A conversation with actress and activist Jameela Jamil
Jameela Jamil, star of NBC's The Good Place and a writer and activist, will give a virtual 麻豆免费版下载Boulder talk at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 8. She chatted briefly with 麻豆免费版下载Boulder Today on topics including what it's like to be on a hit TV series, while also doling out some career advice.
If you go
Who: Students, faculty and staff
What: Jameela Jamil talk
When: Thursday, April 8, 6 p.m.
Where: Zoom
Talk a little about what it is like to be on a hit TV series. How has that changed your life?
Mostly it has meant my advocacy can spread further across the world. I Weigh would never have happened without The Good Place, and my being able to use all my promo opportunities for the show to also talk about the things I cared about regarding how our society makes marginalized people feel.
It also meant I was able to meet and act with Lisa Kudrow and Maya Rudolph, so now I have nothing left to achieve! I can retire now!
Tell us a little about your , and how and why you created that?
I created it after a viral tweet of mine complaining about how women鈥檚 value is still measured on a scale rather than our achievements, attributions and contributions to society. It took me by surprise how fast word spread.
It has since grown to a community of 1.3 million people, who all are interested in activism/advocacy or mental health, where we create petitions, changing policies within social media platforms, and are working toward a few bills that would protect minors. We have a podcast, a YouTube channel and a gorgeous Instagram full of the most amazing artists and activists sharing their knowledge with us, so that we can all learn to be better people, to all people.
What is your favorite part about being in the public eye? What is your least favorite part about being in the public eye?
I like having the power to shout and be heard, and also to make actual change because of my platform. But it comes at a price. When you鈥檙e a woman, especially a woman of color, using your privilege to call out irresponsible behaviors in your industry and society, and people start to listen to you, the powers that want to maintain those systems of harm and oppression, or members of the public who don鈥檛 like seeing a strong woman with an opinion, go out of their way to tear you down, harm your reputation and scare you off. That鈥檚 exhausting.
But enough women have had this happen to them before me...Jane Fonda, Princess Diana, Taylor Swift, Greta Thunberg, Meghan Markle, Anne Hathaway, etc...that I know there will be more after me, so it鈥檚 my job to stick around and fight back so that this pattern comes to an end once and for all. Because this attitude of going out of your way to break a strong woman bleeds into workplaces and schools鈥攊t is not just happening to women in the public eye. That鈥檚 just where is gets normalized for our society.
What advice can you give to young people who are or will be launching their careers in the next few years?
Don鈥檛 be afraid of failure. Mistakes are neurologically proven to be how we do our best and most effective learning. Don鈥檛 stop yourself from trying because you鈥檙e worried you won鈥檛 succeed. That鈥檚 when it鈥檚 the most fun to try. Failure is not a bad, taboo thing. It鈥檚 bold and inspiring. It means you tried when success wasn鈥檛 guaranteed. And that鈥檚 where you learn new things about yourself, on the road to the unknown.
What is something about you that you think would surprise people?
Squirrels lose 80% of the acorns they hide. They just can鈥檛 remember where they buried them. I find this amazing.