EP 53 | if you could gaze into the future

Summary

Podcast Summary: CHEERS! with Avery Woods

Episode: EP 53 | If You Could Gaze into the Future
Release Date: November 25, 2024
Host: Avery Woods
Guests: Raven Simone & Miranda Madea

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Introduction and Guest Profiles

In the 53rd episode of CHEERS! with Avery Woods, host Avery Woods welcomes two esteemed guests, Raven Simone and Miranda Madea. Raven Simone, a trailblazing actress from the Disney Channel era, and Miranda Madea, Raven's wife and co-host of the podcast Tea Time, share their unique experiences navigating the entertainment industry and their personal journey together.

Avery Woods introduces Raven as "the first female black actress to have a Disney Channel show named after her," referencing her groundbreaking role in That's So Raven. She highlights Raven's contributions to projects like Cheetah Girls 1 and 2, Princess Diaries 2, Raven's Home, and The View. Avery also acknowledges Raven's courage in coming out in 2013, which paved the way for her marriage to Miranda Madea.

Career Background and the Tea Time Podcast

Raven Simone and Miranda Madea delve into the inception and evolution of their podcast, Tea Time. Originally launched as a YouTube channel in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tea Time featured a segment called "Tea Time," inspired by mukbangs where they shared meals and conversations.

However, as life became busier and their initial partnership with iHeartMedia didn't align with their vision, they relaunched Tea Time under their own terms with a smaller production company. Raven explains, “We started a YouTube channel in 2020 during COVID... Things started happening. Life got busier... So Tea Time came back, but this time it was on our own terms.”

Miranda emphasizes the importance of representing a younger, interracial lesbian couple in the media landscape, stating, “There isn't a married lesbian couple that's younger because there's Ellen and Portia and others, but none that's interracial under 40.”

Relationship and Story of Meeting

Avery engages the couple in reminiscing about their relationship's beginnings. Miranda recounts meeting Raven at a karaoke night in Gayville, leading to an immediate connection. Their bond was solidified during a glamping trip in Philadelphia, despite initial reservations. Raven shares, “We started talking... by June 16th, that was a full U-haul.”

Their swift transition from dating to marriage during the pandemic underscores their deep connection and mutual understanding.

Experiences in the Entertainment Industry

The conversation shifts to the challenges and nuances of working in the entertainment sector. Raven discusses the pressure of maintaining authenticity while managing public perceptions: “In the world that I did, you see people who work on television a lot... It's not as jarring.”

Avery praises Miranda and Raven for their genuine personas, contrasting them with the often-guarded nature of other celebrities: “You guys have to be so proud of because that's very rare.”

Coming Out and LGBTQ+ Experiences

Both Raven and Miranda share their experiences with coming out and embracing their identities. Miranda opened up publicly via a tweet, navigating the complexities of being a lesbian in the public eye. She reflects, “I think my gayness kind of saved me because I had, like, 18 masks... I was just happy to come out as who I am.”

Raven identifies as bisexual, sharing her journey of self-discovery and eventual alignment with Miranda: “I grew up with crazy crushes on boys... My first relationship with a girl was when I was 19.”

They discuss the importance of self-acceptance and the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in the spotlight, emphasizing the need for empathy and understanding.

Childhood and Personal Stories

Raven and Miranda delve into their childhoods, highlighting the impact of early responsibilities and societal expectations. Raven, who began her acting career at 16 months old, reveals the pressures of growing up in the public eye: “I grew up in LA in a neighborhood called Hancock Park... I had a ton of anxiety at a very young age.”

Miranda shares her upbringing and the ways it shaped her resilience: “I always made sure that I was... grounded in the conversations. It's so layered... But I'm still here, and I'm married and I'm gay.”

Notable Quotes

• Avery Woods [03:05]: "Avery Wood: I love it. So, first of all, I got to get my fangirl moment over with and then we'll never speak about it again."

• Raven Simone [08:23]: “I am a an Avery Woods fan. I love your TikToks. I follow you regularly. I am up on all this tea all the time. So it's a fun moment for me to be.”

• Miranda Madea [10:25]: “You have to tell the whole story for sure. But I'm sure if I wasn't disassociated, I probably would have had feelings.”

• Avery Woods [12:06]: “It's the most enjoyable part of my job. Because I do just show up.”

• Raven Simone [22:42]: “Don't you want to make sure you know all the facts? Don't you want to make sure you have the context?”

• Miranda Madea [48:32]: “I'm gay.”

Future Plans and Projects

Looking ahead, Raven and Miranda discuss their aspirations, including the completion of Miranda's book and upcoming projects from their production company. They express excitement about expanding their podcast and potentially going on tour, incorporating musical guests and interactive elements. Raven mentions, “We have some really exciting, cool projects,” while Miranda highlights the importance of telling their stories authentically through writing.

Conclusion

Episode 53 of CHEERS! with Avery Woods offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of Raven Simone and Miranda Madea. Through candid conversations about career challenges, personal growth, and navigating their identities, the episode underscores the importance of authenticity, representation, and resilience in both the entertainment industry and personal lives.

For more insights and engaging discussions, listeners are encouraged to follow Raven and Miranda's podcast Tea Time available on YouTube and other streaming platforms.

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Notable Moments Covered:

• [00:00 - 02:59]: Introduction of guests and their backgrounds.
• [07:52 - 12:06]: Origins and evolution of the Tea Time podcast.
• [16:23 - 16:41]: Skipped - Outback Steakhouse Advertisement.
• [22:42 - 24:11]: Discussion on handling public backlash and the importance of context.
• [48:32 - 51:06]: Coming out experiences and personal reflections.
• [73:13 - 80:58]: Skipped - Peloton Advertisement.
• [81:46 - 81:51]: Closing remarks and final toasts.

Note: Advertisements and non-content sections have been excluded from this summary to focus on the core discussions and narratives.

Transcript

[Avery Wood]

Today's guests are two female icons that just so happened to be married. First, Raven Simone, which I can't even believe those words are coming out of my mouth right now. Raven is someone I grew up watching on the Disney Channel and always admired, starting her career just 16 months old. Her natural talent and quick witted humor paved the way to a lifelong career in the entertainment industry. She was the first of so many things, including being the first female black actress to have a Disney Channel show named after her and touch on subjects such as racism and body image on her hit show, that's a Raven. As a young girl that grew up with curves, she was always someone I admired. And it was the first time in my life I had heard of someone in the spotlight speaking on something I could relate to so much. The Cosby Show, Xenon girl of the 21st century. That's so Raven. Cheetah Girls 1 and 2, Princess Diaries 2, Raven's Home and the View are just a few of the major projects she's been involved in. She bravely came out in 2013 via tweet stating her support when it came to legalizing same sex marriage. Raven is now married to her wife, Miranda Madea, and they have a podcast together called Tea Time. Miranda grew up behind the scenes of the entertainment industry and when her and Raven met, they instantly clicked and began dating, which we will get into more with them. Miranda and Raven work together on their podcast Tea Time, where they spill tea and they have guests draw a random subject from a teapot to touch on. I feel honored they made their way all the way out to Arizona to sit down with me on Cheers to tell me more about their lives, how they met, and then we gaze into their future. If you know, you know we immediately clicked. And I'm proud to say I gained two amazing friends after we chatted. I hope you enjoy Cheers. Hi, welcome to Cheers. I'm your host, Avery Wood. Hi guys. Welcome back to this year's podcast. I'm your host, Avery woods and we have two very special guests today. We have Raven and Miranda here and I'm so honored to have you guys in my home. I don't even know what's going on. To be honest. I think I'm blacking out right now. You guys know I admire and love you both so much in your podcast. So thank you so much for being here. You guys drove a long way and I'm so grateful.

[Raven Simone]

Thank you for having us.

[Miranda Madea]

We love yours as words.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, thank you so much.

[Raven Simone]

I am a an Avery Woods. Fan. I love your tik toks. I follow you regularly. I am up on all this tea all the time. So it's a fun moment for me to be.

[Avery Wood]

Thank you so much. And I'm going on their podcast, by the way, guys, so that will be out soon.

[Raven Simone]

Yes, but tea time.

[Avery Wood]

Tea time. Yes, tea time. Which we will talk about because I want everyone to go and find you guys. But first of all, I have so much to say. A, you're the nicest humans, which you never. You just never know in this industry. As you guys know, whether it's a huge celebrity, someone that has a podcast one on social media, people can just not be the same in person. And I think that's something you guys should be so proud of because that's very rare. Quinn is joining, joining us because they brought their cutie dog and you know what?

[Raven Simone]

Very needy.

[Avery Wood]

We should have gotten it. Brought a fourth mic so he could have joined the podcast today.

[Raven Simone]

What do you want to talk about?

[Avery Wood]

I love it. So, first of all, I got to get my fangirl moment over with and then we'll never speak about it again. I swear to God.

[Miranda Madea]

Understand?

[Avery Wood]

But you have to understand, as a 90s child, it wasn't Lizzie McGuire. It wasn't even Stevens. It wasn't none of that. It was that's so Raven. And it was Cheetah Girls for me.

[Miranda Madea]

Thank you.

[Avery Wood]

And I hope you know that when my parents made me move states that they felt so bad that I got to shop at Walmart and I got these blue leopard Cheetah girl pants when I was like, I don't know, 10.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, hilarious.

[Avery Wood]

And I know, like, you were it for me.

[Miranda Madea]

Thank you.

[Avery Wood]

Okay. And I'm not saying that cuz you're in my house, which is even weirder to me. But like, my dad was like, wait, the one where she saw into the future, I said, that's so Raven. It's a future I can see. I said, yep, period. So I just have to say, you were so different for me as a young girl that, you know, moved a lot. I was bully side, big boobs, and I had curves. And seeing you change the perspective for me because I was never that tiny little, like, blonde girl that everyone looked up to on Disney Channel. No, you're the hottest person ever. Like, I say that in the nicest way. I mean, as a young girl, when these girls are like boards, which there's no offense to them, I just think they hadn't developed yet and I just had no one to relate to. So thank you for being that for me.

[Miranda Madea]

Thank you for watching. Thank you for loving your body after that.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm glad that I was able to go through what I went through so you could feel comfy. And thank you for watching.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

That's pleasurable. Thank you, friend.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm glad to be here in your house.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. No, that's wild. My husband's like, they just pulled in the driveway, and I'm like, no, I thought it wasn't gonna happen. I thought it wasn't real.

[Raven Simone]

I thought it was a vision.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

It's funny because at one point when we were going back and forth in the scheduling of this, I was, like, updating Raven and she was like, oh, are you getting catfished? And I was like, no, I'm not gonna.

[Avery Wood]

I'm getting catfished in my head. I'm like, this isn't real.

[Miranda Madea]

I said, you should check this, babes. You should definitely make sure.

[Raven Simone]

I was like, I watch them all on TikTok. They're real people.

[Avery Wood]

Trust me. Yeah. Yeah. And also, I feel like people assume that because it's just Scotty. I. And we've. We've been approached by a lot of production companies, but they. They just want ownership of everything. And we started it, just him and I. And I kind of love that. But people don't think that it's real. Like, when Scott will outreach via email, they're like, who the is Scott Hatchet? Cheers. Like, this isn't real. So we just kind of kept it small.

[Raven Simone]

I know. I love that. I think that's so great. I understand it, though, because I do all of our booking.

[Avery Wood]

I was going to talk to you about that. Yeah. Because you are, like, the businesswoman behind the scenes.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah. Yeah, I am. And it's funny because a lot of times I'll have to, like, go into her DMS to get people to, like, answer me attention. And then I'm having, like, conversations that way and people just. But I'm determined. I'm like, I'm going to get this person on. Like, we have to do this, but I would much rather be doing it than have someone else do it.

[Avery Wood]

Totally.

[Raven Simone]

A little bit of a control freak, but I also feel like no one will work as hard at those things as I will.

[Avery Wood]

Yep.

[Raven Simone]

So let me. I'm. I'm going to find my way.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. And when it's. It's your name. It's different when you're doing it all yourself, but I also think that's how people get to where they are. They Take risks. Like, I think about Bobby slid into Drake's dms. Then what happened? Her podcasts flew. You know, my friend drew off Wallow. Slid into Chapel Roan's dms. That's how she got her on the podcast. So all of my friends in the podcast industry are like, my big moment was I slid into someone's dms, because what's going to happen? They don't read it or they say no.

[Raven Simone]

Right.

[Avery Wood]

Okay, next person.

[Raven Simone]

How many times have you slipped into Beyonce's.

[Avery Wood]

You know what? Never. That is. Yeah, that was. Raven and Beyonce are about equivalent when it comes to my childhood, because I watched the Destiny's Child. Destiny's Child was the first concert I ever went to, and it was at the Mid State Fair in Templeton, California. That's where I'm from. And I sat on my mom's shoulders, and that was when there was four of them. And Tina made all their costumes by hand those times. Oh, yeah. And my mom pointed at the one in the yellow and was like, she's going to be a star, and it's Beyonce. So to this day, my mom will tell you that she discovered her.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, for sure. I see how that happened. I see how that worked out.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. She's like, no, I actually did discover Beyonce, and that's why she's so big.

[Miranda Madea]

Okay.

[Avery Wood]

But anyways, tell me. I want to hear all the things. So first of all, I want to hear about how the podcast came about, and then we'll kind of take it back from there. But how did a podcast become an idea for you guys?

[Raven Simone]

So I love podcasts, and I love podcasting, and when I was kind of trying to figure out where I thought I fit in this world, this world being a world of entertainment and blah, blah, I was like, I think I see myself in podcasting. Like, I see girls that kind of look like me. I see people that kind of sound like me. I want to do this. And at that time that the idea first was planted in my head, I was, I think, probably just wrapping up my work as a birth doula. I was really into.

[Avery Wood]

I didn't know that.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, I was really into mental health and women's health, and I was like, this is a great platform to have these conversations. And oftentimes, I was the person in the friend group that was the therapist. No one called me for the parties. Yeah, everyone called me for the aftermath of the party, for cleanup of, like, oh, my God, I told this person secret, or I slept with this person, and now I'm screwed. Whatever. And I was like, we're going to figure it out. Don't worry.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

So we started a YouTube channel in 2020 during COVID and we had a segment called Tea Time because we liked mukbangs.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, I'm obsessed.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, no, we're obsessed.

[Avery Wood]

That's like, we. This is really bad. But that's what Scott roast me for. He's like, you're trying to. What are you trying to do? Like, walk in swimming? Can you order crumble every week to try it on TikTok? And I'm like, yeah, I do. Like, yeah. Yeah. So I'm. I love mukbangs, too.

[Raven Simone]

So the idea was we were going to have a meal and share some tea.

[Avery Wood]

I love that meal. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

And that was tea time.

[Avery Wood]

We.

[Raven Simone]

Then things started happening. Life got busier. You know, Covid was not as prevalent, and we somehow ended up at iHeart with the best podcast ever with Raven and Miranda, and we were like, fantastic. We're leveling up, leveling up. And that didn't work out. It was not the right fit. So Tea Time came back, but this time it was on our own terms, and we're now at a smaller production company, which we feel really great about. And it's just super fun. It's super fun to have, you know, something together. I love getting to do this with Raven, and it's. It's awesome. And I'm hopeful that it will continue to grow and having great guests on you will be amazing.

[Avery Wood]

You guys. I love that you get to do it together as a couple, because that's so special and fun. And I think, too, when you work together as spouses, it can get too much. But when it's, like, fun, like a podcast, and you both enjoy it.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Then it's. That makes a huge difference.

[Raven Simone]

Totally.

[Miranda Madea]

You know, I think also with the type of format that we have, we get to learn things about each other, being that we talk about random things. You know, you don't always think about traffic on an everyday basis in the house unless you're complaining about it, but to actually have deep in depth conversations with each other and others. I learn things about her all the time on the podcast, which is why it becomes fun for.

[Raven Simone]

The part that I left out is that I had to pitch it to Raven. I had to be like, babes, here's the deal. And when I was kind of looking outside of us and, you know, this world of celebrity and entertainment and whatnot, I was like, we're not really represented. You have, like, Justin and Haley you have the other people that were kind of one to one with Raven. And I'm like, we. There isn't a married lesbian couple that's younger because there's Ellen and Portia and, like, Wanda Sykes and her wife. But name a lesbian, interracial married couple that's under 40, it's not there. So I was like, this is a cool opportunity for.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, before I turn 40, you better catch me.

[Avery Wood]

And you literally look 18. Look at your skin, both of you. You guys, she does nothing incredible.

[Raven Simone]

She's one of those annoying ass people.

[Avery Wood]

It's really sick.

[Raven Simone]

Black don't crack. But.

[Avery Wood]

Right.

[Raven Simone]

I pitched it to her.

[Avery Wood]

Only you can say that. Because that.

[Miranda Madea]

That's a true statement, though.

[Raven Simone]

She. Right, I know. Okay. I pitched it to her and she said yes, but it had to be a fun podcast. And by fun, it meant I don't want to talk about feelings. I don't want to do any of that. Which is why we have the teapot. And we have a random word in the teapot that people come and pull out.

[Avery Wood]

Cool.

[Raven Simone]

And then that becomes our topic. We also do the shooting, the. And whatever. But that. That keeps Raven on our toes.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. And I was going to say, because you were very open about retirement. So is this something that's enjoyable for you because it's so different from what you've done since you were pretty much an infant?

[Miranda Madea]

Actually, no, it's not different. It's not.

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Miranda Madea]

What it is, is it's easy. All I have to do is show up, sit down, and talk smack. I don't have to.

[Avery Wood]

With your wife.

[Miranda Madea]

With my wife, yeah. I don't have to help with anything. I mean, sometimes I might help with, say, hey, you should put this here. But really, I'm not producing it. I'm just a co host.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And so it's actually for that reason I still have to, like, be on or anything like that. So it's still a little bit of work, but it's the fact that it is fun and I get to talk to friends and I get to ask questions that I think are interesting that I wish people would ask me sometimes.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah. It's just an easier way of staying in the. In the eyes of the public.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, for sure. And I think no matter what, you will always be recognized. You guys both are in that situation, so might as well have fun with it and enjoy it. And I do. That's. That's one of my things, is I tell people all the time, this is the most enjoyable part of my job. Because I do just show up. But I also feel a different connection because if people like you, they kind of go the extra mile to take the time to sit down and listen for an hour to your podcast, which I'm very honored to have. And the haters aren't really there. They don't want to give the time, which I'm like, good bye. But it's different compared to Instagram, tick tock, all of that kind of stuff. So I think, I think a podcast is a little bit more intimate. And I just think it's fun. It's so much fun.

[Raven Simone]

I agree. I think it's really cool.

[Avery Wood]

Okay, tell me about being a doula. I had no idea about that part of your life.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah. So I. I mean, I go so far into the backstory. Let me answer the question. My brain. I worked in entertainment, okay. And I had assistant job after assistant job, personal assistant job. And I was feeling super unfulfilled. And I was working for big time people on, like, amazing sets and doing things that I thought I would have ended up loving. But I really found it frustrating. I was like, I don't want to argue over, you know, this is kind of hypocritical now, because I really do care about my eye size, but I don't want to argue about the eye size.

[Miranda Madea]

And she so cares about her eye size. Circle care less. Listen, it is serious.

[Avery Wood]

Are you not a QT girl?

[Raven Simone]

We don't have qt.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, I got one on the corner. I'm about to take you over in the golf cart to get that perfect pebble ice. Are you kidding me?

[Raven Simone]

It's the pebble ice.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. That's what it has to be.

[Raven Simone]

It has to be. And so for us in la, Coffee Bean has love Coffee Bean.

[Avery Wood]

So ice is incredible.

[Raven Simone]

And then Chick Fil A has a pebble ice. But anyway, I digress from the.

[Avery Wood]

I'm glad we have that in common.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, yeah, we very much do. We very much do. Like, I will travel with ice and, like, bags.

[Miranda Madea]

No, no, she's. She's underselling it. She will travel with pebble ice cube makers and a metal bowl.

[Avery Wood]

No, it's not. Because I'm the same. Unfortunately, I do go. I'm a frequent flyer at Sonic because the pebble ice Sonic machine does not make it correctly. So I will just put my own pebble ice in my pebble ice machine. And then I went to the dentist last week and she did yell at me, saying, it's the worst thing you can do. You're gonna Break. She said the issue with ice chewing is you crack me like educating on dental health. She's like, you can crack the perimeter of your tooth, which is the most important. Yeah, no, I can't.

[Miranda Madea]

That's really bad water. If you freeze it correctly, you're fine.

[Avery Wood]

And if it's suck like the pebble stuff, I'm not like crunching through cement. Give me a break, doctor.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Knowing what I could do when I come came home that night, I filled up my entire tumbler full of pebble ice and I crunched on it. That's. I'm sorry.

[Miranda Madea]

Good for you.

[Raven Simone]

Simple things in life.

[Avery Wood]

Thank you for driving. Thank you for that.

[Raven Simone]

And you have perfect teeth.

[Miranda Madea]

So.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, thank you.

[Raven Simone]

So anyhow, I was really sick about arguing someone else's ice issues and I just wanted to deal with.

[Avery Wood]

Steakma season is back at Outback Steakhouse. So be good for goodness sake. Savour a flavourful bloomin French onion sirloin if you're nice. Or sink your teeth into a sizzling 18 ounce bone in ribeye with signature spices. As long as you don't owe millions.

[Miranda Madea]

In taxes causing you to flee the.

[Avery Wood]

Country and start a new life as a struggling Swedish dj.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, it's me, Lars.

[Avery Wood]

Enjoy Steakma season at Outback Steakhouse for a limited time. Outback Steakhouse. No rules.

[Miranda Madea]

Just right.

[Raven Simone]

I feel that. So I was like this. I'm gonna go become a dual lot.

[Miranda Madea]

What do the babies.

[Avery Wood]

Ice.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, exactly. I was like, I want to give the moms their ice during labor.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

But no, ultimately I was just unsatisfied. And I knew for myself that I thrive on one on one relationships. I thrive in environments where I'm caretaking and supporting and helping and doula just really felt correct. Like I aligned with all of it. And I'd always loved babies. From the time I was little, I just like wanted to hold and be around babies. And I found a training in la. It was great. It was really easy. I'm a very particular person. So it's like, if it's too far or the parking is challenged, challenging, I'll get easily overwhelmed. And I like, can't fit.

[Avery Wood]

Which is the most of la. Yeah, Mind you.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, totally. And so this was seamless. It was like, easy. It was a small group of women. We were all vibey with each other. I got my training, I started working and it was wonderful. I mean, it was beautiful work. And I did that for almost two years. And then the pandemic hit and then we got married. And then life snowballed in another direction.

[Avery Wood]

But when you guys met, where were you both at, career wise?

[Miranda Madea]

I was on the View. I was just about to start the View.

[Avery Wood]

I remember that.

[Miranda Madea]

And what were you doing at that time? You were in between.

[Raven Simone]

I was running around la. I was working for a really high profile person at that time.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Okay.

[Miranda Madea]

And met decided I was like, hey, you should come to New York with me because I'm a lesbian. And that's what we do.

[Avery Wood]

What. What's the rule that you said that lesbians do u haul? The U haul thing. He taught me that. He said that to me before and I said, what the are you talking about?

[Miranda Madea]

It's a thing.

[Avery Wood]

No. I moved in with my husband four weeks after meeting lesbians.

[Raven Simone]

Where's u haul lesbians, dude?

[Avery Wood]

We also got matching tattoos. Lesbians. My. My first ever tattoo when I was 18 years old was matching with my husband after meeting him four weeks prior. Oh, so I'm also a lesbian.

[Miranda Madea]

You're also. And so is he.

[Avery Wood]

And so is he. You're a lesbian. He's gonna have a raven. Simone just called you lesbian.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, my God.

[Raven Simone]

He like storms in.

[Avery Wood]

You got me there.

[Raven Simone]

He is pretty.

[Avery Wood]

He is gorgeous. Yeah, he's in there with Stevie. I'll. I'll come out and I'll make him. Oh, my God. When I forced him to meet Selena Gomez, he said, he's gonna die today. He's like, he making me meet all these famous people. Oh, my God.

[Raven Simone]

Hilarious. We're in his house. It'll be a different.

[Avery Wood]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Raven Simone]

His territory.

[Miranda Madea]

Love it. And then once we met, we stayed in there and I think Covid was really the moment where we both, like, thought about what we wanted to do with our future careers. Because that's when I kind of shifted in mine. And we said, well, we're going to do something together that's going to be really cool. And so we started a production company. Because her time in the industry and her education and background for sure, really does lend her to be a wonderful producer.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Storyteller and things of that nature. And my history in the industry leads me to be a director and I went to school for art. So visuals are really important to me in character design and in capturing. So, yeah, you know, we. That's the cool thing about we're a good match. That's the thing about being married. We made the best parts of ourselves come to the forefront and we're like, oh, this. This works this way.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. You guys are such. I really love your relationship. And I think you can obviously like, seeing you off camera, I can tell how genuine and love you guys are. But I really love that you guys really go to bat for each other publicly. And I fuck with that because that's how I am. Like, you come for my people. It's not going to happen. And I'm specifically talking about when you went on, you said, stop the hate comments. And I loved that. Oh, my God, I ate that shit up. And I'm. Well, first of all, I'm so sorry that you even had to go through that, because I. I've been there and it's disgusting. I don't understand why people think that that's okay and it's not.

[Miranda Madea]

It confuses me every single time.

[Avery Wood]

It's really crazy. But I. I love that you stood up for your wife. And it was a journey.

[Miranda Madea]

It took us a while to get there. You know, I'm not really from the school of saying anything industry that I come in. You know, it's kind of like, keep your mouth shut, people are going to say stuff.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And that's the way it is. But I also was famous before the Internet became.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

A thing. And that's old. And so, you know, when this happened, we sat on it. We sat on it and then finally I was like, okay, can we talk about it now? And she was like, yeah, I think it's time. We need to say something. It's interesting, the type of reaction we got from it because people had never seen me in my actual skin.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Oh, for sure.

[Miranda Madea]

Because I'm super nice and sweet and laughable.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. And they were like, oh, this is Raven Unfiltered, who loves her wife very much. That.

[Miranda Madea]

And also people are like, we don't even believe you because you've never seen that part of you. And I'm like, that's hilarious too.

[Raven Simone]

People thought it was so crazy. They were like, school teacher. It became a whole other meme type of thing. It became a meme type of thing. But we knew we were squashing it after that. Like, that was the end. And honestly, there was one specific situation that happened that pushed it over the edge for me where I looked at Raven and I was like, I think we're gonna have to do something. Because now it's not just like lame ass people hiding behind a screen, because that is a form of troll that, like, I'm not even gonna engage with you. But it was getting pushed to such a level that it was.

[Miranda Madea]

Blue checks were talking.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah. Like, people. What the. Yeah, yeah. Very weird. Very.

[Miranda Madea]

People that like just kind of in. In comparison to my career. They just started.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, but like, not. And they weren't like, you know, they're like well known people in this industry. So I was like, this is gonna. This is.

[Avery Wood]

There's no shame.

[Raven Simone]

No shame. And also the thing that blew my mind is if you are gonna speak on something, don't you want to make sure you know all the facts?

[Avery Wood]

Absolutely.

[Raven Simone]

Don't you want to make sure you have the context? Because the way in which that person responded. You going all the way. Climbing.

[Avery Wood]

Okay, sweet. Okay.

[Raven Simone]

Everyone gets their time. It was just super bizarre. So, yeah, you know, we agreed that something had to be done or said.

[Avery Wood]

And, well, and sometimes it just has to happen like that. And it. I mean, it sucks that it does, but at what point do you have to stand up for yourself? Because it's so true in this industry? Or you have, you know, your team behind you, your PR publicist, all those people, and they're like, shut, shut the fuck up. Yeah, say anything.

[Miranda Madea]

But that's the world I come from.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, but it's like, when is it going to get to the extreme where I'm like, actually scared for my life and my family and the people around me?

[Miranda Madea]

I think if there wasn't death threats, it could have. And a little bit of the blue checks would have, like, kept their mouth shut. Yeah, but the fact, like, it's. But then again, you know, if you look at it, it's like, are you for real or are you just trying to get a rise? Because we know now that if death threats and these things happen, people are going to respond. And then you get to see that response. It's kind of feeding into the narrative that we have created now that the Internet is so immersive and no matter who you are, you can connect to a celebrity. Because if I can get underneath their skin, they're going to talk back. And I know they're talking about me because I started it. I think it feeds into it. And I. And I just. I don't know, I'm still. I'm figuring it out.

[Avery Wood]

And they gives them like a weird high.

[Raven Simone]

Totally.

[Avery Wood]

The haters are like, oh, my God, I have attention. I'm going to keep going. It's like, like, contribute to society or get a job, do something.

[Miranda Madea]

Exactly.

[Raven Simone]

Seriously, it's a really interesting personality. I think the three of us were all strong, grounded, smart women. And it's wild to me how the impact can hit sometimes. And it's just overwhelming at times. I think that people really have to Be more aware of the power of their words, even if they're just stupid words, you know? I don't know.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Obviously, Raven, coming from the movie and TV industry now, social media is kind of taking that over. And it's a really weird thing to adjust for people that are not familiar with that world. Like, for people that just come from normal jobs, like me. And then I get immersed in this, and I'm like, the people are so nasty. And they really don't like when you change your life, you better your life or you're able to better your family's life because of the money that comes with it. And so that automatically makes people turn really nasty on you, whether it's in your personal life or from complete strangers on the Internet.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

So sometimes you just have to stick up for yourself. So 100. I love that you did that. Okay, I know you guys talked about you met and then you went to New York, but how did you meet? You said, who's telling first?

[Miranda Madea]

I don't like it because what happens is I don't tell the whole story. And then you feel you tell it in your way.

[Avery Wood]

That's a married.

[Raven Simone]

You tell it in your way.

[Miranda Madea]

Okay, I'll tell it in my way. I was hosting a karaoke night in Gayville.

[Avery Wood]

I love that. Can you invite me next time?

[Miranda Madea]

Obviously lesbians.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Oh, my God. I'll tell my lesbian man, David husband. David.

[Raven Simone]

David, the lesbian band.

[Avery Wood]

He does play guitar and is great at singing, so he would love hilarious.

[Miranda Madea]

Doing that. She was there, and I don't even know why she was there. I don't remember why she told me, but I was with a friend and I saw her, and I was like, oh, hi. How are you?

[Avery Wood]

Oh, you're cute.

[Miranda Madea]

And she actually was like, oh, I just came. And then I had some friends that are here too. I'm like, yeah, me and my friend are here. Should get your information. Whatever, whatever. And so then I invited her to a house party.

[Avery Wood]

Oh.

[Miranda Madea]

It was my goodbye party for leaving to go to work on the View.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, fun. Okay.

[Miranda Madea]

And she showed up, and I showed her around the whole house. There was a lot of people. But she showed up early because she's really not good with parties.

[Raven Simone]

Crazy.

[Miranda Madea]

And I stayed till later. I was actually moving out of the house to have it rented out while I was gone. And I called her and I was like, in true lesbian fashion, can I stay at your house until I leave, Guys?

[Avery Wood]

See? But I feel like people think people are lying when you say, like, when you know you Know. And I. I'm like, no, I literally knew. And I'm sure you guys were probably in.

[Raven Simone]

She didn't know.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, never mind.

[Raven Simone]

She was in Blessed. Yeah, exactly.

[Avery Wood]

What's wrong with that?

[Raven Simone]

She was just like, oh, I'm going to hang out with this girl until I leave. No strings attached. It's amazing. But I knew. It was very weird for me because we started talking at the karaoke night, and I was just like, oh, like, I'm gonna know her. This is. This is my person. And when Raven invited me to come to New York, I remember we were sitting on my couch in my old apartment at the time, and I had this voice in my head because my instinct was like, no, I do not know you. Like, this is very odd. I'm not. And I also, like, I was like.

[Avery Wood]

I'm not gonna bite. Hard, hard. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

I was like, I have a routine. I have a job. Like, there. I can't just up and leave. And then I heard this voice in my head that basically was like, if you want to go have a life and. Or an inv. Like, you need to go take a risk, Miranda. Like, you can. You can do this. And I said, okay.

[Miranda Madea]

And that was actually for the. The glamping trip. We the really got indoctrinated because my friends and I set up a glamping trip in Philadelphia.

[Avery Wood]

That's so fun.

[Raven Simone]

And it was a camping trip, and I made it a glamping trip because I was like, I'm not. I was like, I'm not shitting in.

[Avery Wood]

A hole, and I do need a shower.

[Raven Simone]

Yes. I was like, I need to shower. And let me tell you that Raven was like, okay, well, we're still going to pitch the tent whenever. All those people were so grateful to me at the end of it. They were like, think. Because we rented a house, we had a nice cabin and Jacuzzi, we had a little setup. Everyone was cooking it.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah. Because the tent that I was about to pitch has, like 80 million spiders in it.

[Raven Simone]

They all of these, like, we're gonna go pitch a tent energy. People walk outside, she screams at the highest awkward in my life. I was like, you're such a little girl right now.

[Miranda Madea]

I don't do spiders. You can do anything else. I just don't do spiders.

[Raven Simone]

It was too funny. But, yeah, that was a great trip. Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Huh? We should go back, do, like, a disconnect trip. Yeah. They have really, really cute glamping spots around here, like, a couple hours from here. We should do it. We should rent a Big cabin. We're actually gonna go in, like, January because it's pretty. Let's all go together.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, me and my lesbian. I'll bring him.

[Miranda Madea]

Just lesbian, gay.

[Avery Wood]

Right here. My lesbian. Just my family of lesbians. Lesbian. I love it.

[Raven Simone]

We can bring Jojo.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Our other lesbian.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, I'm obsessed. Let's do it. So what were. What was your first impression of her? Besides her being so hot?

[Miranda Madea]

It's like the first time anybody ever asked me that.

[Avery Wood]

Look at me, looking so scared.

[Raven Simone]

No, I.

[Miranda Madea]

My first impression was she had soul because her nickname is Biggie. And some of the conversations that we had, she, like, listened to Big. Biggie Smalls. And, like, she loved Baby. She had a lot of, like, you know, I don't know if you do this, but, like, I kind of like to go through people's phones with their permission. With them, I'm like, let me see your life, you know, like, what's that like? And just seeing the pictures of how she was with her friends and the types of pictures she took. And I saw the picture of you were holding some baby, and then you were also with your poodle.

[Raven Simone]

Oh, that was Danny's poodle.

[Miranda Madea]

That was Danny's poodle. She had red hair. She had brown hair. She had blonde hair. She was romantic. She was tomboy. And then I was just like, you're cool.

[Avery Wood]

You're cool.

[Miranda Madea]

And then she let me draw on her wall with crayons.

[Raven Simone]

I didn't actually let you.

[Miranda Madea]

Yes, you did. I heard. I heard. Here, you can draw my wall.

[Raven Simone]

Do you want to hear?

[Miranda Madea]

And there I. Therefore, I did.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, tell them.

[Miranda Madea]

Okay, So I said, raven can draw on my wall. That's what I heard.

[Raven Simone]

I never said that. Do we need to call my dad right now?

[Miranda Madea]

No, don't call dad.

[Avery Wood]

So we call him if we're reinforcing.

[Raven Simone]

Exactly.

[Avery Wood]

Hey, sorry, we're recording. But I do have a question. Did Raven have permission to draw, or. What was it you drew on Raven's wall?

[Raven Simone]

No, she drew on Raven.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Okay.

[Raven Simone]

So remember how I lived in an apartment and so that's a lease. I don't have the place.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, you gotta deposit?

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, you can't just draw on walls. So I didn't. Whatever. So anyhow, Raven kicks me out of my bedroom because she goes, I have to have a call with Barbara Walters. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? She's like, you know, I'm doing the view. I was like, oh, okay. Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

You're, like, casual. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

So after the call with Barbara Walters. I come back inside and she's drawn what is beautiful. I mean, it was beautiful. A beautiful face of a woman with a rose. And she wrote something under it. And I was kind of like, I just didn't know how to take it all in. I was just like, you've drawn on.

[Avery Wood]

My wall giving master's degree in art. Is that.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, yeah, it was giving master's degree in art, but also like now I don't get my security positive what's happening.

[Avery Wood]

We're also like. But you did just get off the phone, Barbara. Also, if you want to give me go ahead and Venmo me. Exactly.

[Raven Simone]

So I like so many rapid fire thoughts. And I was like, it's fine. Anyway, we go to New York and I ended up staying. So she. Raven bought me a one way ticket and I really just abandoned LA because the one way ticket was just really open ended. Yeah, I stayed for like eight months. But my dad was like, you're gonna have to come home and paint this wall because you're not keeping this apartment. And we. That's what needs to happen. And I was like, dad, I'm really sorry, I can't.

[Avery Wood]

I can't come home. Honestly, the apartment complex could probably charge double the rent because they make. Raven, Simone literally drew you a mural.

[Raven Simone]

Right?

[Avery Wood]

Right. You know what I'm saying?

[Raven Simone]

But it was like one of these. Hancock park, like older. They were like this.

[Miranda Madea]

They were actually living.

[Avery Wood]

They're like, yeah, you're like living in.

[Raven Simone]

A historic monument, like whatever it is. So they're. They're like sacred spaces.

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Miranda Madea]

I drew on that.

[Raven Simone]

My.

[Avery Wood]

And I drew all I Picasso all over that.

[Raven Simone]

So my dad's like, you have to come home. And I was like, I can't come home, dad. I'm really busy in New York, like in this romance. And he was so pissed off because he had to paint over the wall.

[Avery Wood]

So he sent me a photo. You know what, dad, you're a real one for that.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, that looks great.

[Raven Simone]

He literally though, sent the angriest photo of him just holding. My sister took it. It's just him holding this big paintbrush, the roller paintbrush. And he just is like sneering at the camera. I still have it.

[Miranda Madea]

He hasn't brought that up to me yet.

[Raven Simone]

No, he wants the 90 grand back.

[Miranda Madea]

That's fair. I'll give him his 90 grand back.

[Avery Wood]

Another.

[Miranda Madea]

That's another.

[Raven Simone]

That's a whole. That's another episode.

[Avery Wood]

We'll talk about that on the podcast.

[Miranda Madea]

I told my father in law, 90 grand that's crazy.

[Avery Wood]

So what was your impression of Raven then? Also, did you know who she was? Well, like, were you familiar with her work, or was it, like, a familiar face?

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, so I knew who Raven was, but I didn't. I didn't watch that's so Raven growing up.

[Avery Wood]

And is that what you got canceled for?

[Miranda Madea]

Yes, Which I'm like, she's doubling down, you guys. Yeah, my wife is like that.

[Avery Wood]

Which I'm like, I'm going to get canceled. Because I said, it wasn't Lizzie McGuire. Wasn't even Stevens. It was Raven. So now.

[Raven Simone]

Right. I know all the Lizzie McGuire nights are going to come for you. No, I didn't, but I think this is the crazy thing about that, too. It came out in 2003, so I was, like, 16 or 17.

[Miranda Madea]

You were 15?

[Raven Simone]

I was 15. It wasn't my Adrian still. I just, like, I wasn't sitting and watching the Disney Channel. So my sister, though, who's five years younger, she grew up watching that, and so I would see it in passing, and obviously, I knew who she was. So when we first met, because, you.

[Miranda Madea]

Know, she also liked TGI Friday.

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Miranda Madea]

And so when you remember that you're not always connecting, hanging with Mr. Cooper, the young girl on that, to, like, this lesbian that's coming up to her not looking anything like a little girl on tv.

[Raven Simone]

It was super. It was a very different thing. And also, just in terms of where people may get confused is I don't. I tr. There are certain people where I can be like, oh, my. Like JLo. I'm like, oh, my gosh, Jennifer Lopez. And I get a little starstruck. Whatever. But on an overall growing up in the industry, I did. In the world that I did, you see people who work on television a lot. You see people who work in film a lot. So it's not as.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Jarring. So meeting Raven, for me, was just kind of interesting that I was having this connection with this person. And then the fact that the voice in my head was like, oh, you're gonna know her.

[Miranda Madea]

But I also didn't look like myself that night, because when I go out, when I used to go out, yeah, I actually looked more like this. And then when I. When I was Raven Simone back then, I'd kind of switch and.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Do what I needed to do. So any relationships that I've been in, when I first meet them, I don't. I'm. I'm different.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah. And I. Again, I mean, even looking at some of the. That's our Raven stuff now. It's funny because I'm like, whoa. I can watch it. But I don't really feel like I'm watching my wife.

[Avery Wood]

You nasty.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, not the. Not with the dimple. Not with the whole Dimple app.

[Avery Wood]

You nasty. She loves it. Oh, period. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

No, like, it's the best show.

[Avery Wood]

I literally was looking at TikTok Sounds this morning. Listen, I'm turning 30 this year. And I. I looked up, I was like, I want to listen to the theme song. Because I was like, that could be a cute tick tock to tease for you guys to be on the. On the podcast. I play it with my lesbian husband. I knew every word. It didn't leave my mind. Do you know how music does that? And I was like, not me singing every lyric of. That's a Raven theme song.

[Miranda Madea]

If that's. And it's very rare. Do you get that in West Philadelphia? Born and raised.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

Raven.

[Raven Simone]

I couldn't do all the French prints, though.

[Miranda Madea]

I could. And then, you know what else? Whatever happened to the theme?

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

Like, you know them. I don't know the words, but I know the melody. You know what I mean? But there.

[Avery Wood]

It's very rare.

[Miranda Madea]

Do you get those? I got very lucky with that theme song.

[Avery Wood]

Okay. Yeah. But you also, like, broke so many different. I mean, you guys talked about racism, body image, having curves. You were one of the first female black leads on Disney Channel, were you not?

[Miranda Madea]

I was. And one that had her own show with a name on it. I was the. I believe I was the first black female lead on Disney.

[Avery Wood]

The. The episode I remember, which I'm sorry to even cut you off. You go back to your.

[Raven Simone]

No, no, no.

[Avery Wood]

What you were saying. But was the model episode when you were completely photoshopped. And I think about that all the time because in this industry, that is what so many people do. And I. When people like, you're not going to facetune the photo of us together, like, you have to face to my face. I'm like, if you want to face you in your photo, you go ahead. But I'm not doing it.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

It's so interesting how that still is going on. But I remember as a little girl looking and being like, but I look like you in person. Why are they making you skinnier on a magazine? Because I don't look like that and I never will.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And neither will I.

[Avery Wood]

So I appreciate that. And I'm sure you were so young and it was probably. I don't know if it was out of your control or Not. Were you asked if you were comfortable speaking about your body or your race? No.

[Miranda Madea]

But when you read a script like that, you know it's in the positive.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Meaning you know, it's for greater good.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

It's not really up to me to have feelings about a script that young of an age.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Because I also knew that as the lead of the show, I'm not going to be presented at the end of the day in a negative way.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

You have to tell the whole story for sure. But I'm sure if I wasn't disassociated, I probably would have had feelings.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Yeah. And, Miranda, going back to your impression of Raven, I think when you work in the industry or familiar with people that are in the limelight, it's different because you can kind of humanize them. And I'm sure when you're meeting her at a party or at the karaoke thing, you're talking to a human being. Yeah. It's not a celebrity, you know? And you guys vibe together as humans. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

And I think also because I worked as a personal assistant for famous people, having those conversations and hearing how celebrities at times are. Well, not at times. Most of the time, super on guard. They don't understand who's approaching them. For what reason are their ulterior motives. Dating can be really challenging. I had all of that in my head. And I also went to school with a handful of child actors, and it just. I had a lot of, I think, compassion for the position that those people find themselves in, because it is. It comes with great success and reward and benefit, but there is a sacrifice to those things.

[Avery Wood]

Absolutely.

[Raven Simone]

And so I, like you said, just tried to see the human. And I think that's something that all of us can work at doing across the board. It doesn't even have to be a famous person. It's like, before you get really angry at that person for not putting their blinker on. Like, remember, that's a human who maybe just made a mistake.

[Miranda Madea]

No, not at all. Put your blinker on. It's the rules. Point, period.

[Raven Simone]

No, Avery was like, so on my level. And then just you over here, everyone was like, yes, Miranda, this is so wise.

[Avery Wood]

No, it's giving road rage. Put your. Why?

[Miranda Madea]

Where do we get yellow light? Stop.

[Raven Simone]

And then I'm just like, calm down.

[Avery Wood]

My lesbian ex cop wife in there. We can talk to you.

[Raven Simone]

See?

[Miranda Madea]

12.

[Avery Wood]

12 years law enforcement. There you go.

[Miranda Madea]

So you guys get it.

[Avery Wood]

And now he's the biggest stoner I've ever met. So look what Happened to him.

[Miranda Madea]

Yes.

[Avery Wood]

But you know what? His anxiety at an all time low.

[Miranda Madea]

Good for him.

[Avery Wood]

So you know what? Thank you, Weed. Speaking of you loving babies.

[Raven Simone]

Yes.

[Avery Wood]

Not to skip to the future, but I do want to. You know what?

[Raven Simone]

That was so good.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, snap. She died so hard.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm like.

[Raven Simone]

And she's like, oh, good job.

[Avery Wood]

You know what? When I get my new nose, though, it'll look way better.

[Miranda Madea]

Hilarious.

[Avery Wood]

You know, see, in the future, your.

[Raven Simone]

Nose is actually very cute.

[Avery Wood]

Thank you, you guys. Thank you so much. But I did already pay for it, so there's no.

[Raven Simone]

Okay. There's no point. I mean, the new one is going to be really cute and paid too.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, yeah. When I'm on your podcast, it's going to be exquisite and I'll be on any side you guys prefer.

[Raven Simone]

Okay.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Do you have a side right now? Like a dune?

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, my left. Which is why I sit in this chair.

[Raven Simone]

This is my side too.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. No, you're actually perfect. So you're perfect.

[Raven Simone]

You're perfect from all sides. I'm looking at you.

[Avery Wood]

But you know what? Can we be a throuple? Because I'm kind of loving this energy too. Okay. I love this. I'll tell. I'll divorce my lesbian inside.

[Raven Simone]

Maybe he quadruple.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm okay with it.

[Avery Wood]

So obviously.

[Raven Simone]

Sorry.

[Avery Wood]

You, Raven, you were in the industry since like an infant.

[Miranda Madea]

16 months old.

[Avery Wood]

Okay, that's nuts.

[Miranda Madea]

Yes.

[Avery Wood]

I, as a mom, I get so much hate when my kids are like, in a morning vlog. Like, the amount of money I turn down because I refuse to have my children in ads.

[Raven Simone]

Oh, wow. Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Is crazy, because I just can't. Like, my kids have no idea what I do for a living. Like, my son goes to kindergarten. People ask and he says, I'm a nurse, which I am technically, but I'm. That's not what I do anymore. Which I. I kind of love that because I know one day it won't be that way. But growing up the way you did, is that something you think about if you are to have kids in the future, if you would want that life for them?

[Miranda Madea]

Most definitely. I do not want that life for them at such a young age, before they know what anonymity is, before they have had a time for their souls to integrate into their bodies, to actually know what their soul is on this planet for. And at the same time, I'm not going to prohibit them if they have an extraordinary talent, but I'm also not going to exploit that extraordinary talent at such a young age.

[Avery Wood]

For profit or passion for it. If they like actually love doing it.

[Miranda Madea]

If they love doing it, great. You can do it in your community theater, you can do it at school, you can do it in class. And then when you become 18 and you can take care of a business.

[Avery Wood]

With Lululemon, the real gift happens when.

[Raven Simone]

They'Re living in it.

[Avery Wood]

When you give them the softest loungewear set, the real gift is this. And this and this. This holiday. Lululemon makes it easy to give a gift that goes beyond open the moment.

[Raven Simone]

Shop [e-mail] business.

[Miranda Madea]

Then you can. I mean, if you really think about it, the only, the only child job that is not protected under federal law is newspaper routes and child actors. Child actors laws are protected under each state. So it's a little different. And I don't think that I would allow my child to do that. And then I think when we have kids and I say this to her, I'm like, we, the souls. The soul matters. Absolutely, the soul matters. And we want our little human with its own personal soul, which is not our job to choose where it goes. It's theirs. What we want to teach our kids is how to take care of themselves in situations, how to communicate appropriately, how to manage their emotions appropriately, how to take care of themselves and therefore then take care of themselves in society.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And I'm gonna teach you how to hustle when you need to.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

But that's it.

[Raven Simone]

And it's such an interesting conversation that of the child star. We talk about it often. Raven was just in the movie that Demi who directed.

[Avery Wood]

I watched it. Yeah, I watched. And I, I thought your segment was incredible because you. That's when I realized how. Because I remember the Cosby show being on at my house. And I remember you were so quick witted at such a young age. Like the, the gift was there. Like that's just something someone's born with. Right. But you don't know what's going on behind the scenes with your parents. The money. And so it really opened my eyes watching that because it also opened my eyes to a lot of those YouTube kids.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Because my kids have. They now have very controlled settings on their tablets. Like they are like timed out. They can only watch certain videos and it pops up on our phone. My son loves Minecraft, so he loves me like a little engineer, so he'll play that. But sometimes those family things will pop up and I'm like, these kids.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Are so used for their parents to get money. It's crazy.

[Raven Simone]

It's Wild.

[Avery Wood]

And you were a baby. And that's what I didn't realize was when I watched the Hulu documentary, I was like, holy. She was literally like in diapers.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm writing a book.

[Avery Wood]

You should write a book.

[Raven Simone]

That's her new line since she's now officially writing a book. She loves it.

[Avery Wood]

You have, you have so much life to tell and also to explain to people that just don't understand.

[Miranda Madea]

And I've never actually told my story.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

I've never been honest with the public before, so I'm writing a book.

[Avery Wood]

You should.

[Raven Simone]

But one of the things I do find so interesting and I don't, I don't know the answer by any means, but when a baby is put into that position so young, even if the parent is saying, oh well, they were asking for it, they wanted it, it's like I think of myself as a 3 year old. I asked for the moon.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Raven Simone]

You know what I mean? Like, but that's what three year olds do. It's like, I want to be a trash truck person, I want to be a fireman, I want to be a ballerina, I want to be a dancer. It's like what does the parent actually have to see and assess and understand? And how much of it is the parent's own desire? How much of it really is the child? I mean, like, I think it would take years of seeing somebody that young say this is what I want to understand that they're really adamant. So it's just, it's super, it's super touchy. It's very confusing. And I think it's just interesting hearing from so many different child stars. They all kind of have the same traumas, they all kind of have the same disassociations, they all kind of have the same confusions. It's, it's just interesting to.

[Miranda Madea]

We're a statistic. It's a, there's a, there's a group of us.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Well, I, you are such a rare one though, because I, it makes me so sad how off the deep end so many of, so many child stores have gone and I, I think why, you know, it bothers me when they get so much heat and hate and I get like, if you're doing things out of line, breaking the law, there's a difference. But the lack of empathy because they never had their own life. It was all, I am forced to work these 16 hour days to pay my parents bills. I don't have control of my money. I don't have a real childhood. I don't have a normal education. Like, I wasn't able to socially develop. My brain wasn't able to develop in a normal way. And so I don't blame those people when they're kind of losing it because they never. They never had anything for themselves. So now they're rebelling because they're like, oh, I can do whatever the I want because I have a bunch of money. No one's controlling me. So what do you attribute that to? How are you such a gracious and wonderful person and so grounded and normal?

[Miranda Madea]

I'm gay.

[Avery Wood]

You know what? We love the gays.

[Miranda Madea]

No, seriously, I. I say that a lot. I think my gayness kind of saved me because I had, like, 18 masks. Masks on at a very young age. And even my gay mask was hidden from even the closest of close.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And I just always made sure that I was. Had some wonderful people in my life, for sure. You know, grounded in the conversations. It's so layered. It's so many reasons. It's such a web of this piece to this piece. But then that piece turns into a negative. Well, this turns into a pot. It's a. It's a. It's a weird web. And I don't have a full answer. That's why I'm writing a book, because I think it deserves multiple layers and chapters and how it layers itself, because my parents and then my parents and then my parents and then my manager and then my agent and then the. You know what I mean? There's so many things. Who knows? But I'm still here, and I'm married and I'm gay. And it makes me happy that I was able to, like, save myself enough to where I can make it to this level and come out as who I am.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

Rather than, you know, fight against the machine at such young age, I. I also was very aware what was going on around me, so I was like, I'm just gonna wait till I turn 18. I'm gonna just sit here and wait.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

I think part of it.

[Avery Wood]

No, I was gonna say I just love to see you be your true, authentic self and that you guys have this beautiful life together. And I'm so happy for you.

[Miranda Madea]

Thank you.

[Raven Simone]

I think part of it, too, is Raven is you're. You're very unique in the sense of just who your person is. Like, her perspective. I think Raven, if you believe in just, you know, souls or past lives, like, Raven has been here more than last time here. She's been here a lot. I think that you probably came to this Earth and to this life with an innate wisdom, which is what gave you the ability to be that three year old on the Cosby show and have such great timing and humor and wit. But then behind the scenes, I think you're just incredibly wise. And that's why when your peers were all out in the club or like, discovering alcohol and drugs as coping mechanisms, you understood how to also see into the future.

[Miranda Madea]

Let me tell you something. I was right there, you guys. I was right there.

[Raven Simone]

But I. Yeah, she was in the club with Lindsay and all them, but.

[Miranda Madea]

I was in the back at a club. And you don't take white powder from people you don't know.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, you don't.

[Miranda Madea]

You don't smoke something. You didn't roll.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, totally.

[Miranda Madea]

You get in the back of the car, you know, you know the bouncers and be like, love you. My mom is not gonna cuss me out tonight, so I'm gonna go out this way.

[Avery Wood]

Yes.

[Miranda Madea]

You guys, if you only knew half the. That I did back in the day. It was crazy.

[Raven Simone]

Did you catch my. That's the Raven line, babes?

[Miranda Madea]

It was genius. I was covering it up.

[Raven Simone]

Oh, okay, Sure. I just want to make sure you heard it.

[Avery Wood]

She's like, I'm sorry. No one laughed. What the.

[Miranda Madea]

My Leo.

[Raven Simone]

My Leo was like, I am a Leo. But I was like, did you not hear that?

[Miranda Madea]

That was really good.

[Avery Wood]

It was great, babe.

[Raven Simone]

So you were.

[Avery Wood]

So you were out exploring, experimenting like a normal teenager would, but with a shit ton of money and as a celebrity. But you were just really smart about it and on the responsible side.

[Miranda Madea]

I was very much on the responsible side. I had.

[Avery Wood]

We had a lot to lose.

[Miranda Madea]

How much. Had a lot to lose. And not even industry, just like, other things. I knew how many drinks I could have before I needed to leave out the back. I knew how many drinks I could have before I needed to leave out the back and call my friend to open the door at the house. You know what I mean? Because I also don't want to be in the hallway. Like, I had. So I was. It was actually like, more stressful because I had so many protocols for myself to make sure I was good. Like.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And I, Like, I remember one time I was at a club. You guys remember Ed Hardy?

[Avery Wood]

Oh, yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

It's coming back. I remember I had a. I had a costume when I was at a club. And I was. I. I present masculine even back then. So even when I was in the club, nobody knew it was me.

[Avery Wood]

Wow.

[Miranda Madea]

And I would be like, oh, this is Bomb. Were you wearing that Hardy head to.

[Avery Wood]

And I bet you looked so good.

[Miranda Madea]

I was like, they. My friends were like, you are such a dude. I'm like, no, give me the drinks and let's go. You know what I mean? Like, I was never one of the girls that I did show up the club a couple times, pushed up and ready to go. Never liked it, and started to really mold myself during the nighttime scene of, like, how I would present myself in my sexuality and in my gender. So it was. It was interesting.

[Avery Wood]

Did you live alone?

[Miranda Madea]

No.

[Avery Wood]

Before you were 18?

[Miranda Madea]

No. Okay.

[Raven Simone]

Lindsay Lohan.

[Avery Wood]

Did you. You know what's so funny is I. Some of our really close family friends grew up. They're much older than us, but like the Drew Barrymore when she was going on Sunset Boulevard and, you know, having a fun and good time. And it's just so wild to hear those stories because it's just. I can't imagine being that age with that much money and power, which is why I praise you so high, because I probably would not be, well, I'm.

[Miranda Madea]

Going to be 100, though. I had money, but I. I was afraid to use it. I knew that people checked the credit card.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

So I was one of those people that would go to the atm, like, at the beginning of the week, slowly throughout the week to have enough cash to deal with the life. And I was never the person to buy other people's stuff. You can ask anybody that I grew up with. They were like, don't ask Raven to pay for. She's not paying. She paying for herself. And she's getting the cheapest thing on the item. Because I would get calls from people in the team, and they're like, you spent. I'm like, I was not anywhere. I don't know where you're talking about. Wow. So, yeah, I was very. I was very on. On watch a lot of my life.

[Avery Wood]

So obviously, your whole childhood was documented. So tell me about your childhood and growing up.

[Raven Simone]

I grew up in LA in a neighborhood called Hancock Park. And, I mean, it feels like it was relatively basic.

[Avery Wood]

What'd your parents do?

[Raven Simone]

My mom stayed at home. My dad was the VP of TV at Warner Brothers.

[Avery Wood]

Oh. Hence the Warner Brothers tattoo slay. So I was like, oh, yeah. My mom grew up in Burbank. She loves Warner Brothers. I'm like, oh, okay.

[Raven Simone]

She's like, I wonder if your mom ate at Papua's.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, not even Papua's. At Piglets across the Street.

[Avery Wood]

Do you know who she grew up across the street from? Her entire Life, literally from the day she was born until 18, is Tim Burton. She actually lived with him for a while, too.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, wow.

[Avery Wood]

She calls him Timmy. Of course she does.

[Miranda Madea]

Does she discover him?

[Avery Wood]

She did. And you know what? She.

[Raven Simone]

She's got an eye. Well, damn.

[Avery Wood]

There was a time where him and his mom had, I believe, lived with my mom and her mom when they were kind of going through it, but said he would always get yelled at in class for doodling. Of course, he was always drawing. Wow. Yeah. But she did. That's why she actually helped. Right. Night before Christmas.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, I could see that.

[Avery Wood]

Harley Ross, shout out.

[Raven Simone]

I need to meet this one. She's amazing, but.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, like a school with a whole bunch of people.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

I mean, I. Here's the deal with me. I had a ton of anxiety at a very young age, for whatever reason. Yeah. And I kind of like, my dad left when I was seven. I think that that must have altered something in my mind, even though I didn't fully understand that and still maybe don't the impact of it. But I was definitely a parentified older child. And so I felt at a very young age that I had a lot of responsibility and I had a lot of caretaking responsibility, and that created a tremendous amount of anxiety in me. So I didn't ever really relax at school. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be by my mom to make sure that she was well. And when I was in high school, I just never fit in.

[Miranda Madea]

She was the friend that made sure that everybody got home because she didn't drink.

[Avery Wood]

I love that she.

[Miranda Madea]

She was not really a part of the cool kids club, but on the peripheral that they. Everybody knew her, but, like, didn't really invite you to the party. You came because they knew you would drive them home. Kind of, in a way, yeah. She was extremely into herself and baking and cooking.

[Avery Wood]

I love that.

[Miranda Madea]

And she was friends with her mom's friends.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

That's where my wife.

[Avery Wood]

You were. You're an old soul.

[Raven Simone]

Yes, an old soul who was fucking nervous all the time and then also really wanted to fit in. But it was also very insecure, was teased and picked on because of my looks and.

[Miranda Madea]

But she's also very funny, you know, she's also, like, extremely funny and very performative. Remember that yesterday, the other day you auditioned?

[Avery Wood]

What'd you do?

[Raven Simone]

That's so ridiculous.

[Avery Wood]

Wait, no, tell me.

[Raven Simone]

She's so fucking rude.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, my God. Did you audition for something? Tell me.

[Raven Simone]

No, Avery, I didn't.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, my God.

[Raven Simone]

I was standing.

[Avery Wood]

You're Making her blush.

[Raven Simone]

Just like. It's just.

[Avery Wood]

We get a wedding. Should we turn the ac.

[Raven Simone]

Turn it off or on? No, I didn't audition, actually. What happened was, is we have a production company together, and we're working on a few projects.

[Avery Wood]

Bosses.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Thank you.

[Raven Simone]

And one of the writers sent over a sample of something, and it wasn't the best, and we were kind of, like, giving notes on it and talking about it, and I wrote something up really quickly after watching Great British Bake Off. Like, this is. I was like, this.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, that's my lesbian and ice paper. I'm so excited for the holiday episode. Can we talk about that? Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Holiday episodes are the best. But I was watching it on the couch, and I was like. Like, half into point being is that I really didn't put a lot of effort into what I was writing, but I just, like, got down some. So I was explaining it to Raven, and I was like. And even if she just did this and bumped this up here or, you know, brought us into the world in this way, and then I had written, like, two lines of dialogue. So I did the lines of dialogue, which were like, oh, mom, hey. Hey, Auntie. I didn't. I didn't know you were. And then I was. I just did it naturally, like, in the moment. She was like, oh, are you auditioning? Are you gonna audition for this, too? And I was like, I'm in a full sweat. I just want to go.

[Avery Wood]

I'm gonna be fly on the wall.

[Raven Simone]

That's super fun, Avery. I would be a fly on the wall, but that was that moment. And then I was just like, my.

[Miranda Madea]

Wife has acted before. She's in House of Vicious on BET.

[Raven Simone]

Plus, take that out.

[Miranda Madea]

She is in. Wait, wait.

[Avery Wood]

I'm gonna take that all the way out.

[Raven Simone]

Scotty, you're an. Have you guys seen A Girl Like Grace starring Raven Simone, my.

[Miranda Madea]

I directed a short. My wife was in it, and she's hopefully going to be in a new movie that I'm directing.

[Raven Simone]

This is true.

[Avery Wood]

I'm so excited. Can I come to the premiere?

[Raven Simone]

Yes, please do. Bring epinephrine.

[Avery Wood]

Now I'm the one sweating.

[Raven Simone]

No, it's.

[Avery Wood]

I literally was getting my nails in there. I was like, oh, there's the hole where the needle came. Came out the other side of my nail.

[Miranda Madea]

You have to tell Ravening right now.

[Avery Wood]

It's. You should be so embarrassing. Okay, okay.

[Raven Simone]

It's actually not. It's like you were being a hero.

[Avery Wood]

Okay, well, the issue, though, is I am a registered nurse that worked in a level one trauma ICU, and I couldn't give a EpiPen. So the worst part, too, is Scott's like, oh, no. Orange the thigh, blue to sky. And I said, well, no one told me because. Okay, here's the thing. I will give a backstory. I worked in the pediatric icu, so I would get really, really sick kids. I would push EPI all day through an iv. Okay, like all day long. You code kids all day long. Push epi. I've never in my life given an EpiPen. Yeah, because you don't. You keep them in the hospital if, like, you can't get a vein, like a line, right? I worked with this nurse who was like, bad ass. Been a nurse for 30 plus years. Only worked pick you. Like, she's a nurse that everyone goes to to get advice or like. Like, this kid's not doing well. What do I do? Super smart. And she was like, no, you're gonna die when you hear the story. Because we would get kids that would come in like, dude, she would bare hands, no gloves, no tourniquet. Get any. Any line you could get, right? Like, she was that. And she was like, no. One time we coded a kid and the kids line blew. We had no way to give him EPI. So he said, go get an EpiPen. And I get it, and I go, and it goes straight out through my thumb. I gave it to him the wrong way. So instead of the kid getting epi, I got epi. And the doctor's doing chest compressions on this kid and looking at me, and I'm in the corner, like, heart rate 200. They're like, are you good over there? And she's like, yeah, that's my worst nightmare. So I hear the story, and I'm like, that's so funny. This is like five years ago. So I'm at the Wicked premiere. Okay, I'm looking cute. These shoes are killing me. I'm like, why am I not barefoot? It's the worst. I hate carpets. So I don't know why the timing had to be me, but I'm next to walk, and the crowd is to my left, and I hear, oh, my God. Oh, my God. She fainted. And her best friend goes, she's anaphylactic. She got stung by a bee.

[Miranda Madea]

Oh, my God.

[Avery Wood]

And then they go, is there a medical professional who's around? And I'm like, looking? Cause I'm like, I want someone else to go. I'm my full attire, my full reckon. I'm in the lab Everything. And I give it about five seconds. No one's there. And I'm like, God damn it. All right. So I'm like, I'm a nurse. What's going on? I was so flustered because E E News turns around, goes, how's everyone feeling tonight? Oh, my God. And this girl's in, like, her skirt was up. So I'm like, trying to cover her. Poor baby. I didn't even check her airway or anything. And I said, because I'm listening to her best friend. I don't know her. She's a stranger. I'm being told she's anaphylactic. She got stung by a V. I'm assuming she's allergic. No one has an EpiPen. So I'm like screaming, like, who has an EpiPen? Someone hands it to me. I put my thumb and I go. And it goes straight out through my thumb. And I immediately was like, I just feel the EPI straight through my veins because it's such a fast acting drug. Yeah. So thank God she woke up because my first thought was, oh, my God, she's going to die because I just gave myself epie and not her. That was my only concern.

[Miranda Madea]

And then that's kind.

[Avery Wood]

She wakes up and she goes, can I still stay at the premiere? And I'm like.

[Raven Simone]

Like, this is Ariana Grande here yet?

[Avery Wood]

Okay. So I'm gushing blood because it. I still have a hole straight through my thumb right here. And it went out, like, my cuticle right there because the needle's about that big. But I'm like, that hurt. And then I just see from the knuckle up, white, like, bright white. And it's ice cold. And my thumb is, like, blue and black. But the scariest part was my heart was pounding like everything was closing in. And so paramedics gave me a gauze and saline to clean myself up. And they said, it's your turn to walk the car.

[Miranda Madea]

No, stop it.

[Avery Wood]

So I have this clutch and I have a sequin dress. And I can just hear, like, rattling because my hand is literally shaking from the epi, like, pumping through my veins. And my Getty image is the worst thing I've ever seen because I'm like. Like, I don't. I can't even see straight. I was so. It was so.

[Miranda Madea]

Sorry.

[Avery Wood]

No, I. The girls are like, oh, my God, you're her. I said, no one ever speak about this. This is so humiliating.

[Miranda Madea]

We're going to talk about it now. So here's the question.

[Raven Simone]

I'm going to break it all the way down.

[Miranda Madea]

Breaking all the way down. Epie, like, what. How long did it take for your hot heart to return to normal?

[Avery Wood]

I would say, like mid movie, but I'm not.

[Miranda Madea]

That movie is two hours long.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, dude. And I immediately took my shoes off cuz I was holding on to people to walk. I couldn't walk straight and I'm holding. It's probably a good thing I didn't see with the Wicked premiere, honestly, because I would have been freaking out and like high out of my mind. But I just remember the whole Wicked premiere, I was holding my thumb like this because it was. It felt like an ice cube. It was so cold.

[Raven Simone]

Why does that happen?

[Avery Wood]

Probably just because the circulation and all the EPI went straight in my thumb. So normally.

[Miranda Madea]

Normally you put in your thigh. It's a bigger.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

I cannot imagine that. I am so sensitive to epinephrine that if I go to the dentist, I always have to say, like, nothing with epinephrine in it because the heart racing and think of it that way. Like, they'll mix it and dilute it and whatever. I cannot. I'm surprised you didn't soar up there with Alphabet. Like, my God.

[Avery Wood]

And I just recently got Gravity the whole entire movie. Surprised. Oh, my God. I'm like, I have. I truly have no talent after watching that movie. I'm like, oh, that movie is epic.

[Raven Simone]

That movie's insane.

[Miranda Madea]

Fantastic.

[Avery Wood]

But I. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

I can't believe you stayed at the premiere.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, I stayed. And then I did get quite concerned because about midnight, I sold no color in my thumb. I had hardly any feeling. And the issue was that it numbs you at first. And then my feelings started coming back and I was like, this is quite painful. So I told myself, I was like, if I wake up the next morning and it. It's not better, I'm gonna take myself in. But then I was okay. And then I said, I'm just gonna talk about the podcast before someone leaks some video about.

[Miranda Madea]

Most definitely. Most definitely.

[Avery Wood]

Okay. I didn't even ask this, but at what age did both of you know you were gay? Excuse me.

[Raven Simone]

Oh, do you want to go first?

[Avery Wood]

Raven said.

[Raven Simone]

Raven said, I'm writing a book.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. Raven said, it'll come out in my memoir.

[Miranda Madea]

It'll be in my memoir. I knew that I liked girls in a different kind of way. In the. In the sexual kind of way. It was probably 11 or 12.

[Avery Wood]

Really?

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah. And I. I had crushes on girls younger.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. And was that something that as you got Older and became more famous, was known and kind of told like, you need to hush. Or was that always just internal?

[Miranda Madea]

That was mine.

[Avery Wood]

And you probably held on to it like I got something left that's my own.

[Miranda Madea]

Yep.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And then when it came out, I had some weird physical reactions to it, but that was mine. People. My friends. Some of my friends knew.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Some of my relationships. My first relationship was with a guy for seven years.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, wow. But was that the guy from Xenon? Zoom, zoom, zoom.

[Miranda Madea]

That would have been dangerous, honey.

[Avery Wood]

Hey. Oh, actually, really quick, before we continue, I have to tell you, I sometimes like to numb my mind when my kids go down. And now that I don't drink, sometimes it's watching, like, something lame. Like Princess Star. Not lame. Princess Diaries is not lame, but like, something that's like, my childhood. Right. I'm watching Princess Diaries too, the other day, and I said, oh, in walks Raven. Yeah, I said. I forgot she was on that, too. I said, what? What else was she in? My God.

[Miranda Madea]

I had a life. I had a life. But, yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Wow. Okay. And you came out via tweet or.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, I came out via tweet. It was. Listen, I was just going out to get some chicken.

[Avery Wood]

I know that story is so iconic.

[Miranda Madea]

And it just happened. I really wasn't trying to cause a havoc, but I was in a relationship at the time where I felt comfortable enough to do it.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And I was also, like, within my quote, unquote, like, retirement. So it felt good to be able to just.

[Avery Wood]

Was that when you were in art school?

[Miranda Madea]

I was in art school, and I had just finished doing Sister Act.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, wow.

[Miranda Madea]

On Broadway.

[Avery Wood]

I think sometimes doing it in that way is just like, let's just rip the band aid off. And then that's that.

[Miranda Madea]

Because I grew up at the time when you were kind of subconsciously told that if you came out, it would ruin your career if you were gay.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And all of the signs leading to that being true, Ellen. And many people in the music industry that, you know, they're no longer here with us, but the. The rumor is that, you know, they're gay. And it's like, man, that time period was so dangerous.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Especially for females and males, I'm sure. But I didn't live that experience. And so I felt like since I retired, I was never planning on coming back. That I could say something, you know?

[Avery Wood]

Well, I also think it's. During that time, it was obviously, so much has changed for the better. Thank God that, well, some things are finally changing and Accepted when it should have been a long time ago.

[Miranda Madea]

I think you're right. It's. It's. It's really difficult. One of my favorite, My absolute favorite replies to my tweet was, you ruined my childhood.

[Avery Wood]

Ew.

[Miranda Madea]

That's my favorite because I'm like, wow, my life at this moment ruined the past for you the whole entire time. That's. That's time travel right there. That's amazing.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

You know, people in the Internet, but it is. You do. And I. And, you know, that's one of the reasons a lot of the celebrities that I grew up with you, if you knew about their personal life, it was in a tabloid manner.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

They didn't really come out. You know, it's only recent that the personal lives of celebrities has really come to the forefront and people are itching for it. But I could care less right about now. I mean, I have to. I have to be happy. If I didn't make the decision to come out fully and stay in the closet with a beard, then I probably would have been even sicker.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

Oh, yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Well, that eats at you not to live your full truth.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

So what about you, Miranda? Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

When do you come out, babe?

[Raven Simone]

This is another moment for you, isn't it? Megan likes to say that I've never came out.

[Miranda Madea]

She never had to come out.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, really?

[Miranda Madea]

She's just. It's okay. She's like, I'm gay. Oh, you're done. Oh, that's it. Not everybody gets to go through those great experiences.

[Raven Simone]

I know, I know.

[Miranda Madea]

Extremely.

[Raven Simone]

You're so jealous.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm extremely jealous.

[Raven Simone]

For me, it was interesting because I grew up with crazy crushes on boys. Always thought that I was fully into boys. And I guess if you had to categorize me, I would be bisexual. But my first relationship with a girl was when I was 19.

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Raven Simone]

And I did not come out. My mom said to me. She was like, I know what's going on. And I was like, well, what's going on? She's like, you're having way too many sleepovers for a 19 year old. And I was like, cool. And then after that relationship ended, I dated guys again. And then I think I met you.

[Miranda Madea]

So then after me, we broke up and she went all girl. And then I'm back.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, you guys broke up. I didn't know that. How long were you together before you broke up? So the U haul didn't work at first, and then we went back to the U haul.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, exactly. So we actually.

[Miranda Madea]

The U haul worked then it went into public storage. We had to just put it in storage for a while. And the U haul came back to bring it back.

[Avery Wood]

You know what? You're a savage. And I love that. That. I love that so much.

[Raven Simone]

That is funny. Yeah. We were together for almost a year.

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Raven Simone]

And then Raven broke up with me. Devastated.

[Avery Wood]

David broke up with me. What a lesbian.

[Miranda Madea]

What a lesbian.

[Raven Simone]

Bunch of lesbian. Move. I was devastated because I was like, you, we're each other's people. Like, what are you doing? You're this up And. Yeah. And then in 2020, middle of COVID Raven reached out to me and we started talking. And that was April, and we got married June 16th. Like, that was a full U haul.

[Avery Wood]

You know what, though? You had. You had a year together under your belt. Yes, we did. Also, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Immediately. Yes.

[Avery Wood]

So how the did you plan a wedding that fast? Well, it wasn't that during the pandemic. Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

And so what was so fast?

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Raven Simone]

And we didn't have family. We didn't have anyone there. We basically were just going to do like marriage certificate and then friends and go to go to the courthouse. Oh, yeah. That's like, we were really down to.

[Avery Wood]

I did that. My wedding cost $75.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

But then Raven started telling people in her life and she told Debbie Allen, and Debbie Allen was like, well, then you're getting married in my house. And she was like, come here. You can have the tennis court. We can put up tables. And we were like, we don't want all of that. This is not so we got married in her front yard and she into royalty chairs.

[Avery Wood]

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[Raven Simone]

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[Avery Wood]

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[Raven Simone]

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[Avery Wood]

You need to keep knocking down your goals.

[Raven Simone]

So no matter your era, make it.

[Avery Wood]

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[Raven Simone]

Find your push. Find your power.

[Avery Wood]

Peloton.

[Raven Simone]

Visit onepalaton.com Gosh. She brought out these. She had like, these really pretty red velvet, beautiful high back chairs. High back chairs.

[Avery Wood]

It's giving Princess Diaries.

[Miranda Madea]

It gave Princess Diaries.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

It was a really cool thing. And it was made us fried oysters.

[Avery Wood]

Thanks.

[Raven Simone]

Mama Dee did fried oysters and champagne and a sweet lady Jane cake. And that's great. Then we went to Big Bear.

[Miranda Madea]

And then wait, before you We. We get married and the song that we leave, which is like my favorite Part of the wedding is I got 99 bitches, but I got a 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one. That was like, I do. And then that song played.

[Raven Simone]

Oh, that's good.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm happy.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

Then we go to Big Bear, and I'm scared for my life as a lesbian. And she was terrified.

[Raven Simone]

She was like, don't look up, don't look down. Don't touch me. I was like, what is happening? She's like, literally everyone here is staring at us and wants to kill us. And I was like, I've never experienced this. We should leave.

[Avery Wood]

That's what it's like living here.

[Raven Simone]

I. Yeah, I feel that here, actually.

[Avery Wood]

And I. I was raised, like, the most so liberal. Liberal accepting. Like, I was very well versed and educated a young age about race, sexuality. Like my parents. That's how they raised me. And I'm so grateful for that because Scott was complete polar opposite. Knew he was gay when he was 9. Served a full Mormon mission, thought God would change him and make him straight. I mean, a lot. So. But that's.

[Miranda Madea]

Glad you got out.

[Avery Wood]

But that's a lot. That's a lot of people here in, like, Salt Lake, Utah. Like, we went to Salt Lake.

[Raven Simone]

I can't imagine.

[Avery Wood]

I almost went to jail.

[Miranda Madea]

Yo, I want to be your friend. You got stories, dude.

[Avery Wood]

It's because I don't. I don't with people that. With my people and I, we were in this toy store. I was getting toys for my kids. We were doing podcast interviews. And this like, little 14 year old boy and his dad and his 16 year old brother, they're all talking about Scott. And I'm like, yeah, see, no, he's nice. I'm not like, let's have a conversation. Like, you're raising your boys like this. He's 14 years old and you don't like the way he speaks.

[Miranda Madea]

That's disrespectful.

[Avery Wood]

Like, also, let's.

[Raven Simone]

Good for you, Avery.

[Avery Wood]

And he also served two years at your church preaching what you believe in while knowing he was gay and trying to do the right thing.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

So.

[Miranda Madea]

No, no, no. That's what.

[Raven Simone]

I really just want to give you props for a minute, though, because being a person who will stand up for her people and with ferocity and strength is really admirable. And I think that there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, and I think that you know how to do it the right way and more people should learn how to do it the right way because there's so much divisiveness now, and there's so much judgment that people are willing to voice and show, and there's so much fear that we have to stand up and be strong. And I just appreciate that. It's nice to know that your friends have, like a ride or die in you. Thank you.

[Miranda Madea]

I love a ride or die.

[Raven Simone]

So can we be friends? That's. That was.

[Avery Wood]

No, we already are. I actually made us friendship bracelets are inside.

[Raven Simone]

Yes.

[Avery Wood]

They actually say throuple. Yeah. Okay, so tell me what's next for you guys? Obviously, we have a book.

[Miranda Madea]

I'm writing a book.

[Avery Wood]

Okay.

[Raven Simone]

I love that Raven is writing a book.

[Avery Wood]

And we are thinking babies in the future.

[Miranda Madea]

Maybe in the future. We had a lot of work to do.

[Avery Wood]

And you know what? I hope I'm the person you call when you have a newborn, because I got a lot of education and I love doing the night shift. So if you need, you really call me. Oh, yeah. Well, that's a pick. You nursing me. Alice was cross trained in nicu, so I didn't. You and picky nursing.

[Raven Simone]

There you go.

[Avery Wood]

My baby. My babies are getting old now. So it's like you got some souls.

[Miranda Madea]

So you can come around.

[Avery Wood]

Oh, yeah. I love babies so much. I'm like you in that way, and that's why I did pediatric nursing. But yeah, just call me if you're like, my kid's not sleeping. I'm like, let me show you how to do a real swaddle.

[Miranda Madea]

I love. Thanks.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Raven Simone]

So maybe babies in the future. And we have our production company and.

[Miranda Madea]

That'S some projects coming out.

[Avery Wood]

Amazing.

[Raven Simone]

Some really exciting, cool projects. And our podcast hopefully will continue growing and go on. I mean, I want to, like, do.

[Avery Wood]

Tours and you all you guys can like that. Hi. I actually talked to someone that went on a to a pot, like a live podcast show for a tour, and they said it was so entertaining. So cool because they had a musical guest. And you guys could really do so well with that because it's two of you.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

I feel like it's much more natural and conversational.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Even if you didn't have a guest. So I'll be front row, done and done. And then you'd be our guest.

[Raven Simone]

I was gonna say you should come on, be honored. Come on tour with us. Let's go.

[Avery Wood]

Where's Gotti? Where can people find you? Where can they listen to the podcast? Tell me all the things the podcast.

[Raven Simone]

You can find on YouTube with. And that's at Tea time with Raven and Miranda. Or any streaming webcast service. And then our socials are our socials.

[Miranda Madea]

Mine is Raven Simone across all platforms. And hers is Miranda Made day.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

With the blue check, but not the mean blue check.

[Raven Simone]

Exactly, exactly. And Quinn doesn't have any of that yet.

[Avery Wood]

No, we're not making child stars.

[Raven Simone]

We're not doing it.

[Miranda Madea]

Even though I watch so much ASMR with dog Pampers.

[Avery Wood]

Dude, why are we the same people asMr Mukbangs all day. Do you know why? It's because when I was pregnant with my son who just turned six, I had the worst insomnia of my life. And obviously you can't take really anything but like unison, which didn't do for me. And someone was like, you need to try to watch asmr.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Change my life. I watch it every single night before bed.

[Miranda Madea]

Yeah, I'm gonna do it. Yeah, we do too. It's food. And then when we go to her mom's house, he's like, when you turn this down, I don't want your people eating.

[Raven Simone]

My mom gets so bad at us. She's like, you're up my algorithm.

[Avery Wood]

What's the tick tock? Where it's like, don't hate me because I'm skinny. Because instead of getting Wingstop, I watch someone eat it. Like, that's so mean.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah.

[Avery Wood]

Yep.

[Miranda Madea]

I just watch it how? But then I actually go get it.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah. See, unfortunately, that is my issue. Well, with doordash and everything, I might push one button and it's on my door.

[Miranda Madea]

I have to blame my wife for the fact that all I eat is Korean food because she turned me onto mukbang and we watched a whole bunch of Korean mukbangs.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah.

[Miranda Madea]

And I just kept watching it and watching. Eventually I was like, I'm gonna taste that. I'm gonna taste that. I want to taste that.

[Raven Simone]

And tasted all of it.

[Miranda Madea]

And I make kimchi now. I literally eat BBQ KBBQ all the time.

[Raven Simone]

It's.

[Miranda Madea]

It changed my entire eating.

[Avery Wood]

So what you're saying is when I come visit you guys and bombard you, we're going to go get some really good Korean barbecue.

[Miranda Madea]

We will take immediately.

[Raven Simone]

Raven is also cook for you. It's such an experience. It's I'll cook or I'll bake for you.

[Avery Wood]

I was going to say, you want to bake me something?

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, I'll bake you something. But Raven at K Barbecue is so fun because she knows all the good places. She's made friends with many of the people that work at these different places, and they'll give her certain cuts of meat and make it really special. And so it's like, not just normal.

[Miranda Madea]

Experience.

[Raven Simone]

Yeah, it's an experience.

[Avery Wood]

That's what you pay for. That's what.

[Miranda Madea]

Exactly. Because that's expensive.

[Avery Wood]

I need to take you guys, actually. If you don't. If you're not leaving till tomorrow and you want somewhere to eat, go to Uchi Uchi in Scott.

[Miranda Madea]

Bang bang.

[Avery Wood]

Yeah, you love it. They have one in, like, Miami, I think LA now, but they should open one in Scottsdale. Incredible.

[Miranda Madea]

What is it?

[Raven Simone]

It blows.

[Avery Wood]

No. Out of the water. It's sushi. Sushi. But they have. Have a much more variety, in my opinion. And what I love is when you're like, a frequent flyer. Like, they know we love the Brussels sprouts. Last time we went, the chef came and gave me the recipe. So I'm like, I'm whipping that up myself.

[Raven Simone]

Yes. That's so nice. That's so nice.

[Avery Wood]

Thank you guys so much for being here. I'm so grateful you guys were real life friends. Thank you so much for making the trip out. And everyone go. Make sure you guys follow them on socials and go watch their podcast because they're incredible human beings and because you're.

[Raven Simone]

Gonna be on it, period.

[Avery Wood]

Did. Cheers.

[Raven Simone]

Cheers, cheers.