If You Bark Into The Future

Summary

Podcast Summary: "If You Bark Into The Future"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Read
• Host/Author: Loud Speakers Network
• Episode: If You Bark Into The Future
• Release Date: June 12, 2025

---

1. Black Excellence

The hosts, Saniya Rivers and Crystal, kick off the episode by celebrating notable achievements within the Black community.

• Sacrilege: Curse of the Mburi
  Saniya introduces a new psychological thriller available on Audible titled Sacrilege: Curse of the Mburi, starring Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things. She enthusiastically describes the plot, highlighting the film's thematic exploration of colonial oppression.

  Saniya Rivers [00:31]: "I can't wait for the surprises that lie within. Listen to Sacrilege Curse of the Mburi by going to audible.com sacrilege happy my sins away indeed."

• Indie Horror Film Sinners
  The duo discusses the indie horror film Sinners, noting its remarkable achievement of becoming the sixth horror film to surpass $200 million domestically. They commend the film's success despite its low budget and limited previous recognition.

  Saniya Rivers [03:38]: "It is now, though, the sixth horror film ever to pass $200 million domestically at the box office."

• J' Jerie Kennedy's NIL Deal
  They laud J’ Jerie Kennedy, the first college softball player to secure a million-dollar Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal. The hosts emphasize the significance of this milestone for female athletes.

  Crystal [06:11]: "She led Stanford to back-to-back women's national college World Series appearances. And so really that girl’s everyone's a fan."

• Carrie Young's Tony Awards Wins
  Celebrating Carrie Young's consecutive Tony Awards wins, the hosts acknowledge her historic achievement as the first Black performer to win two Tonys in a row.

  Saniya Rivers [10:56]: "She just won her second consecutive Tony award, best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play."

2. Pop Culture and Awards Shows

The conversation shifts to recent award shows, highlighting performances and notable moments.

• BET Awards Recap
  Saniya and Crystal discuss the BET Awards, particularly praising the 106 & Park reunion and the Jamie Foxx tribute. They express admiration for Jennifer Hudson's moving performance during the tribute.

  Crystal [12:37]: "My favorite was probably the 106 and park reunion... Jennifer Hudson's performance had me in tears."

• Amerie's Tiny Desk Performance
  The hosts critique Amerie's appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk series, expressing disappointment despite recognizing her musical talent.

  Crystal [22:32]: "The feedback, the commentary has not been kind. But her BET Awards performance was better."

• Upcoming Film: Kiss of the Spider Woman
  Jennifer Lopez stars in the new film Kiss of the Spider Woman, adapted from a musical. The hosts discuss its potential and the involvement of director Rob Marshall, known for Chicago and Beauty and the Beast.

  Saniya Rivers [25:07]: "She's singing a lot. It looks like a film... from the director of Dream Girls and Beauty and the Beast."

• Wicked Ferguson
  They touch upon the anticipated release of Wicked Ferguson, the sequel to Wicked, anticipating a darker narrative that continues the story from the original musical.

3. Sports

The focus shifts to sports, particularly highlighting the Oklahoma City Thunder’s performance in the NBA Finals.

• Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals
  Crystal passionately discusses the Thunder's journey in the finals, expressing confident optimism about their chances of winning the championship.

  Crystal [59:00]: "I think Game five is gonna be the one where we raise the trophy."

4. Listener Letters

The hosts engage with their audience by addressing listener questions and stories.

• Letter from Mel: Animal Psychics
  Mel shares her experience with animal psychics for her dog, discussing the insights gained and questioning the legitimacy of such services.

  Crystal [63:01]: "She would have no way of knowing that."

• Letter from Michael: Mental Health and Friendships
  Michael writes about struggling to maintain friendships due to mental health challenges, seeking advice on how to show up better for friends.

  Crystal [76:34]: "How much space do you really have to show up for others? You’re saying your mental health is barely staying afloat."

5. Current Events and Social Issues

The hosts delve into pressing societal issues, particularly focusing on immigration enforcement and its impacts.

• Immigration Enforcement in Los Angeles
  Saniya expresses outrage over ICE operations in LA, condemning the aggressive and inhumane methods used to detain immigrants. The conversation highlights the emotional toll and racial undertones of such policies.

  Saniya Rivers [85:36]: "They swoop up people from the streets... in the name of an immigration policy. No one knows how those people are doing."

• Political Commentary on Definitions of Protests
  They critique the Trump administration’s labeling of protests as insurrections, arguing that the term is misapplied and downplays the nature of peaceful demonstrations.

  Saniya Rivers [100:56]: "An act or instance of rising in revolt... These are people understandably reacting and protesting a disgusting, inhumane process."

6. Additional Topics

The hosts briefly touch upon various other cultural and entertainment topics.

• Nick Frost Cast as Hagrid
  They mention Nick Frost being cast as Hagrid in the Harry Potter series, noting his previous roles and the significance of his casting.

• Disqualification of a 16-Year-Old Track Star
  A discussion ensues about a 16-year-old Black track star being disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior after a celebratory act, which the hosts argue is rooted in racial bias.

  Crystal [113:51]: "We don't like the way you celebrate being great... it's being demeaning to other individuals or the sport."

7. Conclusion and Final Remarks

In their concluding remarks, Saniya and Crystal emphasize the importance of safety during Pride and continue to express their support for the communities discussed.

Saniya Rivers [128:33]: "I hope you guys are having a happy and very safe Pride. The streets are very weird."

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Notable Quotes:

• Saniya Rivers [03:38]: "It is still out there. Unless you want to watch it."

• Crystal [12:37]: "Jennifer Hudson was in the tribute, and she was doing the vocalist part of it. And her voice, literally, it had me break."

• Saniya Rivers [06:31]: "And they said the number is specific. Million dollars for her name, $50,000 for living expenses."

• Crystal [22:32]: "The Tiny Desk baby is not worth my time."

• Saniya Rivers [85:36]: "They sent Marines to go pluck people out of their homes in broad daylight."

• Crystal [119:00]: "This is America in a nutshell."

---

Conclusion: In this episode of The Read, Saniya Rivers and Crystal engage in passionate discussions spanning Black excellence in film and sports, recent award show highlights, listener engagement, and intense commentary on current social and political issues, particularly focusing on immigration enforcement and racial injustice. Their candid and humorous exchanges provide both entertainment and serious discourse, reflecting their unique perspectives as transplants navigating life in New York City.

Transcript

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[Saniya Rivers]

Hey guys, there's a new psychological thriller from Audible that you have got to check out. It's called Sacrilege Curse of the Mbirwi. It stars Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things. We love him over here and it was written and directed by Nyasha Hatendi and it's presented in spectacular Dolby atmos for your listening and Audible pleasure. Here's a setup. The Wallace family's vacation at a luxury game reserve in Zimbabwe unravels when DeShawn Wallace, played by McLoughlin. We love him unwittingly desecrates hallowed ground and unleashes the Umbrelli, a vengeful entity born from centuries of colonial oppression. This is my type of carrying on and I can't wait for the surprises that lie within. Listen to Sacrilege Curse of the Mburi by going to audible.com sacrilege happy my sins away indeed. Welcome niggas, friends, other people out there wasting your time to listening to hours worth of niggas telling you all the ways that you're awful and you know deep down that we're right and you need to do something about it. You probably won't. You probably won't because you're confused. You know what? We're not God. So good luck. Oh, I In case you're wondering, I'm the black girl at the beginning of Mean Girls that goes.

[Crystal]

I'm from Michigan and I am Saniya Rivers and this is three thanks for coming back.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh my goodness, it is. And thank you for coming back where we talk about all sorts of things, including excellent black people. Let's do some of that today in our Black excellence. I would like to give honor to, first of all, little indie film. Little known film hasn't really been too on the radar. Film that came out this year is called Sinners. Tiny indie horror flick. It is now, though, the sixth horror film ever to pass $200 million domestically at the box office. Still in theaters. Still in theaters. It is still out there. Unless you want to watch it. Maybe you haven't seen it. I guess he'd probably be the only one seeing as it has made $200 million or passed $200 million domestically. The only other horror films to do this in history are it the Andy Mushka remake.

[Crystal]

Scary, Fantastic.

[Saniya Rivers]

It Chapter two.

[Crystal]

Oh, there's another one.

[Saniya Rivers]

The Exorcist, Jaws and the Sixth Sense.

[Crystal]

Yes. Those are incredible movies. What. What company didn't. Variety. Just the, just the.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, I was getting married.

[Crystal]

Oh, okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was getting that.

[Crystal]

So like this happens so quickly.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's interesting.

[Crystal]

It's almost like you should have gave more than two days.

[Saniya Rivers]

That one number that you were talking about. You know, the budget number that you were talking about. Wow. It's interesting that it's so far past that number now because we aren't in the first weekend that the movie came out anymore. So interesting. A 90 million dollar budget. $200 million domestically, $358 million globally.

[Crystal]

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

[Saniya Rivers]

So what were you talking about? Right, exactly.

[Crystal]

So anyway, that was what we thought actually.

[Saniya Rivers]

This critically acclaimed motion picture is still in theaters. I've already ordered my steelbook 4k uhd edition video because when all of this streaming shit hits the pot, you know who will still be joined. Dvd.

[Crystal]

Got to have your things. Got to.

[Saniya Rivers]

Thank you.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

So congratulations to the entire cast and crew. I mean, duh, we did picture. It's perfect.

[Crystal]

I mean you just had to give it more than 72 hours. I guess you just had to give it a minute perhaps. Maybe it really hasn't even been out that long. The fact that it's still in theaters is a testament to how well it's doing like it.

[Saniya Rivers]

But if you honestly look up the bitch who wrote it, I mean just some of her personal sentiment.

[Crystal]

I said right there.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, okay. You're a horrible person.

[Crystal]

Okay. Okay. So this is what you do. You write things to. You probably do this just to piss people off. Well.

[Saniya Rivers]

And just believe in political things that are.

[Crystal]

You won't be. Oh, okay. So you wrong in a lot of different ways. Oh, okay. Yeah. Well then. All right.

[Saniya Rivers]

Also would like to give honor to a beautiful young woman named n' J' Jerie Kennedy. You haven't heard? She is the first person in history, in the history of college softball to obtain a million dollar contract.

[Crystal]

I introduced myself as her last week.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Because they made it to the World Series. Texas though, wasn't having none of that. But yeah, she is.

[Saniya Rivers]

Sure was.

[Crystal]

She is incredible.

[Saniya Rivers]

She really a Stanford athlete.

[Crystal]

She was.

[Saniya Rivers]

She led Stanford to back to back women's national college World Series appearances. And so really that Girl, everyone's a fan. And Texas text the gap. They definitely said, well, we won't be dealing with that anymore. We won't be on the other side of the act. You come right on back.

[Crystal]

Oh, man.

[Saniya Rivers]

And so the Texas Tech matador club offered her a deal.

[Crystal]

They did.

[Saniya Rivers]

And it's the first nil deal in history to pass. A million dollars for college softball. It's 1 million work. $50,024. And they said the number is specific. Million dollars for her name, $50,000 for living expenses. Do.

[Crystal]

They say you are Moving to Lubbock? 50k is all you need.

[Saniya Rivers]

And $24 to represent the number that she wears.

[Crystal]

Oh, I love that. Oh, this. I didn't know that part about. I didn't know that part about the living.

[Saniya Rivers]

They're trying to be sweet. Stones aren't expensive as dick to live in.

[Crystal]

That's so funny.

[Saniya Rivers]

Richie Rich house.

[Crystal]

No, because she's already a college student. Like, is she not? I wouldn't anticipate her really having any, you know, living expenses. But that. That just really tickled me. Love Texas, Tex. Please, all of you, don't come over here doing all that. But, yeah, the congratulations. She. I actually sat here and watched the college. Yes, I did. I did. Well, because Gordy was here, and Gordy. Gordy went to Texas Tech. So he was like, yeah, we're watching it. We're watching it. But, yeah, that's how I found out about her. And immediately I was just, like, locked in. So, yeah, you deserve. I love this nil shit. I love these kids getting their money. I do.

[Saniya Rivers]

I really, really do love it.

[Crystal]

Because these schools have been making millions and millions off of these kids for decades. So it's about damn time they get a piece of it back. And I don't care if it makes recruiting and coaching harder. Oh, fucking. Well.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, no.

[Crystal]

It's not charity work. Somebody's getting rich.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's almost like these athletes, especially the female and femmes. It's almost as if they are people at work.

[Crystal]

Yeah, I don't care. I don't care that you lose your quarterback every year. And I'm talking to myself. We lose our quarterback every season. Oh, well, them's the breaks. Cause how many people made millions off of these kids? Millions. These schools. If your school has a solid football, basketball program, I legit don't want to hear no complaints.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, feet in the air, knee cops. Kneecaps moisturized on a boat.

[Crystal]

I mean, we're gonna have to figure something out because it does mean end up Meaning that, you know, the concentrations are off and we don't really. The mid majors are going to be lacking the talent that they could have acquired otherwise, but. Oh, well, that just means something needs to be figured out. But I. I love that these kids have the freedom that the athletes, even when I went to school did not have. This is all still relatively new, so. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good for her. Good for her. And her $1,050,024. That really was no shade to love it. Love, love y' all so much.

[Saniya Rivers]

I mean, when you've spent over a decade living in a city that's like, here's a New Balance box that will be $1 million.

[Crystal]

I mean. Yes, Right, right, right. I mean, and everything else is like. It's not like Norman is some major metropolitan area either. Norman, Oklahoma is probably like girl, 35, and we're good. So.

[Saniya Rivers]

Right.

[Crystal]

This is no sense of superiority or anything. Yay. Go, go, Miss Girl.

[Saniya Rivers]

I also want to add in here one Carrie Young. Carrie Young just won her second consecutive Tony award, best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play as Aziza, a Harlem based social worker in the play Purpose. This is her second win in a row and the first black performer in history to receive two Tonys. To receive a Tony two years in a row.

[Crystal]

So for this same congratulations in the same category, you really have to like, if you had any doubts that you were that winning best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play two years in a row, that really ought to shut up your inner critic. It really.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, that's.

[Crystal]

That really ought to lay that to rest. Congratulations.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah. Okay, so let's get into some pop culture and run in the middle stuff segment called the Hot Box. First of all, the BET Awards happened. Did you watch them?

[Crystal]

I did not know they were on.

[Saniya Rivers]

Great. Me neither.

[Crystal]

But I was told to go back and watch the performances because the show was actually really good.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, was it? So maybe I'll go back and watch it.

[Crystal]

That's. I was told that the overall show was excellent, but to make sure, I watched the performances and I did. And I saw exactly what they were talking about because, yes, it was a good time. It was. It looked like y' all had. My favorite was probably the 106 and park reunion. Did you watch any of the videos or clips or anything?

[Saniya Rivers]

I've not seen.

[Crystal]

Okay, well, There was a 106 and park reunion where they brought back some of the different hosts throughout the years. Like Free was there, Big Tigger, a few more people I didn't know everybody's name, to be honest. But then they also had AJ There. No, I would have said. I would have said Terrence J. Was there, but not Roxy.

[Saniya Rivers]

So weird. So one half of every. Every version.

[Crystal]

Right. So they had. It was like, five different. Whatever. The point being that they each introduced, like, a 106. The park artist. No. Maybe. And I don't know who's. Who that is, but I don't think so.

[Saniya Rivers]

He went on to do, like, a million. He was a new girl. He had a show.

[Crystal]

Oh, no, no, not him.

[Saniya Rivers]

O.

[Crystal]

But they each introduced, like, some different 106 and park artists. Like, artists that were really hot, so. Ashanti, Amerie, Maya B, 2K, Lil Bow Wow. It was. That was actually. I really, really loved that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, that sounds fun.

[Crystal]

That was cute and well done. I was shocked at how good it was. The Jamie Foxx tribute. The.

[Saniya Rivers]

I thought he cried. I saw a picture of him crying.

[Crystal]

I cried when Jennifer Hudson got her ass out there. I did. I'm sorry. It was some. It's something about Jennifer Hudson's. She was up there, and I literally. So it was. It was her and who was on the piano, but they were doing unpredictable. And then.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, she was in his tribute.

[Crystal]

Wait. Yes.

[Saniya Rivers]

So.

[Crystal]

Right. Jennifer Hudson was in the tribute, and she was doing the.

[Saniya Rivers]

Fuck.

[Crystal]

I don't remember the name of this song, but she was doing, like, the vocalist part of it. And her voice, literally, it had me break. I was busting out into tears sitting here.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Her voice, watching her, it was really beautiful. I don't know what it was.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's become such a. Like. What's the word? She's become such an everyday pop culture fixation outside of just Music with Jennifer Hudson show, which has been doing well. And the whole hall. The hallway.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Motivation choir. That I love.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

And all of these things for the film and stuff from there. Being a fucking egot. She got all of them right. She's an egot.

[Crystal]

Yes, I think she is.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure. So it's like now when she See. I can't think of the last time she put out an album or, like, piece of music. I could be completely ignorant because I don't know anything these days, but every now and then, that lady is like, all right, I'll say it.

[Crystal]

Let me just remind y' all.

[Saniya Rivers]

And she does.

[Crystal]

Yeah. It was actually Gold Digger. They were doing Gold Digger. And so she was doing.

[Saniya Rivers]

Interesting.

[Crystal]

The singing part of that. And then she did the whole of the. I've Got a woman Ray Charles song, the sample. So this is what I'm saying. She went from, like, she came in, you know.

[Saniya Rivers]

Ah.

[Crystal]

And then she actually sang the song itself, and I was like. I was in tears. So I fully got it. I did. I understood it. It was she. It don't make no sense. It was very moving. But, yeah, that was. That was great too. It was.

[Saniya Rivers]

Lost American Idol.

[Crystal]

This is back when American Idol really had, like, some incredible talent.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah. When, like, we lost.

[Crystal]

Right. When we were really invested. But yeah, wasn't she on Fantasy?

[Saniya Rivers]

She was on Fantasia Season, wasn't she?

[Crystal]

I would rather lose American Idol and win everything else.

[Saniya Rivers]

So, like.

[Crystal]

Like, look around.

[Saniya Rivers]

We were just talking about this.

[Crystal]

I don't think you regret it.

[Saniya Rivers]

I think. Or no. When we talked about the young man who just won.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Mm.

[Saniya Rivers]

See, there's only like five people out of the, what, like 20 seasons of that show. Correct. This may be like, five people that have gone on and to actually have success in music.

[Crystal]

Like, huge mainstream success. Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

And all of them didn't win. Maybe like five. Like. Like four or five.

[Crystal]

I was about to say, you can't deny Kelly cl. Yeah, that bitch.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's like, Kelly, we just did this. Kelly. Carrie.

[Crystal]

Carrie.

[Saniya Rivers]

I'd say Jordan.

[Crystal]

Oh, yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yep. And there's probably one more person I'm forgetting who actually did, like, legit shit. But yeah, a lot of other people who went on and popped off did not win.

[Crystal]

Oh, yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, they were just talented and found a way.

[Crystal]

And Jennifer may be the most successful of all of the people who didn't win.

[Saniya Rivers]

No, without question. She, like, flat out, seriously.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Anyhow, love that. I will definitely go back and check the show out, because you should. I didn't watch it out of shade. I also was just like. Oh, I think I was reading. I was reading Dochi going off about that guy in the house.

[Crystal]

Yep, yep, yep, yep.

[Saniya Rivers]

I read an article about that and I was like, the bec Awards of this week.

[Crystal]

I had no idea.

[Saniya Rivers]

Bitch. I'm surprised they had them here.

[Crystal]

Yeah. I don't know why they didn't promote it because so many people were there. Like, Stevie Wonder was there to present the one of the icon award to Jamie Foxx. Mariah Carey was there. Like, it was. This was like, Kendrick showed up. It was all these incredible artists. And, like, why was. I feel like there was zero promotion for this show? Like, I just had no idea it was even coming on. I found out last night about the BET Awards and I was told, hurry up and Go watch them videos because it was a great show. So good for them. I would love to hear that. Apparently this was the year of like a dress code and they made actually try to look like something and wasn't no more, you know, showing up looking like you finna leave here and go shoot somebody or something like that.

[Saniya Rivers]

So I actually like that.

[Crystal]

Yeah, it sounds like it worked out so good for bet. But yeah, it was those performances I went back and saw. You really should go see best male.

[Saniya Rivers]

R B Pop artist is cursed Around.

[Crystal]

Well, you know the.

[Saniya Rivers]

Sometimes he beat Brahmar's Drake. Oh, okay. Yeah. Friday, Leon Thomas, Teddy Swims, the Weeknd, Usher. I know who maybe four of these people are.

[Crystal]

I mean, I guess I should just be glad it's somebody black because giving this award. This is what I'm saying. Giving that to Teddy Swims would piss me off, even though I do like his voice.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, he sang it like the Grammys or some shit. Didn't he have like a soulful voice? Yeah, I Lose control. That's his song.

[Crystal]

You know how black people are.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, yeah. I love his voice. See, but I still would have. I still would have kicked over several things. I didn't even watch it. I would have kicked over something. I've knocked this ring light over. Like, let's not. Let's not be stupid.

[Crystal]

Yeah, but Kendrick got album of the year, I think.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, yeah. Without question.

[Crystal]

And yeah, Dochi got a female hip hop artist, which is when she did that. Yeah, when she did that speech that I just really love her for because everybody is not getting up there being that bold.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, and she got it. The award from Abbott Elementary.

[Crystal]

This is what I'm saying.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, yeah, I'm watching.

[Crystal]

Why was everybody there? That's crazy.

[Saniya Rivers]

Okay, this key Glock person, I was in here trying to make something for Patreon and I came across this person's name because I'm pretty sure he's on that song Ungrateful with Megan's song.

[Crystal]

Oh, okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

Which is so good and so underrated. But I saw his name come up on something I was doing for music videos and I was like, wait a minute, is it send me a fine? I went to Google him to see, like, you know, find evidence my theory. And Google showed me the age 27 years old. And I was just like, I guess, well, it doesn't matter at this point if he's fine, because I'm just like, okay, an infant. I know that I'm old and I know that there are now young people that are also grown technically, that are fine. That are still nowhere interesting to me when I find out that they are younger than, like, 32. Yeah, so that's there, and I accept that. But am I one of 12 niggas born in 87? What the fuck? Where are you niggas? Why are you letting all of these niggas in their 20s represent the streets? Come outside, bitch. Like, I don't. What? Why are you. Oh, hoes, I don't have time. I'm not one of these rich niggas. One of these rich niggas trying to revitalize their youth, right? You know, by dating a young butch queen from, you know, West Palm Beach. You ho's weird. Um, okay, well, that's in my bookmarks. Did you watch Amerie with One Eye Again's Tiny Desk?

[Crystal]

I. I heard it. It's. It's a trending sound on TikTok.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's a what?

[Crystal]

It's a trending sound on TikTok. It is.

[Saniya Rivers]

How is the Tiny Desk a trending sound?

[Crystal]

So not the whole 15 minutes long. It's like a clip of it. Of her doing one thing and it sounds a little. And it's. And it ends with her going times when.

[Saniya Rivers]

Okay, so I was hoping that you can give me information on whether or not it was worth my time.

[Crystal]

Based off. Based off the trending tick tock sound. I'm going to say no. The. The feedback, the commentary has not been kind. But her BET Awards performance was better, so I. I am gonna give her that. But that Tiny Desk baby is not.

[Saniya Rivers]

And Marie's been trying that.

[Crystal]

That clip that I saw, that was all I needed to see.

[Saniya Rivers]

Rich Harrison set her up with one thing. Beautiful instrumentation, wonderful production, great composition. You know, the melodies and all that other stuff. And we got a couple of moments since then. I like Ain Ray's music, but it's one of those things where. And this. This has nothing at all to do with the person behind the name one I or two. This is just. It's kind of like that. The state that a lot of us are in where we go, oh, let me revisit this movie that I loved when I was 13. Because it's excellent.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

And then you go back and you watch it and you realize you got served. And it's like, this is not only not excellent, this is. This is an out of control mess. This is a F150 fire on the freeway and it should have never happened. So I don't know if that's the same thing here, but When I saw that her. When I saw her name up and photos from this tiny desk and that her name was spelled with one eye again, I was like, oh, maybe this is like that. Like, revisiting.

[Crystal]

Mm.

[Saniya Rivers]

But you know what? She's had a life, and I wish her the best.

[Crystal]

Yeah, probably not.

[Saniya Rivers]

Watch that.

[Crystal]

No, I don't. I don't think you will.

[Saniya Rivers]

Speaking of singing, there's a film coming out called Kiss of the Spider Woman. It stars Jennifer Lopez. It's coming out via Lionsgate. It looks like a film. And.

[Crystal]

Let'S see here.

[Saniya Rivers]

They really set you up with a lot of the. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Crystal]

No.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Crystal]

So she's gonna sing.

[Saniya Rivers]

She's singing a lot. A lot of times.

[Crystal]

Okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

A lot. And it looks like Chicago, the musical movie, but Jennifer Lopez is saying, well, that movie had people in it that didn't need to. So here's the thing. It has the, you know, film marketing set up with all of these quotes from different critics in it. The role Jennifer Lopez was born to play. Director directed by the. What does it say? From the director of Me of Not Mean Girls. Wait, is it me? No. Dream Girls. Okay.

[Crystal]

Oh, my God.

[Saniya Rivers]

Director of Dream Girls and Beauty and the Beast. I'm guessing the one with Hermione in it.

[Crystal]

Mm. The live action. Yes, yes, yes.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Well, I know he spectacular. I think he got an Oscar for that work on Chicago, which I really did enjoy. The Chicago.

[Saniya Rivers]

Chicago's excellent adaptation.

[Crystal]

Right. So this. Honestly, when you said Kiss of the Spider Woman, I thought this was like, a Mar Vell musical. So now that I've looked into it a little bit, I see that it is not at all related to comic books. And they are. It's more of a figurative spider woman.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

So I'm less concerned now than I was at first.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was about to say Masterpiece. Five stars. A masterpiece.

[Crystal]

Okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

Guess who. That one. That quote's from Jennifer. Out.

[Crystal]

Oh, well, it is about a gay hairdresser, so out's gonna be. Well, you know what? Maybe they really do feel that way. Is it. Has it been rated maybe on Rotten Tomatoes yet? Kiss of the Sun?

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't think so. The best movie musical ever.

[Crystal]

I trust Those mean bitches.

[Saniya Rivers]

USC at USA Today.

[Crystal]

Wow. Oh, no. It has an 83% on rotten tomatoes. That's not bad.

[Saniya Rivers]

I watched the teaser. She's singing in the teaser. It ends with, like, some notes.

[Crystal]

All right.

[Saniya Rivers]

And she doesn't sound bad. She doesn't sound bad. She sounds like Jennifer Lopez, but she also sounds like Jennifer Lopez has been in the room with Stevie Mackey. Like, I don't sleep. I won't be sleeping. Brady Krueger, whatever you want to call it, I'm not going to sleep. You're going to stay up every single hour of every single day until filming.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

So do you know, but am I rushing to go watch this? Absolutely not.

[Crystal]

Oh, I think I am. I think I am now that I'm also letting the trailer play while you're talking about it. And I think I wanna. I do think I wanna see this. At first I was disgusted because of the whole, you know, I thought it was Spider Woman. Like, yeah, Swinging from webs. But these are.

[Saniya Rivers]

Honestly, I think that's probably why I clicked on it first.

[Crystal]

These are pretty good reviews. Deadline said it was the role she was born to play.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, I think they put that in the trailer too.

[Crystal]

Oh. But I was about to say 83% isn't bad, but the color purple got an 81, so maybe it is.

[Saniya Rivers]

I think people like musicals at the movie because not everyone has access to musicals of this scale in general.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

So this is, for many people, their opportunity to see a musical period, much less like, at this scale. I get that a lot of people just don't like. Some people who do don't like going to the theater. It feels less, you know, going to the movie. Like, you get. There aren't as many. There's not like, what's like etiquette.

[Crystal]

Like, right. In the movie theaters, they'll kick you out for. They will getting on your phone.

[Saniya Rivers]

Matter of fact, the bitch sitting two rows behind you will snitch.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

Because why is your phone out?

[Crystal]

As soon as the little glow pops up, your ass is out of there. Put it all on. Turn it off. DND airplane mode, theater mode. You can even put them damn watches on theater mode. They have a theater mode mode for the fucking theater. Like, they. They don't play about the integrity of space.

[Saniya Rivers]

Guess what? We're not Regal. This is not the AMC bitch. Alamo Drafthouse. We're not gonna tell you twice.

[Crystal]

And it's hard to take a. A beloved musical and adapt it for film because the. The. The Broadway. The theater people are so critical of their work being used somewhere else. Which, you know, I'm all for gatekeeping your things, but.

[Saniya Rivers]

Which is why I. Which is why it is important to hammer down the success. That was Wicked.

[Crystal]

Yeah, I mean, Wicked is important because.

[Saniya Rivers]

If there was one to be like about, I would have expected it to be Wicked. Not a soul. Not A peep. Everyone ate. Happy.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Have you seen the trailer for Ms. Wicked Ferguson?

[Crystal]

I have. You said it sounded like Wicked Fergus. And it took me a second to. Okay, it took me a second. I have seen it. So I've heard. I know what happens in the second part of the show now, but I still haven't heard any of the music. So I'm guessing this is for good. That's playing in the background, given the lyrics and all. And it sounds beautiful. So I'm actually not going to listen because I do want my first time hearing it to be Ariana and Cynthia. Not the, the.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's fair.

[Crystal]

Not the original cast. No shade to them. But I prefer the Ariana and Cynthia versions, I guess just because that was my first foray into. Into Wicked anyway. But yeah, it looks really good. It does. I'm very excited.

[Saniya Rivers]

Part of the story is they need to. Okay, well, I mean, it's like it's darker.

[Crystal]

Damn. That's concerning then. Because this first half wasn't exactly sunshine and roses.

[Saniya Rivers]

I mean, you said it's gonna get.

[Crystal]

Worse, so prepare yourself.

[Saniya Rivers]

First side's a little bit more about like friendship and like not fitting in and fulfilling a purpose and then such and such and such. This next side is just like, oh, what's up? When the empire is against you and for every body. And then seeing how they really weave in the wizard of Oz story and stuff into it and make it like, well, this is the real story.

[Crystal]

Right?

[Saniya Rivers]

Can't wait.

[Crystal]

Yeah, I'm very excited and I hope.

[Saniya Rivers]

Cynthia should have won.

[Crystal]

I'm gonna. I'm hopefully gonna find a theater that's showing them back to back and they'll just have like an intermission and then you come back and watch the second half. Somebody needs to be doing that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Even think of that. Of course they'll do.

[Crystal]

They need to do that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Of course they'll do that.

[Crystal]

Yes. I'll spend four and a half hours at the movies today.

[Saniya Rivers]

You won't be the only one. Like, you won't be the only one. Oh, my goodness. I wonder which places are going to do double features.

[Crystal]

Somebody gotta, gotta. Yeah. Give us 15, 20 minutes in between the screenings and come right back.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, that's team.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Should be good.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's too. Can't think of who did that in the last. I can't think of the last two parter movie.

[Crystal]

Yeah, it's not coming out till November. We got a long ways to wait.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, we got some time. I was surprised they released that teaser when they did, but I was like, they needed to.

[Crystal]

The gays were dehydrated. The gays couldn't take it. Like we please.

[Saniya Rivers]

They're like, you found it we now. Where is it get us now?

[Crystal]

I mean, how dare it be pride and you give us nothing. Y' all had to do something. Hey, y' all, when was the last time you needed to go to the doctor but you pushed it off? Don't worry, I'll wait. I know how y' all are. You make all the excuses. Same excuses I used to make. I'm too busy. I don't want to go all the way out there. I. It. It will. You know, this sort of thing just clears up by itself. I just got to give it a minute or I don't need help. I can Google this and. And the Internet will tell me how to treat these things. Or even. Maybe. It's just. I don't even know which doctor to go to. I'm really not entirely sure what's wrong. I just don't feel right. I think we've all been there. Sometimes, you know, booking a doctor appointment can feel very daunting, overwhelming. Sometimes you just don't have the mental space or the energy to do it. But Zoc Doc has made that much, much easier. Baby, I'm here to tell you, as somebody with depression, anxiety and other things, zocdoc has made it so easy to find and book a doctor who's right for you. O ZocDoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high quality in network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment. That is what is so clutch for me. Because if you ask me to pick up the phone and dial a number, I'll never see a doctor again for the rest of my life. But clicking a button on an app or a website, so easy, I love to do it. We're talking about booking in network appointments with more than 100,000 doctors across every specialty from mental health to dental health, primary care, urgent care, and more. Appointments made through Zocdoc also happen fast, typically within just 24 to 72 hours of booking. Sometimes you can even score same day appointments again. Every single specialist I have, I mean, all of my medical doctors I found through Zoc. Doc, primary care, physician, gynecologist, optometrist, dentist, all of them. Because I can book it right on the app. I don't like getting on the phone. It's too much anxiety. And so I'm just. The only thing I wish is that ZocDoc was around in my 20s when I truly did neglect myself because nothing this simple was around. So if you sound like me, you hearing this, you're like, oh, my God, that's me. I know I need to go to the doctor. Stop putting off them appointments. Go to Zocdoc.com 3 to find and instantly book a top rated doctor today. Again, that's Z O C-O C.com the read Zocdoc.com the read take care of yourselves. It's so important. Now more than ever. Yay. We've arrived at destination summer, True religion's summer campaign celebrating bold style, unforgettable nights, and the freedom to own your true. Whether you're turning up under the city lights with me or chasing the sun coast to coast, summer is a state of mind, baby. You, your crew, living in the moment and living in true. The heat is on, the nights are long, and the vibes are wherever you take it. So where is your true taking? You own your true with destination summer@True Religion.com and True Religion is a staple for me this summer. Destination summer for me means hanging out with my friends, traveling, spending time, going to shows, movies, concerts, stuff like that. Just spending time with the people I love, pretending I don't have a baby at home, and just having a good time. So y' all already know I'm wearing my true religion. Yes, I am. You don't believe me? Go look. Go look, all of you trying to get your denim fits off. You trying to appropriate my cowgirl culture. Go do it over@True Religion.com I'm wearing the Georgia super cute belted shirt dress and I'm carrying the little mini horseshoe bag with me because duh, girl. Horseshoes, cowboys, it all goes together. It's perfect. So my destination summer is me and my true religion. You can go find your true religion too. Shop now@True Religion.com and use code the read for 15 off your full price purchase. That's True Religion.com and code the read for 15% off.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, Angenue Ellis Taylor ishing off that deliverance movie in an epic way.

[Crystal]

What?

[Saniya Rivers]

She's producing a film on the life of sister Rosetta Tharp. This is the second film announced this year set to tell Rosetta Tharp's story. We talked about Lizzo starring in an upcoming biopic for Amazon MGM Studios.

[Crystal]

Oh, yes.

[Saniya Rivers]

This is a different project.

[Crystal]

Damn. Again, y' all are doing this? Yeah, they did this with Aretha Franklin too. It was like two or three Aretha movies all came out at the same time. Nigga why?

[Saniya Rivers]

They did. They did. That was so weird. It was.

[Crystal]

It was. They're doing w it happening again. I don't get it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, yeah, she's. She's writing this one and producing it with Mick Jagger.

[Crystal]

Ooh.

[Saniya Rivers]

To really give it some extended rock legitimacy, I guess here. That is going to be produced through his company, Jagged Films, which I didn't even know Mick Jagger had a film company, but sure he does. And he said, I'm so thrilled to be a part in telling the story of Sister Rosetta Tharp, who was a trailblaz blazing singer and electrifying guitarist. She reshaped music history and influenced countless, countless artists.

[Crystal]

Very true.

[Saniya Rivers]

And documentary is also in the works featuring interviews with friends, collaborators, music scholars and proteges. They are giving this lady her things, I guess.

[Crystal]

I mean, and well deserved. I'm just really confused about the two projects happening seemingly right next to each other. But I do also see that this one has the participation of her estate and they have the exclusive rights to the definitive biography on Rosetta Tharp. So that that may influence, you know, what all is depicted or shown in the film significantly, probably. But it's just confusing because she died in 73. It's been all these years to have made films about her. But I do love me some ingenue. Ellis Taylor. I do, I do, I do.

[Saniya Rivers]

I love.

[Crystal]

I trust that lady. I trust. Yeah. So I will be seated.

[Saniya Rivers]

She said, I just found this nice quote from her. Yeah. She said, with six guitar strings and an amplifier as a battering ram, knock down the Jericho walls of convention and respectability. I'm thrilled to partner with Tribeca, Jagged films and inaudible films to usher Sister Rosetta, a queer woman shaped in the pews of the black south to the screen.

[Crystal]

That's it. I'm watching them like you had me battering ram and Jericho walls.

[Saniya Rivers]

Right? Like you better just write, yes, and.

[Crystal]

I want to see openly queer shit. I wanna. Right? Cause why would you even tease me like that now I wanna see it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Getting some gay man, queer woman shaped in the pews of the blacks out. We're getting scissoring. We're getting a little cunnilingoo.

[Crystal]

Ah, good. We deserve.

[Saniya Rivers]

We sure do. What else is going on in the world? Oh, for those of you who are absolutely pissed at the nerve of Roc Nation and the NFL to allow anyone other than Wheezy F, baby. What does the F stand for?

[Crystal]

Please say.

[Saniya Rivers]

And the F is for like a whole bunch of Franklin.

[Crystal]

I really don't know.

[Saniya Rivers]

He would always Say, and the F is for. Oh, God. Our mentions are going to be destruction.

[Crystal]

Anyway, Finisher. Not phenomenal. I reject that.

[Saniya Rivers]

No, he's never said one thing. It's always. It's always been the episode. Something like the end of an Animaniac.

[Crystal]

He just say, whatever.

[Saniya Rivers]

Wheel of Morality.

[Crystal]

Time, time, time, fame, fortune, foe you.

[Saniya Rivers]

Probably all of those.

[Crystal]

All of those, yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Actually, someone is going to be like, hey, Fury. Crystal, I've compiled a list of seven.

[Crystal]

All the times I hope you do send it to me.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, he's going on tour. That's right. Jokes on you. National Football League, Roc Nation Music. Kendrick Lamar, tde. He will be on the road from the months of July to October where he's going to be touring to promote his newest album, the Carter 6. Is the Carter 6 out? I don't know. I have not been doing anything but staring at the wall and summoning demons.

[Crystal]

I was about to say.

[Saniya Rivers]

Unless I've been doing it by accident.

[Crystal]

Okay, please don't do that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, no, it's out.

[Crystal]

It just came out a few days ago.

[Saniya Rivers]

A week ago.

[Crystal]

Okay, well, all right.

[Saniya Rivers]

So I do like Lil Wayne's music. I'll listen to it. Oh, wait, who are these features? I like Big X, the Plug.

[Crystal]

Oh, he's going.

[Saniya Rivers]

I like Big Sean. Jelly Roll. I feel like I confused with the other guy. We just talked about Teddy Swims.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Yep, yep. I see how you do that. Okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

This is a cute tour, James. God damn, these albums are long. Oh, this one's not even as long as a lot of the other ones these days. Nikki is on a bonus track.

[Crystal]

I wonder what she.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, she's on a remix to track six. Why? Just put her on the regular one. Whatever. Two chains. Andrea Bocelli.

[Crystal]

Oh, banned from N O. Yeah, that's hilarious.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, good grief, I can't wait to hear that. Alone in the studio with my gun. Featuring MGK and Kodak Black. You know what? I might take, I might not. I don't know. No, I'm gonna listen to this. I've listened to all the Carters, so I'll just see what it sounds like.

[Crystal]

Disclaimer. Plenty paper. Play with somebody safer. Okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

What?

[Crystal]

I'm. I'm reading Nikki's verse. I'm. I need to hear it. I'm sure I need to hear it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, he probably.

[Crystal]

Because if I send a pic of Shannon, you ain't that sharp because you still can't spell Prague and that's horrible. Wheezy F, baby. And the F is for phenomenal.

[Saniya Rivers]

There Isn't enough in that.

[Crystal]

I need to hear it. I'm sure I need to just play it so I won't pass judgment. Sometimes lyrics look so dumb. Written out and then you hear it and it's everything. Right? Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

You have no concept.

[Crystal]

Exactly. Exactly. I didn't. No, I see. I don't hide away from the world. I feel like I'm online every day. And I still didn't hear about the BET Awards, Lil Wayne's album, so.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, that's why I'm shocked.

[Crystal]

I don't understand.

[Saniya Rivers]

You knew everything about this.

[Crystal]

I.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, the Lil Wayne album part, I don't. I'm not surprised.

[Crystal]

No, I.

[Saniya Rivers]

What, do you just camp out on Spotify? But I thought that you would have at least heard of the BET Awards. But then again, I feel like this happened last year where the BET Awards came. And either we found out like the day before and caught it, or we missed it.

[Crystal]

I mean, honestly, I don't know.

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't.

[Crystal]

It's not. Most award shows are not normally that fun to watch. The other day I was flipping back and forth between the Tonys and game two because I don't want to talk about game one. I legit. I was so nauseous. But anyway, congratulations. Well, thank you so much. But Cynthia Erivo did an excellent job hosting the Tonys. Like, the Tonys were so fun and so good. Yes, really, really good. So book Cynthia to have her. At the end of this show, she did a remix of like. And I am telling you, she was like, you are going though. You're going. And you. And you. You want a Tony. It was really cute. It was a cute show. Hamilton did a medley for their ten year anniversary. Audra McDonald.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, my God. A living goddess.

[Crystal]

I was anyway, a perfect performer. Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Excellent in everything she's ever done.

[Crystal]

She. I couldn't believe that they gave Nicole Schles that Tony award over Audra McTominay.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, Nicole swept Cinderella. She did.

[Crystal]

She did that. Isn't she maga? I feel like that's a Trump bitch. I feel like she sets Trump.

[Saniya Rivers]

I wouldn't be surprised.

[Crystal]

I feel like she has.

[Saniya Rivers]

In fact, I feel like I slightly remember her either saying something, bro. Trump. Or saying something that was like, you voted for Trump, didn't you? But he was either direct or it was like kind of obvious.

[Crystal]

I feel like it's an Instagram comment.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Same way. I was watching Kirk Franklin close out the BET Awards and I was like, really getting my life. And then I was like, wait, what is it? About Kirk Franklin that I don't like. Cause I feel like it's something you have a gay son that you didn't treat right or something.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's something your mind will always click in.

[Crystal]

It's something you done did. Something I don't fuck with. Wait a minute. I don't think you're a good dad. It's something like that.

[Saniya Rivers]

You disgust me. Trying I had almost forgot put my finger online.

[Crystal]

Oh man. Fun times.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, congrats and good luck to anyone who's interested in going to see that. I'm sure it'll be a fun time with guests and whatever. The judge told Sean Puff Daddy Combs and his attorneys that the mistrial attempt. It's not going to happen. Stop talking to me about it. We're not doing that. Okay. Thank you so much, Mistral.

[Crystal]

For what?

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't know. Because everyone's crazy.

[Crystal]

Because I feel like it's not going in my favor. Your honor.

[Saniya Rivers]

So they sent a letter to the District Judge Aaron Subram Subramanian. I probably butchered that. Sorry, sir. And they claim that the government is pre presented testimony that it knew or should have known was materially false related to its allegation that Mr. Combs dangled one Brianna Bongolin from the balcony of Castle's apartment in September 2016. Now they say that the victim, Brianna testified on the stand about the incident where he. She claims that he dangled her over a 17th floor balcony in the apartment that Cassie. Oh my God.

[Crystal]

How scary.

[Saniya Rivers]

Cassie had previously testified that she was aware of the incident and that she witnessed the incident herself. They came back and said the incident. The incident as alleged is disturbing and powerful evidence. And then government has used it to depict Mr. Combs in an extremely negative light as an angry and dangerous man who terrified Ms. Ventura and her friends. Claiming that the accounts of this situation with the balcony was demonstrably false and that Cassie's testimony could. Testimony couldn't have been true. Citing text messages they say they have that indicate she didn't find out about the incident until after it happened. And when I read that, I'm like, do you think I give a fuck that whether or not Cassie found out about the incident with her own two eyes or after it happened, It'd be better if you would have been like Cassie lying about the incident because it never took place. Rather than Cassie lying about the incident because she didn't see it. She popped up after it happened. Okay, so you think I give a fuck it happened?

[Crystal]

Yes. She got the date wrong. Anything other Than it didn't happen is like. Okay, I don't care about the minor details. Did you do this? Let's answer that question first and foremost. Did you do it, baby?

[Saniya Rivers]

That district judge told them, this is not fodder for a mistrial, period. This is the adversarial process at work. And added there was absolutely no testimony from the witness that was prejudicial in any way, shape, or form. Then said that Combs defense, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland had, quote, a real Perry Mason moment. No.

[Crystal]

Shut up. They did not name check Perry Mason. You are lying. No. Mm.

[Saniya Rivers]

Mm.

[Crystal]

You made that up.

[Saniya Rivers]

I promise. I'm not being shady about that last part. I'm reading this on people.

[Crystal]

Oh, my God. It really says that.

[Saniya Rivers]

That judge Aaron Supremani, of course, accuse her. And it doesn't help that, you know, you have, like, the courtroom painting shit at the top, which I think is designed to make people look horrible. Cause why does Puff Daddy. She literally looks like she's having a Perry Mason moment. And then this nigga sitting over here looking like stink meaner from the boondocks.

[Crystal]

I can't say.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's just. It looks off bad.

[Crystal]

This judge is 46 years old, so that lets me know he was watching Perry Mason with his grandma.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's what I'm. I'm was like, Perry Mason from the fucking.

[Crystal]

I know where you are. I know where you are. You stayed at home with your grandma when you was sick on school days.

[Saniya Rivers]

What an old lawyer joke.

[Crystal]

Did y' all watch Gunsmoke too?

[Saniya Rivers]

That's what I said. Right. Right before Doctor who.

[Crystal]

Okay. Little House on the Prairie and shit. Y' all gonna rest.

[Saniya Rivers]

Hello, Lagosa's Dracula. So, yeah, Batman's not getting out.

[Crystal]

No, no, no, Batman. That isn't looking good.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's not. It isn't work. Try harder, Booy. You know, louder.

[Crystal]

You did your best, I guess, but I've heard enough. I've been heard enough for y' all to lock that up for the rest of time.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's insane.

[Crystal]

I've heard enough.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's crazy.

[Crystal]

I really have.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's wild.

[Crystal]

Yeah, it's pretty bad. And Kevin Hart, I mean, he tried to make a joke about it without actually saying anything about it, but did he host? Yes. I watched his opening monologue. I was like, you know, normally, I. I can't say I. I dislike, you know, Kevin Hart. He definitely can make me laugh. But I don't think that monologue was. I don't think that monologue was it for me.

[Saniya Rivers]

You Know you want to. Me, I don't even know if I've ever said this. Probably this show's old. I used to think. I used to be so confused about why people thought he was funny. Because my introduction to him, I think was hosting. No, my introduction to him was Soul playing. But he wasn't like funny on Soul Playing. I don't think his character, you know what I mean? He was surrounded by like 15 comics that had been in the industry ages before him. I think that's part of the reason Katt Williams destroyed his ass on Shannon's. So she was like, where did this queen come from? And why the fuck is she the lead of this movie? So I didn't even realize that he was a comic. I think when I watched Soul Plane and then he was hosting all of these comedy shows, I mean, all of these award shows, and he wasn't funny to me on them. So I was like, why does everybody love this nigga? He's not that funny.

[Crystal]

Not hearing a joke.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, I was just. I really only had soul playing in his award show hosting to go off of. And I was like, let me just watch one of his stand ups. And I watched like maybe two of his early standups. The one, the stuff that actually made him payment.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

And I was like, oh, yeah, no, this nigga is funny.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

So I get it. I just don't know that, like, award shows have ever been the platform or space for him to be hilarious. But I think that's hard for almost. No, it's not.

[Crystal]

It wasn't hard for Cynthia Erivo.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was gonna say she killed it.

[Crystal]

I mean, when I tell you she killed it. I was extremely impressed.

[Saniya Rivers]

So if you ask Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to host anything, maybe it's.

[Crystal]

Just women are better. Perhaps women are better at this.

[Saniya Rivers]

No, I'm at all. Ricky Gervais is great.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Well, I also think it was just his. It might have just been the opening monologue I didn't like because, you know, the host comes in throughout the show and other clips I saw of him, like he had Usher's jacket. Usher has this big, like floor length red coat. And on the inside it has like a custom label. Like this was designed for Usher and they had scratched out Usher and wrote Kevin and then he was like interacting with different people in the audience. Tisha Campbell. I almost called her Pam. Almost said Gina and Pam. Well, yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Yes. Tishina and Tisha, Kerry Washington, stuff like that. So, you know, it's like, he is funny.

[Saniya Rivers]

Her name, like, three days ago.

[Crystal]

He's funny. Interacting, you know, with others. Other celebrities in the crowd, stuff like that. I think it was just the monologue that I wasn't a fan of. But, yeah, that's.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's fair.

[Crystal]

Kevin Hart is pretty. He's pretty good at what he does. He is actually pretty, pretty good.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, he's really good at that, too. Especially now that he's like. Everybody knows him and Holly, a lot of folks in Hollywood are willing to, like, joke around over him and stuff. I'd imagine him improving with folks in the crowd and stuff. Is funnier than whatever he had to write and probably rewrite and then just be like, all right, fuck it. I don't know how Ricky Gervais has been able to. Probably just because he's a white man and British and extra rich and usually gets a great response from it because he comes out and is directly like, that person's a pedophile. Let's discuss.

[Crystal]

That is crazy.

[Saniya Rivers]

Okay, what's the last thing that I. Oh, no, it was, I think, just picking apart that man. And how the judge.

[Crystal]

Oh, did he.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, his. His attorney, Perry.

[Crystal]

Yeah, no, that. I had to Google that judge. I'm like, nah, there's no way. I know what you are. I know it.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was like, if the nigga said Matlock, I would have. I'd still be like, okay, maybe he's around my age. Carrie Mason.

[Crystal]

Carrie Mason, 46.

[Saniya Rivers]

He had to be watching that shit with his granddaddy grandma.

[Crystal]

You're old, but not too old, right?

[Saniya Rivers]

Not that old.

[Crystal]

Not that old. Not old enough to have watched it originally. You watched it?

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, no.

[Crystal]

You watched it in sick days, right? Just like I did. Cause how the fuck would I have ever seen Perry Mesa otherwise?

[Saniya Rivers]

Nigga, the only reason I know Murder.

[Crystal]

She Wrote is Tea My memaw. That's it. So sick.

[Saniya Rivers]

And at home.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Just holding clothes. I got the soup.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Murder she Wrote in Matlock.

[Crystal]

Every time.

[Saniya Rivers]

All right, well, that's gonna be it for the hot box this week. I was gonna give you just a little tiny extra sports shorts.

[Crystal]

Congratulations to me, to your.

[Saniya Rivers]

Your. Your okc.

[Crystal]

Okay. And where's this going?

[Saniya Rivers]

They're. They're. They're. They're a valiant effort in the finals of the National Basketball Association.

[Crystal]

Thank you.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Is that it?

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Okay. Mm.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Okay, well, I'll.

[Saniya Rivers]

I. I like the one main one.

[Crystal]

All right. Okay. And that. That's enough. All right. Don't jinx us, please don't put no evil on us right now. I cannot take you.

[Saniya Rivers]

Congratulations. They beat another basketball player with a pee in it.

[Crystal]

We. Yes, we did. Mm. That did happen. The Thunder did do that. I'm going to Game five. I don't know if I said that out loud on the show, but I am going to Game five.

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't think you're gonn one.

[Crystal]

I agree. I. I think we're not going to lose another game in this postseason. Actually, I think Game one was the last game we're gonna. And I think Game five is gonna be the one where we raise the trophy. And this episode will come out after Game three. So if we lose Game three, y' all are gonna chew me up. But that's all right. I don't care, bitch. Thunder at five, bitch. Fuck everybody who don't like it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, I agree.

[Crystal]

All right. You done got me riled up. See?

[Saniya Rivers]

We'll come back.

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[Saniya Rivers]

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[Crystal]

And bless that it is. It is now time for your listener letters. Send them on over to ask the read gmail dot com. We may read them aloud on the show. Our first letter comes from Mel, who says, hi, Kif here and Crystal. I've been seeing a bunch of tick tocks of people hiring animal psychics for their pets, and I decided to give it a try. In some of the videos, owners learn about their pets, past prior to adoption, their favorite ways to play, things they don't like about their owner, and even if they're in pain. Pain. Our 30 minute session with the pet psychic was interesting, to say the least. I learned that my dog worked. I learned that my dog apparently wants me to stop offering him a French fry as a treat when I have some because he can't resist it even though it gives him heartburn.

[Saniya Rivers]

Wait, does she know that you do that?

[Crystal]

She also. She also let me know that my dog does not like to be called lil N word, as the psychic put it. And that's when I knew she was legit because she would have no way of knowing that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, that's like.

[Crystal]

Everything else was really sweet. He shared how much he loved me and how happy he is that I rescued him. I think it is.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, fierce.

[Crystal]

And how happy he is that I rescued him because I don't make his bath water too hot like his previous owners do. And I leave him alone and leave him alone all day.

[Saniya Rivers]

Okay, this is kind.

[Crystal]

Would you guys get a pet psychic for your dogs? What do you think they would have to say? Love, Mel girl. First of all, I love that if a white psychic came in my home and said, lady wants you to stop calling her the N word, I think I would pass away.

[Saniya Rivers]

I would probably also lose consciousness. Even if she was like the N word.

[Crystal]

She's like, you know, what you call her?

[Saniya Rivers]

How do you know? And I'm not even saying that I don't like. I'm not skeptical when it comes to this sort of thing. I just think it's the concept. I think I'm probably won't know. I was gonna say, I think I might be more skeptical when it's someone doing it with people than if it weren't.

[Crystal]

Yeah, yeah, I get that.

[Saniya Rivers]

But I don't know. Um, I just don't know how. I guess I don't know how anyone determines that they're psychic or realizes that they have that kind of attunement, but. Or maybe it's something that, like, people who can do it with pets can do it with almost anybody, but they choose to do it with pets. Like choosing to be a vet, maybe. I don't know. Either way, if I were someone who was willing to do that, I would be doing it with an open mind, because otherwise I wouldn't waste my time.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

So I would have to go into it with some sense of. Or some, like, acceptance that it's a possibility.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

And if this person who I've never met, who don't know me or my dog or anybody that knows me or my dog was to then, say, point out specific things that I absolutely do.

[Crystal]

Right, Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

I would probably go home. Not with, like, oh, my life has been changed for the better, but I'd try things out. Maybe I would stop giving the dog a French fry.

[Crystal]

Yeah, I definitely would.

[Saniya Rivers]

The dog don't need to eat no fucking French fries in the first place. It probably does give the dog heartburn.

[Crystal]

Same as they eat shit they not supposed to. Even though it gives them heartburn. You niggas eat it, too. Hell, the dog said, I cannot resist. Girl, stop offering it.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's so true. I would, like. I would love. Because it's like.

[Crystal]

It's so funny.

[Saniya Rivers]

Also, if I'm bullshitting, that's such a fierce thing to like, of course I'm gonna be like, stop doing this. I can't resist it. Who can resist the French? If you bring a vat of French fries, two barrels of French fries in here right now, I'm not stopping until they're both empty.

[Crystal]

What you mean I'm supposed to stop when my stomach hurt? That's not a thing.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, dogs don't. It's a French fries. What do you mean? What do you mean?

[Crystal]

I mean, I'm fucking eating it, girl. That's so funny.

[Saniya Rivers]

This is psychological torture.

[Crystal]

It's the little N word for me. And that was really what got me of the sky.

[Saniya Rivers]

That one took me out of the sky.

[Crystal]

Oh, my God. I would be so sad if Laney didn't like being called a little.

[Saniya Rivers]

She.

[Crystal]

I call her a little all the time. Yeah, that's probably a safe bet, though, with black people, you could probably safely assume that we call our dogs little.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, I think so, too.

[Crystal]

Right?

[Saniya Rivers]

But here, the things, the questions you asked were, would we do it? What do you think our dogs would be saying? So, to answer question one, no, never. Like, I. I. Not even for fun. Season free. And simply because I'm not interested. And I know that I wouldn't take it seriously. That's why I said if I were to do it, it would have to be with an open mind. My mind would be closed shut.

[Crystal]

I see. I would absolutely do it. It just depends on how much they charge. But this is fun. I would have. I would have a great time with this. I would have. Except if Laney says, like, when you yell at me because I have the shits at 5:30 in the morning, that hurts my feelings. And I'll be like, oh, yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, oh, mommy. Sorry.

[Crystal]

I'll just be sleepy.

[Saniya Rivers]

Right? Oh, yeah. Lainey said that she really, really, really hates it in the city and would love it if you moved out to White Plains, closer to where the psychic is living. And she really likes the decor in here and wonders if we could come back twice a week.

[Crystal]

Yeah, like, all right. Okay. But, yeah, I would. Absolutely. As long as it wasn't some crazy amount of money, I would definitely do it for the fun of it, if nothing else.

[Saniya Rivers]

Girl, I'm sure if you think about it, you probably know somebody personally that can do this.

[Crystal]

I want Laney to.

[Saniya Rivers]

You probably know somebody.

[Crystal]

Well, no, I don't want somebody who knows us. I want somebody who doesn't. That way I am more likely to believe you if you get it right. So I want a complete stranger, not somebody who listens to everything I say. And they're like, let me cobble together some things about your dog. But I think overall she would say that she, you know, it's cool here or whatever. I want to hear her talk about daycare. Do you like that daycare? Is there some dogs in there that piss you off? Is it some people that you don't like? Like, I. I want to hear about what you go through when you're not around me. I want to know, are you having good experiences there? Do you like the vet? Stuff like that.

[Saniya Rivers]

I'm sure you could ask. I'm sure you could ask the psychic. I don't know why I lost the word for a second. I promise I wasn't trying to be.

[Crystal]

Shady because it definitely sounded like it came out psychic. I love it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Because I was thinking psychiatrist, probably because I need one. I'll talk to him later today. Why would you say that? But, yeah, you could probably ask the psychic for specifics. Like, oh, yeah, hey, this is my dog, Lainey. She's been in daycare now for such and such, and I really just wanna know how she's enjoying it. And so that way it's tailored to those.

[Crystal]

And when the psychic says Daycare is fine. She wants to talk about you. Yeah, it's like, okay, well, I asked for this. I paid $75. So you tell me.

[Saniya Rivers]

She wants to know if you have to watch Love after Lock up every day.

[Crystal]

She said, the wnba, you're taking it a little too seriously. Like we're. We're streaming games every day, mommy. Like, can we.

[Saniya Rivers]

What's the stud dating show called again?

[Crystal]

Ain't no such thing. You want me to talk about hoochie daddies, so.

[Saniya Rivers]

Oh, no, it wasn't the stud. Yeah, Hoochie daddies. She wants to know exactly.

[Crystal]

Can you cut that off?

[Saniya Rivers]

Why are the tatties.

[Crystal]

And what is a dad? How come I don't have one? See?

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

What? We're not answering all these questions. I would do it though. I think this sounds cute and fun.

[Saniya Rivers]

It could be.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

If I was like at a dog thing. Like, I don't know, like a convention. Oh, come to. Yeah. Or like a theme park or, you know, some kind of fun event in the city for dogs and you come out and take your dog and got vendors and a big park and water and da da da. And one of the vendors or booths is a psychic. I'd probably stop and see what they feel like Link is at, but I don't. I doubt that I would seek it out unless I genuinely had like a specific. Like, you know, how you pinned out. Pinned down. Daycare, specifically. Yeah, that's probably something you think about. Maybe if it was something like that. I might. If I had like a specific question that was on my mind. But just for funsies, I don't think I would go out of my way to do it. But the look on the face if I did. She's judging. But you have a dog with a shady face.

[Crystal]

She's judging. She says she has thick eyebrows and she uses them to make face.

[Saniya Rivers]

I posted. I posted a TikTok when my drunk ass was in here making a drink at 4:00 clock and Link was looking.

[Crystal]

At a.m. or p.m. on the couch. PM I don't know what you. You be up all hours.

[Saniya Rivers]

Fair. And she was just on the couch and she looked at me out the side of her eyes and just did not look consciousness. And I was just like, yes, the sun is still up and I am making hot. What the fuck is your problem?

[Crystal]

She said, I'm just noticing all this sunlight and yet the bar cart is active.

[Saniya Rivers]

What is that about drinking again before sundown. Interesting.

[Crystal]

Seems like the sort of thing you might want to bring up to somebody.

[Saniya Rivers]

People in the comments were like, I think she just loves you a lot.

[Crystal]

Wow.

[Saniya Rivers]

Maybe it's just her not being able to take her eyes off you because she loves her human.

[Crystal]

See you there.

[Saniya Rivers]

And doesn't have as many muscles in her face as a person, as a human being. And so, see, expression is that of a dog. I was like, I know this bitch. You don't. That I know her face. And it's jubilant that bitch is being.

[Crystal]

Said, no, it isn't love. It's not adoration or respect. It's disgust. It's concern. It's really, really you in that bottle already. It's not even five, girl.

[Saniya Rivers]

My mother will. And she'll hear anybody. Someone else's voice on speaker, and she gets up from wherever she go she is and climbs onto the crown of my head. And it's like, this person's lying. I don't know why you're speaking to them.

[Crystal]

Lany does that same when I pick Lani up from daycare. It's like she crawls up on my shoulders and wraps herself around my neck. What are you doing? N. That's the problem with little dogs. They really think they can do anything if I fit something. That's our motto. That bitch will get anywhere. Anywhere.

[Saniya Rivers]

So cute. I love them to death.

[Crystal]

All right, thank you, Mel, for that question. Our next one comes from Michael, who says, hey, y' all. After a busy two weeks in a new city that I moved to by myself, I reached back to a friend that I made that I didn't respond to after eight days because my mental health was barely staying afloat. He values. He values connection and communication, and I have created my own bubble of anime, video games, podcasts, and music. Is this you? Did you write this?

[Saniya Rivers]

I was literally going to say that exact same thing.

[Crystal]

No, it's the anime and the video games. Like, wait a second.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was just about to say. Did I write this?

[Crystal]

Yes. So I've created my own bubble of things to pour into my cup just to make sure I'm well enough to make it through my day. I hardly have social media. I rarely text. I'm not really on my phone, and I value quality time together over virtual communication. But I'm starting to realize that I'm showing up as an inconsiderate friend. I work in retail, and my job requires me to be so extroverted. And at the end of the day, my alone time is how I recharge. I moved from city to city as an adult, so making stable friends has always been Hard on top of communication, never being a huge part of my upbringing, I'm realizing that I'm bringing people into my life, but not doing the work to maintain and water the relationship. My friend is also going through a lot, and I haven't been there in the way he's needed me to, and it weighs on me heavily. He isn't the first friend who's told me that I'm not a good friend. And I'm doing the best I can for myself, which doesn't leave much space to be great for others. Between recharging through work, the gym, cleaning, meal prepping, quality sleep, anime, video games, etc, my friends feel undervalued. How do I show up better for the people in my life? How do I become a better friend? Thanks, Michael. Yeah. So this is you. He sounded like you at first.

[Saniya Rivers]

I went to school for help on these types of things or analyzation. And the other one is on her way back to the bin.

[Crystal]

First of all, I went to school for counseling. Yes, but you've been in therapy longer than I have. I'm sure you know more than I do regarding that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yes. I was swinging at Coachella on Pendulum.

[Crystal]

All right, okay, now that is enough. Now that's enough.

[Saniya Rivers]

Still recovering.

[Crystal]

I. I let you make your little jokes and comments, but that is enough.

[Saniya Rivers]

I thought it was funny.

[Crystal]

Mm. You would. You would, Michael. Okay, well, so here's the thing. How much space do you really have to show up for others? So it's like you. You're saying, you know, my mental health is barely staying afloat, and you don't. You're not getting too deep into the details with that. But that sounds like keeping yourself alive is a challenge for you right now. And if that's true, then you probably do not have the space to show up as a better friend because you can barely keep yourself alive. So if you're this close to somebody and they're saying, you know, I feel like you're not really, you know, being there for me as a friend, this isn't the first time you've heard it, so there's a reason for you to. To take it seriously and really take it into consideration. I don't know. It's hard because I. I think on the one hand, it's good to say that to somebody, like, hey, I'm struggling in these ways that is impacting my ability to show up for others. But also, a lot of times what people will then do is isolate themselves when that is not what's best for you. You need to be reaching out. Like, it. It's like you. What would be good for you is to tell people how you're feeling. Reach out to the appropriate mental health professionals if that's the situation you're in. Your psychiatrist, your therapist, you know, like being vulnerable in that way. But that can be really hard to do when your mental health is under attack or feeling that way. So it is. It is a struggle. It is a struggle. But I always. I really firmly believe that to show up better for the people in your life, you really do have to show up better for yourself first. It's such a cliche, but, like, how. How are you treating you? What's your relationship like with yourself? Are you blaming you for having struggles with depression or anxiety or whatever else you might be dealing with? Are you punishing yourself for that? Are you trying to hold yourself to an unrealistic or impossible standard? Like, are you a friend to you? How do you treat yourself as a friend? You. You. You may need to take some space in a certain sense, just long enough to get your. Your mental health in a place where you're more stable. But once you're able to show up better for yourself, like, are you really consistently doing that? Because I think if you don't, then your idea of what it means to show up as a friend isn't really something that's reciprocal. It's more of like, what do I do? What can I do for you? Like, how can I, you know, hashtag perform friendship for you? Maybe I feel like maybe I'm. I'm rambling here a little bit, but I. I'm trying to be considerate because this is a. It's a rough place to be in when you are already struggling so much just to care for yourself. So. Yeah. What do you think, Kid Fury?

[Saniya Rivers]

Uh, I think this hits too close to home for me. I think. Yeah. Give yourself a break. The bubble that you're talking about is, like Crystal said, it's. We could almost call it a net, a safety net. It's where you're going to stay alive in your. Anime and video games and other treats and festivities are probably distractions to keep you from things that are painful, whether they are mentally painful, emotionally or physically or all.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Yep.

[Saniya Rivers]

And it's hard to feel trapped in your own body and mind and also feel this overwhelming obligation to show up for people in the way that you would like to. It's hard to operate in basic ways for yourself, in your own best interest sometimes. And so it's difficult, especially for. Even for People who are on the other side, who don't understand. To wrap your mind around being a perfect friend or a great friend when you're just trying not to die every day. It's complex, it's ridiculous and complicated. And I don't really have advice because I don't know, I'm simply doing the same thing. I'm not. I don't even have fun in my bubble. I don't even enjoy any of those things at the moment. I mostly just try to go back to sleep. So, yeah, good luck.

[Crystal]

I mean, Michael, you don't mention whether you talk to a therapist. If you don't currently have a therapist, I really would recommend one for you. You said that communication wasn't a huge part of your upbringing. That's a huge aspect of this. If you're not used to, like, the work that it takes to maintain healthy relationships, friendships and otherwise, like, that is going to be a challenge for you. That's something that a therapist can help you learn how to do. But yeah, I, I think what's best is trying to strike a balance between taking time to yourself to really focus on what you're feeling, what you're going through, pay attention to all that, but not to the point of cutting yourself off and isolating yourself entirely because that can make mental health stuff much worse. So best of luck to you babes as you try to figure it out. Our last letter. You know what, actually, let's leave the, let's leave the letters right there for this week because I, I don't know about the rest of those. So that's going to wrap up the letters this week. If you have a question for us, send it on over to AskTheRead gmail.com. we'll be right back.

[Saniya Rivers]

Back.

[Crystal]

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[Saniya Rivers]

Okay, we're back and it is time for the read.

[Crystal]

Mm yes it is.

[Saniya Rivers]

Um, okay, so I guess I'll just quickly say that has been pretty interesting scrolling through scrolling around on Twitch over the past couple of days. I scroll around on Twitch quite often, watch the gamers game and then to turn on feeds to look up at live footage in the city of Los Angeles maybe 20, 30 minutes away from me. And it that also looks like Call of Duty Apex Legends Titanfall Battlefield because Yalls president Jesus decided to send his racism squadron into LA county to start plucking people out of their homes from their places of work, from street corner cereal aisle milk in broad daylight, throw them into whatever vehicles drag them up to over to some detention center in the name of an immigration policy. No one knows what the fuck is going on over there. Nobody knows how those people are doing. I saw a clip a couple of days ago of them slamming a door directly in Maxine Waters face what as she's trying to go there and speak to people and figure out what the hell is going on. So I'm like cop said we're not letting anybody in and slammed like literally almost like snatched the door from our hand. Wow Grown congresswoman, celebrated American, Mexican.

[Crystal]

It's not an elected official. What the fuck are you talking about?

[Saniya Rivers]

What is left? What is right?

[Crystal]

Oh, my God.

[Saniya Rivers]

You bitches sent ICE into la, the.

[Crystal]

Fucking Marines.

[Saniya Rivers]

To go and snatch people up off of the street. And you did it happily, you did it with glee. You did it, you know, in the alleged name of America and all this other. I don't. There's so many things here that really plug me. Right. Because I believe the. I don't remember if it was the. If it was the Deputy in chief or if it was. What is his name? Somebody who. From the Trump administration said. Or maybe it was somebody from ICE directly. No, I think it was somebody from ICE said that they were looking to arrest some like 3,000 immigrants a day.

[Crystal]

Oh, yes, I do remember that comment.

[Saniya Rivers]

And that it was something more like they're doing like 600 people a day at the moment. They're saying he's getting arrested. Yeah, it says here. Yeah, this is something. This. I was going to read him to pieces, too, and then I realized that it was like. Like a full thing. Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, that's the.

[Crystal]

It would be. It would be Stephen Miller.

[Saniya Rivers]

He said that ICE was aiming to. To arrest 3,000 a day. 3,000. Told that to Fox News. In the first hundred days of Trump's administration, officers arrested, on average, more than 600 immigrants day daily. I was on the first. So, my God, those numbers have risen sharply over the past couple weeks. So that's to say, excuse me, it is impossible for you to be arresting over 600 people a day and be doing it in a way that is humane and buy the books. I personally would very much love it if you would just leave these people to fuck up. Just all together, seeing as how. What the fuck are you doing here, bitch? You hoes came out to this. Goddamn. You hoes came out to this piece of land. Countless individuals already here, thriving, living their lives here. You came literally stinking up the joint, and they taught you how to wash your asses. They fed you and you took this fucking, like, country. Texas is Mexico. I don't even understand why we're having this conversation. Like, this is so. I don't even really understand. I mean, I get why it happens, people, but should it. To me, no. Should there be immigration policy in every country? Sure, but this is so openly, visibly garbage, hateful, inhumane and illegal. That's what I'm saying.

[Crystal]

Absolutely.

[Saniya Rivers]

If it's to be done, do it in a way where you are Treating these people as human beings. Do it in a way that is legal. This is neither. This is impossible for you to make this many arrests. 600. Even much. 3,000. You can't arrest 3,000 people a day and do it in a way that's humane. So, Lord, it's unsurprising to me, especially in a metropolitan city or a county, that you do some shit this disgusting by way of a living idiot and have a response that is countless people showing up to where you taking their family, where my mom is, my dad, my aunt, my son, my daughter, my cousin, my grandma. And kicking off license plates, busting off something, side view mirrors, windshields. Because what the fuck do you think this shit is the governor of this goddamn state talking about? He gonna sue the President? Because how the fuck are you sending feds into my state to snatch people off the street?

[Crystal]

And the Marines, girl, absolutely.

[Saniya Rivers]

And I say nothing. And you sent the Marines in afterwards because you were mad that LAPD took two hours allegedly to show up to where you hoes were at to do crowd control. When the chief of police for LAPD said, bitch, we have policy in place that prevents us from getting involved in. Are approaching citizens specifically over their immigration status. You can't do it. You know that. Maybe if somebody came over here and asked some goddamn questions before they tried to come in here. Like Perry Mason, like Tom Clancy.

[Crystal]

Come on, Perry.

[Saniya Rivers]

Bitch, who are you talking to? I'm suing now. He's talking about. He's gonna. He's threatening to arrest Gavin News.

[Crystal]

I saw that.

[Saniya Rivers]

Let's all have a great time.

[Crystal]

Kevin said I do y' all see what's happening? This is a dictator. This. The sitting president is threatened to arrest a governor for. Because you. Because I insist that the feds can't come in here and swoop up my people. This isn't you.

[Saniya Rivers]

The thing y' all asked for this. I don't understand how you can watch this kind of carrying on as anybody from any culture, political party, background, affiliation, how you can watch this and be like, t. There's a way to do things. This is not it. Let's discuss the way that you control a crowd of protesters, violent or not. Okay. If they're setting fires on cars, on fire. Yeah. Maybe someone should use a loud horn. Maybe some. Maybe then there's a smoke grenade, something to get people moving. But I watched the feuds.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

There were hours upon hours after that before the Marines got came to. Came into la. Like when the. When the local law enforcement had just shown up and you had people just in the street with their signs, chanting, their chanting, protesting as we are permitted to. As we have the right.

[Crystal]

This is our right. This is our right to do. We have the right to protest. We do.

[Saniya Rivers]

At that point, it's the job of enforcement of the law, federal, local, whatever, to make sure that those protests do not escalate into anything violent. You know how you protest? I mean, you know a way to prevent escalation into violence. Don't send cops up on the top of the federal building with rifle and scopes and start shooting people, you know, in the street.

[Crystal]

Little things, small things.

[Saniya Rivers]

You don't whip out microwave guns. You don't throw out flashbang grenades.

[Crystal]

True.

[Saniya Rivers]

You don't start tear gassing people for having a Mexican flag over their shoulders. That's why they're there burning shit in the first place. Cause you kicked open their abuela's front door and snatched her by the scruff of her her neck and threw her in a cage. And they don't know if she's alive or not. They're human beings. Why does it look like Call of duty on my TV? 20 minutes from my house? Yeah, because this nutcase is trying to send brown people out the country because he feel like that's what got him the popular vote. And it did. And you bitches are looking at this TV screen gagging, let's keep it real.

[Crystal]

Like you can't believe it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Because you didn't expect it to be in la.

[Crystal]

Oh, no, they definitely did not.

[Saniya Rivers]

And when all the brown folk gone, everybody with an accent is gone.

[Crystal]

Mm. Mm.

[Saniya Rivers]

The Purge.

[Crystal]

LA can't survive the purge. LA cannot survive without Latinos. Especially if you mean all brown people, including. I was like, y' all are fucking.

[Saniya Rivers]

The city can't. When they were pissed, calling the LAPD all kinds of names, talking about, they're disgusting because it took them so long to show up when ICE needed assistance. This, that and the third, I'm like, far be it, I mean, far for me to even sound like I'm defending a police department.

[Crystal]

Right, right.

[Saniya Rivers]

Especially the Los Angeles. Right. But can you imagine how many people work in the LA Police Department who were like, I know people there. I have family right there. Like, some of them people might be like, or who the fuck do you think that you bitches are coming into our goddamn jurisdiction and just saying whatever the fuck, waving your dick around, upsetting our people and then telling us to come clean it up and get shot and get hit in the head with Zephyrhills, bottles I don't think they have Zephyrhills out here. No. Whatever. Get hit in the head with water bottles and fucking wrenches and shit. Like, what do you. What do you think this is? And of course, of course you don't give a fuck about de escalation. You bitches want a reason to shoot people.

[Crystal]

Yep, they do. They literally do.

[Saniya Rivers]

And that should be terrifying to anybody.

[Crystal]

Should.

[Saniya Rivers]

But a lot of you bitches also want any reason to shoot somebody.

[Crystal]

This is America in a nutshell. Oh, God.

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't know what y' all think, but the thing that really grinds my gears, I think the thing that really plucks me about this is when. And that same Stephen Miller referred to the protest as a violent insurrection.

[Crystal]

Now, I'mma just move the mic away because I know you fucking lying nigga. What?

[Saniya Rivers]

Girl? That was like. Like, that was the nucleus of the read for me a couple of days ago. There are obviously so many disgusting facets of this, and I think I touched on a lot of those. So let me get directly to the thing that has plucked me. I was going to direct this at just him until I saw a clip, like, yesterday where Trump was outside the White House calling them insurrectionists, saying they're bad people and they should be in jail. I was like, okay, this is what. Okay. A huge frustration with this person and this administration, for me, is that there's no, like, strategy or even intent to have one in their. In their determination to be evil.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, do we. Anyone can look up Dictionary.com is free.

[Crystal]

It's right there.

[Saniya Rivers]

There's. This isn't. These aren't even, like, unprecedented protests that took place. So why have those been called protests and not insurrection?

[Crystal]

Huh? We can give them a minute to try to scramble and figure out the answer.

[Saniya Rivers]

Go ahead. The word dictionary is not that long. You can even just Google insurrection definition, and Google will just take it.

[Crystal]

We. We. I mean, we all just sat here and watched one. Just.

[Saniya Rivers]

I'll read it. I'll read it. An act or instance of rising in revolt. Well, rebellion or resistance against civil authority or an established government. A bunch of Latinos coming down, come on to the detention center with golf clubs or bats and saying, release my grandma is not the same as the president telling Americans to go to go down to D.C. and hang every politician they can find.

[Crystal]

He. He really, like, people died. People died. All right.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, the thing. And again, it plucked me before I.

[Crystal]

Heard them say it. Yeah. Cause it's.

[Saniya Rivers]

And that's when I was like, as.

[Crystal]

Soon as you said it. I was. I. I flummoxed.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was like, I know what's going on here. It's like this is your attempt at trying to reclaim your time. Like you trying to take this word and reroute it because it is now almost exclusively associated with you because you are responsible. True.

[Crystal]

That's true. Oh, you're right.

[Saniya Rivers]

For one of the biggest, most notable, and most embarrassing moments in the nation's history.

[Crystal]

Correct.

[Saniya Rivers]

And you are surely, surely, because you're a narcissist, because you're ridiculous. You're surely tired of people bringing it up all the time. And we will never stop. We won't stop after you're dead, bitch. People are gonna talk about this.

[Crystal]

Yep.

[Saniya Rivers]

Tough.

[Crystal]

Yep. Famous for all the wrong reasons.

[Saniya Rivers]

So now you're trying to just muddy the waters. Now you're trying to just go willy dilly with this word and try and tease the. The. The tease out the definition of this. So people just get things mixed up. We won't. We aren't. This isn't an insurrection. It's never been an insurrection. There's a specific reason why people call this a protest. People call what you did an insurrection. If you don't understand it, you can read words. I know that's probably a problem for you, but that's not our issue. We're not doing this, bitch. Okay? Those hands are dirty. And that bed is the one you're gonna lay in, you misshapen, diseased, orange bitch. You orange bitch. You recycled looking bitch, you. Anyway, insurrection took me to another fucking place. I know the bitch says anything, but I know more than this is an attempt at you just trying to take something that people use against you all the time and just start throwing it out all over the place. We're not going for it. We're not going for it with this one. And this should not. You actually gave a fucking about policy, American security, any of those things, you wouldn't even want to play with a word like that. You wouldn't even want that to be something that's confusing these people. But again, you're an idiot. And anyone who supports you is also a fucking idiot. It's like if you went to your friend's house who had a Sega Genesis or some other game system that you ain't have, and you are absolutely whipping their ass and fucking Sonic or some Smash Brothers who have Street Fighter, and then they just unplug the whole system and say, well, I win. Cause it's my house and my Sega. And you're like, well, it's me at, like, 3, 4 years old, where my mother calls me into the kitchen and says, were you eating the Kool Aid opportunity? And I say, no, with Kool Aid fingers. I don't Kool A thumbs. This is very interesting because if you look down, I can see footprints of Kool Aid footboards that perfectly fit your little.

[Crystal]

It's crazy.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's crazy little bitties there.

[Crystal]

So how did Kool Aid get on the bottom of your feet then?

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, if you're gonna be evil, be a genius. Anyway, that plucked the fuck up me, bitch. There ain't no motherfucking insurrection. These are people understandably reacting and protesting a disgusting, absolutely vile and inhumane process. This shouldn't be fucking taking place.

[Crystal]

Correct.

[Saniya Rivers]

And if one of your little police cars got caught on fire.

[Crystal]

Oh, no. Did you get hit with a bottle of ketchup?

[Saniya Rivers]

Fuck you, hoe. Send the people home, bitch.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

Send the people home, bitch. You don't even know how to wash your own legs, cracker. Why the fuck are you packing? Imagine all the spirits still on this land that were like, we introduced these ungrateful bastards to soap and to hot water.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

They came over here with worms and scurvy, and they still have the goddamn nerve to refuse to wash behind their goddamn legs and feet. But gotta tell me where I can go and what land is mine. And the land won't be great until I get out how it was great before you got here.

[Crystal]

Oh, my God. It's really. You just. It's really insane because this is so clearly not about people being here illegally. Sense it is, because if it was, y' all would be rounding up all the Canadians and Brits who are here on experiences or whatever the.

[Saniya Rivers]

Can we have a discussion about that at all?

[Crystal]

This is about being able to be boldly, blatantly racist. That's all this is.

[Saniya Rivers]

Why did that one. One Tik Tock boy. Like, isn't he, like, the most followed?

[Crystal]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That kid got arrested.

[Saniya Rivers]

They sent him.

[Crystal]

Yeah, yeah, yep, sure.

[Saniya Rivers]

They offered him, like, voluntary deportation or something. He took it in left.

[Crystal]

I mean. And what. What do you think that had to do with the country where he's a citizen or the color of his skin? Like, let's all be serious about it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Let's discuss the tiktokers. Like you said, very British.

[Crystal]

Let's be serious for just tiktokers here from Australia. Let's just be for real. This is so clearly about race. This is so. Oh, obviously about race is. I've been Simultaneously very proud of the people of Los Angeles for standing up and fighting back against this bullshit and completely disgusted that it's happening in the first place. But this is what we all knew was on the way with the Trump administration. We knew this. So it's just.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, it's just like. I can't help but think, I guess it's like it's only June.

[Crystal]

Yeah, he's. This just now is getting started. That nigga been in office for like six months. It's only June, not even six months.

[Saniya Rivers]

And it's only gonna get worse before it gets better.

[Crystal]

Oh, my God.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, if it gets better.

[Crystal]

Well.

[Saniya Rivers]

I think it's a ride for Miss United States. I really do like Empire type tease. Like, I think she's getting ready to crumble.

[Crystal]

No, I think we all feel it's gonna be.

[Saniya Rivers]

I think we all hilarious. In the book looks when the Chinese are like, like 300 years from now. The Chinese are like. And then the bitch told us.

[Crystal]

That was so funny when they were like, yeah, China's much older than you and we'll be here long after you, so whatever you think going on don't mean.

[Saniya Rivers]

Shit to us in their textbooks in 300 years gagging like they had the nerve to tell us how much we was gonna pay. And we told us they told them bitches to eat at another country's not there anymore because they voted for the host of the Apprentice twice. And the fucking Secretary of Education can't pronounce AI.

[Crystal]

And now we call it the Western Republic of China. That's what the United States will be called after we crumble and our Chinese overlords come to take over. We will be the Western Republic here in just a minute. You know, I didn't vote for this. And I don't vote for this at any. I don't vote for it local, state. I for damn sure didn't endorse it federally. And I will be voting for the candidates that I think will stand up to Donald Trump right here in New York City. Because if it can happen in la, it can happen anywhere in this fucking country. New York is surely next. He's already been knocking over here trying to get his fingers involved in here, and Eric Adams bitch ass is rolling right over and letting him do it. So you think I'm gonna let him or Cuomo, which is just a richer, whiter version of Eric Adams, back into office? Bitch, I fucking think not. Ranking Cuomo. I'd rather die. It isn't happening.

[Saniya Rivers]

But I forgot what Karen Bass said. She Said something that made me laugh. Or a little Afro.

[Crystal]

I'm voting for people who are going to stand up against Trump. Trump and his desire to use the federal government to invade cities that he don't fuck with. And I just fucking refuse.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, girl, I think it's literally the best we got.

[Crystal]

We only have a handful of places anyway. Like, y' all have most of the country and you still not satisfied. Anyway, anyway, you know the things I want to say. The Secret Service would have to come take me away and. Yeah, so. And everybody knows what that means. I just want to speak very quickly on the. Were you done before I. Yeah. Okay. So this was also happening out of the state of California. The California Interscholastic Federation has decided. The California Interscholastic Federation. Oh, interscholastic, Intergalactic. That would have been crazy.

[Saniya Rivers]

I kind of heard that. Thank you.

[Crystal]

So they have disqualified a 16 year old black girl. She is a track star. She is a sophomore at North Salinas High School and she won the 400 meter state final just a week or so ago. And she celebrated.

[Saniya Rivers]

What did she not do?

[Crystal]

She celebrated her win by stepping off of the track, away from the field. And she had her dad spray her feet with a fire extinguisher. So this is an homage to Olympic champion Maurice Green. Who? Maurice Green had somebody spray his feet. Like, oh, the feet is on fire, that nigga, you know.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah, that's funny.

[Crystal]

So her dad told her, you know, make sure you step off the field before you do this. But yeah, we know. We doing your little celebration. We paying homage and you won. CIF officials told her that she was disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior. She was prevented from standing on the podium to claim her number one spot. She was prevented from competing in the final race. And this is all being blamed on the CIF code of conduct which says that student athletes are not permitted to engage in or allow taunting, boastful celebrations or other actions that demean individuals or the sport. Now listen, I could see it if you had her, if she was going up to all the girls who lost and being like, none of you slow ass, fake ass, weak ass bitches can touch me. And spraying, you know, like some big, like spraying everybody else with the fire extinguishers like, you bitches, I'm putting all you bitches back in the dust where you belong.

[Saniya Rivers]

Does another lamp, bitches in my dust.

[Crystal]

Now you can't fucking breathe. Now that would have been taunting, boastful, demeaning to other individuals or the sport. This girl stepped off of the track, away from deliberately. Her daddy told her, get off the field.

[Saniya Rivers]

Let's just do it over.

[Crystal]

Yes. So it can't be construed as rubbing it in your face. But what this really is, is telling black people, we don't like the way you celebrate being good. We don't like the way you celebrate being great. We don't like the way you celebrate.

[Saniya Rivers]

We don't like that you beat us.

[Crystal]

Well, there's always that. First of all, y' all are mad that we even win.

[Saniya Rivers]

So at least if you win, come apologize.

[Crystal]

And that's really what this is about. This is about, yeah, you worked very hard, you trained very hard, and you came in first. But make sure you stay humble and keep your head down and don't boast or seem proud of yourself for it.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's so stupid. It's sports.

[Crystal]

And that is my. It's a huge part of the point here. We came to watch a competition. We came to watch a sporting event. We came to see somebody win and others lose. This is a competition. That is what it boils down to, right? Like Cynthia Rivo said at the Tonys, if you're nominated tonight and you don't win, smile and nod and clap anyway, like we've all had to do. Sometimes you win, sometimes you fucking lose. That is the point of why we are here today, to crown winners and to send everybody else home to try again the next fucking time.

[Saniya Rivers]

And here's something I was also thinking, as you're talking about it, it's a bit. It'd be a bit different if it was something like the Tonys or the Grammys and you win, and you go up there and you're like, well, everyone suck my dick. Because I agree. I am that bitch to my fellow.

[Crystal]

You know, like, that you bitches honestly could never. I'm sure I was a sweep.

[Saniya Rivers]

Sucks that you had to be in the category with me, bitch. Yeah, that would be different.

[Crystal]

That would be terrible. Awful. Other people. You would probably never get nominated again because you have such a shitty attitude. This girl stepped away from the field and had her moment and was denied. I mean, literally, in that moment, she couldn't even get up on the fucking podium. So the Monterey County Board of Supervisors has written a letter in support of this girl. The man who she paid homage to was like, y' all are really, really tripping. Y' all are wild. Like, yeah, that's good. It was away from everybody else. It wasn't interfering with anybody else, so go ahead and reinstate her. But the Part that I love the most is that her family is threatening legal action and say they will sue if you don't give this girl her mother.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's what I was waiting.

[Crystal]

Yes.

[Saniya Rivers]

I'm so glad that happened.

[Crystal]

I'm glad the family's attorney said that was the championship. She would have been the fastest sprinter in the state of California. She is. She won. But she doesn't have the title nor the medal, and she will never have that moment again. This celebration did not take place on the track itself. It was not directed at any of the competitors. And so it is disproportionate and racist. I'm gonna just call it that. It is. She wasn't hurting nobody.

[Saniya Rivers]

If it was a Caitlyn Clark type, they would have just been, like, dumb.

[Crystal]

And put it all over Caitlyn Clark as her moment. Right? It would have been exactly that. It just.

[Saniya Rivers]

They hate when niggas win and they. They loathe when are happy.

[Crystal]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yep. And like they said, even if this is reversed and she gets her medal or whatever else, y' all robbed that girl of a moment that she won fair and square.

[Saniya Rivers]

She won. So disgusting.

[Crystal]

She said I had to watch somebody else get up on the podium in that number one spot where I belonged, child. So shout out to Claire Adams and her family for not laying down and taking this bullshit. Fight it every step of the way, because this is insane.

[Saniya Rivers]

That's fucked up.

[Crystal]

She did. It really was. Do you know y' all wanted to be mad. Y' all wanted to punish this girl. You wanted her to feel bad. You wanted to take something away from her.

[Saniya Rivers]

Training. Please.

[Crystal]

Them track niggas for that shit. Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

Is unspeakable. For you to have trained the amount that I know that you did and to get this title, to win this title and be disqualified because of racism.

[Crystal]

Nut shit. Yep.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's just, like, so really like I have to sit through now the process of my family going through, you know, legal shit with this board or whatever so that I can just have the title that I won and earn. It's so dominant. It does confuse me when shit like this happens. It's happened with Serena a lot and a lot of other blacks.

[Crystal]

It just happened with Coco the other day. Did you hear?

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

The girl that Coco beat talking about, oh, well, I wasn't doing good, and it was windy, and I had a bad day. Busy. You got beat. All that could have happened, and Coco was better than you, and she beat your ass and she won.

[Saniya Rivers]

Coco's also better than A lot of people, yes. So if you lost, that would be the one to just be like, yeah, she got me, girl.

[Crystal]

Right? It's windy. Like, it's only windy on your side. It's not windy on Coco's side, bitch.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, who would be like, well, whatever, you know what I mean? You lost the Coco Goth like most people.

[Crystal]

Okay, yeah, you lost the coke. Anyway, get those things. Get your things. And yeah, sue the fuck out of these people if they don't go ahead and give that girl her fucking award. Because I'm. I'm so tired of y' all punishing black people for simply existing and being happy and proud of themselves. It would be different if she was a dick about it. Right? That's a 16 year old girl. Come on. Come on.

[Saniya Rivers]

What the. You should be ashamed and you never will be. And that's. That's rough.

[Crystal]

And honestly, that's. 16 year olds competing at the state level are used to losing. They've lost many times before in order to make it this far and. And be this great in the first place. So it's not. This is not like somebody did this when their kindergartner won a fucking foot race, you know? These are. This girl could probably qualify for the Olympics in another four years. Like, this is. This is what they do.

[Saniya Rivers]

I just don't understand why that's what I'm saying. Like football, basketball, track, tennis, I don't care what it is. It's a sporting event. The whole thing, especially if you're doing it at that level, the whole thing, I assume, is nothing but adrenaline.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

So when you win.

[Crystal]

You'Re losing it. You're losing it.

[Saniya Rivers]

Like, why should. The people in the fucking crowd are screaming, doing backflips and throwing up and punching people?

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

So why can't the people on the actual field court, what have you, also be excited? And if it was clear, if she would have sprayed her feet and then every bitch behind her, I wouldn't give a fuck.

[Crystal]

Oh, no, me either.

[Saniya Rivers]

I would think it was fierce. But the fact that it's clear that they were like, well, let's just have it as our own personal moment. You still taking the time to be like, no, we're gonna take every. Is like, very clearly directed at the fact that this black girl is proud of the fact that she's a kid. And why is that a problem?

[Crystal]

Oh, you know why we're not allowed to feel good about ourselves.

[Saniya Rivers]

Bitch. If she won Quidditch the bitch, it would have been gardening, everything.

[Crystal]

It's very impressive. The Quidditch ride. Oh, I don't know why I thought that's what you was gonna talk about. The Quidditch ride at wherever I went. That Harry Potter world.

[Saniya Rivers]

Harry Potter Studios.

[Crystal]

Yes. That was so fun. Oh, my God. You really feel like you're flying. You really feel like you're flying. It's great.

[Saniya Rivers]

You do. The big spider scared the shit out of me.

[Crystal]

Oh, spoiler alert. You go ride that ride.

[Saniya Rivers]

You don't know when HBO has the new thing coming out. I want to talk about this guy, Nick Frost. Nick Frost has been cast as Hagrid for the Harry Potter series.

[Crystal]

Let me look this up.

[Saniya Rivers]

Most famous for being the white dude on Shaun of the Dead who said mostly just as the white dude on Sha of the Dead. I recognize him as the one.

[Crystal]

I don't know.

[Saniya Rivers]

Sha of the Dead is a zombie comedy from.

[Crystal]

Oh, like a parody of dawn of the Dead.

[Saniya Rivers]

Yeah.

[Crystal]

Okay.

[Saniya Rivers]

It's like a comedy.

[Crystal]

Got you.

[Saniya Rivers]

Anyway, so he's been cast recently to play Hagrid. So of course they're asking him if he's best friends with J.K. rowling. Because they're asking everybody. They probably asked the three 10 year olds that they just cast too. Have you spoken to J.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

So he said when asked about J.K. rowling and her views and backlash and stuff, he said she's allowed her opinion and I'm allowed mine. They just don't align in any way, shape or form.

[Crystal]

Oh, I know, that's right.

[Saniya Rivers]

And then when I guess he was asked if it would, like, if the debates would overshadow the HBO series and people hoping it'll like blow over, his response, and his response was, maybe it shouldn't blow over. We shouldn't just hope it will go away because it makes it easier. Maybe we should edge. So this is a return read for John Lithgow. That is how you respond to the question. Bitch. That's how you respond to the question word. It's very easy. Like that lady ain't. I don't know that lady never met that lady. She has a right to her opinion. I have my opinion and it is not not to fuck that. And also, this show can exist and people can have a good time. And we can also acknowledge, since we're going to keep talking about her every time we talk about this anyway. Yeah, we can also acknowledge what we're talking about, educate ourselves so that we can do better and then go patronus.

[Crystal]

Okay, Hagr. It's like, good for you.

[Saniya Rivers]

But that's how you know some People genuinely give a fuck.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

To whatever degree. Or have some sense of humane, empathy, humanity in there.

[Crystal]

Right.

[Saniya Rivers]

And some people are. John Lithgow who are like, I just wanted a fierce role to end my career and a whole bunch of money. So I thought I'd tag that in there because I read that a couple days ago and was like, he ate that.

[Crystal]

I absolutely love that response.

[Saniya Rivers]

Blow over for what? Why does it need to blow over?

[Crystal]

This is a, It's a worthy conversation. And considering how many different. Like I think the UK just, just did something really transphobic. Said trans women aren't really women. Like legally ruled that or something.

[Saniya Rivers]

Legally ruled it.

[Crystal]

It's always a different city or state in the, in the United States ready to tell trans people that they can't legally exist there. Like it.

[Saniya Rivers]

That was the thing that contributing that she responded to where called her a heinous loser.

[Crystal]

Remember I talked about that and I do.

[Saniya Rivers]

She posted a picture of her smoking like a cigar or some shit, saying some like triumphant shit like she just won the fucking. The Olympics or some shit. Or one Quidditch. And Pedro Pascal called her a heinous loser.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Why did I think Pedro Pascal came out as a bi?

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't think so, but he might not be straight.

[Crystal]

I truly, and I don't know, I thought, thought there's another, there's another actor who is. I feel like I shouldn't say their name in case I'm just so wrong about this. But they're working.

[Saniya Rivers]

Maybe not.

[Crystal]

They're working right now on a very, very popular show. And I could have sworn and I mean I would have put my hand on a stack of bibles that this person came out several years ago. And yet when I Google it, there's nothing online about it. And I'm like, did I, did I hallucinate this? And now I'm going through the same thing with Pedro Pascal because we got an email from somebody who was like, you know, I'm sick of gays thirsting over this straight man. And I was like, straight man and googled it. And I'm like, wait, this man didn't come out. Like, I could have sworn Pedro had a stuff around.

[Saniya Rivers]

Well, well, gays thirst over.

[Crystal]

So I was, I'm. I'm over here like, like googling. Cuz I'm like, oh, I thought Pedro was openly by child. Oh no. I guess my mind made that up. But it does make me think of this other actor. Like I. Where did I get that from? And why, why is that happening to me?

[Saniya Rivers]

But he was wearing a shirt one time that said something like support the girls or Support the dolls.

[Crystal]

The dolls. Yeah. But that was.

[Saniya Rivers]

Or something.

[Crystal]

Yeah. Over in the uk. I think that was right after they. Whatever that decision was. Whatever that. Yeah, I think that was over there. But I could have sworn like a couple years ago. Maybe he came out, but I don't know. Maybe it was a fever dream.

[Saniya Rivers]

But I think he's married to a woman. I could be making that up.

[Crystal]

Oh, I don't think he's married at all.

[Saniya Rivers]

Maybe not. I don't. I don't know if he's ever talked about his sexual, um. But I like him a lot. He's such a great actor.

[Crystal]

Yeah, he is. Nope. Never been married and never disclosed any information on who he is dating. Well, that's how it should be. Honestly. Don't tell us, girl. Don't tell us. We'll ruin it. Don't tell us shit. We will fuck it up. But. What is this man's name? Nick Frost. Shout out to you. I think I'm actually gonna adopt. You know, maybe the. Maybe it shouldn't blow over. Maybe we should just. I'm gonna keep working. Yeah. I'm gonna act and get my check. And I'm gonna encourage y' all to sit here and debate about this because it's a worthy debate. Blow over for what? This. This Harry Potter series could be the best of all of the Harry Potter series, which isn't a high bar. And at the same time, we can still have this conversation about J.K. rowling being transphobic, because she is.

[Saniya Rivers]

We.

[Crystal]

We can't. We can and we will. Let's do it. Why are gay people like that?

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't know, but it's true. Like, we can't blow over for what? Trans people aren't gonna blow over, bitch. They aren't going nowhere.

[Crystal]

No, they're. And they've all always been here.

[Saniya Rivers]

Right.

[Crystal]

We're not going to pretend that they haven't.

[Saniya Rivers]

Get educated.

[Crystal]

Okay. Get right before you get left. And that will wrap up this week's episode of the Read. Find us on social media at. This is the Read. You can check out our website. This is the read.com. any other information from you, kid. Fury, before we wrap up?

[Saniya Rivers]

Nope. That's all for me. I hope you guys are having a happy and very safe. Safe. Pride. The streets are very weird. I feel like everywhere right now.

[Crystal]

Yeah.

[Saniya Rivers]

So please be safe. Be mindful.

[Crystal]

I'm having a good time.

[Saniya Rivers]

Take very good care of. Okay. That's all I Hope so. I would hope so.

[Crystal]

I'm having a great time.

[Saniya Rivers]

But I'll like, I don't know, click onto my phone or go to the grocery store or something like that. Just a regular old 15 minute thing. And it's like, did you know that in. In, I don't know, Tennessee or somewhere, a giant hole has opened up in the ground and there are. It seems there are demons.

[Crystal]

Those are demons crawling from the earth. Yeah, we don't. We don't know where they came from.

[Saniya Rivers]

But I'm just gonna watch Sinners again.

[Crystal]

It's an infestation of them. If I. Sinners up until the point where Mary gets turned, I can watch Sinners all day long. Like, it is a beautiful movie. The story is incredible. If it wasn't so bloody and such violent deaths. But up until Mary gets turned, I. I am obsessed with that movie. Guys. Good.

[Saniya Rivers]

I was so pleased.

[Crystal]

I don't want to say. I don't. I don't want to say you and Katya have a lot of parallels, but y' all kind of do. Both of y' all are always like, give me the dark, sick, disgusting, nasty, messiest of the horrible horror. Both of y' all are like, yeah, give me the worst of it. I can take it. I love it. The rest of you don't go far enough.

[Saniya Rivers]

I don't remember what they were watching on it.

[Crystal]

Of course she loved it.

[Saniya Rivers]

They were watching one of the things, something on Netflix. Hecati was like, of course, bitch, I wanted to die this morning. And she said, it's so flippant. That's you off the ground. Like, she was going and grow. I was like, this. This person was me.

[Crystal]

You do that same thing. Very flippant about ending your life.

[Saniya Rivers]

I also felt very tricksy a couple weeks ago and I watched the episode of their podcast and she was talking about how she's like, it was like after midnight. She's like pissed off. She's in a good time to, like, relax. She's like, fuck, everybody. Fuck. I'm gonna play this game for a couple hours later. I don't need sleep. And she goes, you know who paid for it?

[Crystal]

Yep, I did.

[Saniya Rivers]

I paid for it.

[Crystal]

How exactly are you getting back at the rest of us? By video games all night, right?

[Saniya Rivers]

And getting no sleep where you have to be up anyway.

[Crystal]

Anyone who has to go to work, you have to show up for work.

[Saniya Rivers]

You do.

[Crystal]

How are you punishing us by angrily playing video games by yourself? Who are you getting back and how? I'll show you in this game, I'm gonna blow you up three times. Okay, well, that's funny.

[Saniya Rivers]

I'm not gonna watch the news. I'm going to wait till the comes in the mail.

[Crystal]

Oh, okay. Take care of yourselves. Yes. Stay safe and happy at Pride, et cetera, et cetera. We will see y' all next week.

[Saniya Rivers]

Your new beginning starts now. Dr. Horton has new construction homes available in Ellensburg and throughout the greater Seattle area. With spacious floor plans, flexible living spaces and home technology packages, you can enjoy more cozy moments and sweet memories in your beautiful new home home. With new home communities opening in Ellensburg and throughout the Seattle area, Dr. Horton has the ideal home for you. Learn more at Dr. Horton.com Dr. Horton, America's builder and equal housing opportunity builder. Let's face it, our world is a hot mess. So we're setting out in a rocket ship to explore queer pastures. I'm Chris Renfro. And I'm Finn Argus.

[Crystal]

And every week I on our show.

[Saniya Rivers]

One of us with Finn and Chris, we're going on a new fully sound design adventure. Part interview, part improv, and always full of plot twists. Join the best friend force every Tuesday from Good Get Productions.

[Crystal]

Wherever you go, there's one of us.