Crissle’s Couch — Session 2 with Loren Lorosa (Nov 18, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal and insightful episode of Crissle’s Couch, host Crissle welcomes journalist and media personality Loren Lorosa for a candid discussion on career journeys, authenticity in the media, balancing personal and professional life, and the unique challenges faced as a Black woman in entertainment. The episode features reflections on Loren’s trajectory from YouTube creator to her roles at TMZ and The Breakfast Club, her philosophy on storytelling and responsibility, managing public scrutiny, and how her definition of success has evolved. The conversation also touches on navigating family obligations, mentorship, self-worth, and the impact of public opinion, culminating with advice for a listener navigating life transitions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Loren’s Career Path & Storytelling Evolution

• From YouTube to Major Media
  Loren recounts her start in entertainment, initially aspiring to model and act, inspired by Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl (01:39). Creating her own YouTube content, she steadily taught herself how to tell stories, first about others, then about her own life and moves.

  “When I learned my voice, I began to realize that like, oh, as a Black woman, there are things that I just see and I just know or I talk about in a certain way… they need that, and people want to hear that. And even if they don’t, so what, I’m here.”
  — Loren Lorosa [04:15]

• Learning to Thrive at TMZ & The Breakfast Club
  She discusses the shift to covering celebrity news at TMZ and later becoming “the anchor in the room” at The Breakfast Club, noting the particular value and responsibility of a Black woman’s perspective in predominantly non-Black spaces:

  “So now, you know, I’m storytelling in a way where it’s like, it’s fun and you having a good time… but I always try to think about, like, why are we doing this? And even if it’s just, oh, because it’s trending and it’s news, it’s like, what’s the perspective, though? Like, it’s kind of deeper to rap now, like, you know.”
  — Loren Lorosa [05:21]

Navigating Professional Identity & Public Perception

• Journalist vs. Personality
  Loren reflects on moving from strictly journalistic roles to being a visible personality—a relatively new, sometimes uncomfortable space requiring her to show more of her personal views and humor:

  “This Breakfast Club was my first time… people were like, oh, Loren said that. So it just was new for me to be in that space… it was new for me to be leading the conversation.”
  — Loren Lorosa [07:13]

• Balancing Authenticity and Expectations
  She emphasizes not code-switching or shaping herself to fit institutional expectations, except when necessary for professionalism; if she can’t be real, she won’t contribute:

  “If I leaned into a persona—baby, that's not the room to try and fake anything… I just be me. I just be pulling up. I don't know how to do anything else.”
  — Loren Lorosa [15:22], [16:00]

On Responsibility, Growth, and Pressure

• Integrity, Facts, and Accountability
  Loren takes pride in her diligence and accuracy, recognizing the heavy burden of being a trusted source—especially when working independently:

  “Everything comes back on me if I say something wrong, if I am not factual on what I say, and I take that very hard.”
  — Loren Lorosa [13:26]

  She describes the challenge and pride in presenting serious stories on air—often surrounded by humor or hot takes—while still serving clarity and context:

  “I gotta get the facts out… I’ve had to learn… being concise to the point where it doesn’t just feel so, like, serious. Especially when Diddy was in court, girl, it was like, okay, let me explain. I just spent from 8 to 7pm in court. And let me try and put that all into, like, maybe four minutes and still allow y’all to get y’all jokes off.”
  — Loren Lorosa [22:07]

• On Being the Only Black Woman in the Room
  Loren speaks candidly about the invisibility, tokenism, and code-switching fatigue that comes with such spaces, but frames her experience at TMZ as “the best boot camp” she could have had:

  “It was the best boot camp I’ve ever been [in]… learning how to be in a room full of people who, even if they don’t mean to, may not understand you…”
  — Loren Lorosa [17:36]

Personal Definitions of Success

• Evolving Standards
  Loren illustrates how her idea of success has shifted from money and image to peace of mind, health, and generational wealth:

  “In the beginning, I was just like, yo, I want money… Now I’m like, definitely still need money… But I think it’s just like… I want peace of mind. I want to be able to sleep peacefully at night… I want everybody, my life to be healthy.”
  — Loren Lorosa [32:30]

• Work vs. Exposure
  Discussing working for free, Loren underscores knowing personal boundaries and when opportunity outweighs compensation—while being clear that as a media personality, people frequently undervalue the labor involved:

  “Sometimes I have to say no because, no, I need to be paid. And when you’re a personality, you know this. People think that this is, like, real cute. They don’t think it’s a job.”
  — Loren Lorosa [38:07]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Black Women in Media:

  “As a Black woman in this space… visually, where people can see you, I feel like they tear you apart. What? Don’t have a wrong color hair, wrong this, wrong that… I’m like, y’all hate yourselves.”
  — Loren Lorosa [41:33]

• The Reality of Content Creation:

  “That daily podcast hustle was kicking my behind in the beginning… I was, like, falling asleep on my way to the podcast in between filming because I was doing so much, and I didn’t understand how daily it was.”
  — Loren Lorosa [40:09]

• On Colleague Jess Hilarious:
  Defending her co-host against public perceptions:

  “Jess Hilarious is a brand in a business that she’s created, and she thrives very well behind the scenes off of it. You don’t do that by chance or by stupidity… You had to literally figure out what’s working for me, what’s not… all of that, it takes a different level of… strategizing.”
  — Loren Lorosa [28:04]

• Crissle on Public Critique & Responsibility:

  “If more parents shaped up and did right by their kids, we would see way, way fewer mental health issues in this world. And so that’s something that I’m very passionate about… I want people to take [parenting] with the gravity, the weight of that.”
  — Crissle [47:02]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Loren’s Introduction & Career Path: [00:01]–[05:40]
• Being a Journalist vs. Personality at The Breakfast Club: [05:40]–[08:46]
• Public Perception, Pressure, and Personal Responsibility: [11:01]–[15:22]
• On Authenticity, Code Switching at TMZ, and Representation: [15:22]–[20:31]
• Family Obligations & Career Decisions: [20:31]–[25:41]
• Discussion on The Value and Labor of Content Creation: [38:07]–[42:31]
• Handling Criticism as Black Women in Media: [41:26]–[43:01]
• Definition of Success — How It’s Changed: [32:30]–[35:28]
• Listener Letter on Moving Away & Family Guilt: [56:25]–[64:22]

Listener Letter Advice – “Elaine”

Elaine writes about feeling torn between relocating for career opportunities and staying close to family who rely on her. Loren offers empathetic and practical advice:

• Acknowledge Individual Needs & Timing:
  “I needed the isolation to progress. Now I’ve progressed, and I know how to set my boundaries... but I still got up out of there, though.” [59:54]
• Find Your Own Equation:
  “Figure out what you want to do that isn’t happening right where you are… Maybe it’s not the biggest step, but it’s something. It’s new, it’s fresh.” [61:36]
• Community & Support:
  Both Loren and Crissle stress the importance of community and chosen family to stay grounded when away from home.

Closing: Loren’s Future Goals

Loren shares she wants to expand into acting and creating original shows under her company Brown Girl Grinding, with a commitment to impactful storytelling and financial freedom.

“I want the next phase of my career for people to be like, ‘Oh, she knew that.’ …Move you and like, you know, really hit you… building towards financial freedom and ownership and like storytelling throughout all that.”
— Loren Lorosa [55:02]

Where to Find Loren Lorosa

• Instagram/Twitter: @LaurenLaRosa (varies: “lore ncore”, “lorenlorosa”)
• TikTok: lorenlorosa
• Company: @browngirlgrinding
• Podcast: "The Latest with Lauren LaRosa" (daily, bite-sized pop culture show)

This episode of Crissle’s Couch is a masterclass in showing up as yourself, advocating for truth and responsibility in media, and prioritizing personal well-being as success. Loren’s candor, clarity, and wit make for a resonant, relatable listen—especially for Black women navigating public spaces.