00:00Gigi, Eugene mentioned sort of crossing over, crossing over in traditional media using the platform of digital.
00:07Is that something that you see happening a lot for people?
00:12And is that something you, any of you, is that something you want to do?
00:16Or do you want to use this as a jumping off point? And how have you done it?
00:19I mean, for me, I've been doing YouTube a very long time, similar to Joey and Hannah.
00:25I mean, as everyone here.
00:27To be fair, you guys were 2007. I was 2011.
00:30Oh.
00:31So we're really OG.
00:33Yeah.
00:34Dusty.
00:35I feel...
00:37Dusty!
00:38I meant to drop my mic down.
00:40Vintage.
00:41Vintage, vintage.
00:42We're like fine wine. We get better with time.
00:45Yeah!
00:47I feel like for, like, I get asked a lot because we have been doing it so long.
00:52It's like, oh, well, are you always going to do YouTube?
00:54Or, like, say you're in a movie someday?
00:56Or are you just going to, you know, quit YouTube?
00:58And my answer is always like, no.
01:00Because that's what gave me the confidence.
01:03And when I did my documentary through YouTube, a lot of people were asking me the same thing.
01:08I'm like, absolutely not.
01:09Like, you know, it's like even more reason to connect with more people.
01:12Because it's more saturated and it's just that much more meaningful, I feel, for me and the viewers.
01:19But also, whenever I see, like, I mean, Lily, who is a fellow Canadian girl, just got a late night talk show.
01:26Which is, like, maybe the most mainstream thing ever.
01:29And I'm so happy because, honestly, I feel that YouTubers a lot of the time have more of a deeper connection with their fans than, you know, even like a Leonardo DiCaprio.
01:41Because it's literally them turning on the camera, whether they have a team or not, and literally just talking to the camera.
01:48And it's more of that genuine connection.
01:50Like, when people meet their favorite YouTubers, they, like, literally break down and cry.
01:55Because it's like they really helped them through a really hard time.
01:58And it's seeing people transition from, you know, the digital space into the mainstream space.
02:05I just love it so much.
02:06Like, Troye Sivan, for example.
02:08He just is, like, killing it so hard in the music industry.
02:12And it's like, he did stop YouTube, but it's because he's killing it so hard in the mainstream.
02:17And he's still doing his thing.
02:19Well, we were having an interesting conversation backstage about the industry with, like, the acting world.
02:26Because, you know, I'll get job opportunities or, like, audition opportunities for, like, a queer character or, like, a trans character.
02:31And it's, like, awesome.
02:32And I read the pitch line.
02:33And it's, like, awesome.
02:34And I'm, like, you know, go through the script.
02:36And it's, like, not that awesome.
02:38And it's, like, wait.
02:39It's misrepresentation, not as accurate.
02:43Or sometimes the language that's used is harmful.
02:48But it's just the people that are creating it either don't know or are trying to create something to, you know,
02:55in my mind, like, put something out there positive for, you know, the queer youth and their audience.
03:00And they're like, oh, people will love this.
03:01But it's, you know, if there's not queer people behind the camera as well as in front of the camera,
03:06it's not going to be as honest, as impactful as it needs to be.
03:10So, you know, it's very interesting because, you know, we all have internalized homophobia and transphobia
03:16that we see, you know, from the media or from what we don't see in the media.
03:20You know, it's not always someone saying something to you, but it's what you're saying to yourself
03:25or you're holding yourself back in a certain way because you're not seeing yourself represented accurately or at all.
03:31That's why I think, you know, YouTube is so important because it is raw.
03:34It is honest.
03:35It's these people coming out here and giving other humans the language to put to how they feel
03:40and the confidence and the silent okay of, you know, okay, you're doing that.
03:44You're being you.
03:45Maybe I can be me as well, you know?
03:47So, I mean, I grew up watching, like, all these humans, you know, like, religiously through my early teen years
03:53and garnering that language and arming myself with that community.
03:57And even though it wasn't people that I knew personally, it was people that I felt like I knew personally
04:02because I didn't have that in my hometown or in my small bubble of, like, my home, my school and my place I grew up in.
04:09So, yeah, it's very, very important that these stories are being told.
04:13But when they're told on YouTube, they're, you know, it's one person being the editor, being the writer
04:18and, you know, being that producer and that voice.
04:20But once it starts translating into traditional media, I really feel like, at least for me, it's like not just,
04:26oh, I'm taking an acting role, it's like I feel a lot of, you know, I feel like I need to really dive into what I'm signing up for
04:35because I feel like I owe it to these kids that I'm meeting that are watching me
04:39that I'm going to choose projects that are positive and important.
04:44I'll go into that.
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