as young people making internet content, and we were
(26:31):
really said. And then when there was the where they
had let you go, I think that made us a
lot of the creatives and the producers feel like, oh,
you don't care about us, right you actually? Because also
remember in Siren they put us on different floors based
off of our pay grade and our title. Oh my god,
so they had put all the producers on our floor
(26:53):
and all the people who were making six figures on
the fourth floor. Remember, Yes, So I always thought of
us as like we were like all the time Italian girl.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
Yes, we were having a good time. We were loud,
and we were playing music. We may have drowned, but.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
I remember, like, you know, and it's still something that's
really hard for me in a lot of ways. I
know it was super hard for you, And I don't
think that we've ever talked about it in terms of
like how it really affected so many of us, you know, Like,
I think that that changed me as a creator. I
don't think that after you left I ever felt comfortable
doing sketch sketches anymore. I think I never felt comfortable
(27:35):
stepping into that part of myself as much because you
weren't there, and then my quota completely went down. I
never after you left. I never hit my quota for
the rest of my time.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
That's my way to many people not even working there,
but outside.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Well political everyone.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Now it's like my Wikipedia.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
For love of God, Yeah, I mean it kind of
went all over becau. It was like. The thing is
is that at the time there was no such thing
as influencers. There were YouTubers, right, and so yeah, this
was the dawn of that. And then also our contracts
were so strict that we weren't allowed to do be
on anyone else's platforms at all. Remember that was a
part of our contract that we weren't allowed to do anything.
(28:18):
That's why there wasn't even anything for yourself. No, we couldn't.
We couldn't reply to comments. If we had didn't have
a YouTube channel prior to joining the company, we couldn't
start one.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Yes, and I had a YouTube channel, yes, So they
are like, you can keep it, but you know not
that twenty eight is young because I was like one
of the elders at Buzzby.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
It's still young.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
It's really young, you know.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Young for me was ten years ago, and so it
was my first real job, especially because you know, you
move from like internship to fellowship and then you become
a junior producer. What's your salaried at that point? So
my first salaried position. I don't have a lawyer. I
don't have that kind of money to have a lawyer.
I didn't have a manager at the time. I didn't
(29:05):
have that protection.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
None of us did.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
And so for me, what I understood from the non
compete clause was yeah, don't go over and make a
video with me too, Yeah the Fine Bros. Or Flama.
So in my mind, the way I understood that clause
was no direct competition to BuzzFeed. Not in a web series.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah, yeah, which, by the way, you.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Were in, Yeah, this is tea because every time Gottia
and I go on live on TikTok, people like ask
about you and stuff, and we always always, always, we
always are like, I mean right hard for the story
and the lore and we're like, by the way, it
was for Hintified that is on Netflix two seasons, the
(29:54):
webisode series that she was in and I'm sorry. I
feel like you should have got a part.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
In that you were in it.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
I did.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
It was a small yeah, but a bigger part yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
I texted Marvin so quickly and I was like, you
need to give her this is tea by the way,
this is chee mad. I texted him so fast and
I was like, she got fired for your show. You
have to give her apart in your show. I don't
know if he remembers that, and I definitely I never
tell people what to do with their lives. I don't
tell people. I never will ever tell you how to
(30:26):
fucking like tickle your pickle. I won't. But I remember
that I went out of my way because I was like, oh,
this is so not my way, out of my own
comfort zone to be like you have to do this.
This is something that happened to her because long story short,
(30:56):
you made a quick cameo on a small web.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Yeah, what was it?
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Hintified? I remember I got a message on Facebook and
it was from Marvin, the creator and writer of Hinhified
that most people know from the Netflix series, and he
was like, I'm such a big fan of yours. I
love you on bettle, Like, do you want to do
this part, and I was like, yeah, keep in mind,
(31:24):
I had just done another web series with another friend
of mine, LeVar Burton was involved in it. I directed
an episode and I did a little bit of acting
in it.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
I posted about it everywhere. Did BuzzFeed care?
Speaker 2 (31:40):
No?
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Interesting?
Speaker 3 (31:44):
And so then I say, okay, I'll be in the
Hinthified web series. It was a small role. Yeah, it
took maybe an hour for me to shoot and then
again time At this point, I'm not sure how many
weeks or months went by, but at some point I
remember the trailer going viral for the Hintified web series,
(32:09):
and that's when I myself discovered that America Ferrera was involved,
and that she signed on as producer and as an actress.
She may not have even been involved when I was
filming my partner, you know what I'm saying. So that's
what made it go viral.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Oh yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Oh this is where it's gonna get. But whatever, I
was in Miami for a good two weeks. I wasn't
supposed to be there two weeks. I had actually planned
this vacation a long time ago, and it just so
happened that Maya Auelo, who was ninety two at the time,
had fallen ill and his health was declining rapidly. I'm
(32:50):
in Miami and I'm dealing with this. These are my
maternal grandparents, the people who inspire all the content that
I've been creating for years, and they were essentially a
second set of parents for me.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
So I'm dealing with this, and then I get a
call from my coworker, Britney Ashley, who was also a
trailblazer at BuzzFeed at the time for queer content. Yeah,
Brittany also had a small role in the Henhified web series.
And she calls me and she goes, hey, so they're
questioning me about my involvement in the web series and
(33:28):
it's looking a little serious, and I'm just like, you know,
I don't know how to process this. And I remember
talking to Ella, who was our biddle like lead, and
Ella was a sweetheart, you know. She was telling me
there's no way they're going to fire you. She's like,
you're one of BuzzFeed's top producers. You are the one
(33:50):
of the co founders of Battle Like it's your first offense.
And she was like, they may give you a talking to,
but they're not they're not going to fire you. There's
no way. There's no way. So yeah, and then it
gets worse. My grandma, who was madly in love with
my Auilo, couldn't handle the fact that he was going
(34:11):
to die. So she dips before he does.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
She was perfectly fine. Wow and has a stroke.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
So now I'm like, this is not the two for
one special that I was expecting. And I laugh about
it now because I'm like, this is so my Auela.
She's such a stubborn, freaking lady scorpio. Her birthday was
two days before mine.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Wow ye sign leo oh wow.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
But they were together for decades and decades, like she
was fifteen when she started dating him was twenty, so
imahinat it was like the notebook in a sense, and
in hindsight, I'm glad that they both went at the
same time, you know, But for me, I'm like, Godo,
this sucks. And then on top so at the time,
there was also a lot of bad stuff going on
(35:03):
with Battle like Biddle like had officially been birthed, I
think in January of twenty sixteen, and there was a
lot of not so great things going on that two
of the co founders of battle Like quit and went
on to go to meet Thu. Yeah, I decided to stay.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah, I don't know that lawyer.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Oh yeah, Metu offered us double our salaries.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
I remember that.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
I remember, yeah, yes, So they're like, I'm done with
this racist shit piece. They went to Meetthu Meetthu also
tried to poach me at the time, but I was
so loyal to bitttle Like, and I had a mission
with bittle Like specifically that I now, I'm like, girl,
what no, we'll talk about it got turned down double
(35:57):
my salary and so I was already gone for two weeks,
and I was worried that if I didn't go back
to work they were going to pull the plug. But
on Bettle Like any second, because it was kind of
in a rocky place and Gadiel was only just learning
how to edit and put it in. And I'm like,
(36:19):
So I flew back to work, missed both of my
grandparents funerals. I flew back before they actually passed.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
So my Auela died on May thirty first, and my
Auelo passed on June fifth. I think it was June ninth,
or I'll go see where I get called in to
the office.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I sat next to you, I was to your left.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
Yeah. HR called me and Bridge Brittany Ashley in and
when I walked in, I'm forgetting her name now she
wrote me an apology email. I know, and when I
genuinely forgot her name, but she was sitting there like
this as if I had done something atrocious and long
(37:09):
story short, cold blooded. We got fired. I lost my composure.
I was hypervent like ugly crying because first of all,
my grandparents just died. Yeah, I didn't know I was
doing anything wrong by acting in a web series. And
that was the same year that I got diagnosed with
(37:30):
Crohn's disease. So they were like, oh yeah, tomorrow you
lose your health insurance.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Oh yeah, everything. And you, by the way, were like
not only the number one producing producer on better like
you were actually the number one producing producer at all
the video producers, all the content creators. You were the
one that was producing the most.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
How many am the most? Was it nine to twelve?
That's videos?
Speaker 2 (37:53):
The quota?
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Yes, it was yes, at the time, it was like four.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
You're right, and then you were doing double and.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
I was doing double not because I'm like overachiever. It
was because again, our team had shrunken and we were
on a rocky foundation, and I was worried that BuzzFeed
was going to pull the plug on us.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
Yeah, and so I'm like, I need to churn out
twice as many videos so that Biddle like could continue
to grow and prosper.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah. You, I don't think we ever talked about this,
but that so Wicked recently came out. Yeah, And there's
a scene at the end of Wicked where Cynthia tells Glinda,
like come with me. And when I saw it the
first time, I immediately thought about me and you, and
I don't want to cry, but you know, I remember
feeling like, damn it. I remember feeling like this thing
(38:48):
of like come with me, and I just felt like
I had just gotten out of the kitchen right like
I didn't know. And I also felt really young and
I didn't know. But one of my life, like I
tell my mom this, I'm like, we have a lot
of regrets in life that that was the only path
that we could have taken. But there's a big part
of me that was always like Glinda, go with her,
(39:10):
you know what I mean, Like there's a big part
of me that I think that if I could do
it again, if I could live this life again, I
would be like, you know, unlimb its head, like let's go,
let's do this, you know what I mean? Like I
recognize the path that we're in now, but I think
that I do have Like I just remember that day
being so heavy. We were all crying. We were all like, yeah,
(39:32):
well do we do? Where do we go? And it
to me, I think it not only changed the trajectory
of your life, my life, I think it changed the
trajectory of like it ripple it was.
Speaker 4 (39:43):
R landscape because I got hired randomly by Ella, and
when I accepted it, then like the news came out
about you and I was like what the fuck? Like
you were like the whole like curly yea and you
like I wanted to study under you guys, And then
(40:04):
to find out that you weren't there, I was like
what the fuck? And then the way that it happened,
people were like you should not work there, Like people
in our community, in my Phoenix community, or just like
the Latino community, they were fucking pissed, like wanting to
boycott BuzzFeed.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
I mean, there was you can't know there was.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
I'm sure it was a lot of support at that time.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
I did, thank god, you know, because I was worried
that people were gonna just be mean and make fun
of me for not reading my contract or you know.
But thankfully everyone was behind us. I remember someone sent
me a photo that, you know, producers at BuzzFeed were
leaving candles and flowers on me at Britney's desks as
(40:47):
if we died. It was really bad, and I would
hear the tea sometimes. I don't know if it was
from you or not, but there was a lot of
meetings that were called because the morale of the company
went down.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
There were meetings. Yeah, and because I still I Jenny.
I to the day I left BuzzFeed. I never met
my quota ever again because I was just like, it's
not why because so that you could do the same thing, the.
Speaker 4 (41:15):
Same thing Gadiolla and Claudia, like they all felt. I
remember coming in and that was like the hey.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Guys, yeah, and we were just pissed. We were just like,
never you killed them morale.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
It was from what I heard, am I allowed? Should
I bring up his name? The head of video at the.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
Time, I feel like if you want to, but I don't.
I don't know, like we I don't know about legal
stuff me neither.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
Allegedly at the time, the uh, the head of BuzzFeed Video,
he would hold these meetings and it sounded so like
icky and like abusive boyfriend e because one of the
things that he told everyone was you have everything you
(41:58):
need here. Snap, it's like a parody. This is a
it's a startup, like you couldn't you couldn't make this up.
You got snacks, you got puppies to play with, you
have all these opportunities. And I don't know exactly word
for word what he said, but I do know he
mentioned the snacks and just all the opportunities, like you
(42:20):
don't need to go elsewhere, you have everything you need
right here. And I'm like, don't you think that having
two people from your company act in a successful web
series that's empowering because it's about gentrification in Boil Heights
(42:41):
and it's a Latino centric story. Don't you think that
would just make BuzzFeed look better. It was a very weird,
kind of jealous possessive. I remember then hearing a bunch
of stories of one person that used to work at
in the Snapchat team booked a role on a TV
show and the same guy was like, it's either them
(43:03):
or us. She was not allowed to do both. At
the time. You weren't allowed to have an agent a manager.
But of course, as things play out, usually a year
or two down the line, as you guys know, things
got way looser. You were allowed to have representation and audition.
(43:25):
And I don't.
Speaker 4 (43:26):
Think he was he was involved anymore as much.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Yeah, it was like way later because even us getting credits, Oh.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Yeah, army handles.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
I remember I would I would just put it in
there and then they would say, like, you have to
take it out. I'm like, I'm not taking it out,
and then it would upload.
Speaker 3 (43:43):
And then from the well, remember when I told you
that that other guy that was ahead of Unscripted made
me cry in the bathroom. It's because he brought me in,
sat me down in front of him and reprimanded me
in the most ruling way. Because I produced a video
again unscripted, so various talent, and I was in it
(44:06):
as well, and I don't know, I thought it was
protocol or the decent thing to do to credit everyone.
I literally wrote everyone's names in the credits of the
YouTube description box you know what I'm saying. And he
brought me in and he goes, we don't want people
(44:27):
coming in here just to become famous.
Speaker 4 (44:33):
And well they told that was passed down to us,
but it was in a different way, like No bet Tho.
It was like, you're not here to get famous, You're
here for the culture and listen.
Speaker 3 (44:42):
But I understand because we did have some folks whose
personalities and chemistry. The moment they got a little smidgen
of internet fame, it was goodbye. I don't even like
they became a different person. They became about themselves and
less about the work, and especially with battle, Like what
(45:05):
No Beneto said made a lot of sense, but at
the same time, I'm just like, I'm sorry, it's just
decent to credit it. It's our careers. We're going to
be a BuzzFeed till we die. Absolutely we were filmmakers.
We're not just talent. But what a lot of people
didn't know based on reading like hatery comments and stuff
on like the BuzzFeed videos, is like they thought we
(45:26):
were just a bunch of actors that showed up, rolled
around with a bunch of puppies and ducklings eight I
don't know, some business whatever they put and then go home.
I'm like, no, no, no, See there was no work
life balance. We would be there pat well past six pm,
just hunched over our computers editing.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
It was a cult.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
It was it because and it was it was It
felt like it because every Friday they'd be like, let's
reward everyone who went viral.
Speaker 1 (45:58):
We had talked about.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
That from.
Speaker 4 (46:01):
The hoodies they did, the hoodies, the buttons, all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Were like it was all about it. Your value was
in how viral.
Speaker 4 (46:25):
You yes, and the more vulnerable you are about your
story or the more like, the more you're rewarded. And
I talk about this before, where like I would share
these things I was not ready to talk about about,
like my body image and all that stuff, and I
would make all these videos or like and then I
because I was like, oh they want this, like other.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Peanal stories are.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Yeah, like you did that before you were ready emotionally.
Speaker 4 (46:48):
Before I was ready. And I think that's why I'm
a little more careful now. But you know, it was
the nature of that and it was almost out of
like survival for keeping your place there to be relevant
not only within like the internet, but within the company
and within your peers of like I'm pulling my weight,
Yeah I'm doing this, and that it was I mean,
(47:08):
which is like it's competitive, it's like every job, yes,
but this was like a special sort of thing that
I don't think anybody else anywhere but the time and
space that every all of us were in will have
to experience it. But I have to say to like
you're doing you have done so much better, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
Much better than if you would have stayed there.
Speaker 4 (47:32):
Honestly, I think you're making more money. You've made a
lot more money since then. You've been in a lot
of different things, like you're you're like still afloat and
then thriving not just surviving.
Speaker 2 (47:44):
And your name, unfortunately your name is a staple. The
other name makes people cringe, and You're doesn't make people cringe,
like if you were to go like blah blah blah
the name of the thing, and it's like I don't know.
Speaker 4 (47:57):
Always ask about you one ever, Like people always ask
how you are, like what you're doing, like all this stuff,
and and like you are so loved within like I
know you feel it, but It's just another reminder you
are so loved. So you are like a pioneer of
(48:19):
content for I mean in many different sectors and geeky
content and just like being a woman Latina, like you know.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
All of this stuff.
Speaker 4 (48:29):
Like I hope you really can feel that and and
really like remember that because it's like nobody none of
these Latino TikTokers will be doing would be doing anything
that they're doing without you, without better like without these
you know, these pioneers the content like really worked really hard,
(48:53):
Like I mean they get to just now post whatever.
And I'm sure they have a lot of like different challenges.
You know everybody does, but that was is like a
real challenge to get your foot in the door and
to get Latino content in there and make them care.
And then it became better, like became.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
Like still to this day.
Speaker 4 (49:13):
They make millions of dollars off of everything. We've done everything,
and I like reformatting content, reformatting stuff like sharing old
videos of us still.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
Like it over us.
Speaker 2 (49:31):
We totally have to like have you back though, because
I feel like this went and I knew it was
going to go by so fast. We have so much
to cover, but you know, I think to your point too,
like you went on to have a fantastic career voicing
cartoon characters.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
Voice for Disney.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
Cartoon Network.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
You're on every carpet, you know, what do you feel?
And you and you have your show that always comes
up like that you always have, like the best character
is whether it's like not Maruhi, what's your name? One
of my best friend's mom's names, so I always so.
Also she's Spanish, but their family's Cuban. But you have
(50:15):
your show with all these characters that you bring to life.
How is your spirit now? Like having been now at
this point in your life and looking back and going
like ten.
Speaker 1 (50:24):
Years ago now ten years later.
Speaker 3 (50:27):
It's it's like, despite what happened to me in the end,
BuzzFeed was still a blessing because of everyone I met,
including you two. We're still like a family, but we
created that family, not the false family that the higher
ups that they do at every company. Yeah, we're family
(50:49):
family and it's like girl, were not in Olive Garden. Also,
I lasted one day at Olive Garden as a hostess
and that really was an eye opening it experience for
me and probably you guys and many others where it's like, oh,
we're easily disposable, and we gave our hearts and souls
(51:10):
and some of our best ideas and IP to this
company that doesn't give a shit. And I know so
many people can relate across the board. It doesn't matter
what you do for a living. Hell, that's even what
I learned when I worked retail. You know, you kill
yourself and then for what they fire you like this exactly.
(51:32):
Just today, Meta laid off what three six hundred employees
like this in a very cold email, and I'm like,
you know what, it's not worth it, and you know,
for survival purposes. I did skip over to METU worked
there for about a year and a half, but then
after that, around twenty eighteen, I decided I can't work
for digital media companies anymore. The way they treat talent,
(51:57):
and when I say talent, I mean producers, yeah, is abysmal.
We're the reason why they're so big and making money.
And at the time it was a big leap of
faith because y'all know I don't come from money, you know,
like I don't have a safety net. And thank god
(52:18):
it worked out in the branded side of things, It's
how I make most of my living, you know, yeah,
I mean you have It's It's a godsend. And I
get to work with people I love on a daily basis,
you know, on the Alwilas Family web series, and that
(52:39):
even though I've had to like almost in a way,
it feels like I've had to reinvent myself every time,
like Okay, now I'm at me too, and now I
got to get their audience to know who I am
and now I'm on, you know, versus some people who
stayed at BuzzFeed for years built such a massive audience
at the moment they left, yeah, you know, yeah. And
(53:01):
it hasn't been as easy for me for sure, but
the perseverance is there. I'm not gonna let that stop me.
You know. I had to really like think you were
with me actually at Vidcom about two years after I
got fired, and they had a huge billboard of ye
(53:23):
with all my characters, and the guy who fired me
was there and he said hi to you very quickly,
and I was just kind of there and me and
my dumb ass face with all my characters, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (53:38):
That was all I remember.
Speaker 3 (53:41):
This was a quick thing, like he walked by you
and I was like.
Speaker 2 (53:44):
I think we both were like that's you.
Speaker 3 (53:46):
Yeah, and I'm like like, for me, that was a
moment where I realized I survived. I still got here
without BuzzFeed, and yeah, it's continue Youing to put my
work out there on the internet has opened so many doors.
And I know y'all understand that because it's done the
(54:07):
same for both of you. You've been on TV shows,
You've had so many opportunities and blessings, and at the
end of the day, it's because of us and our talent,
not because of some platform or some company.
Speaker 2 (54:22):
Yeah, that's right. We have to have you come back
on again for a second epist.
Speaker 4 (54:32):
I know actually though next week.
Speaker 2 (54:36):
But you know, I guess how do you plead with
the episode?
Speaker 4 (54:39):
Like how do you not doing strology?
Speaker 2 (54:40):
I feel like we're already like I'm a scorpio.
Speaker 4 (54:43):
Okay, well a little welcome to the astrology portion of
the podcast. Jenny is a scorpio rising Scorpio sun Virgo moon,
and I feel like that is I'm you just look
like it right now.
Speaker 1 (55:01):
So oh no, no, no, no, your rising is Leo.
Speaker 4 (55:05):
That's right, scratch that.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
No, no, no, But that.
Speaker 4 (55:10):
What I was going to say is your Virgo moon
is your moon is like you know a lot about astrology,
right or like you know, not as much as like
you it's like emotions and stuff, but it's also creativity
and having a Virgo moon. I mean, we know virgos,
like the traits of virgos and stuff like. It totally
influences the way you work, like your work ethic. I'm
very curious to see too, like what's in your tenth
(55:32):
or eleventh house, which is.
Speaker 1 (55:33):
Like your work in career. But yeah, it's it.
Speaker 4 (55:39):
It makes a lot of sense that you're Leo's rising
also because Leo risings are like I'm coming out of
the gates swinging like this is me, very very shiny,
very like they're like the sun. And then your scripio
is you know, the macabre. It's like it's like the
middle child kind of I'm not like everybody else, but
(56:03):
truly I'm not like everybody else, Like I'm not like
these bitches.
Speaker 2 (56:06):
You know what's wild is that a lot of Scorpio moons.
I think all scorpion moons have a mid heaven Virgo moon. Y.
I take it back.
Speaker 4 (56:13):
The Virgo moon Scorpio Sun, so it's it's almost like
it's kind of nice because you have fire, water and earth,
so it's very balanced. It's very balanced, but it's it's
kind of all of the strong placements too, Like you know,
(56:34):
out of the fire signs, I would say Leo's are
are strong, super strong. Scorpios are most iconic. I feel
like out of the water signs, you know.
Speaker 3 (56:43):
Like.
Speaker 4 (56:45):
And then Virgos out of the earth signs are like.
Speaker 2 (56:49):
Virgos, We're annoying.
Speaker 1 (56:51):
How do you feel being.
Speaker 4 (56:52):
A Scorpio, Like, do you feel like the virgo influence
in like your life?
Speaker 3 (56:57):
You know? I never I never thought about it until
I saw that I'm a virgo mode now because my
dad's a Virgo, and then one of my characters, all
my characters in the Wedelles family have a zodiac SI
(57:22):
is a Virgo. Yeah, and I'm my damn it. I'm
very much like flowed in certain ways. Even though I
have ADHD and I have like messy tendencies. I can't
thrive if things aren't like clear and organized. It's a
conundrum for most ADHD years. But I see it. I
still want to learn more about it, of course, and
(57:48):
my sister's a libra. My sister, fun fact, was an
editor at Battle Like.
Speaker 4 (57:53):
Yes, she edited, fortunately, but unfortunately had to see all
of our faces all the time and deal with all
of our annoying ass fucking lazy ass notes.
Speaker 2 (58:04):
We'll start. I love you, we love you, we love
her so much. I also thought you were going to
say edible and not editor anyway.
Speaker 3 (58:13):
Anyway, Well, my sister to be a better like edible.
She was. This is where we're at right now, anyway,
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (58:23):
This is the astrology portion of the podcast.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Well, Jenny, think you so much for being here on
our show.
Speaker 4 (58:29):
Thank you for opening up and being vulnerable.
Speaker 2 (58:32):
Thank you for that's we started crying.
Speaker 3 (58:35):
I was like, yes, and I.
Speaker 2 (58:37):
Feel like I won't do some more crying because we
need to have like but also we need to like
hang out your house and just sob it out. I
would love it'd be amazing. We usually say like, you know,
last words like do you how.
Speaker 4 (58:49):
Do you anything you're working on or anything you want
to say or shout out.
Speaker 3 (58:55):
Yeah, I'm working on some pretty exciting things. I can't
really talk about some of them, but one involves writing
on an anticipated video game. I'm excited that and you know,
just really continuing with a wet House Family. It's now
on Plex TV via Savio TV, trying to get it
(59:17):
onto more streaming platforms.
Speaker 2 (59:19):
And you know it's I love that.
Speaker 3 (59:23):
You know my cartoons and say, I'm just in everything.
Multiple pots on the stove at all times and you
have to hoping one of them takes off. And that's
just how it is.
Speaker 2 (59:34):
You have to And where can people find you on
social media?
Speaker 3 (59:37):
The easiest way is just looking up my name Jenny
Lorenzo the Blue Sky Toy. Okay, can keep up with everything,
but yeah, but to see all my episodes in the
best way possible is YouTube.
Speaker 2 (59:52):
Okay, Okay, I love that. I need to go and
like have like a marathon. Oh my gosh, we should
just have like just get snacks, just have very thought.
Speaker 4 (01:00:02):
We're also waiting for our cameos.
Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Oh my god, please, I'm going to text you and
actually beg you.
Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
It's on my it's on my medification.
Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
I think about it all the time before dying. To
have you both in a wise family, we did well,
that'd be amazing.
Speaker 4 (01:00:22):
Curly, where can they find you on social media?
Speaker 2 (01:00:23):
You can find me at the Curly v Show on
Instagram TikTok and read note, Oh you.
Speaker 4 (01:00:29):
Can find me at my end the moment m A
y A, in the moment.
Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
Wherever you scirl.
Speaker 4 (01:00:34):
Thank you so much to Jenny for being on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
Thanks for listening to.
Speaker 4 (01:00:42):
Another episode of the Super Secret Besty Club Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
Bye, Hey, who's that old lady sitting there the whole time?
Speaker 3 (01:00:50):
Though?
Speaker 2 (01:00:51):
Okay, wonderful.
Speaker 3 (01:00:58):
Bye.
Speaker 4 (01:01:03):
Make sure to hit that subscribe button to hear more
episodes every single week. The Super Secret Bestie Club Podcast
is a production of Sonodo in partnership with iHeartRadio's Michael
toa podcast network.
Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Oh my, got Curly. I got Jayla for the podcast
the j Lo.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
That's amazing. Well who's this old lady though?
Speaker 3 (00:06):
Oh okay, by Yama there?
Speaker 4 (00:09):
Oh yeah, oh uh sorry she said she knew j
Loo or that she was Jelo or okay, well body
that no?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Oh well do you know Jenny Lowe.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Anny, Jenny low got Jenny low Jenny Lorenzo.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Hey, can she come here? It's me. I'm not an
old lady. I'm a youngish kind of close to middle
aged woman.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Both of you can get in here.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Get in here.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
My name is.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Curly and I'm Maya, and welcome to the Super Secret
Pasty Cloud Podcast. A super secret club where we talk
about super secret things.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, like secrets that are super that's what it is.
In each episode we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbreaks, men,
and of course face secrets.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Get in here.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Oh my god, thank you so much for using like
the iconic voice.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I love when you can pull it out.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So quickly, literally the icon and like that's like you know,
RuPaul doesn't do gigs. Paul will do gigs in full
drag and out of drag, but he charges way more
to do in drag.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Like well, yeah, I get it.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That's like you. So thank you for putting on the
full drag, like.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
The voice is bare minimum, the look on the whole
thing to talk.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah yeah, yeah, well, welcome to the show. Thank you
so much for being here with us. It is such
an honor to have truly just an Internet queen here
with us. Yes, like you know, icon trailblazer, icon, like
there would be none of us if it wasn't for
you in so many ways, So thank you for being
here with us. We did. We do this thing where
we asat you to write.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Are like to ask about like what who is Jenny Lorenzo?
Or like give us a bio?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Do you want to read this one?
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I like the way you read it?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Okay, So we basically I gave it a prompt to
tell me who you were, but like as a teenage
sassy girl. Okay, So it's Jenny Lorenzo is the Internet's
undisputed regina of Latino comedy and if you don't know her,
gas kuntu Vida. This Cuban American actress, writer and content
queen made waves of her hilarious, ultra relatable sketches, especially
(02:30):
as her iconic abuela character who basically is it's it's
in italics. Basically is every Latina grandma ever a founding
member buzz Beats Better Like. She's since built her own empire,
serving up culture packed last on YouTube TikTok and beyond,
whether she's roasting Cafesito addictions or schooling us on Latino
(02:53):
family dynamics. Jenny is out here proving that being bilingual
also means being twice as funny.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
That's good. You should put that one in your bio.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
We'll send this to anyone else.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I had a crush on you or something.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
I didn't have to give it prompts actually, which is
pretty fairy.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Mine was like, uh, she's a person who just called
me a poet.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
I was like, okay, okay, got to teach it.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
I was like, it's actually not anything about me.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Got to do so funny, It's like mine was like,
I got so I asked it to right mind and
it was like, oh yeah, it's like, uh, people like
our favorite pretty more whatever. And then I got I
tell you this, but I was like, is he single?
Asking to tell me about single? And he was like,
Curly has never been open with who he's dating, but
whoever dates him is going to be so lucky to
(03:45):
date someone like him. Thank you so much, Ai for
that sweetness. But I thought it was so adorable, like
it was so super cute any reason, welcome.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Thank you, super secret bestie club. Don't tell anyone, but
tell everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Think, how's your spirit?
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Very sexual?
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Super Mario.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yes he's farting all the way down that freaking pipe.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Man, so many things things.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
How is your spirit?
Speaker 4 (04:22):
How are you feeling? How life.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Okay? So I went to the cardiologists for your heart. Yeah,
I've been having like little chest pains over here. And
like the cardiologists is a woman. I typically choose women,
and uh, She's like when did the pain start? And
(04:47):
I'm like, well, if I'm being honest, since the election, Wow,
my spirit is doing great in like various other realms,
you know, like family, friends, questionable, my marriage, Like everything
is like in a really good place. But I'm in
fight or flight every day and I think a lot
(05:09):
of us can relate absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I signed a family group. Text messages to my family
all the time, and I'm like, so should I move
to Mexico or not? Like what's the game plan? When
do I know when to leave? What's the you know right, Yeah,
it's wild. It's just like this weird. I feel like
we're all kind of like vibrating in a different way
where I'm like, you know, what is the plan? Not
me sitting down watching like fucking Nazism stuff on Netflix
(05:35):
being like what did they do? Okay, how did they know?
Me sitting there asking do you see the similarities between us? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (05:42):
I mean there's so much, so much, so much.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yeah, my life lately has been a combo of like
I'm reading a book on fascism and I'm playing Hello
Kitty Island and you need to join we can? Yeah,
Hello an adventure.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
That actually sounds like it might be the game that
gaming people said.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
It's kind of like here's the or like Lord of
the Learnerings. Oh my god, stop my nerd brain is
like which one?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Which one?
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Like Zelda mixed with Animal Crossing, mixed with like kind
of farming games, but not really.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Like dream like Valley, dream like Valley.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes, yeah, would be a gamer. That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
It's so cute.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
It's between like I love talking, I love calling people.
I'll be on the phone forever between calling people.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
So he's always on dates.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So you can also like do co op, like go
on Discord and game with your friends or covers or whoever.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
So you can talk and just be talking while you're playing.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Yes, yeah, okay, it's a different sector of gaming called
cozy game.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yes, yeah, okay, we're here, We're a hundred here.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
I you will know you made it there. I can
I believe that you don't know cozy gaming.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
It's less stressful. The whole point of it is it's calming.
It's soothing. It's good for your soul.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
You're building something, cooking, something, farming, something I have with someone.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Okay, yeah, I just for me thin because I have
that time blindness that I was talking about earlier, Like
I just don't. I just literally I'll be like I
wake up. I don't understand how it's twelve pm already.
I'm like when did I do this? And then I'm
like I have to eat it because I forget to eat. Yeah,
Like my time thing is so bad that it'll be
eight pm and I'm like, I haven't eaten all day night.
(07:36):
It's many people are like, wait, you mean I might
tell me we'll be rumbling, and I'm like, I don't
have that, Like I don't feel that. Yeah. The only
reason why I know that I haven't eaten this because
I'll get slightly moody, like a little bit more, and
I'm like, I don't like how you said that to me.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Oh I'm hungry.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I haven't eat anything in sixteen hours. Oh my god.
I mean, but I wanted to ask you to, like,
how do you remember? So we go way back? You
and I actually go kind of at the beginning of
our careers together. That's crazy.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
That's actually might.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Get really emotional this episode because there's something.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
We're gonna we're going to go in a little bit
right now, I'm prepared for it.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So you and I met at BuzzFeed.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, years ago, almost exactly ten years ago in March.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I think it's more. I think we met eleven years ago.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Well, I just reached my ten year LA anniversary. Wow,
So maybe you met me in a dream.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Maybe I'm going to be I'm going to be sober
for ten years in November, but I had one year
of drinking prior to so you're probably not.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
The math equations are and like the adhd.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Off, but I'm for sure November.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
I moved to LA in twenty fifteen, and what in February.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Okay, so that makes sense. So we're the same year,
it's the same. Yeah, so it'll be ten years. So
that would have been the one year that I drinking,
so I would have been sober by the end of
that year.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yes, yeah, yeah, because we moved here beginning of February
twenty fifteen, and then early March is when I got
hired as an Internet That's crazy. That's crazy, Curly Sat
you had your your receptionist desk canteen.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, I was in the canteen.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
It was the meet cute. What was the first moment
I think.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
We were like. What I remember was that we were
counting how many Latinos we got and I was like, okay,
we got one too, that's it.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And he might be we don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I think, I don't know. We'll count him early buzzbe days.
We used to be like, oh my god, there's another
black person. Oh my god, there's another Latino person. We
would get so excited because they were so little of us.
And so I remember people would come up to my
because I said in the front, you know, I don't
think you ever saw but the old reception in the
long prey was like a high up desk, kind of
like a dentist.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Like it was a massive I saw you when I
went in for my interview, and I remember member thinking,
oh my gosh, I know that face. Oh crazy because
you were all up in the BuzzFeed videos, which.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Is crazy to me because like I wasn't even I was.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
In the magic of BuzzFeed. You could literally be a
mouse rat mouse rat. What am I talking about? My brain?
My brain just went to the bank mouse rat oh
in parks and rat.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
I was going to say, a kitchen rat. Okay, let's
go back. Let's go back your kitchen rat a BuzzFeed
and someone's going to walk up to that rat a
taste test. So you get instant Internet fame by simply
existing within And I.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Had insane hair and I dressed really crazy, so it
happened so quickly.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
So then you I remember you coming in and you
really being like in your own lane and really immediately
wanting to showcase your culture. And I would say, like,
not just Latino culture, but like Myami culture. Miami people
love Miami, by the way, It's very like you everywhere
reallyhere Miami people go. It's always like and when do
(11:09):
we talk about Miami.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
And this thing is there Miami in this outline?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, it's like how much Puerto Ricans love their Puerto
Rican flag. Miami people love Miami idiots.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Like we talked about the three five, Like I mentioned,
do you think.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
La people have that? Like do you think l like
people are like we we have hard I.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Think so, but I don't know that I would go
so I think yeah, and Phoenix people you don't hear
anything about it sometimes, but you're wearing it now six
o two sixty three for.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
You though, So yeah, I don't know. I feel when
you think of La, when I think of Miami, I
just immediately go into like thing, think.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
That's the cruise, Yes, cruise, yes, I'm yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
I have a memory of when we were all at
in Miami together for Hispanics Size and it was the
year you won for New Crees and we went to
a nearby like Cuban Bakery and Curry is such a sweetheart.
He's and he walks in with me and he's like,
(12:19):
you know, like ordering she was like's like he's like
thank God, like you can maintain your sweetness. Ahead didn't
crack a smile and he's like, I know what you mean.
(12:41):
Now about Miami.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We were we were like, oh, customer service is different
in Miami, so just be prepped. And I was like, god,
I like noticed that, but you know different. It was
so different because out here we're like, oh my god, welcome,
how are you? I love you like a scorpio when.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
You exchanging and instagram afterwards.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
And then you never talk again for there.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Don't even know why they're even they're working to begin with.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
You're just like one of our things, like right away,
we have so much talk about. But like, okay, so
just originally we you make some of your first Latino videos.
It get they get mixed, they get like cut. You
don't you're not allowed to release them because there how
does it be I don't want you to release these videos? Right? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (13:26):
I want know that it was.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Fuck it.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
We're free now now?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
I think it's just like, use artificial intelligence and remove
that spece on my get immediately, Old Lady for a living.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Is it still there?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
We can take this out too, or it could make
a good.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Oh it's in the middle.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
That's why you can't even really see it from like
I have.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
A little gap to It's kind of cute. It's jammed
in there.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Someone has you can't see anywhere from here.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Okay, well I am greasy all right anyway.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Okay, So then.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Okay, so I and the two and a half Latinos
at the company, one of them being our girl Jasmine
on thi Vedros, and we were both in the same
internship group class whatever, and between the both of us,
we're like, we got to start making Latino content.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Let's do it.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Let's do it like it hasn't been presented on the
BuzzFeed platform at all. And we had a higher up
whose name I'm not gonna mention because he was ultrapisol,
but take a guess, my guy. No, you didn't know him, blessed.
And so every time me and Jasmine would pitch Latino content,
(14:59):
and at the time, we were on the unscripted umbrella,
so you know, it was like taste tests and like
that type of stuff, he looked like he smelled a
fart every time I would we would pitch. I had
(15:29):
a really hard time with that man. Oh yeah, and
you know that came to light later, but he made
me cry. I was like bawling, my eyes out in
the bathroom within the first few weeks of working there.
I remember one time he did sabotage my first big
video that was about Cuban culture, which was a Cuban
(15:50):
food taste test. I'll never forget that day because I
went home crying, went to sleep crying, and drove to
work crying. I was also un medicated, okay, and I
started taking process. Perhaps would have been scared angry than sad. Yeah,
(16:12):
battle it was. It was bad. Yeah, yeah, you know,
I don't know if you want me to go into
detail on that, but it was. It was a lot
and I remember he sabotaged it. You and I walked around,
we walked abound.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
I was like, let's go, and I remember we had
a conversation of like kind of like we will have
very we will have a lot of battles, Like I
already knew that we're gonna have a lot of battles.
And I remember being like, and this is a really
cute memory that I was like, there's a Salvadorian restaurant
right down the street. Let's go and have some Salvadorian food.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
And it was my first time eating pooas.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Yeah. Yeah, And we sat down and we had poopool
stas together and it was like, you know, this wonderful
memory of us. And I just remember we had no
idea what was in Stufre for us. We literally you
had just got there. I was still serving the lunches.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
I was still like literal pioneers.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
We just had and I mean fast forward, you know,
we get into this new team. Yeah, you know, we
kind of you know, I get moved out of the kitchen.
I'm in the illustrator team, and I'm I without knowing,
I just start drawing things that are very Latino already,
and you guys are like, oh, we're gonna start this
single video team. I'm like, well, I'll just keep drawing Latino.
I was drinking stuff, remember, Yeah. I would draw like
(17:22):
food things all the time. And so we kind of,
you know, we talked about the founders a while, but
some I'm like I was in the background too, you know,
really early on. And then when we moved to the Siren.
I remember you guys the four girls were brought in,
you Jasmine, Yessica, and Claudia Yes, and then I was
(17:43):
last minute brought in and then I was like, I
don't there was a meeting where they were going to
announce this new team for better like and I remember
I didn't go. I didn't go to the thing, and
I was like, I don't think I'm part of the team.
I think you guys just wanted me here to draw
for like a week. So I didn't go. And I
remember you guys came back. You were like, they said
your name, you were a part of this team.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
I remember, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And then I remember that from there on out, like
we announced that we had this team, and I remember
every single day, all five of us would stay late.
We would shoot, we woul shoot over videos, we would edit,
we would all be there like together, like we just
had created this team, and we hit the floor running,
you know, like creating content, doing all these things, and
we kind of went viral. I remember the leader of
(18:27):
the time coming up and talking about our team and
he said, this is the fastest growing channel after Tasty
at the.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Time, super Cute.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
We were growing really fast.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
We were growing really fast. Yeah, is it a surprise
to any of us, No, No, absolutely, because we know
the audience is there. You know, Latinos in America are
craving to be represented, especially because at BuzzFeed when we
started doing Latino videos even pretty little, like we were
(18:58):
a small team to begin with, first of all, and
it's tough audiences don't understand the mechanisms that went on
behind a company like BuzzFeed and how many people were
behind the scenes and stuff. But we were a very
small group. And despite that, we were really hardcore about
making sure we represented as many Latin American countries as possible.
(19:19):
So it would be like, Okay, we got to make
sure we get Peru, let's do Ecuador, let's let's do
make sure we have Afro Latinos, Chinese latinos, et cetera,
et cetera.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
And that was very important to us.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
It was very important and I and because of my
Caribbean background, I would also do taste tests that involved
like Caribbean culture in general, so Jamaican, Haitian, Behavian, et cetera, yea,
and that really meant a lot. To see the comments
and people were like, this is the first time that
my country is talked about.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
To us to make content. It was like we were
part of a movement. I cased the Latino Digital Renaissance
because it was like we were coming out and then
there was Mito Rescula Flama, and then every a lot
of other people started coming after us. But I remember
that at that time those were we were kind of
like the giants, and we were constantly in competition with
one another, like it felt like a little bit of
(20:13):
hip hop game medal, like it's amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And then even just out here like at the time,
like with the Yes the poets, right, like the Lokata
girls coming out with their stuff too, there was a
movement of young Latino creators who were also in the
circle in the ring with us, and it was so
dope to kind of find the medium, find like the
middle ground of us being from the children of immigrants,
(20:44):
being Latino but also being American, right, and also being
like I don't know if Agua is a girl or
a guy and which one is it?
Speaker 3 (20:57):
And we found our audience that way. There was always
gonna be some curmudgeon that's not.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
How okay to be honest. I'm like that too. Sometimes
I am that person, don't I don't want to be
that person.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
But I know that we're gonna be a little bit
like you.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Have this, I'll be like, oh, I don't like their Spanglish.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
Okay, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
Because me, I'll be like okay for the way that
I speak Spanglish. When I speak Spanlish, like the whole
phrase will be in Spanish and then it'll be one
word that's like off.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Oh no, you'd hate Miami.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So because I feel like I see a lot of
like pucket, Like so I was in.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
There, yes, is it like that? Like okay, so there's
like there's like a weird line here because there's some
like I'll see commercials or like hear radio ads where
they're pandering to like latinos, but you can tell like
white people wrote it and like the Spanglish makes no sense.
Yeah yeah, yeah, but in Miami it's very much like
(22:07):
he went to school the other day.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
But see, you're giving me phrases, you're giving me the
full it's not the full sentence you're giving me. You're
not doing like the one word that's.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Where I get you, right. I think the one word
is where I'm thinking where I get lost.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Yeah, because you're not going to go oh I caned
my my pellow. You're gonna be like this was I
looked out the window. If you on perro shipting.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
It's so juicus.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
We need to get at some point here, so we
needed to get to mention. Acount how many times are
we gonna mention?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Okay, so we are okay, so what you say?
Speaker 3 (22:48):
No, no, no, my brain. I love how we all
have ADHD here.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
So it's like.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
When I was saying, how it's it's not a surprise
to us, how well Pedro like did. Yeah, it was
a surprise to the higher ups at BuzzFeed, and that's
why it took. It took so much teeth pulling to
get them to take us. Seriously. Remember, I don't know
if you remember this, but before Bettle like, they put me, Jasmine,
(23:17):
Norberto and Alex in like a pod. They called it
a pod, and it was like experimenting, like let's see
how well if leto there's a thing here, you know,
and it felt so weird, Like I think we were
(23:39):
the first ones to bring in belucas and costumes because
Buzzfeat at the time was very much like play yourself. Yeah, yeah,
I'm just an awkward.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Girl, You're like yeah, And we were actually like funny
and doing.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Sketch crazy shit. Yeah, Like I had my husband David
playing at thelenovela star and fighting with this guy on
the rolling around and like all the white people.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
Were like so good, like it was but like from
the outside at that time, like you were one of
the first people I saw on better like and then
it was like gutta yeah, and then it was you.
I remember being like, that's exactly like my brain changed.
The chemicals in my brain changed forever, Like do you
(24:23):
guys realize that that like the chemicals in children's arm
with a child, but like brains were changed.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
People growing up. I get young people who have now
grown up and they're like, thank you so much for
doing what you guys did, because we had just never
seen ourselves in that way. And I forget that. I
forget that, like people you know, didn't have that. And
even though nowadays with TikTok and.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
It's easy to forget because there's so much easy.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
To forget, but there's some people who are just like
I just remember that you were the first person I
ever saw do that, and I had never seen somebody
like you. I'd never seen queer person who had big
hair and big rings and necklaces and was like, oh,
I'm and it looked like you and Latino, you know
what I mean, like the Disney.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Video, Disney that you know video on the Slena video
changed my life for that. I was like, I remember
putting that on my like vision board. I mean back
then it wasn't even like really vision boards, but I
was just like I remember being like, I if I
were ever to go to BuzzFeed, I'm like, I would
want to like do a mentorship with Jenny Lorenzo.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Yeah, she's always when I go there.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Well, you know, so let's get into it.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Still good friends even though I never worked together.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
I know I was.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
I was.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
I just remember being like, whoa, this is like really special,
and I remember being like, this is what I want
to do. This is exactly I was already kind of
doing it like through vine or YouTube, but I was like,
that is where I want to go. I want to
move to LA and I want to be there and
I want to be in that crazy.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
No.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
I came to LA for BuzzFeed in twenty sixteen July, right.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
A month after this crazy.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Month before we have this crazy I honestly think that
there's a there's two things that I think I remember
about BuzzFeed. And I think the beginning of the end
was us going to Siren, moving to Siren. I think
that that was the end of our innocence as a
young as young people making internet content, and we were
(26:31):
really said. And then when there was the where they
had let you go, I think that made us a
lot of the creatives and the producers feel like, oh,
you don't care about us, right you actually? Because also
remember in Siren they put us on different floors based
off of our pay grade and our title. Oh my god,
so they had put all the producers on our floor
(26:53):
and all the people who were making six figures on
the fourth floor. Remember, Yes, So I always thought of
us as like we were like all the time Italian girl.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
Yes, we were having a good time. We were loud,
and we were playing music. We may have drowned, but.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
I remember, like, you know, and it's still something that's
really hard for me in a lot of ways. I
know it was super hard for you, And I don't
think that we've ever talked about it in terms of
like how it really affected so many of us, you know, Like,
I think that that changed me as a creator. I
don't think that after you left I ever felt comfortable
doing sketch sketches anymore. I think I never felt comfortable
(27:35):
stepping into that part of myself as much because you
weren't there, and then my quota completely went down. I
never after you left. I never hit my quota for
the rest of my time.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
That's my way to many people not even working there,
but outside.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Well political everyone.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
Now it's like my Wikipedia.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
For love of God, Yeah, I mean it kind of
went all over becau. It was like. The thing is
is that at the time there was no such thing
as influencers. There were YouTubers, right, and so yeah, this
was the dawn of that. And then also our contracts
were so strict that we weren't allowed to do be
on anyone else's platforms at all. Remember that was a
part of our contract that we weren't allowed to do anything.
(28:18):
That's why there wasn't even anything for yourself. No, we couldn't.
We couldn't reply to comments. If we had didn't have
a YouTube channel prior to joining the company, we couldn't
start one.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Yes, and I had a YouTube channel, yes, So they
are like, you can keep it, but you know not
that twenty eight is young because I was like one
of the elders at Buzzby.
Speaker 4 (28:40):
It's still young.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
It's really young, you know.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Young for me was ten years ago, and so it
was my first real job, especially because you know, you
move from like internship to fellowship and then you become
a junior producer. What's your salaried at that point? So
my first salaried position. I don't have a lawyer. I
don't have that kind of money to have a lawyer.
I didn't have a manager at the time. I didn't
(29:05):
have that protection.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
None of us did.
Speaker 3 (29:07):
And so for me, what I understood from the non
compete clause was yeah, don't go over and make a
video with me too, Yeah the Fine Bros. Or Flama.
So in my mind, the way I understood that clause
was no direct competition to BuzzFeed. Not in a web series.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah, yeah, which, by the way, you.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Were in, Yeah, this is tea because every time Gottia
and I go on live on TikTok, people like ask
about you and stuff, and we always always, always, we
always are like, I mean right hard for the story
and the lore and we're like, by the way, it
was for Hintified that is on Netflix two seasons, the
(29:54):
webisode series that she was in and I'm sorry. I
feel like you should have got a part.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
In that you were in it.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
I did.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
It was a small yeah, but a bigger part yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
I texted Marvin so quickly and I was like, you
need to give her this is tea by the way,
this is chee mad. I texted him so fast and
I was like, she got fired for your show. You
have to give her apart in your show. I don't
know if he remembers that, and I definitely I never
tell people what to do with their lives. I don't
tell people. I never will ever tell you how to
(30:26):
fucking like tickle your pickle. I won't. But I remember
that I went out of my way because I was like, oh,
this is so not my way, out of my own
comfort zone to be like you have to do this.
This is something that happened to her because long story short,
(30:56):
you made a quick cameo on a small web.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Yeah, what was it?
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Hintified? I remember I got a message on Facebook and
it was from Marvin, the creator and writer of Hinhified
that most people know from the Netflix series, and he
was like, I'm such a big fan of yours. I
love you on bettle, Like, do you want to do
this part, and I was like, yeah, keep in mind,
(31:24):
I had just done another web series with another friend
of mine, LeVar Burton was involved in it. I directed
an episode and I did a little bit of acting
in it.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
I posted about it everywhere. Did BuzzFeed care?
Speaker 2 (31:40):
No?
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Interesting?
Speaker 3 (31:44):
And so then I say, okay, I'll be in the
Hinthified web series. It was a small role. Yeah, it
took maybe an hour for me to shoot and then
again time At this point, I'm not sure how many
weeks or months went by, but at some point I
remember the trailer going viral for the Hintified web series,
(32:09):
and that's when I myself discovered that America Ferrera was involved,
and that she signed on as producer and as an actress.
She may not have even been involved when I was
filming my partner, you know what I'm saying. So that's
what made it go viral.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Oh yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Oh this is where it's gonna get. But whatever, I
was in Miami for a good two weeks. I wasn't
supposed to be there two weeks. I had actually planned
this vacation a long time ago, and it just so
happened that Maya Auelo, who was ninety two at the time,
had fallen ill and his health was declining rapidly. I'm
(32:50):
in Miami and I'm dealing with this. These are my
maternal grandparents, the people who inspire all the content that
I've been creating for years, and they were essentially a
second set of parents for me.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
So I'm dealing with this, and then I get a
call from my coworker, Britney Ashley, who was also a
trailblazer at BuzzFeed at the time for queer content. Yeah,
Brittany also had a small role in the Henhified web series.
And she calls me and she goes, hey, so they're
questioning me about my involvement in the web series and
(33:28):
it's looking a little serious, and I'm just like, you know,
I don't know how to process this. And I remember
talking to Ella, who was our biddle like lead, and
Ella was a sweetheart, you know. She was telling me
there's no way they're going to fire you. She's like,
you're one of BuzzFeed's top producers. You are the one
(33:50):
of the co founders of Battle Like it's your first offense.
And she was like, they may give you a talking to,
but they're not they're not going to fire you. There's
no way. There's no way. So yeah, and then it
gets worse. My grandma, who was madly in love with
my Auilo, couldn't handle the fact that he was going
(34:11):
to die. So she dips before he does.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
She was perfectly fine. Wow and has a stroke.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
So now I'm like, this is not the two for
one special that I was expecting. And I laugh about
it now because I'm like, this is so my Auela.
She's such a stubborn, freaking lady scorpio. Her birthday was
two days before mine.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Wow ye sign leo oh wow.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
But they were together for decades and decades, like she
was fifteen when she started dating him was twenty, so
imahinat it was like the notebook in a sense, and
in hindsight, I'm glad that they both went at the
same time, you know, But for me, I'm like, Godo,
this sucks. And then on top so at the time,
there was also a lot of bad stuff going on
(35:03):
with Battle like Biddle like had officially been birthed, I
think in January of twenty sixteen, and there was a
lot of not so great things going on that two
of the co founders of battle Like quit and went
on to go to meet Thu. Yeah, I decided to stay.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah, I don't know that lawyer.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Oh yeah, Metu offered us double our salaries.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
I remember that.
Speaker 3 (35:34):
I remember, yeah, yes, So they're like, I'm done with
this racist shit piece. They went to Meetthu Meetthu also
tried to poach me at the time, but I was
so loyal to bitttle Like, and I had a mission
with bittle Like specifically that I now, I'm like, girl,
what no, we'll talk about it got turned down double
(35:57):
my salary and so I was already gone for two weeks,
and I was worried that if I didn't go back
to work they were going to pull the plug. But
on Bettle Like any second, because it was kind of
in a rocky place and Gadiel was only just learning
how to edit and put it in. And I'm like,
(36:19):
So I flew back to work, missed both of my
grandparents funerals. I flew back before they actually passed.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
So my Auela died on May thirty first, and my
Auelo passed on June fifth. I think it was June ninth,
or I'll go see where I get called in to
the office.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I sat next to you, I was to your left.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
Yeah. HR called me and Bridge Brittany Ashley in and
when I walked in, I'm forgetting her name now she
wrote me an apology email. I know, and when I
genuinely forgot her name, but she was sitting there like
this as if I had done something atrocious and long
(37:09):
story short, cold blooded. We got fired. I lost my composure.
I was hypervent like ugly crying because first of all,
my grandparents just died. Yeah, I didn't know I was
doing anything wrong by acting in a web series. And
that was the same year that I got diagnosed with
(37:30):
Crohn's disease. So they were like, oh yeah, tomorrow you
lose your health insurance.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Oh yeah, everything. And you, by the way, were like
not only the number one producing producer on better like
you were actually the number one producing producer at all
the video producers, all the content creators. You were the
one that was producing the most.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
How many am the most? Was it nine to twelve?
That's videos?
Speaker 2 (37:53):
The quota?
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Yes, it was yes, at the time, it was like four.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
You're right, and then you were doing double and.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
I was doing double not because I'm like overachiever. It
was because again, our team had shrunken and we were
on a rocky foundation, and I was worried that BuzzFeed
was going to pull the plug on us.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
Yeah, and so I'm like, I need to churn out
twice as many videos so that Biddle like could continue
to grow and prosper.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah. You, I don't think we ever talked about this,
but that so Wicked recently came out. Yeah, And there's
a scene at the end of Wicked where Cynthia tells Glinda,
like come with me. And when I saw it the
first time, I immediately thought about me and you, and
I don't want to cry, but you know, I remember
feeling like, damn it. I remember feeling like this thing
(38:48):
of like come with me, and I just felt like
I had just gotten out of the kitchen right like
I didn't know. And I also felt really young and
I didn't know. But one of my life, like I
tell my mom this, I'm like, we have a lot
of regrets in life that that was the only path
that we could have taken. But there's a big part
of me that was always like Glinda, go with her,
(39:10):
you know what I mean, Like there's a big part
of me that I think that if I could do
it again, if I could live this life again, I
would be like, you know, unlimb its head, like let's go,
let's do this, you know what I mean? Like I
recognize the path that we're in now, but I think
that I do have Like I just remember that day
being so heavy. We were all crying. We were all like, yeah,
(39:32):
well do we do? Where do we go? And it
to me, I think it not only changed the trajectory
of your life, my life, I think it changed the
trajectory of like it ripple it was.
Speaker 4 (39:43):
R landscape because I got hired randomly by Ella, and
when I accepted it, then like the news came out
about you and I was like what the fuck? Like
you were like the whole like curly yea and you
like I wanted to study under you guys, And then
(40:04):
to find out that you weren't there, I was like
what the fuck? And then the way that it happened,
people were like you should not work there, Like people
in our community, in my Phoenix community, or just like
the Latino community, they were fucking pissed, like wanting to
boycott BuzzFeed.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
I mean, there was you can't know there was.
Speaker 4 (40:22):
I'm sure it was a lot of support at that time.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
I did, thank god, you know, because I was worried
that people were gonna just be mean and make fun
of me for not reading my contract or you know.
But thankfully everyone was behind us. I remember someone sent
me a photo that, you know, producers at BuzzFeed were
leaving candles and flowers on me at Britney's desks as
(40:47):
if we died. It was really bad, and I would
hear the tea sometimes. I don't know if it was
from you or not, but there was a lot of
meetings that were called because the morale of the company
went down.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
There were meetings. Yeah, and because I still I Jenny.
I to the day I left BuzzFeed. I never met
my quota ever again because I was just like, it's
not why because so that you could do the same thing, the.
Speaker 4 (41:15):
Same thing Gadiolla and Claudia, like they all felt. I
remember coming in and that was like the hey.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Guys, yeah, and we were just pissed. We were just like,
never you killed them morale.
Speaker 3 (41:25):
It was from what I heard, am I allowed? Should
I bring up his name? The head of video at the.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
Time, I feel like if you want to, but I don't.
I don't know, like we I don't know about legal
stuff me neither.
Speaker 3 (41:37):
Allegedly at the time, the uh, the head of BuzzFeed Video,
he would hold these meetings and it sounded so like
icky and like abusive boyfriend e because one of the
things that he told everyone was you have everything you
(41:58):
need here. Snap, it's like a parody. This is a
it's a startup, like you couldn't you couldn't make this up.
You got snacks, you got puppies to play with, you
have all these opportunities. And I don't know exactly word
for word what he said, but I do know he
mentioned the snacks and just all the opportunities, like you
(42:20):
don't need to go elsewhere, you have everything you need
right here. And I'm like, don't you think that having
two people from your company act in a successful web
series that's empowering because it's about gentrification in Boil Heights
(42:41):
and it's a Latino centric story. Don't you think that
would just make BuzzFeed look better. It was a very weird,
kind of jealous possessive. I remember then hearing a bunch
of stories of one person that used to work at
in the Snapchat team booked a role on a TV
show and the same guy was like, it's either them
(43:03):
or us. She was not allowed to do both. At
the time. You weren't allowed to have an agent a manager.
But of course, as things play out, usually a year
or two down the line, as you guys know, things
got way looser. You were allowed to have representation and audition.
(43:25):
And I don't.
Speaker 4 (43:26):
Think he was he was involved anymore as much.
Speaker 2 (43:28):
Yeah, it was like way later because even us getting credits, Oh.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Yeah, army handles.
Speaker 4 (43:37):
I remember I would I would just put it in
there and then they would say, like, you have to
take it out. I'm like, I'm not taking it out,
and then it would upload.
Speaker 3 (43:43):
And then from the well, remember when I told you
that that other guy that was ahead of Unscripted made
me cry in the bathroom. It's because he brought me in,
sat me down in front of him and reprimanded me
in the most ruling way. Because I produced a video
again unscripted, so various talent, and I was in it
(44:06):
as well, and I don't know, I thought it was
protocol or the decent thing to do to credit everyone.
I literally wrote everyone's names in the credits of the
YouTube description box you know what I'm saying. And he
brought me in and he goes, we don't want people
(44:27):
coming in here just to become famous.
Speaker 4 (44:33):
And well they told that was passed down to us,
but it was in a different way, like No bet Tho.
It was like, you're not here to get famous, You're
here for the culture and listen.
Speaker 3 (44:42):
But I understand because we did have some folks whose
personalities and chemistry. The moment they got a little smidgen
of internet fame, it was goodbye. I don't even like
they became a different person. They became about themselves and
less about the work, and especially with battle, Like what
(45:05):
No Beneto said made a lot of sense, but at
the same time, I'm just like, I'm sorry, it's just
decent to credit it. It's our careers. We're going to
be a BuzzFeed till we die. Absolutely we were filmmakers.
We're not just talent. But what a lot of people
didn't know based on reading like hatery comments and stuff
on like the BuzzFeed videos, is like they thought we
(45:26):
were just a bunch of actors that showed up, rolled
around with a bunch of puppies and ducklings eight I
don't know, some business whatever they put and then go home.
I'm like, no, no, no, See there was no work
life balance. We would be there pat well past six pm,
just hunched over our computers editing.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
It was a cult.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
It was it because and it was it was It
felt like it because every Friday they'd be like, let's
reward everyone who went viral.
Speaker 1 (45:58):
We had talked about.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
That from.
Speaker 4 (46:01):
The hoodies they did, the hoodies, the buttons, all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Were like it was all about it. Your value was
in how viral.
Speaker 4 (46:25):
You yes, and the more vulnerable you are about your
story or the more like, the more you're rewarded. And
I talk about this before, where like I would share
these things I was not ready to talk about about,
like my body image and all that stuff, and I
would make all these videos or like and then I
because I was like, oh they want this, like other.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
Peanal stories are.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Yeah, like you did that before you were ready emotionally.
Speaker 4 (46:48):
Before I was ready. And I think that's why I'm
a little more careful now. But you know, it was
the nature of that and it was almost out of
like survival for keeping your place there to be relevant
not only within like the internet, but within the company
and within your peers of like I'm pulling my weight,
Yeah I'm doing this, and that it was I mean,
(47:08):
which is like it's competitive, it's like every job, yes,
but this was like a special sort of thing that
I don't think anybody else anywhere but the time and
space that every all of us were in will have
to experience it. But I have to say to like
you're doing you have done so much better, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
Much better than if you would have stayed there.
Speaker 4 (47:32):
Honestly, I think you're making more money. You've made a
lot more money since then. You've been in a lot
of different things, like you're you're like still afloat and
then thriving not just surviving.
Speaker 2 (47:44):
And your name, unfortunately your name is a staple. The
other name makes people cringe, and You're doesn't make people cringe,
like if you were to go like blah blah blah
the name of the thing, and it's like I don't know.
Speaker 4 (47:57):
Always ask about you one ever, Like people always ask
how you are, like what you're doing, like all this stuff,
and and like you are so loved within like I
know you feel it, but It's just another reminder you
are so loved. So you are like a pioneer of
(48:19):
content for I mean in many different sectors and geeky
content and just like being a woman Latina, like you know.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
All of this stuff.
Speaker 4 (48:29):
Like I hope you really can feel that and and
really like remember that because it's like nobody none of
these Latino TikTokers will be doing would be doing anything
that they're doing without you, without better like without these
you know, these pioneers the content like really worked really hard,
(48:53):
Like I mean they get to just now post whatever.
And I'm sure they have a lot of like different challenges.
You know everybody does, but that was is like a
real challenge to get your foot in the door and
to get Latino content in there and make them care.
And then it became better, like became.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
Like still to this day.
Speaker 4 (49:13):
They make millions of dollars off of everything. We've done everything,
and I like reformatting content, reformatting stuff like sharing old
videos of us still.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
Like it over us.
Speaker 2 (49:31):
We totally have to like have you back though, because
I feel like this went and I knew it was
going to go by so fast. We have so much
to cover, but you know, I think to your point too,
like you went on to have a fantastic career voicing
cartoon characters.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
Voice for Disney.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
Cartoon Network.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
You're on every carpet, you know, what do you feel?
And you and you have your show that always comes
up like that you always have, like the best character
is whether it's like not Maruhi, what's your name? One
of my best friend's mom's names, so I always so.
Also she's Spanish, but their family's Cuban. But you have
(50:15):
your show with all these characters that you bring to life.
How is your spirit now? Like having been now at
this point in your life and looking back and going
like ten.
Speaker 1 (50:24):
Years ago now ten years later.
Speaker 3 (50:27):
It's it's like, despite what happened to me in the end,
BuzzFeed was still a blessing because of everyone I met,
including you two. We're still like a family, but we
created that family, not the false family that the higher
ups that they do at every company. Yeah, we're family
(50:49):
family and it's like girl, were not in Olive Garden. Also,
I lasted one day at Olive Garden as a hostess
and that really was an eye opening it experience for
me and probably you guys and many others where it's like, oh,
we're easily disposable, and we gave our hearts and souls
(51:10):
and some of our best ideas and IP to this
company that doesn't give a shit. And I know so
many people can relate across the board. It doesn't matter
what you do for a living. Hell, that's even what
I learned when I worked retail. You know, you kill
yourself and then for what they fire you like this exactly.
(51:32):
Just today, Meta laid off what three six hundred employees
like this in a very cold email, and I'm like,
you know what, it's not worth it, and you know,
for survival purposes. I did skip over to METU worked
there for about a year and a half, but then
after that, around twenty eighteen, I decided I can't work
for digital media companies anymore. The way they treat talent,
(51:57):
and when I say talent, I mean producers, yeah, is abysmal.
We're the reason why they're so big and making money.
And at the time it was a big leap of
faith because y'all know I don't come from money, you know,
like I don't have a safety net. And thank god
(52:18):
it worked out in the branded side of things, It's
how I make most of my living, you know, yeah,
I mean you have It's It's a godsend. And I
get to work with people I love on a daily basis,
you know, on the Alwilas Family web series, and that
(52:39):
even though I've had to like almost in a way,
it feels like I've had to reinvent myself every time,
like Okay, now I'm at me too, and now I
got to get their audience to know who I am
and now I'm on, you know, versus some people who
stayed at BuzzFeed for years built such a massive audience
at the moment they left, yeah, you know, yeah. And
(53:01):
it hasn't been as easy for me for sure, but
the perseverance is there. I'm not gonna let that stop me.
You know. I had to really like think you were
with me actually at Vidcom about two years after I
got fired, and they had a huge billboard of ye
(53:23):
with all my characters, and the guy who fired me
was there and he said hi to you very quickly,
and I was just kind of there and me and
my dumb ass face with all my characters, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (53:38):
That was all I remember.
Speaker 3 (53:41):
This was a quick thing, like he walked by you
and I was like.
Speaker 2 (53:44):
I think we both were like that's you.
Speaker 3 (53:46):
Yeah, and I'm like like, for me, that was a
moment where I realized I survived. I still got here
without BuzzFeed, and yeah, it's continue Youing to put my
work out there on the internet has opened so many doors.
And I know y'all understand that because it's done the
(54:07):
same for both of you. You've been on TV shows,
You've had so many opportunities and blessings, and at the
end of the day, it's because of us and our talent,
not because of some platform or some company.
Speaker 2 (54:22):
Yeah, that's right. We have to have you come back
on again for a second epist.
Speaker 4 (54:32):
I know actually though next week.
Speaker 2 (54:36):
But you know, I guess how do you plead with
the episode?
Speaker 4 (54:39):
Like how do you not doing strology?
Speaker 2 (54:40):
I feel like we're already like I'm a scorpio.
Speaker 4 (54:43):
Okay, well a little welcome to the astrology portion of
the podcast. Jenny is a scorpio rising Scorpio sun Virgo moon,
and I feel like that is I'm you just look
like it right now.
Speaker 1 (55:01):
So oh no, no, no, no, your rising is Leo.
Speaker 4 (55:05):
That's right, scratch that.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
No, no, no, But that.
Speaker 4 (55:10):
What I was going to say is your Virgo moon
is your moon is like you know a lot about astrology,
right or like you know, not as much as like
you it's like emotions and stuff, but it's also creativity
and having a Virgo moon. I mean, we know virgos,
like the traits of virgos and stuff like. It totally
influences the way you work, like your work ethic. I'm
very curious to see too, like what's in your tenth
(55:32):
or eleventh house, which is.
Speaker 1 (55:33):
Like your work in career. But yeah, it's it.
Speaker 4 (55:39):
It makes a lot of sense that you're Leo's rising
also because Leo risings are like I'm coming out of
the gates swinging like this is me, very very shiny,
very like they're like the sun. And then your scripio
is you know, the macabre. It's like it's like the
middle child kind of I'm not like everybody else, but
(56:03):
truly I'm not like everybody else, Like I'm not like
these bitches.
Speaker 2 (56:06):
You know what's wild is that a lot of Scorpio moons.
I think all scorpion moons have a mid heaven Virgo moon. Y.
I take it back.
Speaker 4 (56:13):
The Virgo moon Scorpio Sun, so it's it's almost like
it's kind of nice because you have fire, water and earth,
so it's very balanced. It's very balanced, but it's it's
kind of all of the strong placements too, Like you know,
(56:34):
out of the fire signs, I would say Leo's are
are strong, super strong. Scorpios are most iconic. I feel
like out of the water signs, you know.
Speaker 3 (56:43):
Like.
Speaker 4 (56:45):
And then Virgos out of the earth signs are like.
Speaker 2 (56:49):
Virgos, We're annoying.
Speaker 1 (56:51):
How do you feel being.
Speaker 4 (56:52):
A Scorpio, Like, do you feel like the virgo influence
in like your life?
Speaker 3 (56:57):
You know? I never I never thought about it until
I saw that I'm a virgo mode now because my
dad's a Virgo, and then one of my characters, all
my characters in the Wedelles family have a zodiac SI
(57:22):
is a Virgo. Yeah, and I'm my damn it. I'm
very much like flowed in certain ways. Even though I
have ADHD and I have like messy tendencies. I can't
thrive if things aren't like clear and organized. It's a
conundrum for most ADHD years. But I see it. I
still want to learn more about it, of course, and
(57:48):
my sister's a libra. My sister, fun fact, was an
editor at Battle Like.
Speaker 4 (57:53):
Yes, she edited, fortunately, but unfortunately had to see all
of our faces all the time and deal with all
of our annoying ass fucking lazy ass notes.
Speaker 2 (58:04):
We'll start. I love you, we love you, we love
her so much. I also thought you were going to
say edible and not editor anyway.
Speaker 3 (58:13):
Anyway, Well, my sister to be a better like edible.
She was. This is where we're at right now, anyway,
Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (58:23):
This is the astrology portion of the podcast.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Well, Jenny, think you so much for being here on
our show.
Speaker 4 (58:29):
Thank you for opening up and being vulnerable.
Speaker 2 (58:32):
Thank you for that's we started crying.
Speaker 3 (58:35):
I was like, yes, and I.
Speaker 2 (58:37):
Feel like I won't do some more crying because we
need to have like but also we need to like
hang out your house and just sob it out. I
would love it'd be amazing. We usually say like, you know,
last words like do you how.
Speaker 4 (58:49):
Do you anything you're working on or anything you want
to say or shout out.
Speaker 3 (58:55):
Yeah, I'm working on some pretty exciting things. I can't
really talk about some of them, but one involves writing
on an anticipated video game. I'm excited that and you know,
just really continuing with a wet House Family. It's now
on Plex TV via Savio TV, trying to get it
(59:17):
onto more streaming platforms.
Speaker 2 (59:19):
And you know it's I love that.
Speaker 3 (59:23):
You know my cartoons and say, I'm just in everything.
Multiple pots on the stove at all times and you
have to hoping one of them takes off. And that's
just how it is.
Speaker 2 (59:34):
You have to And where can people find you on
social media?
Speaker 3 (59:37):
The easiest way is just looking up my name Jenny
Lorenzo the Blue Sky Toy. Okay, can keep up with everything,
but yeah, but to see all my episodes in the
best way possible is YouTube.
Speaker 2 (59:52):
Okay, Okay, I love that. I need to go and
like have like a marathon. Oh my gosh, we should
just have like just get snacks, just have very thought.
Speaker 4 (01:00:02):
We're also waiting for our cameos.
Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Oh my god, please, I'm going to text you and
actually beg you.
Speaker 1 (01:00:07):
It's on my it's on my medification.
Speaker 3 (01:00:09):
I think about it all the time before dying. To
have you both in a wise family, we did well,
that'd be amazing.
Speaker 4 (01:00:22):
Curly, where can they find you on social media?
Speaker 2 (01:00:23):
You can find me at the Curly v Show on
Instagram TikTok and read note, Oh you.
Speaker 4 (01:00:29):
Can find me at my end the moment m A
y A, in the moment.
Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
Wherever you scirl.
Speaker 4 (01:00:34):
Thank you so much to Jenny for being on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:00:39):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:00:42):
Thanks for listening to.
Speaker 4 (01:00:42):
Another episode of the Super Secret Besty Club Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
Bye, Hey, who's that old lady sitting there the whole time?
Speaker 3 (01:00:50):
Though?
Speaker 2 (01:00:51):
Okay, wonderful.
Speaker 3 (01:00:58):
Bye.
Speaker 4 (01:01:03):
Make sure to hit that subscribe button to hear more
episodes every single week. The Super Secret Bestie Club Podcast
is a production of Sonodo in partnership with iHeartRadio's Michael
toa podcast network.
Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com