“It’s not a lot of work to be authentic. You just have to make a commitment to telling your truth,” said Busy Philipps, New York Times bestselling author, actor, activist and podcast co-host, at Social Media Week.
On their podcast Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best, both she and her co-host, comedy writer Caissie St. Onge, get real about setbacks, pivots and just trying to do their best, like we all are.
At Adweek’s summit, they spoke about their radical authenticity on and off social media and how they choose to work with partners who align with their values.
The talk show’s new era
After E! canceled their late-night talk show, Busy Tonight, in May 2019, Philipps and St. Onge wanted to find a new way to do a show powered by brand sponsorship rather than relying on a network or studio.
“In 2019, we were approached by a bunch of soon-to-be streamers who were offering us millions of dollars for our talk show,” Philipps said. “But I was like, ‘What’s in it for us? We don’t own it. They decide what’s a failure and what’s not.’”
Authenticity takes center stage
While planning their podcast, the duo were on a quest to retain as much creative control as possible. They set up meetings directly with brands to discuss partnerships when suddenly the pandemic hit, and like everyone else, they were forced to pivot.
“All of the things we had recorded seemed too dumb with everything that was going on,” Philipps said. “Then in June, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement happened, and we were like, ‘What are we doing? We need to pivot.’ So we decided, ‘Let’s just do a podcast about pivoting!’”
Since its debut in August 2020, Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best has released more than 140 episodes, where the duo fearlessly shares personal experiences and moments of growth navigating various aspects of life. With a commitment to authenticity, Philipps said the podcast is often a genuine conversation between two friends—with an audience.
