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The X Change Rate: Stacey Abrams & Saucy Santana
In "The X Change Rate," award-winning drag queen, entertainer and TV personality Monét X Change brings her signature wit, heart and style to BUILD Series. Joining Monét this week was Stacey Abrams, politician, activist and founder of Fair Fight Action, as well as music artist Saucy Santana.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MONET X CHANGE: Hey, y'all. It's your girl, Monét. And welcome, welcome, welcome back to "The X Change Rate," a little talk show where I, and I alone, serve as judge, jury, and fashionista. [INAUDIBLE]
[LAUGH TRACK PLAYING]
Super cute. As y'all already [INAUDIBLE], we have a really, really, really dope show today. And I'm ready to jump right on in because, from Miami to viral Saucy Santana is coming on by.
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Mm. And later, we're getting a little political with a diva on the front lines. Stacey Abrams is also here, right? Stacey Abrams. But y'all know what time it is. Let's get into The Gig! Hit it!
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[VOCALIZING]
Don't you hate when songs keep on vamping like that? It's like, bitch, end the song. It's too much. So yeah, so we had the past couple of weeks off because I had to take a much-needed-- I felt, for myself and my well-being-- a nice end-of-summer hiatus, you know? To, like, recharge, relax, get dick down, you know what I'm saying? I must say, 10 out of 10. Would recommend. The dick was lovely. And I feel invigored. I feel rejuvenated. I feel like I'm ready for the winter alone. [LAUGHS]
Oh, I also stopped by Florida. I had to take care of some business in Florida. And I had seen the news that Florida was a little crazy, but I-- OK. And I preface this by saying the news always makes everything much worse than it is. For example, I know Portland had, like, lots of riots and stuff. And you know, there was a lot of civil unrest. And I would, like, talk to friends. And they were like, girl, that is, like, one block downtown. The rest of Portland is pretty normal.
Like, everyone thought, like, New York-- well, what-- some publications said that New York is in a state of emergency, like, a couple weeks ago. Like, New York is a mess. And there's this really fierce TikTok. This guy opens up-- he, like, is looking-- he's looking at the article on the computer. Then he walks over to his window. He pulls the blinds, and it's just, like, literally Snow White. [VOCALIZING] It's, like, pretty normal outside.
So Florida is-- was that, too. I was a little shocked because I live in New York City. There's been no indoor dining. There-- you know, New York still had so many-- at that point, New York wasn't-- the gyms in New York weren't open yet. So like, New York was that. And then I went to Florida. Gyms was open. People were dining indoors.
I went to a restaurant. She was like, indoor or outdoor? I was like, you watch your mouth. What are you-- who are you talking to? And she's like, do you want to dine indoor or outdoor? I was like, oh. And I was like-- my brain forgot that that was an option available to me. But I sit outside 'cause, you know, Miss Corona is airborne, and I'm not playing that.
But yeah. So Florida was cute. Florida was fine. But we're back in New York. And another thing I'm realizing-- that every single person has OnlyFans now. I feel like OnlyFans are the new Pokémon GOs. I don't know. And [INAUDIBLE] OnlyFans [INAUDIBLE] like, showing, like, really dope content. Like, [INAUDIBLE] is so hot in her content. I'm like, all right. Titties. Yes.
But what's that kid-- [CLICKS TONGUE] the boy from werewolf-- from "Teen Wolf," the one who was-- Tyler Posey. Tyler Posey has an OnlyFans. And he's cute. He's a young Gen X-er-- cute little boy. But y'all know that this multi-million-dollar celebrity dude is not going to be up on OnlyFans showing us the goods. Like, that's just not what's going to be.
So in my mind, knowing that that's going to be the truth, I'm, like, annoyed. I'm like, no Miss Thing. You're going to have OnlyFans, give me the full frontal. Give me-- I want some insertion and some articulation. Like, I want to see the real deal, not you just doing what.
I'm sure there's going to be cheeky shots of, like, him reading a book-- like, opening a magazine, like, with his ass to the camera. Ass is cute. Ass is fine. Bitch, I want to see some dick. That's what I want to see. But, well, is he of age? Oh my god. Is he over 21 [INAUDIBLE] over 18. Oh god. Cancel! Cancel!
We need to be cancelling Tory Lanez because-- and I don't want to do a whole story about it, but we all know the whole Tory Lanez shooting Megan, which-- on the show, I call him Tory "La-nez." Y'all [INAUDIBLE]. I got it. Now I'm Tory "Lanes." Mental note. And you know, him shooting Megan. And Megan, like-- Megan, like-- oh my god. Patti's laughing. Cancelled. Oh my god. Wow. So you think the pain of Black women is funny.
- No, I'm laughing at "La-nez."
[LAUGHTER]
MONET X CHANGE: I know. It's so old. Like, I'm some-- I'm someone's uncle [INAUDIBLE]--
- [INAUDIBLE] now that I see it, I would never read that as "La-nez." Like--
MONET X CHANGE: I know.
- [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: I know.
- OK.
MONET X CHANGE: I know. I know. But Megan named him. She named him and shamed him on IG Live. And he got mad. He devoted-- he came on with the album, which-- the album is flopping big time. It was, like, terrible, horrible sales. And in the album, she-- in the album, he devoted a whole song to Megan. And it is really gross, saying that-- how-- that she's lying about him shooting her because if she shot in her foot, how is she able to walk? And how was she able to film "WAP"?
Are you an idiot? "WAP" was filmed before the shooting. Do you not know how music videos work? Like, what are you talking about? These dudes-- these-- straight dudes, honestly, are the dumbest species that is in existence-- straight dudes. Ugh. Ugh. And--
But they're not as dumb as this current administration because they are trying to make all of us pay with this tired-ass, whack-ass Supreme Court pick, Amy Coney Barrett. Now, in my pettiness, I put her name all in, like-- all in lowercase letters 'cause that's, like, my, like, fuck-you to her. [LAUGHS] I feel good it. That's my own thing.
Yeah. Trump-- [SIGHS] you know, rest in peace, RGB-- the notorious RGB-- who was a woman ahead of her time, who was ahead on so many great issues, like Roe v. Wade, and really forward-thinking. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful angel. She passed away. And now Trump is choosing ACB-- oh my god. Let me not even-- what'd you call that?
- Abbreviate, acronym.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. We not--
- Well, an acronym is something-- yeah, an acronym is something that stands for whatever, but you make it into a word.
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
- [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: Let me not-- let me not even acronym her. She ain't acronym-worthy.
- [INAUDIBLE] abbreviate it. An acronym is when you-- an acronym is when you take the first letters and you make it into a word, like ASCAP or whatever-- ASCAP or whatever.
MONET X CHANGE: Right, she's an acronym-- ACB.
- No, RGB is just the initials, so it's just an abbreviation.
MONET X CHANGE: I don't think that's right. Whatever.
- We're not calling her [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: I don't think-- I don't think you're right.
- We're not like [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
- We're not-- we didn't make it a word--
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
- --with RGB, so-- or RBG, so--
MONET X CHANGE: All right. Sure. Sure, sure, sure, sure. Whatever. Patti's wrong. I'm wrong. We're all wrong. But we're not going to shorten her name. She gonna be Amy Coney Barrett. And yeah, she's very conservative, and she's super religious. And she is going to be a stain in the Supreme Court. I said what I said. I ain't mincing words. And it is-- this is not, not, not, not, not a positive thing for us.
She is super religious. She has gone to say that marriage and family are founded on the indissoluble commitment of man and woman. Big red flag. You know, we ju-- queer folk are just, just, just now getting rights in this country, and we are electing someone who is already looking to tear that down. She has-- she believes that-- she believes that states should be able to limit abortion access. Red flag.
Also, coming from a woman, you would not think a woman would want to take rights away from other women, which is-- goes-- to me, goes along with that toxic organized-religion mentality, 'cause she comes from a very, very, very religious group, The People of Praise, which-- a lot of outlets said that The People of Praise had handmaids, and they alluded that hand-- that "The Handmaid's Tale" was based off of her religion.
That has since been-- that has since been debunked. I lost a nail. Whatever. [CLICKS TONGUE] That has still-- that has been debunked, and that is not true. I just want to say that 'cause I posted about it. A lot of people posted about it. That is not true. However, you know, when you have super, super religious people, that's-- these are the things that you-- that we're afraid of. And we think that they are threatening our very existence as human beings in this country.
She has also disagreed in the past with the Supreme Court protecting Obamacare-- affordable care for all people in this country. Again, a huge red flag. Like, these are things-- to me, these are non-negotiables. These are just principles to live and exist in this world. So it's really, really, really scary.
And the Senate is just playing-- they're playing games. Like, they barred Obama from picking a Supreme Court justice nine months before an election. Now we're 35 days out. An election is currently going on 'cause people are voting early already. They're trying to push this Supreme Court justice through. So it's like, this Republican, conservative Senate's talking out of both sides of their face, and it's really, really, really gross.
Hopefully-- I watch-- I've watched a whole lot of news things, and they're like, 25 really staunch conservatives that are-- senators-- that are going to hold on and try to push her through. So hopefully, the other-- others in the red Republican majority will at least hold off on picking until the election. That is our hope and prayer. And let's see that it happens. Amen.
And you know, and now we are already trying to fight the conservatives and the staunch right wing. Black Twitter is eating itself on some BS, and I have to talk about this story. I saw it, and I was like, this is so silly. Eve. Eve, Eve, Eve. Now, I love Eve-- rapper, talk show host now.
Like, Eve really went from, like, "Ruff Ryders," like, you know, like [INAUDIBLE] really dope-- dope rap music, which-- shout out to her album "Scorpion." "Scorpion"-- what was-- "Scorpion" came out in 2001, I think. Such a great album. "You Had"-- "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," "You Had Me, You Lost Me." That was the song that made-- that video kind of made the Harlem Shake famous. Y'all remember? (SINGING) Who's that girl? [VOCALIZING] Like, that shit made the Harlem Shake poppin'. And Black Twitter's trying to light her up.
So Eve did this interview with the TV One series. They do this thing call "Uncensored." And they basically talked to her about her life, like any, like, huge things that happened in her life. And of course, one of the big things that happened for her was her getting married to her husband.
Now, if you don't know, her husband is a white millionaire from the UK-- Maximilion Cooper. He has, like, three kids, and they've been married since 2014, which-- Eve lives in the UK now, which-- by the way, I love the UK. I believe that my husband is British. I'm gonna find me an Idris Elba [CLICKS TONGUE] or-- what's that really hot dude? Remember that really hot guy who we know from the UK who came to that meet-and-greet that time? The Black dude?
- Yeah, but he came in America--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, he came to America.
- [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: Girl, if you watchin' this, boo, dump your boyfriend, and you gonna date me. Anyway. So the boys are cute over there. And-- but the food is disgusting. I'm sorry. I love the UK. But the food-- mama-- mama-- to quote Bob the Drag Queen, this is garbage. And also, they don't believe in ice. And y'all know me. I love my ice. In the UK, they literally hate the concept of ice, which is a red flag for me. But I digress.
Anyway, so she lives in the UK with her husband, Maximillion Cooper. And she did an interview. And she was saying-- in her interview, she was saying that "we don't think about race." Now, she elaborated saying that, obviously, when they got together, race was a big factor. She had never, ever dated a white dude.
But she was saying, as they progressed their relationship-- now they-- 2004-- 2014-- that's six years. Now they've been married for six years. Obviously, you know, race probably does not play as big of a factor in their relationship, if not as much anymore. So people got-- Black Twitter got mad at that, saying that Eve said that-- what did they say? I want to read it verbatim. They said that-- oh, they said that Eve is saying racism ended for her after marrying a white man. That's literally not what she said.
And that gets me so upset because, obviously, people are just going in on her calling her a bed wench. Do y'all know what the term bed wench is? Well, just to-- I said it on-- in the urban dictionary terms, the dictionary says this. "A term typically applied to females of African descent who give themselves-- who give themselves to white men of high status sexually and engage in privilege and promotions, et cetera."
So basically saying that, you know, back in slavery days and back in-- you know, hundreds of years ago-- there would be Black women who would have sex with the white slave owners, et cetera, et cetera, and they would have benefits because of that. So they're likening it to that. And it's just not true. It's gross to even interpret it that way.
And to take that one snippet and elaborate it [INAUDIBLE] she even said that, because they're together, he-- it has opened his mind on racial issues. And they talk about those things, which-- 'cause you know, white folk probably don't think about racial injustices like people of color do all the time, 'cause we deal with it on a daily basis.
So it was a very beautiful interview. And they really-- and she was just speaking on that. And it's really nasty that people turned it into that. Like, that's really-- a really [INAUDIBLE] and I love Black Twitter. Black Twitter gives me life, especially around Thanksgiving time-- it's about to be Thanksgiving-- when they do all the Thanksgiving with Black families. That shit is so funny. I love Black Twitter. Black Twitter likes to light people up and get people-- gather people like a ponytail. But in this case, Black Twitter, y'all wrong. It ain't cute.
So Eve-- shout out to Eve. Good luck to you, and your marriage, and your hubby, and your family in the UK. And I want you to have a baby. Eve would have such a cute baby. I love Eve's nose. I know that's a really weird thing to say, but I love her nose. It's so cute, right? [INAUDIBLE] [CLICKS TONGUE] Eve-- y'all know what I'm gonna say. Eve, come on the show. We gonna talk about it. Mm.
Last story I want to talk about is Lil Nas X. Now, I love Little Nas X. I love how unapologetically queer he is. That pink cowboy tuxedo literally turned me out. I'm getting one made in a drag version because it is literally the business. It's hot. He was nominated for 13 Billboard Music Awards-- [CLICKS TONGUE] 13.
Now, listen. Y'all not gonna like this. Y'all gonna say it's a little shady. But 13? 13 for that one song? Now, I think the song is cute. It wasn't necessarily my gel. I didn't, like, gel with her. She was-- she wasn't my cup of tea. She wasn't my vibe. [INAUDIBLE] it was a good song, and it was cute. But for 13 Billboard Music Awards? And granted, the song did really well commercially, and people really, really love the song. But I was like, 13, mama? OK.
And he's-- he's second-- he's the second most awards-- nominations. Post Malone got nominated for 16 awards. But some categories he's up for is Top New Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Streaming Song Artist, Top Streaming-- which, how can Top Streaming Song Artist be-- like, it should just be the one with the mo-- like, that's-- to me, that's not a competition. You just calculate who had the most streams. It'd be like-- it's like a numbers game. Like, how-- I-- that-- I don't [INAUDIBLE] Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Male Artist.
And a lot of it-- it's all because of "Old Town Road." Bitch, that just goes to show you, mama, you just need to make one hit, and you are good. You're good. You're good! Like, think about the person who wrote "I Will Always Love You." Think about the person who wrote "All"-- (SINGING) I don't want a lot for Chri-- girl, set. Millionaires. Probably billionaires at this point. Like, girl, you just need one hit, mama.
Can someone make "There for You" famous, please? Remember how Lizzo "Good As Hell" got so-- really, really, really relevant after it had been out for, like, years? Girl, I need that to happen to me.
And I will say the Billboard-- the Billboard Music Awards distributes these awards based on, like, how the songs chart on the billboard chart. So that makes sense. It was on-- it was number one for weeks and weeks and weeks on end. So that all makes sense.
And he's already got some awards in his pocket. He won two Grammys for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. And he won Song of-- he's-- well, he's the first LGBTQ artist to win Song of the Year at the VMAs. So shout out to Lil Nas X. I'm not shading you, baby. I'm just saying, 13? [CHUCKLES] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, before we end The Gig, guys, this show is available in podcast form. I know! If you want to relive the joys of the episode, but you've got to get on the train, or you've got to get on the airplane, or you've got to get in an automobile-- that's the movie, right? "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"? [SIGHS]
If you need to digest any episodes, our whole calego-- calegog. Our hurl-- our hurl-- [MOCK RETCHING] our whole catalog is on there. All 61 episodes of "The X Change Rate" are available on podcast form. Go to the discussion box below to click the link, and you can listen to it. We're on Google Play. We're on Spotify. We're on Apple Music. We're everywhere. Everywhere podcasts are available, "The X Change Rate" is there.
So go and please review it. Please, please, please, write a review and rate us five stars. That shit really helps. And this is a show by a queer, Black, nonbinary person. And this is produced by many people of color and queer folks. So please, please, please, please, please, go check "The X Change Rate" wherever podcasts are available. Hm.
At the very ripe age of 26, our first guest does not do anything that doesn't go viral. I don't even think y'all are ready for [INAUDIBLE] the shenanigans that's about to happen. Make some noise for the crazy Saucy Santana.
SAUCY SANTANA: Whoo!
MONET X CHANGE: Saucy, what's poppin'?
SAUCY SANTANA: What's up?
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] [INAUDIBLE] this whole vibe-- the hoodie, the glasses. You look [INAUDIBLE] very demure cut.
SAUCY SANTANA: Mm-hmm. I've got a studio session after this, so [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Oh. Are you giving us some more hits?
SAUCY SANTANA: Mm-hmm. Yes, [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: Now, Saucy, let me say something. I am obsessed with your social media. I-- you crack me up. You are a no-nonsense straight shooter. But now you're a viral [INAUDIBLE] rap artist. How-- coming from Tallahassee, was that your goal? Or you kind of stumbled into music?
SAUCY SANTANA: No, I stumbled into music. I was a makeup artist--
MONET X CHANGE: Oh.
SAUCY SANTANA: --before [INAUDIBLE]. So I-- me and my friends had, like, a podcast we used to do. And we just needed a theme song. So we went to the studio, and we did, like, a [INAUDIBLE] theme song. And everybody started liking my verse. And so after that, I just kept going. And "Walk Em Like A Dog" came about, and everything [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Now, let me tell you something. "Walk Em Like A Dog"-- bitch, first of all, the music video-- I fucking live. And you put it out, and it was instantly super viral. People really lived for it. And who-- were you talking about somebody specific? Was there a particular nigga you was talking about, or you are just talking-- in general, you had just made an anthem for anybody that's been with a [INAUDIBLE] dude?
SAUCY SANTANA: No, just a general anthem. Like, girl, walk that nigga. Growing up, I watched my cousin go through things [INAUDIBLE] when I started [INAUDIBLE] I went through my own situations. Now I'm just like, oh, no. [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --make a song about it.
MONET X CHANGE: Now, do you mean maybe dudes that be upset about it? 'Cause I mean, if y'all have not seen the music video, literally, they've got dudes on leashes, walking them down the street, around the block-- like, legit. It's like, this is not a metaphor. This is legit. If your nigga acting [INAUDIBLE] up, put him on a leash and walk him like a dog.
SAUCY SANTANA: Walk his ass like a dog.
MONET X CHANGE: And then from there, you have "I'mma Celebrity" came out, "Material Girl," "Trap Girl," "Fuck It Up." And they've all been really, really big, viral songs. And nowadays, you know, we know that streams and downloads are super important. And they're--
SAUCY SANTANA: Mm-hmm.
MONET X CHANGE: It's the way that labels and people take you seriously. How has that translated to you in your career? Your songs going so viral?
SAUCY SANTANA: It's definitely a good thing. I just feel like I make music about what people want to hear, you know, and just-- you know, people like feel-good music. People want to feel like a bad bitch. You want a Chanel bag from a nigga. You want to go [INAUDIBLE]. You want [INAUDIBLE]. You-- you know what I'm saying? You want to take no shit from no nigga.
So I just feel like-- you know, I feel like that's what, you know, helps [INAUDIBLE] because people [INAUDIBLE] hear my music [INAUDIBLE] when I just [INAUDIBLE] Santana, I'm just-- I'm in my [INAUDIBLE]. I feel like-- you know what I'm saying? Nothing can stop me. I just feel like I want to scam a nigga and just-- you know, it just makes you feel good. So--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --you know, [INAUDIBLE] people want to hear.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, [INAUDIBLE] the music [INAUDIBLE] but also, another thing that, you know, I think your art speaks to people is that you are authentically, unapologetically you. You're not trying to, like, doll it up--
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: --and give people a false perception of yourself. Do you struggle with that, especially being in hip hop and rap? Like, you know, being queer, being an openly gay man-- does that fuck opportunities up for you?
SAUCY SANTANA: Well, we [INAUDIBLE] live in the real world. So of course, you know how straight people are, and straight men and straight women are, with, you know, LGBT. So--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --I still deal with a little adversity, but it's not that bad. I think, just because of my aura and my personality, I've always been like this. So when people see me, oftentimes, they don't have no choice but to respect me.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: So, you know, of course, I still go through, like, little roadblocks still because this is also new. You don't have any-- you haven't had any rapper like me that has had this much success.
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
SAUCY SANTANA: So a lot of people are still like, OK, when is this train gonna end? Like--
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
SAUCY SANTANA: --you know, [INAUDIBLE] little gimmick real quick. And you have some people like, no, he's really, like, coming [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --making noise, giving as visuals, you know, performing that RapCaviar beside Megan Stallion, Mulatto, Saweetie, Kash Doll, Trina, Lil' Kim--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --oh, he's [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: So you know, it has ups and downs, but I would say more ups [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. And I mean, honestly, one of the big moments that made me aware of you was that crazy moment where-- speaking of adversity-- where someone shot at you. And literally, you got caught in an incident. And the news was there. And you were so tight. You were so [INAUDIBLE]. You were like, put a Band-Aid on my shit so I can go. I was like, Saucy is not fucking around.
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]. But since then, have you had anything crazy like that happen?
SAUCY SANTANA: No. After that, I think I [INAUDIBLE] at clubs [INAUDIBLE] try to jump me and end up Macing me at a club. But other than that, it was-- it wasn't nothing as traumatic as that.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: But I'm so gangsta [INAUDIBLE] with boys and been in shoot-outs before. So it was just different for me that time because [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: (LAUGHING) [INAUDIBLE] yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --that he going to shoot at somebody else--
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] [INAUDIBLE]
SAUCY SANTANA: --not somebody coming at me playing. And I was like, whoa. And you know, that's-- but that's-- you know, that [INAUDIBLE] necessarily had [INAUDIBLE] with industry. But it was just seeing how the police was just looking like, OK, you got shot--
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]. And--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE] where I was like, OK, since nobody don't give a fuck, give me a Band-Aid. I could go home.
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
SAUCY SANTANA: And then let's see what y'all officials and what y'all jobs gonna say when y'all let me leave here.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: And then that's when everybody got their shit together. Like, OK--
MONET X CHANGE: Right, right.
SAUCY SANTANA: --and do something about it.
MONET X CHANGE: Now, like you said, you've performed on the same stages as a lot of these main artists. Do you think-- like, when are you going to do a big collab with one of these artists? 'Cause obviously, you've got the bars. You got the verses. When is a Megan Thee Stallion, a Cardi, a Nicki gonna collaborate and bring you-- and to even crazy [INAUDIBLE] the Grammys, the Billboard Music Awards? Like, when are we seeing that?
SAUCY SANTANA: I think-- well, as far as, like, Grammys, I got invited to the Grammys last year. I didn't go because I had shows to do. I got invited to the BET Awards. I turned it down. I had-- not just because of work purposes. Like, I was touring crazy. I was like, I'm gonna get my [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: That's every year.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: As far as artists, I know-- I spoke with Megan Stallion. We're supposed to do something together. But you know, people-- she got, like, you know, her situation going on and stuff.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: And so I just let people, you know, handle their business. Every artist, you know, be having their own things going on and stuff. So I don't rush things. You know, I feel like, you know, it is what it is. When it's time, it's going to happen. I'm still building my portfolio anyway, so--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --when it comes, it comes. But I get a lot of recognition. When "Walk Em Like A Dog" first came out, Cardi B made a video-- posted on her page, like, I want to get on the remix. [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: Work.
SAUCY SANTANA: My first year, Rihanna flew me out and booked me to perform at her afterparty during fashion week and invited me to the fashion show.
MONET X CHANGE: Work!
SAUCY SANTANA: So I did--
MONET X CHANGE: Bitch, you know, I worship--
SAUCY SANTANA: --I did all of those things in my first year of rap--
MONET X CHANGE: --at the church--
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: I worship at the church of Rihanna. Rihanna is that bitch. She's that girl. That is praise indeed, girl. Yes. Queen [INAUDIBLE].
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE] I get discouraged. But I have to think about a lot of things that I accomplished--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. You
SAUCY SANTANA: --you know, within the first year. Really--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --all the [INAUDIBLE] follow me, like Megan Stallion, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --Rihanna. Like, all those girls are following me and watching. So I'm just like, it's going to happen. I'm [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Now, Saucy, now, are you in a relationship? Are you currently single? Or is there a gentleman courting you?
SAUCY SANTANA: Single and ready to mingle.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS]
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: And I have to say, another thing that I really, really love is your relationship with Yung Miami. It's, like, the perfect relationsh-- friendship of, like, love, but also, y'all be cracking on each other. People are speculating that y'all are getting a reality show. Is there any--
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: --truth to the rumors?
SAUCY SANTANA: We had conversations about it. TV shows, you know, have came. But we just still are focusing on our careers. You got to think, they've been rapping for two years-- a year ahead of me, so about two to three years. I rapped for a year. So you know, we just want to establish kind of one thing at a time. Of course, I don't mind [INAUDIBLE] TV and movies and stuff like that. But I just feel like, me-- I still have to establish myself as a rapper, you know, before anything.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: So I'm still just, you know, working on my craft, perfecting one thing at a time. And then, you know, I got my whole career ahead of me.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. And we were just talking before the interview started. I, in my mind-- I think a lot of fans-- like, I'm a fan of yours-- we thought that you were Miami-based [INAUDIBLE] you told me [INAUDIBLE] Miami.
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]. I even put it in a song. I said, I'm a real Florida bitch, but I am [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Got it.
SAUCY SANTANA: I'm not [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Got you.
SAUCY SANTANA: I'm from-- I'm originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut-- up North.
MONET X CHANGE: Oh, OK. So Saucy, hold on. So we had you up here in the North, up in the New York, Connecticut, Boston area. Now you went down South? Uh-uh. That's not cool.
SAUCY SANTANA: I moved [INAUDIBLE] down South when I was about 11--
MONET X CHANGE: OK, got you.
SAUCY SANTANA: --to Florida. It was a small town called Perry, Florida, where I moved to. Tallahassee is 45 minutes away from it-- the capital of Florida.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
SAUCY SANTANA: I've been there from 11 till now.
MONET X CHANGE: Got you. OK, OK.
SAUCY SANTANA: So [INAUDIBLE] similar. Like, you know, I'm considered North Florida. And when we-- when we are in Florida, Miami is considered down South.
MONET X CHANGE: Got you.
SAUCY SANTANA: That's South Florida. But you know, just Florida as a whole, whether you're from Tallahassee, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville-- whatever-- you're going to have some type of similarities. You know a Florida bitch when you see a Florida bitch.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] And I was so interested by Florida culture. Like, y'all are really big into twerking. Like, twerking is the move. If you can't twerk, you are a bum bitch. And you are-- you got the body snatch, and you be twerking that ass, girl. I live.
SAUCY SANTANA: Thank you. Yeah, we [INAUDIBLE]. Florida people love to dance. We love to dance.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, which is probably another really big reason why your music is so popular, because your music is feel-good, dance, realness, and all those things together.
SAUCY SANTANA: Yeah, [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: So listen, Saucy, when you-- when this is all done, we in studio, I think you and I would have such a kiki in-person, live in studio--
SAUCY SANTANA: Mm-hmm.
MONET X CHANGE: --doing the real thing. You come to New York City. We'll work it out. Thank you for stopping by, boo.
SAUCY SANTANA: Yeah, I just-- I was just in New York 'cause I had a show in Jersey.
MONET X CHANGE: Oh, where in Jersey?
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE] Jersey. And then it was Newark-- Newark, Jersey.
MONET X CHANGE: Oh, Newark. Yeah, yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: And then Keisha was there 'cause, you know, she's on "Power." So--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
SAUCY SANTANA: --me and her [INAUDIBLE] went to New York the next day. And we had this content stuff for our song "Back It Up." So-- but I [INAUDIBLE] quite often.
MONET X CHANGE: LightSkinKeisha. First of all, I live.
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: I live. I live.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
MONET X CHANGE: Saucy, what you over there eating?
SAUCY SANTANA: Oh, girl. I'm eating my grapes.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] Saucy, we gonna have a kiki-- I know we gonna have-- listen, next time I come down South, wherever you are, I'm gonna DM you--
SAUCY SANTANA: Yeah.
MONET X CHANGE: --we gonna [INAUDIBLE]. And we hanging out. And we gonna be [INAUDIBLE].
SAUCY SANTANA: [INAUDIBLE]. Did you come for Pride?
MONET X CHANGE: Oh. When is-- Pride is soon, right?
SAUCY SANTANA: No, it already passed [INAUDIBLE] if you come.
MONET X CHANGE: Oh. No, no. I didn't come. I didn't know.
SAUCY SANTANA: Yeah, everybody [INAUDIBLE] Atlanta Pride. Ooh.
MONET X CHANGE: Well, I heard it was-- well, I've heard, in the past, Atlanta Pride be lit. I've had some friends that have lived a few experiences during Atlanta Pride.
SAUCY SANTANA: Mm-hmm.
MONET X CHANGE: Well, thank you for stopping by, boo, and I'll talk to you soon, all right?
SAUCY SANTANA: OK, boo. Thank you.
MONET X CHANGE: All right. We'll see you.
SAUCY SANTANA: Bye.
MONET X CHANGE: Now, as y'all may or may not know, I recently kicked up my own YouTube channel in a very big way. My goal is 5 million subscribers. So subscribe, bitch! This week, we're looking back at 25-year-old balding me pretending like I know anything about drag and trying to convince RuPaul to let me on his-- at that time-- nonEmmy-nominated-ass show.
I sort of auditioned in season 6. And you know, I thought that I was trying to give-- I was trying to give the judges versatility. Keep in mind, at this time, I was probably doing drag for about a year or-- yeah, year and a half, two years. I didn't really have-- no, it was, like, a year. I was doing drag for a year. And I didn't really have an extensive wardrobe, extensive wigs.
[CLATTERING]
Patti's really throwing things on the floor. I didn't really have much of anything, but I was, like, pretending and acting like I did because I thought that that would be fierce. And it's an all Monét. It was, (SINGING) you ain't fuck me, you fucked the old body. You ain't fuck me, you [INAUDIBLE]. Patti, what do you think you're going to-- what do you think you're going to find out about me in this video?
- Probably nothing I didn't already know.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] Also, I filmed this when I was in Portland. So I started drag in New York City for, like, maybe, like, four months. And then I got this opportunity with Portland Opera. I moved to Portland. And I was working, working, working in Portland. And then "Drag Race" was auditioning. And I was like, oh my god. [SNAPS FINGERS] I'm going to get on the show.
So it was literally me getting, like, costume props from, like, the costume department. They ain't have no good wigs, so I couldn't borrow any of their wigs. And I also-- I was-- like, back then, I was, like, a ball queen. Like, I was, like, Ongina before on Ongina. But she came before, you know what I mean? Girl, [INAUDIBLE] just me just parading the streets of Portland looking crazy. You know, let's stop talking and let's just fucking jump right in. [CHUCKLES]
Hey, Ru. This is Kevin--
Also, look at her. She--
I'm 23 years old--
She had eyebrows. She had eyebrows! I used to wear earrings. I forgot I wore earrings, like, as a boy. Seeing myself like this is so weird. Also, I was way skinnier. Who is that girl?
Voguing. No, but really, I've always been into theatrics and arts. And luckily for me, drag combines both of those fabulous things.
What the fuck?
--professional performing arts school. And I remember seeing those crusty, dusty, nasty drag queens doing that bar crawl.
So I would take the 2 train all the way from Brooklyn from the first stop at East Flatbush. I would get on the train. I would take it all the way to 42nd Street. And I would see queens. And I don't know who they were. I want to say, a couple times, I saw Flotilla Debarge. And I think I saw Peppermint. I'm not sure. But in my mind, it was Peppermint, but I don't know that to be true now.
- So then what do you have to say about calling her crusty and dusty?
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] What's up, Peppermint?
- And was this Flotilla before or after jail?
MONET X CHANGE: Oh my god. Patti, that's problematic. Problematic! Cancel!
I mean, in high school, I wasn't "out." Going to school in some leg warmers and some booty shorts--
I think I [INAUDIBLE] like, booty shorts. I mean, honestly, if you know me, every short-- every short's a booty short if it's Monét wearing it [INAUDIBLE]. But never, like-- I wasn't in fucking Daisy Dukes. If I'm alluding to that in this video, it was not that. I was doing just, like, shorts. But because I got a big ass, they were booty shorts, you know what I mean?
Performance is what I live, eat, breathe, sleep. And even though it's not the most glamorous life, it's the life for me.
That is so cringey! Ew! "Even though it's not the most glamorous life, it's the life for me." Like, what reality-- I was really trying to sell this reality-TV narrative. Like, I was like-- ew. Ew! Ew, ew, ew.
--tell you all about Miss Monét, OK? Monét's that bitch with everything. The face is done. This is the end product. Do you like? Give you a hard-on and a nightmare at the same time, bitch.
[LAUGHS]
- You giving me a hard-on is a nightmare.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] OK. I am not mad at this face. This is only a year into drag. Yes, [INAUDIBLE] crazy. Yes, the crease is crazy. But for a year in drag, this is pretty fierce. I had all these contacts. I had this, like, half whatever this-- I don't know. I should recreate old looks of mine, Patti. Would y'all watch a video of me recreating old, old, old looks like this, but now reimagined and obviously fiercer? I should do that. I'm going to do that.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The full video will be live on my YouTube channel tomorrow morning, so make sure you're subscribed with the notifications on. Here at "The X Change Rate," we cannot stress how important this upcoming election is to all of you watching. With voter suppression tactics on the rise, we are super honored to sit down with one of the warriors on the front lines of making sure all of our voices are heard. Please welcome the incomparable Stacey Abrams.
STACEY ABRAMS: Thank you. [CHUCKLES]
MONET X CHANGE: Thank you, thank you, thank you. How are you doing, my love?
STACEY ABRAMS: I am well, thank you. It's a little chilly here in Georgia. But so far, so good.
MONET X CHANGE: OK, you are saying chilly. It's, like, 70 degrees. That is, like, perfect weather.
STACEY ABRAMS: That's called winter.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] [INAUDIBLE] not winter, Stacey. No!
STACEY ABRAMS: I grew up in Mississippi. I'm-- I moved north to Georgia. So that's about as far north as I can go right now, weather-wise.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] You know, I lived in Georgia for a very, very-- well, like, my fourth-grade year of school. And I remember, when I was there, there was, like, an ice storm. It was my first time ever experiencing an ice storm. I was like, this is bizarre. Like, ice had frozen everything over. I felt like I was literally living in Elsa's castle from "Frozen."
STACEY ABRAMS: [CHUCKLES]
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
STACEY ABRAMS: --everything was shut down, wasn't it?
MONET X CHANGE: Oh, school was closed for, like, two days--
STACEY ABRAMS: Yeah.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]. It was craz-- I was like, guys, it's a little bit of ice. I think we'll be OK. Someone get a hair dryer. We can melt this ourselves, you know what I mean?
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] [INAUDIBLE] I want to say I have watched countless interviews. I mean, I was so-- when-- in 2018, you know, you-- it was such an unprecedented-- and everyone was rallying behind you. It was such a big, historic moment. And I just remember, every time I see you on camera, you just have such a warm, inviting demeanor and presence. And now you say it, obviously, you grew up in the South. It's like par for the course.
STACEY ABRAMS: [CHUCKLES] Well, look. I live a privileged, blessed life. I have the opportunity not only to dream of things, but to work to make them so.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: And if you're doing this for the right reasons, if you're doing it because you want people's lives to be better, then the best way to meet the moment is to be as open and as welcoming as you can, 'cause this is hard work. And if everyone's angry about it, or if you're always mad-- I mean, look. I am always angry. But my anger is fuel as opposed to, you know, the way I try to meet the world.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, I feel that [INAUDIBLE] which is why people like Barack Obama and Oprah-- Oprah, the queen Oprah, is, like, a huge Stacey Abrams fan. Can you please talk about your Oprah moment? Because I read it online. I remember reading it online. I was like, oh, if Oprah was calling me, I would literally stop the world and whatever was happening to chat with the Big O.
STACEY ABRAMS: So we were in South Georgia. We were down campaigning. And South Georgia has, unfortunately, wide swaths of the area with no cell service, with no broadband. And you know, you basically step on a patch, you've got, you know, a signal. And then you lean to the south, and it's gone.
And so I get this note that Oprah is calling. And I pick up the phone, and I'm like, can you hold on? We need to pull over to the side of the road. So we're pulled over to the side of the road near a ravine. There are raccoons. There was a train. Like, Oprah's on the phone, so all is right with the world.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS]
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: I love that. I love that.
STACEY ABRAMS: Well, she asked me-- you know, we were talking, and she's like, what do you need? And I'm-- like, an endorsement. And she's like, honey, I'm offering you anything. What do you need? And she offered-- she volunteers to canvass-- to knock on doors. I'm like--
MONET X CHANGE: What?
STACEY ABRAMS: It's like talking to your fairy godmother but thinking all you can ask for is a penny. Like, [INAUDIBLE]--
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS]
STACEY ABRAMS: It was amazing.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE] a little bit to voter suppression. Stacey, you have been fighting this for a long time. And a lot of it is because, you know, where you grew up in the South, with experiences with your grandparents and voter suppression. And so you kind of-- so would you say you grew up just expecting that to be part of your reality?
STACEY ABRAMS: Well, I grew up with the Voting Rights Act. So most of my original work was expanding access, moving us from that moment before the Voting Rights Act when Blacks did not expect to have the right to vote--
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
STACEY ABRAMS: --much like my grandmother, and really getting us to understand that we now had this power.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: Unfortunately, starting in 2013, the battle shifted from expanding the right to vote to simply protecting it for those who had it, because that's when we saw this retrenchment and resurgence of voter suppression in earnest.
MONET X CHANGE: Got you. Got you. And this is kind of where your brand-new movie "All In" picks up, where you are-- you're, like, tackling it head-on. You're not mincing words. You're being really direct and, like, trying to tackle the issue of voter suppression at the roots. Talk to us about "All In" and what we can expect to-- any awakenings we can have through you about voter suppression.
STACEY ABRAMS: "All In" is my attempt, with amazing filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, to trace the history of voter suppression so we know it's not new, but to remind us of how often we have faced it and we've battled through it.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: And in particular, for me, it's about making sure that communities of color, that vulnerable community, like the LGBTQ community, like the trans community, in particular-- that we know that it's not your imagination. It has been made harder. They are trying to stop your voices-- but that if we band together, if we bring together young communities of color, the LGBT community, any marginalized and--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE] communities with disabilities-- if we band together, then we can fight for democracy that actually recognizes and values all of us. And so I see this less as a narrative arc about what happened that was wrong and more about an army that's calling us to battle to make certain we know what we're fighting and we know we can win.
MONET X CHANGE: Mm. Yes. You said-- in the trailer, you said something so powerful. I just want to read it for the people watching this. You said, "there is nothing more transformative than a Black woman from poverty having opportunity." I think that is such a major statement, because opportunity is the thing that people that--
You know, a lot of folk who are the oppressors, when they see that minority communities like Black folk, LGBTQ folk, trans folk-- when they see that we're getting opportunity-- like, it's like, we don't even have our foot in the door. We literally have the inkling of an opportunity to get there-- they're shook. They're scared. They're like, oh, no. Oh, no. The house is on fire! So that statement really, really [INAUDIBLE] me. I was like, oh my god. Yes. Opportunity is the key word, access.
STACEY ABRAMS: Yeah. I mean, look. No one is guaranteed victory.
MONET X CHANGE: Yes.
STACEY ABRAMS: No one is guaranteed success. But even to your point about getting your foot in the door, we just need them to let us know where the room is. And that's part of what voting does. Voting's how we get the map to figure out where the room is [INAUDIBLE] once you get there, no matter which community you're from, your job is to take the door off the hinges and welcome everyone in.
And so, you know, I come at this as a Black woman from the South who grew up in poverty. But my obligation is to be an ally. We were one of the first campaigns to have an LGBTQ advisory council in Georgia--
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
STACEY ABRAMS: --to have a council of the disabled who are advising us, to engage other communities of color to center them, because my success isn't just mine alone. And if we do this together, if we harness ourselves, if we harness young people and their voices and their values, we can create that transformation, because no one's going to give it to us. We've got to take it. But it's our right. It's our-- in fact, it's our responsibility, as Americans, to expand who has access.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. Well, and I know that no one's guaranteed victory. But Stacey, what, to me-- back in 2018, going back to your-- to the government election, the state of Georgia-- I feel like the whole nation was rallying behind you. Everyone was like, Stacey Abrams, please-- my god-- for the win. And then when it didn't happen, people were generally shocked. Why didn't you pursue a legal thingy to be like, no, this was not right?
STACEY ABRAMS: So I had two options. I could have challenged the election itself--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: --to make myself governor. But my responsibility, and the way I was raised, is that, this isn't about me. It wasn't about just my winning or losing. It was about the tens of thousands of Georgians who had their rights as citizens stolen. And the minute you make a de-- a conversation that broad about a single person, then you give those who would be with you-- you give them a reason to turn away because it becomes selfish. And you give your opponents the ability to, you know, hide their hands because they can just say, oh, this is sour grapes.
MONET X CHANGE: Mm, [INAUDIBLE].
STACEY ABRAMS: For me, the larger obligation was not to make myself governor. It was to make certain that, in Georgia, the right to vote was real, and, once we got into it, to make certain, across the country, that we were ensuring that Americans who have the eligibility to vote actually have the right to do so.
So look, as I said that night, I acknowledge the legal sufficiency of the system that gave him the numbers he needed. But I challenge the legitimacy of any system that allows that to happen, because in America, in the 21st century, you should not be able to steal people's voices in broad daylight, particularly if you are the one who has been hired and paid to protect them.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: And that lack of justice for Georgians meant that my little piddling election, while it was important to me, could not be bigger than the needs of millions of Americans to guarantee that their right to vote is real, and their right to address issues like police brutality and, you know, discrimination, to bring into the-- bring the voices of the LGBT community to the fort, to lift up the name of Tony McDade with the same fervor that we lift up Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake, and Ahmaud Arbery. We have an obligation to make certain that our fights are bigger than one person.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: And that's why the litany matters. And that's why, for me, the election is one thing. I can run again.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE] win if we lose our democracy.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. And I think that that's what a lot of us are feeling now because the current administration is so incredulous. And they seem to be, like, actively concocting ways to-- like you said, these are people who are paid to protect us-- like, these rights. And [INAUDIBLE] concocting ways that we see.
Like, I mean, I've seen them here in New York City where you see these big trucks literally taking mailboxes off of the street and taking them to God knows where. How do we combat that to make sure that the-- our elections on November 3 are free and fair?
STACEY ABRAMS: So we have to remember that we no longer have Election Day. We have Election Season.
MONET X CHANGE: Mm.
STACEY ABRAMS: And that season started on September 4. That was the day the first ballots for the general election went out in North Carolina.
MONET X CHANGE: Got it.
STACEY ABRAMS: In Michigan, they go out on the 24th. So we know that, across the country, elections have already started. 45 states let you vote by mail, either with no excuse or with COVID as your excuse. And we have five states that still say you have to risk your life to vote.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
STACEY ABRAMS: But on top of that, we've got 41 states that will allow you to vote early in person. And in every state in the country, you can vote on Election Day. So the responsibility is not to get distracted by the lies, by the trucks, by the chaos.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
STACEY ABRAMS: The chaos is intentional. It's designed to undermine our faith and our ability to make choices. And so I say, don't panic. Fight. Don't panic. Vote. And we can vote by going to allinforvoting.com. You can find out exactly what the rules are in your state. You can request an absentee ballot. If your state lets you, you can track that ballot. But what I tell folks is, make a plan, make a backup plan, and make a backup to your backup plan.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] [INAUDIBLE]
STACEY ABRAMS: If we want change, we're going to have to fight for it, because they've told us they want to limit who can vote. They--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: They keep showing us that they don't want our voices to be heard. And I want to prove them wrong.
MONET X CHANGE: It really [INAUDIBLE]. They, like, literally kind of say these things, like, so directly [INAUDIBLE] like, yeah, we're doing this. It's so crazy [INAUDIBLE] now, as a nation, we are mourning the really sad, untimely death of RBG. And her contributions to our democracy have been massive, and they've been really great.
And I-- I'm trying to think of-- you know, because again, I've been following the news really closely. And they seem to be picking someone who, by all intents and purposes, seems like a monster. How-- what is-- what do you think we can do to-- I mean, I know there's-- I mean, OK. Well, I feel like there's not much we can do as citizens [INAUDIBLE] to help them pick someone better. But what is the alternative? How do we fix this?
STACEY ABRAMS: OK. So going back to my fundamental premise, the watchword for 2020 is "don't panic."
MONET X CHANGE: Don't panic. OK.
STACEY ABRAMS: Like, I'm waiting to hear that there is a volcano in downtown Atlanta. Like, that's where I am in terms of news of the weird and news [INAUDIBLE].
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah, yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: But what we should have learned from this year is that we can meet every single challenge that comes our way. And so when it comes to this, we have to mourn the passing of a brilliant jurist who did so much for the marginalized and the disadvantaged. But we have to remember that the court was already tilted 5-4 towards the conservatives. Now it's 5-3. And we know that Mitch McConnell is a soulless ghoul who is going to use his power to install someone else who will do their best to strip Americans of their rights.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: Those are the things we know.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: But number one, we still have the responsibility to say that it is wrong. And that's why we need to be as angry about this as anyone has ever been, because it is not right what they're trying to do. It is not right that they blocked Barack Obama from picking a US-- to picking a US Supreme Court justice and, in turn, are exhibiting the kind of hypocrisy we've learned to expect.
But number two, we've got to remember that the Supreme Court is one of three branches of government. And that is why voting for Joe Biden for president, voting for US senators who support our values, and voting all the way down the ballot to the fine print means that we start to get the kind of country and governance that we need--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: --because if one piece is broken, you still have two other pieces you can use--
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah.
STACEY ABRAMS: --the executive branch and the legislative branch. And that's why voting this year is so important. We may not be able to stop McConnell and Trump, but we have the responsibility to call them out. And we have the opportunity to throw them out if we show up and vote and if we get, by law, the things that the Supreme Court is trying to steal by fiat.
MONET X CHANGE: Yeah. I've heard that [INAUDIBLE] possibly, if Joe Biden is elected, that he may be throwing your name in the ring as a Supreme Court justice. I mean, you obviously are a woman who is-- like, you are very honorable, and you lead with good intentions, ethics [INAUDIBLE] I think you would be a great pick for a Supreme Court justice, Stacey!
STACEY ABRAMS: I appreciate the compliment, but my younger sister, Leslie Abrams Gardner, is actually the first Black woman to be a federal judge in Georgia.
MONET X CHANGE: Oh.
STACEY ABRAMS: And she is much better-situated for that job than I am. So I'm just putting her name out there.
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] Well, you know, 45 is like a Beetlejuice. You say his name three times, and he wants to know [INAUDIBLE] talk about [INAUDIBLE]. I Lesl-- I nominate-- I, Monét X Change, with all power in my hand-- I nominate Leslie Abrams--
STACEY ABRAMS: There you go.
MONET X CHANGE: --for Supreme Court justice.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
MONET X CHANGE: Stacey, what is next for you in government? Because, you know, 2018 happened. And you know, [INAUDIBLE] you. And you have your amazing book. [INAUDIBLE] chance to read it yet, but my grandmother loves you, and she's read the book, talks about how amazing it is. The stories [INAUDIBLE]. What is next for you in terms of government? Are you going to run again? Are you-- like, what's next?
STACEY ABRAMS: I absolutely will run again. Right now, my focus is on making sure we have fair elections-- free and fair elections-- in November, making sure we have a census that is accurate. So if there is anyone watching who has not filled out your census--
MONET X CHANGE: Yes.
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE] that they are trying to steal our future by erasing communities of color from the census. They are trying to artificially end it next week. And if they do so, we will lose billions of dollars. This isn't a game.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
STACEY ABRAMS: It's [INAUDIBLE] we lose billions of dollars. They have a memo that got to the Supreme Court and actually helped kibo-- put the kibosh on one of their schemes where they said, if they rig the census, the United States will look whiter and more Republican. We know we're not whiter. We know we're not more Republican.
MONET X CHANGE: [GROANS]
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE] erase us from the census. They can pretend that it is so. And there is no do-over. So please fill out the census. Don't be worried about your privacy. If you have a cell phone or a-- if you have a cell phone or utility bill, they already know how to find you.
MONET X CHANGE: Right.
STACEY ABRAMS: Fill out the census so you get your money and get your power. My mission is to get those things set up to make sure that redistricting next year is accurate and that it reflects the values and the needs of voters so we get to pick our politicians, not letting our politicians pick who they want to have vote for them. But after that, I will certainly run for office again. I haven't decided what I'm running for. But my responsibility is to just focus on doing the work. And whether I do it in government or to compel government to do better, that's my job.
MONET X CHANGE: Yes. And that message, especially for-- you know, for all of my Black friends who'll be like, uh-uh. I'm not filling out that census. I don't want the government to have my information-- if you think the government is not-- if you got a letter about the census--
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: --they know your information. So please, please, please, everyone watching this, please, please fill out the census. It's so important. It's so important--
STACEY ABRAMS: Yes.
MONET X CHANGE: --that we do it now. Stacey, this has been a great conversation. Thank you so much, so much. Thank you so much for coming by and stopping by and talking with us. You-- I mean, as a Black queer person, you definitely have my support behind you. And I think that you are doing such beautiful and amazing work. And your movie is out now-- "All In." It's so important. Such a beautiful message. And I really, really encourage people, if you're watching this, to watch that doc. It's on Amazon Prime, yeah?
STACEY ABRAMS: It is on Amazon Prime.
MONET X CHANGE: And I've heard that it's streaming in theaters as well. I mean, in New York, our theaters aren't open. But I guess, in some other cities, they may be open there. It's streaming there.
STACEY ABRAMS: Yeah. So we've been-- we were in theaters. We actually did a rollout in drive-throughs-- drive-in theaters as well. So--
MONET X CHANGE: Oh god. New York does not have space for drive-ins, Stacey. We are--
STACEY ABRAMS: That is true.
MONET X CHANGE: [INAUDIBLE]
STACEY ABRAMS: [INAUDIBLE] park near it [INAUDIBLE]
MONET X CHANGE: [LAUGHS] Thank you so much, and have a good rest of your day.
STACEY ABRAMS: Thank you, Monét. It's been a pleasure.
MONET X CHANGE: OK. Thank you.
Guys, that's all for this week. I am very happy to be back. Patti is not, but whatever. Thank you all for tuning in. And until next time, remember to always keep your currency in check.
