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Ego Wodem
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Ego Wodem
Hey guys, I'm back to running my damn mouth up top here. Or at least just for today, because I have something to say. It's getting warmer outside and I implore everyone to put on deodorant and not the natural stuff. It don't work. I don't know how to tell you. Your natural deodorant, it don't work. And I know you think it works, and I know you think you found the one that works and this one really works. But I promise you with every fiber of my being, it's not working. And no one has the heart to tell you. Like, I know people whom I love who think their natural deodorant is the one. This one's really good, though. No, no, I found the one. You didn't. It doesn't work. So please, I'm begging all of you, get a little aluminum. A little aluminum in your pits and stop the stank. Help. Stop the stank. That's what I'm trying to say. For real. It doesn't work. The natural deodorant, I love the idea. I love the concept. I love everything going natural. I love organic. I eat organic food when I'm able to. What a privilege and a gift. Your deodorant, your natural deodorant doesn't work. You didn't find the one. I love you. You didn't find the one. No one else feels like they can tell you they are Smelling it. They're smelling you. And they don't feel like they can say something because what are you going to say? Hey, we're not that close. We work together. Yeah, we're gabbing about the tea, the office tea, but by the way, your natural deodorant doesn't work and I feel like people can't smell themselves. So I just want to say on behalf of everyone everywhere, your natural deodorant isn't working. And if someone sends you this cl, it's because they love you and also because your natural deodorant isn't working. I said it come for me, it's fine. But it's true. This is top of mind for me because I left. It's a warm day today in New York and I left my apartment and I was like. I remember looking at my deodorant, but did I put it on my body? Then I was spiraling. I've been. I've been crashing out about this all day long. I even ask the people in the office here if I stink. No one wants to tell me, but point is, if you don't have deodorant, by the way, life hack hand sanitizer will do the trick and hold you over for the time being. Okay? If you forget your deodorant, it's getting hot. Be good to your neighbors. Get real deodorant. Don't be musty. Stop the stank. I believe in you. I'm about to have a very fun conversation with a beautiful soul, and I can't wait for you to listen. By the way, in the comments, tell me your favorite deodorant brand and it better not be natural. Love you. All right, Listen to this. Feels good to get that off my chest. Actually, wait. Bring us back. I have more to say. Sorry, I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. We love aluminum around here. For real. I'm going no less than 19% aluminum if you tell me it's making me sick. Probably, but other things are as well. Everything's making us a little sick. I think this one's worth it. Give me that 19% aluminum. I just went to CVS. I looked at every back of every deal before I bought my new container that I maybe didn't put on today. And I said, how much percentage? 12. Put it down. Doesn't work. What's this? 13. Throw it away. 19% or more. Okay, that's the guidelines this summer. Let's smell good together. Okay, this conversation is going to be good because I know it. Because and we're going to actually go to it now because. Because I've said everything I need to say about deodorant, but stay and list. You know, people could inherit a big dick from their dad, supposedly. Oh, I was a biology major. We learned that.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God. That's where I got my big dick from.
Ego Wodem
So you mean to say I could get a tight pussy and I'd get it from my mom?
Michelle Buteau
Ask your mom if she got a tight pussy.
Ego Wodem
Should we call it my Nigerian mother? If she has a Thai, can you say it in Nigeria? What's the language we speak? Hanging.
Michelle Buteau
How do you say, how are you
Ego Wodem
close? They would understand.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Yes.
Michelle Buteau
And how you say, I'm good, bitch.
Ego Wodem
I'm good. But Adema, bitch. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
I'm ready to go to Nigeria. Put me on 90 Day Fiance. I'm ready for my prince. I'm gonna get a goat. Take me to that village. Have you seen 90 Day Fiance?
Ego Wodem
I have seen it, but it's been years. My mom loves that show.
Michelle Buteau
Any old white lady named Lisa from Pennsylvania is gonna try to almost get
Ego Wodem
by a Nigerian man.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ad Read Announcer
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Hi. First of all.
Michelle Buteau
Hi.
Ego Wodem
Let's go back.
Michelle Buteau
Let's go back.
Ego Wodem
Let's start in the beginning.
Hoda Kotb
Let's do it.
Michelle Buteau
This coffee. What's in it?
Ego Wodem
I don't crack. It's giving crack. It's giving cocaine. Okay, I'm gonna have to do your intro. I have respect for you.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, okay. Thank you.
Ego Wodem
Is that confounding that someone might respect? Come on.
Michelle Buteau
I wish I knew what confounding meant, but I don't read what you read.
Ego Wodem
Come pick.
Michelle Buteau
You have. You're just a different. You're in a different category. You have a shirt on with no stains. You have. You have biceps and triceps even as you use words like confounding. So I'm just. I'm here.
Ego Wodem
You know what? No, you're doing great because you look beautiful.
Michelle Buteau
First of all, this blazer doesn't. But. And it never did.
Ego Wodem
But you didn't even have to snitch on yourself.
Michelle Buteau
I just wanted to let you know. I just wanted to. You say me say before you said it.
Ego Wodem
But are you. How are you with compliments?
Michelle Buteau
Oh, no. Stop looking through my soul, bitch.
Ego Wodem
You don't do well with compliments, do you?
Michelle Buteau
You know what it is? Sometimes. Sometimes.
Ego Wodem
When do you do well? When do you not do well?
Michelle Buteau
When I believe it.
Ego Wodem
And how often are we believing it, Michelle?
Michelle Buteau
It really depends. Right now, in this era.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Cause I'm gonna be 49 soon. Oh, wow. Yes. So it's like the fuck good. So, yes, I'm gonna take that.
Ego Wodem
Cause I know you believe that. Okay. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
So it's like 80% of the time.
Ego Wodem
Oh, okay.
Michelle Buteau
Cause I know.
Ego Wodem
Yes.
Michelle Buteau
You know.
Ego Wodem
Well, I want you to know when I said the blazer was giving. Oh, I really meant it.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Thank you. To believe it. And then you say, thank you, but we're gonna introduce you.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, shit. The whole show.
Ego Wodem
The whole.
Michelle Buteau
Who the fuck was that?
Ego Wodem
Well, I said. I teased the name to begin with. And also for the viewers. They could see who the fuck it is.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
My next guest is an actress, writer, and comedian who you can see in the new season of Survival of the Thickest. July 2nd on Netflix. It's Michelle Boutel.
Michelle Buteau
Hello. Hi.
Ego Wodem
Let's act like we weren't just. We didn't start with pussy. And now it's like, hi, nice to meet you. I mean, you. You know, Michelle. Who or what do you want to say thanks to?
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my goodness. I would love to say thanks to my kids. First grade teachers.
Ego Wodem
Oh, good.
Michelle Buteau
You know what I mean? Like, it's either that or the lady that waxes my puss. But honestly, she doesn't know you're still getting a wax. I am. What are you doing? Laser.
Ego Wodem
Laser hair removal. Laser hair removal since like, 2012. Laser. Laser.
Michelle Buteau
Do you go like this?
Ego Wodem
Also use a microwave and stand right in front of it. I don't care. We're all dying. Every day, we're dying. That's vintage microwave. I don't know how people. Do you not have a microwave?
Michelle Buteau
I have a microwave. I don't always use it. I heat it up.
Ego Wodem
Okay, you heat.
Michelle Buteau
I heat it up.
Ego Wodem
You heat it up on the stovetop. I heat it up, too. In a box with waves.
Michelle Buteau
The microwave. But you should take it out of what? Like, don't heat it up in the plastic.
Ego Wodem
They say I'm gonna get little microplastics in my system or whatever. Yeah, I'm not gonna hold you.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
I am sometimes using the plastic container.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
But I want to talk about the woman who waxes your pussy.
Michelle Buteau
Okay, let's do it.
Ego Wodem
Or your kid's first grade teacher.
Michelle Buteau
Same person.
Ego Wodem
Stop it. Imagine.
Michelle Buteau
You know, I was thinking, I really. Because when I see them at the end of the day, they're tired. That's 25 kids per class. That's a lot of energy. And I don't know what they do when they go home. And I'm not going to judge them because now, like, they. They should do anything they want to
Ego Wodem
do, what they want to do.
Michelle Buteau
They should smoke or eat, dose anything.
Ego Wodem
All of it. You're fine by it. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
Yes. Because that's a lot. And they're shaping these young minds. They're not just babysitting them. They're trying to teach them stuff besides manners, which. And it's amazing my kids know how to read. That's not me.
Ego Wodem
I have nothing to do with that.
Michelle Buteau
I don't. Because I'm like, give me the book. They're like, I could do it. I'm like, sis, this is great. You wake up, they know how to read. You wake up again, they're paying taxes. It's like, wow. You know, it's like the teachers that you have in first grade are the teachers that are good teachers. They're supposed to. They're doing what you think a teacher's supposed to do and then some. And so I just can't get my mind around how underpaid they are, how undervalued. And we're asking teachers to, you know, have a dress code and don't eat this and that and put on a bulletproof vest.
Ego Wodem
You're not paying them enough to be doing all that.
Ad Read Announcer
Yes.
Michelle Buteau
And that's why I'm just like, okay, Abbott. Yes. That's. I feel like that's why Abbott elementary is like. I mean, obviously, it's hilarious, but it's also like, you never. I don't think I appreciated any teachers when I was growing up. So I'm like, it's nice to see good teachers.
Ego Wodem
It's true. But I also think that growing up, you don't have an appreciation for a lot of things. You don't think you understand what your parents have done and sacrifice and the work and effort they're putting in. Until you're older and have a little more perspective and understand the world a little more and until you're a parent yourself.
Michelle Buteau
Y.
Ego Wodem
About appreciation. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
Every time I see your face, all I hear is, cook my meat.
Ego Wodem
How do I feel about. How do I feel about that? Honor simply.
Michelle Buteau
It's good. Because I can't say. I mean, I say it to everybody else's face, but I just love.
Ego Wodem
Say, cook my meat. Well, you've done it now. Cook my meat. You better. I used to order steaks well done, but that's not a. This isn't about me today, Michelle. Oh, this is gonna be about you.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God.
Ego Wodem
You have twins, if I'm not mistaken.
Michelle Buteau
I do.
Ego Wodem
Do you like that I remember that about you? Or Is it weird?
Michelle Buteau
No. My titties are cute. I'm just kidding. You talking about my. You like that?
Ego Wodem
I seen them dates and I remember those titties.
Michelle Buteau
Yes, I do. The right one's a little bit bigger.
Ego Wodem
Normal.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you. I just. I'm glad to have big titties because I feel like if I was ever in the Titanic, I don't need that door.
Ego Wodem
J.
Michelle Buteau
Move on. Use your own whistle.
Ego Wodem
So you have two sets of twins. The kids and the tit.
Michelle Buteau
Real Noah's ark. I'm so sorry.
Ego Wodem
Don't be sorry. Okay?
Ad Read Announcer
I'm not.
Ego Wodem
She's crying. Because this is a very emotional podcast. She's crying also.
Michelle Buteau
Was it ever. Did they ever clean this?
Ego Wodem
Clean what?
Michelle Buteau
This room.
Ego Wodem
This room in here. You think is dusty? No. A little bit, yes.
Michelle Buteau
You don't think it's dusty?
Ego Wodem
I took a Zyrtec, I did a
Michelle Buteau
Zycam up my nose. Like a little spray. Spray.
Ego Wodem
You know that I love Zycam.
Michelle Buteau
Really?
Ego Wodem
Okay. But I used to do the swabs that you. They're swabs. You break a stick off and you swab your nose. So before. I was doing that before. COVID test. Sticking my own swab. But then Zycam has been unfortunately recalled twice in my lifetime. Oh, yeah. So go ahead and drink your coffee. Shit. Because Zycam, they. At one point, I don't know what the first recall was, but then I couldn't find the swabs anymore. And this is like last year, I said, where the fuck are the swabs? There was fungus found in some of the swabs. So it was basically your. If you had an infected pack, you were swiping your nose with fungus. And so it is also crazy that there's a medication that was just over the counter where you could casually, like, stick a Q tip up your nose. Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
America's wild. It's lawless.
Ego Wodem
But I like it, though. I do. Because, you know, I was abroad. Yes. Now I'm a lady. But no, I was actually abroad in a different place. I was abroad overseas in Europe, and I got my forehead burnt with a curling iron. A professional burnt my forehead. And I haven't had that happen since I was, like, 6 years old and I was using the hot tools. So it was a professional burnt my forehead. And I said, I need Neosporin. I couldn't find anything of the sort in Europe because they're like, it has an antibiotic in it.
Michelle Buteau
They're very strict.
Ego Wodem
But why can't I have a topical antibiotic?
Michelle Buteau
It's so weird how strict they are. Cause I'm like, y' all invented slavery, and now we can't get Neosporin. Make it make sense, Jimmy. Colonialism, imperialism.
Ego Wodem
I can't get melatonin. You can't get melatonin.
Michelle Buteau
And you can't get all the raping and pillaging. And I can't even get a good night's rest.
Ego Wodem
Michelle, I just want you to know we started the conversation. I just want to back. I. Twins.
Michelle Buteau
To get back to my twins.
Ego Wodem
Twins raping and pillaging. And I can't get a good night's rest.
Ad Read Announcer
Speaking.
Ego Wodem
Oh, better yet, better transition. Speaking of good night's rest.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my.
Ego Wodem
Are you all twins?
Michelle Buteau
Because that was a segue. Sis, you got a helmet on that segue. Yes, you did.
Ego Wodem
You see what I did there?
Michelle Buteau
You know what? It's a privilege to be like this tired and overwhelmed. I love these kids Down. They're so cute. They're really nice souls. And I always say, thank God they're beautiful. Cause it'd be hard if they were ugly.
Ego Wodem
I've heard that about choosing a partner.
Michelle Buteau
That too.
Ego Wodem
If your partner is that too.
Michelle Buteau
You can kind of get through it because they could take care of themselves and stuff. And then you kind of disassociate. And then all of a sudden, you're like, roommates. And then you break up, but with kids. Boom, boom, boom.
Ego Wodem
You know, your kids.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. They look like your parents and stuff. And it's crazy.
Ego Wodem
It's bizarre. But I. I have to tell you, though, I don't know if you remember this, and I don't mean to trigger you, and we'll cut this out if I'm triggering you. Sip your iced coffee.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Because when last time, my second to last time I saw you.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
You were like, sorry, I'm late to a thing. It was like, a fashiony thing. You're like, some. Some kid bit my child at school.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, shit.
Ego Wodem
Do you remember this? Yes. Is it triggering to bring up?
Michelle Buteau
No, it's not. It's not. I actually just this. This was like, three years ago. Three or four years ago. And it's really crazy because when you put your child out in the world and even just in daycare, you are trusting people fully and paying them to take care of your kid. And so when your kid comes home hurt, you want to burn it the fuck down. At least I do. And now there's, like, privacy clause so that, like, these institutions can't tell you who did it.
Ego Wodem
Oh. Because you're like, who did It.
Michelle Buteau
Who didn't? And. And it doesn't matter how famous you are, how much money you have or don't have, at the end of the day, this is your child, and somebody else hurt your kid, and it feels like nobody is protecting them except you. And so I remember leaving that day, and I told him, I said, you make me feel like a really bad mom because I trusted you guys to do the right thing, and you did not. You failed me and you failed her. Yeah. And I was like, you know, I'm here because, you know, she likes the teacher, but I'm leaving, and I'm gonna tell everybody what happened.
Ego Wodem
And what did. How did they take that?
Michelle Buteau
I don't know. I, I. It's just white blindness at that point.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
A bunch of white ladies being like, I'm sorry. It's like, get the out of my face.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
And it doesn't matter if their race, but sure. Kind of. And I'm just like, just, just, just do better. And so. Yeah. That was such a hard lesson.
Ego Wodem
I would feel convicted if you said that to me. You failed me and you failed her. That is damn a bar.
Michelle Buteau
I can't. I can't yell anymore. Yelling gets me.
Ego Wodem
Yeah, yelling is unproductive. It really is.
Michelle Buteau
Like, it's like road rage.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Then what?
Ego Wodem
And, yeah, you look silly. Like. Yes. You look so silly. Screaming and yelling and sometimes yelling, it can be cathartic if it's for the sake of catharsis, but it's really ineffective. Yelling at someone. Because you're yelling at someone, they're really not listening to you. All they're thinking is, stop screaming.
Michelle Buteau
I'm gonna wait for you to stop yelling.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
I think singing at the top of your lungs is probably like, my yelling at this point.
Ego Wodem
The most aggressive.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
How. Okay. How are you in conflict generally?
Michelle Buteau
Would you say it's changing?
Ego Wodem
Tell me.
Michelle Buteau
I used to pop off. I used to pop off.
Ego Wodem
Pop off.
Michelle Buteau
I used to pop off. She's a Jersey girl. Sometimes I feel the little Jersey mall parking lot, like, creeping up in the back of my neck, and I'm like, not today or tomorrow.
Ego Wodem
That whole video.
Michelle Buteau
That's not how I'm gonna be on the Today show.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
But I realized that, you know, people are also going through something, and this is a learned behavior, and so I try to look at the bigger picture and have compassion for them. So in conflict, especially running, being the number one on the call sheet for three seasons.
Ego Wodem
Congrats.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you so much. It is a dream come true. But then Also, like, heavy as the head, right? So I know I'm gonna be talked about. I know I have to put out fires. I know I'm not gonna be everyone's favorite person, but as long as I come from a place of, like, unbridled honesty, truth, so, you know, I'm not fucking around. I'm just being honest and compassionate. I feel like even if they don't receive it or get it, I can sleep at night because I treated them the way that I would want to be treated in that situation. Do you know what I mean? So I try not to run from conflict like I used to, because I went from like, what'd you say, bitch? To I'm gonna ghost you and not deal with this to this is not sustainable. I have to actually, like, see people and work with them. And I've been with my husband since 2008. You can't, like, be with somebody fully if you can't meet yourself fully.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
So it's like, yeah, I. I don't mind talking about it, but also, you know, I'm tired, so I'm like, we have four and a half to seven minutes to get to the root of this because some motherfuckers keep going.
Ego Wodem
Oh, yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Like a quiet friend that all of a sudden trusts you. It's like, shut up.
Ego Wodem
Oh, no.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, don't stop talking.
Ego Wodem
Shut up.
Michelle Buteau
I gotta go to bed. I'm falling asleep. We did it.
Ego Wodem
We did it.
Michelle Buteau
We fell asleep together.
Ego Wodem
Four to seven, a timer.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, me too. I like to be efficient with my feelings.
Ego Wodem
I love it. So you're not, you're not going to be hyper verbose when you're in conflict.
Michelle Buteau
Hyper verbose. I know you better.
Ego Wodem
I know you heard me when I said confounding.
Michelle Buteau
I. I really did.
Ego Wodem
I.
Michelle Buteau
What in the Aila and the beat are going away. I love it.
Hoda Kotb
Yet,
Michelle Buteau
Michelle, you better.
Ego Wodem
You see what I'm trying to do over here?
Michelle Buteau
I love it.
Ego Wodem
This is the news.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God. I trust you more than I trust the news.
Ego Wodem
Oh, my goodness. Okay, so we going to get to it.
Michelle Buteau
Come on.
Ego Wodem
What? Which one of you, between you and your husband, is the, like, disciplinarian? Who's the fun parent? Who's the disciplinarian?
Michelle Buteau
We take turns.
Ego Wodem
Okay?
Michelle Buteau
We gotta take turns because, you know, I. I leave a lot to go film or do the road, and so he's gotta hold it down. But when I'm back, he loves to be like, okay, now I'm a good cap, you know? So we take turns. Yeah, yeah. And I think anytime after 8pm I'm just gonna be like, like, no, sit down, go back. Come on.
Ego Wodem
So they say they know.
Michelle Buteau
They know after 8:00pm I'm Denzel Washington. Never mind, go. Sometimes I turn into a light skin and Bernie Mac. I'm like, lay down, lay down.
Ego Wodem
And they do understand what you're saying?
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, I mean they, they move like they do.
Ego Wodem
So you're sweet, you know, but like,
Michelle Buteau
it's a long day. It's 8pm you guts to go to bed now.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. You know, 8:00pm I was a night owl for a very long time and now I'm like, I'm loving going to bed at like nine, like as a kid or as an adult even into adulthood. Well, into adulthood was like love to be up when everyone is asleep.
Michelle Buteau
But you have to like also do that in order to be like to do the job that you did before, right?
Ego Wodem
Yeah, you have to be.
Michelle Buteau
You gotta be up. Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Drinking sugar free Red Bull celsius at like 11:30pm Yikes.
Michelle Buteau
At midnight I always just do a bump of co. It's way healthier.
Ego Wodem
Do you do cocaine?
Michelle Buteau
I used to. Not anymore, but it's great for adhd.
Ego Wodem
Oh really? Can you tell me more?
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
I've never done cocaine.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, it's. Really?
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Does that seem surprising because of what I did for work or because. No, my vibe? Why do you seem surprised? I've never done cocaine.
Michelle Buteau
No, no, no, I'm not surprised.
Ego Wodem
Well, now I'm insulted.
Michelle Buteau
No, no, don't be insulted or surprised.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Because first I was like, oh, she
Michelle Buteau
thinks that that's okay.
Ego Wodem
And then way. You don't, you don't think.
Michelle Buteau
No, it's really cute. I think it's really fun how like everybody was like it, like everybody was doing drugs and like, didn't know how to handle their lives. And now everybody has a food allergy and they're like in bed at 8 and so like I enjoy what's happening in life where people are just like, I can't be at my. My phone's got to be out of my bedroom. And I got. It's like, good for you, you know, Good for you. You're conflict free yoga mat.
Ego Wodem
Good for you.
Michelle Buteau
You know, before people's teeth were falling out of their head and they never forgave their father or the mother for the fucking whatever the fuck. Right. And now it' which I love. Everyone's got white teeth in their side teeth. It's like, wow.
Ego Wodem
I don't know. Why were the side teeth missing by the way.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, wow.
Ego Wodem
I've asked a friend this. I genuinely don't know what was going on with the side teeth. And I mean that with kindness.
Michelle Buteau
I can't.
Hoda Kotb
No.
Ego Wodem
And maybe this is coming from a privileged place, but I didn't understand.
Michelle Buteau
Not a privileged place because I have
Ego Wodem
my side teeth and I floss every day. Yeah. So what do you think?
Michelle Buteau
I think teeth really is just DNA. I think it's DNA just like the tight puss or the loose puss or the loose puss. I think a lot of it. It's like you can do as much as you can do, but DNA gonna catch up with you.
Ego Wodem
Damn.
Michelle Buteau
I think so. And I think they're probably like. They're just like one of the first ones to fall out because you use them the most. Right. And then you grind your teeth and I don't know. But shout out to the missing side teeth community. I'm with you. I stand with you. Thank you for your service, thoughts and prayers. And also shout out to the Audi belly button community.
Ego Wodem
I had an Audi.
Michelle Buteau
And now you don't.
Ego Wodem
My shit went any.
Michelle Buteau
Wow.
Ego Wodem
Can you believe.
Hoda Kotb
Wow.
Michelle Buteau
You really have a little shit inside yourself. How'd you do that?
Ego Wodem
It just happened one day. I said, where did it go? It was out and then it was in.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, look at that.
Ego Wodem
Can you believe that?
Michelle Buteau
You guys, whatever you want in your life, I want that for you.
Ego Wodem
Manifestation. I didn't try for an innie. It just looked down one day and I was like, oh, my gosh, My belly button is inside.
Hoda Kotb
Wow.
Ego Wodem
My belly is crazy.
Michelle Buteau
You've really lived two different lives.
Ego Wodem
I have. And I. I want to just take a moment as well to thank the side tooth missing community as well. Yes. And say that I stand with you also because I maybe it seemed like I don't stand with you.
Michelle Buteau
Yes. No, I stand with you too. And I sit with you and I cat cow with you.
Ego Wodem
And you know, I'm gonna do tree pose with you. Fuck it.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, wow. I'm gonna do a tree pose too. And a sun salutation. You know, it's hard, especially when, like, health care is a luxury and dental isn't even included in health care. It's like, you know what? It's like it. Why is it considered cosmetic when you can't even get a job if you don't have, like, a certain amount of teeth?
Ego Wodem
You know what I mean?
Michelle Buteau
Well.
Ego Wodem
And honest to God, I just didn't know. I have asked, not trying to be me. I just didn't know why they were Falling out. I didn't know. Yeah, but I think.
Michelle Buteau
Jeanette, we gotta get a dentist.
Ego Wodem
I'm gonna get a dentist on the podcast next. Yes, any dentist.
Michelle Buteau
Aren't you a dentist?
Ego Wodem
Dentist. You can talk, it's fine. I'm not a dentist. Okay. Are you Australian?
Michelle Buteau
Are you missing a side tooth?
Ego Wodem
Are you Australian?
Michelle Buteau
English.
Ego Wodem
English. Okay. Well, what happened with the side tooth? What's the story? It broke. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Sometimes it breaks, sometimes it breaks. Michelle.
Ego Wodem
That's what I was trying to tell you, that sometimes it breaks the side tooth, sometimes it breaks. So moving. Moving on. Look at this.
Ad Read Announcer
1 and 4.
Michelle Buteau
And he was the one in the
Ego Wodem
four of the four. One. Is that a real statistic?
Michelle Buteau
I don't know. That's. That's the statistic they use on gum commercials with dentists.
Ego Wodem
One in four adults.
Michelle Buteau
One in four dentists approve.
Ego Wodem
Absolutely.
Hoda Kotb
Joy is essential, and it's also elusive. You can't order it, you can't borrow it or simply hope it into life. But now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence.
Michelle Buteau
Joy 101.
Hoda Kotb
It's a new podcast hosted by me, how to Kotbi. Together, guys, we'll have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Entertainment legends, sports icons, wellness experts and everyday people will share how they find, allow, and experience Joy. And I'll offer some of my own tips and takes on seeking a more balanced and harmonious life. If you're craving inspiration, support, and useful tools to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting and moving on air chats. Joy after a breakup. Joy as an empty nester. Joy after a loss. Joy as a caretaker. This new podcast will speak to you. Listen to Joy 101 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ad Read Announcer
I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcements calling the place soccer. Football at home.
Ego Wodem
Why do I watch the World Cup?
Michelle Buteau
That's like asking me, why do I breed?
Ad Read Announcer
I inherited that fandom from my mom.
Michelle Buteau
I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.
Ad Read Announcer
From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Echabarri, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the US and its underdog river. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great.
Michelle Buteau
A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though.
Ad Read Announcer
Are they the only ones that don't like that?
Michelle Buteau
Nobody likes that.
Ad Read Announcer
As we get ready for the Men's World cup this summer, listen to American football as part of the Mike Cultura Podcast Network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Post people do not wait for the perfect time. They learn between shifts and family dinners at Post University. Online education is built for busy schedules so you can keep moving forward without putting life on hold. And Post makes it personal. With support from real people who care about your goals. Become a Post person. Learn more at post.
Michelle Buteau
Edu.
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Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
You are going into. Is it the third. Third season of shooting of Survival of the Thickest How. Okay, beyond handling, you know, conflict. Yes. And being the star of a show which, by the way, congratu fucking lations.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you so much.
Ego Wodem
That is not a small thing in this climate of the industry.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
What. What is it like being a leader on set? Beyond.
Michelle Buteau
So fun. Is it so fun, you know, when people say words like natural born leader, it's just, you know, it isn't even like, leader and, like, do what I say. It's like, I want to bring out the best in everybody. And I'm like, let's go fly. You know, like. Like every Cyndi Lauper music video in the 80s where she's like, come on, girls. And like, everyone follows her down the cobblestone street to like, that's what it feels like. I'm like, everybody bring it past self. You know what I mean? And I don't do cocaine anymore.
Ego Wodem
I do want. Okay, so cocaine. But what was it like? Sorry, because I also.
Michelle Buteau
It's great. What's that thing that you take to make your brain? What's the medicine that you would take to make Adderall?
Hoda Kotb
Adderall.
Michelle Buteau
It's like Adderall.
Ego Wodem
It's Adderall?
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
Illegal Adderall.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
It is illegal, right?
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Okay. Well, I wasn't trying to send you to jail. You were like, bitch. And a police officer standing right outside the studio. Here we've got a dentist.
Michelle Buteau
I love that. Fuck ice.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
And so it's like Adderall. It just programs your brain in a way where you can focus.
Ego Wodem
Oh, wow.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. And then be up and then be friendly. If you have social anxiety, you're chatty. You know, it's not a good look because it makes you, like, grind your teeth. But, like, you know, it's been so long. Like, it's been. I'm not even. Like, it's just been so long. It's been a very long time. But, you know, I think at a certain point, you do look like that scene from Wolf of Wall Street. Everyone's a mess. Just a met. Like a dolly paint. Is that the name of the artist?
Ego Wodem
I was about to say the Dali. I don't know, but you meant Salvador. Salvador Dali.
Michelle Buteau
Tomato Salvador.
Ego Wodem
The melting. The melting. The Picasso.
Michelle Buteau
Whatever.
Ego Wodem
Potato Picasso.
Michelle Buteau
But, yeah, season three was especially special because we knew it was going to be the final season. Netflix was able to give us that gift of letting us know, hey, you can come back. However, this is where it ends. So go off. And we were like, thank you. Because a lot of times, you know, you create out of a space of anxiety, you know, hoping that you can get another season and hoping if you just do this or if you just book that person or you just write the storyline or get that set or whatever it is. And it was so liberating just to say what a beautiful personal trilogy. This is how we end. And an ending is always a beginning. And so that's what this was. And it was really fucking great. That's special. I'm so excited.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
And it's. And a lot of people don't even know it's a book. Like, I wrote the book first.
Ego Wodem
Okay. I didn't know it was a book. Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Survival the Thickest. I wrote a book. It came out, like, December 8, 2020. So we were like, right in Covid. There was no book tour. There was no best sellers list. You know, I was really just making videos from, like, my bathroom or something, just saying, I have a book. And everyone like, why is this bitch so crazy? And it was like, you know, and even my special welcome to Utopia came out in September of 2020. And so I remember it came out the night that the first debate between, I believe it was Hillary and no it was Biden and Trump. And I'm like, oh, I'm going against, you know, capitalism and, you know, disease and viruses and politics, and it's really hard making art when there's so much shit in the world. You know, like at one point I want to be posting about my shows, but someone has just been kidnapped or killed and it's just like, hey, guys, if you feel like laughing. But, like, we do, like, we do need to laugh. We do need the joy. And so, you know, I don't take for granted that this is a beautiful space, platform, an international platform to really lean in and carry out my mission statement, where it's just, I've always said it's not us that needs to catch up to the world, it's the world that needs to catch up to us. So that's why I will always include every fat, black, brown, queer person because, you know, we need to see ourselves have a fucking happy ending. You know, it can't just be this pain porn where it's just like, oh, did they find her body? It's just like, no, we deserve love. We deserve deserved. And I always say to get dicked down and to have, like, fun sex scenes and, you know, everything isn't. Everything isn't meant to be traumatic.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
You know, I mean, life is gonna. Life. But, you know, if I have this page space, I want to bring joy to people and laugh. You know what I mean? Like, cook, mommy. Like, cook, Mommy.
Ego Wodem
You know what I mean?
Michelle Buteau
Like, it's just, you know, like living rent free in someone's head is like, the best. It's like the ultimate compliment for comedy.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I have to agree. It's amazing to see how much your comedy impacts and resonates with people. And I have to ask, is your mission statement that it's not us that needs to catch up to the world, but the world that needs to catch up to us? Is that the mission statement? Yes, that is the mission statement. That's a great mission statement. Thank you so much.
Michelle Buteau
I have a lot of mantras. I'm the only child.
Ego Wodem
You are? Yeah. Oh, boy. You don't seem like it to me.
Michelle Buteau
That's what people say.
Ego Wodem
You don't seem like it.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you.
Ego Wodem
No shade to the only children.
Michelle Buteau
I'm making enemies to children with no side teeth. I want to get out of here.
Hoda Kotb
No.
Ego Wodem
What are some of your other mantras?
Michelle Buteau
Don't tell yourself no before other people tell you no. The minute you tell yourself no, it's over.
Ego Wodem
I like to say, don't be Your own no. So same vibes. Yes. It's like. But you're right. And I need to remember that one. Okay. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
I can't remember.
Ego Wodem
That's okay. That's plenty of mantras. If you guys want more mantras.
Michelle Buteau
Get. They don't wanna hear from you. They're gonna hear about you.
Hoda Kotb
You.
Michelle Buteau
Ooh. So I use that in dating.
Ego Wodem
Can you.
Michelle Buteau
And then I applied it to industry.
Ego Wodem
I need you to elaborate on that one for me, please.
Michelle Buteau
If they don't want to hear from you, let them hear about you. Their no doesn't mean that's. That's not going to hinder your. Yes. Right. And so for me, I'm just like, if people don't understand you, then they're like, you are not there for them to get. Be so amazing and so powerful and so dynamic that one day they're gonna look at your and be like, oh, now I see it. But in that moment, don't drag yourself down with the. I need to explain myself to you. You know, I had a friend tell me, go where you're celebrated, not tolerated. Because I was trying to find my way in. Stand up because I had a foot in every door. And I'm like, I don't feel welcome anywhere except for the stage.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
But all the trying to get to this stage really bums me out. And so, you know, perspective is. It is a survival technique. And once I realized this is the hard stuff you have to do to get to the good stuff, then it's okay. Do the hard stuff. And now it's just easier because I know it's gonna be some bullshit, but get me on that stage.
Ego Wodem
You know what I mean? Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Get me on that motherfucking stage. And so. Yeah. And also for any comedian who's like, really trying to figure out how to get themselves to the next level, whatever that means, like, you are the level. So write some shit. Don't say I want to go second or third on it. Go anywhere on a lineup and be so undeniable and so hard to follow. And shit will happen for you, I promise.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
You know, you don't even need all your side teeth.
Ego Wodem
You don't. And you could be an only child. You know, let Michelle be. Be a. This is a face is what happened to the real one.
Michelle Buteau
That's such a good follow up. No one ever asked that.
Ego Wodem
I'm a ask. What did you do to end up here in prison?
Michelle Buteau
I bit into a bagel one night and it just like came out, but.
Ego Wodem
Hard ass bagel.
Michelle Buteau
Yes. In college, I didn't. I didn't. I drank a lot. I brushed my teeth, but I didn't. I didn't realize that, like there was a lot of sugar and drink drinks and I got a cavity. And then I didn't know I was supposed to like cap it and do all this other follow up. And so years later, it just came out. I actually wrote a chapter about it called Tooth Be Told in Survival of the Thickest now available. I don't know, probably on Amazon. Sorry. And also my website.
Ego Wodem
Go to the website michellebitau.org go to the website.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, it's a.org because.com got stolen. Did you know it expires and you got to read up, otherwise people will buy. No.
Ego Wodem
Okay, come on, get the potion. I didn't know that, but now we know. And knowing is simply half the battle. Okay, you remember that one? You remember that one?
Michelle Buteau
I love it.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
There were never any tracks.
Ego Wodem
There were never any. What's that?
Michelle Buteau
Because I was thinking like, we're off the tracks, but there never were any tracks.
Ego Wodem
I guess I want to ask more about that. Sure. But I'm really fascinated by. By tooth. Be told. Yeah. Your tooth fell out eating a bagel.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
That must have been really hard.
Michelle Buteau
It was. I was working the overnight shift at NBC. I used to be a news editor at 30 Rock, and I thought, wow, that's a really hard bagel. That's wild. And then I saw my tooth in the bagel and I was like, what? And it was like two in the morning. I called my dad and I was like, what do I do? And he's like, you have to go to the dentist. I was like, God, you're so smart. You're just a real smart.
Ego Wodem
Were you a daddy script?
Michelle Buteau
Yes, still am.
Ego Wodem
You still are?
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
He's 86. He's got dementia now. He doesn't know who I am, but he's so happy to see me. Oh, still, that's cool.
Ego Wodem
How. What has your process of dealing with the fact that he has dementia been like? Because I have friends whose parents are also in that place and are dealing with Alzheimer's as well. But yeah. What was your process like?
Michelle Buteau
I think because so many women in my family have already had it, I kind of understand what it's like, but so I'm going to be 49 and so I understand what it's like. It's really sad for me to see my kids be scared of him and be like, who's the old man that's shaky and Wants to, like, hold our hands. Because I want them to know the gregarious, fun loving, you know, Haitian dude with the chest hair and the gold chains, always putting on music and barbecuing and, you know, spinning people and. And in the kitchen. And so they don't know that side of him at all. They just know this little Haitian Benjamin Button man, which is just like, oh, no. But, yeah, I mean, I feel like I get to. In the beginning, I was like, God, this goodbye is very expensive. But now I just feel like, oh, this is also life. Like, I get to see this other side of him. And I feel really. He would be really proud of me to know that I am doing what I love to do and I get to support my family doing what I love to do. And that is why he migrated. That's why he left his country. So I could be fucking doing this.
Ego Wodem
This.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. So I don't know. He still gives me a high five even though he doesn't know who I am.
Ego Wodem
But he's excited to see you, which is really dope because not everybody gets that is my understanding. So that is really cool.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Somehow his heart still.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, he was a little aggressive in the beginning.
Ego Wodem
Yeah, the high fives were.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. No, we had to, like, hide knives, like. Yeah. And that's like part of the turn where they start forgetting stuff. They don't know who they are. They're saying crazy stories. They take out the knives and they're just, like, doing. And it's just like, we went through it, you know, it wasn't just like, we woke up one day and he doesn't know us and we love each other. You know, there's banging on the door. There's, like, tempers, but, I mean, when you love somebody down, like, what are you gonna do? You gotta take care of them. I. I hope my kids would wanna take care of me.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. You know, I imagine you invest in them enough and love on them.
Michelle Buteau
That's the fucking point.
Ego Wodem
You would think some of the kids are lawless. Did you feel as an only child, did it feel in any way, like, pressure, though, like, I have to do this? It did. It did. Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
I mean, yes. Jamaica and Haiti and the only child and a girl. It's on me.
Ego Wodem
It is. It was on you.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Have you ever. You. Have you wished you had siblings?
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God. I used to put on the Christmas list when I was little. I always wanted a sibling.
Ego Wodem
Oh, that is sweet.
Michelle Buteau
I always want a sibling. And I do call, like, my friends, my chosen family. You know, But a lot of my friends are just like, just be lucky you don't have a sibling. Because sometimes they're dusty and I'm like, what? More work than anything, bitch. And I'm like, oh, yeah. I didn't even think that it could be bad.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Grass is always greener when you're standing in shit. Yeah, it's true. It's true.
Michelle Buteau
Do you have siblings?
Ego Wodem
I do. I'm the youngest of four. Four what?
Michelle Buteau
People.
Ego Wodem
Four humans. Can you believe four humans? I'm the youngest. I have two older brothers and a sister.
Michelle Buteau
Wow.
Ego Wodem
But I'm the baby. It's nice being the youngest. I have to say, there's a youngest privilege that goes on. By that time, the parents are kind of like, we did this before. We're not freaking out. Zero pressure. Strict. Yeah. Way less pressure. And then I was like, everyone's kid. Which for a moment was not enjoyable. Being like, everyone's child. Like, that's too many elders and parents. But then at a certain point, it was like, I'm everyone's kid, but I'm kind of grown, but I'm everyone's kid. And now it's. We're past that. I have nieces. Oh, I love that.
Michelle Buteau
I must be so proud of you. Like, you are the Beyonce of the family.
Ego Wodem
Oh, my God. When I tell you my nieces do not give a damn about.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, oh, no.
Ego Wodem
But they're babies. So we've got like a little baby, a two year old, and a four year old.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, okay.
Ego Wodem
So I was like, the minute you
Michelle Buteau
take them to Disney World for free or something, or like Sesame street or something. You know what I mean?
Ego Wodem
Is that the thing I need to do next? Okay. I need to make that happen.
Michelle Buteau
The minute you have, like, pull, they're like, whoa.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I was like, I'm a voice in Gabby's Dollhouse.
Michelle Buteau
They were like, cool.
Ego Wodem
I love Gabby's Dollhouse. And that was the extent. That's all I got.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God.
Ego Wodem
I was like, me, please.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God. I love Gabby's Dollhouse.
Ego Wodem
Yeah, so they do. They didn't care that I was a part.
Michelle Buteau
I care.
Ego Wodem
Thank you, Michelle.
Michelle Buteau
Are you the cat? Who are you, Gabby?
Ego Wodem
I'm not Gabby. I forgot my character's name. I've been doing so much vo.
Michelle Buteau
I forgot, and you have to forgive me. You should.
Ego Wodem
You forget.
Michelle Buteau
I think when I like to say when we're living the dream, we're also sleepwalking.
Ego Wodem
It's true.
Michelle Buteau
You know, it's really true.
Ego Wodem
And you gotta be blessed do you have like a morning gratitude practice of any sort?
Michelle Buteau
No, I'm just like. I'm fucking up. Everything is working. I'm just glad everything. You gotta wake it up is dead.
Ego Wodem
Yes.
Michelle Buteau
I'm peeing straight. Gotta keep it real simple.
Ego Wodem
Is your pelvic floor strong?
Michelle Buteau
I don't know. I gotta ask her.
Ego Wodem
How you doing, girl?
Michelle Buteau
I don't know. Everything is a modified version at this point. You know what I mean? So I don't know how strong it is anything. I think it is, but I am one sneeze away from ruining this chair.
Ego Wodem
So is that's a weak pelvic floor.
Ad Read Announcer
It is,
Ego Wodem
Michelle.
Michelle Buteau
I don't know. I don't know what the infrastructure's doing.
Ego Wodem
Okay. You don't know.
Michelle Buteau
It carry me from point A to point B. So I thought it was good.
Ego Wodem
Don't ask any more questions. That was ridiculous.
Michelle Buteau
Need a HGTV episode up in here. Love it or leave it. No, love it or list it.
Ego Wodem
Love it or list it. We'll find out next episode. We're gonna next episode of the podcast. We have a dentist. We're gonna have OBGYN in here. Oh, it's fun.
Michelle Buteau
I would love to get a perhaps wear in public. I think it would be very healing.
Ego Wodem
Genuinely.
Michelle Buteau
I would.
Ego Wodem
You would get a pap smear in public? Yes.
Michelle Buteau
Cover it up.
Ego Wodem
Oh, okay. See, I'm thinking like, no, but what's the point of doing it in public? Because you're not gonna let everyone see the coochie.
Michelle Buteau
What? Ma', am,
Ego Wodem
I am a mother.
Hoda Kotb
Miss.
Michelle Buteau
Ma', Am, Put some respect on that coochie. We're gonna have my waxer. All the teachers for my kids school. No, I think it's. I think more people need to see how easy it is and seamless these appointments are. So they're not afraid to go.
Ego Wodem
That's true.
Michelle Buteau
But yeah, I just don't want to get poked in public. Although, sounds kind of nice.
Ego Wodem
Does. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
See, you never did it in public.
Ego Wodem
Getting a pap smear in public.
Michelle Buteau
No, I'm getting. No, no, I'm talking about sex.
Ego Wodem
I was like, no, I haven't gotten a pap smear. Do they do those?
Michelle Buteau
No, no, no, they don't. But if you dream big.
Hoda Kotb
Oh, you wish.
Ego Wodem
Anything can happen. It's what you've taught us here.
Ad Read Announcer
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
You better go find Nemo.
Ego Wodem
I need to go find Nemo.
Michelle Buteau
O. Okay.
Ego Wodem
Thinking on it. Let me think on it. Let me pray on it.
Michelle Buteau
I'm so sorry.
Ego Wodem
Wait, Michelle, how do you stay creative? Given. Given the climate. How do you stay creative?
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God. If anything, I force myself to sit down and finish my ideas because I know that we need them more than ever. We can't look at the news all the time. We, you know, we. We can't. We can't unsee what we've seen. And like now it isn't even that we're getting old enough to understand how violent the world is. The world is just getting more violent. And you have to laugh. Laughing is healing. Laughter is medicine. I'm a network.
Ego Wodem
You're a network?
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. Cause I'm a doctor.
Ego Wodem
You're a doctor of comedy.
Michelle Buteau
I'm a doctor of laughter. But, like, yeah. So I think if anything, the more the darker things get, like, the more I'm putting pen to paper.
Ego Wodem
Sure, yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Because all those ideas are swimming in there. If you talk to anybody creative, you know, like, everyone got an idea from 20 years ago or two minutes ago, or you come up with something on the spot. We have 11,100 million trillion fucking ideas. And there's always something to do in life so we don't get to it. What if we actually had time to get to it so, like, you know, we never will. But give yourself time to get to some of it.
Ego Wodem
You try.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
Juggling all your responsibilities. Then what does it look like? Cause you're on the show, you've got the kids. Kids. You're married.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
You have you dad. Parents. And so where do we squeeze that in? Like, what does it look like, squeezing it in? Is it like an hour here?
Michelle Buteau
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not like I go retreat to our lake house and sit by a typewriter. It sounds nice. It's not real.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Ad Read Announcer
It's not.
Michelle Buteau
You know, whenever I can take the time, I do. And sometimes my daughter is like, you know, will you stay in bed with me? Because, you know, I want some company and I've been away or whatever, and I'm like, I love this, but. And I asked her, do you mind if I bring my computer into the bedroom so I can just finish my ideas? Because I have ideas that I want to finish. She's like, absolutely. I'm like, okay, great. And I said, maybe I'll sell these ideas, maybe I won't. But I just want to get them done.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
And so, you know, I find the time when I can. Do I want to bring a screen into my daughter's room? No, but when your mind is going, you have to write it down.
Ego Wodem
It's true. Because have you ever tried to Return to an idea. And then ultimately felt like, ugh, I. I didn't strike while the iron was hot and while I felt excited about this thing.
Michelle Buteau
And I'm like, oh, I'll remember it.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
I don't. I have to leave myself a voice note. And that's the fun thing, too. There's so many ways to, like, remind ourselves how to do stuff now.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
Cause pen to paper, what the fuck? I might as well put that letter on a pigeon. A3 at Raven House of Dragon. You at. Did you get my mail? I don't know.
Ego Wodem
Is there something that you wanted to do do that you have not yet been able to do, but you're manifesting for yourself? And what is that thing?
Michelle Buteau
You know, there's always this moment of, like, I never. I never was one to
Ad Read Announcer
really be
Michelle Buteau
into competitions, you know, whether it's sports or, like, even the awards and stuff, because I'm like, you're only in competition with yourself. And that's exactly how comedy kind of raises you. It's like, you do better. Your team's your team. But, like, you do better, but now knowing how the sausage is made a little bit. A little bit, right? Because, like, the more access you have is just because you have more money for the access. And I ain't got that money like that. But I hear about the things like that, the things in the money some people have with the money, you know, but the three seasons and the stuff. It would be nice to just be on some lists for a week. Awards. I don't. I don't. I know that, like, the worth of my show and. And. And my art is not defined by awards, but the recognition after 25 years would be nice. I'm not gonna lie. It would be nice.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
And it isn't even like an award to put something on a shelf. I don't. I don't even need a shelf. Like, you know, do you have room
Ego Wodem
for a shelf and you. This.
Michelle Buteau
I got enough shelves on the body shelf. Titty meat shelves.
Ego Wodem
A booty shelf, too. Oh, nice.
Michelle Buteau
Yes, yes.
Ego Wodem
That gluteus medius, I believe.
Michelle Buteau
Brazilian cut jeans were hard. Talk about a public pap smear.
Ego Wodem
Okay, good. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Anyway.
Ego Wodem
Anyway. No, don't be sorry. There's nothing to apologize for.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Nothing.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you.
Ego Wodem
We're doing great.
Michelle Buteau
I own it. Yeah, you better cook my meat. You better cook motherfucking meat. Listen, so sorry.
Ego Wodem
No, it's okay. But I want to talk about you getting an award.
Michelle Buteau
I'm so sorry.
Ego Wodem
Don't say sorry. Don't do you apologize a lot?
Michelle Buteau
Of course.
Ego Wodem
Why?
Michelle Buteau
Because I have a vagina and a vulva.
Ego Wodem
For a second I was like, and a Volvo. I said, of course this family woman has a Volvo.
Michelle Buteau
It's a Toyota Sienna. But it used to be a Volvo anyway. Very, very well made car. But yeah, that would, that would be nice. It would be. Especially as like social media and streaming platforms make the world smaller. I think in a good way. It would be great that where Netflix is in like 190 or 91 countries that like everybody watches the show, you know, and it isn't even just to know my name, it's to, to feel seen or to receive an education through love and laughter. If you don't know somebody non binary queer, you know, or trans or questioning or, or, you know, you knew somebody fat from school and like, you know, you were addict to them and now like, whatever it is, I'm just like, watch the show. Yeah.
Ego Wodem
How does it feel for you to acknowledge it would be nice to get an award? Does it feel like, vulnerable? It does, yeah.
Michelle Buteau
It used to feel a little gross. It's definitely vulnerable. But I do think that words have power. So I don't mind and saying it out loud.
Ego Wodem
And I'm gonna agree with you. I want Michelle to get an award for survival of the thickest.
Michelle Buteau
I was like, sorry, sorry.
Ego Wodem
My words have power. Sorry, I'm sorry.
Michelle Buteau
No, but thank you. Yeah, thank you.
Ego Wodem
Because why not? Why not? Why? Absolutely not. And while you're right, the awards don't validate. Don't validate your work or make your work any more valuable.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
It's nice to get recognized.
Michelle Buteau
It would be nice.
Ego Wodem
It would be nice after all the work you've put in in and the years put into the game. Yes. To be recognized. That would be really nice.
Michelle Buteau
I think so.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I want that for you also.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you so much.
Ego Wodem
Did we sit? Did we do it? Did we do a thing like this once? You and I? Were we ever on a. On one of those, like award circuit thingies? Why do I feel like we did.
Michelle Buteau
We did like a variety. No. Hollywood Reporter table. Yeah, Round table.
Ego Wodem
A round table. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
Yes. It was really fun. It was us.
Ego Wodem
Yes. I'm having memories of it now. That feels like 100 years ago.
Michelle Buteau
Wig. Maya Rudolph Quinta. Branson Quinta.
Ego Wodem
Queen Quinta.
Michelle Buteau
And who is the lovely lady from Girls 5 ever?
Ego Wodem
Elise.
Michelle Buteau
Yes, Elise. Was there somebody else?
Ego Wodem
I feel there was. And if there was, forgive us because that was a hundred years ago.
Michelle Buteau
It was.
Ego Wodem
Everyone was incredible. Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
That Was really fun.
Ego Wodem
That's fun. How does that. Are those, like, circuits? Do you get stressed? Do you get. Or how do you manage?
Michelle Buteau
No, no. Why would it be stressful?
Ego Wodem
Just like the. Doing the award circuit. So not like the table itself, but just like the.
Michelle Buteau
I've never done the award circuit.
Ego Wodem
Really? That was it then.
Michelle Buteau
That was. It started.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Okay. We're gonna get you on an award circuit. I didn't do the award circuit.
Michelle Buteau
I mean, full disclosure, Netflix and I have talked about it, and we even did, like, an article with, I believe, Variety about it. But we start. We did the ramp up, and then there was what I was told a human clinical error to submit me for an Emmy.
Ego Wodem
I think I saw one of your posts that said something like this. That sucks.
Michelle Buteau
It does, right? It does, yeah.
Ego Wodem
Do we know who the person was? The human will never.
Michelle Buteau
No. Right.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. So
Ego Wodem
I'd be mad.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. It's my waxing lady.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
She's like, enough of this puss. But, yeah, I mean, yeah, things happen that are so out of your control, it's, like, really wild. So that's why you got to keep your head down and keep creating.
Ego Wodem
Sure. Are you type A or type B?
Michelle Buteau
I don't know.
Ego Wodem
Controlling or null?
Michelle Buteau
Depends.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
I like. I like a good. Like. Like, I'll do this, you do that. Do you know what I mean?
Ego Wodem
Yes.
Michelle Buteau
I don't know.
Ego Wodem
Okay. You don't have to know. I like to ask people their sign, whether they're type A or type B. Oh, what's your sign?
Michelle Buteau
So I'm a Leo. Leo Rising. Scorpio Moon.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Yeah. I want you to know that I don't know too much about any of it, but I love to ask.
Michelle Buteau
I know a little bit.
Ego Wodem
Okay. What is my. My niece is a Leo. The one who doesn't care about.
Michelle Buteau
Is she in August Leo or July?
Ego Wodem
July Leo.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Some of my closest friends are. Are July Leos.
Michelle Buteau
That makes sense. You're a performer.
Ego Wodem
Are you. What's. Are you a July Leo then? Of course I am. Okay, so what. What does it mean?
Michelle Buteau
July Leo is a little different from August Leo because they're a little more. I mean, they're decisive in a way that is more like community organizing. More like, I like things like this. How do you like them? More of, like, service. More. More that. And August Leo. Sorry, Come like, you know, come at me if you want. And August Leo is more like. It's what you think a Leo is. It's, like, fiery. Yeah, it's me. It's My time. It's my time to shine. Let's go. It's a healthy ego, but it's just like, whoa. Who loves himself that much in August?
Ego Wodem
August Leo.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Good to know. I'm gonna keep that in my back pocket.
Michelle Buteau
And my front zipper.
Ego Wodem
My front zip. I have two pockets. I don't have any pockets.
Michelle Buteau
What side are you?
Ego Wodem
I'm a PIs, Michelle.
Michelle Buteau
That's fun.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. What do you think that that means?
Michelle Buteau
Well, Pisces is deep water. You run deep, so it's deep, right? And a Pisces always has a moment where it changes. Because you can go, you know, against the grain, start your life like that. Or you can, you know, go with the flow. But at some point, you change and you figure out who you are, and you're like, oh, I've been really tough. I should go get along more with things. It'll be easier. Or you've been, like, a people pleaser and you're like, no, fuck this. Boundary boundaries. And everyone thinks you're, like, very difficult. But what I do love about a Pisces is the loyalty and the ability to take, take, take, take, take. Until that one moment, it's. It's like, you ain't never gonna see me again. And if you do, it won't be in the same way.
Ego Wodem
Oh, yeah, Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
I fuck with Pisces.
Ego Wodem
I've been read. I've been read. It's accurate. It's accurate.
Michelle Buteau
It's so fun.
Ego Wodem
Can I ask who you don't with on this? On the signs, like, off top, you hear someone is a blank. You're like, nah, I can't.
Michelle Buteau
We're all God's children.
Ego Wodem
Oh, Michelle.
Michelle Buteau
I will say, if there is a sag vag we got, we should just.
Ego Wodem
We should just.
Michelle Buteau
We should just have an aside. We should just say hi first.
Ego Wodem
Check, like dogs where they have to do a butt test. A butt test. A little sniff. Let's say no.
Michelle Buteau
Like, a Satchvadge is like Janelle Monae, Britney Spears, you know, very. Like, people that, like, fill a room. And I'm. I'm just gonna. I'll be here for you. Oh, I'll be here for you.
Ego Wodem
You're doing such a good job of being polite right now.
Michelle Buteau
But they're also, like, very fun but all consuming.
Ego Wodem
Okay. And that's a lot for you. Are you more extroverted or introverted generally?
Michelle Buteau
I. I think I'm a mix. Am I an extrovert? Am I Amber versus?
Ego Wodem
We've talked about this, but it's Amber it's like a little mix of both. Yes. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah. With my people, it's amazing, but if I'm in, like, new spaces, I let everybody do what they're gonna do. I love to clock a room. I can. I'm reading everything. I'm reading energy. I'm taking it all in, and I go, like, I don't have to be the loudest in order to, like, have the most fun. And so when people need to do that, I'm like, they should do that.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
That's where they're at in their life.
Ego Wodem
Sure. Yes, yes, yes. I think I'm similar, and I'm not a July Leo, but I'm. I think I'm very much like, okay, what's the vibe? I'm taking it all.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
But I think it's also a little bit of the Baltimore in me.
Michelle Buteau
Just, like, read the room. I love people from Baltimore.
Ego Wodem
Well, you love me and you love a Pisces.
Michelle Buteau
I do. I really love people from Baltimore that leave, though.
Ego Wodem
Yeah. You know, I understand. You know what I mean?
Michelle Buteau
Because it's like, we could go. Because it's so close to other places.
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
Michelle Buteau
But it's. It's one of those places.
Ego Wodem
Have you ever considered an lady?
Michelle Buteau
I did it for two years, and I was like, bye.
Ego Wodem
Why bye?
Michelle Buteau
It was the first time I really realized I had anxiety because I was never truly able to celebrate anything. If I got a call back for an audition, people would be like, I booked a movie. And I'm like, okay. It was always like, this comparison of, like, what I have and what you don't. And comedy saves me. Like, it just, like, regulates my nervous system in a way where I'm like, oh, my God, this. And I couldn't even do stand up. There it was at the time, it was like, the same 15 people that were, like, industry darlings that were doing a bar show to the comedy club, and I couldn't get on anywhere. And I'm like, I just have to go to New York. Because if I don't do stand up at that time, at least, like, five nights in a week, I felt like I didn't have enough water. And so the minute I came back to New York, I felt whole and free. I was on the subway. I was doing me. And then I booked something like that. I put on. I put myself on tape on my iPhone and had to go back to la. And I was like, this is how we're gonna do la.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Pop in.
Michelle Buteau
I'm gonna be in New York. But I'll come see you when I see you.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Yeah. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
LA is a side family.
Ad Read Announcer
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
I can't stay here.
Michelle Buteau
I cannot. I cannot.
Ego Wodem
Michelle, you don't seem like the type of person who would suffer fools.
Michelle Buteau
I try not to. Unless I'm like, really related to them.
Ego Wodem
Okay, you're like.
Michelle Buteau
And even then I'm like, this is
Ego Wodem
what it's gonna be. I'm not.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Did you ever have a stint where you dealt with fuckboys?
Michelle Buteau
Yes. Yeah, but I was like, I was on top physically. Yes. Well, I used to take life so seriously. And so I had a very serious boyfriend in high school. He was Muslim. I thought I was gonna convert to Islam. I would go to the mosque every Sunday and I was like. Cause I want to, like, get married to have sex.
Ego Wodem
Uh huh. Not too, not too stupid.
Michelle Buteau
And then he ended up fucking my best friend at the time. He cheated. He cheated this girl who was a white girl with a bubble butt. Ooh.
Ego Wodem
So you understood when you mentioned the bubble butt, it's cause you're like, I get it. She had a bubble butt.
Michelle Buteau
Don't cheat.
Ego Wodem
But you got a shelf. But you got a shelf.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, but he wanted the bubble and that's okay.
Ego Wodem
But don't you. You have. You only have a shelf? No bubble.
Michelle Buteau
I had a little bubble, but not like her bubble.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Cause she was short, so her bubble was like close to the ground.
Ego Wodem
Okay, I see. A down to earth bubble.
Michelle Buteau
A down to earth bubble. No. You know, and then I had a college boyfriend. Boyfriend who I thought I was gonna marry. And then I've learned that he didn't know how to read.
Ego Wodem
And I. I heard you say that on this American Life or Death, Sex and Money. You told the story on a podcast. And I heard it before I ever met you.
Michelle Buteau
Yo.
Ego Wodem
Wow.
Ad Read Announcer
Yes.
Ego Wodem
Before I ever met you, I lived in LA and I heard this story. I know the story. He couldn't read. I remember you realized he couldn't read. Yes. You told it on a podcast. I did.
Michelle Buteau
I think it was just American life.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
Because it was a real story. And people were like, how did you not know? Why would you stay with that? And I was like, two or three years in, I was already in. In love.
Ego Wodem
You're like, yeah.
Michelle Buteau
And adult literacy is like, real. And he dropped out of school when he was in fifth grade because his dad died and he was depressed and his mom was so depressed and left with so many bills, she had to work two, three jobs and didn't even know he wasn't going to school. So like, it wasn't like he just woke up stupid. He was just like, I can't handle life. Yeah, it's a real thing. But he also ended up cheating on me. So I was like, you know what? What? So I said, the boys. I'mma just the boys.
Ego Wodem
Okay. Yeah, the fuck boys. I'm gonna just.
Michelle Buteau
That's how I met my husband.
Ego Wodem
The boys.
Michelle Buteau
I fucked my way to the right one.
Ego Wodem
You. Your way to the right one.
Michelle Buteau
Just one night stand. And he.
Ego Wodem
And, and he. So he was a one night stand. He was like, but I'm trying to be with you.
Michelle Buteau
He. Yeah, he really was just like, she's magical. And I'm like, you're right. But I don't know how to say your name. And you going back to Amsterdam and I don't even know where Holland is, so you gots to go now. Yeah, it was wild.
Ego Wodem
Oh, wow.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, he kept in touch with me.
Ego Wodem
Oh, really? Were you a little like, okay, what is he so pressed? He's so pressed.
Michelle Buteau
This European. He really is. I was like, like jock.
Ego Wodem
But you were a lover girl thinking you were gonna marry everybody. With all due respect, you thought everybody was your husband.
Michelle Buteau
It was so funny. I did. And then I was like, I'm never getting married.
Ego Wodem
After the second infidelity, I was like,
Michelle Buteau
I'm not gonna get married. I couldn't even imagine myself being someone's wife. So I was so independent. I was making good money. You know, my mom raised me a little too independent. Cause I was like, don't hold my door. I got it.
Ego Wodem
I'm like, get it. I remember my friend Jason trying to hold a door for me in college. And I'm like, what are doing Exactly? Just crazy. Yes.
Michelle Buteau
Like, I don't need you.
Ego Wodem
I don't need no one.
Michelle Buteau
Just go to bed alone every day.
Ego Wodem
But I'm strong.
Michelle Buteau
Prefix for one, please. But you know, I. I thought I would have like a partner to do stuff with. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, however that looked. Whether I was going to be adopting or whatever it was. But I was like, I don't know that I'm anyone's wife. I don't know that I'm. Because I knew I wanted to. To like, do comedy and like. Yeah, you know.
Ego Wodem
How did he hook you then, if you had that mentality.
Michelle Buteau
He saw me.
Ego Wodem
He's right through the.
Michelle Buteau
He saw me.
Ego Wodem
Okay. He like, saw you.
Michelle Buteau
He saw me, saw me. And it was. Well, he saw me before I saw myself. It was up.
Ego Wodem
Wow.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Hoda Kotb
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
I love that.
Michelle Buteau
You saw me before. I saw myself. Oh, yeah.
Ego Wodem
You get to be so soft with him, don't you?
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my. My God.
Ego Wodem
You are a girl.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
That's. That's the. That's the thing.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
Even the strong want to just be a girl.
Michelle Buteau
Yes. I made a hard decision to have a soft life with someone. And it's nice and it's good, and it's good.
Ego Wodem
It looks good on you.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you. I love it. I need, like, I need it, you know? Cuz for a while I was like, what do I. I don't need. No, it's nice.
Ego Wodem
And now you can say, I need it. Yeah. Okay, Michelle, it's time for a segment called Passenger Print Princess take the wheel.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, okay.
Ego Wodem
Because you've been a Passenger princess this whole time.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God.
Ego Wodem
You haven't, though.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Because we've been.
Michelle Buteau
Did I stop at the stop sign?
Ego Wodem
You stopped.
Michelle Buteau
And I follow the rules.
Ego Wodem
You followed all the rules.
Michelle Buteau
But did Jesus ever take the wheel?
Ego Wodem
In my life, he has.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
And I can test.
Michelle Buteau
Did I have one pair of footprints? Sorry,
Ego Wodem
you're not allowed to say sorry anymore.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, no.
Ego Wodem
I want to challenge you. No, I want to challenge.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, shit.
Ego Wodem
For the rest of today.
Michelle Buteau
Not that red leather.
Ego Wodem
Yes, exactly. I want to challenge you, Michelle.
Michelle Buteau
Okay.
Ego Wodem
To not say sorry the rest of today.
Michelle Buteau
What if it's a song by Justin Timberlake?
Ego Wodem
Which one?
Michelle Buteau
Is it too late now to say sorry?
Ego Wodem
No, don't listen to that today.
Michelle Buteau
Okay,
Ego Wodem
Listen for a second today when you're in this challenge, okay? No.
Michelle Buteau
Like a little kid.
Ego Wodem
No Saying sorry. You don't have anything to be sorry for.
Michelle Buteau
I don't.
Ego Wodem
Now, to be clear, if you do something to harm someone later today, apologize. But you're like, now you don't want to say sorry.
Michelle Buteau
What about excuse me?
Ego Wodem
Excuse me is fine. Okay. Excuse me is fine. I just want to challenge you. You don't have anything to be sorry for.
Michelle Buteau
You.
Ego Wodem
You've been killing it.
Michelle Buteau
That's right.
Ego Wodem
In life.
Michelle Buteau
And I like to say you can't kill what's already dead.
Ego Wodem
And it is dead. I'm gonna try to do the math on that.
Michelle Buteau
Okay?
Ego Wodem
Excuse me, but it's gonna take time. Don't say excuse me.
Michelle Buteau
Don't say excuse me.
Ad Read Announcer
Okay.
Ego Wodem
You can say, you owe me. No apologies.
Michelle Buteau
Okay? No apologies.
Ego Wodem
Okay. And the only way you're gonna stop yourself from saying sorry is to sip your water. Truly, if I'm drinking. If I'm drinking. Okay, this is. I've done this out of order. Unfortunately, I'm not doing Passenger Princess, take the wheel. Okay yet. Oh, we're trying something new today. Okay. Okay. Yes, you have been a passenger, princess, but you've been good. You did stop at all the stop signs. You've been.
Michelle Buteau
I want to follow rules.
Ego Wodem
Okay, we're gonna do. What do I want to do with Michelle today? Oh, I know we're gonna do. Okay. Our very first edition of dad, Daddy, Father. Oh, that is our version of Marry Kill.
Michelle Buteau
Wow. Wow.
Ego Wodem
Dad, Daddy, Father. I'm gonna give you three. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Yep, I got the three.
Ego Wodem
A freak in the sheets, but his toenails cut your leg. He says he has risen when you send him a sexy pic. He only uses incognito mode. So dad, Daddy, father. Oh, freak in the sheets, but his toenails cut your leg. Says he is risen when you send him a sex only uses incognito mode.
Michelle Buteau
Yes, it sounds like a father. It sounds like a divorce. Which one?
Ego Wodem
But no, each of those has to be.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, I thought that was the whole thing.
Ego Wodem
No, these are different men.
Michelle Buteau
Oh, my God.
Ego Wodem
Who's dad? Who's daddy? Who's father?
Michelle Buteau
The incognito mode.
Ego Wodem
Incognito. You've made him black.
Michelle Buteau
We didn't. Oh, my bad. Okay.
Ego Wodem
Incognito mode. Okay. Who's that? Dad, Daddy or Father?
Michelle Buteau
Daddy, Daddy.
Ego Wodem
Incognito mode. Yeah. Okay, so he can't. Okay.
Michelle Buteau
Yeah, he's like, I'm looking at all the finstas.
Ad Read Announcer
Okay.
Ego Wodem
Okay.
Ad Read Announcer
All right.
Ego Wodem
So that's Daddy.
Ad Read Announcer
Yeah, yeah.
Michelle Buteau
He's following up with a lot of heart eye emojis.
Ego Wodem
Okay. We don't trust him.
Michelle Buteau
Right.
Ego Wodem
All right, last two.
Michelle Buteau
He's the toenail cutting in the thing
Ego Wodem
in the freakin the sheets, but the toenails cut you.
Michelle Buteau
That's a divorced dad.
Ego Wodem
So that's what? So that's dad.
Michelle Buteau
Dad's dad.
Ego Wodem
Dad.
Michelle Buteau
But a divorced dad.
Ego Wodem
Divorced dad. You added a little.
Michelle Buteau
No, he's a divorced dad. He's still got to figure out his toenails, but can't wait to have sex with something new.
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Okay.
Ego Wodem
And okay.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
Says he is risen when he sends you when you send him a sexy pic.
Michelle Buteau
I mean, a father, but not a priest. You see what I'm saying?
Ego Wodem
I do see what?
Michelle Buteau
A father, but not a priest.
Ego Wodem
I see what you're saying.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you so much.
Ego Wodem
Thank you so much.
Michelle Buteau
And I am not sorry.
Ego Wodem
Good, good. So we're trying to get to.
Michelle Buteau
Okay, I'm healed.
Ego Wodem
All right? But now it is time. Passion Difference says take the wheel. What's a question you want to ask Our next guest.
Michelle Buteau
Oh. Who was your favorite teacher?
Ego Wodem
Who was your favorite teacher and why? And why?
Michelle Buteau
Yeah.
Ego Wodem
Beautiful, Beautiful. Way to round out the episode.
Michelle Buteau
Love a good round.
Ego Wodem
We love a round. You're a comedian.
Michelle Buteau
For real.
Ego Wodem
Thank you. You deeply believe it. You did say thank you. You did say thank you.
Michelle Buteau
Good.
Ego Wodem
Oh, I am. For real.
Michelle Buteau
Yes.
Ego Wodem
All right, Michelle, thank you for being here.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you for having me. This was so fun. Thank you. So red.
Ego Wodem
It is red in here when I tell you.
Michelle Buteau
Yes, it's red.
Ego Wodem
It's really something else.
Michelle Buteau
I thought we're gonna watch the Devil Wears Prada because the room, it's very red.
Ego Wodem
Thank you so much.
Michelle Buteau
Thank you so much. I heart you.
Ego Wodem
I heart you. You Media podcast and Michelle Boutel. That was my discussion with Michelle Buto. How lovely and delightful is Michelle. God damn. Love her. That was so fun. We tried some new segments today. I don't know. We're trying new things around here. This is a family podcast. We were talking about Pussy, the family podcast. And I did, you know, I did ask Michelle as well. Can you smell me? Do I have deodorant on? I think I have it on. Sometimes I'll do a scrape test to be like, did I put this shit on today? Anyway, I'm about to go home and put some deodorant on just to double check. That's actually like top of mind for me. I'm really stressful. I'm really stressed. Also, if there was like white shit in the corners of my mouth this whole episode and no one in here said anything to me, everyone's fine, everyone's fired, everyone's out of work. I'm kidding. I love these people. But if there was and you're watching, I'm sorry. I was thirsty and I kept drinking coffee instead of cracking open this bottle of water right here in front of me. I seem to have a solution for everything and everyone else but my damn self. Isn't it a shame? Anyway, I love you all. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching and I'll see you on the next one. Thanks, dad. Is a production of Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and I Heart Podcast. I'm your host, Ego Wodem. Our producer is Kevin Bartelt and our executive producer is Matt Apodaca.
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Michelle Buteau
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Joy is essential, and it's also elusive. But now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101 it's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotb. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting and moving on air chats. Open your free iHeartradio app, search Joy101 and listen now. Joy101 with Hoda Kotfi is presented by CBS.
Ego Wodem
This is an iHeart podcast.
Michelle Buteau
Guaranteed Human.
Episode: Michelle Buteau
Date: June 16, 2026
Host: Ego Nwodim
Guest: Michelle Buteau
In this highly energetic and candid conversation, Ego Nwodim sits down with comedian, actress, and writer Michelle Buteau. The episode blends humor with vulnerability, exploring themes of parenting, identity, family legacy, leadership, and personal growth—all through the lens of their experiences with their own fathers. They also touch on the realities of the entertainment industry, mental health, and the importance of representation.
Personal Mantras:
Representation Matters: Michelle emphasizes the importance of fat, Black, brown, and queer folks getting happy endings on screen—not just being used for “pain porn.”
Advice to Creatives:
Ego challenges Michelle to stop apologizing for the rest of the day—playfully naming “saying sorry” as a habit Michelle should ditch.
Game: Dad, Daddy, Father (a take on “Marry/Fuck/Kill”):
Listener Question for the Next Guest:
On Natural Deodorant:
“Your natural deodorant, it don’t work. I love you. You didn’t find the one.” – Ego (01:14)
On Teachers:
_“We’re asking teachers to…have a dress code, don’t eat this and that, and put on a bulletproof vest... and that’s why I’m just like, okay, Abbott.”—Michelle (09:51, 10:27)
On Advocacy:
“If people don’t want to hear from you, let them hear about you.” – Michelle (35:08)
On Joy & Representation:
“We need to see ourselves have a fucking happy ending. It can’t just be pain porn.” – Michelle (33:33)
On Realizing Needs in Love:
“I made a hard decision to have a soft life with someone.” – Michelle (64:30)
Anchored by warm camaraderie and relentless, raunchy humor, this episode balances playful banter with poignant reflections. Michelle’s unwavering honesty about motherhood, loss, ambition, and representation, combined with Ego’s sharp, relatable humor, makes this episode both hilarious and deeply human.
“We tried some new segments today. I don’t know—we’re trying new things around here. This is a family podcast. We were talking about pussy…the family podcast!” – Ego (69:53)
Michelle Buteau embodies the truth that joy and representation matter just as much as grit and resilience—and that, often, “the world just needs to catch up to us.”