Nicole Avant | Club Random with Bill Maher
01:11:11 Share

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big ROAS man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friend's still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com slash results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn.

LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. Do not forget, you know, Jesse Owens ran in front of Hitler. Yes. I think he had every reason in that moment to say, I'm out. And it's important you know I'm an ally. Have I told you I'm an ally? May I pledge my ally? As you can see, it's such a professionally run operation here. Hello. Hello.

I'm so happy to see you. Thank you for joining me. I brought you a signed book so you could have it over there. Oh, thank you. Yes, I love those. It's quite a tome. Thank you. Yeah, boy. It's a lot. But I just got it in there. You're a good writer. Thank you. Is that the first time you ever really tried to write something more than like a grocery list? Yeah, I was trying.

Kind of, yeah. I mean, I liked writing when I was growing up, and I did short essays and things like that. But I had so many topics I wanted to write about, and I thought, oh, this now, I can... Now it gives me the answer of what I've been trying to write. Yeah. It's funny because it's deep. Yeah. But the cover...

And the title, if I just saw this in a store, I would think, oh, that's stupid. Because flowers and think you'd be happy. You know, I would just be like, oh, OK. I get it. The secret part two. If I think about puppies and ice cream, everything, and then they'll come to me. Oh, no, my makeup's going to come off. But yeah, you fooled them. It's great. Yeah. Yeah.

So, well, I know you have had like an emotional roller coaster like nobody's business. Yes, it's been an interesting journey.

It'll be two years next month. But I'm still... Yeah, my mom... Your mother is two years? Two years. Can you believe that? I remember it was Christmas time. Yeah, right before Christmas. Right. Beginning in December. And not too far from here. It's funny, when I was walking through your yard and I was thinking, oh my gosh, I knew the kids who lived next door when we used to go to kid hub. I mean, if people don't know, your mother, how old was she? 81. 81. 81.

Okay, and lived in this very tony neighborhood. And there's a lot of home invasions. Such a sweet term. It's almost like your book. It's got a home invasion. But it's not a good thing. No. And that's what happened to her. Some guy killed her in her own home. Yeah, yeah, she was in the... People are surprised to know

that these neighborhoods, well, because it's where the fucking money is. You know, what did Willie Sutton, what did Rob Banks, it's where the money is. Exactly. And I think people were surprised, or at least they told me afterwards, oh my gosh, things have been happening in Beverly Hills, in Brentwood, in the Palisades, you know, and people felt badly that they weren't really

letting neighbors know everyone didn't want to hurt things. But it's like, what do you mean you don't want to hurt things? You should warn people around you. It's like a scandal that you got home invaded. Yeah, exactly. Your home got raped. And it's the 19th century. When we're raped, we shut up about it. We don't tell anyone. It's a dishonor to the family. And then I'll have to marry my brother. The rules people used to have. I know. It's...

It's all now you know the look at it. I always try to find I was trying to transmute I shouldn't I try to find the good everything but I was do try I don't want to sit in darkness and I don't want to say in the victimhood I can't I'm like I'm not you know I had to decide but I was like I'm not going to suffer to be saying.

I'm not suffering for my sanity. That I'm not doing. So that I had to decide very, very early on. And then I thought, okay, I can talk about her. I can celebrate her. I can talk about everything that everyone asked me about her anyway. And so much of life, I think, is a conscious decision that people make

How to handle... Anything. Anything. Yes, it is a conscious decision. It's a conscious decision. It's a very conscious decision to be a victim. Yes. Or not to be. 100%. And people don't like to hear that. People don't want to think that they have a choice. They have a decision, and that's why...

you know, everything is a choice and everything is a decision. And the only thing I can rule is my atmosphere, which is my consciousness. And my heart is the only thing I can do. So if I've been given that power, then I'm going to use it. Did you just see this video Harvey Levin sent to me, but I know other people saw it.

of this woman pulled over by a cop who like goes through every single possible victim category. Oh God. She's, you have, you gotta pull this up. It's too fucking funny. First of all, she's driving against traffic. She's driving, you know, she's driving on the wrong side of the street facing traffic. But it's everybody else's fault. Like in a Jason Bourne movie when he does it on purpose to get away. But she, and,

And so the cop could not be nicer. I know there are asshole cops out there, but somebody should make everybody watch this. There are also cops like this. Right. Because this guy is so sweet to this moron.

who is driving in the wrong way, and she's like, immediately, I'm non-binary. You know, he says, can we get out of the car? Oh, yeah, I'm telling you. She pulls out. She's Native American. She's just like, she's triggered by white people. She's, you know, so he, you know, and then she's going through all these, you know, and he's saying like, you know, ma'am, I'm

I'm triggered. I'm told I'm not buying it. Yeah, don't call me ma'am. And, you know, he finally says, look, I smell alcohol on you because she, you know, was driving. On the wrong side. So then when he has to like,

Koffer, she, of course, goes mental and all the but it just is just such a perfect epitome of a lot of this culture. And I hate to always pin it on the kids, but it is the kids. Sorry, it's the truth. But they just embrace this victimhood and they're just unashamed to, like, pull them all out, whether they fit or not.

100%. And it's the opposite. I remember once you said on your show to somebody, I forget who you had on, but you said, I would not be sitting here right now if I spoke to my parents the way that the kids are speaking. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't be sitting here. I'd be dead too. Fuck you, mom. Oh, you kidding? My mom heard that in Bristol Farms. She was at Bristol Farms years ago, and she said, I knew that society was going to change and go downward when this five-year-old started screaming at her mom and

saying, you know, F you, screw you, I hate you. And the mom turned around, instead of giving her, my mom would have yanked me and just walked out of the place. She said, I'm so sorry. Please don't yell at me. Why are you mad at me? And this is, people want to be raised and they want to be, you have to have authority in the home. It's bad for both. It's terrible for the kids and

Because the kids do need discipline and boundaries. They're fucking children. They're children. They're not just small adults. Right. So it's bad for them. And, of course, it's horrible for the parents themselves. They put themselves in this fucking prison where they're at the beck and call of their children. And they're always, like, apologizing to them. And they're, like, afraid of them. They're, like, pussy whipped by their children. It's...

So it's terrible for society. It's bad for society. It's a lose, lose, lose. 100%. And people laugh at having decency. And really, decency is having good manners. Where are the good manners? Please, thank you. Hold the door. Look at somebody. I mean, that's gone too. But people want a really great functioning society but also want to behave in the rudest, unkind way. You don't get both.

It just doesn't happen. But you also have to make kids understand that they're kids. Of course, their natural inclination is to say, why can you do this and I can't? And I can't. And you just... Yeah, I think I remember as a kid not quite understanding that...

because it went against my whole raison d'etre, which is to do whatever the adults are doing. But I accepted it because it was always consistently put out there. You'll see. And you kind of get it that, yeah, of course I'm not James Bond. I want to be, but yes, you're right. I'm 12. I can't do that. It's funny. You said about you in the, wherever you were, the store. I remember...

This girl I knew once told me, she said, the difference between my parents, black parents, and white parents is the white parents, when we get home,

Well, I'm going to... And the black parents, they said, they will hit you wherever... In front of anybody. Wherever it happens. The cereal aisle, it does not matter. And it's so much of a better way to do it. It's like a dog. When the dog shits on the rug, everybody who trains dogs will tell you, you can't put his nose in it five minutes later. No, you have to in the moment. He does not know what you're talking about. He's like, why are you so mad at me? I don't know. Yeah. And...

You have to do, and it's the same with the children, because they're very much like dogs. They're stupid, and they just have to be trained at the moment they do a bad thing. In the moment, I remember, it's Rite Aid now in Beverly Hills, but it was Thrifty's when I was growing up. Thrifty's. And my mom, we all had truth or dare. We were 10 years old. It was basically a dare. It wasn't even truth. It was who all the boys and all the girls decided what they were going to steal, what candy they could steal, and how they can get it in our backpacks and not get caught.

All the boys took the things. All the girls, we ran back and we put everything back. I took a Starburst. I couldn't do it. My conscience, I couldn't do it. But my mom, all the mothers were waiting in the car.

The manager of Thrifty's came out and told everybody what was happening. And to your point, my mom, I swear, I put it down. I don't have anything in my backpack. She goes, open it up. I go, Mom, I swear to God I don't have anything. She goes, open it right now. And she had these beautiful bangles. And I can hear them now because she smacked me in the back of my head. Open the backpack right now. And I go, why are you hitting me in front of everybody? She said, because I'm your mother. Right.

And I'm going to teach you right now that if you don't stop right now, you are going to become a person that I did not raise. You don't get to steal. You're not a thief. So you're going to stop it right now. And I remember it like it was yesterday and thanked her for it forever because I thought, thank you. I mean, I never did anything like that again. Every time she... And her friends were the same, white and black at that time. If I acted up at their house, they didn't wait for Jackie to get there. Right. You know, they'd sit down. Well...

In the Mad Men, maybe not the pilot, but the first season of Mad Men, I knew I loved this show because they portrayed, this is the 60s where I was growing up,

They, in such a funny way, they did it, portrayed the idea that it wasn't just your parents who could hit a child. Oh, no. It was any adult at the barbecue. The kid is acting up. 100%. And the neighbors watch the kid right in the face. And the father comes over, and he's just like, thanks, Ted. That was a nice swat you gave me.

Because it was like it takes a village. Yeah. You know? It takes a village. We're the adults and they're the kids. We're the adults. And of course, you had to have a whole different society for that to happen where people trusted each other and thought your neighbors are good people. Whereas now, you might think, oh my God, did the neighbors vote for Trump? I wouldn't let the kid talk, the parent talk to my kid, let alone hit him. Yeah. And that's...

That's a terrible problem. That's a terrible problem. Yeah, and it's not us. I don't think it's really, you know, I think it's the worst part of America. I think that if you can't have people talking because you disagree. I mean, all of our neighbors, by the way, everyone was Republican. It didn't matter. I'm always banging that drum. And, you know, the usual suspects, the assholes who you and I both hate. Yeah.

They're always up my ass. Like I had Ted Cruz on the show. I watched it. It was great. Oh, thanks. Oh, did you get shit for that? Of course. Well, from the people you would expect it from. You know, there's idiots who if you if I have a Republican on, they're mad if they don't walk out when I introduce them and I don't immediately punch them in the nose. That's the only way acceptable way. I wouldn't want that if I went on to Fox.

Of course not. I wouldn't want that anywhere. You have to be civil with each other and have different opinions. And it's half the country. Exactly. And they're not going anywhere. No one's going anywhere. Where are any of us going? They're not. Exactly. Even the fucking idiot celebrities who always threaten, if the Republican win, nobody ever did. Shut the fuck up. We know this. But...

No, celebrities do that. They do, especially on the left. They threaten to leave the country all the time if the Republican wins. I don't know anyone who ever went through with it. And that was a smart re-decision there, I think, because you probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as your cushy life here in America. Exactly. And nobody's going anywhere, like you said. Nobody is self-deporting. So you're going to have to learn to talk to these people, especially since...

They may very well take over again. And then what? And then you're just, now you're someone who won't talk to them and you have no power. But that's not, you know, people are in the positions they're in to do the work and they are in positions to negotiate every day. They are in positions to sometimes compromise. A lot of the times life is compromise. I mean, come on.

Who agrees on everything? I don't agree with my husband. No one does. Nobody does. Nobody agrees. So I don't understand. They get it inside of a relationship. Right. They get that. But they can't, and it's the same way, but people are hurting because people do not want to speak to each other. So when your citizens pay you to do a job, you have to get there and do your job and talk to each other and try to make a deal and try to figure something out. But the idea of...

we can't speak to each other. I've never ever, I can't even imagine not talking to someone because of their political affiliation. I just, you know, it's not like, everyone's treating everybody as if they're a terrorist group. And that's the problem. That's a whole nother problem. Well, everyone's treating, each side treats the other one like they're, in both their favorite phrases, an existential threat. Yes. And the problem is that

Trump is an existential threat. It's not like it's wrong. Trump is an existential threat. I mean, the idea that they don't believe, that whole party doesn't really believe in democracy anymore. They really only believe in elections count if we win, but only if we win. That's not sustainable. But I also see how they think a lot of the social madness on the left, the stuff you're talking about, we were just talking about with

Sure, it's fine to say, fuck you, mommy. They see that as a left thing, which I think it mostly is. And it's a lot closer to home than democracy is. And they're not political thinkers to begin with, most people. So they see that as an existential threat. I get that. I mean, I think the one is still far more...

more dangerous than the other because once you do lose democracy you don't really get it back you don't get it back and i think that people even said to me there's a thing i written about in the book where i stopped this woman you know i stopped this man from harassing this woman she was an elderly woman and everyone said i can't believe you did that you know he's unhoused he's i kept saying homeless they said you don't say that you say i'm housing there was a woman

who was being threatened and she was in danger. I saw five guys with their Erewhon cups walking with their skinny jeans and they saw the same thing I did and they didn't stop. So I thought, okay, well, there's something happening that's not right. But everyone was mad at me only because, or everyone I told, only because, well...

I mean, it's not his fault that they only focused on he didn't have that. He came out of a tent. I said, what does this have to do with anything? This is has to do with nothing. They're so stupid. It's ridiculous. They're so stupid. And it's hypocritical. Women's rights and women's this. Well, here's a woman right here. Again, this is everything always seen through the lens of who's the victim.

who's the oppressor. It's all this bullshit. It's the bullshit that's going on now with the Israel-Hamas moral equivalency nonsense. Like, Israel is the bad guy simply because they have more money and less melanin. That's all it is with the Palestinians. I always say to these people who go on a...

Live there for a week or try a day in Gaza or even the Palestinian territories if you're a woman. I guarantee you will run screaming and begging to live in Tel Aviv, which resembles where you live now with the same values and freedoms. And that's the essence of it. But they're so shallow. They only see that color or homelessness.

Homeless is a marginal group. So, you know, we have to treat them like an endangered species and protect them in their natural environment. The sidewalk. They're crazy. It's not a good space to be in. I'll say that. I mean, I've grown up in Los Angeles all my life and now it's across the country for sure. But especially looking at Los Angeles.

And looking at the disarray and no order, I'm thinking, what is going on? What is happening? But you're right. It's a consciousness, it's a narrative, and it's a victim narrative. What did your father say? He was... About all the kind of shit we're talking about. He didn't even understand any of it. I mean, he would say to me, you know, he lived 92 years...

And I'll tell you, when he'd start reading or he'd listen to the news and he'd hear young pundits come on and talking about there's been no progress, there's no progress, we're still fighting, and he's looking at me going, no progress? You're fucking welcome. You know, when I was writing my book, I said, Daddy, what would your book be called? He goes, you're fucking welcome. He said, how offensive.

It's so offensive. To say to me and my friends and my group and my parents, everyone before them, that there's been no progress. He's like, I got my ass beat every day. I ran from the Ku Klux Klan. Have you? Right. You know, my dad said I was told not to look up in the sky, in the sky at a bird because I might see a friend or a family member hanging from a freaking tree. Have you? No.

So his idea of, they don't even, people don't realize that just this, us sitting here right now, this took a lot of work from a lot of people 100 years ago, 60 years ago, 40 years ago, to make sure that we're here sitting in freedom, having a conversation. Especially since I kissed you on the cheek, which I believe, I know was a controversy. Hopefully I remember the names, but somebody did that in 1967. Okay. Okay.

I was alive in 1967. Mm-hmm. So this is my lifetime. Exactly. I think it was maybe something like Harry Belafonte kissed Petula Clark, like they sang a duet together, like you could sing a duet together. I guess it still wasn't all that great in Alabama. Right, right. But I guess at the end of the song, you know, a little peck on the cheek. And forget it. And, you know, all the affiliates in... Mm-hmm.

the southern states or something, or I don't remember the exact repercussions, but it was a scandal. Yeah, of course. Okay. I mean, really? And when these people, they say to me, like, if I even talk about racial matters, how could you know? It's like, no, I can never know as well as you. Of course, no one person could ever know what it's like to walk in another person's shoes. But can I tell you how I think?

I might have an inkling what's going on. I'm not blind. I'm not deaf. I'm not dumb. I can read. I can talk to people, including other black people. I can watch TV and I can look at the Internet. So this is my magic formula for fighting this. How could you ever know? I can look at society around me. Let's just stick with the commercials.

Right. No, because it's intellect because you have intellectual sympathy. You could figure it out through all of those mediums and through living. It wasn't that long ago when black folks couldn't get in commercials. Right. And now they can't get out. Right.

I kept telling Ted to go, is there any white people commercials? Even Biden commented on that. This is hysterical. You remember that when Biden, like a couple years ago, he was in his rambling stage. He was like, turn on the TV. And every commercial you see, it's an interracial couple. I swear to God, leave the tea on for three, four hours. You'll see every commercial. It's like...

All right, and you're commenting, but I think he was making basically the same point we're making. Let's face it, after a night of drinking, you don't bounce back the next day like you used to. You have to make a choice. You can either have a great night or a great next day. That is until I tell you about Z Biotics.

If you're committed to your healthy routine this year, you need Z Biotics. Z Biotics pre-alcohol probiotic is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. You know, because those guys party like rock stars.

These wild men told me that when you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for your rough next day. And Z Biotics produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. It's designed to work like your liver, but in your gut where you need it most.

Just remember to drink ZBiotics before drinking alcohol, drink responsibly and get a good night's sleep to feel your best tomorrow. Go to zbiotics.com/random to get 15% off your first order when you use random at checkout. You can also sign up for a subscription using my code so you can stay prepared no matter the time or occasion. ZBiotics is backed with a 100% money back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money. No questions asked.

Remember to head to zbiotics.com slash random and use the code random at checkout for 15% off. Thank you, Zbiotics, for sponsoring this episode.

I'm here to tell you about Dr. Squatch. The traditional soaps just aren't cutting it anymore. All full things are chemicals that are awful for you and your skin. Plus the scent is so aggressive. There's nothing I hate more than getting into an elevator and having the other person's soap invade my nose like they just had a threesome with a scented candle and a basket of potpourri.

My point is Dr. Squatch is all natural and the scents are incredibly pleasant. Dr. Squatch is different than traditional soaps. They use high performance natural products, have no harmful ingredients, and have you looking and smelling your best. This is the perfect holiday gift, stocking stuffer or a treat yourself purchase. Right now, buy three soaps and get three soaps for free. That's $28 in savings, making each bar just four bucks.

That's right.

That's drsquatch.com slash random to buy three soaps and get three free. It's time to get all the daily routine essentials you'll need to start feeling good and smelling like a new man today. Club Random is brought to you by the audio marketing gurus at Radioactive Media.

Okay, if you're in charge of a nationwide company, it's time for you to step up your game. In an ever-tightening economy, you need the bang for your marketing buck. Time to try something groundbreaking that will get noticed by utilizing new platforms to acquire customers and partner with shows like mine.

You could enjoy lower CPMs, elevating your brand in a space away from your competitors. Generate up to nine times more leads by combining the power of audio and video channels with text messaging and generate an ROI as high as five, six, or seven to one. That's a shitload of ROI.

Radioactive Media can create campaigns airing nationally on podcasts, terrestrial, satellite, and streaming radio. Club Random has been partnering with Radioactive Media since the beginning with clients such as SignalWire, Heat Holders, Wine Enthusiast, and more. And they can create a customizable campaign for your company's needs.

Radioactive believes so much in the power of audio marketing, they put their money where their mouths are by using it themselves, right here, right now. Their Radioactive Media exclusive Black Friday deal was such a huge success, they're extending it through Cyber Week. All you have to do is lock in your first campaign before year's end. To find out all the details and receive a few club random goodies thrown in, go to RadioactiveMedia.com or text the word RANDOM to 511-511.

Speaking about television at that time, I was watching, my dad loved watching The Jeffersons. I put that on for him. I was trying to make him laugh. And I said to him, I go, this couldn't be on today.

All in the family, forget it. He said, why? This is my favorite show. And you know, it's funny. I had a friend come over from college and we had, and this is when I knew that everything was getting a little wonky. My mom had a picture of Carol O'Connor and my father up at the bar. They were, they've been friends forever. I've known them since I was a kid. And my friend walked in and she goes, oh,

Why would your dad take a picture with Archie Bunker? He's a racist. And I went, his name is Carol O'Connor. It's not a racist. He's actually a very good friend. And it's a character and he's a bigot. And it's one of the greatest television shows that we've ever had.

And it was, no, no, no, no, no. I mean, she really couldn't wrap her head around it. Yes. And I said to her, finally, and this is the same group. I was just telling someone the other day, we watched Birth of a Nation. I took a film class. We had to watch the movie. I watched it four times. This was 1991.

Well, Birth of a Nation was 1915. Oh, yes. But I was watching the movie. Yes, yes. It was one of the first. Oh, I mean. It's silent. It's silent and vicious and racist at the White House and the Klan's welcome. Right. Let's support the Klan. Birth of a Nation. It's about the Civil War?

I know the clan. Birth of a Nation maybe is right after this. Yeah, it's after. So it's celebrating the end of Reconstruction. Oh, yes. Right. And it's horrible. Yeah.

But my point of bringing it up was saying, I don't even remember. I remember watching it and I remember the feelings and we had to write about it, of course. But there was, I don't know, six black people in the class. We watched the film and we all looked at each other like, shit, can you believe that? Right. But then we also said, thank God. Yeah. Thank God. I came later. Yes. We're after. Yeah. Now, though, they don't want anyone seeing the movie.

It's offensive. It triggers. It's important to see everything. You have to watch these movies. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, I think, is a great example. Oh, I watched it recently. It's a beautiful example. It is a beautiful movie. Of just... Yeah.

The mother is wanting, okay, fighting for love, and the father is being protective, saying, I'm not a racist, but I don't think this is going to work. I don't think you're going to be happy, and I don't think you're going to be safe. And that is okay to say and not be called a racist. Again, 1967 was that movie. Yep. Same year as The Kiss. Yeah. From Harry Belafonte. Right. So that's, yeah. And they were, you know, for people who don't know or don't remember, they were a couple in San Francisco. But San Francisco, again...

The liberalist place on Earth, right? And Spencer Tracy is a liberal. You know, it's perfect casting. There's Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. They have such gravitas. Of course, this was the autumn of their careers. And, you know, they... And young Sidney and...

You know, sitting in portrait looking great and dapper. But, you know, Kate and Spencer were lifelong lovers illicitly because he was married and Catholic and you couldn't get divorced. So they were basically with each other for something like 28 years, but on the sly. I mean, that's the world we lived in. So when she's crying on camera, it's so real.

You know, there's so much going on underneath the surface. And then, of course, Sidney Poitier is just impossibly gorgeous. Just everything. Everything about that movie is... The daughter... I'm not trying to be mean. Don't be mean, Bill. Bill, don't be mean. I don't remember her ever working again. I'm not saying she was bad. I'm just saying, like, if we have these four leads...

There's one that was not maybe quite as strong as Hepburn and Tracy and Poitier. But look at the competition. It's a tough role to fill. It really is. I mean, but what a great classic film. And I think every American, I think everybody should re-watch all the classic movies to understand our history, to understand us as moving forward in society, and to be able to say, you can't look at people...

even if you don't know them who lived in that era and say there's no progress, it's just not true. It's just, and you can't run a society or build as a society or grow if you're just spewing lies all the time about everything, and especially about history. It's not okay. And it's coming from both sides, and it's not cool. What do you think of Candace Owens? I think she has a brilliant voice, and I tell every black conservative who is looking for a voice that they should listen to Candace.

You know, I don't listen to her all the time, but what I have heard, I'm like, why do you listen to all these guys who don't even, I think she's way better.

Well, she sat there. Yeah. We had just such an amazing time. Oh, I'm sure that was the point. Oh, I'm sure. I mean, and of course, you know, we don't... Oh, you get shit for that, too? Of course I get shit for that. I don't pay attention. Yeah, who cares? I mean, but, you know... But good for you guys, again, for sitting down and having a conversation. And I bet you agreed on it a lot more than you thought. Exactly. No, actually, I knew because I'd seen her stuff. And I even said to her, I said, it's funny, like, what we have to do in this country...

is find a way to think about somebody who, just like her, somebody who I think is incredibly smart and just really amazing at what she does. And I can agree with you on A, B, C, D, and E. And I told her, I said, when I do agree with you, there's nobody I'd rather see nail somebody than you. You just tickle my exact bone that I need.

But A, B, C, D, and then E, I think you're completely insane. And you think that of me on this topic. And we have to be able to go four out of five. Okay. That's right. You know, I'm just going to have to live with it. You have to live with it. It's okay. My friend John Rich. John and I, on paper, like I say in the book, we're not supposed to be friends. We should be friends.

But I've known John. We're in the music business together. We know each other. We agree on lots of things. And then he looks at me, by the time he gets to F, he's like, what are you talking about? And I'm the same with him. But we don't, but we're friends. And we talk. And I've learned from him. And he's, same for me. We hang out. I know his friends. He knew my parents. I mean, it's just...

No, and you learn with a friend, again, the way people can get this in a relationship, but somehow not politically. But in a relationship, you learn to just go, oh, okay, we don't go there. Because it doesn't. It doesn't. You're not going. Exactly. It's going to end up at nil, so just stop. Right. But it doesn't take away. My whole thing is judge the character of a person. I know lots of liberals who are not good people. Oh.

I would much rather have, you know, I would much rather take... I call them liberals in theory. Yeah.

They are in theory. They love the theory and the cause. They're always up for the right cause. But they live and they hate privilege. But then they live on these clouds of gaseous nonsense. I always say the greatest privilege is the privilege to be impractical. Yeah, right. They think they're such great allies.

Of the black person. But when it comes to Shav, like the black people went for, of course, Biden. Right. Because that's the practical choice. Because we don't have the luxury of holding out. Right. For, you know, we got to just take the safe choice. Yeah, 100%. And it's so funny. The privilege to be in...

- Oh, I like that. The privilege to be impractical is great. - ...and fantastical and nonsensical without consequence. - No consequence. - It's so white. - - And it's like... - Well, the best... - And they just ate privilege. - Oh, I have a good one. All these privileged kids during COVID, and then the Black Lives Matter thing happened, and I remember being in Malibu, and I was picking up food, and a bunch of white kids, you know, marching, and they have, "Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter!" And I thought, "Oh, good for them. Okay, that's great."

I get out of my car to go pick up my food, and I walk by, and this girl looks at me, I go, "Hi." And she goes, "What?" And I said, "Oh, I'm just saying hi." And she looked at me as if... She's like, "I'm marching right now. I'm doing something." And I looked at her, and I went, "And I'm black. Thank you very much. Okay, okay. My life matters. Jesus Christ." I mean, but right there. And then I opened the door. I was holding the door open for the same group

They went to get their smoothies, their $30 smoothies. And they walked out. And then I held the door open. Not one looked at me and said thank you. Wow. But they couldn't wait to put their sign up.

that Black Lives Matter. And I said, people matter. It was so typical. That is so, that's such a perfect story. Because they can't, talk about the forest and the trees, right? They can't see the actual black person in front of them. But in theory. Oh, in theory, it was Black Lives Matter. Because I'm telling you, the cause is them.

Yeah. Now, there are, of course, people who are sincere about social justice. Of course. Of course. But a lot of these people, like these assholes that you're describing, I swear to God, it's not about...

They don't give a shit about Palestine. They just have it in their head that they need their version of the apartheid battle. They need their version of decolonizing. And they don't know anything about this. They don't know the history. They don't know who's really a colonizer. And they don't understand terrorist groups. And they don't understand... That's my point, my...

Guys, you're talking about... No, they just, because it's not about the issue. They're the issue. It's about them and making them feel good. And it's important you know I'm an ally. Right. Have I told you I'm an ally? May I pledge my allyship to you?

I mean, it's just... You know, again, if you believe that you are... I don't even know what to say to all that. I just... Again, what saddens me, though, is especially going back to my father and my parents. I mean, my mom was moved by Andrew Goodman being killed by the Klan.

She was from in New York City, and she's thinking well I'm getting people to register to vote here and wait Andrew left New York City And then went to Mississippi and what do you mean the three of them got murdered by the clan she had never heard? Really, I mean she knew she knew what it was she grew up in Virginia in the summer with her grandmother But she lived in New York City my mom was a New Yorker right for my mom all of a sudden she took that and thought okay then I'm gonna be more of service because Andrew

died and Andrew and James and Michael died for people like me and everybody else to be able to vote and so she did something with that which I think is great and I and when she told me that I go but mom you didn't even know him you didn't know him why would how could someone you didn't know change your mind she said we'll live a little longer live a little bit Nicole

You know, wake up. They don't have to look like you. They don't have to be the same race. They don't have to be the same gender. They don't have to be the same religion. When you see good character, when you see somebody doing the right thing, and that's about American progress, which my parents were committed to, then that's what you do. And now it's the oppressed have become the oppressors. And that's a sad thing. And everybody looking to hurt somebody or looking to find...

something that they can get you. I'm like, get what? We're human. And the people who absolutely hate bullying are the biggest cry bullies. They are such bullies. They are such mean girls. They hate bullying. Bullies.

And they hate privilege. Boy, if there's one thing I hate more than privilege, it's bullying. Now shut up and let me cancel you. I have another good review. So Ted's daughter, Sarah, I had just gotten engaged to Ted. I was moving to the Bahamas, and she got in trouble at school. And I said, well, what happened? She said, well, I was fighting with these girls because they wrote terrible things about me on Facebook, and they said this. So it was all this bullying. I was like, oh, God.

So she said, I don't want my parents to know. So you go up to the principal. Well, I went to the principal's office at Beverly High. The principal was my former coach. That's just he was a football coach when I was at Beverly. And then he became the principal. I'm in the office. We go through the whole thing and all the girls are denying it. I said, can you open your computers, please? Because I don't have time. Open your computers.

The mothers are there. And the mothers, to your point, my daughter did nothing. Of course. I said, can I, then if that's the case, I don't know why we're here, but open the computer. Of course, all the shit's there. Trash is there. So Sarah got a little, you know, cocky and she was like, cause I said, see, this is bullshit. You need to apologize. And everyone did. And then Sarah kind of sat up and I grabbed her. I became my mother and I go, and let me tell you something. If I find out,

that you are hurting people on purpose. If I find out that you're bullying anybody, I'm gonna beat your ass. And the principal looks at me and goes, you can't say that anymore. I go, I just said it. I'm gonna beat your ass, Sarah. I mean it. And I hadn't, I remember she went home and she looked at Todd like, oh, wow, you're really marrying her? It's like, yes. But I told her that day, I go, this is not happening. Because I knew what was gonna, I knew that she felt great. She felt grand. I caught the other kids and I saw it in her eyes. Oh, she's about to go do this. Nope.

And parents used to do that. I remember my... Not anymore. And so everyone's talking about this pandemic and this epidemic of bullying, but I think that a lot of it, A, parents don't know what their kids are doing on their phones, they don't know what they're saying to people, everyone's sticking up for everybody, no one's in trouble. I go...

things as they are. It's not okay. What do you mean? Of course this is crazy. What do you mean people are dying at school, getting beaten up, or this kid had a brick thrown at him and he died three days later because no one stopped him getting bullied? You have all the teachers there and the teacher's aides. What?

You know, this is not how societies move forward and you can't function and we're not going to get better if you can't control your child. And it does come from the home. I got so depressed writing and putting together this book

thing we did last week where I showed all these teachers getting hit. Oh, I saw that. It made me... I saw it. It was the end of the show. It was the Ted Cruz night. Yeah, I was... I was so upset. I was like, oh my God. It's so disturbing to see... It's the worst. ...teachers and people... The lack of respect is...

I mean, respect is one thing. I mean, we didn't even have a lack of respect when I was... No. Like I said, I couldn't roll my eyes. No. I'd get to the principal's office if I rolled my eyes. But just the fact that these kids are not the least bit intimidated by authority. And if you do anything, like, I mean, you took my phone, just that you can show a montage. And this is just the stuff that's caught on video of students wailing on teachers, just

I did not, I was not expecting that at the end. And it scared me and it saddened me because it, again, shows when you don't revere authority in your home, you're not going to accept it anywhere. But the fact that you could just pummel and children. I got to say, now, we all have a lot of blame to go around, I'm sure. But the Democratic Party

owns education. Lock, stock, and tomahawk, right? From colleges, I mean, something like 99%, or maybe it's a little less, but very high percentage are Democratic voting professors, the administrators, DEI, this is all down. Okay, then we get into the teachers union. I mean, the Democratic convention is a teacher's convention, basically, more than any other profession by far.

I feel like they got to own this a little more. Oh, I agree. Like...

I don't know if that's going to happen. What? I don't know if that's going to happen, but I agree with you. Yeah. I mean, you're letting a school become a place where the teachers can actually punch this. They're probably afraid of the parents. Exactly. That was what I was saying. It was like, you know, the kids can do no wrong. Right. But at some point, I mean, if that is your portfolio, if it's like you are the education minister, we are giving this –

You've got to take a little ownership of that. Let's at least get it, okay, you know, bad enough that they can't read anymore. Right. But actual violence? I mean, yeah. No. You're probably right. I don't see that issue. I mean, the Democrats are not going to. But again, that's their flaw there, that they will not stand up to their own

constituency right you know they can't no and my sister's a teacher you know i mean i have the greatest affection for teachers and me too and i that's one reason i showed all that it's like could you people please have a little compassion have compassion for the greatest yeah for the people who change the lives of your children for the better yeah beaten up for it

They're the greatest. Teachers are the best. I wasn't a teacher, but I taught the social behavior class down in South Central. And my mom would always go down and tutor and do these things. And there was such a reverence for me for teachers because...

My mom made sure that I told me every day that these people get up every day to deal with all your stuff. And the sad thing is, is that now I feel bad for teachers because we're expecting it's supposed to teach and then they're supposed to be the parent. Then they're supposed to be the psychologist and the sociologist and everybody down. They have pleas.

They are there to teach. Your child needs to get in the class, sit down, pay attention, do this. But they're there to serve. And we don't look at them or we don't give them the credit that they deserve. They are serving. Or credit at all, like at the store. At all, right. Because they don't even have enough money in these budgets very often. And the teachers...

I've seen this many times, say, I have to buy the school supplies. I, the teacher who gets a pretty shit salary to begin with, and then has to buy some of these. I was just talking to my cousin in New York, and they're buying supplies for their daughter's school. Books. Yeah, everything. Some of these sex books for five-year-olds are not cheap. Bill, you need to run the country here. Yeah.

Can you imagine? I think you'd be great. Oh, I think I'd be too. I do. I think I could absolutely, I can step into that job tomorrow. So could you. We would be totally great. But, you know, that's the hard part is getting elected. It's not, I mean, not that presidency is easy, but it's a lot easier than getting elected. Getting elected, going through that steeplechase of the political parties, the stupid populists,

I mean, the fucking electoral college. It's just like that's why I know Obama, somebody we both are huge. I mean, you worked for him. You were the ambassador. And I gave him a million dollars. I mean, we're big fans. And I think one reason is because just the...

The political skill, you know, to get elected as the first black president, that is, I mean, that takes a lot. And he was, I think, a really great president. But just the skill to get there. And then that is, you know, I mean. Disciplined. Disciplined.

He's so disciplined. And everyone thinks that, oh, you could just get there and that's the difference with him. Yes. Is that people don't understand the discipline that that man has. I was the first one to say he was the Jackie Robinson. 100%. Because...

And the analogy was that Jackie Robinson had to never take the bait. That was the deal from Branch Rickey. It's like, they're going to come after you. They're going to say the worst things. And Obama, you know, I mean, and he never took the bait. Never took the bait. Jesse Omens didn't take the bait.

- Right. - He guaranteed and didn't take the bait. - Right. - And again, progress. - Yeah. - And everyone now gets all these deals. I'm like, yeah, you're welcome. Again, for all the men who came before you who were spit on, had death threats, went through real trauma and real shit, never talked about it. I mean, that's why I always tell people, I do think that I respect everyone getting, you know,

being nervous or I'm not judging anybody for how they feel. However, or anything, if they say, oh, I'm triggered by this or I'm doing this, my whole point is do not forget, you know, Jesse Owens ran in front of Hitler. Yes. I think he was. I think he had every reason in that moment to say, I'm out. Right. I'm triggered. I'm scared. But he, again, the discipline, I just like studying people. And what?

who were so disciplined and faced the worst that you can imagine and still decided to say, "I'm going." And I'm fast on every level. I don't care if they're an athlete, a first responder. Again, first responders, even going back to my mom, that place was a shit show.

You know, from what I heard for an hour of the call, the Beverly Hills police getting the call, getting to the house. I had all of them at my parents' memorial. I had the police chief there. I had the gentleman who, the officer who rode in the ambulance with my mother to the hospital. I honored all of them. I had law enforcement in the front row. They should be in the front row. Right. And...

None of them look like, you know, well, they actually did look like my mom because my mom is mixed. But the whole point is they were everyone was like, oh, I go, yeah, these are all white cops by guys, by the way. And they everyone showed up. The paramedics showed up. The fire department showed up. Everyone was there in eight minutes. And what they saw and what they had to do. Eight minutes. Eight minutes. And they were guiding me. I had to talk to them every day for months and months and days.

And, you know, one of the officers said to me, and this is why I wanted him at the memorial with me, he said, you know, he rode in the ambulance with my mom and he told me how strong she was and got her to the hospital. And she didn't make it through surgery, obviously. But I just looked at these people like, thank God.

You know, thank you, thank you, thank you. And not only because of my mom. I've been like this about law enforcement forever. We all forget, of course, there are bad apples everywhere. And of course, black people have had the worst history with police officers. We know that. Of course. I'm not denying any of that.

But to continuously judge, no one wants to be judged by a group. Nobody does. So black men get that way of like, well, I don't want to be judged because of these people. Nobody does. So everybody just take a beat for a second and remember, you know, I had this black woman say, you know, people forget that police officers look like me too.

And she said, "And I have children and I have a husband and I go in when your shit falls apart, if someone's getting raped, someone's getting hurt, who do you call?" "Me."

And I run in. And then everyone says, F you. Later. To all of us. So it's just a reminder of... There's, you know, I mean, it's in the statistics. I mean, if you look at the number of black, young black men killed, it's ridiculously higher than other minority groups. A hundred percent. But they're not being killed by white supremacists. And it's the police who have to deal with that. Right. And they should have started doing this a long time ago.

You know, I mean, and they're doing it, though. Yes. And also generations change. They do change. I mean, I've made this point many times to anyone like under 30, even 40 at this point. Most of the country, not all, not everyone, but for most of the country, certainly in any city, the most unhip thing you can be is racist. Mm hmm.

That wasn't the case 30 years ago. It just wasn't. So when I saw that cop dealing with the non-binary, indigenous, triggered lady, and he's just being super nice, I'm like, that is just a young guy here. I don't know where it is, actually, where this took place. But it's just a guy of his generation. And he's of the same generation. Right.

He gets the non-binary thing. Yes, he gets it. Exactly. He's not some old Southern sheriff who's like, what's up, boy? You're half a woman and a...

This is not today. He's a young guy who grew up with the same influences that the girl did. They're about the same age. They're both probably 30. Right. And it's just a different time. It's a different world. We have to be able to keep saying that. Like that black female officer was saying to me, it's a different time. You didn't see me in this 30 years ago. I must say, the fact that they got there in eight minutes...

It's just perfect evidence of one of my themes I'm hitting lately or trying to or thinking about, which is it's the Democrats are fighting the last war. They're obsessed with race. And it's really about class. It's about money. It's the fact that they got to a black woman in eight minutes. Yeah.

Okay. That's not the case with most black women or most anybody. It's the fact that she lives in... Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills. Exactly.

And that's what it's about. That is what it's about. Oh, 100%. And that's why she stayed here, by the way. Every time my dad said, everyone was saying, why don't you go live in Baltimore? He said, well, I want to live where all the good schools, I'm living here. The schools are great. My kids are great. Why did we lift ourselves up? Yeah, why did you lift yourself up? What does aspirational mean? We aspired, and then we got there. Exactly, and we got there, and this is why I'm living here. I mean, all the time, every response was, Daddy, could you believe this is happening in the world? It's like, that's why I live in Baltimore.

Beverly Hills. I mean, he always was. And they had 54 years there. It wasn't like, you know, it was, oh, they were always scared of this. No, 54 years. And after COVID, like we were talking earlier, things changed around all the affluent neighborhoods. It just did. People following people, this and that. And my whole thing is to everybody, it doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. I don't care about all the breadcrumbs. It doesn't matter. The point is, is

It is about class. And people need to... I don't know if we're going to get there talking about that because we'll probably get in trouble talking about class, but it is true. And to your point about the super liberals, I mean, it's take care of...

Try to take care of people, not just at a charity event. It doesn't deny that racism is still with us because, of course, it is. It's just putting it in a perspective. I mean, if racism is a malady, and it is, okay, so you're doing blood work on...

Use the blood work from this time, not the blood work from 1990. Right. You know, it's never been worse. Again, it's not fair. Nothing is ever improved. And I look at people and Andrew Young is still alive and God bless him. He is the right hand of Dr. King. And I'm like, you're going to say that to him? You're going to look. I dare you to look at Andrew Young.

who's beaten up for you, who's gone through everything, who changed laws for you, and then scream at him, nothing's changed and it's still terrible. Again, it is the most offensive thing. You can say to people, but generations of people, that's the thing. It's not just 60 years ago or 100 years ago. We're talking 300 years. And also, I'm going to say somebody like AOC who's like,

What, she's 30? So she grew up something like that, early 30s. Okay, so, you know, and she often, you know, talks about being a person of color. Would I know that? Would that even register me if I saw her? And she grew up in New York City, the most liberal city in the country in this century.

Did it really affect her life? I mean, was there something that they said, well, we need a bartender here, but let's hire the white girl. Did that really happen? You know what I'm saying? Like if nothing ever actually happened. And again, this is people only of that age. It's not a people who are 60. We know things happen. Even if it was slights and little indignities and whatever.

and following and that kind of, you know, grade 2.0 racism. It happened. It happened. But, I mean, I don't know, you know, maybe something happened to AOC, but, I mean, she's gorgeous. You know, she's a woman in New York in the 21st century who,

You know, I just think it's a little shady to wear the mantle if shit didn't happen. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm. I agree. I think that this gender... The whole...

Everyone who's 30 and 40, again, let's get back to the time we're in right now. But I think if you don't understand, if you really don't study, and I think people say history, people are going back 100 or 200 years. Go back 10 years. Go back 20 years. Go back when my mom was growing up. She would have loved to have your job. There was no chance in hell she was getting your job. No chance. No chance in hell. My mom was the same color. My mom was mixed. My mother looked the same way. No chance.

chance in hell was she getting that job. She wanted to be a book editor. Not happening. She wanted to do lots of things. Wasn't going to happen in her lifetime. And then she looked at me and said, but you're going to do it because I'm opening all these damn doors. You go do it. I mean, I'm watching this HBO series, The Gilded Age. Have you seen it? I saw a little bit. I've only seen the promos of it. I'm liking it. I mean, I watched the first season. You know, it's a real...

HBO production, the production value is just off the charts. I mean, they recreate the 1880s. Right. I mean, it looks like it cost a trillion dollars. But it's not my money, or maybe it could be more of my money if they weren't wasting it on this. No, but... And, like, it's so interesting because all these characters, and this is only 1880, so, I mean, that's like

you know, a century and a half. No, is that... So, 1889. Where are we? Oh, that's a... Yeah. One bad man. Yeah, not even. So, their mindset and their values are just so crazily different. Like the...

First of all, the people who have money have servants. And I mean like liveried servants in these like Revolutionary War outfits that come. Even the, you know, there's like the super rich people on Fifth Avenue and right across the street lives these two spinsters. But even they have servants and people who live in the basement, like four or five people.

Like Titanic, like below deck. And that's just the way it is. And the young girl, she wants to like...

teach like volunteer teaching art school or something and it's like the aunt is like I will not have you do that it's because she's working you know just like the values of these there's a gay couple and of course they have to like completely keep it on right down low I mean they can't you'll be killed

And they have to marry, you know, a woman. Yeah. I mean, it's not that many generations ago. And it's like from... It seems like... It's like one million years B.C. That's right. And not to mention the black character, of course. And she, of course, she's a free woman. It's after the Civil War. But, you know, free to associate with... Right, exactly. It's just like...

But I think that having these shows, thank God, if people are watching them, hopefully, I mean, you think by this time between Bridgerton and everything else and this show, people understand about class. I mean, even the Titanic. I rewatched the Titanic the other day. I go, there's not a black person on this ship. Right. And it was about class. Yeah, because the Irish were the blacks. Exactly. And I remind everybody, there's not a black person on that ship. The rich ones got off first.

Remember that. The rich ones got off first. The ones who were on the bottom, the last ones, good luck. The ship is going to sink with you. I mean, you know, but it's been that way. Yeah, I remember the great line when the ship is going down and Billy Zane, who's just deliciously awful as the evil husband, boyfriend, and somebody says, half the people on this ship are going to die. And he goes, not the better half. It's like,

Exactly. But the way, like in The Guilted Age, it just shows they never sort of entered their mind. They were so structured into like this caste system. Like we are the people of New York. We came over on the Mayflower and that's who we are. We're old New York and we have the money. And these other people, that's their station in life. There's another plot line where...

This, some girl gets into society, but her father is a servant. And that's a scandal. He can't be in the same room. Find out it's a, I mean, and this, I assume, I know, I know the history of the era. That's how people were. That's how they thought. And they will look back on this time, I assume, and we will look just as crazy.

That shit crazy. Because we actually have everything that's great. Oh, I know. And that wasn't good? Right. This isn't... Again, nothing's perfect. No country is perfect. I always ask people, please show me the country that got it all right. And I'll follow. Please show me that. Because I haven't seen one. No. So everyone who's talking about... Please compare us to everyone else. Stop it. Stop. And wherever you moved, even if it looked pretty great from the beginning...

If you're there for long enough, there will be things that bug you. I promise you there will be things in Stockholm that will drive you fucking crazy. Like, we're having fish again! I used to land in LAX with my parents and...

I would say, oh, we're back in Los Angeles. From anywhere, to your point. I could have been from Paris. I could have been from New York. I could have been from Tanzania. Oh, we're back in Los Angeles. My mom would turn around. She goes, no, we're back in America. Right. Thank God. Yes. And it didn't matter. And we were at the nicest places. It didn't matter. She's like, there's nothing like it. No place like home. And I'm actually amazed that we still are...

functioning. I mean, for all it's worth, the toilets still run. I mean, it's like, yes, you see a diminution of us moving more toward third world stuff. I mean, we live in Beverly Hills or somewhere. Yeah.

We don't want to say exactly. I mean, take two. We live in a nice area. We live in Pasadena. I'll just chyron that in. We live at Palo Alto. And the roads. Fucking look at the Baja out there. I mean, like the nicest places.

The big one you come up and it goes up the valley that's out there? I mean, it's ridiculous. And we're the rich people. And they can't do it. But, you know, somehow... It functions. There's something about Americans. There's a million shitty things about it, but they just keep going. I thought after the pandemic and then the preposterous overspending we did on it,

that certainly the economy would go into toilet. And we came back better than every other country, and people just shrugged it off and said, put it on the card. I assume that card at some point will fuck us in the ass. I mean, the inflation does. But we just seem to keep going, and life itself, you know, our lives are still cushy. It hasn't, you know, we're still in a glass-bottom boat looking at a shark. Right.

Right, right, right. We're not quite in the water. We feel like we could be. Yes, yes. Like January 20th, 2025 is a day when I feel like the shark might come up. Yeah, it might come up. Like a jaw. The shark will actually attack the boat. Oh, Jesus. And then we'll really be fucked. But yeah, I mean, you know, I think what you said is true about even during COVID and we came back better than ever, which is...

That's Americans. It is our spirit of America. It's just the spirit of yes. I don't know where we get it. I don't know what it is, but we have it. And people come here for that. I mean, look at your father. Look what he, right? From zero, from literally starting at zero, negative. Negative. Yeah. To the black godfather, to being the ultimate power broker and-

And he just, but it was his thing of, okay, you know, he had, you know, people get offended by this saying now too. And I was like, really? Does that offend you? You know, he finishes by saying, it is what it is. Now, what are you going to do about it? Right. And he lived his life that way. He loved being alive. So did my mom. And he was like, weren't you scared? Weren't you this? Weren't you that? He goes, yes. And I still lived.

Yes, I was afraid. And yes, it wasn't fair. But you know what? You keep going and you keep chipping at it, and history will prove to you it does get better if you're going the right way. You just have to keep chipping at it. I love the thing you wrote in-- I'm just remembering this now. What was it? Some magazine about the fact

The three... Oh, yes. The Rolling Stones. Yeah, about Jerry Moss from A&M Records. No, I always knew the name Jerry Moss because Albert and Moss. I mean, when I was a kid, Herb Albert had, you know, This Guy's In Love With You was the number one song. Yeah, the best song, yep. And A&M Records. I would see that on a lot of records. A&M was a big... Huge. And I was a kid who was interested in that kind of stuff. Albert and Moss. So that was your father's great buddy. And then some other Jew. Yeah. And Abe Sommer. Abe Sommer. And Abe was...

Abe was their lawyer, and they all met in New York before they all got married. They ended up moving here and then all married, had children. All the daughters were also friends. All the kids, all of us are still friends. So we all grew up with each other. And how crazy that I was afraid to call them to say that my dad was dying and had passed away on Sunday. The first three calls I was going to call Quincy, Jerry, and Abe. And Abe and Jerry...

Abe and Jerry passed. So my dad does Sunday. Jerry does Tuesday. Right. It was, I'm like, you've got to, what is this? It was, but then at the same time, I thought, of course they didn't. Of course they didn't. It's just life. And it is, again, it is what it is. But the beauty of, the reason I wrote that in Rolling Stone was because

I loved that Jerry and my dad, again, different backgrounds, different people, and they had so much more in common, which they focused on. And then my dad, you know, one of his sayings was, I don't have problems, I have friends. And he wasn't trying to poo-poo away problems, but he was saying, thank God I have good friends who actually show up. And Jerry showed up. I mean, when my dad was overstretched and making mistakes and too many businesses and

Everything fell, everything went away, and Jerry and Joe Smith and a bunch of people, but Jerry was the one who said, he and Herb wrote a check, gave it to my father, said, look at the contract, and you get home, and my dad's like, this is not a contract. What is this? And I wanted to write that in because they said, you know, write about your dad and to honor him, and then I had to put them in there also because they were a part of my life, and they raised me too.

You know that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day? Did you know that? I did not know that. You know what day it was? Exactly 50 years from July 4th, 1776. How weird is that? Well, that is weird. The two followed. Yeah, I did not know that. And Adams' last words were, thank God Jefferson lived.

The joke was on him because he lived back then before they communicated any stupidness. Now we'd know right away. All right. Okay. I am so, so happy we did this. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, we don't ever need a camera to do it, but pleasure that we have this. I know. When I have my grandchildren, I can show them. No, I think that bus is sailed. Maybe not. I don't think so. I'd be 85 when I got out of high school. Clowns.

Thank you. Thank you. This is great, and I appreciate you having me. And I'm still going to come on your show when it's right here.