Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Wednesday. How are you doing? You might not think of Angelina Jolie as a savvy art collector… or of Winston Churchill as a talented painter. But the former British Prime Minister was indeed a prolific artist. And now, his painting “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque” has sold for $11.5 million... the highest amount ever bid on a Churchill original. Sir Winston Churchill began painting in 1915, at the age of 40, during a less demanding streak of his political career. He continued painting for fun well into his old age. And while he did not consider himself a serious artist by any means, the politician finished over 500 pictures in his lifetime. Most were inspired by nearby landscapes, such as the goldfish pond at his Chartwell residence and the sights of Marrakech. The Moroccan city was Churchill’s favorite vacation destination, and he was most proud of the paintings created there.
In 1943, Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the spot together. After attending the Casablanca Conference in Morocco, their trip acted as a quick break from strategizing against the Axis Powers of the Second World War. As the story goes, Churchill and FDR had a wonderful time together, bonding as they watched the sun set in the region’s Atlas Mountains. The moment... occurring near a tower of the Koutoubia Mosque... inspired Churchill’s next work, aptly called, “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque.” It was the only painting he completed during the years of World War II, as Churchill was occupied demanding “unconditional surrender” from Nazi Germany. It was after the Casablanca Conference that the U.S. and Britain became so emboldened to win the war.
As such, “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque” represents a key moment in international history. Following the painting’s completion, Churchill gifted “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque” to Roosevelt. He often liked to give his creations to friends, and the piece remained in the Roosevelt family until the 1960’s, when Roosevelt’s son sold the piece to a filmmaker after which it was left in storage in New Orleans. It took more than fifty years for someone to eventually unearth the piece and contacted the M.S. Rau gallery.
According to CNN, Brad Pitt bought “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque” from an antiques dealer in 2011, as a gift for Angelina Jolie. The actress held on to the important work following their 2016 divorce and on March 1st, it was sold by the Jolie Family Collection at a Christie’s Auction in London. The sunset scene surrounding the Moroccan 12th-century mosque went for $11.5 million, shattering previous records for Churchill compositions. Previously, a Churchill painting was sold for $2.7 million at Sotheby’s. Nick Orchard, the head of modern British art at Christie’s in London, said of the unprecedented sale: “The appetite for Winston Churchill’s artwork was demonstrated to great effect at Christie’s.” And while it’s debatable whether “Tower of Koutoubia Mosque” was the best painting Churchill ever did, it holds an incomparable place in history for emotionally preserving the progress of the Casablanca Conference.
Although the royal family had initially decided not to watch or comment on the interview that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were having with Oprah Winfrey regarding them leaving the royal family, a statement has been released on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. The statement read, “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
And after Meghan Markle had dropped bombs in the interview, revealing alleged accusations of racism, a Palace investigation was also launched on bullying accusations agains Markle. According to the Times, Jason Knauf, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s former communications secretary, had actually filed a complaint against Markle back in October 2018, and it was sent to the head of HR. The Times also allegedly claimed that the, “Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year” and was “seeking to undermine” another employee’s confidence. However, the royal statement responded with, “We are clearly very concerned about allegations in The Times following claims made by former staff of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Accordingly our HR team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article. Members of staff involved at the time, including those who have left the Household, will be invited to participate to see if lessons can be learned. The Royal Household has had a Dignity at Work policy in place for a number of years and does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”
Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Sussexes denied the allegations, saying that they are, “a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” and that, “The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”
Bad news horndogs: Warner Bros. has unveiled a redesign of Lola Bunny for the upcoming Space Jam sequel, and let’s just say she’s lacking the assets that once made Bugs Bunny’s eyes literally pop out of his head. Many Looney Tunes fans have already taken to social media to voice outrage over this aesthetic, kid-friendly update. And while they’re entitled to their opinions… is this really the hill you want to (publicly) die on?
Snowballing with the recent controversy over Pepé Le Pew “perpetuating rape culture,” it seems that even a children’s cartoon franchise must take into account the evolving norms of our time. More on that in a minute. The same can be said, too, of the decision by Dr. Seuss Enterprises to cease publication on six titles that contained offensive imagery. Media consumed by and marketed to children, rather than receiving a pass, is now under the sharpest scrutiny. Warner Bros. unveiled the new Lola Bunny design this week in a first look pics at Space Jam 2. Quickly, changes in the anthropomorphized rabbit were noted: Lola’s outfit was looser and longer, and most noticeably, the ample breasts that once defined the cartoon character were gone. Check it out...
In the first Space Jam movie, Lola instantly became the love interest of Bugs Bunny, thanks to her irresistible proportions: the tiny waist accentuated by a cropped basketball jersey and skin-tight shorts. Lola Bunny moved around the basketball court with exaggeratedly swishing hips, like a descendant of the buxom Jessica Rabbit... who also made her debut in an animated-live action crossover, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? When placing fully animated figures into a real-life setting, it seems that animators cannot resist the impulse to over-sexualize. The choice highlights the unique medium, in which fantasy can play out simultaneously next to actual human figures. In this case, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
The apparent outrage over this new design demonstrates just how attached many people were to that frothy fantasy. Even more increasingly sexualized furry fan art of Lola Rabbit flooded Twitter, trending, following the release of Lola’s toned down appearance. But additionally, the highly politicized nature of the new complaints insinuates another, deeply political impulse: a willingness to lump any pop cultural shift in with the messy movement of “cancel culture.” As Luke Wonkie so concisely laid out it in his Slate article, “Conservatives Want You To Be Mad That Lola Bunny’s Not Hot Anymore” (the title really says it all):
“Journalist Ryan Broderick has an excellent rundown of the MAGA response to the new design in his newsletter Garbage Day, noting that conservative radio host Jesse Kelly essentially called the less-curvaceous Lola a “Karen,” and that former Daily Caller editor Scott Greer evoked a Holocaust-era poem in his virile disapproval of her new look. It’s official: Copping to a deep, frothy, carnal attraction to a cartoon rabbit from a 30-year-old movie is an animating political expression… Without her exposed midriff, they argue, Lola Bunny is effectively canceled.”
The director of animation for the first movie, Tony Cervone, once explained that Lola was originally envisioned as “tomboy," being a serious athlete, but her body was eventually tweaked by a production team who feared the female cartoon rabbit would appear “too masculine.” But that fetishization also bled into Lola Bunny’s characterization, as the young rabbit flexed sexy on-court maneuvers and delivered mainly flirty dialogue. Now, the current Space Jam director Malcolm D. Lee feels he’s righting those misogynistic instincts which won out in 1996. He told Entertainment Weekly that he was shocked at how “not politically correct” Lola was, especially within a kids’ movie. “‘Why is she in a crop top?'” Lee wondered. He went on to say, “This is 2021. It’s important to reflect the authenticity of strong, capable female characters,” says Lee. “She probably has the most human characteristics of the Tunes; she doesn’t have a thing like a carrot or a lisp or a stutter. So we reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice. For us, it was, let’s ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others.”
But regardless of Malcom D. Lee’s intent, this story has already come to stand in for larger aesthetic trends. As Lola Bunny inches away from hyper-femininity, many readers will remember the recent Mr. Potato Head rebranding that resulted in an all-out fiasco for Hasbro. (The toy company soon reversed their decision to make a gender neutral Potato Head line.) And while these news stories are not the same, they tend to feel that way when the internet completely erupts... with misplaced levels of vitriol... every single time. For now, Lola Bunny is not cancelled. But she did get a breast reduction.
The cartoon character Pepé Le Pew has been called out for perpetuating rape culture. New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow publicly scrutinized the animated skunk, first in an op-ed defending the choice by Dr. Seuss Enterprises to cease publication on six offensive Dr. Seuss books. Then the story picked up following a now-viral tweet by Blow that detailed problematic aspects of the Looney Tunes show. Following the online controversy, Warner Bros. announced that Pepé Le Pew will not appear in the upcoming Space Jam sequel.
Looney Tunes character Pepé le Pew is a horny, French skunk and his entire persona rides on this caricature. He desperately chasing female acquaintances, most often, Penelope Pussycat. Sexual harassment drives the cartoon’s basic humor, its animation zeroing in on the stretched, writhing push-and-pull dynamics playing out between two furry animals. In “Six Seuss Books Bore a Bias,” published in The New York Times on March 3d, columnist Charles M. Blow points this pattern out, writing:
“Some of the first cartoons I can remember included Pepé Le Pew, who normalized rape culture; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of the drunk and lethargic Mexicans; and Mammy Two Shoes, a heavyset black maid who spoke in a heavy accent.”
In providing this list of questionable children’s content, Blow sought to point out that seemingly benign pop culture can have a “highly corrosive and racially vicious” effect on young audiences. But as soon as the NYT op-ed was published, many critics took to social media to decry the extent “cancel culture,” wondering whether a cartoon skunk could possibly be maligned as a rapist. Blow responded, full-force, on Twitter:
He added, “This helped teach boys that 'no' didn’t really mean no, that it was a part of 'the game,' the starting line of a power struggle. It taught overcoming a woman’s strenuous, even physical objections, was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman the ability to SPEAK.”
Clearly, Pepé Le Pew cartoons feel outdated in 2021. But Warner Bros. had plans to demonstrate Pepé’s character growth in the forthcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy. Following up on the Michael Jordan classic, the new film will star LeBron James and, until now, there were plans for Pepé Le Pew alongside him. According to Deadline, this scene would have featured Pepe learning about consent. However, the Space Jam 2 scene was cut following the departure of director Terence Nance. Not, as most fans assume, because of the recent online call-out. However, Warner Bros. decision to abandon the segment seems especially fraught in the wake of this week’s controversy.
In California, a new bill that mandates that large department stores with 500 plus employees have gender-neutral toy departments was introduced, with failure to do so resulting in a civil penalty of $1,000. But as the bill goes through California Assembly, criticisms of its timeliness were expressed. An industry analyst mentioned retailers’ struggles during the coronavirus pandemic.
Assembly members Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell and Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Downey authored the new bill, named Assembly Bill 1084, with the focus on a positive, inclusive shopping experience. The bill would prohibit signage that differentiates gender-specific item between boys or girls and would also require retailers that sell children’s toys online to identify the category as “kids,” “unisex,” or “gender-neutral.” The bill also states that, as of January 1st, 2024, a violation of the law will result in a $1,000 civil penalty if not corrected within 30 days of receiving written notice. Other news outlets have reported that the proposed legislation would also require gender-neutral children’s clothing sections but legislation removed that proposal to “narrow the focus,” as Low put it.
Low said, “This is democratic process. I’m in the business of ideas, and I’m trying to be responsible. We want to reflect a positive shopping experience by being inclusive. Diversity is a reality, but inclusion is a choice,” explaining how gender lives dividing the toy sections of retailers “pigeonhole children.”
“We want to make sure that there’s no stigma around a little girl who wants to be a scientist or engineer, or a little boy who wants to be artistic and creative by painting his nails,” he added. “We see a lot of cyberbullying going on and stereotyping of certain gender norms.”
Low, who also chairs the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, also explained how this is the direction that retail is headed. “I’ve been in conversations with multiple retailers,” he explained. “Target is in support and they’ve been doing this since 2015. Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Old Navy, John Lewis and Zara have unisex apparel lines for kids.” However, retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group’s managing director Burt Flickinger III, criticized the bill, saying that the bill’s timing could not be worse since the U.S. is still dealing with the “worst retail ice age in modern history.”
Flickinger said that consumers are already having financial issues due to the combination of COVID-related job losses, record-high taxes and food price hikes, rent and electricity, and other necessities that they aren’t prioritizing issues like this one at the moment.
He also explained that with rising e-commerce competition, companies have been forced to downsize their brick-and-mortar footprints or shut down altogether. “More regulations of any kind for retailers could be a proverbial prescription for more store closings. I have not seen any fact-based evidence that the majority of shoppers are asking for this type of legislation,” Flickinger added.
Low, however, responded with an explanation that this would only apply to large department stores. He said, “They can absorb this cost. There was initially a controversy surrounding unisex bathrooms, but now people realize they don’t have to wait in such long lines. We recognize that society is ahead of us on this. We’re just trying to play catch-up.”
The recent legislature follows the gender-neutrality trend that arose when Hasbro announced that Mr. Potato Head would lose the “Mr.” to make the toy more inclusive. They said they wanted all to feel “welcome in the Potato Head world.”
If I had a TARDIS I would love to go to the Empire State Building in New York City on opening day in 1931...
You know what makes me smile? When people reenact photos of their past, like this one...
Hahaha. You know, they don't make children's books like this one anymore...
Hahaha. Do you watch that "Antique Roadshow" TV show? They have some weird explanations for stuff on that show...
That thing is scary! The “family discount” is a strange concept.
It automatically mixes business and friendships, a dynamic we’re so often advised to avoid. And yet, so many people expect the family discount that we feel obligated to do it.
That exact internal tension played out recently for one Phile reader who emailed me about his experience.
"Am I wrong for refusing to tutor a family friend’s son because they won’t pay me enough? I am currently at my second year of university; I study physics and I absolutely love it! Anyways, a couple of months ago, mother asked me if I was willing to tutor her friend’s dumb son, who’s in high school and struggling with physics. My schedule was full, but eventually I begrudgingly relented. I went there, we do our lesson, one hour of pure hell, and then comes the moment to get paid. The mom looks angrily at me and says ‘Here’s the amount me and your mother agreed upon’ and hands me 10 dollars. I am confused, I clearly remember telling mother my hourly fee is 25, but take the money nonetheless and walk out. When I get home, I call mother to ask about it. She says, 'She’s a dear family friend, you should make an exception for her.' I roll my eyes, but agree, she’s a family friend, maybe I should give her a discount. So, for the next month I tutor the offspring and I get less than half my normal pay. Two weeks ago, we had to switch to online tutoring because of hardening pandemic regulations. I did what I had to do and before I closed the call the hag said, ‘BTW I will be paying you 5 from now on. Online tutoring isn’t like normal tutoring! And he’s not getting any better so why should I pay you?' I was taken aback. I told her that this wasn’t acceptable, and if she wanted to continue our lessons, she would need to pay me my normal (reduced) fee. She complained, ‘but 10 is too much!' I couldn’t hold it in: weeks and weeks of underpaid, mind-numbingly frustrating work bubbled up and I exploded. 'Listen, 10 is already nowhere near what I normally charge, you already got a discounted price just because my mother went over my head and decided that this was acceptable! I am a tutor with dozens of clients who can vouch for my professionality and I have several professors who can vouch for my competence. I am not the problem; your son simply isn’t interested in getting better! So, from now on, either you pay me my full price, or I just drop you. Be grateful I’m not making you pay me back what you owe me!’ I hung up and stormed out.” Mother called me soon after, yelling that I was rude and I shouldn’t have made such a scene given that tutoring isn’t my job and how bad I made her look in front of her friends. I countered saying that it doesn’t matter it isn’t my job, it’s about the principle: I do something time-consuming for you, you pay me, end of story. She didn’t listen and kept on berating me and wailing about her ruined social image. I hung up. Over the course of the last week, I’ve received texts and calls telling me I went too far, I should have just taken the money and not been such an asshole. The only people that have my side are my dad and my girlfriend, who tell me I’ve done nothing wrong, but I no longer know if that’s true. So, I come to you, Jason was I wong?” Wow. Your mom secretly negotiated a 60% discount without your knowledge or consent. Then this lady summarily decided to cut an additional 50%, you’re now being offered 20% of what you consider your fair rate. And she blamed you for her child’s continued failure. That’s downright offensive. Your mom was using you for social cred. Entitled parent was using you for basically free tutoring. Who gives a flying fuck what these people think? If your mom wants her friend’s son to get tutored for 10 dollars she should go ahead and tutor him herself. She’s just using you to save face without caring how you feel about it. Tell your mom that your time is valuable. Tell her the one compromise you will make is that her friend can pay the 5 or 10 but your mom needs to make up the rest. If she is such a dear friend I am sure your mom wouldn’t not mind helping out. I will say this, I agree with you in the scenario, but why do you feel the need to insult the teenager struggling with school? Doesn’t sound like he did anything wrong here.Your mother and her friend are pathetic for what they did but you are wrong for the way in which you perceive yourself compared to others, and for blowing up at your mother’s friend the way you did. You sound really pompous, condescending, and full of yourself. Hopefully, your experience... and the feedback... will lead to smoother tutoring for all involved in the future. If you have a problem you'd like my help on then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York here is...
Top Phive Things Said About The Queen's Statement On Meghan And Harry's Interview
5. The Palace statement looks like one of those emails you write which takes all day long to draft and redraft and re-redraft and finally tune until it's got exactly the right amount of spontaneity.
4. The Queen has said she is "shocked" by claims of racism in the royal household stating "some of my best friends owned black people."
3. The American version of the Queen's statement is "Bless their hearts."
2. "We are sorry for creating an environment so toxic that a family member contemplated suicide." That is missing from this statement.
And the number one thing said about the Queen's statement on the interview was...
1. For those not fluent in Passive Aggressive British English, "while some recollections may vary," equals "LIES!"
Hahahahaha. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jefferson, shall we?
Looks like a nice day there. Now for a story from...
In July 2019, a Florida man was arrested on charges of kidnapping, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the city of Bell, for using a pair of scissors to cut off his wife’s lover’s penis. Fifty-one-year-old Alex Bonilla is now set to plead guilty, but has recently alleged that he “blacked out” during the attack.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a mobile home, when they found the victim and the victim’s penis. Bonilla, a 49 year old at the time, had broken into his neighbor’s home, threatening the man at gunpoint with a handgun. He tied the victim up in his bedroom and according to the Smoking Gun, he said, “You are not going to die, but you are going to have something to remember this for your whole life.”
He then pulled down the victim’s shorts and added, “This is normal, you will not die today.”
According to the arrest report, Bonilla then took a pair of scissors and began to cut the man’s penis. With blood splattering everywhere, Bonilla didn’t rest, continuing the threaten the victim with the severed penis, even while the victim’s two daughters were in the house.
Although the victim was in a stable condition, doctors were still unable to reattach the organ, and the victim is still reportedly struggling to urinate as well as have sexual intercourse with his own wife. If Bonilla is convicted, he will face 30 years in prison. He is from El Salvador, and he and his wife have five kids.
What an absolute mess. Cheating is never okay in relationships, but was Bonilla in the right to cut off the penis of his wife’s lover? He did catch them in bed together too, as reported by ABC Action News. I can’t imagine what that struggle must have looked after like for the victim, especially during the pandemic in 2020.
“Blacking out” is no excuse for someone to do such a thing either. I do understand how it feels to be so angry you don’t remember what you did or said. But I know I probably wouldn’t go as far as to commit such an atrocious crime. If people were legally allowed to do this, then people like Tiger Woods would be walking around penis-less.
The 147th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Natalie will be on the Phile next Friday.
Today's guest is a Canadian actress and model. She is known for portraying Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy series "Scrubs," the second Becky Conner on the ABC sitcom "Roseanne," Stella Zinman on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," and Beth Smith on Adult Swim's adult animated science-fiction series "Rick and Morty." Please welcome to the Phile... Sarah Clarke.
Me: Hello, Sarah, welcome to the Phile. How are you?
Sarah: I'm good, it's good to be here.
Me: Sarah, where are you from? Canada, right?
Sarah: I was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was raised in North Vancouver, British Columbia. I was in L.A. for 16 years and moved back.
Me: So, how has the pandemic been for you?
Sarah: I was living with my sisters family so we had six kids, three dogs and a cat between us. So that had been an adventure. The homeschooling of children between the ages of four and sixteen had been definitely an adventure. We were trying to find something where we can homeschool everybody with one topic so we're having grandparents and aunts and uncles kind of portal on FaceTime and give lessons like my uncle did one on the powers of government in a time of crisis. My sister did one on United Nations convention the rights of the child and I did one equally important, I would like to think on cartoon voices.
Me: That's very important, you're right, Sarah. Hahaha. Any other one you taught?
Sarah: Yeah, the other one I contributed on was pratfalls. So how to just try to fall without hurting yourself if you had to fall into something, In "Scrubs" we had to do a lot of pratfalls, so the kids were curious about those so we just piled up like a stack of books and we're trying to explain how they approach the books, they know where they are, they turn around just in time. My 3-year-old just went for it.
Me: I want a pratfall tip then because I'm always getting hurt falling over.
Sarah: I sometimes hurt myself but not often so the best tip I think is to make it more real and to sell it is to turn away just before it happens. It looks like you don't see it coming even though you just approached it but you look away but you're about to go.
Me: So, you're on "Rick and Morty," are you still able to work and do voices?
Sarah: Yes, I've been recording three cartoons and it's been such an interesting adventure to find the most acoustically positive sound and that's really like a dead sound. So I have to find somewhere small. So I started out in the lower bunk bed surrounded by every duvet and pillow that was available to me. And then taking the kids play tent and and duct taping seven moving blankets around it and then I'm in this kind of dark space. I then take a stack of poker chips and Harry Potter books and bounce the microphone on top and hope for the best.
Me: So, I have only see the first "Ricky and Morty" episode, Sarah, Who do you play on the show?
Sarah: I play Beth, not the most super kid friendly cartoon character.
Me: Ha! So, are you worried about your kids hearing what's going on with you in the room?
Sarah: LOL. Totally like often I'm recording off campus in a contained sound booth. So, yeah, that's also been part of figuring out, not only to keep the dogs from barking and hearing birds but also the children not hearing me. So it's interesting dynamic they get to have some really loud screen time.
Me: Were you worried they'd hear you?
Sarah: Totally. I was already worried by 3-year-old daughter going to pre-school and she loves all the Rick and Morty stuffed animals we have and plushies and she'd play with them like, "Oh, Mr. Poopy Butthole." Yeah, I don't know how that's going over playing that with the other children. LOL.
Me: "Ricky and Morty" has become huge, right? I remember my friends at work raving about the show, but I never got into it. I know my son Logan likes it. So, explain what the show is about and your character, how she fits in.
Sarah: She's the mother of the family, Rick and Morty is the grandfather and grandson and you think this grandfather and grandson go on these like wild sci-fi adventures but what it ends up going into is like these real kind of rough family dynamics and kind of not just this sci-fi cartoon but asking these existential questions like if life is meaningless and there are infinite universes does anything really matter? So that's "Rick and Morty" in general and then for Beth kind of that as the matriarch of the family and playing the mom and over time and as the seasons went on we find out how much she is like her dad and the fact when she was little he had to build her a secret world because she was making whips to make people like her and mind control hair clips as a young girl. So we find out she is a lot like her dad and then as the seasons go on she wants to either stay or leave and we don't know weather she is a clone or not. That's been super fun to play, Beth and this alternative Beth as well.
Me: I have a pic here of Beth and what you said answered my question...
Me: Is it hards to play the same character but different versions?
Sarah: Yeah, totally. But its been super fun and obviously we didn't know at any point that that was coming. We just get scripts, as we get them we have no knowledge of what's happening down the road in the future, so that parts so fun. To see a "Rick and Morty" script in my inbox is one of my favorite things because the minds of Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon are unbelievable, the scripts are so smart and so funny and so wild, I love them.
Me: It was the number 2 show in the United States. During the pandemic it has gotten even more successful, what do you make of that?
Sarah: I think people want to laugh and want to escape into another world and I think it's a time for a real need for comedy. The growth of it has been interesting to watch through the eyes of ComicCon over the years. Like we would go to ComicCon year one and it hadn't been released yet so all the questions went to Dan Harmon about "Community" and then the next year was like a couple Ricks walking around and then the next year it was like a sea of Mr. Poopy Buttholes and Ricks and all these different characters was kind of cool to get to see how it's grown but I'm glad it's bringing people laughs.
Me: "Community" is one of my favorite shows and I'm even wearing a "Community" t-shirt today. So, has it ever been intense with the fans, Sarah? Some fans could be toxic and hateful, right?
Sarah: Yeah, it is wild the degree to which fans watch all the little pieces. I don't actually read a ton of those sites and comments but I think it's cool how passionate people are about it.
Me: Everywhere I go I see "Rick and Morty" merch... socks, t-shirts, toys, I can't believe that stuff is everywhere.
Sarah: I know, my kids were just doing a "Rick and Morty" puzzle. They're not allowed to watch it but they can do a rewarding puzzle.
Me: Okay, so, I have to mention "Roseanne," Sarah, where you played the second Becky. What were you doing before that?
Sarah: I was in high school in Canada and then I got that gig.
Me: What was that like?
Sarah: It was crazy. I was 16 when I auditioned and I was living in Vancouver working on a couple of things that were filming up there but really hadn't done anything, I hadn't done very much. I got this audition and put myself on tape and I think we even mailed the VHS tape down to the states. They called and said they were going to fly me down for an audition and there were seven of us. All the others were like 21 and living in L.A., actresses and all of us were doing this scene with Glenn Quinn who played Mark, Becky's husband and the whole scene was like making out, sort of making out with him, like get a job at a gas station, baby come here, that was the scene. I thought like there's this 24-year-old handsome Irish actor, how am I going to remember one line and they said we'll let you know at the end of the week. Then a week later they called back and said okay, come back tomorrow and do a scene with Roseanne and it was on the infamous couch on the set and they were calling out camera numbers and having a laugh track and seeing if I could adjust to those elements and then they called and said I got it. I remember going to a party that night and telling a couple of people and it just sounded so crazy.
Me: Hahaha. Did your friends believe you or were they excited for you?
Sarah: We already had someone like lied about being on the "Minipops." Remember the Minipops? They were so amazing.
Me: No, I have no idea what that is.
Sarah: It was like a Canadian kids band and they would sing covers and dress in these cool 80s clothes and they were amazing and someone in our school said they were going to be in the Minipops and it wasn't true so all of a sudden I felt this feeling of I'm lying about being in the Minipops. So then it kind of spreads around the school pretty quick and they called me back on Monday morning and they said they were having cold feet about repacking Becky so they didn't know if they're going to do it. "Welll pick you if we do it but we're gonna put you on hold for four months. We're gonna tell you in September." I just though, my god, this is definitely going to be a Minipop station.
Me: But then you got it, which was cool, right?
Sarah: Yeah, they said, yep, we're doing it. So it was my Grade 12 year and I would go back and forth because they would shoot two to three weeks on and one week off. We would shoot Monday through Thursday, I would get on the plane first thing Friday morning and be at school in Canada Friday afternoon and then fly back Sunday night or stay home for a week if we had a week off and commuted back and forth.
Me: So, getting that role repacking someone and then having her repack you did it hearten you or harden you? How did it affect the rest of your career?
Sarah: I think both of those things. Lecy was Becky from seasons 1 through 5, I was Becky in seasons 6 and 7 and she came back in the beginning of 8 and I came back for the rest of 8 and for 9. So it was definitely as a kid its confusing and hard when they brought her back and they called me and said, "Okay, now will you come back?" And so that piece I think was the challenging part of it for sure. And the other piece that was challenging was just going from complete obscurity to going on the number one show and then I'm at that age where I'm going to college and I kind of want to blend and all of a sudden that piece of it was hard. But the incredible part was the obvious unbelievable gift of working with John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf and Roseanne and Sarah Gilbert and Johnny Galecki and Sandra Bernhardt and it was crazy, it was like stepping into having not worked that much to working with those top unbelievably talented comedians and just watching them work and what they would do with a script from Monday morning table read to a Thursday night tape night, it was such a huge learning experience and so interesting and obviously opened so many doors for me. Like my entire time on "Scrubs" my nickname was "Second Becky." "Could we get Second Becky on set please?"
Me: Okay, so, you were on "Scrubs" as well, and I love that show. Jeff, one of my best friends was a big "Scrubs" fan and would kill me if I didn't ask you about that show. Haha. Do you know why "Scrubs" is still a popular show? People still talk about it.
Sarah: I think at the time when it came out it was doing something really different in the format of the show and the way they were shooting it.
Me: What did you like best about the show?
Sarah: I think one of my favorite things about show, I remember reading the pilot for the first time and feeling God, I want to be a part of this so badly. Is that the writing was really smart and irrelevant but it also had so much heart. They always found a way to just kinda get me right with the storylines and get me emotionally invested. I think maybe that's what has stood the test of time. I remember like reading the pilot for the first time and my best friend and I just moved to L.A. and sublet this little apartment and we didn't know anybody and we never had plans and we had plans that night. And we were supposed to go to this concert and I'm so like if I get an audition like I'll work on it from the second I get it to the second then I was like I'm not canceling, I'm not canceling my plans, I'm going to go. So I remember getting home from the concert and opening this package in front of my door with this script and reading it and it was like midnight and my audition was at 9 a.m. and I just remember going oh, no, oh shit, this is so good. And I had no time to prepare. But just that feeling I had when I read that pilot I couldn't just believe I loved it so much.
Me: Can you imagine if those characters from "Scrubs" had to deal with what is going on now?
Sarah: Oh, my gosh, I can't even imagine it. My little sister is a doctor for her first time last year so what a way to walk into the medical profession, not what we expect, right, into a full-blown pandemic.
Me: Holy shit. So, how is she doing?
Sarah: She's doing great, she did an ER rotation and now she's doing a pediatrics one, but we're banging our pots and pans every night like crazy for her and for all of the doctors. It's quite staggering I think what they're all being called to do. We've broken a few measuring cups, not judging well what we'll bang well against another pot. So yes, we've been too overzealous with our pots and pans banging at seven o'clock every night.
Me: Wow. Thank her for me. Sarah, thanks so much for being on the Phile. Take care.
Sarah: Thank you so much for having me.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Sarah for a fun interview. The Phile will be back next Thursday with Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Kiss your brain.
Give me some rope, tie me to dream, give me the hope to run out of steam, somebody said it could be here. We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year. I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away...
