How does it feel to represent a new character in the DC Comics canon? How can a small mistake impact the rest of your life? How important is it to have a physical and spiritual routine? All that and more as Jasmin and Liv talk to Javicia Leslie!
How does it feel to represent a new character in the DC Comics canon? How can a small mistake impact the rest of your life? How important is it to have a physical and spiritual routine? All that and more as Jasmin and Liv talk to Javicia Leslie!
Citations
- Queer Astrology: Why LGBTQ People Seek Answers in the Stars by Nadine Santoro for Logo’s NewNowNext
- BlackPlanet’s Founder Talks Myspace, Why He was Skeptical of Twitter, And If Facebook May Have Peaked by Jenisha Watts for Complex
- HOW SOLANGE KNOWLES ‘CAME HOME’ TO BLACKPLANET by Channing Hargrove for Grazia
Bio
Actress and director Javicia Leslie made history as the world’s first Black actress to play DC’s iconic ‘Batwoman’ by introducing new character ‘Ryan Wilder’ into the DC fandom. The openly bisexual actress has been recognized by The Hollywood Reporter, as their “Next Big Thing” and Los Angeles Magazine, as one of “Hollywood’s New A-List” stars. When Javicia isn't working, she splits her time between Los Angeles and New York. An ardent vegan, she also enjoys cooking new vegan recipes and spending time with her rescue dog Judah.
Credits
- Hosts: Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson
- Producer: Eric Silver
- Co-Producers: Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson
- Editor, Engineer & Sound Designer: Mischa Stanton
- Executive Producer: Amanda McLoughlin
- Researcher: Gina Cherelus
- Created by: Jasmin Savoy Brown
- Produced by: Multitude & Netflix
Find Us Online
- Twitter: @Most
- Instagram: @Most
[Intro Music]
Jasmin: Welcome to the Homo Schedule! Where we’re corrupting your children into celebrating their wins and being proud of the journey. I’m Jasmin, Chief Marketing Officer for the finsta you use to stalk your exes.
Liv: And I’m Liv, and I’m an intern who’s… paid… in hugs.
Jasmin: [Laughs] I was like, “Where is this going to go?”
Liv: I couldn’t have told you. I couldn’t have told you when I started this sentence where it was gonna ends, but that’s how it’s gonna end.
Jasmin: That’s how it’s gonna end. Let’s review the minutes from last week’s meeting.
Liv: How are you?
Jasmin: I’m good. [Laughs]
Liv: What’s going on? What’s happening?
Jasmin: You know, jet-setting. Where am I? What time is it? Who am I? No idea.
Liv: Are you back in the States?
Jasmin: I’m in the States. I’ve been in Finland, I’ve been in Sweden, I’ve been in Oregon, I just have been having fun, you know? I can do like, “work hard, don’t play at all,” and I’m in this new tr - ok, plug for Teledipity, I’m not being paid, but Teledipity is my favorite thing. I’ve got you on this, right?
Liv: You on the set of the Yellowjackets pilot got all of us on Teledipity -
Jasmin: [Laughs] Right! On the pilot.
Liv: -and I’ve been on it ever since.
Jasmin: Ok, what year are you in?
Liv: I - I have to look at the emails again, but I still get the notifications, I haven’t read it yet.
Jasmin: I read it every month, for the last two years my life has been so stressful, like shitstorm after shitstorm after shitstorm, like things that are out of my control. Like-
Liv: Yeah
Jasmin: A family member getting sick, or this person dying, or - whatever, just like, shit. And it’s been nonstop. And when I landed back in the states, two days ago I felt this weight off my shoulders like, “Oh, I think I just entered a new chapter, I think the shitstorms are over, I feel like I’m just going to have fun, and like life’s going to be good.” And then I got an email the next day, that was like “Welcome to your new chapter!”
[Liv laughs]
Jasmin: The shitstorm is over, and now it’s all about having fun! And the theme was like, have fun, go to parties, hang with friends, say yes to joy, and it just felt really cool to be validated by numerology for something that was already going on inside of me, you know?
Liv: I know that feeling.
Jasmin: So, to answer your question, I’ve just been having fun, and when I was in Finland we just went to a bunch of parties. I got a tattoo.
Liv: I saw that!
Jasmin: : I got a tattoo on my ear so, - yeah, I’m good. I’m chilling. How are you?
Liv: I’m good. I know what you mean, it’s like, that feeling I got of like closing a loop, after…
Jasmin: Yes, that’s a beautiful way to put it.
Liv: After Coming back. I’m in New York at the moment,
Jasmin: I heard you are seeing fucking Company tonight!
Liv: Yess
Jasmin: I’m so jealous!
Liv: Quick, get on a plane, get on a plane right now
Jasmin: I actually thought about it, but we’re recording this in the middle of the day, so it…
Liv: I know
Jasmin: Screwed my change of flights, but you better believe I’ll be there soon
Liv: I’ll tell you how the show is, I’m really excited. For the listeners at home, we’re big Company fans.
Jasmin: Ugh! We’re big Company fans, we’re big Broadway fans, are you seeing anything else?
Liv: I saw Slave Play, and I’m seeing this, and then I’m leaving tomorrow
Jasmin: oooh cool.
Liv: Yeah So I'm only here for a few days. But it’s been really nice, I haven’t been since before the pandemic started-
Jasmin: Yeah
Liv: -and it’s lovely. It’s lovely to be back, I like New York so much.
Jasmin: Truly, New York is my favorite place. There’s so much culture, there’s os much good food, beautiful people of all shades, I love hearing so many different languages when I get on the subway, it’s just the best place.
Liv: I like public infrastructure. [Laughs] I like public transit.
Jasmin: You’re such a nerd.
Liv: I like urban planning
Jasmin: Did you just say I like urban planning?
Liv: I do! It’s important.
Jasmin: It is, oh god,you’re adorable. Ok, what’s on the agenda for today?
Liv: Oh my god! Jasmin! Today we are talking to Javicia Leslie!
[Jasmin Screams]
Liv: Would you talk about Javicia Leslie for the listeners at home?
Jasmin: Javicia Leslie is an actress and director who made history as the world’s first black actress to play DC’s iconic Batwoman by introducing new character, her character, Ryan Wilder into the DC fandom. She is openly bisexual and has been recognized by the Hollywood Reporter as their Next Big Thing, and by Los Angeles Magazine as one of hollywoods new A-list stars.
Liv: Whoo!
Jasmin: Yeah.
Liv: When Javicia isn’t working she splits her time between LA and New York. An ardent vegan, she also enjoys cooking new vegan recipes and spending time with rescue dog, Judah. How do you know Javicia?
Jasmin: I know Javicia through our mutual friend slash one of my best friends, Violet Bean
Liv: Whoo!
Jasmin: I met Violet working on The Leftovers, forever ago, and Violet and Javicia met on God Friended Me, and when I moved to Vancouver I was really craving women of color, I really needed more-
Liv: mmm
Jasmin: black female friends up there, and so Violet knows all the black women in Vancouver, weirdly- [Laughs]
Liv: Fantastic
Jasmin: Even though she’s not a black woman. Umm. And she introduced us to Javicia and I fell in love with her. I love her so much. She cooked me food and she took me out for pride, and we just like would hang out and watch movies on her couch and I adore her. She’s so wise. She’s so smart and down to earth, and brilliant. I love picking her brain, and Judah is the sweetest pup - I am just so excited everyone gets to hear this conversation. Did you know Javicia?
Liv: No, I didn’t. I didn’t know her, um, I met her through you doing this but it was such a pleasure to talk to her and I’d love to do more of it.
Jasmin: Right? I’m glad you got to meet her this way and I'm glad you all get to hear the conversation.
Liv: Let’s enter it into the schedule!
[Transition Music Plays]
Jasmin: Javicia, you’re here!
Javicia: Hi.
Liv: HI Javicia!
Javicia: Hi, Liv
Jasmin: Oh my god, how are you?
Javicia: Good. We're all finally here.
Jasmin: We're here. We like to start our podcast saying our names, our pronouns, how we identify, I'll go first. My name is Jasmin, pronouns she/her, I identify as pansexual. I actually have a story for you guys. Should I tell it now?
Liv: Do you want to?
Javicia: Yes, let’s tell it.
Jasmin: Okay. [Laughs] So lately I've been like, “do we want to, uh, maybe fuck a guy?” and it's kinda been confusing me.
Liv: Yeah.
Jasmin: And there's two pieces. One I've been having conversations with friends about like, okay, let's say I did hook up with a guy - then will like the lesbians be mad? Which is frustrating because I shouldn't have to think about that because sexuality is fluid-
Liv: [Sympathetically] Yeah.
Jasmin: -but it's a real fear. And then there's the other story, that's kind of fun. So yesterday I was grocery shopping and I accidentally - my key battery died and I left it in my car by mistake, so I locked my key in my car. So I had to call AAA, and this beautiful man comes to unlock my car.
Liv: Yeah.
Jasmin:And I'm flirting heavily, and then he leaves. And then I get back home to my best friend and I'm like, oh my God, I met this guy. And as we're leaving, “she goes, you need to lock your keys in your car and call him again.” And I was like, I can't do that!
Liv: [Gasping] You have a little meet cute?
Jasmin: She goes “give me your keys or give me your phone.” So I give her my phone. So she calls, puts him on speaker, and I was like, “Hi, haha, I'm the girl whose car just unlocked? What would she say if I told you I oopsie, I locked my keys in my car and haha.” He's like “no way. I would tell you I'll come unlock it.” I was like, “okay, what have I told you? I was lying. And I think he should just actually have dinner with me this week.”
[Liv gasps in delight]
Jasmin: And he goes, “I'm very flattered, but I'm seeing someone.” I was like, “okay, well, if that ever falls through, call me,” but he hung up. Nothing came of it, but I felt so alive.
Liv: Wow!
Jasmin: I Asked someone out like that, especially a man, in so long. I felt so alive. So that's why I identify as pansexual today.
Liv: Congratulations. We love to hear it!
Javicia: I am proud of you!
Jasmin: Thank you
Liv: Also, your friend is a genius. I would never have thought of that.
Jasmin: I know, she's a seven on the Enneagram, so she knows how to have fun.
Liv: Wow.
Jasmin: Anyway, that's my story. That's why I'm pan. Liv, how do you identify today? What are your pronouns?
Liv: Hi, uh, my name is Liv. My pronouns are they/them, I am gay. Um, and, uh, man. I should look, I don't have a car. I need to learn how to drive. I need to lock my keys and I need to get a car. I need to lock my keys in my car and then hope someone beautiful shows up.
Javicia: My name is Javicia. You can call me Mooney. She/her, and I don't know what I am. I've realized that, I don't really have a true title or description for what I am. I feel like I'm attracted to whoever I'm attracted to in the moment, and I know there's a title for that, but I don't claim titles, so I won’t allow it! Liv: Yeah, love it.
Jasmin: Nice. Did you guys, this is kind of a weird actory question, but did you guys ever growing up, like go to Starbucks or go to a park or something and practice falling in love with a bunch of people? [Laughs] Javicia is making a face like, “bitch the fuck are you talking about?”
Liv: Not with that express purpose, but I did a couple of similar things, which is I would fall in love with people on the bus constantly. It's just imagining, really, just like hypotheticals. Like “what would it be like?” But I would also, I would go on long walks, wishing to run into someone I knew, but I wouldn't call anyone. Like, I wouldn't like make friends with anybody-
[Jasmin Laughs]
Liv: -but I would just be like, “I'm gonna leave the house cause I really hope I run into somebody.” [Laughs]
Jasmin: That’s really pure!
Liv: I know.
Javicia: I feel like my imaginary boyfriends and girlfriends were all in my head. Um, so maybe that was practice, cause I legit had like a whole imaginary team.
Jasmin: But also, you got some Gemini in your charts, so I'm just going to leave that there and walk away.
Javicia: Yeah. Oh gosh. I've been doing my birth chart.
Jasmin: Ooh.
Javicia: It's so intense.
Jasmin and Liv together: What have you learned? [Both laugh]
Javicia: So I already knew my sun, moon, and rising, which is Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio.
Jasmin: Mmm. We're both Cancer moon, Scorpio rising, which I love.
Javicia: Yess, exactly!
Liv: It’s a deeply, deeply sexy combo.
Javicia: Yeah. Right. It is. [Laughs] So I like started doing more research on it this weekend and I've always been in denial of my Cancer ways because I'm like, all they do is cry -
[Jasmin laughs]
Javicia: and they're so emotional. I'm like, I didn't understand why I didn't like the emotion. It's because Scorpios are weird about emotions.
Jasmin: Right?
Liv: Mmm.
Javicia: Now I'm like falling in love with like my cancer side, and I'm tired of hiding my emotions. I do a meditation every day and you know, your emotions lie in your, in your sacral. And what it is is my sacral was blocked from childhood trauma. And so I've always been ashamed of emotions. And, um, as an actor, it's definitely been hard because I'm always fighting myself with it, you know?
Liv: Yeah.
Javicia: And so lately I've been kind of working on blocking my sacral. So that way I don't have to be scared to show emotions and worry about other people's reactions to my emotions. And it's just pure and genuine, so there's nothing to be ashamed of.
Liv: That is huge.
Jasmin: Whoa, what all is coming up? As you're doing this work.
Javicia: Our brains, doing an amazing job, creating the story for ourselves, that we then call our lives, and sometimes it even can block out things that happened and you literally will forget and now it's not a part of your life, or it will claim things that didn't happen and you will claim it as a part of your life. And so in the mornings, when I go through my meditation, I sit in it, and I figure out why I feel uncomfortable. And as I kept sitting in it, I started to realize things that happened when I was younger that didn't validate my feelings and my emotions. My dad, I felt, called me stupid. And, um-
[Jasmin and Liv exclaim in sympathy]
Javicia: My mom is so amazing, but it did take her happy to be a little bit tougher because she was raising my brother and I by herself. So I didn't see her crying, nor did I go to her to cry, you know what I mean?
Jasmin: Right.
Javicia: So it's just like, I had no place to show emotions and I’ve started to feel like, okay, that's because you're not supposed to.
Jasmin: Right.
Javicia: And so when other people around me show emotions, even to this day, sometimes I'm uncomfortable, cause I'm like, “why are you crying? Like, no, my mom told me we get up and we start again and we figure this out. So let's figure that out.” And sometimes I don't leave space for someone to just be emotional. So, that's because I don't leave space for myself to be emotional.
Jasmin: Yes. I have two followup questions. I love that you just dived into this. One is, what is your history with this work? Because I'm just thinking about someone who might be listening, who hasn't done any shadow work, maybe hasn't gone to therapy and this would be jumping in the deep end. So like-
Javicia: Yeah.
Jasmin: I want to know what got you here. And then also I want to know your day-to-day and like, life moment-to-moment spiritual/mental practices. I think it's important for anyone to talk about that, but I really love hearing black women talk about what they do to keep themselves a hundred.
Javicia: It’s been a long journey for me. And last season, I was really going through a depression that I allowed myself to go into because it was kind of a safety net to feel dark. It was a safety net to feel unworthy.
Jasmin: Okay, but in your defense, it's hard to shoot in COVID. Don't only beat yourself up.
Javicia: Yeah. I'm not beating myself up at all, like-
Jasmin: Okay.
Javicia: I'm just explaining, you know, the truth. I, regardless of the reasons, I found myself depressed.
Liv: Yeah.
Javicia: And so when I went back to LA and I spent so much time with my friends and I came back here into this beautiful home that I got for this season, I was just like, I'm not doing that this season. Like I got to figure out what's going on inside of me, because a lot of it, I was kind of putting onto my partner, you know, and I'm just like, I have to figure out what it is inside of me. And so I got back to my journaling, and I get on Jasmin about this all the time.
[Jasmin laughs]
There's a book - and Liv, you may have heard of it - It's a book called The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron, and it's life-changing.
Liv: Jasmine has spoken to me about The Artist’s Way before.
Javicia: Oh my god.
Jasmin: And me and my mom we're going to start it together January 1st. I got it for her too. We're going to do it at the same time.
Javicia: It’s life-changing and it's like, it teaches you how to be a more vulnerable artist, but also kind of teaches you how to be a more compassionate and empathetic human being with yourself. You know? Like it made me start loving myself again. And so I journal every morning and that's what started it. Literally, if I weren't here with you guys, I would sit here and I would literally journal. I journal for 20 minutes, and then I started doing like a workout to get my blood pumping for 20 minutes. And then I was like, “all right, I want to start meditating and I need to figure out how.” I think there's this thing that keeps us from doing what we want to do. We feel like there has to be a specific way, right? We feel like we have to do the research-
Jasmin: [Laughs] Yes.
Javicia: - to find out the way. And it slows us down from the transitions that we are ready to enter, because we're trying to find a way to be perfect about everything.
Liv: Yeah. The fear of doing it wrong.
Javicia: The fear of doing it wrong is such a handicap. And as actors, we know that all the time. You know, so then I would go into my little space, I'd sage, I pray before I would begin, just so that God could protect the portal. Once you're opening it, you got to protect that portal. And as a person, cause Jasmin you probably can understand this, as a person that started off my life in a religion, we were almost told that things like meditation -
Jasmin: Yes. It’s sinful.
Javicia: - and crystals and sage are all sinful, but that's just BS! First of all, God wouldn't bring these beautiful things to this earth, like they're literally a part of the earth. Like how -
Jasmin: Right!
Liv: Yeah.
Javicia: - is that sinful? I found a way to start tapping in with myself. I think that we don't give our bodies time to talk to us and tell us what's wrong.
Jasmin: Yes. And the moments we would, we start scrolling.
Javicia: We start scrolling.
Jasmin: -like usually the moment you sit on the couch that you would go, [Sigh] oh, wow. I just had a day. You pick up your phone.
Javicia: You pick up your phone, but also it's like - it's okay to just wake up extra freaking early! Like that's what I do. I wake up two to three hours earlier. I need the uninterrupted time where it is not - it's no one else's time but me, mine, and God. And then I start my day.
Liv: The waking up early, I find myself doing the opposite. I've always been a night owl, I've always stayed up late and I've realized that like, the appeal of that for me was always like, being able to be alone with myself than not, not being any pressure on my time.
Javicia: Mmm.
Liv: Like the world is quiet, everything is still, like what I would always tell myself is that like, oh, I'm not a morning person. I can't do mornings. But it's like the things that I enjoy about staying up very late, I could also get from waking up early. It's, it's about the stillness.
Jasmin: Yeah.
Javicia: A hundred percent.
Jasmin: I can easily talk myself out of early morning stuff because I'm like, well, I need more sleep. But I find that when I do take that time for myself, it actually gives me just as much energy, if not, sometimes more energy than if I had slept another hour.
Javicia: Mmm, for sure.
Liv: I have such a hard time waking up. Takes me forever.
Javicia: [Sighs] Yeah.
Jasmin: Okay. We're going to just like change vibes a little bit. I want to know about the moment you booked Batwoman.
Javicia: Uh, I mean, in honesty, I didn't think I got it because I genuinely didn't think they'd pick a black woman to play Batwoman. So I kind of felt like I did a great job with the audition. I hit all the moments that were needed and it's like, yeah your auditions are emotional and it's all about how you feel. But it's also like a mathematical problem. Like, especially with like a show like that, they need to know that you can hit, literally, the plot twist in everything within a three minute audition video. So I felt like I accomplished that, and really the only deciding matter was just the fact, to me, was that I didn't think they'd pick a black girl. So when I got a call from my manager, I literally thought it was her just letting me know, like, “hey, they, they told someone else.” So when she told me it was me, I couldn't believe it. Like, I was just like, “wait, what?”
Liv: That testing process is so strenuous too. It's such a slog.
Javicia: It's so weird on Zoom.
Jasmin: Oh, and it was all on Zoom!
Liv: Oh my god!
Javicia: Everything is on Zoom.
Liv: How are you feeling now? Like with like a season and a half under your belt as, as Batwoman, does it feel different?
Javicia: Yeah, it feels completely different. It's funny because um, Denise had, uh, hosted our premiere last season. So he had gotten like the first two or three episodes, and then he hosted our PaleyFest event this year. So he got in two or three episodes. And so he calls me, he like, “Wow. It's so different.” And I was like, really? He was like, “yeah, like your confidence, your, your comfortableness in the role. It's just like, it's so glaring now.” And so I was immediately like, cause you know, we're offended easily. I was like, well, I was playing into that first season!”
[Jasmin and Liv laugh]
Javicia: “I’m supposed to be uncomfortable!”
Jasmin: That’s hilarious.
Javicia: This is the truth. Like I was more comfortable this season than I was last season. Last season, I was nervous. I was so nervous, was so scared.
Jasmin: Well, it's scary to be number one on the call sheet, it's scary to be in a new show, but it's even scarier to go into a show that already has a season, regardless. Even if you're the guest star.
Javicia: You feel like a new kid.
Jasmin: Yeah. I think that makes sense. You're more stressed out. You're the first black and bisexual female superhero in the DC universe, right?
Javicia: Yes, uh, I think in real life, yes. Cause technically Thunder is a, is a gay black superhero.
Jasmin: Okay.
Javicia: But if we're talking about like, me as Javicia, yes.
Jasmin: Right. I'm sure that you get a lot of little black girls and little bi boys and everyone that you're representing, hitting you up being like, “Oh my God, you saved my life. You inspire me.” And that can feel like a lot. I want to know if the joy of that outweighs the responsibility.
Javicia: I feel like that's kind of why I'm excited to wrap. I wrap in a month because… you know, Vancouver's very white. [Laughs]
Jasmin: Yes.
Javicia: So people out here, if they're not watching it, you don't get to see their reactions. I know when we're filming outside, sometimes like the fans will come and circle around and I'll meet some of them, but I kind of meet the same ones every single time.
[Jasmin laughs]
Liv: That's cool.
Javicia: Yeah. Like there'll be at the airport cause they know that we're all flying back in town and they know I'm obsessed with dogs, so tend to bring in dogs to kind of lure me in.
Jasmin: And it works?
Javicia: It works.
Liv: That would work on me, shit.
Javicia: [Laughs] But when I go back to the States, like I went back to the States last weekend for an event, and I was like, as soon as I landed, I had to get tested so that I can have, um, my results before I got back on the plane to go back to Vancouver -
Jasmin: Mhm.
Javicia: - which is so insane to get tested right before I leave and then test it right when I land.
Jasmin: Sheesh.
Javicia: Anyways, I was walking to the testing site and this amazing gay black man was like, “Hey, can you sign this petition?” And I was like, oh no, I can't. I'm in a rush. I'm sorry, sweetie. And he was like, “well, anyways, you're amazing on your show.”
Jasmin: Ooh! [Laughs]
Liv: Wow, amazing. [Laughs]
Javicia: Almost made me want to go back and sign your petition! [Laughs] So it was like really cool to have that feeling because I knew exactly what he meant. He wasn't really just talking about me. Like, people love Ryan. They love her flaws. They love her badassness. They love her fearlessness and to be able to play a character like that is so cool. And I know everyone hates Twitter -
[Liv laughs]
Javicia: -but luckily I haven't had any really bad trauma on Twitter. And so I've been able to have this amazing fan base for Batwoman, these really dope fans that like I talked to every single time I signed into my Twitter. And like, they tell me their experiences and how Ryan has like inspired them. There's like, two girls have like tattoos and it’s just like so cool!
Jasmin: That is crazy. Javicia, you write plays
Javicia: Do I write plays?
Jasmin: Your website full on says you wrote a play.
Javicia: I wrote a play when I, uh, right after I graduated from college and moved back to DC. I wrote and directed the play. Um, I haven't written a play in a very long time, like, I’m more into directing. So like I directed a few shorts last season and I'm writing a book.
Liv: Are you really?
Javicia: Yeah. I'm writing an adventure book.
Jasmin: What?!
Liv: Tell us about your book this instant!
Javicia: It’s called The Mother of Wolves. I'm obsessed with wolves.
Jasmin: Ooh!
Javicia: It follows Mooney. That's where I get my name Mooney from. And in the beginning of the story, it opens up with her and her sister playing in the fields and Mooney starts to run. And when Mooney starts to run, she runs so fast. It's almost inhuman.
Jasmin: Oh shit.
Javicia: It is inhuman. Her dad is the chief of their village. The Europeans are coming over and they're wanting to build roads and like find a way to make it more Americanized. He ends up getting in this bad deal with these Europeans and they just take over the village and they kill everyone.
Jasmin: As they do.
Javicia: And they kidnap her little sister! And so Mooney has to go on this journey to find and save her sister.
Jasmin: Wow!
Liv: Ooh.
Jasmin: Oh my god. Tell me you're going to play her in the movie.
Javicia: I mean, of course I would love to, but I got to finish the book and I feel like by the time the movie comes out, I'll probably age out of it.
[Jasmin and Liv laugh]
Javicia: And I don't, I would prefer to direct it more than play it.
Jasmin: Girl!
Liv: I would love to see that.
Javicia: I will prefer to tell the story more than be in the story, cause I, I'm a control freak and…
[Liv laughs]
Javicia: And I don't think I can give someone else the directing.
Jasmin: Oh yeah. I cannot wait to read this book, I love your brain, and that you're like, “what am I going to do in my free time between Batwoman and healing my chakras? I’m gonna write a book.”
[Javicia laughs.]
Liv: “I’m just gonna write a book.” [Laughs] Um, Javicia, you were a pageant queen!
Javicia: Ugh. Yes.
Liv: You were, you were crowned Ms. Hampton University as a junior in college. What, what was that? What was that experience like? I know nothing about that universe at all.
Javicia: It was life-changing because I was an idiot. Um…
[Jasmin and Liv laugh]
Jasmin: Wait a minute. What are you talking about?
Javicia: That's a wound of mine.
Liv: Is it?
Jasmin: Uhh.
Javicia: Yeah, I did the pageant when I was in college, because I hadn’t done a pageant before. Someone convinced me to do it.
Jasmin: Was it a pageant with mostly white people, mostly black people, mixed?
Javicia: No, I went to a HBCU-
Jasmin: That's right.
Javicia: -so everything was all black. I mean, I always have to like check to make sure I didn't say anything stupid because I'm coming from such a oh, black society.
[Jasmin and Javicia laughs]
Javicia: Wait, I'm like, does that offend anyone? Um, so I did one pageant, which is for a fraternity and I didn't win, and my mom had spent money on the dress and it was just like a lot of money that was spent. And so I was kind of off these pageants. My, like play-brother at the time was getting ready to do the Ms. Hampton Pageant. He was getting ready to direct it. And he was like, “Hey, like I want you to be a part of it.” Well, one, no junior has ever won, sounds like a waste of my time. Two, I didn't win this last pageant, and like to try to convince my mom to pay for another pageant, it was just like, no, it's stupid.
Liv: Right, they're expensive, aren’t they?
Javicia: They're so expensive. He was like, “we'll figure it out. Like we got this,” and I was just like, whatever. And so I ended up doing it, and again, this is like one of those situations where I didn't think I was going to win and I won, and I had like, this shocked look on my face. And my mom's in the audience, like, “fix your face!”
[Jasmin and Liv laugh]
Javicia: My mom didn’t think I was going to win either! My mom didn’t think I was going to get Batwoman… we’re the same person.
[Jasmin and Liv laugh]
Javicia: Yeah, I did the pageant and then, like a big dummy, while I was Ms. Hampton I got in trouble doing some really stupid stuff. I finished out my tenure, but I wasn't able to then go and compete for Miss Virginia. I think the reason why I called it a wound was because a lot of people that I thought were my friends turned their backs on me and made me feel ashamed-
Liv: Oh, damn.
Javicia: -and told me I shamed the school.
Jasmin: What?!
Javicia: And basically I was a kid, man. I was just stupid.
Jasmin: Everyone fucks up.
Javicia: I got caught stealing some stuff from Target.
[Liv and Jasmin gasp]
Jasmin: Who hasn't stolen something from Target.
Liv: I mean, come on.
Javicia: I know, I know, but that's the crazy part. Everyone was doing it, but I got caught. And obviously I got caught because I was Ms. Hampton and the girl that worked at Target went to Hampton. She also worked for the school newspaper, and they had this, like, beef with the university. And so they basically threw me under the bus to make a point to the university.
Liv: Oh man, you were in the wrong Target.
Javicia: Shit, I was in the wrong Target!
Jasmin: Wrong Target at the wrong time.
Javicia: They put me in the newspaper and that's how the school found out.
Jasmin: What?!
Javicia: They put me in the school newspaper. And then it got so big. The local newspapers found out about it.
Liv: Ooh.
Javicia: The local radio stations found out about it. My grandmother lives in Miami and called me and said, “what is going on up there?”
Jasmin: Nooo!
Liv: Girl!
Javicia: Oh, it was so traumatic.
Jasmin: I'm so sorry. That is awful.
Javicia: I was so depressed. All I was doing was crying. I was so embarrassed. I felt so bad. And like, it was such a life lesson because I felt like it was God telling me, like, “I gave you this platform for a reason,” like-
Jasmin: Mmm.
Javicia: “Stop worrying about keeping up with people that aren't your friends-”
Liv: Right.
Javicia: - because that's all it was. It's just trying to keep up with people that weren't my friends and my mom's like, “do I not give you enough money to get stuff?” I was like, no, you actually do. It was just, my friends are doing it so I want to do it.
Liv: Yeah. That's not what it's about.
Javicia: Yeah.
Liv: It's like, if now, you know, you're young, your brain is developing. You're sussing out. Like what the limits are like, what, it's, what it's like.
Jasmin: Yeah, feeling alive.
Liv: Yeah. Feeling out stresses, feeling out boundaries. It's just, it's so normal.
Jasmin: Like, can I tell you, I stole two rings from TJ Maxx in 2008, and it was $40, and I still feel guilty about it? [Laughs]
[Javicia and Liv laugh]
Jasmin: I still, sometimes I'm like, I need to go back to TJ Maxx in Eugene, Oregon and give them four- I think about this, probably every other month.
Liv: It weighs on your brain!
Javicia: Yes.
Liv: The hoops you feel your brain jumping through, like what it's actually about you figuring out a lot at once.
Javicia: Yeah. You are figuring out a lot at once now. And now… It's so traumatic. I went through so much, and I was on the news! It was really bad.
Jasmin: Nooo!
Liv: Oh my god! Why?!
Jasmin: God!!
Liv: No!
Jasmin: Will… you tell us what you stole?
Javicia: It was like girly stuff. It might've been like a swimsuit. Like, I don't know, it was under a hundred dollars. It was like silly things, which is why I didn't end up going through a lot legally-
Liv: Yeah, sure.
Javicia: -because it was a little amount, but I did do community service, and I think that that taught me something, because my community service is working for this program called Girls, Inc. And it was working with these, like, girls that just like, we're in like really tough situations. And from that, I ended up sticking with it. And even after I graduated and when I moved to DC, oh my god. I worked for this transition home for moms that were coming, like maybe trying to leave abusive partners-
Liv: Yeah.
Javicia: -and they needed a home to live in. And, but they also had kids. And so after school, I go to this, this home and like, uh, tutor these girls and like, you know, like help them with their homework and things like that. So it's like, there is beauty in this horrible situation that happened, was that I got to stick with the program and work with like all these amazing like kids.
Jasmin: Yeah.
Javicia: But it was, it was really tough, um, to the point. Now, if I even leave and realize that they put an extra item in my bag, I'm like, “NO! You have to take this back!” [Laughs]
Liv: You're never going to leave a store wearing the sunglasses on your head that you tried on by accident.
Javicia: No, never!
Jasmin: Is that what inspired your foundation? The Chandler Foundation. Can you talk about that?
Javicia: Yeah, the Chandler foundation was inspired off of like - you know, there's so many amazing programs and foundations for kids, but I wanted to target opportunities. I wanted to target what can lead to opening the door. And to me, it's your passion and it's your hobbies. And I wanted to give kids that didn't have the chance to have these opportunities, the opportunity to learn how to play basketball. Just like, things that like are the simple things that seem like simple things to people, but maybe that kid just never happened. Like, I don't know how to play double Dutch because - I don't know, we moved so much-
Jasmin: Yeah.
Javicia: - as an army family that I didn't learn. Right. And not to say I, my plan was ever to grow up to be a double Dutch master, but it's just like, I want kids to have opportunity to do any and everything that they want to do. If they want to run track, if they want to do theater, like creative arts program. Like I just want kids to have opportunity.
Liv: Access is so important.
Javicia: Yeah. I just know there's places where they don't have that.
Jasmin: That's huge. So what does that look like?
Javicia: So one of the events that I did, I knew someone that was building a school in Haiti. I just really want Haiti to win. It's gone through so much. You know, and, you know, obviously the world is making it harder for them. And so when he told me he was building the school, I just wanted to find a way to be able to like, contribute to that. So I created an event that was yoga and fitness, and I had all these people come, but you would obviously have to buy tickets and all the proceeds went towards that. And then, um, another event that I did was actually for my birthday, where instead of people bringing me gifts, I wanted them to bring me, uh, physical education items. So like basketballs and footballs and jump rope and things like that. And so I went to a local LA school and I donated like, basketballs. and footballs, things like that. And I just remember the principal telling me, like, “this is so much it's enough for us to give to other schools.”
Liv: Hell yeah.
Jasmin: Oh!
Javicia: Yeah!
Jasmin: That's such a good idea.
Liv: It's a great idea.
Jasmin: And what I love about doing that for a birthday is like - Same, I don't need anything, but people actually love to give gifts. Like that's some people's love language and it's, I feel like saying “don't give me gifts” might actually hurt some people's feelings, so to say like, buy an item that I can donate somewhere, that checks the box of making them feel like they love you. And you're not getting a bunch of stuff you don't need and you're helping someone. That's a great idea!
Liv: Yeah. That’s so smart.
Javicia: Yeah. Before COVID I did a backpack drive in my city where, not only did kids come to be able to pick up a fully stuffed backpack with notebooks and things like that, but they were able to get haircuts and hair braiding. And then we had like-
Jasmin: Yes, Javicia!
Javicia: -fun things, like a little jumping. Yeah. So I like that kind of stuff.
Jasmin: Oh my god. Ah, I'm mad because I could talk to you all day, but first I'm going to just squeeze in two more to ask you.
Javicia: Okay.
Jasmin: Just for you. I want to know, What is your favorite thing about being a black woman?
Javicia: I always say this and I truly mean it: There's nothing else I would want to be. Like-
Jasmin: Ooh!
Javicia: If you had an opportunity to come back to life, I would want to be a black woman every time.
Jasmin: Oh shit. I'm about to cry. Why?
Javicia: It's just something. I mean, it's also why I love black women. It's like, the fullness of our laughs and the innate reason to care and nurture any and everything and our vibe, our energy. I believe all women are beautiful. You know, I'mma be honest. I do. But there, I think there's just something very special about a black woman.
Jasmin: You’re only speaking facts.
Javicia: In fact, it feels like when I look at mother nature, like that is what encompasses a black woman, like just like this fullness and this nurturing. To the point that everyone knew it! Because when Africans were brought to America and enslaved, the slave owners would go to the black woman-
Jasmin: Right.
Javicia: -the older black woman on their plantation for healing, for food, for, for love, like for nurturing, you know, so - I just completely like, it's just, I I'm so proud to be a black woman.
Jasmin: And I also want to know, this is very much a you question: Tell us about the legacy you want to leave behind. Like when you're done with all this shit, what's the legacy you want to leave? Try and keep it light, just for you.
Javicia: That's super light. [Laughs]
Liv: Very, very, very fluffy, very light.
Javicia: So when I was a child, I wouldn't hear about Josephine Baker, and Eartha Kitt - everyone knows how obsessed I am with Eartha Kitt - and Nina Simone, and all I could think to myself, it's like, that's what I want to do. I want my art to make a difference. Like I want to make history through my art, you know what I mean? And yet it happened to a certain extent with Batwoman, but I did, um, a trip a few, like two weeks ago, um you know, like a…
Jasmin: Yeah. Psilocybin. Mushrooms.
Javicia: A shrooms trip. [Laughs]
Liv: Gotcha, gotcha!
Javicia: And I was told that, that Batwoman is so small in comparison to the work that I'm going to do.
Jasmin: Facts!
Javicia: And because of that, I'm just so excited. That's why I have to do-
Jasmin: Yes.
Javicia: -this work every morning to ground myself and to prepare my vessel and make sure that I'm filled with abundant love and that I'm not driven by ego and I'm not driven by jealousy. And that instead I am completely filled with abundant love so that when it's time, and I'm doing whatever it is I'm supposed to do, that all I, all I can give is love and compassion and empathy.
Liv: Wow.
Jasmin: Shit. I knew you'd give a good answer, but… damn.
Javicia: and I want kids!
Jasmin: “And I want kids.”
[All laugh]
Javicia: I saw my daughter one time and I can't wait to meet her. She chose me, and I can’t wait.
Jasmin: Oh, yeah.
Javicia: She's an old soul, she's been here. I'm actually just being used to take care of her her first 18 years, but she's going to do some really powerful stuff.
Jasmin: We need her. We really do. Thank you for those answers for sharing that. Damn. Okay. Now the questions we ask everyone, which are just as great, but I needed to give some just to you: What is your definition of success? And would you call yourself successful?
Javicia: What I think is success is when you feel fulfilled for the work that you're doing on this planet. It's like, obviously it can happen in like increments, like, “oh, that was a successful day” or “that was a successful year.” But I think overall it's when you feel fulfilled, that “yes, mission accomplished. I did it.”
Liv: Beautiful.
Jasmin: As you're smiling real big, so you consider yourself successful, then.
Javicia: I found success in increments. I think I have so much to do, but like… I'm going to tell you this, the moment I wrap, I'm going to look back and say that, that was a success!
Jasmin: Oh, yeah. [Laughs]
Javicia: Shit! Damn. We haven't had a break. I've been going at this for a year and a half!
Jasmin: Girl, and then you'll come to LA and we'll get good and drunk-
Javicia: Yes!
Jasmin: And we'll go dancing and we'll eat good food with Violet.
Liv: I wish you such a restful break. You’ve earned it.
Javicia: Thank you, thank you.
Jasmin: You really have.
Liv: Um, are you familiar with the musical Fun Home at all?
Javicia: No, I've never heard of it.
Liv: That's okay. So the question I'm going to ask you is as a reference to that musical. There's this song in it where a young girl who's gay, but maybe doesn't know it yet, sees like an older butch lesbian at a diner, and has this moment of recognition with her, like, I know you, there's something about you. I know you. And she fixates on the ring of keys she's wearing on her belt. So I wanted to ask if, if you've ever had a moment like that, about your sexuality, that you remember when you were younger, like a feeling of recognition with like a person or an image or anything really. Did that ever happen for you?
Javicia: That’s such a beautiful question, Liv. I think maybe it happened in increments, like little pieces of seeing myself in people. And it makes sense because as I got older, those people are gay, and they probably didn't know it at the time, but I saw it in them when they were younger, you know what I mean? Um, or seeing people just be with whoever they want to be, and me feeling like, “Aww, I like that,” but I would say that it's like my journey as far as like, my sexuality started at such a young age. I was a kid-kid. Like, [Laughs] I remember like closing the door and me and like my female friend, we were, we were kids. We were like behind the door. I don't remember what we were doing, probably doing some stuff we shouldn't be doing-
[Liv laughs]
Javicia: - but like I think I had that moment once with the boy, my entire like younger childhood, but every other time was with a girl. And it was originally because I was just trying to understand myself through her. But then as like it happened, I also was okay with it. Like I, it felt like it wasn't just an understanding, it was a comfort. Another time that I felt like seeing people and seeing myself, was in high school. People were so much more open. I come from, a majority black community - or, an all-black community, honestly. I think I had like one white kid in my school. And because of that in Prince George's County people that are gay are just so open. Like it's not hidden at all.
Liv: Ooh.
Javicia: I'm like, it's really, they're bold and beautiful and just like open.
Liv: Sick.
Javicia: So I saw so much like colorfulness, reall, you know, and I felt like I was in ninth grade and I felt like, “All right, okay. This is the time, like I'm getting ready to come out. Like I'm really going to be me,” right?
Jasmin: Whoa, in ninth grade!
Javicia: In ninth grade!
Liv: Whoa.
Javicia: So I did this there, this thing called BlackPlanet. I don't know if anyone knows about it. It was like the black people's version of MySpace.
Jasmin: Wow.
Liv: No, I had no idea.
Jasmin: I didn’t know about that.
Javicia: Yeah. You had a page, and on your page it had like a little bio, but then it had pictures and usually you designed it and it had music and things like that. So that was my way of like, coming out. So I put butterflies, rainbow butterflies, all over my page, rainbow this, rainbow that. The song Butterflies by Michael Jackson. I changed my sexuality and everything. I was like, “Okay. My friends from school are going to see this and they're going to know, so I'm good. This is my version of coming out.” Right? And there was this girl that I went to high school with named Lynika and like, we were so close at one point, but for some reason we had started to kind of have a falling out, and I admired her because she had come out and I was just like, “Oh, Lynika is going to see! And she's going to see that we're on the same side, we’re the same person,” and like…
Liv: Aww!
Javicia: Like she's going to help guide me. And so I came to school and she was a total bitch to me!
[Jasmin and Liv groan.]
Javicia: She was like, so mean to me. And she-
Jasmin: Why?
Javicia: I don't know, I never asked her. We even ended up getting into a physical fight. Like she tried to like fight me in a stairwell, like-
Jasmin: Wow.
Javicia: It was such a bad welcome that I immediately got ashamed. I changed my page back over.
Liv: Ooh, no!
Javicia: I hated the Michael Jackson song for years. I just started loving it again like five years ago. And I just felt ashamed. So my next time feeling comfortable enough and seeing people around me to make me feel comfortable enough was when I worked at Hooters, and everyone-
Jasmin: Yes!
Javicia: - was pretty much, you know, was fluid there. And that was like some of my first experiences too. And ever since then, I've just been me.
Liv: That's fantastic.
Jasmin: I've heard great stories about Hooters like that. Like that it's actually great.
Liv: Have you seen that picture of Kristen Stewart surrounded by waitresses at Hooters?
Jasmin: [Laughing] No!
Liv: I have to send it to you. It's - she looks so, so happy.
Jasmin: I’m sure she does. I've actually never been to Hooters.
Liv: I never have either.
Jasmin: That's what we'll do for Christmas, Javicia, when you go back-
Javicia: I’m so down! So down.
Jasmin: Whole damn Hooters night. Thank you for sharing all of that and for sharing everything
Liv:Yeah, thank you!
Jasmin: Now we're going to play a quick little game: Would You Rather!
[Segment Music, Jasmin hums along]
Jasmin: Here’s some, just random ‘would you rathers’ and you're both just going to tell me what you'd rather do. Here we go: Would you rather spend every weekend for the rest of your life at a pride parade or at a drag show?
Liv: Drag show. I want to sit down.
Javicia: Yeah. If I can't sit down, then it’s going to be drag show as well.
Jasmin: You don't sit in a pride parades? I sit, I’m not standing for a parade. What are you talking about?
Javicia: Still would pick drag show because It's inside and there's going to be liquor-
[Jasmin laughs]
Javicia: -that’s served from the bar, and not from some random person's bottle.
Liv: And I get sunburned too easily, I gotta be indoors at night, y’know.
Jasmin: Yeah I know, we need to get you inside. Would you rather never drink kombucha again or never have a smoothie again? I know this is mean.
Liv: I'd never drink kombucha again.
Javicia: Yeah, I agree. No kombucha.
Jasmin: Same. Y'all, I can't go without a smoothie for more than two days. Javicia, would you rather see Rihanna in concert or see Kehlani in concert?
Javicia: I'm in love with Kehlani.
Jasmin: Me too!
Javicia: I'm in love with you, Kehlani. Hey girl.
Liv: Who isn’t?
Jasmin: Kehlani if you’re listening please choose me over Javicia.
Javicia: Okay, I can't have you, I'm involved, but just know that like -
Jasmin: I'm open and available! That guy said, uh, no to me, so I’m free this week for dinner.
Liv: Kehlani if you’re free this weekend please call Jasmin Savoy Brown.
[All laugh]
Javicia: I’ll fight you. I will fight you. I know I can't have her, but I'll still fight you for it.
Jasmin: I’m scrappy as shit. Liv, would you rather see SYZA or Beyonce?
Liv: Urgh, uhm, SYZA.
Javicia: Cool.
Jasmin: Good answer. Yeah, that was the correct answer. It was a test. Would y'all rather act in a period piece or in an animated film?
Javicia: I haven't done a period piece, so I want to do a period piece.
Liv: Yeah, you know. I never have either. I think, I think I'd like to try doing a period piece, but like it would depend which time I suppose.
Jasmin: Okay. Javicia, would you rather binge watch God Friended Me all day or watch all of the films you've done back to back? [Laughs]
Liv: I wish the listeners could see the face journey that Javicia is just going on.
Jasmin: She looked disgusted, and then she looked betrayed -
[Liv laughs]
Javicia: Stop!
Jasmin: And then her fist is in her shirt.
Javicia: The films. Cause I haven't done that many films.
Jasmin: [Laughs] Liv, would you rather think you're taking a drink of water, but it's actually milk, or would you rather step on a Lego really hard?
Liv: Oh, milk, I can’t - Milk. I can handle milk, a Lego hurts.
Jasmin: Would you rather abolish the police or not abolish the police?
Liv: [Silly high-pitched voice] Hmm, let me think about it.
[All laugh]
Liv: [Normal voice] No I don’t have to think about it.
Jasmin: That's my, that's my hidden agenda here. Uh, would you rather go to Spain or go to Jamaica?
Javicia: That's hard.
Jasmin: I know.
Javicia: Okay. Well, what time of the year are we talking?
Jasmin: May 21st.
Javicia: I got to go to Spain, man. I love Spain.
Liv: Yeah, I think I gotta go to Spain. I've never been to Spain and my, my older brother really loved it and I used to love the stories he would tell me about it. I'd love to go.
Javicia: You would love it. The food is insane. You can have wine every day. The people are so beautiful and lovely, there's music everywhere. People are hanging out their windows. The views are just insane. You can just rent a little bike and go up like these like beautiful trails.
Jasmin: Ok I’m sold! You had me at ‘bike.’I love a little bike in a country.
Liv: Yeah. I'm like, I'm already looking up plane tickets right now.
Javicia: Their bikes are electric because to get you up the hill and then you could just free fall down the hill. It's just amazing.
Liv: [Gasps] I want to go cycling in Spain!
Jasmin: Oh, my gosh. Okay. Last one: Would you rather be able to hear your dog's thoughts or fly?
Liv: Fly.
Javicia: Fly, I don't really want to hear his thoughts.
Liv: Cause I think when you have a pet, you get to know them kind of already, you know.
Jasmin: It’s true.
Liv: It's like, oh, “what baby? Where are we going? What do you want to show me? Like, oh, you said you hungry. Feeling cuddly.” Like you can kind of figure it out.
Jasmin: It's true. Zoa and I already, we talk.
Liv: Yeah. You know Zoa’s deal is.
Jasmin: She mostly curses me out, but… it’s fine
Javicia: I already know what he's going to say: Food/Park, Food/Park, Food/Park.
Liv: It’s true.
Jasmin: And have you guys seen those TikToks of the dogs that step on the little mats that have, um, little buttons?
Javicia: The words.
Jasmin: Yeah! That shit’s crazy.
Liv: I have seen those. I never know. I never know what to think about that. And I'm like, I don't, what, how did this even, how did you discover this? Where is the mat from, what happened to you?
Jasmin: I know, I should get one for Zoa.
Javicia: I bought it.
Liv: You bought the mat?!
Jasmin: Does Judah use it?
Javicia: So you could do the mat or you could do the, their, they have them separate, like little like buttons, and I just never programmed them in, didn’t yet, but I have them, I got it off Amazon.
Liv: I would love to know how that goes.
Jasmin: Keep us posted.
Liv: Yeah.
Jasmin: Yeah. Final and most important question. What are you going to do this week to further the homo schedule?
Liv: I know this won't be time relevant by the time this episode comes out, but I'm going to have my birthday and I'm going to make sure my birthday is like filled to the brim with fun and joy.
Jasmin: Oh yeah, you little Sagie!
Liv: Yeah. And maybe I'll get up to some gay shit. I certainly hope so.
Javicia: So you're a Sagittarius.
Liv: Oh, I sure am. Fucking textbook, embarrassingly so.
Javicia: I love it.
Jasmin: Yeah. Javicia, what are you going to do to further the homo schedule this week?
Javicia: We doing some really gay stuff on my show.
[All laugh]
Liv: Oh, hell yeah.
[All cheer.]
Jasmin: Yes you are! Know what I’m going to do this week?
Liv: What are you going to do?
Jasmin: Go on a Hinge date
Javicia: Really?
Jasmin: [Sings] I'm getting back in the game. We'll see. It's scary, but…
Liv: It's a scary, scary game, but we love to play.
Jasmin: And that has been the Homo Schedule! Thank you for joining us.
Liv: Thank you so much for coming on our podcast, Javicia!
Javicia: Thank you for having me guys.
[Transition Music]
Liv: After every interview, there is still so much more for us to read and learn and talk about.
Jasmin: So we have citations we want to share with you!
Liv: So in the episode Javicia discussed doing a birth chart, some shadow work, some meditation, and it got me thinking about this article about astrology. It’s called Queer Astrology: Why LGBT people seek answers in the stars. It’s by Nadine Santoro for Logo’s NewNowNext, it’s from 2019. Here’s a quote from it: “Astrology offers a totally non-demoninational and non judgemental with connecting to the divine, and for having a sense of connection and meaning,” which I thought was interesting because it must be said that, you know, queers do like astrology. Right?
[Jasmin laughs]
Liv: Right? Right? You know what I mean? Um, and so I thought that was interesting to read about. And that link is in the show notes.
Jasmin: When I tell you that last night that I was hanging with some friends and this cute girl said her big three, and I immediately memorized them.
Liv: Oh, hello. See? You see?
Jasmin: [Laughs] Here is another article. Ok, so during the episode Javicia mentioned that she came out on an old social media page called BlackPLanet, or what she called “the black people’s version of MySpace” when she was in the ninth grade. Now, I hadn’t heard of this neither had Liv, in both of our defense we were babies. I was young.
Liv: I was like five or six when this was first launched, so…that’s my defense.
Jasmin: Anyway, it was a popular network that targeted African-American people in the early 2000s. The article is called BlackPlanet’s Founder Talks Myspace: Why he was skeptical of Twitter and if Facebook may have peaked, it’s by Jenisha Watts for Complex from 2011. “Founded in 1999 by self-proclaimed geek Omar Wasow, 40, BlackPlanet became the most popular website for African-Americans and helped what a new age of social network should be. People were allowed to build pages with photos, graphics, and info about themselves, but more importantly it let people connect with like-minded people.” What I found fascinating by this article, but not the least bit surprising, was that BlackPlanet existed before Myspace and Facebook, and was basically the blueprint for both of those networks. So of course, as usual, black people did it first, did it best, and then white people came along, took the idea and made a profit. Anyway, go ahead and read the article we will link it in the show notes.
Liv: You can find all of these and more in the episode description.
[Transition music]
Jasmin: This has been The Homo Schedule. I'm Jasmin Savoy Brown, your host, producer, and creator of the show.
Liv: And I'm Liv Houston, your host and producer.
Jasmin: The Homo Schedule is produced by Multitude for Netflix. Our lead producer is Eric Silver, our engineer and editor is Mischa Stanton, and our executive producer is Amanda McLoughlin.
Liv: Be sure to follow Most, Netflix’s home for LGBTQ+ storytelling on Twitter and Instagram, @Most.
Jasmin: And the best way to help us keep advancing The Homo Schedule is to tell a friend about the show!
Liv: So post about us on socials or text someone a link to your favorite episode.
Jasmin: We'll see you next week!
Liv: This meeting has been adjourned.
[Gavel bang]