Some of TV’s funniest women have teamed up for The Hollywood Reporter‘s Comedy Actress Emmy Roundtable interview.
“Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson, “Black-ish” star Tracee Ellis Ross, “Only Murders in the Building” star Selena Gomez, “Life & Beth”‘s Amy Schumer, “Somebody Somewhere” star Bridget Everett, and “I Love That for You” star Molly Shannon chatted about their successful careers, voicing their opinions, and more.
Schumer shared of the cost of speaking out: “I literally asked an audience in Tampa, it was the 2016 election, and I said, ‘I just want to understand why someone would vote for Trump? Can someone just explain it to me?’
“And 200 people walked out. [The media stories] didn’t mention that, like, 10,000 people stayed or whatever. But that’s how it affected my money.
“It directly affected ticket sales. But how nice to not have those people in the audience. Not that they’re bad, I just don’t think that they’re going to appreciate what I have to say because, you know, I think people should all be treated equally.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Gomez spoke about moving past being sexualized, telling the mag: “I actually did an album cover and I was really ashamed after I did it. I had to work through those feelings because I realized it was attached to something deeper that was going on.
“And it was a choice that I wasn’t necessarily happy that I made, but I think that I’ve done my best, at least I try to be myself. And I’m not an overly sexual person. Sometimes I like to feel sexy but that doesn’t mean it’s for somebody else. It can be for me.”
Ross, on the other hand, had a story to tell about overcoming mistreatment.
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She told THR of being dropped by her agent early in her career: “She said, ‘You come with all this stuff. Your mom’s somebody, you dress great and you’re so fun and you go in a room, and you just don’t pop. So, we’re going to let you go.’
“Well, I couldn’t get into the elevator fast enough. I remember my thought was, I can’t do this. Then I made a decision after two days of crying, like, ‘You know what? I will do this as long as I’m doing it to have fun.’ And my career took off from there.”
