Alyssa Milano

She's very interesting. She's had an extraordinary life and journey, and she's fearless in expressing her opinions and fighting for what she believes is right. And I'm really excited for this interview. In reading about you, I was realizing that I grew up with you. That I mean, I you know, we forget that people who become a reality for us now that could be up here where idols when we were kids. I mean, that show was my mother watching and just like so invested, and you just don't think

about the lives of people are living behind that. So now to hear all about what was going on from then to now is actually just surreal. So very nice to meet you. Nice to meet you to thank you. Yeah, And I think that that was such a different time, right because like we actually watched TV with our families

at that time. It's so true. It wasn't like you know, kids were now where they're just on their phone the whole time, when you know, it's very rare that I sit down with my kids and watch something altogether as a family. So I think it's so true. And there were fewer choices and we were more focused, which is

a whole conversation in and of itself. Of course, I'm aware of the impact that you've had on women and society, and but in reading about you, you've been through a lot, like just so many different not unlike myself, so many different things on your journey stick out to me, whether it's dyslexia or people using photos, I mean, using video of you, nude video of you, just like it feels like you've you're a fighter, or you've become a fighter, or you're born a fighter. It just feels like you're

always sort of having to tackle something. Has that subsided or is that just I know, I just think that I've become more resilient, right, Like, I don't think I don't think the chaos ever really really ends. And I think that's true for everyone, although I think people have um, you know, relative to their lives, different types of chaos. But I am constantly amazed at how resilient people are in general. Um. And you know, I have often thought like, it's not that i'm it's not that I'm bummed that

I've had to overcome so much. It's it's feel like that i'm that I'm almost um And I don't. It's not numb. It's like I'm good in a I'm good in a crisis situation. I think, what do you got? What do you hit me? Let's go yeah. And it's not until like later that I go, oh shit, like I I went, I went through some stuff, you know, it's like you get this warrior, this warrior instinct that

sort of takes over um. And for me, at least, it's not until you know, well later where where I realized how how that could have been a traumatic time right, And many people can relate to that in their child

hoods and in their personal homes. But it feels like for you, this was really going on in this industry versus just in your in your home you know what I'm saying, Like many people can go back, like me to their crazy childhood and the things they shouldn't have endured and think about that and how that's molded them.

But it sounds from what I've read about you that this is really something that this that had occurred through this path, this industry, if you had just lived a quote unquote normal life with your family life, you wouldn't have had this sort of journey. Yeah, I mean, this industry is, it's it was not an easy industry to grow up and for sure, you know, but I think, um, what happens is is it kind of amplifies who you

would have been anyway, you know what I mean. Like, you know, when I look at child actors that have gone through should and made some uh maybe not smart life choices, I think that would have been the case no matter what they were doing in their lives. Um, And so I don't I don't think that's untrue for for my instance. I think, you know, it's and it's

getting better, but it's a very hard industry. I mean when you think about like you know, I'm not an ambassador for UNI stuff, and I travel the world to make sure that that people aren't taking advantage of children in the labor force. Right. And when you think about like acting, music, entertaining, dancing, we expect so much of our of our youth, um, and especially like acting, where

we're working and constantly surrounded by adults. It's like that's what I fight against as a UNISETUFF ambassador, Like there's no there's no real labor laws for child actors, right. And I'm thinking of I'm thinking of mcaulleague Culkin, I'm thinking of Corey hey m who you you know you tried to help. I'm thinking of so many kid to Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber. I'm thinking of all these kids with all this responsibility that the TikTok people, the Charlie

Demilio's and things like that. Can kids bear that responsibility? Should this whole clock not start until later? And what's the answer, what's the solution? How does it really get managed? Because you don't know until something comes out of the oven, when it's baked, what the damage has been, what the It's true, Um, I think that I think that we need to put in place more regulation. Um. But this

is true across the board in the industry. It's not just with children, but it's also like like women, you know, like I think about all the time, how if you have if you have if you're shooting a movie with a dog in it, you have someone from the humane society off to the side making sure that that animal is not being abused. That when women have to do nudes scenes or simulated sex scene, there's nobody there to make sure we're protected or we're okay. And I think

that that's true across the board in the business. I think there should be more regulations for young people, especially in you know, and we're in unions, so it shouldn't be that hard to figure out how to oversee and

regulate and have some sort of protective oversight. But I think it's necessary, I really do, because I mean, it's a it's a long list of child performers that that grew up and you know, came out of the oven and we're not okay right when you revitalize me too, and kind of you know, took it to a stratospheric level. Did you have any sort of subtle chess move planned?

Did you? Even though you may not have realized and you I'm sure overshot the mark did you was there something underneath saying like, wow, I have his feeling this could be something or just feels like a wave that's crusting,

or or was it literally just shocking? I do. I do think that there was a perfect storm going on because if you look at like what led up to the tweet going viral, it was the Access Hollywood tape, and then the election, and then the Women's March, and then all of them the silence breakers coming out about Harvey Wine seen and then it was the tweet that went viral. So if you look at the big picture, I do think it was like we were just primed for uh an explosion of um of really communicating that

there is a serious problem. But I don't think I ever thought but it would be as you know, as colossal, and I don't you know. I remember a couple of days after the tweet went viral, I got a call from Sarah, my publicist, and she was like, do you know do you know there was a woman named Toronto Burke who's been doing this work that used me too years ago, And I was like, no, please put me

in contact with her. And I think finding Toronto and the life saving work she does with survivors was such a relief for me because I didn't I didn't know what to do. I was dealing with my own trauma around sexual violence, so I didn't I didn't know how to lead this this this moment, right and then here's this woman who had dedicated her entire life two survivors, and I was like, oh, thank goodness, and I'll never

forget it because she said to me. I was on the phone with her like four days after, and it was just this this swell of it just felt really big, and she said to me, how are you doing? And I was like, I'm not okay. I am not okay, you know, because because the the the heartbreaking thing was that I then became like if I looked at my Twitter feed, it was all stories of sexual harassment and violence and assault and people really sharing that part of

themselves with me. And I was still trying to figure out how that made sense of my own body. Um So to have someone like Toronto was amazing, but also, like I remember, about a week after it went viral, I got a call from my field officer from the UNSF about Ethiopia and how Me too had had reached Ethiopia. And for little girl students went to the authorities to

to say me too about one of their teachers. And that was the moment where I realized that this was so much, so much bigger than um then, than what I could have ever imagined then like a Hollywood, Hollywood industry, like scandals coming out. This was the world. This was just this was this was the world. And they were I think it was just ripe for for sharing. And

I think women were just that up and done. And I think that we realized that the way in which we had always been made to feel like we were in competition with each other, it was like part of

the whole thing. So we wouldn't communicate around the water cool like I just you know there there was so much that made so much sense after that, and I think, you know, I still think we have a long way togo mind you right, Well, it's it sounds like it was the tipping point, But like many people experienced in in business, you accepted the responsibility. You could have just said something it went viral and not you know, taken

that scary wave. You said like I'm gonna, you know, call this woman and I'm going to be part of this and sort of lead it and and connect. You're talking about connection the Ethiopia stories about just women really connecting the glue, and that correspondent to communication, making this sum greater than its parts. That's exactly right, and knowing that, and knowing that we needed we needed that power, right and also feeling like, you know, this can't we can't

just focus on the Harvey Weinstein's right. Oh no, I know, it's funny because it's pockets, and it's almost weird that it sort of became trendy, like let's just get every comedian, let's get every producer, which makes perfect sense. But I thought to myself, what about the hedge fund guys, what about the sleazy lawyers? Like that, about the sports people? Like it's weird that it's got these like pockets, Like this is in right now, you know what I mean?

Because it was like that. It was like, this is the week that we're gonna get Hollywood producers. Next week, it's comedians, next week, it's chefs. Like it's funny, and it did, and I think that was I think a lot of that was that we all gave each other the strength right to come out, and you know, I don't. I don't want to think anybody was, uh you know, like it was a trend, like we were all hopping on the bandwagon. I just know. I just mean, why

the lawyer, why what? Because even with the disasters, I called them in or not in, which sounds counter and do it. But like it's cool to be into Australia this week and talk about it when when when koalas are covered in gasoline, But next week we're talking about Haiti, So like we those animals didn't die last week, Like it's very It's just that because it's back to what we were talking about ten minutes ago, the cycle of news and media and what they'll be covering. But the

problem still exists when the headlines fade. So so that's what I'm saying, Like we didn't talk about we never got into hedge fund you know, or business finance guys. We just didn't go down that road because the minute one pops open, the whole thing will pop open. And I think that that's still an industry that you know is is really acted by sexism and misogyny. So you know, I think it money money exactly. You know, the bigger the money, the power up yeah, yeah, Um, that's wild.

The whole thing is really crazy. Do you, um, you know you've more than brushed with politics and been polarizing and opinionated and fearless and marching and talking, and um do you you don't ride the line? You just always I mean it seems like you just have the courage of conviction. Um. Is that ever frightening? Is it ever frightening as it pertains to your career? Do you ever worry about that? And you know what ramifications has that had? Like do you play it safe? Do you worry about

getting canceled? Like that whole bucket of you know, it being unpopular now to have an opinion. I hate the term getting canceled because I feel like we're not canceling people were holding people a pountable for missteps, right, and it's usually in a very public manner, And I feel like instead of calling people out, we should call people

in and have these tough conversations. And part of me feels really, you know, because the if we're talking about like politics, there have been moments in my political activism where the left has been just as hard on me as the right, maybe even more so because of one of their own right, like, and I think that those

moments are important. And I think being able to to have those moments in a very public way and be able to say publicly, you know, like Lizzo just went did this the other day when there is a word in one of her songs that people felt were ablest, And she went in and she re recorded the word, put out the single again and she said, you know, than for the opportunity to learn and grow, I did

it publicly publicly. Uh that word I used as ablest, And I think to be able to do it publicly and and I don't even know what that means, ablest is like, um, it's it's like when you have prejudice against uh, people who have data disabilities. Oh okay, it's you know it's yeah, um so yeah. So so you know, to be able to do to do it in a public way, I think is important because maybe we get to set the tone of how to say, you know what, you're right, this was, this was not and to do

so with grace and with an open heart. Um. As far as my career goes, like I grew up in a different time in this in this industry where we didn't really separate our politics with uh, with our work, right. It was it was Audrey Hepburn and uh, you know, Jane Fonda, and it was Patricia Arquette, actually all the art kids and um, George Clooney, who was incredibly political, politically active, and uh, you know, like big movie starts

had had political opinions. And I think what happened was is that you know, the the the the right started to realize that that was something that they could be a part of, and so tried to dismiss our opinions by saying things like stay in your lane, like you're an actress, what do you know? Um? And and honestly, I don't know one entertainer who hasn't come from like, no, very few entertainers come from entertaining family is or have you know? Most of us used or as a way

to get out of poverty. So most of us have really strong opinions about you know, the world. No. Yeah, And also like I don't think poor people should have to start I don't know, right, Like I just don't be coming from a family of you know who who's whose grandparents were on food stamps, Like I don't think that anyone deserves to to starve and and maybe the government should help out for those that are struggling. So I don't know, I just kind of go with it.

And I think that maybe you know, it's impacted like endorsements, UM, it's probably impacted commercial opportunity. UM, But I don't think it's you know, I don't think that translates to UM. I don't think the year of people who are hiring me translates to uh, real life because you know, like the like Brazen, which was a movie I did from Netflix, which you know, I carried the whole thing, I did all the publicity. Um, it was the number one movie

on Netflix for a long time. So people and globally globally, And I think that's the thing that people underestimate, is that what I'm fighting for people globally understand and so they go, oh, like she's she's fighting for you know. So it's it's almost like that quote they thought they were burying me, but they were really planting a seed. Right. Wow, that's deep. That's interesting and so yeah. So yeah, so I just I think it's I think, you know, I

can't separate it. I can't UM. And I started my activism started when I was fifteen, when I was on like the height of Who's the Boss when it was like a top ten show, and um Ryan White, who was HIV positive. UH and I became friends and we sort of bonded on this idea of being mothered um and and he asked if I would go on TV with him to kiss him, to prove that you couldn't

get HIV and from casual contact. And I did that fifteen, and you know what, my life changed because I was like, and I'm sure you you that moment when you realize because you do so much at moment when you realize, like, oh, like I can actually have an impact here, I can actually change things. And once you open Pandora's box and you know that you can't unsee what you've seen, you can't unknow what you know, and you know that you could do it, so you have to do it. You

have to do it. So that's how I felt since I was fifteen years old. That's amazing. It's just continue to fight for for those that have no voice, and it's been my my most fulfilling work in my life. And I think it's more important to me than how many endorsements I get or or you know, it's blessed to be in that position to be able to say that and people come to you because they want you, even if it's an issue that's not really something that

you quote unquote specialize in. You know, like people when there's a crisis in Cuba, people were coming to me to help when there was nothing we could actually do in that situation. Like there's not every single crisis is something that I could actually be helpful. And but you've all these are great example where people were saying that, obviously, it's nothing I can do to help these people's grief. And I'm not like you. I'm not that educated in

gun violence. And that doesn't mean I couldn't become It just means it isn't exactly the road that I've taken in relief for so we we raised money and distributed money for the families, which is a drop in the bucket, but just to do something to touch it. But it's not not every single thing is something that I dive all the way into, because then you would, you know, we all have our areas where we're sort of can

make the greatest impact. And it sounds like you have really found doors and people probably rely on you and when something happens, they want you to do something about it, even if it's you know, something that you may not even necessarily do per se. Yeah, And I think the most rewarding part of it for me is is like, you know, going going to take a class and really

trying to understand, Like after me too happened. I took a feminist class from you see Santa Cruz because I was like, I don't even know really what the history of women's rights. I mean, I know about like the monumental moments right like you know Ruby Wade, I know, um, you know the e R A and the nineteam Amendment and all of that, but I don't I didn't really understand the history of abortion. Um. And so that's the stuff that I don't know. If you could keep learning,

that's exciting, yeah, you know. And when when I was fighting against gun violence, um, after Parkland, I took a class about the constitution because I was like, if I'm going to fight and people are going to use the Second Amendment as the argument for guns, I better figure out what the argument is constitutionally against the guns. And so, you know, I take a lot of pride, and I

think that that's why people trust me. And I think that's why organizations and grassroots organizations that are on the ground and ask me for help, is because I actually do try really hard to understand that issue. Um and and and I trust people who are closest to the pain m to teach me. I love that. I love that I didn't know that, and I think that's great and that makes a lot of sense because there are a lot of things that I'd like to do. It's

hard to find the time to do everything. But this, this recent tragedy was really it was it was crazy, just like Sandy Sandy hook um, which just certain things like really hit you in your lifetime. And it's just been a horrible, horrible, horrible thing to even I mean that we that we live in a country where are

quote unquote Second Amendment rights right to bear arms. People like to ignore the well regulated part of the Second Amendment, but that you know, the fact that we live in a time where it seems as though that is more important than a baby's life. It's crazy, a technical technicality, it's devastating. It it's horrible. UM. So I thought, in reading about you remember I'm I just do research and look up things online. I don't know, and maybe they're not all true. So in um, you not relaying a name,

that's an interesting choice. I understand it, and I want to know. Is that about that it was a different time and not ruining someone's life? Is it about not wanting to like? What is it? What's what's? Would you make that choice today? Do you still make that choice that? I don't know. I don't understand that whole topic, and I want to kind of understand it. We're talking about this is about your abewser right, the situation on a

movie where someone took advantage of you the producer. The producer didn't protect you, but whoever the successful person was, who as a full life you didn't quote unquote out them correct? And I think, I don't know. I think it's it's up to the woman, like how much they want to share about trauma right and in their own time for their own reasons. I think is how much

or how little or whatever feels right, you know? And I think that naming someone is has got to be about like what what the survivor is comfortable with with opening up? And I think for me instead of naming someone. It was more important for me to kind of work behind the scenes. And what what I've been doing is working with SAG after on the Sexual Harassment Committee, um, to try to protect women in the future from that

ever happening again. But you know this, this person has a family, and I just I didn't feel like it was I had the strength or or the understanding of how to even come forward and name him. Like I knew I could come forward and stand in solidarity with with women who had experienced this, but I didn't. I didn't and I still don't feel like I can name him. Do you think do you have any indication that he knows that it's him and that for sure, Oh, he knows it's him. And has he ever apologized or has

there been any closure in any way or acknowledgement? No? No, but he has been caught um in in other uncompromising positions, so um yeah, so um, you know, I think serial abusers or cereal abusers and um and look, I'm just I'm trying to live my life with as much grace as possible and trying to heal and I just didn't feel like I don't feel like that would be uh,

indicative of of who I am. Interesting. Interesting, Interesting. I was trying to put myself in that position and thinking about that, um, and we do so much so publicly now it's like it's like nothing is Is that what the whole thing was about with Harvey and all these people and and them being sort of Didn't that mean that they all had to take accountability? Doesn't the person not take accountability if they don't get quote unquote caught. I think that what what all of it was about

is showing society that this is a real issue. Only one percent of humans don't get away with it. So and I think that's why women don't report, right. It's because it's always he said, she said thing, And I think it's got to be a woman's got to really think it's it's right to be able to come forward, um and name someone. But I think the beauty of me too is that we didn't have to name people.

We could just show the power and numbers and people could say it's I mean, you know, I was getting phone calls like my friend from twenty five years and I had no idea. My best friend just called me and said me too, and I had no clue. You know, And I think that that was the important thing of it, is that society couldn't look away because the numbers were so colossal, right, and that's definitely prevented it that that

is obviously preventative. Oh yeah, and and now we get to write policy, we get to legislate, we get to um, you know, hold hold men accountable and other other industries. Um. And so I think you know, me, me naming the person who abused me, it wasn't wasn't going to propel all of that and probably just just it would be about that, not about the whole thing. Yeah, And I'm by the way, how are we sick of it? Of the these stories being about the perpetrators and not like

the survivors or the victims. And that was the power of of me too? Is it took the focus away from Harvey Weinstein and everything he had to lose. Like if I had to watch one more news segment of you know, how do you Weinstein losing his business or losing his and like, okay, how about how about the women who lost their entire careers in the prime of their careers in an industry that's not kind to women after a certain age how about how about we shift

the narrative a little bit. Right, Well, I can't help but think you must have been you must have had some emotional reaction to the whole Johnny depth Amber heard trial right, like you know, must have had ups and downs. I mean I was very vocal about thinking, like you know, it was interesting. He was made to be this sort of hero during that process, which I thought was misguided. She was made she was, I don't mean made to be I don't I don't know the truth. There's this

his hers and then the truth. I don't know how much media played. I don't know how much she lied or didn't it lie. But I'm saying that what came out was that he was God and she was a liar. And I wonder how someone you know, a the feeling that you have about Oh well, if if she was lying, then that set this whole thing back. If she was telling any version of the truth and he got away with this because he's a public person, then that's like, I just want to know the whole stup that. Obviously

you're not a wizard. You don't know exactly what happened. You watched what was shown. I think I think movements are messy. I don't think that there is one like linear line to get to where we're trying to get to. I mean, that was definitely there are articles right about it. That was definitely a moment about and abused, an alleged alleged abused person coming out and people thinking one thing

for all these years. Then the pendulum totally swinging right after a time where being a you know, a white man in this country is not that popular, you know,

so like then all it just is interesting. They've they've had their rain, you know what I mean, right, they had plenty of time, right, Yeah, But no, no, I think, you know, I think I think we often look for people at people like, uh, you know, people who are quote unquote movement leaders for our opinions on things, And I don't know that I necessarily have formulated what that

opinion is. And I also don't think it's fair to put that on women, right, and one case and one case, but also women like it's not fair to look to Toronto Burke and for all of the answers, you know. And I was getting calls from NBC News in the Washington Post and it's like, look, I don't know I don't know, and I think it's okay for us to

say that. Obviously, that's a very sad situation, and I would definitely not want any of my friends to date either one of them, thank you, because the water seeks its own level. Like this is like I literally said, he's the second Coming because he's compared to her. This is not this is fit the shades of ship. Yeah, I said, this is like, you know, because Drew Barry were got in trouble for saying it was a seven layer different Santiday. I'm like, she was, she was? It was?

She correct in sane it was a fifty seven layer different sety like, well, well, yeah, I think I think there's a movement to start to not use it. I think she got in trouble because she was using the word insane in a way that was deroga. So you know, word words, words have weight. Um, a different generation obviously, but yeah, so I don't know, and I'm still standing by it. I think it was instead, I think the whole thing was actually, these are not sane behavior. So

I actually am sticking with my fifty seven layers. Yeah, I think this is all really tragic and awful and um, but can we just stop looking at women to have all the right answers, Like there's no movement that is perfect, like we like, there's there's nothing that does not have

highs and lows. I mean when you're when you look, especially women's movements, when there is a an entire your system trying to knock us off a trajectory of equality and sustainability and um, and when you look at that, you we're gonna get bumped off the you know, to use a hockey term term, We're gonna get bumped off the puck quite a bit, right because because you know, there's a there's a system at work that white men

in particular are benefiting from. Yeah, it's been going on for a long time and hundreds of years, and they're all in shock now. They literally are on shock. Um, there's definitely a stunted nature right now in many cases, but many many are just acting us out in the same way. It's just an interesting it's an interesting dynamic. Um. Do you so you're you've been public about uh dyslexia

and how does that affect you on you? Are you involved in causes about it about like talking about children and awareness and schools et cetera, because I know that's one of that's and I was reading, I'm like, well, she had a car crash last year, she's dyslexic, she had two abortions with Scott Well, Like, I was like, well, this woman has you know she she kind of kicked off the meto movement, like it was not what I was expecting from, you know, the girl I watched on

Who's the Boss? Like, honestly, you know, I mean I was like, whoa, there's a lot here with you in in a very interesting way, but you're a strong bitch. Uh. The dyslexia, I mean yeah, Like I I advocate for children who learned differently. You know, I don't think of it as a learning disability. I think of it as a learning difference. And I think that, um uh, it is important for me to show that you can, uh, you can have everything and be successful and still have

a learning difference. Yeah. I also think it's shaped really who I am because I think that not only have I had to overcompensate for my brain seeing things in a different way, but also, um, I had to sort of overcompensate with the stigma that comes attached to having a learning difference. So I think part of my you know, need and desire to continue learning and educating myself is partly due to the fact that, you know, people maybe think that people with learning differences or not smart. N

that's where I haven't heard that either. It's a couple of words I haven't heard. I haven't heard learned. I haven't heard any words that sort of identify someone as a complete like that that's their identity. So meaning you want to say someone with a disability instead of a disabled person, because saying someone's disabled means that that's their entire identity. And also, if you think about how we learn about you're right, it means they are not able, like as a like. It's not it's not just one

thing that is part of their whole thing. It's a great because I did not know that, he doesn't know that it's his own. Yeah, that's interesting. So like prisoner, you would never say prisoner, you would say someone who is imprisoned. UM. There's a movement right now to change the word homeless to unhoused. UM. Instead of saying a slave, you say the enslaved. So you're you're keeping their humanity and you know, it doesn't become about who they completely are.

But by the way, isn't this a good book for you? Like you could do it. You could do a chapter on each just one of these terms, with like a story or many stories, or like a background and what they mean, what they should. Yeah, I think my book is you know like that. Um. Yeah, it's a book of essays about just my my activism and how I've misstepped many times saying the wrong thing. And that's why

I think it's important to just have the conversation. Like what you just did was so filled with Gray's like I don't you know you were like, I don't know what this word means. I don't know how I'm supposed to say this. And I think the more we have those conversations and the more we get to learned from

each other. And um, but again, my gold, that's interesting because most people wouldn't say Most people think they're going to feel stupid if they don't know what something is, and then they'll end up saying the wrong thing and then they'll actually be stupid, Like you know, you just said a word able iss. I'm I'm a very smart, successful woman. So you said that most people would just let it roll and be like, I don't know what you meant by that, but what if it happens every day.

I don't know what something means. I mean, it could be something really ridiculous in like TikTok, but not knowing what a fit is. I didn't know for to Remance what that was an outfit. But it could be something really important, like the word able us. Literally. I'm a big believer. I'm a big believer of calling in instead of calling out. And I think that we need to get comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations, Like we need to

get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. And my golden rule desany is to listen to the people who are closest to the pain. You know, I've had so many conversations with people I love who are like, oh, like I can't it's it's it's like the woke Olympics. I can't even think about, Like this too much to think about. And I'm like, okay, but like if someone who had experienced this was telling you that's hurtful, you have to listen

to those that are closest to the pain. That's a great, it's great, that's really good, really fine so what is your family life like I've read you live, you have a bunch of animals around, you have a lot of at your own zoo at your house. I mean, what's your what's your home life like? You're married? I'm married. I've been married for am was fifteen years. Is he still an agent and we allowed to talk about she's not an agent. He started a management company called Range Media,

so he's a manager, producer creator. Now. Um, we have two children, ten and seven. My little boys ten, and I have a little girl who's seven. Um, and I live on five acres with nine horses and five dogs and eight chickens and two bunnies. And my my brother and his wife and and my nephew lived two minutes away, and my parents live five minutes away. And it's a very um sort of close community family, uh, you know, picking up each other's kids and just kind of doing it.

Were a village trying to make at work. But you made a choice to live a suburban life but still be nearer the mix. So I did the same thing. But yeah, I think it was important for me once, especially once I had kids. I don't want my kids to go to like, you know, private schools where there were lots of rich industry kids that don't understand like real life. Um okay. And then I guess the last question I want to ask you was, uh, your rose and your thorn of your career? My rose and my

thorn of my career. I mean, I think we could be the same, by the way sometimes they are. I think my low was like after his boss was over and I didn't know if I was going to ever work again or what that meant, and so I did, you know, a lot of nudity in films to try to like get people. I don't know that I was doing this consciously at the time, but to sort of break the the idea that I was this, you know

girl next door, that that could only be a sitcom kid. Um. So I would say that that was And it wasn't really low. It was just like, I don't know what I'm doing. You really it wasn't necessary. Well, looking back, maybe it was necessary, but I just didn't do that. Did it actually do that? I don't know. Maybe maybe that's why I still have a career. I don't know. I just know I just know it felt icky while I was in the middle of it. You know, I just felt like it just wasn't coming, but it did.

It is your rose too, because you wouldn't have had all these me too, this this institution. That's true. That's absolutely true. Um And I would say my rose is maybe happening right now. I feel like this is a really nice time from my life and career and writing a lot and getting to develop. Well, it was like, it's happening right now. Yes, it's that that too, that too, that too. We wouldn't be happening this conversation if I wasn't in in you know, a good place in my

life and my career. And and you know, I've admired so much what you've been able to do in the way that you have used your power and your wealth, uh and your knowledge to change people's lives. So yeah, so right now my career, I'm I'm developing a lot of a lot of shows and getting to be creative, and um, I feel like it's a much more it's much more reflective of who I am as a person

than than my acting career. I love acting, but it it feels like that's that's only utilizing a small part of my capacity and so um so to be able to sit down and write a script, or to sit down and work with producers and produce or re a book and say, you know what, I'm gonna buy the rights to this book and adapt it. That's all really exciting stuff for me. And maybe maybe like I needed to get to this point, uh the way I got to it, but I kind of wish I'd gotten to

it a little bit earlier. Got there's a freedom in the room where your career is in an honestly where it is now. Yeah, and it's and it's comfortable. Acting to me is very uncomfortable. It's it's I mean, you know, I work very hard to like heal the parts of me that are wounded, and then to have to go to set and like open back up those wounded parts in order to cry in a scene or it's not,

it's not. It's not conducive to like healing. You're constantly like picking at the scab when you're an actor, and the good actors are the ones that are like, you know what, I can't I can't do this anymore. It's it's hurtful, like Daniel dan Lewis, who was like, you know what, I can't keep going like I'm losing myself because I'm I go so hardcore into someone else. Right. Wow, thank you so much, Bethany, Thanks for always nice to thank you to you give me so much hope. Thank you.

I have to say I do not know what to expect from Melissa Milano. I knew I wasn't going to be speaking to a former child actress. I knew i'd be speaking to an activist. But I just want to say that she was amazing, Like that was a great conversation. I had the best time. I thought she was fun, funny, open, I learned things. I think what she's doing is great. I think she's educated. I think she doesn't speak about things she doesn't understand. So whether you agree with her

opinions or not, it doesn't really matter. She she has a reason to have an opinion because she's she's done her research on whatever is she's passionate about. I thought she was terrific. And yes, actors and actresses do get sort of pigeonholed into, you know, stay in your own lane, which she said, and I think it's great that she's not in her own lane. I think it's great that she's in every lane because she's allowed to be in every lane because she's a person. So I thought that

was a great conversation and I think it's amazing. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I'm going down to Miami to shoot a new and exciting business show over the fourth of July holiday, and I'm going to tell you about that really soon. We're going to take a week break, so always please rate and subscribe. It really does mean a lot to me, and I do read all of the reviews, so please keep them coming. Have a safe and fun Fourth of July, and I'll

see you back here for more. Just be soon with more fun Rant's interviews and some new exciting announcements.