MIA KHALIFA Talks Viral Fame, Fatwa, Being the Goat

Summary

---

The Adam Friedland Show

Episode: MIA KHALIFA Talks Viral Fame, Fatwa, Being the Goat
Date: October 2, 2025
Guest: Mia Khalifa (aka Sarah)

Episode Overview

In this lively, candid episode, Adam Friedland sits down with media personality and influencer Mia Khalifa. The conversation traces Mia’s journey from childhood in Lebanon, through viral adult industry fame, to her evolution as a cultural figure and advocate. The discussion weaves through topics of immigrant childhood, viral notoriety, shame, internet culture, and the lasting impact of fleeting public careers. The two bond over their upbringings, mental health struggles, favorite films, and what it means to live with both global fame and personal regrets—with plenty of irreverent humor throughout.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Early Life & Immigration

• Mia's Move to the U.S.

  • Mia moved from Lebanon to the U.S. at age 8, just before 9/11, settling in Montgomery County, MD.
    • “You moved to America... you were 11 or something?” “I was eight.” (05:56)
  • Dealing with Islamophobia and Prejudice
    • Post-9/11, Mia faced schoolyard slurs and exclusion:
      • “My nickname was Sand Enword.” (15:29)
      • “Arab people see me as American, not Arab.” (09:20)

• Integration into U.S. Culture

  • Learning English: Mia first spoke French and Arabic, picking up English after immigrating.
    • “Did you speak English before?” “No, I spoke French and Arabic.” (09:05)
  • Sports and Fitting In: Mia used sports (football, basketball, lacrosse) to connect.
    • “That's why I embedded myself so deeply into sports. It gave me something to talk to kids at school the next day.” (09:33)

2. High School, Body Image, and Early Adulthood

• Boarding School & Discipline

  • Mia attended a military boarding school after her parents caught her “smoking reefer.” She excelled at the strict environment. (08:15-08:40)

• Struggles with Body Image and Food

  • Discussed her experiences with being overweight in high school, weight loss, and its psychological aftermath.
    • “I weighed 170 pounds. I had a unibrow... That stays with you for a long time and that’s why you seek validation.” (12:55–13:45)
  • Mental health candidness: Now takes Ozempic for healthier eating habits.
    • “Now... I just have a normal relationship with food. I don’t eat as a coping mechanism.” (14:40)

3. Viral Fame and the Adult Industry

• Joining Adult Film Industry

  • A brief, three-month stint (“a couple months” (16:42)) turned into global notoriety due to unique timing and provocative themes.
  • “I made $11,000.” (16:48)
  • “There was no intention for anything to be successful… I didn’t think further ahead past where I was in the moment at 20.” (16:57)
  • Connections between body image, validation, and choices:
    • “When you’ve never had male attention… you just lost weight… then I got my breast augmentation, and so everything came at once.” (17:30)

• Fame, Family Fallout, and Social Isolation

  • Mia hadn’t anticipated global attention; believed her participation would be private. (19:22)
  • The “hijabi” scene led to worries about safety:
    • “I told them they’re gonna get me killed.” (18:37)
  • After her work went viral, Mia and her family were estranged for years. (20:14)
  • Struggled to return to “normal life”; became a distraction at her “bookkeeper at a construction firm” job.
    • “I realized that I can never work a normal job again.” (20:53)

• Fatwa and Arab World Backlash

  • Received death threats and possible “unofficial” fatwas after notoriety.
    • “Yeah. I mean, not. I don't know if it's an official one, but... I feel like they need to be notarized.” (22:42)

4. Mental Health, Therapy, and Processing Shame

• Struggles with Trust and Intimacy

  • “I can't even mentally get past somebody wanting to be with me for the novelty or for that reason. So I’d much rather just be alone.” (22:14)
  • Two long-term relationships in the last ten years.

• Managing Shame and Regret

  • Profound discussion of shame as a universal, layered emotion.
    • “Shame is a really difficult thing to get past because along with shame comes guilt and regret and all these other emotions… you feel very trapped.” (25:02)
  • Distinction between shame and regret:
    • “I regret things that I’m not ashamed of. Like, I regret speeding and getting a ticket.” (25:50)
  • “Therapy. I’ve worked through that for years and I’m still working through it… now it’s just maintaining.” (26:30)

• The Public’s Perception & Internet Culture

  • Discusses impact on other women:
    • “I don't give a fuck what the incels on the internet think… but I do care what Fatima713 thinks because she’s being called Mia Khalifa and it makes her feel oversexualized.” (27:11)

5. Life After Virality: Reinvention & Advocacy

• Influencer Career

  • After leaving construction, Mia rebuilt as an influencer.
    • “Reopened Instagram because ISIS sympathizers had hacked my Instagram… moved to Austin, Texas… tried to be an influencer.” (23:40)
  • No management until three years ago (24:11).

• Dealing with Label & Legacy

  • Adam compares her “one and done” career to cultural icons with brief but bright careers, like Harper Lee (author of To Kill a Mockingbird), Jim Brown, or John Cazale.
    • “Are you the Harper Lee of porn? Such a short career, big impact.” (53:12)

• Sex Work Advocacy

  • Supports rights and protections for sex workers; advocates raising minimum age for performing to 21.

    • “I advocate for the rights of sex workers… but actual sex workers…do not like it when I speak on the industry at all.” (43:15)

  • “The traditional production porn industry is predatory and toxic and terrible. Absolutely terrible. Top to bottom.” (44:13)

  • Against contracts “in perpetuity when it involves a woman’s body.” (44:59)

6. Personal Life, Pop Culture, and Passions

• Miami Life & Friendships

  • Lives in Miami with a small circle of friends.
    • “My crew is two people… I don’t love living there.” (41:47)
  • Best friend Samantha lives in Boston (29:05).

• Fashion & Design

  • Has a clothing line, Shaytan (“It means devil in Arabic.”) (42:43)

• Pop Culture Debates

  • Adam and Mia banter about film ratings, Letterboxd, and favorite movies (Trainspotting, Oppenheimer, Vertigo).
    • “I saw [Oppenheimer] 12 times in IMAX 70mm.” (37:19)

• What-ifs and Alternate Timelines

  • Mia imagines if she’d “just gone to college”:
    • “I’d be in the guts of the Smithsonian Museum… data collection and filing.” (38:37, 38:54)

• Romance, Trust, and Relationships

  • Mia’s marriages, trust, and the challenges of fame:
    • “No, I think I have really good discernment. If I don’t trust someone instantly, I never will.” (48:58)
  • On changes in men and women:
    • “Every boy is a baby boy till 55…” (49:28)

7. Memorable, Notable Quotes

On Shame and Regret:

• “Shame is a really, really difficult thing to get past because along with shame comes guilt and comes regret... They feel suffocating and you feel very trapped.” — Mia (25:02)
• “If you have no shame, you probably are not a good person. You should have a little bit of shame sometimes.” — Mia (25:40)

On Viral Fame:

• “I basically just had my early 20s slutty phase in front of everybody in the world.” — Mia (20:26)

On Living with Notoriety:

• “I realized I can never work a normal job again.” — Mia (20:53)
• "Anytime I would have to do anything that involved interacting with other people... it was a huge distraction... I felt like a burden at the office." — Mia (20:53)

On Advocacy and the Industry:

• “The traditional production porn industry is predatory and toxic and terrible. Absolutely terrible. Top to bottom.” — Mia (44:13)

On Her Place in Cultural History:

• “Are you the Harper Lee of porn? Short career, big impact.” — Adam (53:12)
• “I am going to rest on that laurel for the rest of my life.” — Mia (40:47)

On Therapy:

• “Therapy. I’ve worked through that for years and I’m still working through it. But the battle isn’t as tough as it was seven years ago.” — Mia (26:30)

On Childhood and Immigrant Experience:

• “Arab people see me as American, not Arab.” — Mia (09:20)

---

Notable/Funny Moments and Banter

• Pop Culture Deep Dives: Playful debates about favorite movies, Adam’s Letterboxd grievances, and whether Mia is the “Harper Lee of porn.” (30:59–34:08, 40:30–41:10)
• Musings on Procedures and Plastic Surgery: Candid, irreverent chat about nose jobs, hair, and standards of beauty. (10:54–11:16, 45:13–45:57)
• Dark Humor: Gags about fame, internet backlash, and absurd side conversations (e.g., “Would you build a moat with $1 billion?”; using Mormons’ “soaking” as a metaphor). (28:01–28:14; 51:40–52:00)
• Discussion of Men’s Emotional Lives: Reversal of gender roles and vulnerability.
  • “Do you think that men are becoming like the girls?” (49:33)
  • “We stopped violence and now we’re like, ‘I want her to understand the real me.’” (50:12)

---

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 05:05–06:15: On immigrating from Lebanon just before 9/11, childhood identity
• 09:03–09:42: Integrating into American culture through sports
• 12:55–14:15: High school body image challenges, food relationship, Ozempic
• 16:42–20:40: Brief adult film career, initial motivations, viral moment, family impact
• 22:14, 22:42: Fatwas, backlash from the Arab world, coping with notoriety
• 24:53–26:30: On shame, regret, and mental health
• 29:52–34:08: Harper Lee analogy, “one-and-done” cultural figures
• 36:51–38:08: Dream movie projects, favorite films, neurodivergence
• 43:15-45:00: Advocacy for sex worker rights, raising age of entry, industry critique
• 48:58–49:30: On marriage, trust, and personal relationships post-fame

---

Takeaways & Episode Tone

Adam and Mia’s exchange is irreverent, confessional, and often sharply funny, marked by moments of mutual empathy and honest reflection. Mia Khalifa’s insights on fame, shame, and cultural identity, alongside her willingness to dissect her public persona and candid mistakes, make for a revealing and humane conversation. The episode balances levity and seriousness, landing especially strong when examining personal growth after unintended, overwhelming notoriety.

---

Summary Table of Contents

1. Episode Overview
2. Key Discussion Points and Insights
   • Early Life and Immigration
   • Body Image & High School
   • Viral Fame and Adult Industry
   • Shame, Regret, and Therapy
   • Life After Virality
   • Personal Life and Pop Culture
3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
4. Timestamps of Key Segments
5. Takeaways & Tone

---

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in internet culture, the immigrant experience, or the complicated legacy of viral fame.

Transcript

[A]

Do you have autism?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Everyone, It's a little.

[B]

It's a spectrum.

[A]

No, I'm. I don't think I am.

[B]

No one's fully straight.

[A]

No, I don't think I'm autistic at all. Oh, I cry everything. Yeah, yeah. It used to be called rude.

[B]

I'm dead.

[A]

Remember rude?

[B]

Do you remember Rude? They've rebranded.

[A]

Remember Rude? Yeah.

[B]

Now someone, they changed their logo, like Jaguar.

[A]

And they're like, he's just. He's so autistic. And I'm like, I don't care. What do I. I need to read the DSM too. I'm not a doct. Welcome to the Adam Friedland show, guys. It's Adam Friedland first off. As always, I want to thank our channel members for supporting the show. If you'd like to become a member, you can click the link in the description. You get early access to all of our episodes, discounts on merch, and if you subscribe to the second or third tiers, you'll get your name in the credits of every episode of this fine program. Also, there's a link to our Patreon if you prefer to supporting the show through Patreon. Also, I'd like to note that our merch store has been restocked. Go to AdamFriedland show to check out our stuff. We have T shirts, hats. They sold out real quick last time. Get them before they're gone again. My guest this week is media personality and influencer Mia Khalifa. Mia, or Sarah, as I know her and all of her friends. That's where friends call her, first came to prominence in 2015 for her brief stint as an adult film actress. She quickly became a global phenomenon, earning her the title of most searched adult actress for both 2016 and 2018. Now, of course, this is the part where I do some hilarious bit before I show you my interview, but let me be clear, I'm not going to go there this week, folks. As my star rises, the target on my back gets bigger and bigger and the margin for error gets smaller, smaller and smaller. Piers Morgan is watching everything I do. The man is relentless and dogged, and I have to be mindful and careful not to lose everything that I've worked so hard for. I'm fairly certain also that I'm. I think I'm being followed. I don't know if it's Piers. I think it could be a member of my family. Anyway, guys, this might be tough for some of you, but it's become clear that my days of being an immature baby for an adoring audience are over. I'm an adult now. I have to be. It's true, my guest this week was a beautiful woman, but as you'll see, I treated her like I would any other guest, be it hot guy, ugly woman, or hip hop and R and B legend. So if you've come here for nasty jokes, you can turn off now. This is an adult show for an adult audience. I'm no longer making baby stuff for babies. I'm in the adult industry now. So pour yourself a glass of wine, maybe sit back on a piece of white furniture and enjoy my thought provoking conversation with Mia Khalifa. This episode is sponsored by Roe Rose Sparks are a 2 in 1 prescription treatment for guys who need a secret weapon. It's the new wave. They hit the bloodstream faster because they dissolve right under the tongue. So no more waiting to perform. After Rose sparks dissolve, they work in 15 minutes on average. After it dissolves, they can give you the boost to last longer. They can give you a bigger and a longer erection. And sparks stay active in your system for up to 36 hours. So. So you can go back to back to back round after round. You can be ready the morning after when your breath stinks, when you're like and you're hungry if you want. Do you like the morning after, Thomas? No. I don't like it either. Here's the best part. It's done 100% online so there's no awkward conversations with an in person provider. And if approved, the treatment gets shipped directly to your door if prescribed. New sexual health patients get $15 off your first order of sparks On a recurring plan. Connect with your provider at Ro Co tafs to find out if prescription rose sparks are right for you. That's ro cols for $15 off your first order. Ladies and gentlemen, cultural icon, media personality Mia Khalifa, everyone. Big.

[B]

Hi. Hi.

[A]

Nice to meet you. Thank you for coming.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

Your tissues are there.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

She brought tissues because of my boogers during Sarah Jessica party. So embarrassing.

[B]

No, it's not.

[A]

Do you have a change? A change of diaper? Okay. Why did we start this way? Thank you for coming on. I guess, like, so, you know, how do we start this thing? Like, where do we start? We start at the beginning, right?

[B]

Let's start at the beginning. Yeah. 10,000 BC.

[A]

No, no, I want to start. What is the date today? Of course.

[B]

Oh, happy nine, 11.

[A]

It's not. Just stop it with your edge Lord jokes. Okay, okay. We're not going to start that way. But you moved to America shortly after or shortly before 9 11?

[B]

Shortly before.

[A]

Okay. You are from Lebanon, right? You're born there and you moved here, what, you were 11 or something?

[B]

I was eight.

[A]

Elementary.

[B]

2001.

[A]

2001. And you moved to the. To. To the greater D.C. area. Right. And you move during a time of like Islamophobia.

[B]

I guess it was always there, but

[A]

yeah, I think it was escalated after 911 and now it's kind of back, right?

[B]

Yeah, it's kind of vintage cyclical.

[A]

It feels like a little bit like. It feels like a little Toby Keith, like kind of post 911 moment we're having again right now. Yeah, we'll stick a boot in your ass.

[B]

Stick a boot in your ass.

[A]

Kind of a good song.

[B]

It's so fucking good.

[A]

You know, I love this bar also. Great song.

[B]

Yeah. What else? I love country music, actually.

[A]

I do too. Too. Yeah. What's your favorite? Florida Georgia line? You like that one? No, I like Baby, you're a star. You make me want to roll my window down and cruise. You know that one?

[B]

It's actually good. You want to harmonize with me?

[A]

Do that again. Zach, he's teaching me harmony right now. Zach, the intern, how to harmonize? Yeah, yeah, he's actually, we. I shouldn't say it on the camera, should I?

[B]

I'm just turn away from the camera.

[A]

Okay. We do Friday afternoon choir. Me. Me and the four employees.

[B]

That's so beautiful. All of you just stand like. Is there pedestals? Do you.

[A]

I grew up Jewish, so I am Jewish. But like, I always wanted to do like Christian songs like, oh, that's so Amazing Grace. It seems so beautiful. You get to do that at church. So now I make Like a virgin

[B]

is also a beautiful.

[A]

I don't think that's from church.

[B]

I do.

[A]

Is it? Yeah, I think it's about.

[B]

It's about Mary.

[A]

Like a virgin touched for the very first time. I think it's about getting your pussy touched.

[B]

No, her being touched by the power of God.

[A]

Like a prayer. That's about blowjobs.

[B]

Is that Madonna?

[A]

Yeah. My mom. My mom used to play that in the car. And I used to ask her what it was about, and she said, stop talking. You moved to Montgomery County, Maryland?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Right. What? Gaithersburg.

[B]

Gaithersburg, Maryland.

[A]

Mia. Sarah. Mia. Is from the same town as Mr. Nick Mullen. Give it up for him, everyone. My former partner.

[B]

Where did he go to high school?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

You don't have that off the top of your head?

[A]

I Think he went to community. Community college. I think he.

[B]

He just skipped high school. Went straight from middle school to community college.

[A]

I think he g. Got a early GED and then college. I think he was a bad boy.

[B]

But I went to military boarding school.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. So what led you to that? You were a bad kid. Smoking reefer. Really? Your parents caught you smoking trees? Mine did, too. Yeah. But they never sent me to the army. What army did they send you to?

[B]

No, literally, it was the feeding school for West Point. It was an army. It was like army, not Navy.

[A]

Were you good at the army when you were.

[B]

I was so good.

[A]

Really?

[B]

I was so good. I loved it so much, I couldn't.

[A]

What you have to do, like, make your bed and stuff?

[B]

Yeah. And I still can do hospital corners you could bounce a quarter off of.

[A]

What? Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You make your bed every day now because the army.

[B]

No, I like getting back into a bed with, like, crumpled sheets.

[A]

What. What, like, what is like. So you went for the rest of high school to military school. So you didn't really have. Have like, a. Like a typical high school experience?

[B]

I feel like I had more of a normal experience there than at public school.

[A]

Did you speak English before you moved to the States, or you don't speak.

[B]

No, I spoke French and Arabic.

[A]

French and Arabic?

[B]

Yeah, because I went to a French school.

[A]

So how did, like, what moment did you feel like you'd integrated into American culture? Like, after you moved to your elementary school?

[B]

I'll let you know.

[A]

You still don't feel like. I mean, you have an American accent.

[B]

Yeah. And Arab people see me as American, not Arab.

[A]

Yeah, right. But for me, like, my parents come from a different country, and, like, I also like. You like sports and films, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And, like, that was one way that I kind of learned American culture.

[B]

Me, too. That's why I embedded myself so deeply into sports. I felt like I was like, I. It gave me something to talk to the kids about at school the next day.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I very much obsessed over football and basketball, and that's how I kind of found my little friend groups.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. You've advocated publicly to change the name back to Redskins. Is that true?

[B]

No, I hope not.

[A]

You said, I want it to be Bullets and Redskins again.

[B]

Okay, Bullets. Bullets we can talk about. That's on the table.

[A]

You played lacrosse as well. That's very Mid Atlantic, right?

[B]

It's very white.

[A]

Did you put bitches on the deck when you were playing?

[B]

No, I did not. I actually got a concussion. And now there's A little hole in my head. You want to feel it?

[A]

Yeah, I guess so. Oh, God. That's disgusting. You want to feel something disgusting on my head? Here.

[B]

What is that?

[A]

It's fucked up. No.

[B]

Are you okay?

[A]

It's. I've just had it my whole life. It's like a massive disgusting mole. Oh, yeah. That's why if I go bald, I'm.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I can't go bald either. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

You can't go bald.

[B]

No.

[A]

Yeah. Thank God, dude. That's my biggest fear, actually. I had a dream the other night that I woke up bald.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And I was like, what do I do?

[B]

Get a wig?

[A]

I think I would go run.

[B]

Fuck yeah.

[A]

I would go turkey.

[B]

What does that mean? Oh, too turkey.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Have you been there before for a procedure?

[B]

No, I do all of mine in la.

[A]

What procedures have you had? You've had your Schnauzel.

[B]

I got my nose done. Yeah, yeah. Got my implant. I have breast implants. What else have I done? I mean, other than, like the little injectables here and there.

[A]

I'm thinking about getting a BBL myself, but I would only go to South America for that.

[B]

Gotta go to Colombia.

[A]

Yeah. What? I get a lot of, like, Instagram

[B]

reels for BBL promotion.

[A]

For like. I don't get.

[B]

No.

[A]

Why it's on my Instagram, but it's like. No, no. For a hair replacement and Columbia.

[B]

You have great hair, though.

[A]

I know. Thank God. Thank God. All right. I saw. I went through your letterboxd.

[B]

Oh, God.

[A]

And I was actually upset by one of them.

[B]

Which one?

[A]

Harry Met Sally.

[B]

Oh, wait, what did I say about that one?

[A]

You gave it three stars.

[B]

Yeah, it's a three star. It's a three. Okay. But a three star and a like is different than a just a three star.

[A]

What are you talking about?

[B]

A three star and a. Like, there's a difference. It's very nuanced.

[A]

You really. No, it's. It's just. It's one of the worst movies. It's.

[B]

No, no, no. It's the reason why it's a very

[A]

upsetting movie to me.

[B]

Why?

[A]

Because he doesn't deserve her.

[B]

Why doesn't he deserve her?

[A]

Because his face looks like Naoki. Every joke he's telling, she's laughing at. It's not funny. He's like, doing like, hello, Mammy. And she's so gorgeous and she's like, ha, ha, ha ha. I'm like, that's not funny. He's being disgusted.

[B]

Isn't that Nancy Myers fault? That's a funny story.

[A]

I don't like him. And then sometimes I think, like, when I have a girlfriend, is that what it looks like? Does it look like Harry and Sally? No, no, I think it does. I think I. Because my greatest fear is that I am like that Billy. Like Billy Crystal in that movie. What?

[B]

Absolutely not.

[A]

Yeah. Have you seen me do my jazz band character, Sally?

[B]

What else is he in?

[A]

Also, that's the only City Slickers, City Slickers two, the Curly's Gold and City Slickers three. No. Is there a three?

[B]

No, but those are the only two you named City Slickers and City Slickers two.

[A]

So wait, so how would you describe yourself in high school, though? Like, were you popular?

[B]

No, not at all. Not at all. I weighed 170 pounds. I had a unibrow.

[A]

170?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're a B girl.

[B]

I was a big girl. I was security big.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, okay. And so then, like, when did, like when did you lose weight? I guess post fat is like kind of a genesis of evil. I feel like.

[B]

Yeah, like. Like between 19 and 20.

[A]

19 and 20, yeah. I feel like a lot of like. Like that guy, Richard Spencer. Do you remember that alt right guy? I was like, that guy definitely was like 20, 250 pounds. And now he hates.

[B]

Oh, because he's not minorities. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, no, I don't hate minorities.

[A]

I'm just.

[B]

Because I was fat.

[A]

There's a hate that's in a lot of them. Boys hearts. Yeah, yeah. Because there's like a little resentment. I think so. Yeah. I have a lot of friends that like grew up fat and they're like. They think of themselves still as fat. You don't understand how hard it is.

[B]

Oh, no, that. That stays with you for a long time and that's why you seek validation.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah, really. You got to go to therapy. Like if you. If you lose weight. Yeah, no, for real, for real. Because then you're suffering then in your head you're still behaving like that's. Oh, you time it when the camera's on.

[A]

Stop it. It's embarrassing. It's tough.

[B]

What's the ashtray for? Be a man. Smoke a cigarette.

[A]

I can't do it in here. Does anyone. I'm not gonna smoke Bogues. Okay. Yeah. I feel like that's a tough addiction to have food. Right. Because it's like it is.

[B]

And that's what it is. You have to have a little healthy relationship with food.

[A]

Right. But it's like, you can't quit food.

[B]

No. And to be completely transparent, I'm on Ozempic now because the fucking like mental battle of like battling with binging or like borderline anorexia and like over controlling or like overworking out, that takes care of all of that.

[A]

What does Ozembic do? If you have any food? You vomit it out.

[B]

No, you just.

[A]

Or you crap it out immediately. I. I don't know.

[B]

The way I react on it is I eat when I'm hungry and I don't crave things that I shouldn't, that I shouldn't be eating. So I just have a normal relationship with food now. I don't eat as like a coping mechanism.

[A]

It must be tough. Yeah, because it's like, it's like you have to have a healthy amount of crack every day, right?

[B]

Just a little bit. Which is basically what high school kids are on.

[A]

On what?

[B]

Crackeral. Isn't it the same thing?

[A]

No, I'm just saying, like, you can't. If you have a food addiction, you have to just have like. It's not like you can't go cold turkey. You have to just have a little bit of crack every day.

[B]

Yeah, just a little Oreo here and there. Crush it up, sniff it.

[A]

Growing up post 9 11, like, what was your experience like with prejudice? You know, especially in the dmv? Like, what were your experiences after moving to America?

[B]

Well, my nickname was Sand Enword.

[A]

What? Really?

[B]

Yeah, me and the other kids. No, it's not, it's not. But we were also in like elementary, middle school.

[A]

So, like, you know, they use that one in elementary. Oh my God, you're Lebanese. In Australia, they're like, so racist. Like, I was a. I was in an Uber and someone's like, you don't want to go down there. It's a bunch of labos. And I was like, oh my God. I was like, lesbians. And he's like, no, labos, Lebanese. And I was like, there's like 4 million of them on Earth and you have a slur for it.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

The best is slurs.

[B]

Yeah, that's hilarious. They need to shorten everything. No, I've never heard it. Yeah, it sounds endearing. I like it.

[A]

It's kind of cute, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like a. Yeah, it's like a Beanie Baby name. Look at a little labo. Yeah, I think that, like I've watched, I've like done a lot of research, watched a bunch of interviews with you, and it's kind of like you have kind of a thing that you're asked about constantly. But what's more interesting, I think, is before your kind of viral success and then after your viral success, it's very interesting. Like, you only worked in the industry for what, like, a matter of weeks?

[B]

A couple months? Yeah.

[A]

A couple months. Yeah.

[B]

Three months.

[A]

And what was. What was. Like, how much money did you make while you were doing it? Like, not very much.

[B]

$11,000. $11,000.

[A]

Right. Was there a concept at the time that what. What, the work you were doing was, like, a success or, like.

[B]

No, no. And there was no intention for anything to be successful? That wasn't ever the intent. It was. I mean, honestly, it was just extremely poor judgment and extremely poor foresight. Like, I didn't think further ahead past where I was in that moment at 20, which, as I mentioned earlier, when. When you've never had male attention in your entire life, you just lost weight? Yeah.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, interesting.

[B]

And I had. And after I had lost the weight. Got a boyfriend? No, I got. Well, yes, I was. Yes, I was in a relationship at the time, but, no, I got. I got my breast augmentation, and so everything came at once.

[A]

So it was like the movie she's all that. It's like you, like, took your glasses off and you're the weird art girl, and then you. You'd taken the glasses off.

[B]

Exactly. When she's coming down.

[A]

Oh, I love that movie with Freddie Prinze Jr. Yeah.

[B]

What happened to him? I think he's not problematic.

[A]

He's on Little St. James.

[B]

What?

[A]

No. I don't know.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

What happened to Freddie Prinze?

[B]

Isn't he married to. Yeah.

[A]

Ghislaine Maxwell.

[B]

No, leave him out of this. They're unproblematic.

[A]

Who's he married to?

[B]

Sarah Michelle? Yes.

[A]

What?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He got Buffy.

[B]

No, he got his. No, they were both in Scooby Doo.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

He got. He got a Scooby tree. No, he got.

[A]

Oh, Daphne. Daphne. Valma's a little like, oh, brother.

[B]

Oh, brother. Where are my glasses?

[A]

Oh, brother. Okay. I guess that was Scooby. Okay. Anyway, I think that's it. So none of the rabbis that were on set said, like, this is gonna be huge. No one said that at all.

[B]

No, but I did tell them that they're gonna get me killed.

[A]

Why? By who?

[B]

What do you mean? No, no, no. Just by in general. When? It was when I was told what I was gonna be wearing and what I was going to be doing.

[A]

Oh, that thing?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, yeah. The hijabi?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I think it's, like, interesting. It's like, I was thinking about how to handle it, and, like, you know, normal Adam's like, oh, I don't know what that is, but, like, I think, yeah, in a real sense, probably, like, every guy you've met and a lot of women you've met, like, are familiar with it, you know, and it's just like, you became a viral sensation. But, like, what I was wondering is, like, to what extent, like, like, whether or not you realize that this is, like, become incredibly famous.

[B]

So at that moment, I still thought that no one was ever going to find out about this.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But I think the way it happened was very. Just circumstantial. It was very. Like, it was just lightning in a bottle because of everything that was happening in the world at the time. Charlie Hebdo had just happened. MeToo had just really taken off. There was a lot of social things going on that. That really were the reason why I was a part of that and why it kind of exploded the way it did.

[A]

You're from an immigrant family. Like, so am I right? Like, was one of your concerns that it would cause a rift in a traditional immigrant family?

[B]

Not necessarily, because I did not think anyone would ever find out. So everything happened very, very quickly.

[A]

And subsequently, did it cause tension in the family?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. We were estranged for a long time after that.

[A]

Right. I guess, like, you were telling me on the phone like, you got a job, so, like, after getting out, like, you left on your own terms. It was only a matter of a couple.

[B]

Yeah. After everything kind of happened like that, I. I mean, obviously. Obviously, yeah. That wasn't the intention, and that is not what I wanted to do or be doing. I basically just had my early 20s, slutty phase in front of everybody in the world.

[A]

But you. You were telling me you got a job.

[B]

I did, yeah. I was a bookkeeper at a construction firm.

[A]

And is that when it dawned on you, like, what was the moment where, like, it dawned on you that, like, every. That the world was, like, you were famous?

[B]

I felt like a burden at the office because any. Any clients who would come in anytime I would have to go onto a job site anytime I would have to do anything that involved interacting with other people who didn't just work in the office with me, it was. It was a huge distraction. Like, not. Not a distraction, but, like, I realized that I can never work a normal job again.

[A]

What were the guys doing? Were they like, yeah, they're busting in their Pants. Every guy that walked in.

[B]

No, but there was, like, whispers and talks and. You know what I mean?

[A]

And did it cause you to be paranoid or, like, it caused you, like.

[B]

Yeah, there was a lot of instances where, like, I just had interactions with people that I realized, wow, my life is not the same. I can't go to the grocery store, I can't go to the laundromat. I can't do any of these things.

[A]

And, like, how did you process that stress that put you under?

[B]

I didn't process it for a really long time. I didn't start therapy until, like, 2016, 2017, and that's when I started processing it. But until then, I was just lashing out on anybody who would cross my boundaries, even though I didn't know what my boundaries were quite yet.

[A]

And it caused you to, like, lose trust in people and did it. Did it affect your sex life? Yes, I imagine it would.

[B]

Very much so.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I. Yeah. And it's. And it still does. Yeah, absolutely. I can't even, like, mentally get past somebody wanting to be with me for the novelty or for that reason. So I'd much rather just be alone. I've been in two long term relationships since then, and that's. That's it. In the. In the last 10 years, I remember

[A]

there being a response in the Arab world.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did you receive fatwas? Is that right?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, not. I don't know if it's an official one, but I'm not going to.

[A]

What's an official fatwa?

[B]

I think when the government does a press release and, like, officially announces it

[A]

and there's a seal, they get a note.

[B]

Right. I feel like they need to be notarized.

[A]

It worked out for. For Rushdie, right? He gets hot girls because of the fatwa.

[B]

Really? Where are my hot girls?

[A]

He got.

[B]

I got one.

[A]

He got. What's her name From. From. What's her name? Top Chef Padma. He got Padma Lakshmi.

[B]

Wait, she. I love her so much.

[A]

There's an episode of Curb where he's like, yeah, this guy's cleaning up because the fatwa.

[B]

Oh, my God. Do you think when the turn and.

[A]

And your fame is sustained, that's what's interesting, is that you went from virality to, like, proper fame right around 2017. Is that correct?

[B]

Around 2017. What?

[A]

Well, you. You reopened your Instagram account. You kind of. 2016. What was the impetus behind that decision?

[B]

That was at the same time that I left the construction firm and decided to be literally an influencer.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

My goal was to Reopen Instagram because ISIS sympathizers had hacked my Instagram. So Instagram shut it down. Isis, yeah, they were posting like, propaganda. So Instagram immediately shut it down. And I didn't have an Instagram for like a year and I worked a normal job and all of these things. So, yeah, I reopened Instagram, moved to Austin, Texas. Oh, nice.

[A]

Comedy mothership.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. And yeah, just tried to be an influencer.

[A]

Did you have like, kind of management or like.

[B]

No, I haven't had management until three years ago.

[A]

You can't trust these people.

[B]

No, it's not that.

[A]

It's just they're so annoying. They're like, take pictures of yourself looking sexy and put it in GQ and every comedian's gonna make fun of you at em.

[B]

Yeah, hold the mic this way. They'll love that.

[A]

You just lay on the ground and twirl the wire. Every comedian's gonna just shit on you on every group chat. No. So wait, so, but you've been remarkably successful, right? You become kind of like a media personality and like a cultural figure, right? Do you. In a lot of your interviews, I've noticed that you talk. There are two words that are like, kind of come up. And one, you talk about shame and then. But you talk about regret, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, can you, like, talk about shame first of all, and like, what your

[B]

understanding is, oh, I'll give a soliloquy about shame.

[A]

Go off.

[B]

I can talk about shame all day.

[A]

Go off. Queen.

[B]

Oh, my God, I'd love to hear it. It's such, like a visceral human emotion. I think. I think it's. I think deep down behind every negative emotion, there's a layer of shame there. And shame is a really, really difficult thing to get past because along with shame comes guilt and comes regret and comes all of these other emotions that are just. They're. They're very overwhelming and they feel suffocating and you feel very trapped when you're. When you're dealing with. With shame or trying to work through it.

[A]

And shame is something to be. To overcome, Is that what you're saying?

[B]

Yeah, I believe so.

[A]

It's a negative emotion, right?

[B]

I think it can also be a positive one. Like if you have no shame, you probably are not a good person. You should have a little bit of shame sometimes.

[A]

And what's the difference in your mind between shame and regret?

[B]

I guess I can. I regret things that I'm not ashamed of. Like, I regret speeding and getting a ticket.

[A]

Because you're being a bad citizen, right? If you cut someone off in traffic.

[B]

No, I don't regret that.

[A]

You don't regret that?

[B]

No. Everyone gets their turn getting cut off.

[A]

So you have no shame, you're saying?

[B]

Not. Not in that instance.

[A]

I think that's true.

[B]

But if I were to be pulled over for not using a turn signal, I would have regretted not shame.

[A]

Okay. I mean, you've become an incredibly impressive and successful person. So how do you manage shame and regret in relation to your instant virality therapy? Therapy.

[B]

Therapy. I've worked through that for years and I. I'm still working through it. But the battle isn't as tough as it was seven years ago. Now it's just maintaining.

[A]

Yeah. I don't know.

[B]

And reminding myself like, I don't need to carry that guilt. I made a mistake. I was a kid. Everybody makes mistakes. Everything is fine. I didn't kill anybody.

[A]

You didn't make your money mining blood diamonds. I mean, I think that you probably. You didn't do anything. I think you didn't do. You didn't do anything any harm.

[B]

No.

[A]

In fact, you made some folks feel alright.

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

No. Sorry. I mean like, honestly, it's not like a net negative on society, right? Like.

[B]

No, but there are, there are people who like, I don't give a fuck what the. What the incels on the Internet think, but I do give a fuck about what.

[A]

No.

[B]

Fatima713, you know, thinks because she's being called Mia Khalifa, but she's deeply religious and it makes her feel like she's being over sexualized. So like that. That gives me guilt and shame.

[A]

You're. You're. You're a good. You're still. You could be a good. You're not like. You don't own or love.

[B]

You have a chance to be a good person.

[A]

I mean you, you don't own a rubber plantation in Africa in the Congo, mining for. Right. You didn't like take advantage of anyone like you? I don't know. You just like. I don't. How you make $6 million a month.

[B]

No.

[A]

So say no.

[B]

That's. That's crazy. I would. I wouldn't be here if I did.

[A]

You wouldn't be here.

[B]

Absolutely not. You would never see me again.

[A]

I would be a ghost.

[B]

You would never see me again.

[A]

What would you be doing if you had like a Billy?

[B]

Building a moat.

[A]

A moat? I would buy sports team.

[B]

If you had 6 million. You think you can buy a sports team with 6 million?

[A]

No Billy. If I. Oh, a Billy. Yeah.

[B]

Oh yeah. I'd build A moat. I'd build a moat.

[A]

Where? In Florida.

[B]

Florida. No, that's a marsh. I do.

[A]

Do you have, like, animals you would you put like, you know, sharks and stuff in there?

[B]

No, I'd put crocodiles. Those are way more realistic.

[A]

Oh, that's kind of, in this day and age, a little tough. I would buy a sports team.

[B]

What? What? What? What sport?

[A]

I would buy, like, a shit soccer team and do like, what? What the guy from It's Always Sunny and Ryan Reynolds have done.

[B]

What? They have a soccer team.

[A]

They have a soccer team and then the whole town likes them and they do shots with the Welsh guys in the town.

[B]

Oh, you just want friends.

[A]

A lot of friends.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You want more. That's what it sounds like you want.

[A]

Who's your best friend?

[B]

Well, Samantha.

[A]

Samantha. Samantha. Hi. Samantha's your best. What's like, what's your guys vibe as a. As a crew? You and Samantha?

[B]

Me and Samantha?

[A]

Well, you know, you do face masks.

[B]

We actually see each other like, once a year. She lives in Boston.

[A]

Oh, come on. I see my friends all the time. They just. They just happen to be my employees.

[B]

She knows more about me than anyone else. I talk to her more than anybody else.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I don't know. I was trying to think, like. Actually, it's kind of an interesting question for you to have gained success for such a short amount of time doing something and then walking away on your own terms. Is there any comparison in sports, art, literature, film? Actually, it sounds like there would be an easy answer, and it's taken me two weeks to figure it out.

[B]

There's got to be a one and done try.

[A]

I think I found the answer.

[B]

Yahoo.

[A]

No, no, you have to guess.

[B]

Okay, hold on, hold on.

[A]

You know sports, too? Yeah, but it's not. I. I won't say that it is or isn't sports.

[B]

Jordan and baseball.

[A]

He still. He stunk at baseball. Also, he left because of gambling. And he killed his father. Yeah, okay.

[B]

He killed his father.

[A]

It doesn't matter.

[B]

Did he fact check that?

[A]

Please. That makes him the goat. Okay, wait, think. Let's. Let's. I want you to guess because it's very. It's tough and it can't be.

[B]

I'm trying to think of a director who's only made one film.

[A]

James Dean, like, made like, three movies. Hanson, Handsome, Dreck. Crap. Okay. And they didn't walk away from music. They probably.

[B]

They just became Tracy Chapman. Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

How many albums?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How many?

[B]

One. Not even One. Was it just a single?

[A]

She didn't just make fast car. She's a reveler. She did that one. What else did she do? I'll look it up right now on the iPad. I don't think that's right. There is. Okay, there is one sports comp, but I don't think it works perfectly.

[B]

Who?

[A]

Jim Brown, maybe.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

He just left to be a civil rights icon.

[B]

Same.

[A]

And an actor. Okay, I want. I want you to. Okay, here's the clue. It's. It's in literature.

[B]

Oh, who wrote one? But no, it's.

[A]

It's one of the. One of the.

[B]

Oh, Homer.

[A]

Homer.

[B]

Oh, fuck. He did, too.

[A]

And. Yeah, that shit is, like, mad long, too. That's not. That's not a couple months. It doesn't have to be a couple months, but it has to be, like, a short amount of time.

[B]

We don't know how fast he wrote it. Are you going to interview him?

[A]

Okay. It's one of the best books ever. You. We all read it in school. We all read it in school.

[B]

Yeah, we did.

[A]

It's got a great message.

[B]

Wait.

[A]

96 to present. She's been making albums. Tracy Chapman has nine albums. You're lying on her ass. Lying on freaking Tracy's ass.

[B]

Wait, then why is. Why did she come out of retirement for that. For that performance?

[A]

What do you mean, retirement?

[B]

Not retirement, but it was like, her first. Like, you know, it was a big deal because, like, she had gone away and she didn't. Like, she left the public eye. Yeah, it was a big deal that she came back.

[A]

She left your eye. Cause you.

[B]

I just stopped looking. I closed my eyes.

[A]

Keep up with her.

[B]

Those eye doctors, man, I'm telling you.

[A]

Okay. It's a book we all read. I'd say probably ninth grade.

[B]

Ninth grade, we read Catcher in the Rye. We read.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

No. J.D. salinger has met.

[A]

Salinger went crazy. He didn't walk away. That was.

[B]

No, but he also has many. Franny and Zooey is.

[A]

That's just as bad. That's F. Scott Fitzgerald.

[B]

Oh, shit. No, it's not.

[A]

Yes, it is.

[B]

Oh, fuck.

[A]

Is it? Yeah.

[B]

No, it's not. It is.

[A]

Is that Salinger? Who?

[B]

It's Salinger. Yeah.

[A]

So F. Fitzgerald made Fitzgerald, who did Great Gatsby, which is the great American novel. But he did four books and 20 years of making. Doing books, so it doesn't count. But you're close. You're in the wi. You're so close right now.

[B]

It's not Of Mice and Men. I Read that last week and I know that.

[A]

What'd you think about that one? Lenny?

[B]

I'm going through all of Lenny. I just want to pet the bunnies.

[A]

Oh, my God. Yeah. So scary. He didn't know his own strength.

[B]

I know. Poor guy. No, tell me, tell me. Close.

[A]

You're so close. Think about it. It's a great lesson for kids to have.

[B]

Oh, The one about the dystopian. Oh, the giver. No.

[A]

Come on, we're close. We're right there.

[B]

The Alchemist. No. What is it? Okay, tell me, please.

[A]

I'll tell you a character.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Boo.

[B]

Oh, my God. Wait. No. She wrote multiple books.

[A]

No.

[B]

Who? Radley?

[A]

One and done.

[B]

She only wrote To Kill a Mockingbird

[A]

and they released a second one a couple years ago, but people are like, that's half fake.

[B]

Oh, I enjoyed it because I love to kill a movie. Yeah.

[A]

Harper Lee, you're one of the greatest artists of all time.

[B]

I'm Harper Lee.

[A]

You're Harper Lee.

[B]

I'm Harper Lee.

[A]

You're kind of Harper Lee.

[B]

I'm Harper Lee.

[A]

Or you're Vince Young. University of Texas, but I'll take either. Actually, no. But he washed out in the league. It doesn't count.

[B]

I didn't wash out in the league.

[A]

Yeah. Wa Guan, everybody. Let me tell you about the online cannabis company that's revolutionizing the way we deal with life's challenges. From sleepless nights to stress filled days, Mood.com has created an entire line of functional gummies that target specific health concerns with 100% legal THC blends that they deliver discreetly to your door. And you can get 20% off your first [e-mail] with the promo code TAFS, they've got a whole line of gummies tailored to different parts of life. Sleepy Time Gummies. These shits knock me out in 15 minutes flat. No hangovers, no grogginess. I wake up feeling amazing. And they're Epic Euphoria Gummies. There's nothing perfect for those days when nothing's going right for you. Perfect. What? They are perfect. Oh, yeah. And they're Epic Euphoria Gummies. They're perfect for those days when nothing's going right for you and you just need a hit of the reset button. A little hit or crap one more time. And the Epic Euphoria Gummies. Don't get me started, guys. You know those days when nothing's going right for you? You just need to hit the reset button on your crap mood. You take one of those craps and it turns everything right around. What makes everything different is how they've paired THC and other cannabinoids with herbs and adaptogens. You're just not going to find gummies like this in a dispensary or anywhere for that matter. And they have gummies for literally everything. Immune support, menopause, pms, mental clarity, sexual arousal. And each one is crafted using federally legal cannabis, grown on small family owned American farms. No pesticides, size, no bullshit. They can ship directly to most states the United States. Best of all, not only does Mood stand by everything. Best of all, not only does Mood stand behind everything. With an industry leading 100 day satisfaction guarantee. As I mentioned before, our listeners get 20% off their first order with the code TAFS. So head to mood.com, browse their amazing selections of functional gummies, find the perfect gummy for whatever you're dealing with and remember that. And remember to use the promo code TAFS at checkout to save 20% off your first order. What? So like, in terms of your career currently, like, do you feel fulfilled in your career? Like, what are your like, motivations moving forward? Like, do you want to make a movie? You like movies?

[B]

I do.

[A]

What kind of movie you want to make? Like a Harry Potter style. What's your number one movie?

[B]

My number one movie of all time? Trainspotting.

[A]

Come on. Actually. Come on.

[B]

Vertigo.

[A]

Actually. Okay, not number one ever though.

[B]

Number one ever. And the only reason I'm not saying it is because it sounds way too, like, way too new. But ask her. Oppenheimer ever. I saw it 12 times in IMAX. 70 millimeter.

[A]

Oh, that's 12.

[B]

I traveled to three different states.

[A]

That's 36 hours. Yeah.

[B]

And that doesn't include streaming and regular IMAX.

[A]

That's your best ever.

[B]

Ever. But it's because I'm autistic and was obsessed with the Enola Gay as a kid.

[A]

Do you have autism?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Everyone, it's a little.

[B]

It's a spectrum.

[A]

No, I don't think I am.

[B]

It's like no one's fully straight.

[A]

No, I don't think I'm autistic at all. Oh, I cry everything. Yeah, yeah. It came around like six years ago.

[B]

Autism because of the vaccine.

[A]

It just dropped.

[B]

Just kidding.

[A]

It used to be called rude.

[B]

I'm dead.

[A]

Remember rude?

[B]

Do you remember rude? They've rebranded.

[A]

Remember Rude?

[B]

Yeah. Now someone changed their logo.

[A]

Like Jaguar could be a fucking dickhead. And they're like, he's just, he's so autistic. And I'm like, I don't care. What am I? I need to read the dsm, too? I'm not a doctor.

[B]

You could be an eye doctor if

[A]

you tried, though it's not a real doctor. We exactly talked about this before the episode. Don't. Stop trolling me. They're just glasses sellers.

[B]

Do you have a prescription in yours?

[A]

What do you think, I'm a freaking liar? My integrity is all I have. The audience trusts me more than they trust anyone in the news media these days.

[B]

You're a journalist.

[A]

No, I'm not a journalist. Do you think about, like, what you would have done had, like. Had you, like, just gone to college?

[B]

Yeah, all the time. I'd be in the fucking guts of the Smithsonian museum. Yeah, like in the basement in the.

[A]

Yeah, like. Like a dinosaur bone or something.

[B]

No, because you need to be an archaeologist for that.

[A]

I would have been an archaeologist.

[B]

No, I have no interest in that. I have interest in.

[A]

You would have been a file clerk.

[B]

Data collection and filing. Yeah.

[A]

Oh, you are autistic. Proper autism. That sounds like the suckiest thing ever.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

Are you kidding?

[B]

You get to work in the basement, no one gets to talk to you. There's no windows. It's a dream.

[A]

That sounds really scary.

[B]

No, it's amazing.

[A]

I used to have to do filing.

[B]

Do you know how many colors the Smithsonian has in their possession that don't exist anymore?

[A]

No. What. What was that question? How many colors the Smithsonian has a possession of?

[B]

150 colors that are no longer in existence.

[A]

The human head weighs 15 pounds.

[B]

Have you seen Jerry Maguire?

[A]

Sixteen and a half.

[B]

I'm kidding.

[A]

Jerry Maguire.

[B]

That kid isn't Jerry Maguire. Show me the money.

[A]

Yeah, of course.

[B]

Oh, I've seen that. I've seen that. But I thought you were calling me autistic, so I assumed rang.

[A]

No, the little kid goes the human hat range, 15 pounds.

[B]

Was that Stuart Little?

[A]

It was Stuart Little. It was the mouse.

[B]

Yeah, it was the mouse.

[A]

No, it was that kid with the glasses.

[B]

Yeah. You know, I hate that kid. I always want to punch him in the face.

[A]

Jonathan Lifnicki.

[B]

I hate him.

[A]

I got that.

[B]

Wow, what a pull.

[A]

What a pull.

[B]

Great pull.

[A]

Train spotting. Not a good move.

[B]

Trainspotting is a phenomenal movie. Is your issue with Danny Boyle or with great acting?

[A]

It's just mess. It's just a mess. So it's dark. Have you read a book? Oh, no, I can't read. I don't. I don't know.

[B]

The glasses are fake?

[A]

No, no, I do with listening.

[B]

Okay, so Trainspotting you can. Well, I read. It's written phonetically in the Scottish accent, so it's amazing. And there's a. There's like a key in the back with it for all of the Scottish

[A]

slang, so it was a lot of work.

[B]

Have you ever read House of Leaves where you have to, like, turn the book around as you're reading it and, like, is it. Yeah, there's like, some pages that are, like, written around the corner. Yeah.

[A]

Who wrote that?

[B]

I can't remember.

[A]

I've never read that.

[B]

Not Harper Lee.

[A]

You kind of are Harper Lee. You should change your bio. The Harper Lee of.

[B]

Are you kidding? I am going to rest on that laurel for the rest of my life.

[A]

I kind of think, like, maybe it's kind of dope.

[B]

I love that. I love To Kill a Mockingbird.

[A]

Yeah, I love it, too. I mean, I've kind of modeled myself after Boo Radley in my career.

[B]

Boo after Boo. Okay.

[A]

I think, like. So you think that, like, what you study, like, data collection and science kind of stuff.

[B]

Yeah, and then that's what I would want. That's what I would want to do.

[A]

And would you have considered that, like, a better alternative at certain points?

[B]

I think that's very, very. That's. That's. That's up to. That's up for debate.

[A]

Yeah, I think. Are you.

[B]

I am your proper, rich, successful. No.

[A]

You live in Miami?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Big ass house you got on the water?

[B]

No. No.

[A]

Star Island?

[B]

No, I live in, like, essentially a condo, but with a backyard.

[A]

Do you like. Like, what's your crew in Miami? You like living there?

[B]

My crew is two people.

[A]

Two people?

[B]

Yeah. I don't love living there.

[A]

Who's your crew?

[B]

My two girlfriends.

[A]

Her.

[B]

Boston. Can't get her to move to Miami.

[A]

Why don't you move to Miami with your best friend?

[B]

She has children.

[A]

They can move, too. How old are you?

[B]

Yes, Sam.

[A]

They're under three.

[B]

Mamacita. She's a mommy.

[A]

If they moved to Miami, they'd be. They'd love it.

[B]

They are really. They'd suffer.

[A]

Whatever they like. They'd be fine. They just do Molly when they're 11. They get.

[B]

Oh, my God. That's literally how kids in Miami grow up.

[A]

It's crazy. I grew. I went to college with some of those kids, and they. They really, like. They were like.

[B]

Where'd you go to school?

[A]

GW oh, right. You've since become like a. Like a fashion person, right? Do you like that world?

[B]

Yes, that. Yeah, I do.

[A]

Dude, you're a designer.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What's Your. What's your line called? Shaitan Shaytan. Is that French?

[B]

No, it's Spanish. No, it's Arabic.

[A]

Arabic?

[B]

Yeah, it means devil.

[A]

Have you been back to Lebanon in the last couple years?

[B]

No.

[A]

Are you allowed to?

[B]

I'm not. Not allowed to, but I don't think it would be the smartest decision to go somewhere where I get a lot of threats from. It's difficult there.

[A]

Yeah. Are you in contact with anyone that's like. Or like. Do you feel like an obligation to advocate for individuals that are in the industry?

[B]

I advocate for the rights of sex workers and for the protection of sex workers. And I advocate for changing the age of consent for doing porn specifically. I'm not talking about the age of consent in general, but at the very least for the adult industry to 21. But I also know that actual sex workers and women who are still in the traditional porn industry do not like it when I speak on the industry at all because they think my opinion is completely irrelevant and doesn't.

[A]

Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, I guess, because you were only there for a short time, so they feel like you have. No.

[B]

Yeah. And there's this weird. Like, there's this weird thing of they see me as biting the hand that fed me because they take so much pride in what they do, and they're so proud of it. And I kind of demonize the industry because that's what it is. Like, the traditional production porn industry is predatory and toxic and terrible. Absolutely terrible. Top to bottom. So, yeah, they don't like it when I talk about it that way. But that's.

[A]

That's the truth, right? Yeah, I guess that's a difficult position to be placed in because you obviously want to. Certainly.

[B]

Want to what?

[A]

To be, like, an advocate, Right?

[B]

No, not necessarily.

[A]

Well, you do it, like, when it comes to, you know, what's the Middle east, you do it when it comes to women's rights.

[B]

But I will never advocate for the traditional porn industry. I think it should be dismantled and disbanded completely. And I think that everybody should be. I don't think it should be legal to sign a contract in perpetuity when it involves a woman's body.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, I guess. Who's gonna do it if we take it away from the Israelis? Cut that. Seriously.

[B]

No, that's the lead.

[A]

Should I get a rhinoplasy?

[B]

No.

[A]

What was the recovery process like?

[B]

Oh, my God. A day? Not even. I didn't take any pain meds after.

[A]

Maybe just a little bit small. A day.

[B]

A day, not even.

[A]

And it Was not. It looks like a little bit. Just a little bit smaller, maybe.

[B]

Don't get a rhinoplasty.

[A]

What about, like, strong noses on.

[B]

Men are so nice.

[A]

What about like a. Like a. Like a little bit of like a Michael Jackson style?

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

A tiny.

[B]

I wonder if it comes with the white nose.

[A]

Snape. What if I got a snape?

[B]

Snape or.

[A]

No, I mean Voldemort. Voldemort. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Just a slit.

[A]

Just two slits. Come on. You think girls like that?

[B]

Yeah. What? Refines is sexy.

[A]

No, I like my nose. I've recently started liking it. Were you baptized? You got a bat mit? What's the bat mitzvah? Confirmation.

[B]

I had a first communion. I had a confirmation. Yeah. Everything. Everything.

[A]

In Lebanon, do they do Arabic mass?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Lebanon is predominantly Christian, actually.

[A]

Predominantly Christian?

[B]

Yeah, 51%. Like, barely. Predominantly.

[A]

This sounds like a little bit of exaggeration. 51.

[B]

Yeah, maybe. Maybe they're fluffing those numbers, but yeah, there's a huge, huge Christian community.

[A]

Yeah, I guess, like, just moving forward. Like, what. What are your, like, big projects that you're looking forward to and, like, you want to work on and, like, goals you have, like, in your career?

[B]

A documentary, a book.

[A]

Documentary about what? What. What would the focus be?

[B]

Harper Lee.

[A]

Harper Lee. Kind of a little bit true.

[B]

No, I'm telling you, I'm running with this in my head.

[A]

Maybe Bo Jackson.

[B]

Bo Jackson.

[A]

But he played professionally.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

It doesn't count. I was thinking John Cazale, that guy. But he wasn't like the Mia Khalifa of those movies. He was in five movies that all got nominated Best Picture. And he died. Died doesn't count.

[B]

Died doesn't count. No.

[A]

You know he was Meryl Streep's partner? You know that Fredo from the Godfather?

[B]

Oh, shit. He was Meryl Streep's partner.

[A]

Dog day afternoon, Godfather 1, 2, deer hunter and the Conversation. All nominated. Best Picture.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

He wasn't the Mia Khalifa of those movies.

[B]

That's quite a run.

[A]

There's only one other one, but the legacy hasn't lasted. Bjorn Borg, the Swedish tennis player.

[B]

Oh, my God, he has the underwear line.

[A]

Who?

[B]

Bjorn Borg.

[A]

Look that up. Let's see. Doesn't he. So both of you guys retired and started underwear.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

Bjorn Borg did.

[B]

Right. Look up the Swedish underwear brand. Because my ex husband was Swedish and he always wore, like, things on the waistband that said Bjorn.

[A]

What was it like being married to a Swede?

[B]

Lots of. Do they IKEA trash?

[A]

Do they laugh they don't do that. No, they don't. That's offensive. That's incredibly offensive to say.

[B]

Is it?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. What? They're going to IKEA and eating horse meat and stuff. He retired at. Where's the underpants? You're making this up. Very handsome guy.

[B]

Look at Bjorn. Swedish underpants then. Because I'm just misremembering who owns the brand. Bjorn is a common name.

[A]

Personal life. Oh. His business ventures failed.

[B]

Oh. Oh, my God. Poor guy.

[A]

And now he's trying to go back to tennis at the age of 68. Sad when you.

[B]

For what?

[A]

No, I'm just kidding. I was just joking. So you've been married twice. Like, is it. Have you found that that's, like, been like, a difficult thing for you, like, to, like, trust people? Like, re. Establish trust, like, after, like, processing your experiences prior?

[B]

No, I think I have really good discernment.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And if I don't trust someone from, like, instantly, I'm never going to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's not something that you can build.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's something that you either, like, you know, so. No. Yeah. Those relationships ended for very different reasons. Mostly just growing. Growing and not growing at the same time.

[A]

Yeah. Babies.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Baby boys. Yeah, they were baby boys.

[B]

Yeah. Every boy is a baby boy till 55.

[A]

I can't. I can't trust these men. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you think that men are becoming like the girls?

[B]

Yeah, they are.

[A]

Because all my friends are like. All my friends are like, I just want to, like, open up and share my feelings, but I feel like she's withholding. I'm like, isn't this what the girl, the guy? Isn't it? We're supposed to be doing that.

[B]

You're supposed to be fighting in wars and building houses.

[A]

We're supposed to come back from the. From the black lung place and be like, the coals.

[B]

The coal mines.

[A]

And she's gonna be like, I want to talk about my day. And we're supposed to be like, I can't do that. But now it's. The girls are doing that to us. What happened to us?

[B]

Is it because the coal mines shut down?

[A]

I think it's.

[B]

We need to go back to fossil fuels.

[A]

We stopped violence. I think we stopped violence.

[B]

We need to start beating the men.

[A]

No, the. No, ladies.

[B]

We gotta start beating the men.

[A]

I think our grandfathers were, like, about to be like, When I was 8, I had a trial. Traumatic thing. But then they did violence instead.

[B]

Yeah. That's how you assert all of that. Yeah.

[A]

We stopped the violence and now we're like, just. Now we're like, just. I want her to understand the real me.

[B]

Okay? So after this, I'll punch you in the face.

[A]

No, it's the opposite.

[B]

You need to punch me in the face.

[A]

You can punch me in the face right now.

[B]

I have a nose job.

[A]

I'm not gonna punch you in the face. I don't want to hit anyone, let alone a girl.

[B]

We have to rebalance the scales.

[A]

Let alone a cultural icon and a noted anti Semite that I. Oh, my God. I don't want to be hit.

[B]

We could do it through blocking. It's a little bit like, you don't know how to fling yourself and pretend like you got hit.

[A]

People do this when they make. It's too much. Like, it's. It's nice. Vanilla. No.

[B]

What?

[A]

Just. Just regular. Like, I love you and stuff. That kind of stuff.

[B]

Without a slap. Does it really mean anything?

[A]

No. I don't want to be hitting and stuff and doing hitting. And she's like, hit me. And I'm like, I don't. I will if you want. But, like, it doesn't feel nice to do.

[B]

Why?

[A]

Because I, like, Like, just like, ball gown, Tuxedo.

[B]

Yes. Through the sheets. Through the bed sheets.

[A]

Dance. Like a. Like a romantic dance. And then a spin. And then. Yeah, and then like a huge, you know, with a canopy bed. And then just, like, you know, exploring. And then.

[B]

And then soaking.

[A]

I love what's soaking.

[B]

Soaking is what the Mormons do.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I heard about that. What does they do? They just. They just go to bed inside of a girl.

[B]

They just go sleep, and then there's somebody under the bed and they're pushing the mattress up. So technically they're not having sex. They accidentally are going.

[A]

Do you think culturally we should just.

[B]

People should not stop being Mormon.

[A]

No, people should just, like, we should know, like, kill the woman should have secrets again. I don't need to know everything when someone talks, you know, like, I don't like, the way you fuck is, like, a big part of identity now. And it's just sometimes I'm like, I don't care. Like, it's like, I want to get my sandwich and get out of here.

[B]

Is that what you call cookie? A sandwich?

[A]

No, I meant, like, if I'm at a bagel place and they're like, I'm a dom. Daddy top. I'm like, a little bit like, can we just go back to secrets? How can we make things nice again? Sarah?

[B]

Hmm?

[A]

We can make things nice.

[B]

We got on the right track yesterday.

[A]

No, I mean, this is kind of a nice thing.

[B]

This is nice.

[A]

Yeah, no, like a kind of a. To see. You know, to see us get.

[B]

Yeah, we're bridging. We're bridging worlds.

[A]

Christian and Jewish.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, that's nice.

[B]

Palestinian chicken.

[A]

Do you think people are seeing this as an inspiration right now?

[B]

Yeah, of course.

[A]

Really?

[B]

This is the two state solution.

[A]

No, come on. I don't want two states.

[B]

I don't either. There's only one.

[A]

I don't want a state at all.

[B]

Do you think that just open all the borders. We're citizens of the world.

[A]

Yeah, I guess, like. I guess let's just. I guess let's leave it at this.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

No, I mean, I think that. Like. Let me see. I had one more that I wanted to say. You think that. Are you the Harper Lee of porn? Such a short career, big impact. Harper Lee? Really? All these notes are about Harper Lee? I think. Sorry. I'm sorry. Normally I'm way more professional than this. I guess, like I brought up when harry met sally. So you got your name from Wiz Khalifa?

[B]

No, it was my first dog's name

[A]

and the last name from Wiz Khalifa?

[B]

Yeah, more or less, yeah.

[A]

Is he your favorite rapper?

[B]

No, but I love weed.

[A]

All right, Mia.

[B]

Thank you.